December 2017

South River High School teacher Josh Carroll was named the 2017-2018 Maryland Teacher of the Year by the Maryland State Department of Education. The announcement culminated a brilliant six-month run for Carroll, who was named AACPS Teacher of the Year in April and a finalist for the state award in September. Just two other AACPS teachers have previously earned State Teacher of the Year honors. 

Carroll has spent 18 years in AACPS, all at the high school level. He taught English at Glen Burnie High before moving to South River High in 2006, where he has taught English, AVID, and STEM. He also serves an an athletic coach and mentor, is involved in curriculum writing, is a member of South River’s Principal’s Leadership Team, and chairs the school’s Student Recognition Committee. Read more about Josh Carroll and watch his April acceptance speech.

Members of this fall’s AACPS Secret No More Book Club came together on Wednesday, December 13 for a special event with author, Lisa Hillman. Over the past several weeks, employees and community members came together online, on Twitter, and in-person to read and discuss Hillman’s moving account of one parent’s journey to help a child struggling with opioid addiction. During the Meet the Author event, Hillman, a former broadcast journalist and former president of the Anne Arundel Medical Foundation, spoke about her first-hand experience, read excerpts from her memoir, and took questions from book club participants. Lisa also joined a panel of educators and community members to discuss the opioid crisis across Anne Arundel County.

We hope this will be the first of many coversations about this critical topic. To learn more about the AACPS Secret No More Book Club and register for a future book club, click here. 

In November, parents and community members gathered at Anne Arundel Community College for the fall Family Involvement Conference, hosted by the Office of School and Family Partnerships. Superintendent George Arlotto delivered a rousing keynote address, “Make the Most of Your Moments,” which was followed by a choice of 11 different breakout sessions.

Breakout topics ranged from planning for college and homework help at the public library, to internet safety, helping your child with math, and tips for managing difficult behaviors. Conference organizers would like to thank all of our community partners, including Anne Arundel County Council of PTAs, Annapolis Pediatrics, Educational Systems Federal Credit Union, and Anne Arundel Community College. 

Chick-fil-A has been a wonderful, long-standing business partner to AACPS and its schools in the Annapolis and Edgewater community. For over 10 years, Parent-Teacher Associations and local schools have raised money from events held at Chik-fil-A, which has allowed schools to purchase much-needed technology, reimburse teachers for out-of-pocket classroom expenses, buy additional school supplies for students, and hold social clubs and enrichment programs that might otherwise not be available.

For the past three years, Chick-fil-A has also provided breakfast to central office employees during the annual holiday celebration to thank staff for all they do throughout the year. No matter what the event, Chick-fil-A is always enthusiastically on board.

To celebrate American Education Week (November 13-17) we asked our AACPS community members to let us know what they appreciate most about their schools. They rose to the challenge by sending in over 300 Thank-You-Notes to schools across the county! 

Use Amazon Smile when shopping online and Amazon will donation 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the 21st Century Education Foundation. Log in by using your Amazon username and password. Your prices and shopping experience remain the same and the proceeds will support initiatives of AACPS. Happy shopping! 

If you have questions about this newsletter or know someone who would like to receive this alert, please contact Lauren Grey-Hawkins at lgrey-hawkins@aacps.org.