They done ran the bro away after puttin in that good work... My daughter is leaving the system. So, it kinda matters not to me but I do believe the brother put in that good work during his time. Young fella too!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-co-dallas-dance-20170418-story.html

Dallas Dance resigns as Baltimore County Schools superintendent

By Liz Bowie and Alison Knezevich Contact Reporters
The Baltimore Sun

April 18, 2017, 1:39 PM

Baltimore County School Superintendent Dallas Dance announced his resignation abruptly Tuesday morning, surprising teachers, parents and county leaders. His last day will be June 30.

He gave no reason for the resignation, and a spokesman said he is not leaving for a specific job.

"I have received several offers, but I have not firmly decided. I look forward to sharing in the upcoming weeks what I will be doing," Dance said Tuesday afternoon.

In a morning statement announcing his resignation, Dance said he believes the school system "is in a better place today then when I first arrived."

"To that end, I now transition to another chapter of my career where I will specifically use my passion for equity and access to a quality education to ensure it is provided to all students through school, district, and community leadership," Dance said.

Dance, who turns 36 this week, was in the first year of his second contract with the school system — a four-year pact paying him $287,000 annually — that the school board approved last year. He headed the 25th largest school system in the nation, and the third largest in Maryland.

School board president Edward Gilliss said it is too late in the year to do a search for a permanent replacement who would have to take the job on July 1. By state law, all school superintendents in Maryland have four year contracts that must begin on July 1.

"I think we are going to have to look toward an interim ," Gilliss said. Because most of the appointed board will be replaced in a 2018 election, Gilliss said, "We should think about how to plan in light of those realities."

County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said Dance told him early this morning he would resign. But Kamenetz said that through conversations he had with Dance over the past few months, he got the sense he might leave.

"He had some family issues that he felt he wanted to better devote himself to," Kamenetz said. "The job of superintendent can be very taxing and there are a lot of different constituency groups you respond to. I think he just decided he wants to take a little break and recharge his batteries."

Kamenentz, a Democrat, credited Dance with increasing the county's graduation rate and helping to close the achievement gap between black and white students.

And he said he was "amazed" at the superintendent's relationship with students, saying that when Dance attended school events, students would gravitate toward him and ask to take selfies.

Gilliss said he believes the county "has been fortunate to have Dr. Dance at the helm...for the last five years. I am sad to see his tenure end."

Gilliss said he did not give the board a reason for the resignation. "But I know the board will have the challenge of deciding how to replace Dr. Dance and to make certain BCPS moves forward," Gilliss said.

While Dance had a string of accomplishments — including beginning a program to put laptops in the hand of every student — he was proudest of the close rapport he had with students, said Mychael Dickerson, a spokesman.

When he went to one elementary school recently, a young boy treated him like a star, saying he would never wash the hand that had shook Dance's.

This morning Dance tweeted "Students - my biggest joy & accomplishment will always be that you KNOW your superintendent! I LOVE EACH OF YOU!"

He had made equity in the school system a priority, and was in the process of providing training to every adult in the school system to ensure that the expectations for all children were the same. He led an effort to make schools in the southwestern part of the county more diverse through a redistricting process. The attempt failed.

The overall graduation rate rose during every year of his tenure, and last year for the first time, the graduation rate for black and white students was the same — 89 percent.

Dance continued to have the support of the majority of the board on most of his proposals.

However, two newer board members had been fierce critics and spoke sharply against his management at board meetings. Board member Ann Miller filed numerous, sprawling requests for information from the school system staff. She said she needed the information to make decisions, but top administrators saw the requests as obstructionist and time-consuming to fulfill.

Miller and Kathleen Causey, both from the Hereford area of the county, voted against giving him a second four-year contract.


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