Dr. S. Dallas Dance

Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools in Baltimore County, MD

Previous Position: Chief School Officer at Houston Independent School District

Favorite book from the past year: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Dorris Kearns Goodwin.

Personal hero: I had a few people who really guided me along my way. Freeman Hrabowski, Mark Edwards, and Bill Hite were all enormous influences.

My most memorable teaching moment:It was actually on 9/11. There was nothing in the textbooks to tell us what to do, so we were forced to go digital to provide out students accurate information. This gave us an opportunity as educators to use technology and personalize it, which served as an epiphany of sorts.

Most exciting current trend in education: Going off that, the concept of digital learning. Using personalized digital learning so that students can move at their own pace.

Awesome atypical subject I wish schools could teach: Creative thinking. Although I don’t know how you would have a course that teaches students to think, the 21st century requires students to think for themselves.

Shout out to my favorite teacher: My 11th and 12th grade English teacher Ms. Janes. I didn’t feel like working hard at that point and she wouldn’t let me get away with that.