Susan Morgan for School Board Experience - Vision - Commitment

Please consider supporting me for the Dorchester County Board of Education.

WHY I AM RUNNING:Dorchester County Public Schools (DCPS) face tremendous challenges. Incoming students lack social, emotional, and academic readiness; student achievement lags behind state and national norms; and disruptive behavior too often impedes learning and threatens student and teacher safety. To address these challenges, the Dorchester County Board of Education needs members who are well-versed in current educational standards and best practices and in the relevant state and federal requirements governing education.

MY EXPERIENCE: I have more than 20 years of experience as a Resource Counselor in Maryland Public Schools, where I conducted individual and group counseling, mentored and supervised counselors, and identified resources to implement effective programs. I have worked at all levels of the public school system from elementary through high school, primarily in schools that were underfunded and whose populations mirrored the current population of Dorchester County as to both race and socioeconomic status. In these schools, I developed plans (and, in some cases, obtained external grant funding) to help address a myriad of issues including disruptive behavior, racial and cultural equity, lack of resources at home, hunger, and family reunification. I have also taught at the university level, where I experienced widely differing levels of preparedness and worked with students to identify each student's focus and path to success. I hold masters degrees in history and in counselor education and a doctoral degree in psychology.

MY VISION: I want to see Dorchester County Public Schools (DCPS) become a system in which students are able to master the social and intellectual skills to become productive citizens, ensuring that they are ready to learn when they come into the system and that they leave with the tools to be successful in college or in a trade or occupation. This can only be accomplished with a functional school system that has at its heart a desire for all students to succeed.

Investments of energy and resources in our school system are investments in the short and long term economic viability of Cambridge and Dorchester County. Without a strong, improved school system, our community will never attract the young families and businesses that are critical to future success.

Susan Morgan’s candidacy has been endorsed by Dorchester Educators Dorchester Educators is the organization that represents educators and support professionals inDorchesterCountyPublicSchools.OurgoalistogiveaVOICEtotheirlegitimateprofessional,economic,andsocialaspirationsbystrengtheningtheinstitutionsinwhichweworkandthequalityofservicesweprovide. Our mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering ourteachers, support professionals, and community to advocate for all children. See their website atdorchestereducators.weebly.comanddorchestereducators.weebly.com/vote-2020.html.

Susan Morgan for School Board Experience - Vision - Commitment

I believe that meaningful changes are needed in four critical areas:

• An effective alternative education program, embedded within the general education program, must be created to address the specific disruption issues faced by DCPS students and teachers. The program must have at least three levels of intervention (in-situ/in-school, satellite with return, and separate facility with limited possibility for return) in order to be effective. All three levels of intervention must include both academic and social/emotional components. The current practice of total separation of problem students, with little meaningful intervention, is doomed to failure.

• Existing community resources and external grant opportunities must be harnessed and coordinated on a system-wide basis to address the widespread lack of social, emotional, and academic readiness among our students. As an example, Cambridge has a plethora of retired persons who are trained, able, and willing to work with students at all levels. These people need to be welcomed into the system, not ignored (or actively discouraged from participating), as many have been in the past.

• Students whose abilities and interests lie outside academic pursuits must be provided with a realistic vision of future success. Increased emphasis on the school system's technical programs is needed to reach more students and to prepare them for meaningful and rewarding employment into the future.

• Support for teachers must be addressed. The continued exodus of experienced teachers from DCPS is an impediment to building and maintaining a high-quality school system. The only way to increase the tenure of qualified and successful teachers is (i) to provide a wage and benefits system that is comparable to and competitive with those offered elsewhere in the State, and (ii) to make the environment safe, supportive, and fulfilling for both teachers and students.

My Commitment I would like to commit my experience and expertise, particularly in schools with disadvantaged populations, to help DCPS develop and implement concrete plans of action to ensure that all of our students are ready to learn when they come to DCPS and ready to take up their roles as productive and successful citizens when they leave DCPS.

Susan Morgan for School Board, Tom Puglisi, Treasurer