Teacher Testimonials

Karen Blannard, principal, Logan Elementary School
Teachers, often in the interview process, ask me as the principal what can I do, what can the school do to support them as a new teacher. We feel that that is our role. Any beginning teacher needs a lot of support. We want beginning teachers in Baltimore County Public Schools to be very successful, and we have a lot of strategies in place to make sure that happens.

Initially we provide opportunities over the summer for them to plan with grade level colleagues to get the daily lesson plans connected for the first several weeks of school. There are countywide meetings that explain the content in detail for the new folks.

Once they begin teaching, we have them go into classrooms to watch demonstration lessons, and then we also help them with classroom management. Every first year teacher needs those supports in place. We have schoolwide management plans that filter into the classroom, and we help teachers to develop those plans and ensure their success.

Adam Friend, new teacher, middle school science
Coming to Baltimore County Public Schools was a heated decision for me, being that I am from an area that is ten and a half hours away from here. I had never really truly imagined myself being down here.

When I first met the representative at our job fair, he gave me general information. He encouraged me to come down – just for a visit, no pressure at all. He just wanted me to come down and visit some of the schools, look at the area a little bit. I had never even been to Maryland before. So I came down, had a visit.

On that same day, I interviewed with some different schools, talked with some different schools. It was just very evident that those schools really wanted me as a teacher. They were looking not just at what was on my resume, but how I could help the students in their classrooms. They wanted to know how I was going to impact their students. To me, that’s a big deal because I want to make sure I am giving the most to the students that I can.

The staff and the administration as well as the personnel from Baltimore County Public Schools were there again every step of the way just to help me in anything I needed. They answered all my questions. They were there to help me even do the small things, like finding an apartment, showing me the good places to shop for groceries and other supplies around here. It was things that didn’t just pertain to being in the school. It was everything from meeting at the job fair to moving down here and actually making the move and starting my new job.


Kristin Jefferson, new teacher, elementary
My first encounter with Baltimore County Public Schools was at a career fair that was held at my university. From the moment I met the personnel officers, I knew Baltimore County was the place for me. They were very warm. They were very encouraging. They were very supportive. And I knew I’d be successful.

I’m a first year teacher in Baltimore County Public Schools. I decided to come to Baltimore County because I knew Baltimore County was a very large school district and that I would have ample opportunity for employment and that I also would be able to grow professionally.

I would encourage you to apply to Baltimore County Public Schools because there is so much support available for a first-year teacher. As a first year teacher, I was assigned to a mentor. She comes and visits me, and she helps me with my lesson plans, with my evaluations, and any other topics that I might need her assistance on. Also as a first year teacher, the principal, the assistant principal, and my other grade level faculty members have been very, very supportive, and they’ve made me feel very welcome in my school.


John Staley, Coordinator, Secondary Mathematics
I guess when you think about Baltimore County, you have to think about opportunity, and not only being a teacher within the classroom – which was my goal and has always been my goal, to be an educator and teach in the classroom – but also the opportunity just to work in a math setting and in a math environment outside of the classroom.

This is my first year as coordinator of secondary mathematics. If you had talked to me 10 years ago about it, I would think, okay, I need 20 years before I can step into a position like this. But that’s come about as a result of the ability to be mentored as I am going throughout my years in the county. I had taught outside of Baltimore before, started teaching up in Pennsylvania, then taught in Virginia, and then came to Baltimore County. And I remember my interview and wondering why they would want me at this school – because the school was predominantly a white school, and I am wondering why me in this school. And then that’s when I realized that if I’m going to teach math to students, it doesn’t make a difference. I can be a role model in any setting. So the anxiety I had stepping into my first position in middle school in Baltimore County was, the question was why me. The answer that I found out was that as a male, an African American male, stepping into the classroom – it can be at any of the various schools in the county – you have to be a role model. And you can be a role model across the board.