(9/1) Hello Northern Frederick County! My name is Dean Rose and I’m running for a seat on the Frederick County Board of Education.

By the time you read this article, Distance Learning for students in Frederick County will be in full swing.

FCPS developed a schedule and program that provides the best educational experience to our students in the safest environment possible. It’s not perfect and I know there will be challenges ahead but I am certain that teachers, staff and administrators will address these issues to ensure that our students progress both academically and socially.

There will be life and education post pandemic. As new FCPS Board members are sworn in this coming December, they will immediately be faced with decisions regarding when and how our students will return to the classroom. Let me assure you, the safety of our students, teachers, staff, and their families will be one of my top priorities.

Once we are able to return to the classroom, my focus will switch to how we reintegrate our students to in-person learning? How do we deal with the social and emotional issues we know our children have experienced during this pandemic and the subsequent quarantine?

I will work to ensure that all of our students have access to mental health services and our teachers are trained to recognize the signs that might require intervention. Considering that FCPS does not currently have enough mental health professionals on staff to provide these services, it will be important that teachers are trained as the first line of responders and that we develop relationships with local mental health providers like Frederick Health Hospital and the Mental Health Association of Frederick County.

Also at the top of my list will be making sure that all of our students have access to an equitable education. It will be more important than ever that we recognize the students who need us most and provide them the additional services required to put them on a level learning path with their peers. Studies have already told us that right here in Frederick County children of color and those living in poverty have been most affected by the equity gap. Again, FCPS cannot do this alone and it will be necessary for us to collaborate with a number of community organizations that are capable of providing before and after school support for these children. Partnership and collaboration will be necessary to make sure FCPS and these partner organizations are on the same page as we assist these children.

Another equity issue that will need to be addressed and one that I’m sure all of the readers of this article are aware, is the geographic challenges we face in Frederick County. Frederick County is the largest geographic county in Maryland and with that comes challenges in providing all of our students’ equity within the services they deserve. We must make access to our Career & Technology Center programming more accessible to our students in the northern part of our county. That starts with offering entry level CTC courses at our local middle schools and offering satellite programs to our high school students’ right where they already attend school.

Honestly these are just a few of the many challenges the FCPS Board of Education will be facing as we look forward to 2021.

For over two decades I have been involved in mentoring and working for positive change in the lives of young people. I have served on the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Club of Frederick County for 5 years, currently serving as Board Chair. I have spent 13 years volunteering as an Assistant Varsity Basketball coach at both Urbana and Oakdale High Schools. Professionally I have worked for a Fortune 100 company for 35 years and for the past 20 years I have owned and operated a small business in Middletown.

I have been engaged in the state of education in Frederick County for many years. I have attended dozens of Board of Education meetings and community forums. I have spoken publicly at Board meetings on a number of occasions and met privately with Board of Education members, Central Office staff, parents, students, community leaders, and teachers. I have also spent a number of days in Annapolis and on Capitol Hill advocating for education.

I believe my commitment, passion and experience will make me a valuable member of the Board of Education, I hope I can count on your vote.