I have excellent news to share regarding two recently concluded
administrative searches. Calvert
Fifth Grade teacher Pam Ossmus will assume the role of Academic Dean, which will
help oversee faculty professional development, curriculum, instruction, and
standardized testing; coordinate the teacher ladder process; run the new teacher
orientation and mentoring program; serve as administrative liaison to the
Outreach, Green Schools, and International Committees, and oversee our
Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools (AIMS) reaccreditation
process.
Pam brings a wide array of skills to her new post; her excellent CV includes
over twenty years in public, parochial, and independent school settings; a K-8
teaching certification; fourth and fifth grade classroom positions; Calvert
Education Services (CES) advisory teaching and education counselor experience;
and two years as Professional Development Coordinator at CES. In that role, Pam
developed a strategic, research-based professional development program that
included both on-site and virtual services. Pam traveled to CES schools across
the country and then targeted specific "21st Century" professional development
needs based on classroom observations and teacher input. Moreover, she developed
and constructed an online Professional Development Portal and prepared and
delivered presentations both locally and nationally.
I am also pleased to introduce Craig Luntz as our new Director of Technology.
Currently the Director of Academic Technology at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Craig has led many projects there, including coordinating
the integration of tablets and the expansion of their 1-1 laptop program to the
fifth and sixth grades; deployment of iPads to the support the fifth grade pilot
program; re-designing the summer technology professional development program;
and creating and maintaining a web-based set of academic technology resources
for faculty, staff, and students. On a daily basis, Craig supports teachers and
students with all phases of academic technology integration, including planning,
in-class visits, and facilitating assemblies on digital citizenship and the
responsible use of technology. In the independent school community, Craig has emerged as a national leader
in the field of blended learning. Through his role as a faculty member in The
Online School for Girls (www.onlineschoolforgirls.org), he has co-developed and taught
regular sessions of a four-week course on Blended Learning. In late February,
his presentation at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
Annual Conference in Seattle, entitled Blended Learning: Design Technology
Goes Online was “standing room only.” Craig has also given workshops at
multiple other venues, including the AIMS Technology Retreat, Sloan Consortium
Blended Learning Conference, and Lausanne Laptop Institute.
Both Pam and Craig will begin their new roles in the summer. We are quite
fortunate, indeed, to have attracted such high-caliber educators into the Calvert community!
