School is out for the summer. But parents, guardians and even students filled the New Town High School library Thursday evening to meet the new Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) superintendent.
School board members including Dr. Brenda Savoy, Emory Young and former board chair Makeda Scott also attended. Councilman Julian Jones, whose district includes Owings Mills, made a brief appearance.
Emory Young, member-at-large, kicked off the meeting by introducing Dr. Myriam Yarbrough.
“She has the passion, experience and vision to help BCPS regain the academic standards and rigor that we all expect from our school system,” said Young.
Yarbrough, a mom of four, drew on that experience to explain how she sees her new role.
“With all four children, all the same household, all the same DNA, all the same resources, they are all individuals and [are] very different,” Yarbrough said. “And so that's how I feel that we have to approach the work that we do. We're looking at individuals. Even though all the students are in the same school system, they're all individuals with different needs.”
Yarbrough then gave a PowerPoint presentation. Throughout, she spoke of everyone working together to service 111,000 students in the school district.
The former chemistry teacher shared four focus areas:
- Academic achievement
- Infrastructure
- Safety and climate
- Highly effective teachers, leaders and staff
Yarbrough, who will be evaluated by the Board of Education on her communication skills, said she has not yet met with the board to discuss those focus points. However, she expects those four pillars to be shared system-wide before the school year begins in the fall.
After speaking for 20 minutes, Yarbrough flipped the script asking attendees to share three things.
“I really want to hear from you,” said Yarbrough. “What is BCPS doing well? What are aspirations or things you would like to see? What should be addressed immediately?”
Attendees who sat at various tables workshopped, writing their ideas on big sheets of paper which they would later share with the room.
Participants sounded off on concerns ranging from student discipline, school safety, lack of parent involvement and believe it or not cafeteria options.
“Maybe they can’t control this, but the food—” said Daniel, a rising sixth grader. “They used to have these pizza circles. Every time you bite into them, all the tomato sauces spill all over. And then the lunch ladies would have to come over and clean it all up. It was terrible,” he shared as the room burst into laughter.
On a somber note, others shared devastating stories of their children experiencing bullying and intimidation, with little recourse, they said.
“We’re working on it,” responded Yarbrough. “Anyone who knows me, knows I don’t let things pile up. We have to be responsive.”
Seven more community meetings are scheduled before Yarbrough officially starts July 1st.
