New St. Mary’s County Public Schools’ logo
Leonardtown, MD — Former St. Mary’s County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Martirano was known for his motto – “Work Hard and Be Nice.” In fact the words were incorporated in the school system’s logo.
His successor, Scott Smith is a former high school English teacher and self-described man of few words. He has distilled the essence of the school system into one word – “commitment.”
Smith unveiled a new school system logo at a Sept. 1 joint meeting of the county commissioners and the school board at the College of Southern Maryland Leonardtown campus. Smith explained that a St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) staff team worked over the summer to expand upon the existing mission and vision statements.
The current mission statement is: “Know the learner and the learning, expecting excellence in both. Accept no excuses, educating ALL with rigor, relevance, respect, and positive relationships.” The SMCPS Vision Statement is “All Children Can and Will Learn.” Smith said both statements had stood the test of time and are still valid.
But interposed on those statements is the word “commitment” which the team broke down into five “s” commitments – Students, Staff, Schools, Stakeholders and Sustainability. It is those five commitments that form the basis of the system’s new logo which continues to use the graphic of books expanding into a boat.
Smith said, “Our commitment to students is our focus on teaching and learning in order to support students in achieving their goals.
“Our commitment to staff is our engagement in, and support of professional growth to meet the expectations of performance.
“Our commitment to schools is to create and maintain safe, engaging, learning environments for our students and staff.
“Our commitment to stakeholders is to inform and engage our parents and partners in the education of our children.
“Our commitment to sustainability is to only invest in that which furthers our mission and is explicitly built into our budget.”
The new statement then breaks down each of the five “s” commitments into a number of subsections.
During the summer 670 staff members were polled and in October students and stakeholders will be asked to comment on the expanded mission and vision statements. Community forums are expected in November.
(l to r) School Superintendent Scott Smith, Board of Education President Karin Bailey and Commissioners of St. Mary’s County President Randy Guy and the Sept. 1 joint meeting.
The joint meeting also featured a report on capital projects planned for the current fiscal year. That included a lively discussion about relocatable classrooms.
Smith and school board members supported their use. School board member Mary Washington said, “Quality learning is taking place in those units.” She added, “Learning takes place, students are happy, parents are happy.”
The school system current has 2,925 seats available in mobile units. They are used to provide extra spaces until school populations justify another school to the state. For instance relocatables are being used at Evergreen, Park Hall and George Washington Carver, and those students will populate the new elementary school when it comes on line.
Commissioner John O’Connor wondered what would happen if the funding for then relocatables was eliminated and monies put towards bricks and mortar. School board member Cathy Allen reminded O’Connor, “You have to look at the willingness of the state to fund. The county would be on the hook.”
Such a scenario would also require a county-wide redistricting, which O’Connor said he wasn’t afraid to confront. But others said redistricting was a hot potato for parents and students. Commissioner Tom Jarboe said, “Massive redistricting would be widely unpopular.”
Smith also noted that using relocatables allowed for saving money on administrative and bus transportation costs. And he said they gave flexibility to be moved to where the actual need was.
Also at the meeting the commissioners formally enacted a resolution establishing 1,000-foot drug free zones around schools.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com
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