Col. Edward C. Rothstein
This evening (Feb. 9) I will host an education town hall at the Midway Commons Neighborhood Center, starting at 5:30 p.m. I hope to see you there.
I have a special interest in our schools on Fort Meade. Maybe it’s because of my Bachelor of Science degree in education or maybe it’s because my wife, Audrey, and I are raising two kids.
On numerous occasions since becoming garrison commander, I have had discussions about our schools with parents, teachers and school principals.
Last month I went on a tour of Fort Meade schools with Dr. Kevin Maxwell, superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools. I have learned that there are a lot of positive things happening at our schools. I also think there are other things we can do to create an even more positive school environment.
I am hosting this education town hall because I want to know what you think about our schools.
It is important for me to understand how you feel about our schools so I can pass on your thoughts to Dr. Maxwell and other school administrators. My goal is to develop a strategy to help educators and school administrators better understand the Fort Meade community.
Fort Meade is very different from other military installations. First, we do not have military schools on post. Meade High School and the post’s middle and elementary schools are not Department of Defense schools; they are part of the Anne Arundel County public school system.
Fort Meade is also not like Army installations such as Fort Hood, Texas, or Fort Campbell, Ky., where you have a large number of Soldiers who are either deployed, getting ready to deploy or are returning from a deployment.
Research over the past 10 years of war has documented the emotional distress for spouses and children of deployed Soldiers. We know that children with a deployed parent can have a difficult time making a connection with their school and having a positive learning experience.
And while Fort Meade is not like these installations, we do have individual service members and units that deploy.
Military families and military children have special needs. I know military families are strong. But I also believe we can help our communities understand how they can help us. I believe it takes all of us, inside and outsides the gates of Fort Meade, working together to support our military families.
My goal, and I’m sure your goal as well, is to have a positive school environment. We want our schools to be a stabilizing force for our young people, both emotionally and academically. We need our schools to be flexible and supportive in meeting the needs of our children. We want our students to know that our schools care about them, have high expectations for their education and are there to provide the support that is essential to their success.
I know Dr. Maxwell is strongly committed to supporting Fort Meade and its military and civilian families. We also have a school liaison, Sarah Bonise, who has established great relationships with our schools. And my Headquarters Battalion commander, Lt. Col. (P) Ed Barrett, is helping me build better partnerships between our tenant units on Fort Meade and our area schools.
Now I am asking you to come out tonight and tell me what we, as a post community, can do to help our students. What are your suggestions for our school administrators and teachers that can help our students? What can we do to better support our teachers and school administrators? How can we help the community, outside our gates, better understand Fort Meade?
I believe we have a great opportunity to work together and create an optimal setting for teaching and learning at Fort Meade. We have an opportunity to set some standards that other communities and other public school systems can model.
I look forward to having this discussion with you tonight.
This Fort Meade Live blog was written by Garrison Commander Col. Edward Rothstein.
