February Spotlight 2017

Highlighting Excellence in Social Studies Instruction

Middle School:

Taylor Dungey

School: Catonsville Middle School Taught: 15 years Current Subjects: grade 8 American History, Grade 8 GT American History, World Cultures 6

A Short Biography: Taylor Dungey has been teaching in BCPS since 2003. He is obsessed with North Carolina basketball, fantasy football and Game of Thrones. He is a dedicated husband and father of two children. He has been department chair at CMS for 13 years. He has served as team leader, department chair, TABCO representative, and faculty council president during his time at CMS.

Colleague’s Comments:

“In all seriousness, Taylor deserves every accolade offered.  He works tirelessly, leads our department with a relaxed urgency, and assumes school wide responsibilities without pause all while never forgetting are number one priority is our students. I want to be like Taylor when I grow up.”

“Taylor is the perfect combination of empathy, seriousness, and pragmatism. He is just as effective in his dealings with students as he is in his dealings with peers. He connects with students on their level, regardless of where that level may be. Taylor is always willing to try new approaches, and is reflective on their effectiveness. He Loves using (really awful) songs to get his content across to his students.”

“Amazing mentor, always willing to volunteer to lead school initiatives, helped to re-shape the school’s disciplinary policy, Provides members of his department with valuable feedback we can use to improve our instruction and classroom management strategies.  He even is willing to observe teachers in other departments and do the same.”

“As busy as he is, Mr. Dungey is always asking, ‘What can I do to help?’ He is a kind and selfless person who is puts 110% into everything he does. He encourages his colleagues to take risks, and to always strive to improve our craft. Taylor has influenced not only the teachers in the Social Studies department but other teachers, and student interns, as well. He inspires me to work a little bit harder every single day, and I’m a better teacher and person for it.”

High School:

Courtney Miller

School: Catonsville High School  Taught: 9 Years Current Subjects: U.S. History, AVID 12

A Short Biography: Courtney Miller grew up in Catonsville, MD. The first 6 years of her teaching career were at Dundalk High School, where she taught American Government, US History, and AVID 11 and 12. The past 3 years, Courtney has taught at Catonsville High School, where she still teaches US History and AVID. Courtney has also been involved in curriculum writing for AP US History, Psychology, and performance based assessments in World History. She loves spending time with her husband and is currently expecting her first child this summer!

Teaching Philosophy: Courtney Miller infuses an inquiry approach to teaching history, focusing on historical thinking skills and student centered learning. Student voice in her classroom is also a focus, as Mrs. Miller has applied AVID strategies like Socratic Seminar in her history classes.

Colleague’s Comments: "Courtney is a pleasure to work with. Her students always come first and she works tirelessly to ensure her students are engaged, active historians on a daily basis. Her hard work and dedication are inspiring to her colleagues."