Jean Snell is the Associate Director and Senior Faculty Specialist for the Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement at the University of Maryland. She coordinates the School Improvement Network for the Center, leads trainings and workshops on continuous improvement and school improvement planning, and she teaches and advises in the doctoral program in School Systems Leadership. She served as the co-PI for the federally grant-funded School Improvement Leadership Academy as well as the Racial and Social Justice Collaborative initiative. She has also engaged as a facilitator in the UMD “Words of Engagement Intergroup Dialogue” (WEIDP) program and the ADVANCE Early Career Professional Track Faculty Network. Previously, she launched the Leading Educators teacher leadership Fellowship program in Washington, DC, as the Regional Executive Director, directed the Maryland Master’s Certification program at the University of Maryland, and served as one of the founding Program Directors for the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington. Jean began her career in education as a secondary English teacher.
Jean is an alum of both APTF and WPTK faculty peer networks; she most recently served as a facilitator for last year's APTF peer network.
What is something you love about the work you do?
I LOVE the team with whom I work at the Center. I love dedicating my time and energy to working to support and grow the leadership capacity of the Maryland PK-12 Educators who work day in and day out to serve their students and families.
What is something interesting that you are working on right now?
Something interesting that I'm currently working on is piloting a new professional learning initiative for PK-12 Educators and Leaders across Maryland, which is the UMD School Improvement Network. The Network provides monthly webinars, quarterly workshops, and facilitated coaching for school and district teams. We have enrolled almost 200 members who represent more than 30 school or district teams, from 6 counties in Maryland. The project webpage is linked here.
What is your favorite dish to make?
I love to make spaghetti and meatballs for my family. While traditional meatballs call for ground pork and veal, I substitute ground turkey and turkey sausage.