Berol Dewdney, an educator for 10 years with Baltimore City Schools, teaches prekindergarten at Commodore John Rodgers School and believes education should be rooted in love and the neuroscience of brain development.

Commodore is part of the 100% Project, a school turnaround network that supports high-need schools in the district. The 100% Project prioritizes a student-centered mindset and collaborative practice between educators and administrators. Within the 100% Project network, Dewdney serves as the early childhood program lead, professional development fellow and instructional coach.

As a leader, Dewdney has pioneered implementation of the research-backed curriculum Tools of the Mind. Through this effort, she has supported 25 district classrooms encompassing 60 educators and more than 500 students. This play-based curriculum fuels cognitive, social and emotional growth to ensure all learners reach their highest potential as students begin their school journey. Dewdney has raised $500,000 to support program implementation and serves as a public advocate and policy advisor for brain-based teaching at the state and national level.

Dewdney earned her Bachelor of Arts from Colby College and her master’s in education studies from Johns Hopkins University. She is a certified Tools of the Mind Coach and a Model Teacher in Baltimore City, the district’s highest designation of effective teaching. In 2022, she was named the Baltimore City Public Schools Teacher of the Year and Maryland State Teacher of the Year.

There is nothing she believes in more than the unstoppable power and revolutionary leadership of America’s students and educators.