Dr. Stewart Edelstein, Executive Director of the Universities at Shady Grove (USG), has been honored by the Montgomery County Board of Education with a 2011 Distinguished Service to Public Education Award, in the category of Individual Pioneer. At a ceremony on October 20th, the Board recognized Dr. Edelstein for the time and energy he has contributed to promoting student success and access to higher education.
“He has been recognized as a visionary because he dares to dream dreams for our students that they themselves cannot yet imagine,” said Shirley Brandman, Vice President At-Large, Montgomery County Board of Education. “Those who have had the pleasure of working with him revel in his boundless energy, his tenacity and his ‘can do’ spirit.”
Strengthening Pathways and Partnerships
During the presentation of Dr. Edelstein’s award, Ms. Brandman noted specific initiatives that have benefited Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students and their parents. She highlighted Dr. Edelstein’s work to instate the county’s “2+2+2" initiative, a partnership of USG, Montgomery College, and MCPS to create education and career pathways in the health and technology fields. The initiative places special emphasis on strengthening the pipeline for minority and first-generation college students.
She also spoke of Dr. Edelstein’s success in building strong partnerships with area employers such as Human Genome Sciences, Lockheed-Martin, Marriott, Northrop-Grumman, and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. These partnerships have helped identify high-demand degree programs to be made available at USG and facilitated the development of educational programming in science and technology for middle school students, such as Journeys in Engineering, Technology, and Science.
A Dedicated Community
Sixteen Distinguished Service to Public Education Awards were granted this year to individuals across 6 categories: community individuals, community groups, businesses, Montgomery County Public Schools staff, school service volunteers, and individual pioneers.