Mrs. Rochelle Machado believes every scholar has the potential to be great. The principal of Arundel Elementary Middle School and winner of the 2016 Heart of the School Award wants to make a difference in the Cherry Hill school community by building relationships, increasing academic achievement, and creating opportunities for her students. Before arriving at Arundel, Mrs. Machado spent 17 years serving scholars and their families in City Schools as a Special Education Teacher, Instructional Support Teacher, and Assistant Principal.

“I’m excited to learn how to be more creative when incorporating the arts in classroom instruction and teacher professional development,” she said. “Focusing more on the arts in our school would be a great opportunity to cater to the whole child at an early age.” She is looking forward to collaborating with colleagues and mentors in the Principal Fellowship Program and learning new strategies to improve school climate and academic achievement. “My scholars need more opportunities to experience the arts⁠—not only during resource periods⁠ but in their math, literacy, science, and history classes.”

Focusing more on the arts in our school would be a great opportunity to cater to the whole child at an early age.

Arundel Elementary Middle School already works with Youth Resiliency Institute and Maryland Wolf Trap to bring arts engagement and experiences to their students, as well as with the Judy Center both during the school day and in after-school programming. Through the Fellowship Program, the principal hopes to receive support in planning opportunities to integrate the arts across all grade levels school-wide. She’ll be connected with a mentor and experts in arts integration who will support her in training staff and identifying partnerships in the community that will help further her mission.

Mrs. Rochelle Machado, Principal of Arundel Elementary Middle School, is one of ten Baltimore City Public Schools principals selected to participate in the Principal Fellowship Program. The year-long fellowship provides principals with the guidance and framework to develop an arts-based action plan in their schools and we are thrilled to have her in the inaugural cohort!