Maggie Arnold’s journey is a testament to resilience and achievement. Having arrived in the U.S. as a young child speaking no English, she learned how to thrive in fully immersive English classes and completed high school, college and a graduate degree before becoming a math teacher at Frederick High School. Today she shares her story with her students to impart the value of lifelong learning.
Arnold’s approach to educating the “whole child” is rooted in Mind Brain Education (MBE), involving the connection among meditation, mindfulness and metacognition. As such, her classroom is a collaborative hub for higher-order thinking, questioning, feedback and problem-solving where students develop a tenacity to reach their potential. Her lessons are infused with memory retrieval practices, motivational videos and modules tied to real-world applications. One prime example is her financial literacy assignment “Passport to Financial Freedom.” This long-term project prepares students for the realities of the workforce by earning passport stamps – similar to those accumulated during real-life travel – for engaging in sound financial practices like contributing to a savings account, shadowing a professional or performing a “shop comparison” on a purchase. Arnold has also organized a “media club” on Fridays during which students reflect on a math topic of their choosing through a video, article or podcast. Additionally, Arnold helps her students excel through ALEKS – a personalized learning pathway system the county implements.
Central to Arnold’s success is the cultivation of strong relationships with students and their families. Leveraging technology such as the Talking Points app and frequent in-person or virtual meetings, she ensures active parental involvement in their children’s educational journey.
In addition to her classroom teaching, Arnold plays a leading role in the Advanced Learning Plan (ALP) process for the geometry team, setting student learning objectives (SLOs) and collaborating on curriculum, instructional strategies, formative assessments and rubric-scoring. This work has led to students exceeding their benchmarks and engaging in practices to sustain their progress. She also mentors new teachers as a professional learning community (PLC) facilitator for the Rise and Thrive induction program, serves on the curriculum writing team for the county in geometry and contemporary math, and conducts afterschool tutoring – for both high school and middle school students.
Arnold earned her bachelor’s degree from Messiah University in 2006 and a master’s degree from Mount St. Mary’s University in 2021.
Press release: Maryland Math Teacher Surprised with $25,000 Milken Educator Award
