Arlene F. Mindus,
Howard County Public Schools, is the principal of Clemens Crossing Elementary School. Ms. Mindus began her career in education in 1966, as a fifth grade language arts instructor at Center Elementary School in Milbury, Mass. From 1968 to 1971, she was a sixth grade classroom teacher at Landsdown and First Ward Elementary Schools in Charlotte, N.C. In 1972, Ms. Mindus took a year off to raise a family, and returned to her career in education as a special education supervisor at the University of Maryland, where she remained until 1974. She joined Howard County Public Schools in 1974 and was a team leader for combination classes at Bryant Woods Elementary School in Columbia, Md. From 1981 to 1985, Ms. Mindus was a classroom teacher for grades three, four and five at Jefferson Hill Elementary School in Columbia, Md. In 1985, she was a fourth grade team leader at Dasher Green Elementary School in Columbia, Md., where she taught for one year. In 1987, she was assistant principal at Talbott Springs Elementary School in Columbia, Md., where she remained for two years. In 1989, Ms. Mindus returned to Bryant Woods Elementary School as assistant principal where she remained for three years. From 1992 to 1994, she was assistant principal at Thunder Hill Elementary School in Columbia, Md. In 1994, Ms. Mindus was promoted to principal of Northfield Elementary School in Ellicott City, Md., and assumed her present position in 2000. She holds a BS degree in elementary education from Framingham State College in Framingham, Mass., and an MEd degree in administration, supervision and curriculum from the University of Maryland in College Park.