S. Dallas Dance

Dr. S. Dallas Dance is an American educator, consultant, and author, best known for his tenure as superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools from 2012 to 2017 and for his focus on organizational change and equity in education. He began his career as a classroom teacher and went on to become one of the youngest principals in Virginia, later serving in district leadership roles including chief middle-schools officer in the Houston Independent School District before moving to Baltimore County. Dance holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership and a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia Union University.

Dance is the author of Deliberate Excellence: Three Fundamental Strategies That Drive Educational Leadership (Corwin, 2017/2018), a book that draws on his experience as a superintendent to outline strategies for leading for equity, managing change, and communicating effectively in school systems. He later published Imploded You-niverse: Thoughts on Fear, Failure & the Pitfalls of Perfection, expanding his focus from K–12 leadership to personal and professional resilience. Dance currently leads The DDance Group, Inc., a Virginia-based strategic advising and consulting firm where he works as a leadership and strategy coach for school systems, businesses, non-profits, and