About Us
Sequoyah Elementary was built in 1990 and sits on 10 acres of land between Bowie Mill Road and Muncaster Mill Road in Derwood, Maryland. We serve approximately 400 students in grades K-5.
Hours: 9:15 am- 3:30 pm
Meet the Administration and Main Office Staff
Dr. Jasper: I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have a B.S. in Elementary Education and Special Education; a Masters degree in Special Education from Central Michigan University and a Doctorate in Public School Administration from University of Texas at Austin. I am married with two sons, one is 22 and a graduate of Clemson University, and our younger son is 20 and currently attends Clemson. Both are graduates of MCPS. We came to Montgomery County in July 1994 and we always celebrate our decision to move here.
Mr. Curry: I am very happy to begin my first year as assistant principal at Sequoyah ES. I have spent the last four years serving as assistant principal at Washington Grove ES. Prior to being assistant principal, I taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grades at Clarksburg ES and Greenwood ES. I have a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's degree in Administration and Supervision from Bowie State University . My wife is a second grade teacher for MCPS. We have two boys. Stephen is four and Benjamin turned one in April. We are happy to be beginning our 12th year in MCPS.
Ms. Hurley - I’m so excited to be back in Elementary School! I have worked for MCPS for 24 years, 9 years in elementary schools, 1 year in a high school and 14 years in a middle school. I am married with two (grown & married) daughters, both graduates of MCPS, and then, Towson and Salisbury Universities; I am very proud that they are “1st generation” college graduates! I have an 18 month old grandson Sean, and 3 cute little doggies. Elementary School is really special to me.
Mrs. Veith
Cluster
We are proud to be part of the Magruder cluster. When our students leave us, they go on to Redland Middle School and Magruder High School. Other schools in this cluster are Shady Grove Middle School, Cashell Elementary, Candlewood Elementary, Mill Creek Towne Elementary, Resnick Elementeary, and Flower Hill Elementary.
School Improvement Plan
The School Improvement Team meets reguarly to analyze data and determine how to move our school forward.. We celebrate our successes and discuss areas of concern. Click here to see the data and School Improvement Plan which includes reading, math and climate goals.
Who Was Sequoyah?
Have you ever wondered about the person for whom our school is named?
One interesting fact is that our Sequoyah Elementary School was the first school in Montgomery County named for a Native American. Sequoyah was famous for creating a way of writing that his people, the Cherokee were able to learn, just like we are learning to read and write!
George Gist, also known by his Native American name, Sequoyah, lived in the South Mid-West during the early 1800s. Sequoyah’s father, Nathaniel Gist, was a fur trader from Virginia, a white man, who married Wut-teh, a Cherokee chieftain’s daughter.
Sequoyah was physically handicapped. Some stories about him say that he was injured while he was hunting; some say he was born physically handicapped. He learned the trade of silver-smithing as a young man. One of the things Sequoyah wanted to do was to sign his work like the other silversmiths but he had never been to school and did not know how to read or write.
There was no written language for the Cherokee people so Sequoyah spent about 12 years creating one. The Cherokee written language has 86 symbols and is said to be so simple to learn that you could learn to read and write it in a month. (Imagine if we could learn to read and write English in a month!!!) Sequoyah began to teach other Cherokee people his new way of communicating and sent a message to the chief just to prove how well his method worked. He called the written messages white people wrote to each other “talking leaves” and the name was applied to his writing also. The Cherokee Phoenix was a weekly newspaper written in Cherokee and English and kept the Cherokee people well informed just like our newspapers do today.
Some of the Native American people were very suspicious of his way of writing down talking and tried to stop him by burning his cabin and all the “talking leaves” in it. This did not stop Sequoyah; he moved around the southwest and taught his method to the people.
Sequoyah died in 1843 while visiting a tribe of Cherokee People in Mexico City, Mexico.