Ten Maryland middle schools, including schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, will share $200,000 from Carnegie Corp. of New York to continue improvements in attendance, discipline and achievement.
The two-year grant is the fifth and final installment of a $1 million grant to the Maryland State Department of Education to help with curriculum and instruction reform in middle schools. Nine other states have received similar $1 million grants since 1990.
"This is a very, very competitive grant," said Toni Favazza, director of special projects for the education department. "It looked at factors such as improved student achievement and comprehensive health education and services for adolescents and their families. In Maryland's case, they saw real progress."
The 10 schools, chosen by state Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick based on criteria set by Carnegie, use the money as part of their school improvement plans to meet specific needs of their students.
For example, some have used the Carnegie grants to improve technology education, some to build better relationships between schools and families and some to offer remedial and enrichment courses for students.
Six of the schools improved their scores on the Maryland State Performance Assessment Program, Favazza said. The schools also showed improvement in attendance, discipline and the quality of instruction.
The schools are Canton and Chinquapin middle schools in Baltimore; Middle River Middle in Baltimore County; Bates Middle in Anne Arundel County; Thurmont Middle in Frederick County; Centreville Middle in Queen Anne's County; Charles Carroll and Robert Goddard middle schools in Prince George's County; and Colonel Richardson and Lockerman middle schools in Caroline County.
Among the criteria set by Carnegie, each school had to have at least 25 percent of its students on free and reduced-priced meals and have at least 80 percent of its teachers agreeing to implement the reforms.
The state department has matched the Carnegie money with more than $1 million for its Middle Grade School State Policy Initiative since 1990. Programs that have been effective will be replicated at other middle schools.
Pub Date: 8/08/97
