City Schools

THE baseball-bat beating of Expedito "Pedro" Lugo in Patterson Park again has focused attention on Hampstead Hill Middle School, a place where all the ingredients of trouble have been in place for years.I live in the neighborhood, and I know.It's a school whose students seem out of control. The principal, Preston Roney, seems unable or unwilling to keep his students in check. Other middle and junior high principals in the city literally control the area around their buildings before and after school.

Among the expenditures by the city school system that U.S. Department of Education auditors found inappropriate: $4,352 spent by two elementary schools for dinner cruises at Baltimore's Inner Harbor $2,413 spent on fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, biscuits, cookies and soda for 28 attendees at a PTA meeting to discuss a school's budget $1,336 spent to take 30 people to a theater performance downtown that included dinner, dancing and...

BALTIMORE Chief operating officer for city schools resigns Carlton G. Epps, the chief operating officer of Baltimore City public schools, has resigned from his position, school officials said yesterday. Epps resigned Monday afternoon, according to a school spokeswoman who declined to give further details. Epps could not be reached for comment. As COO since October 2003, Epps directed the maintenance and renovation of school facilities. He also was responsible for student transportation, school police and cafeteria operations, and served as one of three top administrators under city schools chief Bonnie S. Copeland.

Rep. Andy Harris said Thursday that he will request an expanded review of the Maryland Department of Education's use of federal funds after an audit found that the state may have to return up to $540,000 in misspent stimulus dollars and money designated for poor children. Harris, a Baltimore County Republican, said he will use his seat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the U.S. Department of Education's budget to press for greater scrutiny. "What it uncovered is a pattern of waste, fraud and abuse of federal tax dollars," Harris said of the audit.

Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso tearfully announced his resignation Monday, ending a six-year tenure marked by bold yet often divisive reforms and casting uncertainty on the future of the long-troubled school system. Under Alonso's leadership, city schools saw growth in test scores, graduation rates and enrollment, but his administration was dogged by fiscal problems and cheating scandals. "I have enjoyed being the superintendent of the school system in ways that are so astonishing," Alonso said, choking back tears.

The article "Plan to revamp schools" (Nov. 17) provided a profile of not only the poor performance of many city schools but also insights into why some of the problems exist — namely, the plans to provide special programs for the "growing international population" and to strengthen English for Speakers of Other Languages programs. One of the poor performing schools cited, Patterson High, happens to be my alma mater. In the '60s when I attended, the community had its fair share of immigrants who did not arrive in the U.S. fluent in the English language.

Before Lauren Preston opened the cover of the book "Spring" to read to her pre-kindergarten class at Mary Ann Winterling Elementary School, her students excitedly told her why, and showed her how, the season was underway. Daffodils - not just "yellow flowers" - were appearing from beneath the soil, they said. Hyacinths were blooming, they demonstrated with the slow unfolding of their tiny fists. And butterflies were emerging, the students showed by flapping their curled arms. In pre-K classrooms around Baltimore's school system, subtle changes like interactive reading are having a substantial effect in helping prepare 4-year-olds for elementary school - addressing an achievement gap that city schools have faced for years.

I recently had the privilege of speaking to an enthusiastic and hopeful crowd gathered in Annapolis to urge lawmakers to pass a bill allowing the state of Maryland to renovate or rebuild Baltimore City's school buildings over the next 10 years through an innovative financing arrangement ("Thousands rally for city schools construction plan," Feb. 26). We are not asking for additional funds but a simply a long-term commitment of funds already allocated by the state so that the city's school buildings can be brought on a par with those in the counties and with charter schools.

The most recent data on high school graduation and dropout rates from the Maryland State Department of Education suggest that while Baltimore City still lags behind other jurisdictions, it is making solid progress in its school reform effort. Graduation rates have risen and dropout rates have fallen. Baltimore isn't out of the woods yet, but the numbers suggest that the reforms put into place by city schools CEO Andrés Alonso starting in 2007 are beginning to show results. The latest data are the first produced under the state's new method of calculating graduation and dropout rates, which tracks the academic progress of individual students in greater detail than ever before.

The latest statistics from the Maryland State Department of Education show Baltimore City making steady progress toward increasing the number of students who finish high school. Last year city schools awarded 149 more diplomas than in 2011, and the city's 3.3 percentage point decline in dropouts was the largest in the region. That's great news for all the teachers, principals and school staff who have worked so hard to get the city's schools back on track. Since his arrival in Baltimore six years ago, schools CEO Andrés Alonso has made boosting high school graduation rates a priority of his reform effort, and during that period the schools' dropout rate has declined by more than half.

The Maryland State Department of Education may have to pay back up to $540,000 in federal money intended to help the state's poorest schools after a scathing audit found that Baltimore City was one of two school districts that misspent the funds, using the money for dinner cruises, makeovers and meals. The report, reviewing grant expenses from 2009 and 2010, was conducted by the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education. It found similar misspending in Prince George's County schools.

Michael Dresser got it right in describing the trajectory of the Baltimore school facilities bill as going from "non-starter to law," but the story goes far beyond the elected and appointed officials who worked hard to make the deals and shepherd the legislation to passage ("City schools bill a political showpiece," May 17). The deeper story must include the herculean efforts of the Baltimore Education Coalition (BEC), the innovative policy advocacy work done by the ACLU of Maryland and the powerful community organizing of groups like BUILD and Child First.

The Baltimore school board unanimously passed a $1.2 billion budget Monday that essentially remained intact since it was presented. The last budget of outgoing schools CEO Andrés Alonso includes cuts to per-pupil funding and high schools but retains spending power for principals and adds academic programs. The $793 million that would go to schools represents a 36 percent increase since 2008, when Alonso implemented the "Fair Student Funding" structure — which funds schools based on enrollment and gives principals autonomy over their budgets and hiring.

Unimpressed with the elementary school in her Baltimore neighborhood, Bobbi Macdonald set out to create her own. She founded the City Neighborhoods Foundation in 2003, the year her oldest daughter started kindergarten and the state of Maryland began allowing charter schools. Ten years later, the nonprofit is running three schools: City Neighbors Charter School, City Neighbors Hamilton and City Neighbors High School. All are known for student engagement and attendance rates that top 90 percent.

Baltimore schools chief Andrés Alonso went to Annapolis last year seeking approval for a bold $2 billion plan to replace many of the city system's crumbling buildings. The idea didn't even make it out of committee. Prospects still looked bleak in January when the Senate president described the financial package as "ridiculous. " But by the end of the legislative session in April, a $1 billion version of the proposal had cleared both chambers by overwhelming margins. The plan - signed into law Thursday by Gov. Martin O'Malley - went from ridiculous to reality because of hard work by scores of people in both Baltimore and Annapolis, and a host of political forces were in play.

We share the editorial view that outgoing Baltimore City Schools CEO Andrés Alonso created a strong platform to sustain ongoing improvement in our schools ("School reform 2.0," May 12). But the editorial's call for more standardization around the system is off the mark. Instead, we urge the system to use this moment to engage parents, school leaders and others in a discussion about how we define a high-quality school. What does a good school look like and how do we measure it? In some ways, we know a good school when we see it: children are loved for who they are and challenged to be their very best.

City schools released the following congratulations this week: Ten Baltimore City public schools have been recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) for the academic performance of their students, according to a release sent from city school system.  The schools were recognized by the state for either their performance on the 2011 Maryland School Assessment (MSA)--they had to have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)-- or the High School Assessment (HSA)

The Baltimore City school board voted Tuesday to pass the district's proposed $1.31 billion budget, which includes a decrease in the per-pupil funding for charter schools. As the amount spent on students in traditional schools increases, the system's 33 charter schools will see their per-pupil expenditures drop by $257 from 2012, for a total of $9,007. The overall amount for charters, however, has steadily increased as their populations grow. The charters are funded differently than traditional schools.

The city school board is considering proposals for seven charter schools that include two named for female trailblazers, another attempt at an all-male, college-preparatory program in East Baltimore, and an elementary school for at-risk youths. The new programs were presented to the Baltimore school board Tuesday as part of the district's annual charter application process. The applicants, the majority of which want to open in 2014, had made it through at least one round of interviews with a district charter advisory board.

Education observers were split Tuesday on whether the city's school board should launch a nationwide search to replace schools CEO Andrés Alonso or give the job of taking on the district's daunting challenges to his hand-picked successor. Some, such as principals union president Jimmy Gittings, said they'll push for the board to name interim CEO Tisha Edwards as permanent superintendent. School officials said late Tuesday that Edwards, Alonso's chief of staff, would not have to obtain a state waiver despite lacking the teaching experience typically required by state law for the post.