Classroom

North County High School freshman Jack Andraka stood on the auditorium stage, speaking about the invention that earned him the $75,000 grand prize at the recent Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Behind him stood Dr. Anirban Maitra, a professor in the Johns Hopkins University's department of pathology who gave Jack use of his lab to craft his invention, a cheap and effective "dipstick-sensor" method of testing blood or urine to identify early-stage pancreatic cancer and other diseases.

Four Maryland schools won recognition Monday in the U.S. Department of Education's first-ever listing of "green ribbon" schools, so honored because of their promotion of energy efficiency, environmental health and education. The four schools were Dunloggin Middle School in Ellicott City, Folger McKinsey Elementary School in Severna Park, Francis Scott Key Middle School in Silver Spring and the Lucy School , a private institution in Middletown. They were among 78 schools earning "green ribbon" status, out of nearly 100 nominated by state education agencies.  For more on the program, go here .

Heather Burt knows that above-the-knee skirts, the flash of a midriff or cleavage, and jeans are no-nos while she is working as a fourth-grade teacher at Meade Heights Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. She has never been warned against wearing these clothes because she understands the unspoken rule. "That is the rule of thumb," Burt said. "You want to look professional My [students] wear uniforms. It is not very professional if you wear jeans if the kids can't. Dressing professionally, the kids take you more seriously.

Students take note: The classroom of the future might make it difficult to pass notes or sit where teachers might not call on you to answer questions. Yet you might consider the departure from the traditional setting a change for the better. That's what officials at Howard Community College say. They have worked with Michigan-based office furniture manufacturing company Herman Miller to create a pilot classroom that is changing the way students and teachers approach instruction.

A student at Baltimore Community High School is being charged after an altercation with his teacher, according to city schools. The incident occurred Wednesday morning in the hallway near the teacher's classroom at the school at 6820 Fait Ave. in Southeast Baltimore, according to a statement from city schools. The teacher, who was not identified, was treated at a nearby hospital. Baltimore City Public Schools police charged the student with aggravated assault, and he could receive an extended suspension or expulsion under the schools' code of conduct, the statement says.

BRITNEY SPEARS videos, rap music, Abercrombie & Fitch advertisements - our children are constantly bombarded by media images depicting young men and women in overtly sexual situations. Lyrics promote violence and poor behavior choices. Entertainers, politicians and athletes, once role models, often provide highly visible examples of immoral conduct. Parents are deeply concerned about their children's values and behaviors. Schools can help parents raise children of character in today's seemingly toxic climate.

THE BIG QUESTION for the new city-state education partnership is: Now what? If approved by the General Assembly, the city receives $50 million a year in additional state aid, and the state gets a major role in school policy-making.But that's the easy part. What's elusive, as other urban school systems undergoing radical restructuring have found out, are reform policies that improve the academic performance of low-achieving students.Here is a top-10 list of policies for the new board's consideration.

Thank you, Baltimore Catechism, for a bonus that had nothing to do with theology. You taught me how to memorize. While hardly a ticket to heaven, the Baltimore Catechism was a hot-seller during early years of my education. This textbook of Roman Catholic belief was recognized this week by one of its publishers at a religious educators' conference held in the city. That little volume deserved the applause.

MORE THAN 200 grandparents descended on Elmer Wolfe Elementary School on Friday for the school's annual Grandparents' Day. "It's nice to get back into the schoolhouse with the kids," said Gilman Williar, who retired as the school's principal in 1992 and whose granddaughter is third-grader Danni Williar. His daughter-in-law Colleen Williar was substituting in Danni's class that day. While the national Grandparents' Day is held the second Sunday in September, Elmer Wolfe chose the first Friday in February because it worked better for pupils and grandparents.

Vandals pushed in a side window of a satellite classroom at George Fox Middle School Friday night and set a fire that caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, fire officials said.A school maintenance man reported the fire about 8:30 p.m., after an alarm summoned him to the school in the 7900 block of Outing Ave.Fire officials said the blaze started at 7:30 p.m., but they did not say how the fire was started.

Most of us will likely never know the names of the three Maryland educators who shared in the record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot. They have chosen to remain anonymous, which is their right under state law and probably a shrewd choice given the history of lottery winners and the considerable size of their sudden good fortune. But even in their secrecy, the school system employees couldn't help but reveal something important to the rest of us - a life lesson, if you will. They told Maryland lottery officials that they intend to stay in their chosen careers.

When Interim State Superintendent Bernard Sadusky decided to waive the state law to allow Baltimore County to hire S. Dallas Dance to be the next school superintendent, he gave it on the condition that Dance be a guest teacher in a middle and high school this coming school year. State law requires superintendents to have three years of teaching experience, but Dance has only two, in a high school near Richmond. In addition, he did not take teacher preparation courses in college.

On any given day, the activity in Ellen Vikestad's classroom would resemble a round of bumper cars. As Vikestad and her special-needs students at Claremont High School have made their way from one end of her cramped classroom to the other for lessons, they do so in a 15-minute navigation of instruments, desks and one another. On Tuesday, officials from the Baltimore Teachers Union and the city school system surprised Vikestad with news: Soon that would change. Vikestad, in her fifth year of teaching music therapy at Claremont — a tiny school that offers a life-skills curriculum for its 61 students who are not pursuing diplomas — won the BTU Extreme Classroom Makeover contest, held every year by the local union and its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers.

Maryland should be proud of its educational system. We are home to some of the nation's highest performing schools, and our system ranks at the very top in several national studies and reports. That success is due to everyone - teachers, administrators, parents, and hard-working students. But let's not kid ourselves: Maryland also is home to some chronically underperforming schools. To turn around struggling classrooms, and provide a better future for children, we need options such as extending the school day that would target student learning head on. We should not be forced to fund programs that aren't working.

South River High School teacher Rob Rice could have taught his aeronautics class without ever leaving the ground. Instead, he's bolstering his teaching skills by soaring over the Bay Bridge in a two-seat propeller plane, learning to become a pilot. Taking off and landing can be harrowing at times, but Rice says the experience he's bringing to the classroom is worth it, making his students eager to take flight themselves. "Hopefully they can get as excited as I am about it," said Rice, "and maybe a little bit jealous, because they're doing all the bookwork and I'm doing all the flying.

When a group of Woodberry neighbors began selling fake, purple, Joe Flacco-style mustaches for $5 apiece during the Baltimore Ravens' all-too-brief playoff run, it was always their intention to donate a percentage of their profits to one of the quarterback's favorite charities, the Living Classrooms Foundation. On Friday, they made good on their promise, presenting foundation officials with a check for $10,742 at Living Classrooms' Fells Point campus, about 20 percent of their earnings.

The president of the powerful Baltimore Teachers Union said yesterday that there has been no improvement in Baltimore classrooms since Richard C. Hunter arrived as superintendent 2 1/2 years ago and that the union's board would soon vote on whether he should be rehired."

Gov. Bill Owens of Colorado has cut through the cant about "free speech" and come to the defense of a 16-year-old high school student who tape-recorded his geography teacher using class time to rant against President Bush and compare him to Adolf Hitler. The teacher's lawyer talks about First Amendment rights to free speech, but free speech has never meant speech free of consequences. Even aside from laws against libel or extortion, you can insult your boss or your spouse only at your own risk.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin B. Kamenetz said he is seeking legislation that would combine some school system and county government functions, an effort to save money if teacher pension costs are transferred to counties. Kamenetz is one of the few local leaders not to protest Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to transfer a portion of the costs of teacher pensions — now entirely paid for by the state — to the counties. The local leaders have said they would need to cut deeply into services to handle the pension costs, which are projected to rise each year.

The University of Maryland's award-winning "green" house, WaterShed , has found a permanent home.  Pepco , the Washington area's electric utility, has agreed to buy the solar-powered dwelling and plans to put it on permanent display as both a "living classroom" and an energy testing laboratory, the university announced Monday. Designed and built by a team of students, faculty and professional partners, WaterShed won the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon last October, besting solar homes put together by teams from 19 other colleges and universities from around the world.  The home was disassembled and shipped back to College Park after the National Mall competition ended, and has been sitting in storage while the university sought a second act for it. UM's high-tech residence not only drew its power from the sun, it was designed to capture storm runoff, a significant source of Chesapeake Bay pollution, and recycle water.