Classroom

Teaching has taken Robin August to courtrooms, hospitals and cabins in the woods. But August, who was named Baltimore County Teacher of the Year yesterday, said that after nearly two decades of teaching, one venue remains beyond compare. "I can honestly say that the most exciting place teaching brings me is the classroom," August, who teaches math to sixth-graders at Deep Creek Middle School in Essex, said as she choked back tears during her acceptance speech. "When the lights come on, the bell rings and students enter the room, that's when my classroom comes alive.

Three decades ago, hundreds of acres of county-acquired land became the home of a county-run gem, with its rolling landscape of farms, fields and forests forming the Hashawha Environmental Center. Melissa Boyle was born the same year. Like most other Carroll County students, Boyle spent a week at Hashawha in the county's Outdoor School when she was a sixth-grader. But she also returned - again and again - working as a counselor in her senior year of high school and as a naturalist for four years.

Having a qualified teacher in each classroom is a crucial requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind law, but a recent study suggests that teachers are coming and going as if through a revolving door, particularly younger teachers. And it estimates that the cost of so much turnover is more than $7 billion annually. Beyond the financial costs, however, the lack of consistent, high-quality teaching hurts students, especially those in high-poverty, low-performing schools with large minority populations.

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Comic foray -- Rep Stage, the professional theater in residence at Howard Community College, will open its 15th season with A.R. Gurney's comic view of the power of the individual in politics, Mrs. Farnsworth, which will run from Wednesday to Sept. 23 on the college campus, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. The play, which is set in a classroom of a New York City university before the 2004 presidential election, will be staged in a classroom in the college's Nursing Building (N220)

They are in classrooms, working along with teachers to help students achieve. But at least 75 classroom aides in Baltimore have been threatened with transfers because they have not met federal guidelines for qualifications. The proposed transfers have been handled in a manner that is clumsy at best and careless at worst. Having dragged its feet, the school system may get some relief; the State Department of Education will seek to extend the deadline another six months. School officials must make the most of that time and fix the problem.

Morrell Park Elementary-Middle School in Southwest Baltimore will be closed for middle-school pupils today while officials check for possible electrical problems in the wake of a fire that destroyed a portable classroom early yesterday.One of the nine portable classrooms that house about 200 sixth- , seventh- and eighth-graders was burned out by a fire that started about 3 a.m. at the school at 2601 Tolley St., said Vanessa Pyatt, city schools spokeswoman.Arson is suspected, and the cause of the fire is being investigated, a fire official said.

Tamara Toles listened to nuggets of wisdom from veterans of middle-school teaching in Baltimore: Other people's trash can be your teaching materials; don't expect the copy machine in your school to actually work; and don't ever, ever go into your classroom without a lesson plan unless you want to be eaten alive by 13-year-olds.This isn't what the 23-year-old heard in her college courses, but city school officials are hoping the dose of reality will help her survive her first year of teaching at Chinquapin Middle School.

From the rain forest of Nigeria, children's book author Isaac Olaleye has brought award-winning stories to America that have also won the hearts of some Maryland schoolchildren and their teachers.Olaleye (pronounced Oh-la-lay-eye) was among the authors from around the globe who shared stories about themselves, their cultures and their work with some of those teachers last week at the annual conference of the State of Maryland International Reading Association Council in Towson."A children's book is a lifetime celebration of youth," Olaleye said.

Educators in Baltimore County's northeast corridor are betting that two new programs -- the Falcon Academy at Overlea High School and Pathway to Excellence at Golden Ring Middle -- will improve student achievement and smooth the transition from middle school to high school.Golden Ring's Pathway program sets aside time during the school day for staff development -- time for teachers to work on their classroom craft, which translates to academic success. Overlea's Academy focuses on ninth-graders to help them adjust to a larger school and more rigorous studies.

President Barack Obama's plans to speak directly to the nation's students Tuesday have sparked a dispute among area parents and politicians, with some expressing concerns that the president could use the speech to promote his agenda - and others calling it a valuable classroom lesson. School systems have been inundated with phone calls this week from both sides. Most Baltimore-area districts are letting individual schools determine whether they will show the noon speech, which the White House says will call for students to take responsibility for their education.

All of the 10 candidates who sought the vacant seat to represent the southern part of Anne Arundel County on the County Council faced tough questions that ran the gamut of controversial issues in interviews before the panel. But one candidate, Tricia L. Johnson, the eventual victor and a longtime member of the county Board of Education - which has frequently opposed the council on funding issues - seemed to get whacked particularly hard. Councilman C. Edward Middlebrooks, an early supporter of Johnson in the voting process, interjected: "Some of these questions are totally not fair."

The following are selected comments on the proposal to expand Teach for America in Baltimore schools posted on The Baltimore Sun's education blog, baltimoresun.com/insideed. TFA people come to schools to make a big difference in the world, spend two years and than go get a job where they can make a REAL difference ... in their pocket. I find it appalling that people use our children as a two-three years stepping stone before law school. Tim Not everyone in TFA leaves the classroom after 2 years.

"The Horror of a Fairy Tale" was the title of the essay Janna Chevon Thompson submitted in January when she applied for the Baltimore Teachers Union's Extreme Classroom/Library Makeover contest. She wrote about how she'd realized her dream of teaching arts in an urban setting with her job at Southside Academy in Cherry Hill. But in addition to "discouraged students, lack of funding [and] lack of support," she was constantly frustrated by "an uninhabitable learning environment." When it's hot, there is no air conditioning.

Nicholas Greer was in the middle of a lesson on ecological succession Tuesday morning when he heard a commotion in the hallway. Then, suddenly, a horde of administrators, school board members, colleagues and camera crews had descended upon his classroom at Polytechnic Institute. Greer, 29, was being named the city's Teacher of the Year. "You're kidding me," he said to the crowd that included schools chief Andr?s Alonso, Poly Principal Barney Wilson and Baltimore Teachers Union co-president Marietta English, as his ninth-grade biology students applauded.

When the Baltimore school board voted last week to close six failing schools this summer and a seventh next year, it was taking its cue from the ambitious reorganization plan of schools chief Andres Alonso. Mr. Alonso wants to close underperforming schools and open new ones that offer a better learning environment. But what makes one learning environment better than another? For Mr. Alonso, the answer was always clear: Successful schools are ones with strong, capable principals and good teachers in every classroom.

"Virtual instruction" is set to become a regular part of learning this fall in a Baltimore County school. The school district has teamed up with universities, defense contractors and a video game developer for help with a high-tech program designed to breathe life into textbook lessons and challenge students with the kind of problem-solving that employers might expect. "We wanted students to have an experience that would be more typical of what they'd have, hands-on, in the real world," said Maria Lowry, principal of Chesapeake High School, which is to pilot a new virtual classroom.

Maryland appears likely to compete for a large pot of federal dollars that could require the winner, or a consortium of winning states, to adopt wide-ranging changes to what is taught in the classroom and measured by tests. The economic stimulus package includes $5 billion for states that want to raise academic standards, create databases and adopt new assessments. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent teleconference with news media that he wants to "invest in a small number of states that are willing to challenge the status quo."

State trooper is hurt in Interstate 95 crash A state police cruiser was rear-ended on northbound Interstate 95 in Harford County yesterday morning, and the trooper was treated at a hospital, police said. Tfc. Michael O'Donnell, who was setting up traffic cones before the Tydings Bridge for construction work, was in his cruiser when it was hit from behind by a van about 7 a.m., said Sgt. Arthur Betts, a spokesman. Electronic warning signs were operating before the crash occurred, Betts said.

Baltimore schools will begin offering students free breakfasts to eat in their classrooms, an initiative that officials believe will pay for itself and improve academic readiness. The city school system has been providing free breakfasts for a few years, but participation has been low because students have had to come to school early to be served in the cafeteria and many viewed the food choices as unappetizing. Now, students will be able to grab breakfast boxes to take to their classrooms.