County School System

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.

For Sarah Wagner, her last year at her beloved Ferndale Elementary School became the last for the whole school. In 2003, the school closed because of low enrollment. "It was a sad year," said Wagner, now a sophomore at Annapolis Area Christian School. "The whole time I was there, we were just fighting to keep it open." Those sad feelings were swept away, she said, when she saw her former elementary school transformed into Anne Arundel County's first preschool and kindergarten center, according to school officials.

A Harford County builder has filed a $24 million lawsuit against the county, alleging that incorrect school capacity figures led to an illegal moratorium in Fallston.Fallston Valley Farms LLC filed the lawsuit last week in Harford County Circuit Court. It seeks compensatory damages and an injunction that would allow the company to build a development off Angleside Road.Frank R. Laws, lawyer for Fallston Valley Farms, said that in negotiations with the county he was unable to win approval for the company's subdivision plans.

Race may be a pervasive issue in America, but it's tough to talk about in public, even for a diverse group trying to craft a plan for creating a sense of community in fast-growing Howard County.Last night at Savage Mill, several committees of the 6-month-old Howard County -- A United Vision wrestled with a decadelong pattern of change in the racial balance of Columbia's schools. But the group had a difficult time framing questions, let alone answers.The topic is so sensitive that the group's education committee spent several minutes discussing and then voting on whether a reporter should be allowed to listen in. One person voted for exclusion.

In another sign of the increasing cooperation between the Baltimore County school system and its teachers union, the two groups are working together to ask the county's teachers what they think of their schools and administrators.The Teacher Perception Survey -- sent last week to every school's union representative -- queries teachers on such subjects as whether their schools effectively manage student discipline and whether principals trust and respect staff members."This will help us, help the principal and help the administration," said Mark Beytin, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO)

School board hopeful's charges were disturbingI would like to respond to the article about Thelma P. Smith's ill treatment in the Carroll County school system ("School board hopeful makes race an issue," May 10). I was stunned when I read her allegations.My son attends a Carroll County public school. Its key personnel are black women.They are treated with respect, not because of or in spite of their skin color, but because they treat everyone equally. They perform their jobs in an effective, professional manner, and treat parents, students and fellow staff members with respect, compassion and a positive mental attitude.

Comparing covenants to Nazis is odiousYour June 3 article, "In Columbia, get spiffy or get sued," contains such an outrageous statement that it must be challenged.You printed, "But some, like Stuart, compare the covenant enforcement to tactics used by the infamous Nazi police, the Gestapo."Since you did not use quotation marks, I cannot determine if it came from Mr. Stuart or Caitlin Francke, the reporter.I could note that the volunteers, employees and elected officials involved in covenant and architectural issues are not butchering 12 million people based on their religious or political beliefs, lifestyle, mental state or physical condition.

Two of Baltimore County's highest-ranking appointed officials are planning to leave as County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger winds up his first term, county government sources say.County Administrative Officer Robin L. Churchill, 43, who has held the top appointed county job for 16 months, is expected to take a job in the county school system that would more closely fit her training as an accountant and auditor.Churchill, however, refuses to confirm any impending move.P. David Fields, 63, the former county planning director and now community conservation director, says he's thinking about retiring but might stay on for a year or more, depending on Ruppersberger's wishes.

Concerned about possible harm to young people, a group of teachers, parents and environmental activists is pursuing legislation that would require giving parents and employees advance notice of pesticide use in public schools and day care centers.A similar bill died last year in the General Assembly, but a House bill sponsored by Del. Joan B. Pitkin, a Prince George's County Democrat, this year has won the endorsement of such organizations as the Maryland PTA, the American Lung Association and the Maryland State Teachers Association.

Anthony G. Marchione was hired as permanent superintendent of Baltimore County's schools two years ago to bring a steadying hand to a district in turmoil.Today, the unassuming 66-year-old educator is given high marks for restoring calm and instilling confidence, reaching out to teachers, parents and students who felt they had been shut out and ignored.Administrators no longer joke about learning of major new initiatives by listening to the radio as they drive on the Beltway. Parents say their concerns are heard.

Summer, or at least summer vacation, will come four days earlier than originally scheduled for public school students in Baltimore County, officials said Monday The change was made because not all of the snow days built into the calendar were used. At the same time, the Harford County school system added two days of classes because the calendar there does not assume days will be lost to weather. Here are the dates that school will be out across the area. Anne Arundel County: June 10 Baltimore City: June 12 Baltimore County: June 12 Carroll County: June 12 Harford County: June 12 Howard County: June 19 Source: area school systems

A new charter school is set to open in Anne Arundel County next fall, after the county school board approved a preliminary plan for a 600-student combined elementary and middle school. The county school board's unanimous vote last week granted permission to Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell to draft a charter agreement within 30 days between the county school system and the school's management group, The Children's Guild, a 55-year-old Baltimore-based nonprofit. The school board must vote again to approve the charter.

Roger Plunkett, the Howard County school system's business, community and government relations officer, will leave in mid-July to take the position of assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction with the Harford County school system. The Harford County Board of Education approved Plunkett's appointment Monday. Plunkett, who has been employed with Howard County's public schools for 31 years, will replace Gerald E. Scarborough, who is retiring after 37 years with the Harford school system.

Anne Arundel County has become one of six counties and cities nationwide that have agreed to hire former military personnel as teachers two years before their military service ends. The decision, announced this month, makes the county the second jurisdiction in Maryland, after Prince George's County, to agree to such advance hiring. Program officials say it could attract more military personnel to teach in Maryland, Anne Arundel in particular, because it gives them an opportunity to tailor their course work to the certification needs of a school district.

Essex home barricade ends in man's arrest A man being served an arrest warrant charging him with domestic abuse barricaded himself inside his Essex home yesterday morning but surrendered a few hours later, county police said. Officers had surrounded the house in the first block of Landmark Court after James Jerome Blackston, 28, said he had a gun, though police had not confirmed that. Police said he was holed up in his closet but surrendered about 10 a.m. The man was then arrested. County police said the incident began about 8 a.m. when Baltimore City officers tried to serve the man with the warrant at the home.

BGE seeks cause of electrical fire About 175 senior and disabled residents of a Towson apartment complex remained displaced yesterday as utility crews worked to repair an underground electrical cable. Burning underground wires forced the residents of the Virginia Towers complex to evacuate Sunday. A similar problem prompted an evacuation of the 15-story building in August. "We're searching for the root cause," said Linda Foy, a spokeswoman for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. She said service would probably be restored by this afternoon.

What should happen to the 7-year-old boy who brought two loaded guns to Randallstown Elementary School, apparently thinking they were toys? The police are satisfied that he had no malicious intent and will not charge him. That should also be the approach of the Baltimore County school system. He has been suspended under the system's disciplinary rules and could be expelled, but that would serve little purpose. Bringing a weapon to school is unquestionably a serious offense, and the first-grader must be made to understand that - and the possible deadly consequences of his action.

The Panther Cafe at Annapolis High School is a teenager's after-school paradise. Students can grab a banana smoothie and dive into the virtual world of Nintendo Wii. They can opt for the old-fashioned fun of pingpong, air hockey or chess. Some may decide to take salsa or step dancing lessons. All of this is available three days a week in the school cafeteria, as long as they attend a mandatory help session with a teacher or tutor other students. The strategy is getting students to stop loitering for hours in the school parking or, worse, creating mischief after heading to empty homes, Principal Don Lilley said.

A coalition of Howard County officials representing public schools, business and government have scheduled a half-day symposium Thursday at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The session is designed to brainstorm about new ways to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. About 125 are expected to gather for the 8:30 a.m.-to-1:30 p.m., invitation-only conclave, which is Howard County's first Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics Business and Education Leadership Symposium.

A coalition of Howard County officials representing public schools, business and government have scheduled a half-day symposium March 6 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The session is designed to brainstorm about new ways to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. About 125 people are expected to gather for the 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. invitation-only conclave, which is Howard County's first Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics Business and Education Leadership Symposium.