Department Of Education

WASHINGTON -- One lesson Rep. John Sarbanes learned in his seven years working with the Maryland State Department of Education, he says, is the value of a good principal. Now he wants to write that lesson into federal law. With Congress poised to debate the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, Sarbanes is trying to use the education law to provoke a national discussion about the role an experienced administrator can play in turning around a troubled school. The freshman Democrat from Baltimore County has succeeded in inserting language into the draft legislation now circulating that would make funds available for research into what makes a "highly qualified principal," and how such administrators can be used to best advantage - issues that were "very invisible" in the 2001 version of No Child Left Behind, in the words of state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.

Although women have made significant gains in education and income during the past three decades, the pay gap between college-educated men and women continues to widen in the years after graduation, experts say. A new report to be released today by the American Association of University Women sheds light on what is holding back many female graduates and what they can do to catch up. The gender gap will remain until more women pursue careers in science...

THIRD-GRADERS in Baltimore have slowly improved their reading scores every year since 1996. In Howard County, nearly 60 percent of young students read satisfactorily today, up from 45 percent in 1994. Even some schools that have failed their youngest readers in the past are seeing signs of a turnaround. For instance, student achievement is up 50 percentage points at Glen Burnie Park Elementary, in Anne Arundel County, 36 percentage points at Fullerton Elementary in Baltimore County and 26 percentage points at Freedom District Elementary in Carroll County.

WASHINGTON -- One of the great and anti-democratic goals of American liberalism is to make public matters so complicated that the public despairs and transfers the matter at hand over to the liberal bureaucrats. Another of the great and anti-democratic goals of American liberalism is to stand on both sides of every issue. Again, confusing the public is the liberal's desired end, all the better to control the public.On the matter of improved education, the Clintonian liberal stands four square for educational standards.

The State Department of Education is operating a toll-free hot line for parents, teachers and staff members from the 29 low-performing schools in Baltimore that were added to the list of schools in need of state supervision.The number is 1-888-246-0016, and it operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.State officials also added nine schools in Prince George's County to the list Jan. 28. The 38 schools need special attention and must follow a state schedule for submitting improvement plans and getting started on those planned changes in school management and curriculum.

High school students from Anne Arundel County and across the state came to Annapolis yesterday to defend the graduation requirement that forces them to complete 75 hours of "service learning" to receive their diplomas.Armed with anecdotes about such activities as organizing school cleanups or writing and printing children's books for a day care center, the students urged members of a House of Delegates committee to keep the community-service requirement intact."When I was a freshman, if I had not been forced into service learning, I would not have been involved in it," said Heather Keating, 17, a senior at South River High School.

"Is it safe to say our kids could almost stay home and do as well?"-- Baltimore school board member Patricia Morris, commenting on the overall poor showing of city elementary students on tests measuring their progress in reading and math in the last school year."The numbers show that Baltimore City [students], like [those in] other urban systems, are not doing well compared to their peers. They reflect the problems kids bring to school."--Steven Ferrara, former director of testing for the state Department of Education, explaining the same low test scores.

The Maryland State Board of Education and Department of Education are grading just about everybody these days: students, individual schools and entire school systems. Last year, state educators won a fight in the General Assembly to overhaul the Baltimore City system. This year it's Prince George's turn to try and rebut the failing marks given it by the state department (MSDE).But who's grading the state education establishment?Judging from the media, that's nothing to worry about. President Clinton says "call Maryland" to find out how to go about education reform.

Imagine a school system in which each child is entitled to an individualized education plan that prescribes whatever services are necessary to meet his or her unique needs. Imagine, too, that the school system is legally mandated to fund the plan, no excuses accepted.Impossible, you would think, except perhaps in an elite private school or very affluent public school. Certainly it would seem a fantasy for poor urban districts like Baltimore City. Wrong. Such a system exists in all public school systems across the country, even the poorest.

Howard, Carroll and Frederick counties, working as a consortium, will receive $228,000 in federal funds to train 135 teachers in a pilot project centered primarily on reading instruction for high school students.The program will allow teachers to work with their own students and schools to identify problems older students experience in reading in all subjects. Teachers will then try to find solutions and use them in class.The funding is part of $567,000 in federal Goals 2000 money that the Maryland State Department of Education awarded recently.

No politics in Obama speech In his address to schoolchildren, President Obama merely followed a precedent established by two former Republican presidents to address the educational goals, values and responsibilities that should be important to every student in this country. As educators, we welcome the support of national leaders who encourage students to do their part and to do their best. Furthermore, a review of the suggested materials prepared by the Teaching Ambassador Fellows of the U.S. Department of Education (Pre-K-6, and Grades 7-12)

On March 14, 2009 JOHN LLOYD STATEN departed this life. Mr. Staten, a retired educator from the Baltimore City Department of Education, died of chronic kidney failure at the Genesis Cromwell Rehabilitation Center. Born on May 10, 1920, he was 88 years old. He was a dedicated physical education teacher who loved all sports. In his youth, he competed in swimming, football and basketball, first at Douglas High School and next at Morgan State College where he became a 3-letter man and a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

Standing in a locker room at Baltimore County's Kenwood High School, the teenage girl kept her cool when one of her peers passed by and hit her with a book bag. "Under normal circumstances, that would have been a major fight in our building," said teacher Nancy Hanlin, recounting the incident. Instead, Hanlin said, the girl told her classmate that she would have hit back "if I wasn't working on my virtues." The fight that wasn't illustrates the changes that school officials say they are seeing at Kenwood, where a new character education initiative called the Virtues Project has begun altering the way teachers, administrators and students communicate with one another.

Laurie Namey and Patricia "Brigid" Carmichael have about 40 years experience in education between them. Their experience in education has taught them that there is a lot more to educating a child than academics. For starters, children need character education, Namey said. "Character education is a necessity in our ever-changing, diverse community," said Namey, who is in her first year as assistant principal at Edgewood Middle School. "Schools need to make character education important."

Nearly all the students raised their hands when Monsignor Richard Woy asked if they had watched the Olympics in Beijing this past summer. The students, teachers and parents had gathered inside the chapel at St. John the Evangelist School for a celebration. Woy quizzed the boys and girls, "Who won all the gold?" The children knew: Maryland native Michael Phelps, who garnered eight gold medals for swimming. "And what does that mean?" he asked the students. "You're the best," said Moy, repeating a student's answer.

Library stays on top The Howard County Library is continuing to rank first in the country for its educational program, according to Hennen's 2008 American Public Library Ratings. The survey rates public libraries across the country using 15 measures, including visits, borrowing, staffing, instruction and funding levels. Customers visited the Howard County Library 2.6 million times last year, a 26 percent increase from the previous year, and borrowed more than 5.6 million items last year, a 15 percent increase over 2007.

The federally supported Reading First program received another bad report card last week - an unsatisfactory grade in effectiveness from its principal supporter, the Department of Education. At least two other studies have found the program awash in cronyism. Even though it is hardly a universal failure - the program has enjoyed some success in Maryland and other places - Reading First needs to be overhauled or scrapped. Created in 2002 as part of the No Child Left Behind law, Reading First is supposed to use instruction methods that are scientifically based with a record of effectiveness to improve reading skills among low-income students in the earliest grades.

Howard County School Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin will present his proposed fiscal 2009 operating budget at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 in the boardroom at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. Information: 410-313-6682. School board to meet Jan. 10 The Howard County Board of Education will hold a regularly scheduled meeting at 4 p.m. Jan. 10 in the boardroom at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. The afternoon session and an evening session, which begins at 7:30, will start with a forum during which members of the public can address the board on topics that have no formal hearing process.

Assessment test plan changes Students who haven't been able to pass the four high school assessment tests can substitute a project called the "bridge plan." To be eligible to do so, a student must: Have failed one or more of the tests twice and have already received some extra help. Have passed the course in the subject of the test. Have satisfactory attendance. Be on track to receive enough credits to graduate. For more information on the bridge plan, go to www.hsaexam.org Source: Maryland State Department of Education

WASHINGTON -- One lesson Rep. John Sarbanes learned in his seven years working with the Maryland State Department of Education, he says, is the value of a good principal. Now he wants to write that lesson into federal law. With Congress poised to debate the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, Sarbanes is trying to use the education law to provoke a national discussion about the role an experienced administrator can play in turning around a troubled school. The freshman Democrat from Baltimore County has succeeded in inserting language into the draft legislation now circulating that would make funds available for research into what makes a "highly qualified principal," and how such administrators can be used to best advantage - issues that were "very invisible" in the 2001 version of No Child Left Behind, in the words of state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.