Early Childhood Education

Maryland school Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, who used her considerable political acumen to reshape education in the state over the past two decades, announced Wednesday that she will retire from her post this summer. The unflappable 72-year-old is the longest-serving superintendent in the nation, having survived in her role largely because she was able to get along with governors even when they came into office vowing to force her out, as Martin O'Malley did. Grasmick will retire June 30 with another year on her contract.

Sister Mary Julie Gill, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and a retired educator, died June 4 of respiratory failure at St. Elizabeth Rehabilitation Center in Southwest Baltimore. She was 87. Julia Gill was born and raised in Philadelphia. She was a graduate of Philadelphia's Moylan High School, which was run by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at Ilchester in 1941 and professed her final vows in 1949. Sister Julie earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1962 from what is now Trinity University in Washington.

A few days after this interview, Karlee Martini, the Knights' senior pitcher and captain, learned she had a blood clot in her right arm, which prematurely ended her season. Despite the setback, it's safe to say Martini got plenty of mileage out of her high school career. In her four years on varsity, Martini played every position for the Knights aside from first base and catcher. This year, she welcomed the responsibility of being the Knights' No. 1 pitcher while taking on the leadership role that comes with playing on a young team that has only four starters.

Donna Fowler would like to send her youngest son to a prekindergarten class near her Bowie home. But because she and her husband earn just over the state eligibility limit for free public pre-K, she'll have to keep 4-year-old Wyatt at home this year. The Fowlers and their five children have a family income of about $60,000, so they're not eligible for free public pre-K, which is capped at $59,200, or 185 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of seven. Nor can they afford the $300-a-month cost of private prekindergarten.

President-elect Barack Obama's pledge last week to spend $10 billion on early childhood education could have a huge impact on schools in Baltimore. A new infusion of federal education dollars, the largest since the Head Start program was established in 1965, could allow the city to significantly expand its prekindergarten and Head Start programs and make a huge difference in the lives of city schoolchildren. At present, only about 4,200 of the city's 6,500 4-year-olds are enrolled in pre-K programs, where eligibility is determined by family income.

RAMONA GREEN Vice president/education consultant Teamwork Connection Inc., Baltimore Salary $85,000 Age 56 Years on the job Two How she got started After earning a bachelor's degree in education from what is now Coppin State University, Green went to work for Baltimore's public schools as an elementary school teacher. While working, she completed a master's degree in education from the Johns Hopkins University. After 29 years with the city school system, which included 15 years as a teacher and 14 years as an early childhood curriculum specialist, Green lost her job during systemwide layoffs in 2004.

Early education still short of funds I am pleased that education officials cited investments in early childhood education as one of the factors contributing to recent improvements in math and reading scores in Maryland schools. However, I respectfully take issue with The Sun's suggestion that the state has "poured" additional money into early education ("Test scores rise," July 15). Although there have been important funding increases for several programs, most major components of early childhood education continue to be substantially under-funded.

Norah Jean-Marie and student teacher Christine Coppage, a Towson University senior, looked over the prekindergartner's work. Step 1: Draw the setting. Step 2: Glue on your favorite animal. Step 3: Tell about your drawing - in Norah's case a pig she had colored orange, red, black and yellow under the heading "The House on the Hill." The assignment, pegged to a book the class recently read, gave the 5-year-old Hawthorne Elementary School student the chance to demonstrate many of the lessons she had learned in the past few days, such as the concept that book characters can be animals or people, how to follow directions and how to explain a story.

Earlier this week, state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick was in Baltimore to tout new preschool curricula for child care centers, Head Start programs and nursery schools throughout Maryland. The week before, Grasmick and Rep. Steny Hoyer handed out awards to two counties for their work in promoting early childhood education. What's with the emphasis on educating tykes before they even reach kindergarten? Grasmick was very blunt about it when she proposed an idea that might seem so radical that it will never happen.

With a video camera capturing their every move, kindergartners Austin Klunk and Molli Rymer dropped clay into buckets on either side of a scale. "What happens if we put another piece of clay in only one of the buckets?" teacher Anne Heidenreich asked Molli. "It gets bigger," the 6-year-old said. "Bigger means you grow," Heidenreich said. "It gets heavier." "Yes, it gets heavier," Molli agreed. The students at Forest Lakes Elementary School were taking part in a math lesson that was being filmed as part of Your Public Schools, a bimonthly TV program that focuses on what's happening in county schools.