Education Program

A few weeks ago, I dialed a phone number for a certain State Department of Education program in a state prison. I identified myself to the state employee who answered the phone and made a simple request. I asked for the full, official name of the program, along with a brief description of the program, and I'm pretty sure I said "please." You'd have thought I was asking how to make a dirty bomb. Officer Whistle-blower's termination hearing is postponed. pg 4b

Over the past month, the Anne Arundel County school system has received many e-mails about the special education program for students with emotional disabilities at Chesapeake High School. Many have expressed concern that students enrolled in the Chesapeake Regional Program (CRP), which operates in a wing at Chesapeake High School, pose a safety danger for students in the high school's general education population. It is evident from recent public comments that misperceptions still exist.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will take part in National Hunting and Fishing Day with a program at the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore on Sept. 22. It marks the sixth year the DNR will be a part of the national day that was mandated by Congress in 1972, and the first year it will be held at the Marriottsville club. According to Patricia Handy, the DNR's information and education program manager, a crowd of between 600 and 1,000 has come to the event, which was held for five years on the Eastern Shore.

Regarding Maryvale Preparatory School's mandatory alcohol education program ("At Maryvale Prep, alcohol education comes before prom," May 24), anything that can help make sure these seniors are safe now that they are almost in college is a good thing. College parties will present them with increased peer pressure and risky activities, but knowing what choices are the right choices is powerful knowledge for a teen. That could make the difference in putting them in a situation where they or a friend gets injured or in trouble.

A new, federally financed job training and education program for 60 young, unemployed, high school dropouts is set to begin.The Office of Employment and Training hired Arbor of Baltimore to operate the $175,000 program at 511A Eastern Blvd., Essex. Arbor is searching for young people ages 16 to 21 who need help finding a job.Gloria Sandstrom, the county's manager of youth programs, said the program will assess applicants' educational needs; help them get a GED; teach them how to look, act and speak when applying for a job; get them internships with area firms; and eventually help them secure a position.

Over the past decade, multiple studies have confirmed that spending on high-quality early childhood education is a wise investment and a successful hedge against poverty. Children who attend Head Start, America's comprehensive early childhood education program for poor children, are better prepared to start kindergarten, less likely to be referred to special education programs and more likely to graduate from high school. They are also less likely to be incarcerated as adults and more likely to be successful, contributing members of society.

Something is certainly wrong with our public health system when AIDS leaps ahead of all other tragedies and maladies to become the No. 1 killer of Baltimore's young adults.City Health Department statistics show that in 1989, AIDS accounted for more deaths among residents 25 to 44 than homicides, heart attacks or cancer. Equally startling is that the virus has finally crossed race and gender lines; it is now the leading cause of death among blacks and whites, men and women.Two things are obvious from these statistics.

A $55,000 grant to provide scholarships to Western Maryland College education students as an incentive to begin their teaching careers in metropolitan Baltimore schools has been made by the Goldsmith Family Foundation.The foundation, based in Baltimore, will award the money over the next two years to as many as 10 juniors and seniors in the college's education department. Grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 will be made to students who meet the criteria of the program and who agree to accept teaching positions in schools in metropolitan Baltimore following graduation and teacher certification.

Dr. Gloria Lea Bledsoe, a retired Baltimore County guidance counselor who established an Oldfields School early-childhood education program, died of cancer May 30 at Glen Meadows Assisted Living. She was 85 and lived in Towson for many years. Born Gloria Lea Whittle in Baltimore and raised on LaPaix Lane, she was a 1945 graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School. After raising her family, she began teaching at Oldfields School in 1979. She established a nursery school along with an early-childhood education program, family members said.

The Carroll County school system plans to change the way it handles student tobacco violations, modifying a regulation that has been around for more than 15 years. While some Board of Education members expressed concerns last week, others praised the move to try something new in an effort to reduce tobacco use among students, not just discipline them. The regulation changes, which would have the district team up with the county Health Department, would save the school system money, while also providing additional opportunities to follow up with - and, ideally, reach - second-time offenders, said Dana Falls, director of student services, in an interview.