Magnet Schools

Baltimore County school officials clarified a budget document Monday, saying that they will not remove any teachers from magnet schools next year, although they are doing an audit of those sites' resources. The administration's clarification of the proposal came after an outpouring of protests from parents and students at one of the county's two arts magnet schools, George Washington Carver School for the Arts and Technology in Towson. The proposed budget that Superintendent Joe A. Hairston presented to the board a few weeks ago calls for 37 magnet teachers to be "redirected" to curriculum offices to create specialists and supervisors.

Editor. This is an Open Letter to the Harford County Executive and the Harford County School Board. I have been a resident and taxpayer in Harford County for over 50 years. I have been watching The Aegis and lamenting the recent School Board decision to require magnet school students to meet the bus to take them to the magnet schools at their home schools. It is my understanding that bus service will not be provided to the home school, leaving these students to find their own way to the home school, which in our area could be miles away.

Baltimore County's magnet programs survived a threatened moratorium when the school board quietly sidestepped the issue last night.Before a largely pro-magnet crowd could even express its support, board President Paul Cunningham made a brief statement dismissing the idea of a moratorium."

Nathan Holloway, 14, has spent his boyhood on the family farm in Darlington and plans to spend his high school years laying the groundwork for a future in agriculture. "I want to live my life in an agricultural business," said Nathan. "My grandparents and my parents grew up on the farm. I want to get a solid background and stay on the farm. " As a member of the first class in Harford County's Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences magnet program, he soon will apply all the practical experience from life on 100-acre livestock farm and orchard to course work.

Contrasting reports in The Evening Sun recently from Baltimore County on the state of public education proved to be both uplifting and deflating.One report detailed the immense enthusiasm of teachers, administrators and students for a magnet program in math and science being crafted for Woodlawn High School. It is one of seven intensified programs of study being developed in the county, at the behest of first-year Superintendent Stuart D. Berger. The strategy isn't unique. It has been successful elsewhere, including Baltimore City.

Baltimore County's magnet schools may be losing some of their attraction.For a short time last week, the school board entertained a budget amendment that would have halted five new magnet programs, even as letters of acceptance were on their way to prospective students.When that was defeated 5-4, board members moved to put a moratorium on future magnet programs. Tabled for now, the motion is due to come up again next week.Appearing out of nowhere, the amendment introduced by board member Dunbar Brooks took other board members, magnet school principals and Superintendent Stuart Berger, a strong proponent of magnet programs, by surprise and left them groping to understand the intentions of a board that has nurtured its magnets.

Even before they open, two of Baltimore County's new magnet schools are drawing fire from families whose children were denied admission because of their race, their sex or the neighborhoods where they live.County school officials concede that race and sex played a part in their decisions.They say white students were denied admission to the programs to maintain the racial balance in their predominantly black neighborhood schools.But they say those choices were required by regulations governing a $2.26 million federal desegregation grant they are -- using to help staff and equip the magnet programs.

When Superintendent Stuart Berger helped open Sudbrook Magnet Middle School this month, he told the students that "what Sudbrook is, is different. It is not that it is better."With four specialized curricula, a longer school day, student uniforms and voice mail for teachers, Sudbrook is definitely different from most schools in Baltimore County.But all of the county's 15 magnet programs are different. They teach high finance in Lansdowne, Japanese in Pikesville, dance in Towson, advanced math in Parkville and the science of fitness in Essex.

Seeking to remove the differences in how pupils are selected for magnet schools, Baltimore County educators last night proposed one policy for the entire system.The proposal calls for the 27 county schools with magnet programs to choose pupils primarily through a centralized random lottery, replacing a variety of methods."We haven't had any countywide policy before this," said Phyllis Bailey, associate superintendent for educational support services. "This will carry out consistency in all schools."

The Baltimore County schools have outgrown their magnet fair.With 25 programs to show off this year, the school system will have two fairs, instead of one, this week -- Monday at Parkville High School for those interested in eastside schools and Thursday at Woodlawn High School for westside programs. Both will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.Some programs will be represented at both fairs because they are open to students countywide or because they draw from areas that overlap the two sides of the county.

Baltimore County school officials clarified a budget document Monday, saying that they will not remove any teachers from magnet schools next year, although they are doing an audit of those sites' resources. The administration's clarification of the proposal came after an outpouring of protests from parents and students at one of the county's two arts magnet schools, George Washington Carver School for the Arts and Technology in Towson. The proposed budget that Superintendent Joe A. Hairston presented to the board a few weeks ago calls for 37 magnet teachers to be "redirected" to curriculum offices to create specialists and supervisors.

I am a student in the Literary Arts prime at Carver Center for Arts and Technology. I wanted to thank you for your article "Baltimore County to leave magnet school teachers in place" (Feb. 9). My fellow students and I were very concerned when we were informed of the proposed magnet position cuts stated in the district's budget proposal. While I'm relieved to read that the administration has put its plans on hold, I am still concerned about the lack of transparency about this matter.

Anne Arundel County School Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell has presented the school board with plans to redistrict schools in the South County and Mountain Road areas of the county, attempting to disrupt as few community schools as possible and remedy many of the area's overcrowding issues using magnet schools. Maxwell's recommendations for the South County closely mirror those of a committee made up of community leaders and parents who studied the issue there. However, Maxwell largely veered from the panel's recommendations for the Mountain Road corridor, choosing to keep most students in their current home districts and feeder system, with hopes that he can solve some of the area's space problems with magnet schools and programs that would attract voluntary student transfers.

For years, school officials have kicked around the idea of putting a performing arts magnet school at Havre de Grace High School. Earlier this month, Harford County Executive David R. Craig gave that idea a boost when he endorsed it at a county school board meeting. The school board agreed to put together a community study group. But critics say the idea is misguided, wasteful and counterproductive. "Why do we need a performing arts magnet school when we already have so many high schools doing great work?"

Yes, private schools should be able to play for state championships. That's the only way to determine a true state champ. Some other states, including Delaware, already have state and private schools playing for the same state championships. Here, there are four public school state champions and up to three private school champions in each sport. That's a lot of champions. I don't advocate lumping everybody into one big league for one title in each sport. Merging the private schools into the state's overall classification system based on their enrollment size would keep the playing field fairly even.

Schools obliged to offer support I applaud Gregory Kane for his insistence that students enrolled in high schools with academic entrance requirements take responsibility for their academic and social success. Indeed, all students should attend school with such a sense of responsibility ("There's no room for hand-holding," May 28). I fear, however, that he missed the point of Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso's insistence that these schools demonstrate support for these students before dismissing them from their programs.

Baltimore County has more magnets than a busy refrigerator door.Seven magnet schools and nearly 3,000 students this year.Seven more magnet schools and at least 3,000 more students next year.The programs certainly lived up to their title last week, when the department's Magnet School Fair attracted more than 1,700 people to an overheated Towson State University Student Union on a rainy Wednesday night.While students and parents milled six-deep around tables, administrators and teachers hawked high school, middle and elementary school programs in specialties ranging from computer studies to sports science to dance to Japanese.

Specialized magnet programs designed to give students greater educational opportunities and create greater racial balance will open in at least six Baltimore County high schools in September.Another 10 schools are developing magnet proposals for future years, officials said yesterday as they outlined their ambitious, if sketchy plans.The magnet programs will allow students with special interests to choose an alternative to their local schools.Two of the six schools will be countywide magnets; the others will be regional.

A quality shuttle first Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the latest proposal to create a fare-less downtown bus - or "circulator" as it's known in the public transit world - may not be the ideal approach. What downtown Baltimore needs above all else is an attractive, reliable and yes, even fun, shuttle to serve downtown. A free bus may sound appealing, but it's quality service that would attract riders. Charge a token amount (50 cents, perhaps) and customers will recognize that they're getting something of value - and the city will have the money to invest in a premium product.