Quality Education

Just as there are many roads to glory, there are myriad ways to grapple with the ghosts of racism past. Some seek, and eventually obtain, apologies such as the one issued by the Howard County school board last month. Others seek, and sometimes obtain, financial reparations — such as those who, decades after it happened, eventually divided several million dollars because of a 1920s racial cleansing in Rosewood, Fla. But last month, Morgan State University took a giant step in a different direction, breaking ground for a new home for its business school.

High school teacher Barbara Dandridge left education more than five years ago to find ways to improve it.The Howard County foreign language teacher and administrator got tired of seeing schools that were failing to educate their students.She saw some schools that were teaching students well and others that weren't. She ran into wonderful teachers as well as really bad ones."Students should be able to go from one school to another and get the same quality education," said Dr. Dandridge, who taught Oakland Mills High School and became an assistant principal at Atholton and Mount Hebron.

The Howard County Council will hold a hearing tonight devoted in part to gathering public feedback on County Executive James N. Robey's choice for the vacant school board seat, Joshua M. Kaufman. Kaufman, a 32-year-old father of two, works as a democracy specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development. His nomination surprised many local officials, most of whom had never heard of him. In an interview last week, Kaufman said the school system's top three challenges are closing the achievement gap among races, dealing with likely budget shortfalls and improving the enrollment-projection procedure, possibly through comparison shopping.

The Board of Education is studying whether to reappoint School Superintendent Ray R. Keech.Keech informed the board Dec. 20 that he wants to serve another four years after his current term expires July 1.The 55-year-old administrator is paid $92,794.Under the county charter, the board must complete a review of Keech's performance byFeb. 1."I see no reason why he wouldn't be reappointed," board president George Lisby said. "The things he's been doing are the things that we've asked him to do."

I am a teacher at Baltimore International Academy, and in response to the March 17 article " Charters emerge as threats to Catholic schools, I'm appalled by the decision of the archdiocese but sadly not surprised. According to the Catholic model, quality education is provided only if tuition is attached. This decision creates educational inequity. Only those families who can afford to pay are entitled to facilities where there is room to grow and innovative education for their children.

Supporting the Maryland Dream Act, which allows children of undocumented immigrants who have graduated from a Maryland high school to attend state colleges and universities at the same in-state tuition rate as other residents, is a win for them and for the state of Maryland. Brought to this country through no choice of their own, these undocumented children think of themselves as Americans. They have played on sports' teams, gone on class trips, attended birthday parties and "hung out" with children of American citizens.

Too much of the public is missing from public education. As a people, we recognize the economic value of education, but we under-invest in our schools, both financially and in terms of civic capital. With America's students and schools facing unprecedented needs, and education budgets under enormous pressure, it is time to drastically ramp up civic investment in public education. Our public school system - one of the great achievements of American democracy - is not just a service for the public to consume.

DRIP. DRIP. DRIP. Like an engine leaking oil, falling academic standards decline in tiny increments. Educational excellence is neither attained nor lost overnight. But one day, you find a little oil puddle on the driveway. You swear you'll do something about it, only to be shocked when time passes and the car is junkyard bound. Somebody might want to check under the hood in College Park, where the University of Maryland's latest undergraduates are a tiny bit less impressive than last year's.

Gary Dunkleberger wants to set the record straight, once and for all.Carroll teachers are not going to be promoting a homosexual lifestyle to students in their outcomes-based education, said Dr. Dunkleberger, the director of curriculum and staff development for the county's public schools.He also wants to clear up what he termed "misinformation" circulated by Carroll County Citizens for Quality Education, an activist group formed last spring out of dissatisfaction over a revised curriculum based on "exit outcomes."

Nicole Fuller's story in the Dec. 21 edition of The Sun correctly characterized the discussions I and other school system officials have had in recent months with County Executive John Leopold and members of the County Council regarding the fiscal situation that exists in our county. However, the story contained two significant errors which must be corrected. First, I have never asserted in any way that Mr. Leopold or the members of the County Council were "not dedicated to the school system's success," as the story stated.