School Day

Three schools in Baltimore are lengthening the school day based on the "success" of an expanded instruction program in New York ("Three city schools to extend day by three hours," Jan 1). What success? According to The Sun, New York's overtime students gained 2.2 percentage points in English Language Arts in three years, more than the city average of 1.5 points. Please do the math. That's a .7 percentage point difference over three years, about one quarter of a percentage point each year.

My child's school bus driver is a pleasure to greet every school-day morning. She always has a big smile and a kind word and wave. So, being curious about the world of school bus drivers, I asked a friend's school bus-driving daughter what kind of holiday and end-of-year gifts she likes to get the most. Her reply was that she gets no gifts from her students' or their families. She said that anything she could use to bridge the gap over the summer such as gift cards, coffee, cards, would be greatly appreciated.

On Oct. 14, Relay Elementary School hosted "Muffins with Mom. " Over 700 students and their mothers shared a muffin and juice at school. It was wonderful to see these families enjoying time together in the schoolhouse that morning! I thank my committee of teachers and support staff for their hard work in preparing for the event. I would also like to recognize manager Vicente Zeledon and owner Jeff Taylor of the Elkridge McDonald's for donating milk and juice. At Relay Elementary, we truly partner with our parents for student success!

So little snow fell this year that Baltimore County public schools are shortening the school year by four days. Instead of ending on June 14, the last school day in the county will be June 8. The school system builds in extra days each year for snow and bad weather and then reduces the number of days if they are not used. This school year, the system only closed for two days at the beginning of the year when a hurricane knocked power out. liz.bowie@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

At Cradlerock School in Columbia, it was a day for reading, riding and arithmetic. Dozens of students, parents, teachers and staff took part in Bike to School Day on Friday, the same day communities across the country participated in Bike to Work Day. While other local cyclists gathered at venues such as the nearby The Mall in Columbia to celebrate a day of getting around without automobiles, many youngsters arrived at Cradlerock on BMX bikes,...

I think even I would strive to get my marks up if there were a threat to increase the school day by three hours ("Three city schools add 3 hours to day," Jan. 2). To "arbitrarily" increase the hours would probably rationalize my being so tired now that "I just can't get all this work done," and I'd probably do much worse. A continuous threat, however, might not only encourage me but entice my peers to blame me if the school day were increased. Just a thought! George B. Wroe, Gylndon

The Easter Sunday suicide of a Glenelg High School teen has raised long-standing concerns about cyber-bullying, as parents and teachers call on Howard County schools to do more to boost awareness and prevention. Chaun Hightower, president of the Howard County Council of PTAs, said she doesn't know enough about the circumstances surrounding 15-year-old Grace McComas' death to discuss it. But she believes that cyber-bullying is a pervasive issue and that the district's policy could be strengthened.

Carroll County Public Schools will begin implementing an extended school day tomorrow.All schools will begin classes 20 minutes before and end 30 minutes after the regular school starting and ending times.Morning kindergarten will be extended by 35 minutes, and afternoon kindergarten by 15 minutes.The extended school days will continue through May 19. This will allow the school system to make up six days lost to inclement weather.

Baltimore County students, set your alarm clocks a half-hour earlier.The school board last night voted to extend the school day by 45 minutes to make up for time lost to bad weather.At its student member's suggestion, the board voted to split the extended day by starting school a half-hour earlier than usual and ending it 15 minutes later.The decision means some high school students will be in class as early as 7:15 a.m., and they may be catching their buses as early as 5:45 a.m.The extended day will take effect April 5 and continue through May 31 -- or longer if there are any more days lost to snow.

Here it is. Almost the last word on the Baltimore County's school calendar for what's left of this year:"We're going to school April 5 and 6. We're going to school June 21 and 22 -- assuming it does not snow again," Superintendent Stuart Berger said yesterday.The April days were originally scheduled as the beginning of spring break. The June days were originally scheduled for classes but were removed as part of a pay cut package the board proposed to teachers when it had to cut $6 million from the budget.

The Easter Sunday suicide of a Glenelg High School teen has raised long-standing concerns about cyber-bullying, as parents and teachers call on Howard County schools to do more to boost awareness and prevention. Chaun Hightower, president of the Howard County Council of PTAs, said she doesn't know enough about the circumstances surrounding 15-year-old Grace McComas' death to discuss it. But she believes that cyber-bullying is a pervasive issue and that the district's policy could be strengthened.

UPDATE: Seeking to end a spate of playground fights that authorities said escalated into a near drowning and a child's head being forced onto a railroad track in Morrell Park, Baltimore police officers went into an elementary school Thursday and took four young children out in handcuffs. But news of three 9-year-old girls and an 8-year-old boy shackled inside a school and then held in a juvenile detention center nicknamed “Baby Booking” for nearly 12 hours has riled some parents and raised questions about whether the arrests were proper under state law. “There was no need to handcuff children,” said Michael Vogel, the grandfather of one of the girls who was arrested.

Seeking to end a spate of playground disputes that authorities said escalated well past a typical fracas, Baltimore police officers went into an elementary school this week and took four children out in handcuffs. But news of three 9-year-old girls and an 8-year-old boy shackled Thursday afternoon inside Morrell Park Elementary School — and then held for nearly 12 hours in a juvenile detention center nicknamed "Baby Booking"— has riled relatives and raised questions about whether the arrests were proper under state law. "There was no need to handcuff children," Michael Vogel, the grandfather of one of the girls who was arrested, said Friday.

Editor: I am writing in response to Mr. Flen's letter to the editor published on Feb. 24. My daughter is an elementary school teacher and I know that she and her colleagues do not work 70 percent of the time! That may be what they are paid for, but that is not what they work. If you drive by any Harford County public school, you will see cars there well before the school day begins and also after the day ends. Teachers spend several hours before and after school preparing their lessons.

I think even I would strive to get my marks up if there were a threat to increase the school day by three hours ("Three city schools add 3 hours to day," Jan. 2). To "arbitrarily" increase the hours would probably rationalize my being so tired now that "I just can't get all this work done," and I'd probably do much worse. A continuous threat, however, might not only encourage me but entice my peers to blame me if the school day were increased. Just a thought! George B. Wroe, Gylndon

Three schools in Baltimore are lengthening the school day based on the "success" of an expanded instruction program in New York ("Three city schools to extend day by three hours," Jan 1). What success? According to The Sun, New York's overtime students gained 2.2 percentage points in English Language Arts in three years, more than the city average of 1.5 points. Please do the math. That's a .7 percentage point difference over three years, about one quarter of a percentage point each year.

Parents' groups, local school authorities and teachers unions give mixed grades to a proposed 20-day extension of the school year by 1995.Some voice qualified support for the 200-day school year proposed by the State Board of Education on Tuesday, saying students could benefit from the extra class time.But a number of others doubt that the state and local jurisdictions can afford the proposal's $357.4 million price tag.Still others question whether schools can do a better job simply by keeping students in school a month longer each year.

My child's school bus driver is a pleasure to greet every school-day morning. She always has a big smile and a kind word and wave. So, being curious about the world of school bus drivers, I asked a friend's school bus-driving daughter what kind of holiday and end-of-year gifts she likes to get the most. Her reply was that she gets no gifts from her students' or their families. She said that anything she could use to bridge the gap over the summer such as gift cards, coffee, cards, would be greatly appreciated.

Three Baltimore schools have extended their school day by three hours, using a national program that has boosted achievement in other urban districts and has been hailed as a way to make American students competitive in the 21st century. Hilton Elementary, George Washington Elementary and Harlem Park Elementary/Middle will join a handful of schools in New York and New Orleans implementing the ExpandED Schools program, a public-private initiative of The After-School Corp. that provides schools with additional instructional time via partnerships with community organizations.

We were eager to see what would happen when, on short notice — over Thanksgiving, no less — we invited students who were struggling in math to come to Saturday School here at Hilton Elementary School in West Baltimore. That first Saturday, more than half the first 43 invited families showed up with their kids, ready to learn. We were encouraged by the turnout but not surprised. Hilton Elementary already has a longer school day than most, thanks to a partnership with the Child First Authority that helps us expand learning to 5:30 p.m. for many students.