NEWS
By Liz Bowie | October 27, 2009
A retired city schoolteacher who alleged she was forced to retire after blowing the whistle on testing improprieties at the elementary-middle school where she worked has been awarded $293,000 by a Baltimore Circuit Court jury. The award for Joyce V. Dunston was reduced to $210,000 because of a legal limit on awards. The defendant, the city school board, is expected to appeal the decision, according to Howard J. Needle, an attorney representing Dunston. The school system had no comment about the verdict delivered Friday.
NEWS
By Arin Gencer | October 23, 2009
Two Baltimore County high schools are among five nationwide to receive awards for arts education, school officials announced Thursday. The Carver Center for Arts and Technology, in Towson, and Patapsco High and Center for the Arts, in Dundalk, were named "national schools of distinction in arts education" by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This is the first time multiple schools from one district have been honored the same year, said Darrell M. Ayers, the center's vice president of education.
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | October 23, 2009
The largest school-based swine flu immunization effort in the Baltimore region will begin in Howard County today, when the first of more than 3,000 students will receive the sought-after vaccine. The county plans to immunize 1,300 students at three elementary schools this week and an additional 1,800 students at two high schools next week with injectable doses. The only other school system in the area that has immunized students is Harford County, which had a smaller-scale effort that reached 703 students over the past two weeks.
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | October 18, 2009
A growing number of Howard County schools have reported flu-related absences greater than 10 percent this school year. The school system has had 27 instances this school year in which a school had a rate of absence that exceeded 10 percent, the level when system officials notify the Health Department. The school system has closely monitored the absences. At Hollifield Station Elementary, for example, 21 percent of the kindergartners were absent one day last week, but overall less than 10 percent of the school's pupils were absent.
NEWS
By Arin Gencer | October 17, 2009
Carroll County school officials are scheduled to host several community meetings next week, giving parents the chance to talk with various staff members. Superintendent Charles I. Ecker and school board President Barbara Shreeve plan to hold a town meeting Tuesday at the newly opened Manchester Valley High School, at 3300 Maple Grove Road in the Manchester area. The event, which begins at 7 p.m., represents a chance for an open dialogue with the community and parents, according to school officials.
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | October 16, 2009
The Howard County School System and an advocacy group that focuses on Hispanic student achievement plan to renew a partnership Friday with the hopes of lowering dropout rates and encouraging academic success. The school system and Conexiones will officially sign the partnership at Long Reach High School in Columbia. "The Hispanic population throughout the county has been increasing - we want to make sure that we have an open, welcoming environment for Hispanic students," said Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin.
NEWS
By Nicole Fuller | October 6, 2009
Fifteen Anne Arundel County school bus routes were delayed Monday morning after the discovery that several school buses were damaged by apparent vandalism, police and school officials said. Police were dispatched to the 1400 block of Odenton Road, a lot where school buses are parked, and found that the electrical lines of 14 buses had been cut, said Justin Mulcahy, a police spokesman. "The buses were all inoperable," said Mulcahy. "It looks like the electrical lines were cut, unfortunately."
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | October 4, 2009
The swine flu vaccine will be distributed when it becomes available to every student in Howard County with parental consent, the county's health officer said last week. Dr. Peter L. Beilenson said the process probably would occur in early November and would take two weeks. Parents must give written permission for their children to receive the vaccine. "It's always going to be the parents' choice," said Patti Caplan, a spokeswoman for the county school system. "We have to have a signed form from the parent in order to get the vaccine."
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | October 4, 2009
Howard County school system officials are considering four redistricting options that would eliminate an open enrollment practice and alleviate crowding in some schools, including in the western part of the county. The options for next school year were shared last week with the public during regional meetings at Centennial High and Hammond High. The meetings attracted close to 150 people, according to Joel Gallihue, the system's manager of school planning. The first option being considered would eliminate the open enrollment clause that allows students in the Greenbridge neighborhood to choose to attend either River Hill High or Glenelg High.
NEWS
By John-John Williams IV | September 27, 2009
The Howard County school system has entered into a new contract with the company used by the county for its garbage and recycling efforts, saving the school system an expected $40,000 in its first year. Under the new contract with Jenn-Kans, a small trash-disposal company based in Tuxedo, there will also be additional savings based on the amount of recycling done by the school system, which was not included in its previous contract with Waste Management. The switch, which took effect July 1, is the result of talks between the school system and the county over the past year, according to Ken Roey, the school system's executive director of facilities.