State School

In her first run for office, Allison Cole set her sights realistically: She wanted to be the student representative on the Anne Arundel County school board.Instead, she quickly found herself in the race to be the voice for all Maryland students on the State Board of Education.Yesterday, she became the first student from her county to achieve that distinction."I'm excited. I can't wait to get to work," the 16-year-old junior from Severna Park High School said.Jane Doyle, a county school board spokeswoman, said an Anne Arundel student was a finalist for the nonvoting state post three years ago, "but we've never had a representative from this county make the final cut. She's quite an accomplished student."

The Maryland state school board adopted regulations Tuesday that require more concussion training for those responsible for student-athletes and beef up protocols for addressing head injuries. In addition, the board will convene an advisory board to recommend limits on exposure to contact in sports in which concussions can occur. The unanimous vote to adopt the regulations concludes a months-long process to tackle the issue in Maryland, which included emergency regulations and a 21-member task force made up of physicians, athletic trainers and school administrators.

Programs for adults, prisoners and disruptive youth could be cut in the current fiscal year, as state education officials look for ways to trim the state Education Department's budget.State School Superintendent Joseph L. Shilling said yesterday that the department will need to look at curtailing existing programs in light of the state's budget woes.But much of the state education budget consists of mandated programs, such as special education, vocational education and some local aid, which are off limits to cuts.

The state agency charged with overseeing Maryland's public school construction projects was found to have lacked proper monitoring of contracts, projects and maintenance inspections, according to a legislative audit. The audit, released Friday, examined the fiscal and managerial operations of the Interagency Committee on School Construction (IAC) primarily in fiscal year 2011, when the agency approved 355 district-level contracts totaling $566 million - $249 million of which was state funding.

At least two lessons can be learned about Howard County based on test results from the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program.The first is that Howard appears to retain its position as having one of the best school systems in the state. Although officials are still working on a way of ranking school systems based on the tests, there is other evidence of Howard's success. More than half of the students in third, fifth and eighth grades scored in the top three levels of math, social studies and science.

A Native American activist said yesterday that he would appeal to the state after the Harford County school board denied his appeal of a citizen group's decision to retain Indian mascots in three county schools. Richard Regan, a Montgomery County resident, said he received written notification Tuesday of the county Board of Education's decision. Regan appeared before the Harford board in January to appeal the panel's decision last fall to keep Indian mascots at Havre de Grace's elementary, middle and high schools.

BY PROPOSING a comprehensive incentive package for teachers, state school Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick has shown how Maryland can prevent an expected teacher shortage from becoming an acute crisis. The worst thing the governor and the General Assembly could now do is disregard her call for action. Early preventive measures are needed. Teacher-preparation programs nationwide are simply not producing enough graduates to fill the need created by rising enrollments and large numbers of teachers eligible to retire.

Prodded by the threat of politicians dictating reading instruction, the state school board voted 9-1 yesterday to significantly strengthen reading training for Maryland's teachers.The proposal, to be debated at public hearings before a final vote tentatively set for June, would affect all 47,000 teachers as well as current and future college students headed for teaching careers.The new requirements would quadruple the number of reading courses required for elementary school teachers to become state certified, double the number of courses for middle and high school teachers, and include better training in phonics and the sounds that make up words.

Saying Maryland's school libraries need more aid, state Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick announced yesterday she will seek to almost triple state spending on them next year. "This is a plan to start helping all of our schools reach the standards that we think are important," Grasmick said. Grasmick's proposal - developed during the past month and presented to the state school board - would bring state support for school libraries to $8.7 million at a time when fewer than one in five meet Maryland's standards for the minimum number of books and supplies.

High school students across Maryland might soon be able to earn credits toward graduation without setting foot in school buildings or classrooms. State educators took a major step yesterday toward creating virtual high school classrooms, agreeing to develop plans for Internet-based courses to be made available to all students. "This is certainly the wave of the future," said Nancy S. Grasmick, the state superintendent of schools. As early as next fall, some state-approved high school courses could be available through the Internet, and an array of classes could be online within the next three years.

Arundel High School junior Christian Hodges was recently selected to serve on the Maryland State Board of Education as its student member, a position that places another item on his already loaded agenda. The 17-year-old from Odenton will serve during the 2013-2014 school year, with his appointment formally taking effect July 1. Hodges is already known in five states for his penchant for multitasking. He currently serves on the Region 2 advisory council of the National Association of Student Councils, representing students from Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

State lawmakers appeared to warm Thursday to the Baltimore school system's $2.4 billion building modernization plan that received a chilly reception last year, but the blueprint fell short of garnering the endorsement of the state's public school construction agency. Baltimore City schools CEO Andrés Alonso and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake presented a united front before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, where the two leaders urged members to support a plan that relies on borrowing billions of dollars and a $32 million annual commitment from the state for the next several decades.

Gilman remained No. 2 and River Hill stayed at No. 4, but every other local team changed position in the final Maryland Media High School Football State Poll released Tuesday. Good Counsel finished the season as the unanimous No. 1, and for the first time in the poll's 23-year history, the top four teams won championships and held their positions from the end of the regular season. Good Counsel (11-1) won the WCAC. Gilman (9-2) won the MIAA A Conference. No. 3 Wise (14-0) won the Class 4A state title.

Regional championships Sherwood (9-2) at No. 4 Westminster (11-0) When: Friday, 7 p.m. Region: 4A North Coaches: Mike Bonavia, Sherwood; Brad Wilson, Westminster Last meeting: First meeting Outlook: The Owls, who are looking for their first state title, meet a Sherwood team that won the last of its three titles in 2008. In last week's semifinal, the Warriors used a strong running game and big plays to get past Catonsville, 26-7, in a game that was 13-7 with eight minutes left.

Emergency regulations passed by the state school board Tuesday will require that athletic coaches be trained in how to identify traumatic head injuries and that students be pulled out of a game as soon as a concussion is suspected. School board members indicated that they may beef up the regulations in the next six months, after a task force convenes and makes recommendations on how concussions can be prevented. Several board members said they were willing to have "the uncomfortable conversations" about potentially changing how athletes practice and sports are played.

Amid an increased awareness of concussions in sports (the NFL and Ivy League universities have limited football practices involving contact), the Maryland state school board is questioning whether action is needed to prevent head injuries in young athletes. The state school board said Tuesday it would form a group that will include health experts, educators and athletic directors to study whether the state is doing enough to reduce the number of concussions in student athletes. The move follows an increased nationwide focus on brain traumas that football players, particularly in the NFL, have suffered after repeated concussions.

Working behind the scenes on a plan for joint control of Baltimore's ailing public schools, city and state negotiators feel strong pressure to reach agreement quickly so they can install a new school government by September."

The Baltimore school system continued its slow but steady progress on state tests last year, posting its fifth straight increase and outgaining every other jurisdiction except one in Maryland. The percentage of city pupils meeting the standard on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program exams rose 2 points, to 22.5. In every other school system in the metropolitan area, scores dropped, and the statewide average fell 1.6. Only Worcester County's gain was larger than Baltimore's.

The Maryland State Private School baseball championship game between St. Frances Academy and The Heights School will be played Saturday, 4 p.m., at Cardinal Gibbons' Babe Ruth Field, 3225 Wilkens Ave.

Despite a barrage of public comments, many negative, Maryland State Board of Education members said Tuesday that they will push forward with plans to reduce the use of long-term suspensions and expulsions in student discipline. "Everybody gets that kids need to be in school," said board President James H. DeGraffenreidt Jr. "The question is how do we do that?" The board received more than 200 written comments after asking for public input when it released a report in late February, detailing proposed changes that would reduce suspensions for nonviolent offenses.