Teachers

If a killer with an assault rifle would be deterred from attacking a school by a teacher with a pistol, he or she would simply attack a hospital, a church, a sports rally, a political meeting, a bus, etc. ("Gun advocates detail plan to arm teachers," April 3). Unarmed teachers are not the problem. William L. Akers, Windsor Mill Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

My first question after reading about seven teachers in an Atlanta, Ga., public school accused of altering standardized test scores to make it appear students performed better than they actually did was: How could they!? The seven were nicknamed "the chosen" and, according to Georgia state investigator Richard Hyde, the less than magnificent seven sat in a locked room without windows, erasing wrong answers and inserting correct ones. It's one thing for a child to cheat on a test; it's quite another for teachers to do it. Compounding the cheating scandal is that the children in this elementary school are mostly poor and African-American.

Mary Aitken, a retired switchboard operator who taught music in Baltimore public schools, died of Alzheimer's disease March 28 at her home in the Ridervale section of Riderwood in Baltimore County. She was 89. Born Mary Wootsey Derr in Roanoke, Va., she was raised in Norfolk, Va., and graduated from Maury High School in 1946. She moved to Baltimore and earned a teacher's degree in voice at the Peabody Conservatory in 1950. There she met her husband, Richard Aitken, a jazz pianist who played at the Prime Rib and the old Eager House.

Philip X. "Phil" Kaltenbach, a former high school English teacher who later became an expert in the field of collectible comic books, died Tuesday at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Fla., while recovering from foot surgery. He was 63. The son of a Loyola University Maryland dean and a Loyola Blakefield High School administrative assistant, Philip Xavier Kaltenbach was born in Baltimore and raised in Towson. Mr. Kaltenbach was a 1967 graduate of Loyola Blakefield and earned a bachelor's degree from what is now Loyola University Maryland.

Abe Bortz, the Social Security Administration's first historian and a voracious book collector and reviewer, died Tuesday of lymphoma at his home in Pikesville. He was 93. Dr. Bortz grew up in Cincinnati, graduating from high school there in 1937 and earning a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Cincinnati in 1941. He was drafted into the Army the next year and served first as a lieutenant and then as a captain in the military-supply Quartermaster Corps. He saw Buchenwald, one of the German concentration camps, soon after the Army liberated it in 1945.

Charles C. Freitag, the longtime director of the music program at Calvert Hall College High School where he was also a founder of its marching, concert and dance bands, died Monday of heart failure at Stella Maris Hospice. The Mays Chapel resident was 92. "Charlie was responsible for building the music program to an outstanding level during his time. He expanded the musical options and started the yearly spring concerts," said Calvert Hall Principal Louis E. Heidrick, who was a friend of Mr. Freitag's for more than 40 years.

Ryan Twentey, an advance placement photography teacher at Parkville High School and a resident of Bel Air, won $10,000 this week as one of two national honorees of the ASCD 2013 Outstanding Young Educator Award. The award was announced Sunday at the association's 68th annual Conference in Chicago. Twentey said he was "humbled to be recognized for what I enjoy most about teaching: empowering my students with skills to succeed," Twentey said. School officials said that during his 12 years at Parkville High, Twentey has worked on systemwide curriculum projects and served as chairman of Parkville's Career and Technology Education program School officials said Twentey is known for working to help students define, and develop, skills they need for their chosen fields.

An Anne Arundel County high school teacher and basketball coach, facing charges related to an alleged relationship with a student, turned herself in to police on Tuesday. Police said Broadneck High School English teacher Erin Thorne, 28, and a senior student exchanged nude pictures of themselves through text messages beginning in the boy's senior year in September 2010. Police said they determined the two exchanged the text messages before the student was 18, and later they had a sexual relationship that began after he turned 18. The student, now 19, graduated in spring 2011, authorities said.

Harford County Public Schools announced Thursday the county school board has reached a tentative contract agreement for next school year with the county's teachers union, the Harford County Education Association. Though the school system did not immediately approve details, the contract calls for teachers to receive a 1 percent cost of living adjustment and a step increment raise, for those eligible, that is typically about 3 percent, the union's president said. Step raises are typically earned during first 15 years of service, after which smaller longevity increases are provided beginning at 20, 25 and 30 years and so on. The Harford County Education Association, or HCEA, represents approximately 3,200 Harford County Public Schools employees, including teachers, guidance counselors, psychologists, media specialists, occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech and hearing clinicians.

A Montgomery County elementary school teacher was charged Thursday in Baltimore County for possession of child pornography, police said. Lawrence Joynes, 54, of Dundalk, teaches music at New Hampshire Estates Elementary school in Silver Spring, according to the school's website. Montgomery police will be investigating whether Joynes committed any offenses in that county. A spokesman from the school system did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday morning.