Health & Fitness
MarylandCAN News Roundup: Top 10 Education News Stories of the Week
Read MarylandCAN's pick of the top 10 education news stories of the week!
March 14, 2013 | Krystal Nancoo-Russell, Southern Maryland Online
Teachers need more training to help students learn key science, technology, engineering and math skills, Maryland’s school superintendent said Tuesday.
“One of the things we have to do as a school system -- and we’re taking full responsibility of that -- is look at the ways that we are preparing our professionals to train our students,” superintendent Lillian Lowery said at a forum on STEM education in Washington.
Find out what's happening in Silver Springwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
2. When schools are more than schools
March 14, 2013 | Douglas Miles, Jane Sundius and David Hornbeck, The Baltimore Sun
Find out what's happening in Silver Springwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
To be strong, healthy and safe, Baltimore needs leaders who maintain their priorities in challenging circumstances. Last year, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake increased funding for coordinated Out-of-School-Time (OST) programming, which uses public schools as a hub to create "Community Schools" that offer a comprehensive range of services and opportunities to children, youth, families and communities.
That was a good first step. As members of the Family League of Baltimore's Community and School Engagement Steering Committee, we now call on the mayor to show leadership by following through on her public commitment to double the funding for an OST and community school strategy, to $10 million.
3. Montgomery school board split on special education bill
March 14, 2013 | Jen Bondeson, The Gazette
School board members in Montgomery County are split on whether, in the face of litigation from parents, the school system must prove it is providing an appropriate education for special-education students.
Members of the Montgomery County Board of Education weighed in on Tuesday on a bill in the Maryland General Assembly, sponsored by Karen Montgomery (D-Dist. 14) of Brookville.
4. Policymakers, business leaders say preschool can pay big dividends
March 13, 2013 | Lyndsey Layton, The Washington Post
Educators, policymakers and business leaders trying to close the achievement gap between poor and privileged children are increasing focusing on the role of early childhood education.
President Obama has made a sweeping expansion of preschool education a priority for his second term. In his State of the Union address last month, the president called for universal preschool for 4-year-olds, saying that quality early childhood education pays huge dividends by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy and bringing down violent crime.
5. As Montgomery Council considers budget, questions about “crown jewel” schools
March 13, 2013 | Bill Turque and Lynh Bui, The Washington Post
County Executive Isiah Leggett calls the high-achieving Montgomery public school system “the crown jewel,” the heart of the county’s appeal to families and companies looking to relocate.
That has meant the royal treatment for K-12 education at budget time, especially when the economy was strong. Schools claim about half of the county’s $4 billion operating budget.
“The money was so readily available, the question wasn’t ‘if,’ it was ‘how much,’ ” said council member Valerie Ervin (D-Eastern County), a former member of the Montgomery Board of Education.
6. In Montgomery schools, achievement gap widens in some areas, drawing criticism
March 12, 2013 | Donna St. George, The Washington Post
The achievement gap that separates white and Asian students from black and Latino students has grown wider in Montgomery County in several measures of academic success, according to a report released Tuesday.
The 130-page report points to progress in five of 11 performance indicators in recent years. The school system improved on gaps in school readiness and high school graduation, for example. But disparities widened in advanced-level scores for state math exams in third, fifth and eighth grades. There were mixed results in two categories.
7. Maryland gets $6.8m from feds to boost failing schools
March 12, 2013 | Rachel Baye, The Examiner
Maryland will receive $6.8 million from the federal government to help efforts to improve its lowest-performing schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced.
The state is one of 11 receiving funds through the latest round of School Improvement Grants.
"When schools fail, our children and our neighborhoods suffer," Duncan said. "Turning around our lowest-performing schools is hard work, but it's our responsibility."
8. Higher education officials hope Senate will suggest no cuts, limit reductions
March 12, 2013 | Jim Bach, The Diamondback
While Gov. Martin O’Malley hopes to invest more in higher education, that task may be more difficult after the state’s House of Delegates proposed $10 million worth of cuts to the University System of Maryland.
For the first time in his two terms in office, O’Malley proposed investing in, rather than making cuts to, higher education because the state is not projected to finish the year in desbt. Although last year’s proposed House cuts went much deeper — it looked to slash nearly $20 million — system officials are still worried about how a $10 million cut would inhibit O’Malley’s proposals to bolster several higher education initiatives.
9. Top students, too, aren't always ready for college
March 11, 2013 | Elaine Tuttle Hansen, The Chronicle
One recent morning over coffee, I was talking with a colleague about a rising source of frustration for him and his fellow faculty members: how unprepared for college-level coursework so many incoming students are, even at our highly selective university.
"They have the grades and the test scores to be here," said my colleague, director of undergraduate studies in math at the Johns Hopkins University. "What they don't have is a deep understanding of why the techniques they've been taught work, the actual underlying mathematical relationships. They walk into to my classroom in September and don't have the study habits or proper foundation to do the work."
10. Six Maryland Blue Ribbon schools to be honored by state dignitaries
March 8, 2013 | Sherri Johnson, ABC2News
Six Maryland schools that are recipients of the State's Blue Ribbon School Award will be honored by the Lieutenant Governor, State Superintendent of Schools and other education leaders during a State dinner gala.
Following the evening program, the winning principals will be recognized on the floor of the House and Senate.
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a state and national program that recognizes and honors schools that exhibit high performance and significant improvement in reading and mathematics achievement measured by Maryland's assessments.
