REMINDER: Board of Education Meeting, 02/09/10

The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. and recognition begins at 4:30 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12, and is rebroadcast throughout the week. Program schedules are available at www2.ccboe.com/publicinfo/channel96/schedule.cfm.

Executive session - 12 p.m.
Call to order - 1 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance, Westlake High School's JROTC unit

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Superintendent's update: DVD on new high school
• Correspondence/Board member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board member update
• Schools system's outreach to Haiti
• CIP update
• Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and equity training
• Race to the Top grant
• Report item: FY 2011 budget
• 2011-2012 school calendar
• Legislative update

Unfinished business

New business and future agenda items

• New business
• Future agenda items

Recognition - 4:30 p.m.

• Students
• Employees
• Maryland Society for Educational Technology Outstanding Educator Using Technology Award winner, Sandra Chisholm, Piccowaxen Middle School
• Resolutions: Read Across Charles County; Women's History Month; and Fine and Performing Arts Month

Public Forum - 6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel

Public hearing on FY 2011 budget

Work session on FY 2011 proposed operating budget (if needed)

Action item

• FY 2011 proposed operating budget

Adjournment

Finding the better high school

Jay Mathews
Washington Post

On the second page of the Post's Metro section, and on this Web site, you see the results of the 12th annual Washington Post survey of high school student participation in college-level tests, what I call the Challenge Index.

The ranked list of public schools -- both the Washington area version in the Post and the national version in Newsweek each June -- gets lots of attention, but the outrage and acclaim usually swirls around the issue of whether ranking schools is good for you. With much support from Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate teachers around the country, I think it is. But how can you use it?

I invented the list to show that some schools in good neighborhoods don’t deserve their great reputations, and some schools in poor neighborhoods don’t deserve their terrible ones. Opening up AP and IB courses to everyone who wants to work hard -- the philosophy of the teachers who inspired me to do this -- is a relatively new idea. Ten years ago, most schools in the United States did not let students take these courses unless they had strong grade point averages or teachers’ recommendations.

Many still have those rules, or at least don’t encourage students to challenge themselves as much as they could. The list helps you find the ones that have shed those old, bad habits.

Read more HERE

Administration Outlines Proposed Changes to ‘No Child’ Law

By SAM DILLON
Published: February 1, 2010

The Obama administration said on Monday that it would ask Congress to raise education spending by about $3.5 billion, a 7.5 percent increase, for the 2011 fiscal year, even as it sought to limit other categories of domestic spending.

In outlining its budget request, the administration also said it would seek an extensive rewrite of the main federal law governing public schools, known as No Child Left Behind, and would seek to replace the law’s much-criticized system for rating schools based on student test scores.

The administration proposed replacing that system, known as adequate yearly progress, with a new accountability system that officials said would more fairly characterize schools’ academic progress.

Read more HERE

Why students fail AP tests

Wasington Post
Jay Mathews

My column last week about how to reveal the secrets of which teacher is getting the best Advanced Placement results received many more comments than I expected. This was, I thought, a topic only for insiders, AP obsessives like me. I forgot, once again, that college-level exams have become a rite of passage for at least a third of American high schoolers, with that proportion increasing every year.

The column provided links to the several local school districts that have posted the subject-by-subject AP results for each school. I was shocked that any were doing it, since five years ago when I asked about this, few school officials had given it much thought. Since the AP tests are written and graded by outside experts, a teacher who does not challenge his students in class is likely to have lots of low scores on that school report, which until now hardly anyone had a chance to see.

Many thought I glossed over the effects of opening up AP courses to anyone who wants to get a useful taste of college trauma, sort of like camping in the back yard before your dad takes you to the Sierras. Enough mediocre students have enrolled in AP, and a similar program International Baccalaureate, to lower average scores even in the classes of the best teachers.

Read more HERE

Exercises can help combat and prevent girls' ACL injuries

MisFits
by Lenny Bernstein
The Washington Post by Lenny Bernstein
Thursday, January 28, 2010

It's no secret that young women athletes are suffering an epidemic of crippling injuries to their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs), one of the four strong bands of tissue that connect the leg bones at the knee joint. A decade of research and books such as Michael Sokolove's "Warrior Girls" have shown that our daughters are three to eight times as likely as our sons to tear an ACL.

Less recognized is that preventive measures can be quite effective if the right program is implemented in the right way, according to some of the same research.

Read more HERE.

Notes from the APFO Meeting with the Commissioners

The Board of Education met with the Charles County Comissioners on January 26th to discuss the next Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) Cycle. To view all the documents click HERE.

Interesting facts....

• The state recently analyzed the use of classrooms in our schools and derived new state rated capacities (SRC) for eight of them. Of these eight, six were elementary schools that received renovation to accomodate for the all-day kindergarten. In other words it was expected. The two remaining schools were NOT expected and are listed below. (Old SRC/New SRC)....Lackey 1474/1539........Davis 949/1148
• Bad news.... if you were interested in building a home in the following school districts, Diggs, Jenifer, Malcolm, T.C. Martin, LaPlata or Westlake....ummmm...there is none. Sorry Charlie :(.

One last side note and something to ponder...so what is exactly happening to the DRRA funds that are collected for the building of the schools? The balance is decreasing at alarmingly levels but the school system hasn't received any of it....(scratching my head)

Your school's AP secrets

Jay Mathews’s Class Struggle
January 21, 2010
The Washington Post

[This is my Local Living column for Jan. 21, 2010.]

Ever seen the Advanced Placement Grade Report for your high school? I thought not. Most people don’t know it exists. That is why I have so much pleasure going over the reports. It is like reading the principal’s e-mails, full of intriguing innuendo and secrets that parents and students aren’t supposed to know.

Although these subject-by-subject reports rarely appear on public Web sites, some schools will show them to me if I ask, for the following reasons: 1. I am very polite; 2. no reporter has ever asked for them before, so there are no rules against it; and 3. they don’t think anyone will care.

They are wrong on that last count. The AP Grade Report allows the public to see which AP courses at a school produce the most high grades, and the most low grades, on AP exams. You can gauge the skill of the teachers and the nature of the students who take various AP subjects.

This region’s schools have made AP (and the similar International Baccalaureate, which provides comparable reports) the most challenging and influential courses they have. On Feb. 1, The Post will publish my annual rankings of Washington area schools based on participation in these tests, written and scored by outside experts. Students who do well on them can earn college credit. Many people would be interested in the actual results (different from the participation figures I use in the rankings) if they were readily available. To my surprise, that is beginning to happen.

Read more HERE.

In Suburban Schools, an Alternative to A.P.

By WINNIE HU
Published: January 8, 2010

JERICHO, N.Y. — In a St. John’s University English class the other day, 10 students tackled George Orwell’s “1984” like generations of collegians before them. But while there was plenty of higher-order thinking, the class — and the students — were technically still in high school.

The college class is one of 16 being taught at Jericho High School here on Long Island, half of them added in the past two years through new partnerships with St. John’s in Queens, Molloy College in Rockville Centre and the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Jericho students simultaneously fulfill their high school graduation requirements and, for a reduced fee, earn college credit.

These so-called dual-enrollment courses have long been used in urban schools to provide some higher education to poor and minority students and encourage them to go on to college. But now many top suburban high schools are embracing dual enrollment as a way to challenge their brightest students and ward off senioritis once college applications are done. They say the college courses offer an alternative to the high-pressure AP program, in which students receive college credits or advanced placement based on their performance on an exam at the end of the year. The courses are also attractive in the current economy because they award college credit for a fraction of the normal tuition cost. (At Jericho, for example, students pay $250 for a three-credit course, while the cost for a St. John’s student would be $2,934.)

READ MORE HERE

Another "PRIVATE" Meeting?

When will the commissioners learn that Charles County citizens do NOT condone or want the county business decided at the golf course, country club or behind closed doors?

On Wednesday January 13 there was a meeting that occurred between BOE Chair Bobbie Wise, BOE Vice-Chair Donald Wade, Commissioner Wayne Cooper, and County Administrator Dr. Rebecca Bridgett. Mr Wade and Ms. Wise were informed that the Commissioners were very "disappointed" that the Board of Education gave their employees their step increase. Dr. Bridgett wanted to know why the Board of Education didn't transfer any extra money they had in the salary category to another category that would allow "students to graduate without any fees" or "transfer to a category so that teachers don't have to spend their own money on supplies" and "every department gave back 2% except the Board of Education". "What are you going to do next year when you don't have the money for this reoccurring expense?".

Fees? What fees?

Transfer? Wasn't the BOE told we could not do this at our budget meeting?

Did they ever hear of MOE?

Well read the press statement you have in front of you - it states exactly what could happen next year.

Lots more was said and discussed and I suggest that you the public query those that were present!

Charles Schools Will Pay 73% of Employees Retroactive Pay Raises

Posted on January 13, 2010

LA PLATA, Md. (Jan. 13, 2010) -- The Charles County Board of Education voted Tuesday to provide eligible employees step increases, effective immediately and retroactive to July 1, 2009. The change affects 73 percent of employees.

The vote closes this school year’s negotiations, which did not provide for any raises in July, but were left open for renegotiation in January to discuss step and scale increases. No cost of living (COLA) raises were provided. Negotiations were completed earlier this week with the school system’s two bargaining groups, the Education Association of Charles County (EACC), which represents certificated employees including teachers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents support or classified employees.

READ MORE HERE

Union Chief Seeks to Overhaul Teacher Evaluation Process

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: January 12, 2010

WASHINGTON — Facing criticism that her union makes it too hard to get rid of bad teachers, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, on Tuesday announced a union-backed effort to develop a new model for how public school teachers should be evaluated, promoted and removed.

The effort will be run by Kenneth R. Feinberg, the federal government’s special master for executive compensation.

In a speech at the National Press Club, Ms. Weingarten sought to present a more flexible, cooperative face for her union as she announced Mr. Feinberg’s new role and called for sweeping changes in how school districts evaluate teachers and work with teachers’ unions.

READ MORE HERE

As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards

By IAN URBINA
Published: January 11, 2010

A law adopting statewide high school exams for graduation took effect in Pennsylvania on Saturday, with the goal of ensuring that students leaving high school are prepared for college and the workplace. But critics say the requirement has been so watered down that it is unlikely to have major impact.

The situation in Pennsylvania mirrors what has happened in many of the 26 states that have adopted high school exit exams. As deadlines approached for schools to start making passage of the exams a requirement for graduation, and practice tests indicated that large numbers of students would fail, many states softened standards, delayed the requirement or added alternative paths to a diploma.

READ MORE HERE

NOTES from Board of Education Meeting, 1/12/10

The Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 12th will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs.

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes.

Executive session - 12 p.m.

Call to order - 1 p.m.

• Pledge of Allegiance, North Point High School's JROTC unit

Election of Chairman/Vice Chairman

• Chair Nominations - Wade 4; Wise 3
• Chair Vote - Wise 4; Wade 3
• Vice-Chair Nominations - Wade 3; Abell 1; Pedersen 1; Wise 1; Carrington 1
• Vice-Chair Vote - Wade 5; Wise 1; one blank vote

Chair Official Public Vote-

Pedersen motioned to accept Wise as Chairman; Cook seconded.
Yes=Abell, Bailey, Carrington, Cook, Pedesen No=Wade,
Wise

Vice-Chair Official Public Vote

Pedersen motioned to accept Wade asVice-Chairman; Carrington seconded
Yes=Bailey, Carrington, Cook, Pedersen, Wade, Wise Abstain=Abell

Reports of officers/boards/committees

Superintendent's update - Read report

• Correspondence/Board Member updates - Wise pointed out recent articles on CCPS. Parents magazine on autism. Maryland Independent article on student & teacher cancer survivors at Higdon and the school family support. Carrington enjoyed the choral concert at McDonough


• Education Association of Charles County update - Read report


• Student Board Member update - Read report


• CIP update - Read report; Wineland attended commissioners mee


• Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) kindergarten through grade 12 Algebraic Thinking - Awesome demonstration of "Magic Planet"; please see the report and view this portion either online or on television.


• Budget update - Read report


• Legislative update - State Budget Review

Unfinished business

• Pedersen - Finalize What Counts? specifics; Cook says they still need a moderator; Bailey suggested Cecil Marshall

New business

• Strawberry Hills school site - See report. Abell - confused about this being on the agenda, thought it was decided that we were requesting this in writing and hold off. Wineland stated a letter was sent on 12/8, never forwarded to board. Abell - park has already been placed on the property? not prepared to move forward. Pedersen in ready.

Wade motioned to return the property to the county. Bailey seconded.
Yes=Bailey, Carrington, Cook, Pedersen, Wade, Wise. No=Abell

• Negotiations

Carrington motioned to accept the Superintendent recommendations for
FY2010. Abell seconded. Yes=All

Future agenda items

• Abell - Parent@School update
• Pedersen - hold off on Policy review until March after budget and What Counts.

Recognition - 4:30 p.m.

• Students
• Employees
• Resolutions: African-American History Month; Career and Technical Education Month; and National School Counseling Week.

Public Forum - 6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes

Carrington motioned to approve. Cook seconded. Yes=all.

• Personnel

Cook motioned to approve. Carrington seconded. Yes=all.

Adjournment