NOTES from Board of Education Meeting, 2/9/10

The Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 9th 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.

(PLEASE NOTE...THE MEETING WAS CONDENSED FROM THE ORIGINAL AGENDA DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER)

Executive session - 11 a.m.
Call to order - 11:20 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Reports of officers/boards/committees

Superintendent's update

• DVD on new high school

Correspondence/Board member updates

• Wise reported on the annual Beg-A-Thon in Annapolis
• Carrington-Thanks students at Dr. King breakfast...Canadian Embassy/Space Foundation
• Pederson-Unity in the Community Forum

Education Association of Charles County update

• See Report

Student Board member update

• See Report

Race to the Top grant

• See power point presentation, lots of information...EACC is strongly against...see separate post
• Evaluations tied to student achievement
• Compensation tied to student achievement
• Difficult to staff schools in trouble
• Tenure

Report item: FY 2011 budget

• See power point presentation

2011-2012 school calendar

• See proposal and provide input to CCPS

Legislative update

• Labor Relations Bill H#243; S#590 (Middleton is one of the leads)
• Eric Schwartz says we oppose

Unfinished business

• Review RSVP's for What Counts and call them

New business and future agenda items

Resolutions

• Read Across Charles County
• Women's History Month
• Fine and Performing Arts Month

Action items

• Minutes - YES Unanimous
• Personnel - YES Unanimous

Adjournment

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

REMINDER: Board of Education Meeting, 1/12/10

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 12, 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.; 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. Programming 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, North Point High School's JROTC unit

Election of Chairman/Vice Chairman

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Superintendent's update
• Correspondence/Board Member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board Member update
• CIP update
• Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) kindergarten through grade 12 Algebraic Thinking
• Budget update
• Legislative update

Unfinished business

New business

• Strawberry Hills school site

Future agenda items

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
• Personnel

Adjournment

FACT BOOK

The Maryland State Department of Education has released the 2008-2009 FACT BOOK. Please click on the link below for a wealth of information and comparison on the school systems throughout Maryland.

FACT BOOK

Gifted education outrages

Class Struggle by Jay Mathews

Washington Post  [This is my column for the Local Living section of Jan. 7, 2010]

My Dec. 10 column about that troublesome Washington area gifted child, future billionaire Warren Buffett, said our schools are never going to help such kids much. I said the gifted designation was often arbitrary and should be disposed of. Instead, we ought to find ways to let all kids explore their talents.

 

This produced a flood of comments on my blog. Many readers thought I was callous and daft. “Unfortunately, eliminating the label generally means that the schools give up doing anything for advanced learners,” wrote a reader signing in as EduCrazy. Another commenter, CrimsonWife, said “if educators are fine with giving special attention and services to kids who are far out of the mainstream on the low end of the spectrum, why is it so controversial to provide specialized services to kids who are far out of the mainstream on the high end?”

 

But some wondered if there might be promising alternatives. “When schools fail to challenge our most capable learners, what they learn is that effort is not required,” said mom22. “Unless, of course, some adult gives them the chance to do things differently, and to focus on something fascinating. My kids have found these things often in school, but out of their classroom.” I wonder if she realizes the consequences of such an approach, taken to its logical extremes. 

Take, for instance, Quaker Valley High School in Leetsdale, Penn., a Pittsburgh suburb. Linda Conlon, an academic specialist there, explained to me what they are doing. If you are easily shocked, please stop reading. I have checked Conlon out. She is telling the truth. Her school is like many in the Washington area, mostly middle class kids. But Quaker Valley lets them get away with stuff that flouts well-established educational rules and procedures.

 

One Quaker Valley student realized the established sequence of math courses barred her from taking calculus before graduation. She felt she needed that course to look good to colleges and prepare for advanced science, since she wanted to be a doctor. She asked to take trigonometry on her own over the summer, just her and the school textbook and maybe a tutor. Yeah, right, I said. But the Quaker Valley math department said yes. She passed the trig exam without taking the course, eventually took calculus, got the college she wanted and is now in med school.

 

It gets worse...

Read more HERE.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS NEEDED

WHAT COUNTS?

The Board of Education will be hosting a forum entitled "What Counts?" scheduled on Thursday, February 18th at Westlake High School. This forum will include roundtable discussions to gather input from our community on "What Counts in Education.". Attendance and participation at this forum is by invitation only. Each board member has been asked to submit a list of 20-30 names by January 12th as invitees.

If you are interested in being one of my 20-30 invitees to this event, please EMAIL ME as soon as possible, with your name and mailing address.

Earlier bedtime 'cuts teenage depression'

Going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, research suggests.

A US study of 12 to 18-year-olds found those with bedtimes after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went to bed before 2200.

And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.

Read more HERE.

O'Malley wants to apply in Jan. for U.S. education grants

Governor criticizes Grasmick plan to wait to seek stimulus money
By Julie Bykowicz julie.bykowicz@baltsun.com

December 19, 2009

Gov. Martin O'Malley criticized state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick's decision to delay a request for federal stimulus money for education, saying Friday that he wants Maryland to go after the $150 million next month.

"I find it very unusual that in the area where we're recognized as the best in the nation, that this is the one department that's not applying as aggressively as every other department has for these things," O'Malley said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun.

Maryland has been awarded more than $4 billion in stimulus money this year, making it among the most competitive in the nation, O'Malley said.

Read more HERE

Grasmick calls for teacher changes

Linking test scores to teacher performance among proposals

By Liz Bowie liz.bowie@baltsun.com
December 11, 2009

Maryland state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick made bold proposals Thursday to alter teacher compensation, tenure and evaluations - changes she said are needed to reform education and position the state to be competitive in applying for $250 million in federal stimulus money.

Speaking at a state school board meeting, Grasmick said the three proposals were sure to spur "lively discussion" in the coming months.

Read more HERE

State school board to review effects of long-term suspensions, expulsions

By Liz Bowie liz.bowie@baltsun.com
December 11, 2009

The Maryland state school board is beginning a major review of statewide policies on long-term suspensions and expulsions after concerns over a case involving a student who was suspended for nearly an entire school year without being given any access to public education.

In reviewing the Dorchester County case earlier this year, the state board decided it was deeply concerned by the failure to provide some education to a student during the suspension.

The review comes after the Baltimore school board adopted a hard-line policy giving its CEO the right to permanently expel a student. The CEO can even expel students younger than 16 in some limited circumstances.

Read more HERE

Virginia High School Is Best in the Nation

U.S. News ranks America's Best High Schools for third consecutive year
By Kenneth Terrell
Posted December 9, 2009

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., the top school in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best High Schools rankings, is designed to challenge students. A course load of offerings that include DNA science, neurobiology, and quantum physics would seem to be more than enough to meet that goal. But students and the faculty felt those classes weren't enough, so they decided to tackle another big question: What are the social responsibilities of educated people? Over the course of the school year, students are exploring social responsibility through projects of their own design, ranging from getting school supplies for students with cerebral palsy in Shanghai to persuading their classmates to use handkerchiefs to reduce paper waste. The One Question project demonstrates the way "TJ," as it's referred to by students and teachers, encourages the wide-ranging interests of its students.

Read more HERE

Notes - Board of Education Meeting, 12/8/09

The Board Meeting on Tuesday, December 8th will be re-broadcast on Channel 96 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, La Plata High School's JROTC unit

Superintendent's update to the Board - Cunningham read written report

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Correspondence/Board member updates - various board members commented on events they have attended in the past month including Stone Senior Interviews, FEA Conference, and Robotics


• Education Association of Charles County update - Ms. Brown read the written report


• Student Board member update - Mr. Grusholt read the written report


• CIP update - see written report; Hand sanitizers in every elementary school home room, in numerous locations in middle and high schools; 265 "educational cottages'


• Charles County library, CCPS resources for students and parents - See power point presentation. Great media resources available on the ccboe.com web-site (click on Library Media Resources in the center). Students MUST obtain a username and password from their school media specialist.


• Legislative update - nothing new...budget cuts, shortfall in teacher pension funding by $189,000...the sky is falling, the sky is falling
  

Unfinished Business

• Pedersen - What Counts in Education Roundtable Discussion - February 18, 2010, 6:30 pm at Westlake. Need all board members to submit 25-30 names of possible attendees. (Let me know if you're interested)

New business and future agenda items

• Abell - Review of policy and procedures for early entrance into kindergarten
• Pedersen - Presentation on diversity

Recognition- 4:30 p.m.

• Students - James Nichols, Merwan Mourtaj, Harrison Palmer, Jacob Veazey
• Staff - Janice McGeehan, Rebecca Irwin, Tina Francis, John Lush
• Maryland Middle School Counselor of the Year - Mattawoman Middle School

Public Forum  6 p.m.

• No one present

Action items

• Minutes 11/10/09 & 11/30/09 - Passed unanimously
• Personnel - Passed unanimously

Adjournment

8 killed, 26 injured in China school stampede

How horrible! I hope this isn't indicative of what happens when you build a "stacked" school!

12/08/2009 2:20:37 AM
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press Writer

Eight youths were killed and 26 injured when students descending a crowded staircase after evening classes at a school in central China lost their footing amid a crush of bodies, state media and the local government reported Tuesday.

Students were rushing out of evening study sessions at 9:10 p.m. on Monday (1310 GMT) at Xiangxiang city's private Yucai Middle School when some lost their footing and began to fall on top of one another in a stampede on the steps.

More than 400 students had been exiting classrooms via an enclosed stairwell just 4 feet (1.2 meters) wide, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The dead were listed as seven boys and one girl, aged 11-14, while eight other students were hospitalized with serious injuries, according to a local government notice and the official Xinhua News Agency.

Board of Education Meeting, December 8, 2009

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 8 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 Public Forum is at 6 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/.

Executive session  12 p.m.

Call to order  1 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance, La Plata High School's JROTC unit

Superintendent's update to the Board

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Correspondence/Board member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board member update
• CIP update
• Charles County library, CCPS resources for students and parents
• Legislative update

Unfinished Business

New business and future agenda items

Recognition- 4:30 p.m.

• Students
• Staff
• Maryland Middle School Counselor of the Year

Public Forum  6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel

Adjournment

Financial literacy gains traction as part of high school curriculum

By Laura Smitherman

The Baltimore Sun

November 30, 2009

Comptroller Peter Franchot has been going back to high school as part of his push for requiring that seniors take a course in financial literacy in order to graduate.

The proposal for a graduation requirement has met with resistance from lawmakers and educators who are wary of imposing curriculum mandates, but Franchot said the recent recession has convinced him that basic personal finance concepts must be taught. Franchot, the state's chief tax collector, has visited seven high schools since the school year began and plans to push for legislation during the General Assembly session that begins in January.

"Given the hard economic times and all the economic anxiety out there due to people making bad mistakes with debt and credit, I think the timing may be right for a successful initiative," Franchot said. "We need to make sure our young people are prepared with the basic building blocks of financial prosperity."

The Maryland State Department of Education is circulating a draft state curriculum that incorporates personal finance concepts into all grades. For instance, the proposal dictates that by the end of the fifth grade, students would be able to define loans and interest, and by the end of the 12th grade, students would be able to explain how to acquire and maintain credit.

But a separate course required for graduation is not part of the plan. Instead, the department is suggesting curriculum standards and allowing local leaders to choose how to best provide students with financial instruction across the learning levels, either with stand-alone courses or embedded in other courses.

Local school boards also could require financial literacy as a graduation requirement, as has happened in a handful of jurisdictions including Carroll and Allegany counties.

"We just don't want to dictate how it is done at this point," said William Reinhard, a spokesman for the Maryland education department.

UM system considers toughening math requirements

Applicants would have to take 4th math course, take math in senior year

By Childs Walker

December 1, 2009

The Baltimore Sun

Students applying to state universities would have to take a fourth math course and take math during their senior year of high school under revised requirements to be considered this week by the university system's Board of Regents.

Math skills atrophy in students who don't take a course their senior year, and those students are more likely to need costly remediation in college, said Chancellor William E. Kirwan, a strong proponent of the tougher application requirements.

"Math is not a spectator sport," said Kirwan, a one-time math professor. "If you get away from it for a year, you lose a lot. The research is pretty clear and consistent that it makes a difference to have math your senior year."

The new requirements would ask students to complete Algebra II and if they do so before senior year, to take another course at least as difficult. The changes, crafted in collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education, would go into effect for students beginning ninth grade in 2011.

The requirements would align with a national trend toward toughening math standards, part of a larger quest to produce more science, technology, math and engineering, or STEM, professionals. The National Governors Association is leading an effort to develop core standards for high schools across the nation and those standards might include similar math requirements.

Read more HERE.

Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO

The Associated Press

Friday, November 27, 2009

washingtonpost.com

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. -- Ariana Leonard's high school students shuffled in their seats, eagerly awaiting a cue from their Spanish teacher that the assignment would begin.

 "Take out your cell phones," she said in Spanish.

 The teens pulled out an array of colorful flip phones, iPhones and SideKicks. They divided into groups and Leonard began sending them text messages in Spanish: Find something green. Go to the cafeteria. Take a picture with the school secretary.

 Leonard's class at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, a middle-class Florida suburb about 30 miles north of Tampa, is one of a growing number around the country that are abandoning traditional policies of cell phone prohibition and incorporating them into class lessons. Spanish vocabulary becomes a digital scavenger hunt. Notes are copied with a cell phone camera. Text messages serve as homework reminders.

 "I can use my cell phone for all these things, why can't I use it for learning purposes?'" Leonard said. "Giving them something, a mobile device, that they use every day for fun, giving them another avenue to learn outside of the classroom with that."

 Much more attention has gone to the ways students might use phones to cheat or take inappropriate pictures. But as the technology becomes cheaper, more advanced and more ingrained in students' lives that mentality is changing.

 Read more HERE.  

Should we inflate Advanced Placement grades?

Class Struggle by Jay Mathews

The Washington Post

November 27, 2009

 The Rochester, N.Y., public schools do a fine job. Their leaders often have great ideas. But according to Rochester school board member Mike Reno, they are talking about doing something to their Advanced Placement courses that could be troublesome, even though I once thought it was a good idea. (Some people who know me say that is the very definition of a bad idea.)

Here is what Reno revealed in an email to me:

"Our district, in an effort to increase AP participation, is proposing to lower the grading scale for AP classes. The idea is based on the notion that kids in Rochester don’t want to take AP classes because they are afraid that the tougher work will lead to a lower grade, and they don’t want to damage their GPA for fear it will harm their college entrance chances. The district’s logic suggests by that lowering the grading scale, students will have a better chance of getting a better grade, and therefore be more willing to take the class.

Read more HERE.

Board of Education announces joint legislative brunch agenda

The Board of Education of Charles County will hold a joint legislative brunch with members of the Charles County delegation at 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 30, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building in La Plata. The meeting will be televised live on Comcast Channel 96. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/. The agenda is as follows:

Executive session - 9 a.m.

Call to order - 10 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Legislative Brunch

• Legislative issues

Adjournment

White House Begins Campaign to Promote Science and Math Education

By KENNETH CHANG

The New  York Times
Published: November 23, 2009

To improve science and mathematics education for American children, the White House is recruiting Elmo and Big Bird, video game programmers and thousands of scientists.

President Obama announced on Monday a campaign to enlist companies and nonprofit groups to spend money, time and volunteer effort to encourage students, especially in middle and high school, to pursue science, technology, engineering and math.

“You know the success we seek is not going to be attained by government alone,” Mr. Obama said kicking off the initiatives. “It depends on the dedication of students and parents, and the commitment of private citizens, organizations and companies. It depends on all of us.”

Read more HERE.

The playtime's the thing

A debate over the value of make-believe and other games in preschool classes is deepening as more states fund programs

By Emma Brown

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, November 21, 2009

On a recent Thursday, 5-year-old Estefani Lovo Rivera took charge of a make-believe hair salon in her preschool classroom at Oakridge Elementary in Arlington County. Wielding a plastic fork as a hairbrush, dispatching customer after customer with a certain cool efficiency, she looked around the room for more classmates to entice.

"You have to come today," the budding stylist said. "Tomorrow we're closed!" 

To the untrained eye, such play appears to be nothing more than a distraction from the real letters-and-numbers work of school. But research shows that it might be an essential part in determining these children's social and emotional makeup as adults.  

Read more HERE.

Alternative test may inflate score gains

'PORTFOLIO' EXAMS SPREAD IN VA.

'How do you know we are closing the...gap?'

By Michael Alison Chandler

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Lynbrook Elementary School, which serves one of the poorest communities in Fairfax County, seems to be a model for reform. Three years ago, the Springfield school failed to meet state testing goals in English. Since then, it has charted double-digit gains in passing rates for every one of its closely monitored racial and ethnic groups of students.

But the success at Lynbrook and other schools throughout the state is not only due to better teaching. More and more, students who have struggled to pass Virginia's Standards of Learning exams are taking different tests.

Read more HERE.

School meals: the breakfast sugar overload

Valerie Strauss

The Answer Sheet:  A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

The Washington Post

November 17, 2009

The first thing that jumped out at me about today’s Washington Post story about kids in D.C. schools eating federally funded breakfasts was “sugar.”

How much sugar was in the breakfast given to fourth-grader Alex Brown?

He had a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal, amount not mentioned; but a single serving, 1 cup, has 14 grams of sugar. That’s not especially high in the sweetened cereal world, but it’s not great.

Read more HERE. 

Bad teachers in D.C., Md. are shielded, report says

Survey data point to restrictive policies that thwart innovation

By Nick Anderson
The Washington Post
Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A new national report card on educational innovation contends that principals in Maryland and the District of Columbia face too many barriers to ousting bad teachers.

As a result, both jurisdictions earned an F for teacher-removal policies. Virginia received an A.

Read more HERE.

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

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10 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 Public Forum is at 6 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/.

Executive session - 12 p.m.

Call to order - 1 p.m. - Pledge of Allegiance, Thomas Stone High School's JROTC unit

Superintendent's update to the Board

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Correspondence/Board member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board member update
• Enrollment
• CIP update
• Civics Mosaic/Russian visit
• Communications update

Unfinished Business

New business and future agenda items

• 2010 Legislative issues packet
• Contract award approval for Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School full-day kindergarten addition

Recognition- 4:30 p.m.

• Students
• Staff
• Recognition: American Cancer Society, Relay for Life

Public Forum - 6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel

Adjournment

Mitchell Elementary Shows Obama Speech During Assembly

Received numerous phone calls and emails from concerned parents regarding an assembly that presumably took place yesterday. According to these calls and emails, the prinicpal held an assembly to show the speech and announced that the Board of Education had decided to show the speech for educational purposes. Please remember all of this post is PRESUMED/ALLEGED, etc. I am still questioning and awaiting details from Central Office and Mitchell Elementary and will update this post accordingly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:

The below was sent from Mr. Richmond to all staff (the Board was NOT included onthis correspondance) ...

Thursday, October 01, 2009 2:34 PM

Subject: President Obama's Speech
On September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama spoke to the students across the United States via television broadcast. His message is one of encouragement to students about setting goals and accepting responsibility for their educational success. It is a message which is important for all students to hear, and also supports the Maryland State Curriculum for Social Studies.
As a result, we encourage your school to utilize this speech as an instructional resource. To assist in implementation, a few suggestions for the various grade levels are listed below along with the appropriate MSDE expectations.

Teachers can click on the link below to view the text or video of the speech. You may also go to the Virtual Drive / AllStaff folder.

President Obama Speech (Text)
President Obama Speech (Video)

In addition, please let Mr. Cunningham's office know how you utilized the speech.

Elementary Level
Social Studies Goal 1.0 Students will understand the historical development and current status of the fundamental concepts and processes of authority, power, and influence, with particular emphasis on the democratic skills and attitudes necessary to become responsible citizens.

Suggested Activities:

• Students create posters about their responsibilities; how these affect their future and the future of our nation.
• Students create posters / write an essay about their goals and their plans to achieve them.
• Students generate a class list of student responsibilities and post in the classroom.
• Post student goals around the classroom as reminders.

Middle School Level
Social Studies Goal 1.0 Students will understand the historical development and current status of the fundamental concepts and processes of authority, power, and influence, with particular emphasis on the democratic skills and attitudes necessary to become responsible citizens.

Suggested Activities:

• Students use before, during and after reading strategies as they read the speech.
• Students use SOAPSTone to analyze the content of the speech.
• Students create posters about student responsibilities; how these affect their future and the future of our nation.
• Students create posters / write an essay about their goals and their plans to achieve them.
• Generate a class list of student responsibilities and post in the classroom.
• Post student goals around the classroom as reminders.
• Students “Think, Pair, Share” share their goals.
• Students use different genres (songs, poems, etc.) to write about their goals.

High School Level

LSN Government:
EXPECTATION 1.1 - Assessment limit: individual rights and responsibilities

U.S. History:
Expectation 6 - Students will demonstrate understanding of the cultural, economic, political and social developments from 1981 to the present.
Indicator 2 - Analyze modern economic, political and social influences on American society from 1981-present (5.6.2).

Suggested Activities:

• Students use before, during and after reading strategies as they read the speech.
• Students use SOAPSTone to analyze the content of the speech.
• Students create posters of their goals (perhaps use a quad format) and label it based on the categories identified in the speech (personal, community, academic, and country).
• Students write essays explaining how their goals can be achieved.
• Students interview one another and share their goals.
• Students use different genres (songs, poems, etc.) to write about their goals.
• Compare President Obama’s speech with those given by his predecessors.

REMINDER: Board of Education Meeting, 10/13/09

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 13 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 Public Forum is at 6 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/.

Executive session  12 p.m.

Call to order  1 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance, Maurice J. McDonough High School's JROTC unit

Superintendent's update to the Board

Reports of officers/boards/committees

• Correspondence/Board member updates
• Education Association of Charles County update
• Student Board member update
• Safe schools with Sheriff Rex Coffey
• Audit report
• Budget update
• CIP update
• High school security cameras
• Summer maintenance projects
• Fine and Performing Arts curriculum and events
• Title I parent policy
• Testing update
• Recruiting update

Unfinished Business

New business and future agenda items

• New High School

Recognition - 4:30 p.m.

Resolution: American Education Week, American Freedom Week

Public Forum  6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel
• FY 2010 Comprehensive maintenance plan
• Record retention policy #2470

Adjournment

A Crazy Idea for Middle Schools

Class Struggle - by Jay Mathews
washingtonpost.com
October 2, 2009

When education pundits like me talk about the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland, Calif., the conversation is always about the middle school's leader, Ben Chavis. He is very different from us data-sifting eggheads. It is not an exaggeration to call him a wild man. He delights in upbraiding lazy students, outraging inattentive teachers and making wrong-headed visitors to the school wish they had stayed home.

He has the independent spirit of someone who had a successful career in construction, teaching and business before the then-woebegone AIPCS board asked him to rescue the school. He didn’t need the job. He did it mostly as a favor to fellow Native Americans--he was born into a Lumbee Indian family of sharecroppers in North Carolina--and as a challenge. He has many of the habits of some of the best educators I know--a wicked sense of humor, a weakness for shocking the conventionally wise and a deep love of children, particularly those who have had difficult lives.


Read more HERE.

NOTES from BOE Work Session with Commissioners 9/28/09

The Board Meeting on Monday, September 28th will be re-broadcast on Channel 96 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs.

The topic of this meeting was the new PROPOSED high school which I will be voting "NO" to unless things change drastically. The value engineering ORDERED by the commissioners has changed the design so drastically that the initial vision and purpose has been skewed. Yes the total cost has been reduced BUT whatthey don't tell you is that most of the reduction is due to the economy and the decrease in square footage construction. So if you were to take the initial design, we would still come out at about the same price.

In addition, not one of the commissioners can commit to finding a way to fund the operating cost of this new school. It will cost $18M one-time cost to open the doors of which they are willing to take $10M from the DRRA funds. (meaning we won't have the DRRA funds for the next elementary school which we would be submitting for planning in 2014). The annual operating costs is approx. $14.3M of which they have no idea where it will come from and won't commit to funding. They actually want us to open and operate this new school on our current budget. That is NOT being financially responsible and I cannot condone building this school when we don't know how we will pay for it.

REMINDER: Board Work Session, 9/28/09

**PLEASE MAKE NOTE OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THE FACT THAT THE COMMISSIONERS WILL BE JOINING US FOR THIS MEETING**

The Board of Education's next work session is Monday, Sepetmber 28, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. with public forum. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. Program schedules for Channel 96 are available at www2.ccboe.com/publicinfo/channel96/schedule.cfm . The agenda and reports can be found on BoardDocs.

4:30 - EXECUTIVE SESSION

6:00 - Public Forum

• Discussion with Commissioners on their plans for funding the new high school, including operating costs

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

Mr. Richmond and the Board of Education received a memo from the County Administrator, Ms. Rebecca B. Bridgett, stating the county would be confiscating the following funds from the FY2010 budget:

1. $613,000 Capital Pay-Go Projects (maintenance)
2. $321,000 Cable Funding (money provided through the franchise agreement with the county for the system to have cable access)

and it is still looking for more.

Vandalism at Brown Elementary

Vandals caused several thousands of dollars worth of damage to air handling units at Dr. Brown Elementary School last night between 3 and 4 a.m., and got up on the roof and tore open four of seven air handling units and ripped out switches and wires. The vandalism disabled the units and school system electricians are at the school working to repair the damage. Three smaller units are working and we are sending fans to the school in order to keep it operating today.

Police are investigating.

School system, all high schools meet state benchmarks

Charles County Public Schools, for the second consecutive year, has met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as a system and at each level  elementary, middle and high school. Additionally, all six Charles County public high schools met AYP school performance benchmarks for 2009.

The Maryland State Department of Education released results Monday. The high school AYP is based on the results of grade 12 students' scores on the Maryland High School Assessments (HSA) and graduation rate. Information released Sept. 21 is only for high schools; the state released AYP data for middle and elementary schools in August.

AYP is the gain that schools, school systems, and states must make each year in the proportion of students achieving proficiency in reading and math. To make AYP, schools and school systems must improve in reading and mathematics for all students, as well as for nine student subgroups including each of five racial/ethnic groups, students receiving special education services, Limited English Proficiency services and Free and Reduced Meals services (FARMS). AYP also includes graduation rates for high school and attendance in elementary and middle school. A high school's AYP status is based on the highest student scores among all grade 12 students on the English and algebra/data analysis HSA scores, the school's participation rate in the assessments and its graduation rate.

"Students and staff continue to work toward meeting the rigorous goals set by the state and federal government. Education Week, the College Board and Newsweek all ranked Maryland education as number one in the nation, and I am proud of Charles County Public Schools, our students, teachers and staff who contribute to this extraordinary accomplishment," Superintendent James E. Richmond said. "Our students continue to make progress, and as with every round of testing results, we will take this information and use it to build upon our success and make improvement where needed."

The Maryland School Assessment (MSA) exams are given in the spring to third through eighth-grade students in reading and mathematics. High school students take the HSA in May.

Additional information may be found on the School Improvement in Maryland Web site at http://www.mdk12.org and the Maryland State Department of Education Web site at http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE.

Seniors meet state testing requirement

Charles County Public Schools' class of 2009 met the challenges of the new state High School Assessments (HSA) graduation requirement and increased its graduation rate, according to data released today by the Maryland State Department of Education.

No Charles County high school student failed to graduate solely because of the High School Assessments (HSA), which is a graduation requirement that took effect with the class of 2009. Other graduation requirements include student service learning and completion of a minimum of 23 credits as specified by law.

HSA data shows that of the 2,104 Charles County Public Schools graduating seniors, 100 percent met the HSA requirement with 1,537 students passing all four tests. Additionally, 404 students, or 19.1 percent, met the requirement by achieving a combined score of 1602 points across the four assessments. Another 7.7 percent, or 163 students, used the Bridge Plan for Academic Validation to pass the HSAs. No Charles County students received a waiver.

"Our high schools and instructional staff worked hard to track the progress of individual students and to provide a plan to help them be successful on the HSA. I commend each staff member for making sure our students graduated with their class," said Superintendent James E. Richmond.

The graduation rate also improved slightly in 2009, rising from 87.24 percent in 2008 to 88.26 percent.

HSA is a requirement for the Maryland High School Diploma, which started with the class of 2009. HSAs include algebra, English II, government and biology. The algebra and English II scores are also used as part of the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) and to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at the high school level. All six Charles County public high schools met AYP for the 2008-09 school year.

Newly released HSA data also shows that the class of 2010 is making progress toward meeting the graduation requirement. Already, 83.3 percent of the class of 2010 has met the HSA requirement, with 1,427 of 2,153 enrolled students passing all four tests, 359 scoring a 1602 composite score and seven completing Bridge Plan projects. These results are as of the May administration of the HSA, and do not include results of any students who completed Bridge projects over the summer. There are 360 seniors who still must meet the requirement. Many of these students have transferred to Charles County Public Schools and have not taken all the tests for various reasons. There are three additional opportunities for students to take or retake the tests this year. Richmond said he anticipates that once these students have completed all four exams, they will meet the HSA graduation requirement.

There are several ways that students can meet the rigorous HSA requirements. Students can pass all four tests outright; earn a combined score of 1602 on all four tests; or complete the Bridge Plan, which offers students who have not achieved passing scores on assessments an optional way to meet the HSA requirement. Students failing to pass an HSA can complete a single eight- to twelve-hour project for every twenty-one points they fall short of the passing score.

Students who have not passed the tests are being offered additional classes, support and program adjustments to help move them toward graduation.

All 2009 school and system data will be available on the updated www.MdReportCard.org Web site on Tuesday.

Doubts emerge as statewide tests keep just 11 from diploma

By Liz Bowie
Baltimore Sun
September 22, 2009

State education officials said Monday that only 11 students statewide did not graduate in June because of newly required tests, a number that seemed surprisingly low to those who had worried that thousands of students would fail to graduate.

The High School Assessment, which took effect with the Class of 2009, had produced some of the most divisive debates in the education community in the past several years. Supporters of the tests said they would make the state's high schools more rigorous and a diploma more meaningful. Others argued against the requirement, saying that it created an unfair disadvantage for students in urban schools who had not been given an adequate education.

But the results for the Class of 2009 prompted state school board member S. James Gates Jr. to ask, "Are we setting the standards high enough?"

Read more HERE

School system to remove light poles at North Point

Four light poles on the North Point High School football field will be removed, and the stadium is shut down until the school system is assured it is safe to allow students back on the athletic fields.

Last week, after Superintendent James E. Richmond received notice that a number of light towers manufactured by a Fort Worth, Texas company had fallen, it was determined that the poles at North Point were designed by the same company. School system staff found visible cracks in two of the poles, leading to the relocation of the Friday night North Point/Henry E. Lackey High School football game.

On Monday, the school system hired a structural engineering firm to examine four outdoor steel light poles at North Point. The investigation showed there were cracks in two of the poles and evidence of the same distress starting in the two other poles. North Point is the only school with this brand of light pole. Richmond ordered all four poles to be removed from the field. "With the information we have now, we are not taking any chances. The result of not removing the poles could be devastating," Richmond said.

Weather permitting, pole removal will begin Thursday, Sept. 17 and is expected to take two days. Athletic events scheduled for this week have been relocated with cooperation from the other county high schools and the county Community Services department. North Point has also moved physical education classes and JROTC activities to other locations until the poles are removed. North Point Principal Kim Hill said, "The stadium will remain shut down until we know it is safe to reopen."

All night games scheduled at North Point for the remainder of the fall season will be rescheduled as daytime events or relocated. Athletic events impacted include football, girls' and boys' soccer, and field hockey. Parents and fans can find schedule changes by visiting the North Point Web site, www2.ccboe.com/northpoint, clicking on athletics and viewing the schedules on the North Point Athletics link.

The school system intends to replace all four poles with new poles and reuse the existing light fixtures. There is no time estimate for when the poles will be replaced. Richmond has also ordered inspection of all school system stadium metal light poles.

Concern over the poles, which were manufactured by Whitco Co. LP of Fort Worth, began late this summer when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an alert about the possible risk of the poles. The school system was alerted last week when a notice was sent to Richmond. Nationwide, nine poles have fallen since 2000 and nearly 50 other Whitco poles have been found to have cracks. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued statements that engineers are looking for the cause of the failure in the poles.

Students' AP test scores improve

Fewer take exams, but results are up slightly

Maryland Independent
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009
By GRETCHEN PHILLIPS
Staff writer

Data released by the Charles County school system show that Advanced Placement test scores are improving but participation has dropped.

Read more HERE.

UPDATE: We the BOE are now 'un-summoned'

It's absolutely amazing what a little publicity can accomplish...

The Board of Education's work session scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 10, with the Charles County Commissioners in the Board Room at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, has been CANCELED.

The Board will hold a joint work session with the Charles County Commissioners to discuss the new high school on Monday, Sept. 28, 6 p.m. in the Board Room at the Starkey Building. The meeting will be aired live on Comcast Channel 96 and broadcast live on the school system Web site at www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/. The agenda is as follows:

Call to order  6 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance Public Forum
Work session
Discussion on new high school
Adjournment

Board of Education Meeting Agenda, 9/8/09

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 8 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. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/.

Executive session  12 p.m.

Call to order  1 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance, Henry E. Lackey High School's JROTC unit

Superintendent's update to the Board Reports of officers/boards/committees

Correspondence/Board member updates

Education Association of Charles County update

Student Board member update

Opening of school

Fall sports update

CIP update

FY2010 Comprehensive Maintenance Plan

New high school design update

Integration of history and science fair content

Staffing update

Record retention policy

Unfinished Business

New business and future agenda items

• New business - FY2009 Intercategory budget transfers
  Future agenda items

Recognition- 4:30 p.m.

Resolution: Health Careers Month; Taste of America

Public Forum  6 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel
• State 2011 CIP
• Recurring Resolutions: Health Careers Month; American Education Week; American Freedom Week; African American History Month; Career and Technical Education Month; National School Counseling Week; Read Across America; Women's History Month; Fine and Performing Arts Month; Month of the Young Child; National Student Leadership Week; Teacher Appreciation Week; Administrative Professionals' Week; Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week; National Physical Education and Sport Week; Washington Post Distinguish Educational Leader; Charles County Teacher or the Year; Employees' Retirement; and Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award.

President Obama's Address to Students

We have had multiple inquiries from parents, teachers and staff as to whether the school system will provide students with access to view President Barack Obama’s national address to students, which will be broadcast live on the White House Web site, as well as on C-SPAN, at noon, Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

The school system does not have the capabilities to provide ALL students with access to view the address for the following reasons:

• The data server the school system uses, which supports the school system Web site, does not have the capacity to support more than 65 streams, or 65 individual log ins, to the White House Web site; and
• The school system does not have the capability to provide television access because C-SPAN has recently become digitized and none of the schools are equipped with a digital converter box from Comcast.

Charles County Public Schools will provide a link to the White House’s Web site on the school system Web site for parents, students and others to access the presidential address at home.

Because everyone will not be able to access this broadcast during the school day, we are asking that no teachers use this in their classrooms.

COMMISSIONERS SUMMON BOE MEMBERS TO APPEAR....AGAIN!

I was just notified by Central Office that the Board of Education has been summoned to meet with the Commissioners once again for a "Joint Meeting" on the new high school. The date is September 10, 2009 at 1:30 pm in the board room. If this is truely a "joint meeting" why are we dictated a time instead of coordinating? The majority of the Board of Education members hold full-time jobs in addition to their elected position and cannot always be at the beckoning call of the sitting royal "highnesses"

SAT scores crater as more take test

County average falls well below state, national marks
Friday, Aug. 28, 2009
By GRETCHEN PHILLIPS
Staff writer

Charles County Public Schools' SAT scores have dropped below state and national averages, although data reflect that participation has increased, which generally lowers average scores.
County students scored an average of 1464 of a possible 2400 on the widely used college entrance test, according to data released from the school system this week.

Data show 39.8 percent of the county's graduating seniors took the test.

Aside from dropping below state and national averages, the county dropped 47 points below its own average last year.

Read more HERE

Schools open with new programs, safety messages

Sheriff deputies joined school officials to welcome high school students back to school this morning with reminders of teen driving laws and safety messages. Officers were passing safety flyers and checking for seat belts as student drivers arrived for the start of the 2009-2010 school year. The focus on safe driving is an effort by Charles County Public Schools and the Charles County Sheriff's Office to prevent teen driving accidents and fatalities.

Charles County Public Schools opened Monday, Aug. 24 with limited enrollment increases, the addition of several new academic programs and plans for combating a possible outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus in the fall.

More than 26,800 students were expected to start the 2009-2010 school year, an enrollment prediction that includes an 80-student increase and follows a three-year trend of limited growth. This is in contrast to the triple-digit student population increases of the preceding two decades and the smallest increases since the early 1980s.

New teacher hires

The number of teacher hires decreased this year. Most teaching positions are filled, and Keith Hettel, assistant superintendent of human resources said as of Friday, Aug. 21, the system had hired 169 teachers, including 84 middle and high school, 29 elementary and 56 special education teachers.

Instructional programs

Several new academic opportunities are available to students this year. Gateway to Technology has been expanded to all middle schools, and a new program, Magic Planet, will be piloted at four elementary schools. A program called Algebraic Thinking is being implemented at all middle schools, and three schools have been selected to participate in an in-school academic support program called Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).

Gateway to Technology is a middle school pre-engineering course and part of the nationally recognized Project Lead The Way high school engineering curriculum. Gateway to Technology is activity-oriented and designed to help students in grades six through eight explore math, science and technology. Units of study include Design and Modeling, Automation and Robotics, The Magic of Electrons, The Science of Technology, and Flight and Space. The course focus is on showing, not telling, students how to use engineering skills to solve everyday problems and to help students build stronger math, science and technology inquiry skills. The Magic Planet is a digital video globe and projection device that allows students to view and explore dynamic digital media of the earth. The Magic Planet, along with teacher lessons, helps to improve the way students understand and apply concepts to global systems. Magic Planet explores climate, geologic history, the biosphere and many more earth related concepts. It is being piloted at four elementary schools this school year. They are William B. Wade, Walter J. Mitchell, Malcolm and Berry elementary schools.

Middle schools are adding Algebraic Thinking, which presents math concepts using manipulatives, pictorial representations and algorithms to help students develop a better understanding of concepts and math. Earlier this month, classroom teachers received five days of training to familiarize them with the course and teaching techniques.

Three schools, General Smallwood Middle School, and Westlake and Henry E. Lackey high schools, are adding AVID to help prepare students for college eligibility and success. AVID places academically average students in advanced classes and is part of the school system's continuing efforts to eliminate achievement gaps for minority, rural, low income and other students without a college-going tradition in their families. Team members at each school received one week of training this summer to implement the program and to incorporate AVID methods throughout the school.

School bus inspections

When Charles County's 278 bus drivers started their routes this morning, all buses had undergone annual inspections, according to Santy DiSabatino, director of transportation. Inspections include under-the-hood mechanical checks as well as examination of the exterior and interior lighting, seats, floors and safety equipment. The school system inspected all buses earlier this month as required by state law. Additionally, drivers received four hours of training. All bus drivers have been hired, and there are no new bus routes. New in transportation this year is School Locator, an automated way for parents to check their child's school bus route. School Locator can be found through a link on the school system's Web page at www.ccboe.com.

Charles County's buses travel 33,996 miles daily, which adds up to 6.1 million miles per year. Most students ride a school bus at some time, and 21,000 students ride daily. In Charles County, 28 independent contractors provide the school bus services for Charles County Public Schools.

H1N1 preparations

Letters are being sent home this week with all students to update parents on preparations for the H1N1 virus, as well as announcing the availability of flu mist for seasonal flu. In October, the Charles County Department of Health will offer flu mist in all elementary schools for students with parental permission.

School-aged children are most susceptible to the H1N1 virus because they have not been exposed to seasonal flu vaccines as often as adults. Last school year, an outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus caused several Maryland schools to close for a short time; however, no Charles County schools were closed. Health officials have said schools and counties should prepare for a potentially severe outbreak this school year. No plans are being made to close schools, but plans are being made to isolate sick children and to limit exposure and the spread of germs through education of proper hand washing and respiratory etiquette. The letter and other health information can be found on the school system Web site at www.ccboe.com/health.

Mark your calendars

Parent Handbook/Calendars are being sent home with every student this week. Important dates in September are:
Sept. 7  Labor Day, schools and offices closed;
Sept. 8  First day for category 3 prekindergarten students; Board of Education meeting, 1 p.m.; Public Forum, 6 p.m.;
Sept. 16  Minority Achievement Committee meeting, 4:30 p.m., Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building; Special Education Citizens Advisory Committee meeting, 6:30 p.m., Starkey;
Sept. 18  Schools closed for students, teacher in-service day;
Sept. 23  Mid-Atlantic College Fair, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. for students; 6-8 p.m. for the public, North Point High School;
Sept. 28  Interims issued; and
Sept. 30  Two-hour early dismissal.

Your answers to 10 tricky children's questions

This week the [BBC News] Magazine posed 10 awkward questions children ask their parents. Here are suggestions, from readers and experts, on how to answer these stumpers.

Where do bees go in winter? Don't know the answer? You're not the only one.

According to a new survey, four out of five UK parents have been stumped by something their children have asked. So we posed our own question - what difficult things have children asked you?

We then threw 10 of the best back to the readers, asking for kid-level answers you would offer. Here's a selection of the best - along with suggested answers from a philosopher and from experts from the Science: So what? So everything campaign.

Read those 10 awkward questions HERE! :)

REMINDER: Board of Education Meeting, 8/11/09

The Board of Education's next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 11 a.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and rebroadcast throughout the week. All televised Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system Web site at http://www2.ccboe.com/boe/live/.

Executive session  10 a.m.

Call to order  11 a.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Superintendent's update to the Board

Reports of officers/boards/committees

Correspondence/Board Member updates

• MABE conference

Education Association of Charles County update

Flu update

Reports of officers/boards/committees

Capital Improvements Program (CIP)
State CIP 2011
Summer Success Academies
Bridge to Excellence
Staffing update
Recurring Resolutions

• Health Careers Month
• American Education Week
• American Freedom Week
• African American History Month
• Career and Technical Education Month
• National School Counseling Week
• Read Across America
• Women's History Month
• Fine and Performing Arts Month
• Month of the Young Child
• National Student Leadership Week
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• Administrative Professionals' Week
• Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week
• National Physical Education and Sport Week

Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leader

Charles County Teacher of the Year
Employees' Retirement
Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award

Record Retention Policy #2470

Unfinished Business

New business

Future agenda items

Public Forum  3:30 p.m.

Action items

• Minutes
• Personnel

Adjournment

School system announces new principal, vice principals

Superintendent James E. Richmond has announced the appointment of Douglass Dolan as acting principal of Mattawoman Middle School, effective immediately. Dolan replaces William Wise, who retired last month after 44 years of service to Charles County Public Schools. Dolan's appointment must be approved by the Board of Education, which meets next on Aug. 11.

Dolan moves to Mattawoman from Theodore G. Davis Middle School where he has served as a vice principal for the past two years. Dolan began his career in education in 1995 as a social studies teacher at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in Prince George's County. He transferred after one year to Friendly High School where he started as a social studies teacher and later served as an assistant principal during his 11 years at the school.

Dolan's appointment is the first of several administrative changes made this week for the upcoming school year. Richmond also appointed two acting vice principals pending Board approval next week. They are: Shannon Finnigan as acting vice principal at Berry Elementary School; and Jackie Couvillon as acting vice principal at William A. Diggs Elementary School.

Additionally, Richmond announced the following vice principal transfers:

• Pauline Johnson from La Plata High School to Henry E. Lackey High School;
• Veronica Crawford from Lackey to La Plata;
• Patricia Mooring from Gale-Bailey Elementary School to Arthur Middleton Elementary School;
• Tara Moore from Middleton to Gale-Bailey; and
• David Hoogerheide from Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School to William A. Diggs Elementary School.
  
  There are still three administrative openings, which Richmond hopes to fill prior to the start of the school year. Vacancies include the principal position at the F.B. Gwynn Center, vice principal at Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy and vice principal at Davis.
  
  All new assignments begin immediately.
  

Schools Plan Open Houses

Charles County public schools are planning open-house events for parents in September and October. The following is a list of school open houses and back-to-school nights.

Elementary schools

C. Paul Barnhart, all students, Sept. 10, 7-8:30 p.m.;
Berry, all students, Sept. 10, 6-8 p.m.;
Dr. Gustavus Brown, all students, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m.;
Dr. James Craik, back-to-school night, Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m.;
William A. Diggs, kindergarten  grade 2, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.; grades 3-5, Sept. 10, 7 p.m.;
Gale-Bailey, all students, Sept. 1, 6:30 p.m.;
Dr. Thomas L. Higdon, all students, Sept. 10, 6-7:30 p.m.;
Indian Head, kindergarten  grade 5, Sept. 2, 6:30-8 p.m.;
Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, kindergarten  grade 2, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m.; grades 3-5, Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m.;
Malcolm, all students, Sept. 3, 6:30 p.m.;
T.C. Martin, prekindergarten, kindergarten, grades 1 and 2, Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m.; grades 3-5, Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m.;
Mary H. Matula, back-to-school night, Sept. 10, 7 p.m.;
Arthur Middleton, AM prekindergarten, kindergarten, grades 1-2, Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m.; PM prekindergarten and grades 3-5, Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m.;
Walter J. Mitchell, back-to-school night, grades 3-5, Sept. 8, 7-8 p.m.; back-to-school night, prekindergarten  grade 2, Sept. 10, 7-8 p.m.;
Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy, all students, Sept. 3, 7-8:30 p.m.;
Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, all students, Oct. 6, 6:30-8 p.m.;
Mary B. Neal, all students, Sept. 10, 7 p.m.;
J.C. Parks, all students, Sept. 3, 6:30-8 p.m.;
J.P. Ryon, all students, Sept. 10, 6:30-7:45 p.m.;
Eva Turner, all students, Sept. 1, 6:30-8 p.m.; and
William B. Wade, kindergarten  grade 2, Sept. 1, 6:30 p.m.; grades 3-5, Sept. 2, 6:30 p.m.

Middle schools
Theodore G. Davis, all students, Sept. 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m.;
John Hanson, all students, Sept. 17, 3:30-5:30 p.m.;
Matthew Henson, back-to-school night, Sept. 16, 7-9:00 p.m.;
Mattawoman, all students, Sept. 17, 6:30-8:30 p.m.;
Piccowaxen, all students, Sept. 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m.;
General Smallwood, all students, Sept. 17, 6-8 p.m.;
Milton M. Somers, all students, Sept. 17, 6-8 p.m.; and
Benjamin Stoddert, all students, Sept. 16, 6-8 p.m.

High schools
Henry E. Lackey, all students, Sept. 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m.;
La Plata, all students, Sept. 15, 7 p.m.;
Maurice J. McDonough, back-to-school night, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.;
North Point, all students, Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m.;
Thomas Stone, all students, Sept. 17, 6:30 p.m.; and
Westlake, all students, Sept. 21, 7 p.m.