Health & Fitness
MarylandCAN News Roundup: Top 10 Education News Stories of the Week
MarylandCAN's top 10 education stories of the week.
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February 25, 2013 |ย Editorial,ย The Baltimore Sun
Scientists have long known that the human mind develops most rapidly during the first five years of life, a point President Barack Obama underscored in his State of the Union address when he urged states to provide universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. Investment in early childhood education is an investment in the nation's future, and Maryland is well-positioned to heed the president's call.
Find out what's happening in Owings Mills-Reisterstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Find out what's happening in Owings Mills-Reisterstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
February 26, 2013 | Robert Balfanz and John Bridgeland, McClatchy-Tribune, posted onย Vindy.com
The nationโs high school dropout challenge is no longer a silent epidemic and many of Americaโs dropout factories are closing or being retooled. Our annual update to the nation provides both encouraging evidence that reform efforts are bearing fruit and disturbing news about the graduation gaps that remain.
The most recent data show that the nation has experienced the first significant growth in high school graduation rates in 40 years. Pushed forward by a five percentage point gain between 2006 and 2010, the country is finally on pace to reach the national goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate.
February 26,ย 2013 | Jen Bondeson, The Washington Post
Montgomery Countyโs teachers union may be preparing to fight the Maryland State Department of Education regarding the departmentโs new requirements for teacher evaluations.
Montgomery County Public Schools leaders heard from the state department earlier this month that, starting next year, the system must use studentsโ results on state tests to determine 20 percent of a teacherโs effectiveness.
The Montgomery County Education Association is now trying to determine just how much power the state has to impose changes on local systems, Tom Israel, executive director of union, said Thursday.
4. Thousands rally in support of Baltimore schools
February 25, 2013 | Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun
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Supporters of a $2.4 billion plan to rebuild Baltimore's crumbling schools made a show of support in Annapolis on Monday night as thousands of people staged a loud, festive rally outside the State House to urge passage of legislation to launch the program.
Teachers, students, parents and others described deplorable conditions in city schools โ ranging from disgusting bathrooms and broken windows to stifling classrooms and inadequate computer labs โ as they called upon lawmakers to provide the resources to rebuild the state's oldest school buildings.
5. Kennedy High School highlighted in achievement gap discussion
February 24,ย 2013 | Nayana Davis, Kensington Patch
Maryland students have once again secured a number one ranking number one rankingโthis time in the number of students scoring a 3 or higher out of five on an Advanced Placement test.
The state moved up from 27.9 percent in 2011 to 29.6 percent in 2012, the highest percentage in the nation, according to a report released by the College Board Wednesday. A total of 48.2 percent of Maryland students took the exam in 2012, up from 46.4 the previous year.
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6. White House warns of education, defense cuts in Md.
February 24, 2013 | John Fritze, The Baltimore Sun
Maryland would lose $14.4 million in federal education funding, roughly 46,000 Department of Defense employees would be furloughed and 2,050 fewer children would receive vaccines if looming across-the-board spending cuts are allowed to take effect this week, according to a report released Sunday by the Obama administration.
The report, the latest in a series of efforts by the White House to underscore the potential impact of the nation's latest budget impasse, also states that 200 education jobs would be put at risk, that Maryland would lose $3.1 million in environmental funding and that Blue Angels shows in Annapolis and Ocean City could be canceled.
7. Northwestern High alumni sue school system over closure
February 24, 2013 | Erica L. Green, The Baltimore Sun
Northwestern High alumni have gone to court to try to stop the Baltimore school from closing, as civil rights activists say the plan is discriminatory because shuttering the institution would disproportionately affect low-income, minority students.
The alumni association filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction in Baltimore City Circuit Court last week, arguing that the Baltimore school system's 10-year facilities plan was based on inaccurate and outdated information and would adversely affect hundreds of students from Northwest Baltimore.
8. Educational gap could hamper redevelopment efforts, according to EDC
February 24, 2013 | Don Aines, Herald-Mail.com
Most Washington County residents have not obtained four-year college degrees, an educational gap that could hamper redevelopment efforts, according to an economic development strategic plan.
โWashington County is at the lower end of the educational attainment spectrum in terms of percentages of its residents 25 years of age and older having four-year college degrees and graduate and professional degrees,โ says the report, compiled by Urbanomics Inc. on behalf of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission and the county Industrial Foundation, or CHIEF.
February 22, 2013 | Kristen Amundson, The Washington Post
In an op-ed this month, โTime out on standardized testing," Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr explained why he thinks there should be a moratorium on federally required standardized testing. I disagree.
I enter this conversation with some trepidation. Although I taught in Montgomery schools for one year, I have spent most of my life in Fairfax County, where I served as a school board member and a state legislator. But at least some of the lessons I learned on one side of the Potomac River apply equally to the other.
10. Some left behind as graduation rates rise
February 22, 2013 | Southern Maryland News
More St. Maryโs County public high school students picked up diplomas at commencement exercises last spring than ever before. Thatโs largely because the graduation rate for the Class of 2012 was 4 percent higher than for the Class of 2011.
In the blizzard of statistics now used to measure school performance some are more important than others. This is an important one.
