Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The Gaithersburg school was one of just two Montgomery County schools honored.
Gaithersburg's Summit Hall Elementary was one of two Montgomery County schools and 64 schools nationwide selected as a Green Ribbon award winner, Montgomery County Public Schools announced Tuesday. The Green Ribbon Schools award program, established in 2011, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and recognizes schools that save energy, reduce costs, feature environmentally sustainable learning spaces, protect health, foster wellness, and offer environmental education to boost academic achievement and community engagement, according to MCPS. Also selected was Germantown's Cedar Grove Elementary School. Representatives from the winning schools will participate in a national awards ceremony June 3, MCPS announced. The Maryland …
Pension issues and local funding to drive spending over next four years.
While Montgomery County spends approximately half of its annual $4 billion budget on K-12 education, that figure is expected to grow by more than $100 million over the next four years, according to a recent Washington Post article. Two state mandates uncovered by Montgomery County Council staff will drive the increased spending—the shift of teacher pension costs from the state to the counties and the “maintenance of effort” rules which require schools to maintain a level of per-pupil funding at least equal to the previous year, The Post reported. Montgomery County Councilmember Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5) described the increases in education funding as “a runway train.” Montgomery County Council staff director Stephen Farber described the …
Monday, April 22, 2013
Incident is fourth such occurrence since 2005.
(UPDATE April 22) The Maryland Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently announced that for the fourth time in eight years, it has taken action against Montgomery County Public Schools regarding a student’s right to decline to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. This most recent incident involved Enidris Siurano-Rodriguez, a 10th-grade student at Damascus High School, who was protesting U.S. government policies toward Puerto Rico, which is her family's native country. According to the ACLU’s press release, Siurano-Rodriguez initially was sent to the principal’s office, where the assistant principal “improperly demanded to know why she persisted in sitting during the Pledge.” The school then contacted the student’…
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Group of teachers organizes sale of t-shirts to raise money for community outings.
On April 1, the world lit it up blue. The Empire State Building in New York, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia and other landmarks across the globe displayed bright blue lights, all in an effort to build awareness for an important cause. The global display kicked off World Autism Awareness Day, a day dedicated to fundraising and raising awareness about the condition that affects millions of people across the world. For the city of Gaithersburg, that day kicks off Autism Awareness Month; 30 days dedicated to raising the public’s awareness of aAutism. And Gaithersburg Middle School has been among those who have led the charge. A group of teachers have been raising money all month to help pay for awareness-raising …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013 introduced in Maryland Legislature.
A 7-year-old boy at Park Elementary School in Anne Arundel County was recently suspended for two days for chewing a strawberry-filled breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun, pointing it and saying “bang, bang.” The Washington Post was one of a number of media outlets that reported the incident, which captured national attention with political commentator George Will naming the child the Pop-Tart Terrorist. The Post also reports that in the almost three months since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, two Washington, DC-area children have been suspended for pointing their fingers like guns. It also reported that a 10-year-old in Alexandria was arrested for displaying a toy gun and a 5-year-old girl in Pennsylvania was suspended …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Learn about a different kind of Maryland "crab," where Costco fans are flocking and how a flash heat wave felled students. Be prepared with all the Maryland news across Patch.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, April 14
By Patch Staff Relationship Between Army Recruiter and Slain Rockville Teen Examined As the community grieves, details are emerging about the nature of the relationship between a Rockville High School student and an Army recruiter whom police say shot and killed the teen before killing himself at his Germantown home. Blue Angels Cancel Remaining Air Shows in 2013 The rest of the season—including the air show in Annapolis—was canceled due to budget constraints in the defense department, an official said. Michelle Obama to Speak at Bowie State University Commencement The first lady will address approximately 600 graduates during commencement excercises on May 17, and BSU will confer an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree upon the first lady. …
Learn when each Montgomery County public high school will hold its graduation ceremony.
Montgomery County Public Schools on Thursday tweeted a link to a schedule of high school graduations this spring. All ceremonies at DAR Costitution Hall in Washington, D.C. will be streamed online, the school system's website said. The graduations season begins with a ceremony for the school system's Alternative Programs on May 24 and wraps up with June 12 with ceremonies for Watkins Mill High School, the Longview School and the Gateway to College program. Click here to read the full schedule on the MCPS website.
Catch up on the week in Montgomery County social media.
Check out these #MoCo Online posts you may have missed this week: #MoCo Online finds Montgomery County information posted via social media and shares it with you. Click here for more #MoCo Online posts.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Christine Handy-Collins received a proposal from community member and parent, Kathleen Lloyd, to name the Media Center at GHS the Steve and Laurie Augustino Instructional Media Center.
Should Gaithersburg High School's new media center don the name "Steve and Laurie Augustino Instructional Media Center"? That's what Montgomery County Public Schools is trying to determine after Gaithersburg Principal Christine Handy-Collins received a proposal from a community member and GHS parent to name the library after longtime Gaithersburg school supporters. Steve and Laurie Augustino have been involved in the school system since their only child, Melissa, walked through the doors of Goshen Elementary School more than 20 years ago, according to a city news release. The Augustinos have worn many hats, including PTSA member, PTSA president, MCCPTA Cluster Coordinators, CIP Chairperson, Area Vice President for PTSA, GHS PTSA Building …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
A defenseman with the Capitals for two seasons, Ken Sabourin was at Stone Mill Elementary for a Capitals Hockey School.
Nadia Biznis
4:47 pm on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Um...yeah, about Puerto Rico... a U.S. Territory... it IS therefore part of the US. There is even a very active movement there to lead it to statehood. So..."her family's native country?" Wow. Not much educating going on in our schools, eh? more ›