schools – Page 3 – Jay's Real Estate Blog

BOE Approves CARC As New Graduation Site

Mar. 14, 2013

The Garrett County Board of Education approved decisions on school graduation ceremonies during Tuesday’s scheduled board meeting. The board elected to hold graduation for both Northern and Southern high schools at the Community Aquatic and Recreational Center (CARC) at Garrett College. Furthermore, the board also approved a date of Saturday, June 1, for graduation ceremonies.

Paul Edwards, director of secondary education, noted that both high schools requested to move the graduation site to the CARC for several reasons, including unlimited seating at the CARC; weather concerns removed since graduation would be inside; and that the facility is air-conditioned.

Both principals met with senior class officials and teachers and are supportive of the change. School officials decided that they wanted to hold graduation on a Saturday instead of Sunday, as in the past. Dr. Richard MacLennan, president of Garrett College, was supportive of the change and would allow the BOE to use the facility without a fee.

The BOE, along with school officials, agreed to have Southern High School’s graduation ceremony at 10 a.m., followed by Northern High’s graduation at 3 p.m. The schools agreed to swap time frames every year.

More here.

Schools’ chief recommends denial of charter application

Riverside Academy would increase financial burden on school system

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Garrett County Superintendent of Schools Janet Wilson is recommending that the Board of Education deny an application for a proposed charter school in Kitzmiller. Six committees reviewed the application submitted by Kitzmiller Charter School Initiative Inc. and, for the most part, the analysis of the application yielded unfavorable recommendations, ac-cording to Wilson’s recommendation.

“I concur with the analysis and subsequent recommendations made by members of the six review committees,” Wilson wrote in her recommendation “Although my recommendation to deny the charter school application could stand alone, the addendum to this recommendation also ad-dresses the fiscal implications of granting the charter application during a period of declining student enrollment and unprecedented financial hardships for the Garrett County Public Schools.”

Wilson noted that granting the application for Riverside Academy would increase the financial burden on the school system as a whole and would result in the need of further school closings, student redistricting, reductions in force of staff and the continued inability to meet negotiated employee pay scales.

“What is clear and compelling is that there will be a significant impact to all Garrett County public schools and all students should Riverside Academy become a reality,” wrote Wilson.

Under Maryland law, a county board of education must fund a public charter school with an amount “that is commensurate with the amount disbursed to other public schools in the local jurisdiction,” according to the state Department of Education.

The doors to Dennett Road and Kitzmiller Elementary closed permanently in May of last year and Bloomington Elementary closed in 2011.

“These closures represent 20 percent of the 15 schools that served Garrett County in fiscal 2011,” Wilson wrote. “These closures, as well as corresponding reductions in force and other significant reductions or eliminations of programs, while painstakingly difficult for the elected Board of Education, were necessary to ensure the ability of the Board to continue to meet its obligations of providing a free quality education program to all children of Garrett County.”

The closing of Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools saved about $1 million and $279,000, respectively, helping to close a shortfall of $2 million.

The school board will vote on Wilson’s recommendation during a special meeting on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Southern Middle School.

To read the recommendation in it’s entirety, visit the BOE website at www.ga.k12. md.us.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

MSA test scores: Reading goes down, math goes up

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Allegany County middle school students scored slightly lower in reading on this year’s Maryland School Assessments, but math scores for the same students were up, according to statistics released this week by the Maryland State Department of Education.

Elementary schools here met all the targets recently established as part of Maryland’s new “School Progress” plan — which is less rigid than the former “Adequate Yearly Progress” of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Almost without exception, Allegany County elementary school students increased scores in reading and math over last year, the report shows. And middle school students have shown “steady improvement” on both fronts over the past several years, school officials said.

“I am very proud of the fact that our students’ performance has continued to increase since 2009,” said Superintendent David Cox. “This is due in large part to the hard work and dedication of our teachers, principals, and central office staff.”

In Garrett County, school officials report that a “significant number” of elementary and middle school students achieved scores at the proficient and advanced levels in reading and math.

Students in grades four, six and eight, for example, improved reading scores, and students in grades six and eight improved math scores, compared to 2011, statistics show.

But reading scores for students in grades three and five dipped slightly compared to last year, and math scores for students in grades three, four, five, and seven dropped by 2 to 3 percentage points.

Overall, 90.6 percent of elementary school students in Garrett County scored proficient/advanced in reading, while 87.7 percent of middle school students achieved that level, according to a press release from the Garrett County Board of Education.

“We are proud of our students, teachers and administrative staff for the work they do every day to ensure that our students perform well in all aspects of their schooling, including this state assessment,” said Superintendent Janet Wilson.

“We look forward to learning more about the new assessments as we are transitioning to the new Maryland State Common Core Framework.”

Under the state’s new “School Progress” plan, each school is measured against its own targets and must work to strengthen achievement across all subgroups. This year’s data starts a new baseline for school test results over the next six years. By 2017, schools and systems will endeavor to cut in half the percentage of students not scoring at proficient levels on the assessments.

In Allegany County, 88.9 percent of students met the targets for achievement under the new “School Progress” plan.

“I am pleased that Maryland has been granted a waiver from the NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress requirements that were unrealistic,” Cox said. “Our commitment is to continuously improve what we do each and every day for all children.”

For more information about the MSAs, go to the Maryland Report Card site at www.mdreportcard.org.

More here.

—

Buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland? Call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues!

877-563-5350 – toll free —

—

Search Homes/Lots for Sale

Group wants charter school in Kitzmiller

Garrett County commissioners must approve use for former elementary school

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — Both the Garrett County Community Action Committee and the Kitzmiller Charter School Initiative Inc. have approached the commissioners about possible uses of the former Kitzmiller Elementary School.

The former Kitzmiller and Dennett Road elementary school buildings reverted back to the county following the Board of Education’s decision to close both schools on May 30.

During the July 5 commission meeting, Brenda McCartney and Matthew Paugh of the Charter School Initiative presented an overview of the application for the charter school and requested the commissioners approval to utilize the building for the school.

The commissioners’ final approval of a possible charter school will be based on further review and will be made once the application is approved, according to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator. The application for the charter school is due by Sept. 1 to the Board of Education, according to McCartney.

“The forming of a charter school is a long process and the soonest we can open is for the 2013-2014 school year,” said McCartney, who said the group has filed a letter of intent for the school with the school board.

Once the application is filed, the school board will have 120 days to render a decision in the matter, according to McCartney. If the board denies the application, the group can file an appeal with the Maryland State Board of Education, according to the county’s board of education website.

Since the charter school will be public, it will be operated under the school board, with extended funding coming from the board with the Charter School Initiative seeking additional funding through grants, according to McCartney.

“From the discussion during the public meeting and my prior meeting with the Kitzmiller group, the cost of maintaining the facility will be covered by the charter school,” said Pagenhardt in an email.

Also during the commission meeting, the Kitzmiller Learning Co-Op suggested utilizing the former school for home schooling and community functions during the 2012-2013 school year.

“Some parents would like to utilize the building for a home school. I don’t know if it will be available,” said McCartney. “At this point it’s difficult to say what it (home school) would look like. It would depend on number of parents who make the decision to home school.”

The commissioners will take the utilization of the former Kitzmiller school for home school purposes under advisement, said Pagenhardt.

In June, Duane Yoder, president of Garrett County Community Action Committee, approached the commissioners about the continued use of Kitzmiller building as a Head Start center.

Yoder also hopes to relocate the senior meal program there as well. The Kitzmiller Head Start Center has had a classroom in the former school for about 35 years and would most likely close down if it can’t continue to remain in the school building, according to Yoder.

“Kitzmiller is the only building that is feasible for Head Start,” said Yoder, who noted that he had considered busing the preschoolers to a new location in Oakland. “I’m not willing to transport 3- and 4-year-olds on a bus from Kitzmiller to Oakland.”

Yoder said although he hasn’t had a conversation with members of the Charter School Initiative, that the Head Start would fit in nicely with a charter school and would “enhance their planning.”

Yoder also hopes to relocate the senior meal program to the former Kitz-miller school building. If the senior meal program was to move from its current location at the Kitzmiller Municipal Building to the school, the program would likely grow, according to Yoder.

“More people would participate in the the senior program at the school because they wouldn’t have to deal with the steps like they do at the municipal building,” said Yoder.

“I would like to make it (both ideas) work if it could be made to work,” said Yoder. “Even if the charter school doesn’t come through, Garrett County Community Action Committee is committed to keeping the Kitzmiller building open for use as community center for the good of the community.”

The Kitzmiller building also contains a branch of the Ruth Enlow Library.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com

More info.

—

877-563-5350 – toll free —

—

Search Homes/Lots for Sale

Category: schools

BOE Approves CARC As New Graduation Site

Schools’ chief recommends denial of charter application

Riverside Academy would increase financial burden on school system

MSA test scores: Reading goes down, math goes up

Group wants charter school in Kitzmiller

My Location

Deep Creek Media

Stay Connected