Advocates in various counties across Maryland are teaming up to lobby for elected school boards in their respective systems.

The newly created Maryland Coalition for Elected Boards of Education includes representatives from Baltimore County, Caroline County, Harford County and Baltimore City.

In a press release: "Only 7 out of 24 school boards in Maryland are still appointed by the governor. The group maintains that the time has come for all Maryland citizens to have the right to elect their own board of education." (Baltimore's board is jointly appointed by the mayor and the governor.)

Last year, Republican Del. Barry Glassman drafted a bill that would have phased in a blend of elected and appointed board members in Harford County, but that measure was stymied in committee. This year, Sen. Glassman has introduced a bill requiring that all members of the Harford County School Board be elected.

We debated the pros and cons of elected vs. appointed boards here not too long ago... which structure do you prefer?

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Last month, a one-question Scantron survey asked respondents to agree or disagree with the following statement: "Harford County Public Schools students should be required to wear a school uniform."

While most of the grown-ups (teachers, administrators and more than half of the parents) agreed, only 22.1 percent of the students who actually responded to the survey marked yes.  You mean, kids don't want to wear khakis and dress shirts everyday?!?

Granted there are legitimate complaints about the questionable wardrobe choices of teenagers.  Guys wear their pants so low, why even bother wearing pants at all? And there are girls who've clearly gotten their fashion inspiration (regrettably) from Britney Spears.

The school system sent out about 60,000 forms and had about 28,600 forms returned.  A presentation about the survey will be made Monday night at HCPS AA. Roberty Building.

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Will uniforms be coming to Harford County Public Schools?

A survey was sent last week to parents asking them about their opinions on school uniforms.  Harford County schools is also seeking public opinion here.

What are your thoughts on school uniforms at public schools?

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Harford County Public Schools superintendent, Jacqueline C. Haas will present her decision on the use of a controversial novel, The Chocolate War Monday. It's listed as a presentation item on Monday's Board of Edu. meeting agenda. 

The Chocolate War is on the American Library Association's list of the top 10 challenged books and was banned last year by Haas after about 40 parents complained about vulgar language and homophobic slurs. The 1974 teen-oriented novel is about a boy who is bullied because he refuses to participate in his school's chocolate-selling fundraiser. The book was used in a 9th grade course called Living in a Contemporary World, that is designed to ease the transition to high school and part of the course dealt with bullying and its destructive effects.

 According to a Sun editorial from April, "...when some parents protested against the book, Ms. Haas quickly announced that a review committee including teachers, administrators, students, parents and community members would help determine whether The Chocolate War should remain as part of the course. In February, the committee unanimously recommended that it should.

But Ms. Haas unilaterally decided that the controversy over the book made it unusable at this time, took bullying and harassment out of the LICW (Living in a Contemporary World) course and wants another committee to take another year to come up with an alternative literary selection."

The second committee convened three times and has made its recommendation to Haas.  She will issue her decision Monday. 

Some accused Haas of trying to "sanitize" reality, by banning a book that dealt with issues faced in high school.  Others supported her decision saying that the book was offensive and controversial, thus didn't belong in a school environment.  Either way... stay tuned.

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There's another case of MRSA at a Harford County school. A student has a form of staph, known to be resistant to some antibiotics called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).  C. Milton Wright High School parents received a letter last week that the student was treated for a skin infection.

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What does it take to be the state's Superintendent of the Year? 

The Harford County Public Schools announced that its superintendent, "Jackie Haas has been named the Maryland Superintendent of the Year!"

So how many other superintendents were vying for this esteemed state title? When the Sun contacted the Public School Superintendents Association of Maryland, the executive director, James L. Lupis Jr., was strangely mum.

"I can't divulge that.  We have countywide school systems in Maryland where we have 24 school systems and 24 superintendents."  The number of nominations varies year-to-year, he said.

"Was Dr. Haas the only one in the applicant pool this year?"

"No."

"Was it less than five?'

"Yes." 

Lupis wouldn't say the exact number of nominees for this year's Maryland Superintendent of the Year, although now we can narrow it down to two or three or four.

The award implies that  the superintendent is picked statewide, in the same fashion as the state's Teacher of the Year prize.  But the average number of nominees each year is less than five, Lupis said.   

Haas receives a traveling plaque with her name engraved along previous winners.  She will be one of the 50 superintendents vying for the title of National Superintendent of the Year awarded by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA).  Read the full two-page announcement here.

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High schools across the country are "experimenting with specialization," according to the New York Times. In some schools, 9th graders apply for a major by submitting essays on why they're interested in fields such as sports management, fine arts, health sciences, etc. 

As part of high school reforms in Harford County, sophomores in the spring semester will select a field of interest, called a career cluster.

Do these types of specializations make high school more relevant?  Or do they force students to pick a "major" when they haven't had enough opportunity to explore their academic interests?

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Jeana Essery

About the Educator Spotlight
With your help, we’ll spotlight outstanding educators -- anyone who works on behalf of the students, including teachers, principals, guidance counselors, etc. -- from across the region. To salute your favorite educator, please e-mail any of the Sun’s education reporters the following information: The educator’s name; school; educational background; and pesonal data such as age, residence and family. Then, answer this question: How does this educator make a difference?

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Many parents and students at C. Milton Wright High School expressed dismay over Harford school administration's decision to transfer a popular assistant principal, Christopher Battaglia to another school.  Wright students say they started circulating petitions to keep "B-Tag" at their school and issued a battle cry "Viva la resistance" over yesterday's morning announcements.

In light of the events, several parents raised questions about the openness and accountability of the school board, since the governor appoints members to four-year terms.   

"The idea of us, taxpayers not being represented in education is pretty unusual," said Kathy King, a parent of a C. Milton Wright junior. "Perhaps this was the way this county ran for years and years. This isn't a rural community north of Baltimore anymore. It's a suburban area. We need to get active and make some decisions. We need to make some changes in our government."

Parents say they've begun contacting state and county authorities to discuss possibilities of having an elected school board.  Would an elected school board be more effective for the community?

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Sondra Cawthorne

She teaches high school alternative education at the Center for Educational Opportunity in Aberdeen and has 33 years of  teaching experience.  Cawthorne lives in Belcamp with husband, Al and has three grown children, Anthony, Alexandra and Alisha.

How does this educator make a difference?

"Many of the students who come to the Alternative Program at the Center for Educational Opportunity have very low self-esteem and very little confidence in themselves as life-long learners. To begin with, Mrs. Cawthorne gets to know each student as individuals and sets high expectations for success. She builds confidence and self-esteem by believing in them and believing that they can meet her expenctations.

Mrs. Cawthorne encourages high levels of creativity in students. She begins by getting to know each of her students as individuals; understanding their background, discovering how each learns best, and identifying gaps in their knowledge base. Next, she tailors each of her lessons to the individuals which she is teaching. Her instructional focus is for each student to grow, achieve, and find academic success. For many students, Mrs. Cawthorne is the difference between staying in school or dropping out.

After a long day of teaching, most teachers go home to their families. After finishing teaching during the day, Mrs. Cawthorne teaches additional students during the night Alternative Education program. Students take classes in the evening if they are suspended from the dail program or need additional credits beyond the school day. Mrs. Cawthorn teaches two evening sections of English 11.

During the summer, most teachers rest and recharge for the next school year. Mrs. Cathorne has spent the last five summers teaching English 11 to students who needed to recover credits."

-- submitted by Michael O’Brien, instructional facilitator at Center for Educational Opportunity

About the Educator Spotlight

With your help, we'll spotlight outstanding educators --- anyone who works on the behalf of students, including teachers, principals, guidance counselors, etc. --- from across the region. To salute your favorite educator, please e-mail any of The Sun's education reporters the following information: The educator's name; school; educational background; and personal data, such as age, residence and family. Then, answer this question: How does this educator make a difference?

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