The report doesn't have any shocking news, but it does say that 22 of the 26 states now offer some alternatives for students with disabilities. And there's a growing trend among states to offer struggling students alternative assessments, different diplomas, flexible cut off scores and waivers. In Maryland, we have the bridge plan, which allows students to work on projects instead of passing the exams.

CEP also says across the nation students are more often passing their high school tests on the first try, an encouraging sign.

CEP recommends that states begin looking at increasing money for remediation of students, do a better job of collecting data on pass rates and spend some time researching the effects of the exit exams on students.

Currently, students can drop out at 16 and, the AP reports, only the legislature can change that. But Montgomery County, whose graduation rate has fallen to its lowest level -- 87 percent -- this spring, is hoping to change the tide by voting on a measure last week to make the change to age 18. Most of the students who drop out in the county are 16 and 17 year olds.

Should other school boards take the same stand to encourage the state legislature to pass a bill requiring all students to be in school until 18?

He argues that some students are being taught overly complex math at too young an age. It is an interesting piece to read, although some commentors have suggested that perhaps his premise is wrong. Are we really teaching difficult concepts too early because of tests?

I wonder if that is correct because last week we wrote that the Maryland School Assessments for fourth-graders are some of the easiest in the nation.

What do math teachers think of Ganem's argument?

Monday's panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, is to be led by Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College, and David Hornbeck, the former superintendent of Philadelphia schools. 

The event will be in the Wheeler Auditorium at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral Street, and starts at 7 p.m. 

Entrants have to create "short, creative music videos demonstrating how they would use advanced technology to enhance their learning experience in the classroom," according to the company. For your information and entertainment, you can check out some of the entries.

Considering the difficult economic times we're always talking about, I thought I'd share the information in case any of you enterprising and creative teachers might be interested. Deadline is Nov. 10.

Of course, if you do enter, we'd like to see your video.

As the story in the paper today says, the board received a lot of last-minute suggestions on the policy that hadn't been aired sufficiently to warrant a vote last night, according to school board members.

Dennis Moulden, who represents the Parent and Community Advisory Board, spoke in favor of a permanent expulsions policy. "We all have the belt in our closet; we hope that we'll never use it," he said. He suggested the permanent expulsions should be used only as a last resort, but that the threat of an expulsion provides a boundary for students.

After his comments, two other members of the board, Neil Duke and George VanHook, commented that belts had been a common threat used in their families. But David Stone asked Moulden why he would compare an expulsion to an outdated and possibly illegal form of punishment.

Please send me a note with your stories about how things have changed in your school or district.  Are you having to adjust things in the classroom, such as assignments and project deadlines - or facing challenges in terms of just getting through curriculum with so many students out? 

The story in the paper today  details the allegations the teacher made.  What do readers of the blog believe? Was an award correct if she proved to the jury that she had lost income because she had been forced into an early retirement after the principal accused her of being a whistleblower and had her escorted from the building? And what about being forced to use sick leave for seven months after the attack rather than being able to use assault leave, which is unlimited?

Most of us are lucky if we come in contact with a handful of these gifted teachers in our lifetime. We all know who they are: the teachers whose voices and quirks we can still remember 5 or 40 years after we left their classrooms, who taught lessons that challenged us to think differently about the way the world works. I don't know about you, but I can even remember certain moments in their classrooms.

Perhaps Bob Hallett's final gift was that he will have allowed everyone in the Riderwood Elementary School community to remember to celebrate the achievements of all great teachers while they are with us.

Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT (lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender) students experience harassment at school because of their sexual orientation, according to a 2007 survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

So this week in schools, the LGBT students will ask others to sign a pledge that says they will not use anti-LGBT language or slurs, that they will intervene when it is safe in situations where students are being harassed and they will support efforts to end bullying and harassment.

For more information go to www.allyweek.org. Is there any high school in Maryland where students are taking the pledge?

You can check out Carroll's pilot wiki, done by social studies students at Northwest Middle last school year, to get an idea of what one looks like.

Teachers at Catonsville Middle, where I had the chance to observe a wiki lesson, say they have already noticed more engagement and interest among students - and several of the kids I spoke with were very much in favor of ditching traditional, hand-written class assignments for good. (I wonder how teachers and parents feel about that.)

One thing I found particularly interesting in all of this is how schools are working to teach students about Web etiquette, training them to flex their digital muscles with care.  Could these kids help usher in a new era of online civility?  Or is it too much to hope such lessons in polite discourse will stay with them?

The keynote speaker was Dr. Bertie Kingore, a longtime gifted-and-talented educator who also held a session on books and teaching tools.

I thought I'd share some very interesting tips/tidbits from her session and another I attended - some of which could certainly apply to all types of students (or so this non-educator thinks).

A sample of Dr. Kingore's recommended children's books that promote higher-level thinking:

• First the Egg, Courage and If the World Were a Village for abstract and critical thinking
• My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks, If... and The Dot for art, visual and spatial concepts
• Marianthe's Story: Painted Words and Spoken Memories and Winston the Book Wolf for inference
• If You Hopped Like a Frog, A Place for Zero and Sir Cumference Series for math concepts and terminology
• The Boy Who Loved Words, Once Upon 1001 Stories, Around the House the Fox Chased the Mouse and Mom and Dad Are Palindromes for oral and written language
• I Wanna Iguana and Joyful Noise for the concept of point of view
• Dear Deer (an exercise in homophones) and Pig in the Spigot for skills and written conventions

Kingore emphasized the importance of teachers documenting what they are doing - showing how they are covering the requirements (testing standards) even as they implement more creative strategies.

She also repeatedly reminded teachers to take Saturdays off.

After the reading workshop, I headed over to one whose title grabbed my attention - and evidently, that of the many teachers who crowded into the classroom: "The Singing Math Teacher."

County Executive James T. Smith has spent this year celebrating the county's 350th anniversary, and this month has been designated for recognizing education.  Gathered at Chesapeake this morning were the major players from all segments of the academic pipeline:

Towson University's President Robert Caret
UMBC's President Freeman Hrabowski
CCBC's President Sandra Kurtinitis
President Kevin Manning of Stevenson University
President Sanford Ungar of Goucher College
Former BCPS superintendents Robert Y. Dubel and Anthony G. Marchione
Current Superintendent Dr. Hairston

Stuart Berger, who led the school system in the early 1990s, also was supposed to attend, but he was delayed at the airport.

Although the new hi-tech classroom has been filled with visitors a lot recently, today's group was a unique combination of past and present, particularly in a setting that district officials have touted as the future of education. 

Smith gave everyone citations for their service to the county - and the educators spoke of the importance and value of working together, even when it means working with the competition (as in the case of higher education)...while also taking time to highlight what their institutions have to offer, of course.

The study says the schools saved money over time because those teachers stayed in their jobs.

Laura D'Anna, the principal of Patterson High School, recounted an incident that happened a year ago when two boys put cleaning fluid in a bottle, shook it up and caused an explosion. The incident, she said, occurred in a hall outside the cafeteria and near the door of a day care center that is operated in the school.

Because no one was sure what was in the fumes, several public agencies came to the school to investigate, including the fire, police and a Hazmat team, she said. The result was that students spent two hours outside the building after a diffiuclt evacuation. "This was really, really traumatic for my school community. It tore at the fabric of the community."