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June 28, 2012
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| MSDE Home | Newsroom | MDReportcard.org | School Improvement | | |
This marks my final week as Interim State Superintendent of Schools. People have asked me if I’ve been counting the days until my contract ends. Nothing could be further from the truth. It has been a privilege to serve in this position, and I’ve enjoyed every day working with local school systems in our joint effort to strengthen Maryland’s public schools.
I appreciate the support I’ve received over the past year, and know you will extend that same support to Dr. Lillian Lowery, who becomes Maryland State Superintendent of Schools next week. Thank you for the work you do every day to help prepare high school graduates who are career and college-ready. There is no more important job. * * * Maryland schools benefit from great public and legislative support, but in these difficult economic times we count on assistance from corporations and foundations to help further strengthen our programs. A case in point is the PNC Foundation, which recently awarded MSDE a $25,000 grant to support financial literacy education in Maryland public schools. The funds will provide up to 110 teachers with scholarships to attend special training in personal financial literacy education. Financial literacy education is now a requirement in Maryland schools. The Maryland State Board of Education requires local school systems to provide financial literacy instruction to all students in grades 3-12. * * * Connect with MSDE on Facebook! Calendar
In the News Maryland Teachers Schooled this Summer on Curriculum Regional Effectiveness Academies Begin in Howard Baltimore Sun Prince George’s Freshman Finish First Year of High School and College Having trouble viewing this email? Click here for a PDF version of the MSDE June 28, 2012 Education Bulletin. If you would prefer not to receive future Newsletters from us, simply click here, and insert in the subject line, Unsubscribe. |
BOARD MOVES CLOSER TO NEW DISCIPLINE REGULATIONS The Maryland State Board of Education this week took another step toward revising student discipline regulations, with an eye on reducing the amount of class time lost to suspension.
Board members say that instruction lost to out-of-school suspension and expulsion has serious consequences to learning as students move through the system, and are intent on new regulations. “We are driving toward making principled decisions in the disciplinary process,” said State Board President James DeGraffenreidt. The State Board has been studying the discipline issue for more than a year, inviting various stakeholder groups to testify and publishing a report on discipline that has garnered scores of comments. Board members have found that student learning can be disrupted by lengthy suspensions during which educational services might not be provided. Those disruptions can result in a student falling behind academically, and may lead to that student dropping out. “Every student who stays in school and graduates, college and career ready, adds to the health and wealth of the State of Maryland and improves the global competitiveness of this country,” DeGraffenreidt said in a memo to the Board. “It is that simple. It is that important.” Board member Madhu Sidhu said both parents and students hold significant responsibility when it comes to correcting student discipline issues. “Where is the parent in this?” Sidhu asked her fellow board members. “How do we get the student to commit? How do we get the parent to commit? It is not in here.” The Board is likely to discuss and act on new regulations at its July 24 Board meeting. Should the full Board approve new regulations, they would be published in the Maryland Register and open to public comment before the Board could make them final.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences this month announced that Maryland is one of 24 new grantees in a program designed to boost educational data systems. Maryland will receive $3.9 million over the next three years through the competitive Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems grant program. In developing the multi-agency grant proposal, the Maryland State Department of Education collaborated with the Maryland Higher Education Commission, the Office of the Governor, the Maryland Department of Labor and Licensing, the University System of Maryland, and the Maryland State Longitudinal Data Center and Advisory Board. Over the past several years, Maryland has been expanding its preK-12 longitudinal data system and its higher education data warehouse. The additional funding will provide resources to continue the enhancement to Maryland’s education data systems and to provide information and training on education initiatives, curriculum alignments and workforce programs. “Robust information on individual student achievement is critical if we are to continue to improve schools for all students,” said Interim State Superintendent Bernard Sadusky. “This grant will help us link the pieces that have been built, allowing us to pinpoint where our students are and to help them chart where they are going.” Maryland received a $5.7 million grant in 2006 to launch the longitudinal data system, a $6 million federal grant in 2009 to continue the work, and $5 million as part of Race to the Top to enhance the Maryland Higher Education Commission data collection and storage and to develop a brand new P20 Workforce data system.
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