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July 2007 News Releases

July 30, 2007 (#2007-009)

Board of Education to Hold Regular Meeting, Public Hearing and Pre-Development Work Session on FY 2009 Capital Budget and
FY 2010 – 2014 Capital Improvement Program

The Howard County Board of Education will hold a regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 16, 2007, in the Board Room at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108 in Ellicott City.

The meeting will begin with a “Public Forum,” when members of the public may address the Board on any topic other than those for which a formal public hearing process exists. Advanced sign up is preferred.

At 7:30 p.m., the Board will hold a public hearing and pre-development work session for the FY 2009 Capital Budget and the FY 2010-2014 Capital Improvement Program. Individuals who wish to testify at the hearing are asked to limit their presentation to three minutes and to provide 15 written copies of their testimony at the time of the hearing.

To sign up to testify at the hearing or to speak at Public Forum, contact the Executive Assistant to the Board at 410-313-7194.

Individuals who would like to request a sign language interpreter for any meeting of the Board of Education may contact Colleen Rice, Interpreter Scheduler, at 410-313-7046. A two week advanced notice is preferred.

July 30, 2007 (#2007-008)

School System Recognized for Excellence in Financial Reporting

The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the Howard County Public School System by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by an agency and its management.

This is the third consecutive Award of Reporting Achievement received by Director of Finance Beverly Davis and the Howard County Public School System's Office of Finance. The school system's report was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program by demonstrating a "spirit of full disclosure" by clearly communicating the school system's financial story.

July 27, 2007 (#2007-007)

Two Howard County Graduates Recognized by National Academy Foundation

On Thursday, July 19, 2007, Linda Tran, 2003 Howard High School graduate, earned recognition from the National Academy Foundation (NAF) at the 2007 Honoree Awards Banquet. Linda received the prestigious Alumni Honoree Award. The National Academy Foundation leadership team chose Linda as one of four nationally recognized AOF alumni for her outstanding achievement and service.

Throughout her high school career, Linda actively participated in the Academy of Finance, a NAF academy. Significant aspects of the Linda’s experience with AOF included student conferences, a paid summer internship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and unique financial curriculum. After high school graduation, Linda continued working at NIH while pursuing her undergraduate degree. This year Linda provided five internships for high school students who are currently enrolled in the NAF academies offered at the Applications and Research Laboratory.

On Friday, July 20, 2007, Sagar Gupta, 2006 River Hill High School graduate, presented to educators from across the country at the annual 2007 Staff Development Conference hosted by the National Academy Foundation. Sagar shared his analysis of the use of a specialized software toolkit used specifically for managing internship programs throughout the country.

Throughout his high school career, Sagar actively participated in the Academy of Finance, a NAF academy. As an outstanding business student in high school Sagar served as President of the Student Advisory Board for the Academy of Finance in Howard County. In addition, Sagar served as President of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) in for the State of Maryland. Sagar received recognition for his outstanding performance and service by his selection as a prestigious Citigroup Scholar. As a Citigroup Scholar, Sagar received a $20,000 scholarship. Sagar is currently attending University of California at Berkeley.

Community members interested in receiving additional information about the Academy of Finance program should contact Mary Day, Principal, Applications and Research Laboratory at 410-313-6998.

July 26, 2007 (#2007-006)

Board of Education to Hold Closed Meeting

The Howard County Board of Education will hold a closed meeting at 4 p.m., on Wednesday, August 8, 2007, at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108 in Ellicott City.

July 25, 2007 (#2007-005)

Board of Education to Hold Closed Meeting

The Howard County Board of Education will hold a closed meeting at 10:30 a.m., on Thursday, July 26, 2007, at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108 in Ellicott City.

July 23, 2007 (#2007-004)

Seven Howard County Schools Earn Exemplar Status for Implementing Positive Behavior Program

Fifteen Howard County schools were recognized last Thursday by the Maryland State Department of Education at the Summer Institute for schools participating in the Positive Behavior Interventions and Support Program. Seven of the schools were awarded exemplary status. The recognition ceremony took place at Olde Mill High School in Anne Arundel County.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a process that focuses on improving a school's ability to teach and support positive behavior for all students. PBIS training shows educators how to create and sustain school-wide, classroom, and individual systems of support that make problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and appropriate behavior more desirable.

Data show that in a PBIS school:

• Students can describe behavioral expectations
• More time is available for instruction
• Evidence-based practices are used
• Function-based behavior supports exist
• Data and team-based action planning occurs
• Administrators are active participants
• Definitions and procedures for handling violations agreed upon
• Discipline data is reviewed regularly
• Continuum of support is available to all students.

The following Howard County schools were recognized for their participation in PBIS:

EXEMPLAR SCHOOLS: recognized for implementing the PBIS model with high fidelity, submitting all required data on time, sharing data and making decisions based on data, data elements are showing improvement (i.e., attendance, office discipline referrals, suspensions) and having a positive impact on achievement.

• Bollman Bridge Elementary
• Guilford Elementary
• Longfellow Elementary
• Hammond Elementary
• Stevens Forest Elementary
• Hammond Middle
• Oakland Mills Middle

BANNER SCHOOLS: recognized for the same factors as Exemplar schools but are not yet required to demonstrate positive impact on achievement.

• Bellows Spring Elementary
• Laurel Woods Elementary
• Rockburn Elementary
• Folly Quarter Middle
• Murray Hill Middle
• Patuxent Valley Middle
• Wilde Lake Middle

GREEN RIBBON SCHOOL: recognized for implementing PBIS with fidelity and submitting all required data on time.

• Jeffers Hill Elementary

July 20, 2007 (#2007-003)

School System Awarded $160,000 for STEMS Programs

School officials learned today that the Howard County Public School System will receive a total of $160,000 ($10,000 for planning and $150,000 for implementation) to support Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Programs. The Maryland State Department of Education has awarded nearly $2 million to local school systems for STEM initiatives.

"We are very pleased to receive funding to support initiatives in this critical area," said Howard Superintendent Sydney Cousin. "This will assist us in our efforts to ensure that our graduates are truly prepared for the world -- today and in the future."

"STEM programs have never been more important to our students and our state as a whole, with Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiatives placing a new focus on industries of the 21st century," said State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick in a press release today. “Our efforts in science and math education will pay off for years to come.”

“We appreciate the continued support of Governor O’Malley and the Maryland General Assembly for STEM efforts throughout the State,” Dr. Grasmick added.

According to the Maryland State Department of Education, planning grants are used to explore successful STEM initiatives inside and outside of Maryland to better inform local STEM planning teams. With this information, systems can begin planning initiatives to meet the local needs. Implementation awards provide a dedicated source of initial funds, which are sued to move local STEM initiatives forward.

July 20, 2007 (#2007-002)

Forbes Ranks Howard County School System in Top Ten Districts Delivering High Performance at Low Cost

The Howard County Public School System ranks seventh among school systems from across the nation that deliver high performance at low cost, according to the July 2007 issue of Forbes magazine. In an article on best and worst school districts for the buck, reporter Christina Settimi took a look at per-pupil spending in public schools and weighed it against student performance -- college entrance exam scores, standardized exam participation rates and graduation rates.

"The Forbes article just reinforces what Howard Countians already know -- we provide a world class education and do so through efficient use of tax dollars," said Superintendent Sydney Cousin in response to the article.

Using research provided by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research organization, Settimi began with a list of the 775 counties in the country with populations greater than 65,000 that had the highest average property taxes. From this list they isolated the 97 counties where more than 5 percent of per-pupil spending contributions comes from property taxes. Expenditures for each metropolitan area were adjusted based on Economy.com’s national cost of living average. Spending was compared to performance measures that compare students equally across the country. Performance was weighted twice against cost.

"This is only one way to judge the quality of a school district. We feel that by all measures -- the quality of our staff, our facilities, classroom resources, the relevance of our curriculum and many other factors -- we are an outstanding school system," Cousin added.

July 3, 2007 (#2007-001)

Board of Education to Hold Regular Meeting

The Howard County Board of Education will hold a regularly scheduled meeting at 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 12, 2007, in the Board Room at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108 in Ellicott City.

The meeting will begin with a “Public Forum,” when members of the public may address the Board on any topic other than those for which a formal public hearing process exists. Advanced sign up is preferred.

To sign up to speak at Public Forum, contact the Executive Assistant to the Board at 410-313-7194.

Individuals who would like to request a sign language interpreter for any meeting of the Board of Education may contact Colleen Rice, Interpreter Scheduler, at 410-313-7046. A two week advanced notice is preferred.