Friday, May 17, 2013
County Councilman David Marks applauds the plan, which he says will "hopefully" yield options for preventing and alleviating overcrowding in Perry Hall schools.
Baltimore County schools Superintendent S. Dallas Dance will be conducting a series of community input meetings across the county to brainstorm ideas to alleviate and prevent overcrowding, he announced Thursday at the county budget hearing in Towson. "We want to engage the community at the beginning of the process," school system spokesman Mychael Dickerson said. "Community members know their communities better than anyone." Earlier this week, Perry Hall community leaders sent letters to Dance's office requesting the hearings specifically in the northeastern area of the county. "Similar discussions have started for the southwestern and central regions of Baltimore County," Fifth District Councilman David Marks said. "I made the case that …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Perry Hall Improvement Association president Dennis Robinson sent a letter to Superintendent S. Dallas Dance requesting a third community meeting.
Perry Hall community leaders are presenting a united front to tackle short- and long-term solutions to overcrowding in northeast Baltimore County public schools. County Councilman David Marks and Perry Hall Improvement Association president Dennis Robinson this week sent letters to Superintendent S. Dallas Dance requesting a third community input meeting to discuss overcrowding. Robinson's letter is attached. Marks's letter can be read here. The most immediate concern is focused on Chapel Hill Elementary School, which Patch reported earlier this week could be about 200 students over-capacity next year. New numbers, however, indicate that while the school remains overcrowded, the original report may have been an over-estimation. "The Chapel…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The Fifth District Councilman is calling for a third "outreach session" in northeast Baltimore County to come up with ways to ease overcrowding issues.
Chapel Hill Elementary School will exceed student capacity by at least 200 students next year, according to Baltimore County Councilman David Marks. The Fifth District Councilman sent a letter last week to Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent S. Dallas Dance in an attempt to arrange a third public outreach meeting to identify possible solutions to Perry Hall's overcrowding issues. "I am simply asking for the same type of forward-looking process that we now see in southwestern and central Baltimore County," said Marks, who also represents Towson. "School overcrowding has been a chronic problem in the northeast, and it's time for action." Read the attached letter in it entirety. The schools system is currently grappling with …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
In his inaugural State of Schools address, Superintendent Dallas Dance touted plans to produce "globally competitive" graduates.
To succeed in "tomorrow's world," Superintendent Dallas Dance says Baltimore County public school students need to have an edge. "Our goal is not just to help our students graduate on time, but to help them graduate ready to be globally competitive," Dance said during his inaugural State of Schools address at Valley Mansion in Cockeysville on Thursday. "Earning a BCPS diploma needs to have a greater meaning. Our diplomas need to be distinguished for their value." The superintendent revealed his intent to pursue initiatives to ensure that all students will be bilingual upon graduation and that all middle and high school students will be equipped with digital technology as part of meeting that goal. "Technology allows our students access …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Arne Duncan is slated to visit Loch Raven High School on April 10.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is making a third trip to Baltimore County—this time to discuss gun control. "This is a topic he's been very passionate about," said Dallas Dance, superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. Duncan will hold a town hall meeting at Loch Raven High School on April 10. A precise time has not yet been set. The secretary previously visited Perry Hall High School on Aug. 22, 2012 to discuss education reform as part of a school system professional development event. Less than a week later, Perry Hall High joined the national conversation on gun violence in schools when student Robert Gladden, 15, opened fire in the school's cafeteria, leaving a special needs schoolmate seriously injured. Gladden pleaded…
Monday, March 11, 2013
The Baltimore County Board of Education recently approved a recommendation from Superintendent Dallas Dance to merge three Dundalk schools.
Though they say no definitive plans are in the works, Baltimore County Public Schools officials aren't ruling out the possibility of additional school consolidations—similar to a recent Dundalk merger. "[Superintendent Dallas Dance] has been saying for a while that he's looking for ways to make things run more efficiently for the students," said Charles Herndon, a school system spokesman. The Board of Education approved a merger of Norwood Elementary, Holabird Middle and Eastwood Elementary schools in Dundalk against strong opposition from parents. The consolidation will result in the closure of Eastwood, starting in the 2013-2014 school year. Critics of the proposal accused the school system of caving to the whim of County Executive Kevin…
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Maryland State Department of Education rejected the school system's original proposal earlier in the year.
Though his original proposal was rejected, Superintendent Dallas Dance said Baltimore County Public Schools won't adopt the "generic" state teacher evaluation plan. "We'll go back to the drawing board with our folks," Dance said. Dance has until May to present the Maryland State Department of Education with an alternate proposal. The primary point of contention is that the state department wants the school system to count Maryland School Assessment results as 20 percent of the rating measuring student growth. Baltimore County's plan calls for 10 percent. "We believe we have a model that works best for us," he said. Baltimore County's acceptance of federal funds through the Race to the Top Grant awarded to the state mandates the county to …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Maryland State Department of Education said the plan did not align with state law regarding student growth measurements.
The Maryland State Department of Education rejected teacher evaluation plans from nine Maryland school jurisdictions, including Baltimore County. During his report before Board of Education Tuesday night, Superintendent Dallas Dance said school administrations across the state were notified of the decisions last week. "We are engaging right now with [Teachers Association of Baltimore County], we're engaging with [Council For Advancement and Support of Education] right now to figure out our next steps," Dance said. The primary issue, he said, was that the state department wants the county to count Maryland School Assessment results as 20 percent of the rating measuring student growth. Baltimore County's plan calls for 10 percent. Dance's …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
A Baltimore County Public Schools spokesman said the superintendent will need more time to study a rule which does away with priority placement for students with siblings in magnet programs.
Baltimore County families waiting on a decision about a controversial magnet school rule change will have to hold out for a good while longer. Shortly before the end of his tenure, former Superintendent Joe Hairston announced in April 2012 the end of a rule that granted kindergartners automatic admission into elementary magnet schools their siblings attend, starting in the 2015-2016 school year. Parents of affected students appealed to Superintendent Dallas Dance soon afterward to overturn the rule change. Dance said in August 2012 that he planned to make a recommendation to the Board of Education about the rule in February, but school system spokesman Mychael Dickerson said Wednesday that it will likely take another year before a decision…
Monday, January 14, 2013
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday night at West Towson Elementary School.
Baltimore County residents have the opportunity to sound off on school system Superintendent Dallas Dance's proposed fiscal year 2014 operating budget. A public hearing for the budget, which Dance introduced to the Board of Education on Jan. 8, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at West Towson Elementary School. The $1.3 billion request—a $41.9 million increase from the previous year—is notable for its plan to add approximately 100 teaching positions to the existing 8,792, and six guidance counselor positions to the existing 269. Former Superintendent Joe Hairson, who retired in June 2012, cut 194 teaching positions from the fiscal year 2012 budget. Those wishing to speak can sign up at the school starting at 6 p.m. on the day of the hearing…
Tim
12:12 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
College (costs) is very much a racket. The bubble that still hasn't burst yet. We have an entire mini-generation of 20 something's with more school debt then double their salary. What's it going to be like in 10 years? Hint: Not better. I mean, 20 years ago somehow professors still made a good living, and we weren't paying 40k a year. more ›