Three high schools are added to the state’s watch list

Magruder, Northwest, Quince Orchard fail to meet goals; Gaithersburg and Kennedy move off the list

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006

Three county high schools were placed on a state watch list after failing to show adequate yearly progress on the Maryland School Assessment tests.

Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville, Northwest High School in Germantown and Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg each failed to meet improvement targets among special education students in reading, according to results released by the state Department of Education last week.

Magruder missed the target by three students, Northwest by seven and Quince Orchard by two. The county school system will monitor each school’s efforts to improve student achievement.

Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring also failed to meet the progress goal in special education reading for the second consecutive year. The school must submit an improvement plan to the state Department of Education.

Schools failing to meet the targets for four consecutive years face corrective action, which can range from leadership or curriculum changes to takeover by the state.

Gaithersburg High and John F. Kennedy High in Silver Spring moved off the state’s list of schools needing improvement.

In August, the state reported that 21 of the county’s 38 middle schools and 13 of its 125 elementary schools failed to meet the goals in reading and math.

The MSAs are given each spring in reading to third- through eighth-graders and 10th-graders and in math to third- through eighth-graders. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, all students must show proficiency on state reading and math tests by 2014.

For more information on your school’s performance, go to www.mdreportcard.org.

Middle schoolreform forums

Strengthening middle schools will be the subject of two public forums:

*Nov. 13 from 7-9 p.m. in Shady Grove Middle School at 8100 Midcounty Highway in Gaithersburg.

*Nov. 29 from 7-9 p.m. in Silver Spring International Middle School at 313 Wayne Ave. in Silver Spring.

Free child care will be available, as will Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and French interpreters. Sign language interpretation is available if requested one week before the forum by calling 301-517-5539 or 301-517-5582 (Voice⁄TTY).

Last week, the county school board tentatively approved a policy on middle school education, which will provide the foundation for any reforms. The reforms are focused on addressing achievement of African-American and Hispanic students, English language learners, students with disabilities and low-income students.

A year ago, the board convened a steering committee of administrators, union leaders, staff, parents and a student to research middle school education.

The committee met with experts, conducted community forums and analyzed data. Its work focused on leadership and professional development; curriculum, instruction and assessment; extended learning opportunities; technology; organizational structures; human resources; parent and community engagement and communication.

For more on the forums or to read Policy IEB, Middle School Education, go to www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org⁄info⁄msreform.

Comments may be e-mailed to the board at boe@mcpsmd.org or mailed to the Office of the Superintendent, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. Call Harriet Potosky at 301-279-3538.

Conference onAfrican-American boys

The NAACP Parents’ Council will sponsor a conference on improving academic success among African-American boys from 3-5 p.m. Saturday in the Ross Boddy Community Center at 18524 Brooke Road in Sandy Spring.

‘‘Beat the Odds: Empowering African American Boys to Succeed in School” will feature a keynote address by Umar Abdullah Johnson, a school psychologist specializing in treating educational disabilities and in psychotherapy for African-American children.

Call Jackie Bromfield at 301-602-0826 or e-mail jbromfield@comcast.net.