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10/06/05 - Silver Chips Online - Montgomery Blair High School

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EDITORIALS<br />

Board of Ed, don’t<br />

break Connections<br />

The Class of 2008 started this year riding an unprecedented wave<br />

of success. Freshman GPA reached a <strong>10</strong>-year high last year and according<br />

to a December 2004 <strong>Silver</strong> <strong>Chips</strong> article, the freshman ineligibility<br />

rate was cut in half compared to the year before.<br />

In the same article, Kathi Yu, former PTSA vice-president of<br />

academic achievement, attributed these successes largely to Connections,<br />

a ninth-grade course that teaches skills needed for a smooth<br />

transition to high school. At <strong>Blair</strong>, the class is offered to freshmen not<br />

in the Magnet or Communication Arts Program.<br />

The success of the course makes the Board of Education’s June decision<br />

to drop the mandatory designation on all MCPS Connections<br />

classes rather perplexing.<br />

In a Jun. 30 memorandum to the principals of MCPS schools requiring<br />

Connections classes for graduation, chief school performance<br />

offi cer Donald H. Kress wrote that “while schools can strongly<br />

encourage expected enrollment of all Grade 9 students in this course,<br />

it cannot be a requirement.”<br />

Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Social Organization of<br />

<strong>School</strong>s recommended last January that public high schools institute<br />

Connections-style courses. This confi rms last year’s statistics: Connections<br />

delivers results.<br />

And while the option to drop Connections trivializes a successful<br />

class, it may also facilitate the unintentional isolation of on-level and<br />

less affl uent students from the rest of the <strong>Blair</strong> community.<br />

Studies show that wealthier parents tend to become more involved<br />

in and aware of the school lives of their children. According<br />

to a 2003 survey by ChildTrends, an education think-tank, 90 percent<br />

of well-to-do parents reported attending a PTSA meeting in the past<br />

year, while only 79 percent of poorer parents did so. Wealthier parents<br />

tend to be more aware of school policies and are more likely to<br />

know about the option to drop Connections.<br />

This contrast is amplifi ed at <strong>Blair</strong>, where students span the economic<br />

spectrum. Over 21 percent of <strong>Blair</strong> students are on the Free<br />

and Reduced Meals program according to MCPS, yet many students<br />

are also drawn from <strong>Silver</strong> Spring’s prosperous areas. The fear is<br />

that more affl uent parents may choose to opt their children out for<br />

more challenging but perhaps less useful academic electives. Only<br />

14 students have decided to opt out of Connections so far — a resounding<br />

victory for the Connections team — but their cross-section<br />

prompts some serious questions.<br />

Of the 14 who have dropped the course so far, 13 are white and 13<br />

are honors students, according to resource counselor Marcia Johnson.<br />

Although this sample is not statistically signifi cant, it raises the<br />

alarming possibility of an exodus of white and honors Blazers from<br />

Connections, which would decimate one of the last remaining bonds<br />

between racial and socioeconomic groups at <strong>Blair</strong>.<br />

Proponents of the opt-out argue that honors students do not<br />

need Connections because they already possess the skills it teaches.<br />

While this may be true to some extent, Connections provides honors<br />

students with something that high-level classes do not: an opportunity<br />

to interact with elements of the diverse student population that<br />

they would not otherwise have had contact with.<br />

The Board of Education deserves praise for deeming Connections<br />

“the cornerstone course” in an effort to transition middle-schoolers<br />

into high school, but words amount to nothing without a requirement<br />

steering students in the course’s direction.<br />

Connections has been a great success, but dropping its mandatory<br />

status will create more problems than it will solve. This is one<br />

Pandora’s Box the Board of Education must close before it’s too late.<br />

silverCHIPS<br />

<strong>Montgomery</strong> <strong>Blair</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />

51 University Boulevard East<br />

<strong>Silver</strong> Spring, MD 20901<br />

<strong>Silver</strong> <strong>Chips</strong> phone number: (301) 649-2864<br />

http://silverchips.mbhs.edu<br />

Winner of the 2004 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Award<br />

<strong>Silver</strong> <strong>Chips</strong> is a public forum for student expression. Student editors make all content decisions.<br />

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the editorial board and are not necessarily<br />

those of the school. Signed letters to the editor are encouraged. Submit your letter to Maureen<br />

Freeman’s mailbox in the main offi ce, to room 158 or to silverchips@gmail.com. Concerns about<br />

<strong>Silver</strong> <strong>Chips</strong>’s content should be directed to the Ombudsman, the public’s representative to the<br />

paper, at chipsombudsman@gmail.com. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.<br />

Editors-in-Chief...................................................................................................................Pria Anand, Samir Paul<br />

Managing News Editors.........................................................................................Kristi Chakrabarti, Ravi Umarji<br />

Managing Features Editors....................................................................Katy Lafen, Jody Pollock, Chelsea Zhang<br />

Managing Opinions and Editorials Editors.....................................................................Kiran Bhat, Armin Rosen<br />

Managing Sports Editors......................................................................Michael Bushnell, Jonah Gold, Sara Pierce,<br />

...................................................................................................................................................Avi Wolfman-Arent<br />

Managing Entertainment Editors..............................................................................Nora Boedecker, Sally Lanar<br />

Managing Health Editor.............................................................................................................Katherine Duncan<br />

Production Manager........................................................................................................................John Silberholz<br />

Managing Page Editor............................................................................................Lucy Fromyer, Elizabeth Packer<br />

Design Team..........................................................................Clair Briggs, Emily-Kate Hannapel, Monica Huang<br />

Managing Photography Editors.......................................................................Hannah Rosen, Hannah Thresher<br />

Managing Art Editor.........................................................................................................................Lincoln Bostian<br />

Managing Graphics Editor.............................................................................................................Camille Mackler<br />

Public Relations Director...............................................................................................................Elizabeth Packer<br />

<strong>Online</strong> Coordinator.............................................................................................................................Lucy Fromyer<br />

Ombudsman............................................................................................................................Avi Wolfman-Arent<br />

Fact Check Supervisor.........................................................................................................................Lucy Fromyer<br />

Newsbriefs Editor...................................................................................................................................Ravi Umarji<br />

Extras Editor.....................................................................................................................................Nora Boedecker<br />

SCO Contributor...............................................................................................................................Eve Gleichman<br />

Executive Business Staff...............................................................................................Kiran Belani, Yuning Zhang<br />

Business Staff.........................................................................Terence McPherson, Eloise Potterfi eld, Lucia Sirota<br />

Copy Editors................................................................Nora Boedecker, Sally Lanar, Jody Pollock, Chelsea Zhang<br />

Page Editors.....................................................................................Alex Abels, Isaac Arnsdorf, Morgan Aronson,<br />

.........................................................................................Jon Berger, Olivia Buzek, Keianna Dixon, Robert Feasley,<br />

.........................................................................................................Jordan Fein, Jeff Guo, Shoshi Gurian-Sherman,<br />

........................................................................................................Jung Han, Kathy Jee, Baijia Jiang, Christine Kim,<br />

............................................................................................Daniel Klein, Audrey Kubetin, Ashley Lau, Jason Meer,<br />

.............................................................................................................Allie O’Hora, Becca Sausville, Justin Vlasits,<br />

..................................................................................................................................Adam Yalowitz, Saron Yitbarek<br />

Spanish Page Editors.........................................................................................................Sally Lanar, Justin Vlasits<br />

Spanish Page Writers.........................................................................Kathie Arana, Baijia Jiang, Meaghan Mallari<br />

Editorial Writers..................................................................................................................Kiran Bhat, Jordan Fein<br />

Photographers...................................................................................................Rayna Andrews, Brandon Herbst,<br />

...................................................................................................Jeff Lautenberger, Nic Lukehart, Meaghan Mallari<br />

Artists..............................................................................................................................Sean Griffi n, Nathan Yaffe<br />

Sports Writers...............................................................................Morgan Aronson, Jon Berger, Michael Bushnell<br />

..........................................................................................................Anna Coughlan, Merlyn Deng, Simon Kanter,<br />

..............................................................................................................................Natasha Prados, Abe Schwadron<br />

Professional Technical Advisor...................................................................................................Anne Wisniewski<br />

Sponsor.........................................................................................................................................Maureen Freeman<br />

October 6, 20<strong>05</strong><br />

silverCHIPS<br />

Stop ignoring our special-ed students<br />

Department deserves funds withheld by school system<br />

Every year, barely one in three<br />

special-education students passes<br />

each of the three Maryland <strong>High</strong><br />

<strong>School</strong> Assessments (HSAs) now<br />

required for graduation, according<br />

to the Maryland Report Card web<br />

site.<br />

In contrast, close to threefourths<br />

of on-level students pass.<br />

Last year, instead of recognizing<br />

that many special-education students<br />

were going to fail to graduate<br />

and increasing funding to prevent<br />

this, MCPS policy-makers and<br />

Superintendent Jerry Weast denied<br />

the county’s Special Education<br />

Department $5.4 million that was<br />

allotted to it.<br />

This denial would have been<br />

misguided if passing the HSAs<br />

was not a graduation requirement.<br />

But at a time when unreasonable<br />

testing standards are a reality for<br />

all high-school students, MCPS’s<br />

decision to deprive county Special<br />

Education departments of muchneeded<br />

money is simply callous.<br />

Lost dollars<br />

The $5.4 million fi gure is divided<br />

into two categories: unexpected<br />

additional special education<br />

revenue and budgeted funds that<br />

were not spent.<br />

The fi rst includes $726,000 in additional<br />

funding from the Regional<br />

Institute for Children and Adolescents,<br />

$523,000 of reimbursements<br />

for private school tuition of specialeducation<br />

students and $618,000<br />

due to higher-than-expected<br />

funding from the Individuals with<br />

Disabilities Education Act.<br />

The second is comprised of $3.2<br />

million MCPS budgeted but did<br />

not spend on special-education students<br />

who were referred to private<br />

schools and $1.9 million budgeted<br />

and not spent on replacing retiring<br />

staff and covering for absent staff<br />

members.<br />

An additional $1.6 million spent<br />

on contracting staff positions to<br />

private companies puts the total<br />

amount of funds that were allocated<br />

to special education but not<br />

spent at $5.4 million. This funding<br />

debacle was detailed in June<br />

14 and July 27 Board of Education<br />

minutes.<br />

Limited resources<br />

The loss of this money was more<br />

painful to other county schools<br />

than to <strong>Blair</strong>, because according to<br />

Principal Phillip Gainous, <strong>Blair</strong>’s<br />

Special Education Department has<br />

more resources than those of most<br />

other schools.<br />

Last year, a large and vocal<br />

group of <strong>Blair</strong> parents and teachers,<br />

including Gainous himself, lobbied<br />

for and received extra funds to<br />

address concerns about the lack of<br />

special-education staff.<br />

The county met their demands,<br />

but, as Gainous said, the special<br />

education funding “pot” is limited.<br />

He and others were informed that<br />

the “extra” money <strong>Blair</strong> struggled<br />

to acquire came straight out of<br />

other county high schools’ special<br />

education departments. “If we<br />

had that extra $5 million, we might<br />

have not needed to rob Peter to pay<br />

Paul,” he said.<br />

Funding shortfalls<br />

Jerry Weast and MCPS must<br />

look for every opportunity to increase<br />

special education funding in<br />

order to prepare special-education<br />

students for the HSAs instead of<br />

denying the departments money.<br />

This school year, according<br />

to MCPS, the county’s special<br />

education budget only increased<br />

7.2 percent compared to a rise of<br />

“Flat out<br />

discrimination.”<br />

-<strong>Blair</strong> special education<br />

resource teacher<br />

Lisa Davisson<br />

13.2 percent the year before. Yet in<br />

this year’s annual budget address,<br />

Weast said that “improving special<br />

education achievement continues<br />

to be our priority.”<br />

Adding $5.4 million to this<br />

year’s budget would have demonstrated<br />

how much of a concern<br />

special education is to Weast and<br />

MCPS, in addition to making the<br />

budget increase a more respectable<br />

9.1 percent.<br />

Instead of distorting MCPS’s efforts<br />

on behalf of special-education<br />

students, Weast must admit that<br />

MCPS denied the Special Education<br />

Department much-needed<br />

funding and commit to increasing<br />

funding more next year.<br />

Special-education students<br />

require more money than other<br />

students to learn the same material.<br />

Special education resource teacher<br />

Lisa Davisson emphasized that<br />

many of her students are struggling<br />

to read at even an elementary<br />

school level.<br />

Disabled students already have<br />

enough diffi culty passing HSAs<br />

for subjects in which they have<br />

learning disabilities without trying<br />

to understand material in a classroom<br />

with a 20:1 student teacher<br />

ratio, which Davisson says occurs<br />

regularly in <strong>Blair</strong> special-education<br />

classes.<br />

These students urgently need<br />

smaller class sizes so that teachers<br />

can spend more time providing<br />

individual attention. The county’s<br />

special education departments<br />

need more staff and technology to<br />

enable students to achieve and to<br />

prepare them to take the HSAs.<br />

Davisson and Gainous are<br />

having diffi culty comprehending<br />

why HSAs are required for special<br />

education students. Davisson<br />

called HSAs “fl at out discrimination,”<br />

and Gainous declared that<br />

the Special Education Department<br />

“absolutely should have extra<br />

funding” to help prepare struggling<br />

students for the HSAs.<br />

Our responsibility<br />

It is not MCPS’s fault that special-education<br />

students must pass<br />

the HSAs to graduate, but it is the<br />

county’s responsibility to provide<br />

the resources necessary to even<br />

begin to solve the problem.<br />

Instead, money has been allocated<br />

to less urgent endeavors. Bob<br />

Astrove, budget analyst and parent<br />

of two MCPS special-education<br />

students, found that $300,000 of the<br />

allotted special education funds<br />

may have gone to pay for palm pilots<br />

for elementary school teachers<br />

who wanted to have information<br />

on their students close at hand.<br />

It is our duty to make sure all<br />

students, regardless of disability,<br />

receive a quality education and the<br />

tools necessary for success.<br />

These are high-school students<br />

who cannot read, write or do basic<br />

arithmetic due to disabilities and<br />

who could fail to graduate from<br />

high school under the new HSA<br />

requirement.<br />

Such wasteful spending is an<br />

affront to the county’s special-education<br />

students. These resources<br />

should go toward preparing our<br />

students for the tests they need to<br />

pass in order to graduate. These<br />

resources cannot be withheld.<br />

Our county’s disgraceful treatment<br />

of special-education students<br />

is an embarassing stain on our<br />

school system’s stellar reputation.<br />

Weast and MCPS must be committed<br />

to helping special-education<br />

students succeed, and realize that<br />

we owe them the funding they are<br />

due.

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