Montgomery County Public Schools

Carver Educational Services Center 850 Hungerford Dr. Rockville 20850 301-309-6277 http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org Jerry D. Weast Superintendent 301-279-3381 Fax: 301-279-3205 Frieda K. Lacey Deputy superintendent 301-279-3474 Sherwin Collette Chief technology officer 301-279-3581 Jo Ann Leleck Chief academic officer 301-279-3566 Erick Lang...

Paint Branch High School Principal Jeanette Dixon recently announced her plans to retire after 12 years at the school. She is proud of the legacy she leaves behind: "I think that I'll be turning over to my successor a school that I've been able to move forward," Dixon said. She plans to turn in her retirement papers May 30 and hopes a new principal will be in place by July. Brian Eichenlaub, who is in charge of signature programs at Paint Branch, has worked alongside Dixon for 22 years.

Homer O. Elseroad, the Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent from 1964 to 1975 who presided over the final vestiges of desegregation in the fast-growing school district, died Jan. 16 at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital in Baltimore. He was 93. A son, David Elseroad Sr., said the former schools chief died of complications from a stroke and pneumonia. Starting as a math and physics teacher, Dr. Elseroad climbed the ladder in the Baltimore County school system and eventually became an...

Montgomery County sent home a new elementary school report card this year, with ES as the top mark, officially representing "exceptional" work. But parent Chuck Thomas thinks there is a different meaning for ES. "Elusive Secret," he said. "That is probably more accurate. " Thomas said his second-grade daughter is in a third-grade math class and sometimes does advanced work, yet she only comes home with a "sprinkling" of ES's on her report card. Thomas and other Montgomery parents of young elementary students say...

A reduction of nearly 10 percent in the athletics budget for the upcoming school year will force Montgomery County Public Schools to shorten the seasons of all junior varsity teams, and pay football coaches stipends for only one practice during the traditional "two-a-days" during the first week of practice. The MCPS budget, announced last month, included trims totaling $751,900 in athletics funding for fiscal year 2012 as part of $17.4 million reduction from the Board of Education.

Paint Branch High School Principal Jeanette Dixon recently announced her plans to retire after 12 years at the school. She is proud of the legacy she leaves behind: "I think that I'll be turning over to my successor a school that I've been able to move forward," Dixon said. She plans to turn in her retirement papers May 30 and hopes a new principal will be in place by July. Brian Eichenlaub, who is in charge of signature programs at Paint Branch, has worked alongside Dixon for 22 years.

A Damascus High School student says she was "harassed and intimidated by teachers and an assistant principal for refusing to stand" during the Pledge of Allegiance. Tenth-grader Enidris Siurano-Rodriguez said she was sent to the assistant principal's office on April 4 for not taking part in the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the ACLU of Maryland , which is representing the family. Siurano-Rodriguez's biology teacher asked her to stand during the Pledge, but the student had been...

       Regarding the May 5 Metro story " Majority flunked finals in math ": In the discus sion about the reasons for poor math scores among students at Montgomery County Public Schools, has the possible correlation between a math teacher and his or her students been considered? It would be revealing if math teachers were given the same tests as their students. It might show that teachers who did well had students who did well. Robert O. Disque ,...

Superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools Dr. Starr began his tenure as Montgomery County Public Schools' superintendent of schools on July 1, 2011, after having been the superintendent in Stamford, Connecticut. Starr is a passionate champion for all students and is committed to ensuring that Montgomery County Public Schools meets the needs of students across the spectrum. This appointment builds upon the work Dr. Starr began as a teacher in 1993. Starr was the superintendent in Stamford from 2005 to 2011, where he distinguished himself by...

Montgomery County sent home a new elementary school report card this year, with ES as the top mark, officially representing "exceptional" work. But parent Chuck Thomas thinks there is a different meaning for ES. "Elusive Secret," he said. "That is probably more accurate. " Thomas said his second-grade daughter is in a third-grade math class and sometimes does advanced work, yet she only comes home with a "sprinkling" of ES's on her report card. Thomas and other Montgomery parents of young elementary students say...

The Montgomery County Council gave formal approval Thursday to a $4.8 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The spending plan, a 4.1 percent increase over the current fiscal year, includes pay raises averaging 7 to 10 percent for unionized fire, police and non-uniform employees. The average homeowner will see property taxes increase by $80 a year. The new budget also expands the number of police on the streets and in schools, while also increasing some library hours.

       Regarding the May 5 Metro story " Majority flunked finals in math ": In the discus sion about the reasons for poor math scores among students at Montgomery County Public Schools, has the possible correlation between a math teacher and his or her students been considered? It would be revealing if math teachers were given the same tests as their students. It might show that teachers who did well had students who did well. Robert O. Disque ,...

Evalyn D. Cheesman, 87, who taught English in Montgomery County Public Schools for two decades, died April 8 at an assisted-living facility in Sykesville, Md. She had complications from dementia, said her daughter Cynthia L. Kehr. Mrs. Cheesman taught from 1966 to 1986 at schools including Gaithersburg Middle School and, in Rockville, Robert E. Peary High School and Earle B. Wood Middle School. She lived in Montgomery for about six decades before moving to assisted-living care several years ago. Evalyn Jane DeFord was born in Bedford, Ind.,...

Parents, teachers and students of Sligo Creek Elementary School in Silver Spring grabbed their gardening gloves and shovels Saturday morning for some outdoor education. The school, which shares a courtyard with Silver Spring International Middle School, is working to create an outdoor classroom, complete with native plants and an edible garden, said Sligo parent Debbie Boger, chairwoman of the school's committee for the project. The classroom will be integrated into some of the Montgomery County public...

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday honored five Washington-area schools and the Montgomery County school system as National Green Ribbon Schools for their exemplary environmental education programs and sustainable facilities. "These kinds of learning opportunities are what we all want for our children," Duncan said during an Earth Day ceremony at Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School in the District, one of 64 individual schools honored nationwide. "The leadership here and the...

A Damascus High School student says she was "harassed and intimidated by teachers and an assistant principal for refusing to stand" during the Pledge of Allegiance. Tenth-grader Enidris Siurano-Rodriguez said she was sent to the assistant principal's office on April 4 for not taking part in the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the ACLU of Maryland , which is representing the family. Siurano-Rodriguez's biology teacher asked her to stand during the Pledge,...

Lois Stoner, 82, a retired Montgomery County public schools legislative aide, died of cancer July 13 at her home in Rockville. Her death was confirmed by her son James Stoner. Lois Oblender was born in Lancaster, Pa. She graduated from Pennsylvania's Swarthmore College in 1951 and settled in the Washington area after receiving a master's degree in teaching from Harvard University in 1953. From 1981 to 2000, Mrs. Stoner worked for Montgomery County public schools on lobbying efforts at the Maryland legislature.

Wayne E. Whigham, 63, a Montgomery County high school principal and school administrator, died March 14 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. The cause was an embolism and complications following surgery to remove a colon polyp, said his wife, Mary Beth Waits. At his death, Mr. Whigham was director of the office of appeals and transfers for the Montgomery County Public Schools. He handled such matters as student expulsions and transfers and appeals of administrative decisions affecting students.

Even with a camera pressed against his nose, you can tell Bill Mills is grinning. Seventy-two years have left wrinkles around his eyes that deepen when he smiles. His dimples appear from underneath his white beard. Mills has been at this job for 46 years. He said he still looks forward to going to work every day. He's not sure what he'll do now. Mills, the photographer for Montgomery County public schools, one of the school system's longest-serving employees, is retiring at the end of the...