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DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
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Board interviews Fourth-, candidates for fifth-graders superintendent prep annual
McNair Steppers get a leg up
presentation BY
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Ronald McNair Elementary School McNair Steppers Cheldon Lampkin, 10 (fifth grade), Christine Ha, 11 (fifth grade), Yeana Le, 10 (fourth grade) and Sierra Harris, 10 (fourth grade) practice a dance routine.
PEGGY MCEWAN
Gannon recognized for high expectations, knowing students BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
A Damascus High School teacher known for creative and engaging methods to help students learn won an award reserved for Montgomery County Public Schools’ best educators. Joseph Gannon Jr., who teaches Advanced Placement world history and U.S. history, was named the county’s 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year on April 21.
Gannon and others were recognized at the Champions for Children Awards Celebration, an event the nonprofit Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education hosts. The other two Gannon Teacher of the Year finalists were Josephine Luster, who teaches in The Center Program for the Highly Gifted at Chevy Chase Elementary School, and Jill Raspen, a sixth-grade English teacher at Ridgeview Middle School in Gaithersburg.
Green Ribbon Schools award lands in Germantown BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
From checking on lights and computers to encouraging recycling and conservative water use, students on the Northwest High School SERT (School Energy and Recycling Team) Green Team work to make the school a model of sustainability. The school was honored for
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its efforts by the U.S. Department of Education this month as a recipient of a 2015 U.S. Green Ribbon Schools award. Northwest was one of 58 schools nationwide to receive the award this year. “The consistent work our Green Team does each and every day has led our students to live a ‘green’ lifestyle which not only benefits our school, but also our community at large,” E. Lancellotti (Lance) Dempsey, Northwest principal, said in a press release. “This is truly an honor for our school and our community and I couldn’t be
With a shout and a stomp, the McNair Steppers entered the gym and walked, clapped and chanted through their step dance routine. The group of 15 fourth- and fifth-grade girls from Ronald McNair Elementary School in Germantown was practicing for their annual presentation before students and parents May 14 and for a bonus performance at Rockville Town Center May 16. Three times they went through their dance at rehearsal April 22, concentrating on the ending, which took the team back out of the gym without losing their beat or formation “They have to earn the right to perform,” coach Nikolle Bullock said. “This is a team, we’re representing our school and they need to take it seriously.” Discipline is a backbone of the step team, according to Bullock. She started the team five years ago for at-risk students at McNair. “I wanted them to have a goal to reach,” she said. “Step is such a [difficult] form of
The Montgomery County Board of Education is interviewing the first round of candidates for the county school district’s superintendent position. The school board was still talking with candidates as of Tuesday, said Hank Gmitro, president of the firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates. He expected the interviews to continue “for a while” and at least through this week. The same search firm helped Montgomery County Public Schools discover former Superintendents Joshua P. Starr and Jerry D. Weast. Starr resigned from the post in February. The board likely will interview about six or seven candidates, Gmitro said, but could interview more. Gmitro said the search firm presented to the school board about 14 people who it thought might match a leadership profile the firm created. The profile is based on input from commu-
See STEPPERS, Page A-10
The three teachers previously received a Master Teacher Award from the Marian Greenblatt Education Fund, making them eligible to be Teacher of the Year. Gannon has worked in the county school system for about 27 years, most of them at Damascus High. A school district press release says all of the Teacher of the Year finalists receive $1,000 from the Greenblatt Educational Fund, $1,000 from Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education, and a Dell Latitude E5450 laptop. Gannon also will receive an additional
See TEACHER, Page A-10
more proud.” The Green Ribbon Schools award recognizes schools and school districts that work to reduce environmental impact and costs, work to improve the health and wellness of students and staff and provide sustainability education, according to the Department of Education website. Northwest has a strong core of about 20 students that make up its Green Team assistant principal Matthew Niper said. “Our group of students is phenomenal, they work really hard and try to get others involved,” Niper said. “For Earth
Week they gave out leaf shaped papers, on recycled paper of course, for [students] to write an Earth Day pledge on. The leaves were placed on about 10 different tree posters around the school.” That was one example of the work the Green Team does to involve the school community, Niper said. They also keep a binder to submit to MCPS for its Lead by Example contest, he said. Lead by Example tracks results of the team’s conservation
See GREEN, Page A-10
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LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Northwest High stands greener than ever n
BY
STAFF WRITER
Damascus High teacher lands top honor n
Search firm presented about 14 possible matches for position n
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nity members, parents, teachers, students, administrators, board members and others. The firm asked participants to share desired attributes in the next superintendent, the district’s strengths, and issues and challenges to address. The profile report said that, among many desired traits, stakeholders want the superintendent to have “the ability to narrow the achievement gap,” “effective communication skills,” and “educational experiences that include classroom teacher, building principal, and central office administrator.” Both Gmitro and school board President Patricia O’Neill said they could not share information about candidates under consideration because the search is confidential. Asked if the candidates are from both inside and outside the school system, Gmitro said he could not say anything about the candidates. The next step, he said, will be a second round of interviews. That typically involves about three candidates, but the district may have more or fewer, he said. The school district won’t share names until someone is
See CANDIDATES, Page A-10
Proposed school child-abuse policy open to comment n
Board gives preliminary approval for ‘totally different’ document
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
The Montgomery County school board took a step Monday toward improving its policy on how the district addresses child abuse and neglect. The school board preliminarily approved a draft policy that Andrew Zuckerman, the district’s acting chief operating officer, described as “totally different” than the previous version. “I think it’s a complete redesign,” Zuckerman said at the board’s Monday meeting. The public now can comment on the policy draft until June 8. The board is set to take final action in late June. The updated policy — last revised in 2007 — is significantly
longer than the current policy, with new information about how the district will prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect issues. The policy changes are part of a broader school system effort to improve how it addresses child abuse and neglect. That effort is being carried out amid several recent arrests of people working in county schools who were accused of abuse or inappropriate touching. A school system employee who formerly worked as a teacher’s aide was arrested Thursday and accused of having sexual contact with a teenage student. The proposed policy includes new language about improving processes for screening employees, volunteers and contractors; using national and local experts when designing professional development; offering students opportunities to learn
See POLICY, Page A-10