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DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
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School board to appoint interim superintendent The Gazette
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Top choice for leadership position withdrew BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Clemente Middle School eighth-graders Janaki Tettah (left) and Mikara Nelson (right) chase after a lacrosse ball thrown by Seneca Valley High School senior Tommy Santucci as part of Clemente’s “Maryland Then and Now” program on Thursday.
Students get a taste of state culture n
Clemente Middle event included traditional Maryland crab feast BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Eighth graders at Clemente Middle School in Germantown spent the day in Maryland on May 14, immersed in the history and culture of the state, that is. “Maryland Today and Now” was a culminating event of the eighth grade school year, a day of cross-curriculum activities
encouraging students to make connections between their academic subjects and everyday activities, assistant principal Rose Alvarez said. Highlights of the day included playing lacrosse on the school’s field, a square dance, quilt making, a visit from former Maryland Governor Thomas Holiday Hicks who served from 1858 to 1862, and a traditional Maryland Crab Feast. Cristela Gerardo, 14, said her favorite part of the day was playing lacrosse, which, along with jousting, is a Maryland state sport.
“It was interesting learning the sport and it was actually really fun,” she said. Cristela also said she learned that there were a lot of African Americans passing through Maryland when migrating north and how slavery decreased [in Maryland] quickly during the Civil War. That is where Gov. Hicks came in with his history lesson. Hicks, who is really Mike Robinson of Rockville, is part of the Living History Program offered by Montgomery Parks.
The Montgomery County school board will vote to conditionally appoint an interim superintendent Wednesday, a few days after its top choice for a permanent leader withdrew his name. The appointment, if approved by state schools Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery, would run from July 1 through June of next year, according to a school board news release. Andrew Houlihan, chief academic officer of the Houston Independent School District, informed school board President Patricia O’Neill on Sunday that he was no longer interested in becoming the district’s next superintendent. The school board said Thursday that Houlihan, 36, was its “preferred candidate” for superintendent. The board announced its plan to vote for an interim leader a day after it received a letter from Alan Goodwin, principal of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, on behalf of 29 high school principals. Monday’s let-
ter requested that the board ask Interim Superintendent Larry A. Bowers to continue in the post for the next school year. O’Neill said Tuesday she could not comment on whether or not the board would appoint Bowers a second time. Bowers was appointed after Joshua P. Starr resigned from the superintendent position in February before his four-year contract would have expired this summer. Bowers previously said he planned to retire at the end of June. On Tuesday, Bowers had no comment, according to Dana Tofig, a school system spokesman. Goodwin said Tuesday that he thought, and the other principals agreed, it might be best for the board to slow down the process to identify the next superintendent. If Bowers continued, the board would have more time to continue its search, said Goodwin, who is head of high school principals in the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals. The letter pointed to challenges posed by recent funding shortfalls and Houlihan’s decision to withdraw.
See INTERIM, Page A-10
Teacher raises funds PTA gifts books to Fox Chapel students for leukemia research Fair ends with a present to each child n
BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
Traditionally school book fairs are fundraisers, for PTA programs or other needs, but the PTA at Fox Chapel Elementary School in Germantown decided to use the profit from its last few book fairs to give each child in the school a book.
“... The PTA is going to try to use their funds to put at least one book into the hands of every single one of our 666+ students, many of whom come from financially disadvantaged families who might not otherwise be able to afford the purchase of books,” media specialist Rich Parker wrote in an email. That is exactly what the PTA did on Friday. That and a little more. Each book, which the students selected from titles
recommended by their teachers, had the child’s name in it, handwritten by members of the PTA. When PTA members Susan Francis, Alicia Madariaga and Helen Snay arrived at each class Friday afternoon, there were smiles and reaches from the preschoolers, general excitement from first- and second-graders and even applause from third-graders. “It sounds like Christmas morning in here,” said third-
See CULTURE, Page A-10
grade teacher Muriel Alexander. “Getting books into [the students’] hands is amazing, especially with summer coming.” Each grade level teacher selected four or five books for their students to choose from, keeping in mind different interests and reading abilities, said Helen Snay, book fair coordinator at Fox Chapel. Then the students selected the one they wanted to own.
See BOOKS, Page A-10
County to observe Memorial Day schedule Montgomery County and its municipalities will observe the following holiday schedules for Memorial Day on Monday.
Montgomery County • County offices, libraries, schools: closed.
INDEX A&E Automotive Business Calendar Classified Obituaries Opinion Sports
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• County liquor stores: open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • Recreation: All indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities will be open; administrative offices, senior centers and community recreation centers will be closed. • Montgomery Parks: All
Parks facilities will be open. Operating schedules are at MontgomeryParks.org. • Ride On buses, Metrobus, Metrorail: Sunday schedule. • TRiPS Commuter Stores in Silver Spring and Friendship Heights: closed. • Trash and recycling
pickup: no collection Monday; pickups one day later through week until Saturday. • Transfer station: closed. • Parking at public garages, lots, curbside meters: free. • State offices and courts: closed. — GAZETTE STAFF
SPORTS B-4 B-11 A-11 A-2 B-8 A-12 A-13 B-1
LOOKING FORWARD Freshmen played a key role in leading Damascus baseball to region title game. B-1
Volume 28, No. 18, Two sections, 28 Pages Copyright © 2015 The Gazette
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Hopes to name research grant in honor of former pupil n
BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
During her 10 years as a teacher at Ronald McNair Elementary School in Germantown, Katie Kelly has known four students with leukemia. She said it makes her sad that children have to battle cancer while so young, but she also is working to help find a cure. Kelly is raising money for the National Capital Area Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a Woman of the Year candidate, a 10-week fundraising campaign that includes 10 D.C. metropolitan area women competing to see who raises the most money. “I’m raising money on behalf of my students and in particular Josh Bluestein,” Kelly wrote in an email. “Joshua was a
PHOTO BY LAURA MOSQUERA
Ronald McNair Elementary School teacher Katie Kelly is shown with Emma Baker. Emma was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in May 2012, one of four students Kelly knows with leukemia. Kelly is raising funds to name a research grant for one of those students.
fifth-grader at McNair when he was diagnosed and spent three [plus] years enduring grueling
See LEUKEMIA, Page A-10