SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE SIGNS County clearing public rights of way. A-3
The Gazette
A&E: Large and in charge: Imagination Stage brings Big Friendly Giant to life. A-11
SILVER SPRING | TAKOMA PARK | WHEATON | BURTONSVILLE DA I LY U P DAT E S AT G A Z E T T E . N E T
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
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County launches fund for data centers
Scores drop in last year of MSAs n
Officials say curriculum didn’t match tests
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SPORTS: Blair swimmer becoming one of the best in the county. B-1
LINDSAY A. POWERS
ByteGrid customers in Silver Spring eligible for up to $12 million in incentives n
STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County elementary and middle school students’ reading and math proficiency fell across the board in the last year of Maryland School Assessment tests, according to 2014 data released Friday by state education officials. Officials attributed the declines largely to the fact that county schools use a curriculum geared to new state standards. Next year, students will take a test that ofMontgomery ficials say will match County the new state test standards results list and theren www.gazette.net fore the curriculum. The biggest drop was seen in elementary students’ math proficiency. The number of students who reached at least the proficiency level went down about 8.6 percentage points from last year. About 75.9 percent of the students scored proficient or higher this year, compared with 84.5 percent last year. The number of middle school students reaching at least the math proficiency level also fell — 4.6 percentage points, dropping to 73.3 percent this year. On the reading test, the number of middle school students attaining at least the proficiency level fell 3.5 percentage points, to 85.8 percent. About 87.2 percent of ele-
See SCORES, Page A-6
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KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
(From left) Elizabeth Sandall and Charles Feamster, assistant principals at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring, are guided by instructional specialist Jenny Trombatore as part of their training Friday on new classroom technology.
Classrooms to get digital boost About 65 schools will start year with new devices; more in following months
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LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Some Montgomery County students will find some new digital gadgets in their classrooms when they return next month. The Montgomery school board approved a plan Tuesday that will place 40,000 electronic devices in all county public schools during the 2014-15 school year. For the first year of the plan’s implementation, the laptops and tablets will go to third-, fifth- and sixth-grade classes and high school social studies classes. Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said the technol-
ogy will help students learn and teachers teach. “It’s not about just giving someone a device,” he said in an interview. “It’s about integrating it into the ecology of the classroom.” The plan divides county schools into three groups to introduce the devices at several stages this school year. The first group of about 65 schools will start the academic year with the devices. The second group will receive its devices later in the fall and a third group will boot up its gadgets around December or January, according to Sherwin Collette, the school system’s chief technology officer. Schools will see more devices in future years. The devices cost about $15 million, and Starr said it will be “essential” for the school system to continuing budgeting for such technology. “We will have to devote resources to this on a
See DIGITAL, Page A-6
Montgomery County is starting a new economic development incentive grant designed to boost its datacenter industry. ByteGrid, which operates two data facilities in Silver Spring and leases space to tenants, will receive up to $12 million in rebates for its customers. The rebates will offset part of the personal property taxes they pay on technology infrastructure, such as servers and routers, over a dozen years. “A lot of jurisdictions offer these kinds of incentives,” Ken Parent, CEO of ByteGrid, said Monday. “Over the past few months, we have been talking with Montgomery County leaders about this. They get it. They want the data-center business to thrive here.” The idea is to make the county a more attractive option for private companies and public agencies that are outsourcing technology infrastructure using such centers, said Steve Silverman, director of Montgomery County’s Department of Economic Development. The county hopes to compete with areas such as Loudoun County, Va., which has more than 50 data centers that are used by technology giants such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft.
See DATA, Page A-6
PHOTO FROM BYTEGRID
An aerial view of ByteGrid’s Silver Spring data center.
Silver Spring land swap final Flower Avenue project faces delay Agreement will give Progress Place 21 small apartments for homeless n
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ALINE BARROS STAFF WRITER
Montgomery County on July 7 finalized an agreement with a Bethesda-based developer to build a new county homeless shelter in Silver Spring. The county will get a new four-story building on a countyowned property behind Fire Station 1. The new facility will
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be planned, designed and constructed by the developer, which will relocate the current Progress Place facility at no cost to the county. In return, the developer will get the deed for three land parcels — 1014 Ripley St., 8206 Colonial Lane and 8210 Colonial Lane — that total 1.5 acres and are valued at about $11 million, according to official documents. The land swap will net 21 small apartments for the Progress Place facility, which will have the current property on Colonial Lane developed into a high-rise residential building.
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Progress Place is a facility owned by Montgomery County that houses Shepherd’s Table and Interfaith Works. Both nonprofits provide the homeless and those in need with basic services, including meals, social services, medical support and clothing. It also houses Community Vision, which provides support, advocacy, education and training for the homeless in the county to empower them to achieve independence. The project’s total cost is $13 million for Washington
See SWAP, Page A-6
THE BATTLE AGAINST BULLYING Silver Spring teen part of group who made video to fight growing problem.
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Washington Gas wants gas line replaced; city upgrading infrastructure
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KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
A $2.3 million project to upgrade sidewalks and stormwater infrastructure along a one-mile stretch of Flower Avenue in Takoma Park may be delayed as Washington Gas now plans to replace a gas line there, officials said Monday. Daryl Braithwaite, Takoma Park’s public works director,
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said she learned last week that Washington Gas wants to replace the line after previously indicating it was not planning to do that. The project along Flower between Carroll Avenue and Piney Branch Road has been in the planning stages for about two years, and construction is not likely to start until 2016, she said. “That will be a major issue that we will have to work around,” Braithwaite told council members. “We will be meeting with [Washington Gas] and may call upon [council members] to help us get clearer
responses. A lot of our previous contacts are no longer with the organization, so we are starting with some new counterparts.” A spokesman for Washington Gas could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Utilities have authority to limit what cities do in such projects, Braithwaite said. Last year, the city worked with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission to coordinate the planned replacement of a water main. Washington Gas typically uses its own contractor for
See DELAY, Page A-6