Language Arts

Nominations have been announced for Washington County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. All nominees will be honored at the annual Educators of the Year banquet, sponsored by the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday, April 21 at the Four Points Hotel in Hagerstown. A committee of school system and Chamber of Commerce representatives is selecting a list of finalists. The Teacher of the Year will be chosen from that list. The teacher chosen will advance to the statewide Teacher of the Year program in October.

State achievement test scores sent home with Berkeley County students last week show across-the-board improvement, but officials readily admit more gains are needed. “We increased in 84 percent of the areas that are measured,” Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Margaret Kursey said in a recent interview. More than 11,000 Berkeley County students in grades three through 11 took the West Virginia Educational Standards Test 2, or WESTEST 2 this spring, according to Kursey.

Antietam Academy Middle School 1300 Marshall St. Hagerstown Principal: Ivan "Ike" Williams Phone: 301-766-8447 Web site: www.wcboe.k12.md.us/departments/aams/index.htm Grades: 6-8 Average class size: 10 Evening High School 1151 S. Potomac St. Hagerstown Phone: 301-766-8460 (3 to 7:30 p.m.) Web site: www.wcehs.info/ Fairview Outdoor Education Center 12808 Draper Road Clear Spring Head Teacher: Edward Hazlett Phone: 301-766-8138 Washington County Job Development Center Program at Marshall Street School 1350 Marshall St. Hagerstown Principal: Francis X. Murray III Phone: 301-766-8451 The Washington County Job Development Center program serves the vocational training needs of special needs students ages 14 to 21. The students live at home and are served educationally through this public school program.

By KERRY FRALEY Staff Writer CLEAR SPRING - A new school improvement grant program for elementary schools didn't make the cut Tuesday night, when the Washington County Board of Education trimmed a little over $4 million from Schools Superintendent Wayne F. Gersen's proposed $106 million budget. The program, designed to give schools funding for initiatives designed to improve students' math and language arts skills, had been budgeted at $1.3 million. It was one of several proposed programs and staff positions cut from the budget.

RANSON, W.Va. - The Jefferson County TeleCenter has begun office skills testing and certification for local businesses and individuals. The TeleCenter offers automated testing and certification in keyboarding and word processing, language arts and records management, financial record keeping and applications and 10-key/data entry. The tests are administered through a computer software package called Office Proficiency Assessment and Certification, so they can be taken individually, whenever the applicant or the employer needs it. The OPAC system tests speed and accuracy of typing and numerical data entry, grammar, punctuation, editing abilities, mathematical skills and proficiency in the use of particular software packages.

Proposed course changes for county high school students were made to the Washington County Board of Education during a work session Tuesday afternoon. Clyde Harrell, the school system's supervisor of secondary social studies, suggested that the sequence of high school social studies classes be changed from government being taught in ninth grade to U.S. history being taught in ninth grade. He said students learn about U.S. history in eighth grade and if they take the second part of U.S. history in ninth grade, they'll have a better understanding of government before going into 10th grade.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Three Jefferson County schools were named exemplary for 2006-07 by the West Virginia Board of Education, according to a press release from Jefferson County Schools. The three schools were Shepherdstown (W.Va.) Elementary School, Harpers Ferry (W.Va.) Middle School and Shepherdstown Middle School, according to the release. Seventy-four schools in West Virginia received the accreditation and will be honored at a banquet Nov. 8 in Charleston, W.Va., according to the release.

The Frederick County Board of Education has appointed Vicky Stultz to the position of instructional director of elementary schools, effective July 1. Employed by Frederick County Public Schools since 1982, Stultz holds a bachelor of science degree in intermediate education with a concentration in math from Appalachian State University and two master of arts degrees, one in language arts and one in school administration from East Carolina University....

Approximately 420 teachers and other educators from the region will meet for three days at South Hagerstown High School this week for an Educator Effectiveness Academy to learn more about the new curriculum for Maryland public schools, according to local and state education agencies. The Maryland State Department of Education is having academies throughout the state this summer to help teachers and principals learn about the more rigorous, in-depth Common Core curriculum, according to the state education department's website.

Springfield Middle School will hold its Spring Celebration on Thursday, May 10, from 2:45 to 8 p.m. Parents, students and the community are invited to participate.  There will be many interesting activities during the day, including:   English Language Arts student-led conferences will begin at 2:45 p.m.   Scholastic book fair will be open and items will be available for purchase until 8 p.m.   Several colleges will...