National Education Week Dinner at Hidden Waters Honors Area Superintendents
On November 12, Chancellor William E. “Brit” Kirwan hosted a dinner to recognize the efforts of three Maryland public school superintendents who have facilitated the development and implementation of very successful partnerships with USM institutions to improve teaching and learning: Dr. Andres Alonso, chief executive officer of Baltimore City Public Schools; Dr. Jerry Weast, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools; and Dr. John Deasy, superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools.
The partnerships were directed by USM Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nancy Shapiro and were made possible by significant funding from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. USM partners have included: Coppin State University; Bowie State University; the Maryland Sea Grant College; Towson University; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore at Shady Grove. Baltimore City Community College, Frederick Douglass High School, the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, Montgomery College, and Prince George’s Community College have also partnered on these projects.
The first partnership was Project LINC (2000-2005), which enhanced teaching quality in Prince George’s County by improving student achievement and teacher retention and increasing the number of certified teachers.VIP K-16 – a partnership with Montgomery County high schools – followed in 2002, creating sustainable learning communities, deepening science teacher knowledge, and enhancing college-level teaching and learning. E=mc2 launched in 2003 to improve teacher quality and student achievement in the Baltimore City Public School System. The USM’s latest project, (MSP)2, will expand the minority student pipeline in STEM fields in higher education by targeting schools in one of the largest “minority-majority” counties in the country: Prince George’s County. (MSP)2 will advance two of Chancellor Kirwan’s signature initiatives: to enhance Maryland competitiveness by preparing its workforce to work in STEM fields, and to close the achievement gap in retention and completion of college education for lower income and underrepresented students.
Tags: November December 2008
