Summer 2010

Hello, everyone! It's the last week of summer, and school's about to start. Here's a brief update on what's happened since school ended:

• Stephen N. Abrams, a three-term Board of Education member, passed away on August 1st. His passion for education has created a lasting impact on MCPS, and he will be commemorated by the Board of Education at their next meeting, on August 26th. I offer my deepest sympathies to Mr. Abrams’ wife, family, and friends. 

• Dr. Jerry Weast, superintendent of MCPS, has announced that he will retire at the end of his current contract, on June 30th, 2011. Dr. Weast has made remarkable achievements during his tenure, and is the second-longest serving superintendent in MCPS history. To read his memorandum to the Board of Education regarding this, click here.

• Maryland is among ten winners in Phase 2 of the "Race to the Top" education grant initiative, winning $250 million in federal grants. The other winners are D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island. The two Phase 1 winners were Delaware and Tennessee. 

• Last week, I attended New Board Member Orientation at MABE (the Maryland Association of Boards of Education). I met almost all of the other SMOBs/SROBs from other counties in Maryland, as well as the state SMOB. We hope to achieve a lot this year through our continued collaboration.

• With the arrival of school also comes the fall elections. Youth are playing a larger role in today's politics, and I encourage all eligible youth to register to vote and participate in the political process.

There's still time to apply for the SMOB Council! Once again, detailed descriptions of each staff's responsibilities are here, and the application is here.

Good luck to everyone with their new school year! I hope to see as many students as possible this year during school visits, SGA events, and the like.