Please watch/listen to our second interview online. This is the second of six interviews we conducted during the summer.
Month: September 2016
Meeting minutes on HCPSS Chinese/World Language Teaching
Summary of meeting on HCPSS Chinese/World Language Teaching
Recorded by Chao Wu
This summary is solely my recollection of the meeting. If anybody finds any discrepancy, please let me know and I will correct them. We really appreciate this opportunity to meet both River Hill and HCPSS staff to discuss this issue. Thanks for their time.
Time: September 6, 2016, 7:30PM-9:10PM. Location: River Hill High School Media Room (Information Center)
- Attendances: around 45 parents,
- River Hill High School Principal Mrs. Kathryn McKinley. Assistant Principal Napoleon Saunders II
- HCPSS central office Gina Massella, Administrative Director of High Schools, Robert Cole, Coordinator of Digital Education, Leslie Grahn, Coordinator of World Languages
- Some teachers from River Hill High School
- Other staff; Dr. Roger Sandrain, (Teaching synchronized online course of Differential Equation), Jennifer xx, Office of Curriculum (?), Evelyn Crown Office of Curriculum(?)
Mrs. Leslie Grahn introduced herself as an experienced world language expert from the beginning.
- She talked about “Distance teaching” program, which has been carried out for 8 out of 12 high schools now.
- The synchronized online teaching has the same curriculum as face-to-face teaching.
- HCPSS is hiring a new instructive assistant in Chinese language teaching.
- All the courses are based in Canvas, recorded.
I will not write down who raised the questions. All the questions answered by either Principal McKinley or staff from HCPSS central office.
Q1: any staff change due to budget cut
A1: Class size is set 33 as limit. Any class size below 15 has the following options:
- Drop the class
- Other options-convert it to other format such as synchronized online teaching: US history AP class (one student), differential equation class (from eight school)
- Before Chinese AP was moved to synchronized online teaching, 11 registered Chinese AP. After that, eight dropped from the class. River Hill principal did not agree with the numbers, but she did not present her numbers either.
Q2 : combining Chinese class 3 + class 4. Why last day to announce cut teachers and change of class?
A2: Still less than 15. It is a very difficult decision.
Q3: Why River Hill? Before the policy, 11 students registered, after the policy change, 8 dropped the class. What did not you think?
A3: More students registered at Marriott Ridge High School than River Hill. So we moved the teacher to Marriott Ridge, cut the teacher at River Hill.
Students dropped the class for various reasons, not just because of this class policy change.
Q4: Any research on the effectiveness of online teaching? If not, why make such change before any research was done?
A4: this is a great invention from our county HCPSS. We are still improving it.
A mother spoke out that his son dropped off Chinese due to the synchronized online teaching after the first class, because it is very challenging to learn a foreign language in such environment.
Q5: 1) Hope the school could improve transparency when making the decision on the last days of school. That will improve mutual understanding between schools and parents.
2) If some classes have to be changed to online teaching, can the school try to keep relative low-level class as face-to-face?
3) Teacher-student relationship is very important for language class instruction.
4) Zoe Jordan’s mom shared her powerful testimony. She is studying in New York University-Shanghai Campus.
A5: no comments from staff.
Q6: when will the decision be revisited? How is the decision to cut staff be made?
A6: There is no plan to revisit this decision for this year. The classes will be reviewed year by year.
Q7: How about Vision 2018 Initiative? Is class enrollment the only factor to cut staff?
A7: We value Vision 2018 initiative, world language is a priority. Enrollment is not the only factor for the school to make decisions.
Q8/A8: River Hill High School math teacher discussed many benefits of the online “differential equation” class. There is no any negative effect mentioned at all.
Bob Coale talked about Synchronized classroom. The class size limit is 24. They tried to improve the student experience using this system at the first class. He thinks students will love this online format.
Q9: (Audience commented) on the previous great benefits of “Synchronized’ online class. There will be no first class for the language class since when they hear the language class is instructed online, they just do not register the class at all.
A9: there is no class period change for the online instruction.
Q10: Will the decision to change class format be revisited?
A10: maybe not, but the classes are evaluated on yearly basis.
Q11: Are there any world languages taught in this way in HCPSS?
A11: We lost Italian, Latin program because of low enrollment number. They belong to “less taught languages”: could not find teacher and could not hold/retain the students.
Q12: The low enrollment number partially is because we started the language too late. Can we start some Chinese from elementary schools?
A12: No plan to start Chinese language from elementary school. Currently two middle schools have it. There are not enough certified teachers.
Some parents in the audience mentioned that there are several Chinese Schools in Howard County which can serve as resources for certified Chinese language teachers in HCPSS.
Q13/A13: Bob discussed the benefits of digital medium classroom. Parents said for the first class, especially language class, face-to-face teaching is very important to attract students’ attention and consequently retain the students in the class.
Q14/A14: for Coleman. The first week was complicated with many technology issues. But that is not an issue at all for the teaching since teachers may have different class content.
Q15: (parent) We have scheduling issue between Atholton High School and River Hill High School.
A15: back-to-school night schedules were different at 2 schools. The schedule between different schools should be synchronized.
Q16: Will river Hill student meet Atholton teacher?
A16: Yes. Will plan for one-to-one support from teacher online for River Hill High School students.
Q17: Will Athlon teacher be available for River Hill ?
A17 Yes. Wednesday, after second period.
Q18: Voice was distorted for online teaching. Students in Athlon may not use the devise as the teacher is in their classroom.
A18: Voice distortion was solved. Future technology improvement will make it better. Students in Athlon are required to use the device in classroom.
Q19: How about field trip for the language student?
A19: Open to all students from all schools.
Q20: One parent suggested we should have routine meetings in the future to keep the communication channel open. It was asked if there are any blueprint (document) for this digital teaching.
A20: yes. possibly during the Nov. 2016 “American education week”. There are no blue print, no research to back up benefits of online teaching.
Q21/A21: HCPSS is on the cutting edge of 21st century education by moving it online.
Q22: What is the performance of expectation of online teaching? One parent shared his son’s experience with face-to-face teaching elevated the relationship between teacher and student because of teacher’s present. Mrs. Hui Liang’s class helped his son to register/enjoy/improve in the language.
A21: priority is the student.
Q23: Any update on the initiatives listed in HCPSS World Language Program Update dated March 2015?
A23: Chinese placement test has been implemented. Considering dual enrollment at HCC and other pathways to improve the Chinese language teaching.
Q24: Thanks for your interactions with us. Different teaching methods should be explored. Chinese schools would love to help HCPSS on the Chinese language education.
Audiences recommended the Columbia Association’s World Language Cafes for language learners. It is held on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 7 – 9 pm at the East Columbia Library’s 50+ Center (6600 Cradlerock Rd, Columbia).
Furthermore, River Hill High School Principal would love to meet us again in Nov. 2016 during American Education Week.
We need ask ourselves: Are we on the right track? The following is a slide from HCPSS presentation.
Columbia, Maryland Named the Best Small City in America by Money Magazine
Feel very proud of this. We are part of Columbia.
———————————————
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 19, 2016Contacts:
David Greisman, Senior Manager of Media Relations and Communications, Columbia Association — David.Greisman@ColumbiaAssociation.org, 410-423-4103 (o), 443-226-6237 (c)
Andrew Barth, Press Secretary, Howard County Government —abarth@howardcountymd.gov, 410-313-2132 (o), 410-303-2039 (c)
Date: September 19, 2016Contacts:
David Greisman, Senior Manager of Media Relations and Communications, Columbia Association — David.Greisman@ColumbiaAssociation.org, 410-423-4103 (o), 443-226-6237 (c)
Andrew Barth, Press Secretary, Howard County Government —abarth@howardcountymd.gov, 410-313-2132 (o), 410-303-2039 (c)
Columbia, Maryland Named the Best Small City in America by Money Magazine
For nearly five decades, the residents of Columbia, Maryland have known that our community is one of the best places to live in the country. Once again, Money Magazine has agreed — naming Columbia the top place in the United States on its 2016 rankings of the best small cities to live in America.“Columbia, Md., turns 50 next year, and it’s never looked better,” raved the article in Money Magazine, which can be read in full here. “One of the most successful planned communities in the country, Columbia is a magnet in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, attracting families in search of good schools and businesses hungry for educated employees.”
It is another honor for a community that was highly regarded ever since its founding in 1967 and continues to earn praise and awards into the 21st century. Columbia has regularly been in Money Magazine’s Top 10, ranked jointly with Ellicott City at No. 4 in 2006, No. 8 in 2008, No. 2 in 2010, No. 8 in 2012 and No. 6 in 2014. Ellicott City was ranked separately this year. This year’s rankings were out of 823 U.S. small cities, which were defined as those with populations between 50,000 and 300,000. (The rankings in the odd-numbered years are for small towns with populations between 10,000 and 50,000.)
“For the Columbia community to be consistently ranked in the Top 10 says a lot about the quality of life here and, in general, Howard County,” said Milton W. Matthews, president and CEO of Columbia Association (CA), a nonprofit service corporation with the mission of enhancing the quality of life for those who live, work and play in Columbia.
“As Columbia approaches its 50th birthday, our community includes residents who moved here in Columbia’s earliest days and remain here; residents who once moved away and then were drawn back and returned; and many other residents who may not have known much, if anything, about the vision and ideals upon which the community was founded — but were nonetheless attracted to Columbia and, in general, Howard County for its beauty, diversity, inclusiveness, cultural and recreational opportunities, top-notch school and library systems, low crime, and proximity to Baltimore and Washington, D.C.,” Matthews said.
Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman likes to say he grew up with Columbia. He has watched the community go from vision to reality.
“We’re very excited. It’s something we’ve known forever, that Columbia is one of the best places to live in the world, but now the rest of the country knows,”Kittleman said. “It was Jim Rouse’s vision to build Columbia almost 50 years ago. Next year will be Columbia’s 50th birthday. I’m sure he would be a very proud person to know that the city he planned is now the best place to live in America. It’s the vision of Jim Rouse to bring people from all incomes, all races and all ethnic groups together, and it really has proven to be successful here. Columbia just continues to attract people because of the warmth of the people who live here and the amenities that people have to enjoy.
“We have 3,600 acres of open space and 94 miles of pathways. We have the greatest schools in the world here in Howard County,” Kittleman said. “We have one of the best community colleges, Howard Community College, in the country right here in Columbia. We have a premier hospital, Howard County General Hospital, here in Columbia. We have Merriweather Post Pavilion. We have the greatest library system in North America. We are growing. We have a downtown that’s becoming more urbanized, which is what we always needed in Howard County.”
The Money Magazine article praised Columbia’s racial, religious and socioeconomic diversity, while also noting the redevelopment occurring downtown, just one part of what Columbia’s many stakeholders are doing to ensure that this remains a community of choice, now and for generations to come.
Rounding out the Top 10 are Eden Prairie, Minnesota (No. 2); Plano, Texas (No. 3); West Des Moines, Iowa (No. 4); Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey (No. 5); Highlands Ranch, Colorado (No. 6); Clarkstown, New York (No. 7); Weston, Florida (No. 8); Beaverton, Oregon (No.9); and Naperville, Illinois (No. 10).
About Columbia Association
Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.
HoCo Veteran Memorial at Lakefront Fountain
HoCo Veteran Foundation is interesting in building a memorial exactly at the fountain.
County Exectutive Allan Kittleman is supporting the idea and will provide 25,000 dollars for the foundation.
Three County Council members, Cavin Ball, Mary Sigaty and Jen Terrassa are against this idea.
Attachment please find their letter on this matter.county-council-against-ca-easement-letter
I exacted one picture from the file, which was taken in 1993 at Lakefront fountain. 
CA Board meeting Summary 9-22-2016
My computer battery ran out during the meeting such that I did not post this timely.
There are around 50 audiences. It is a huge turn out.
Resident speakout:
- Ken with around 10 pickle ball supporter with bats in hand among seniors. Howard County Pickle Ball Association (have 150 members). Look for CA’s support to expand, possibly build an indoor facility. That is also recommended CA’s Senior Advisory Committee, Fiscal Year 2018 Budget testimony.
- The rest speakers are Howard County Veteran Monument Supporters. There is Golden Start mom too. Very moving.
One lady talked about her navy/marine boyfriend encountering hostility in a bar because he was wearing a uniform. Her boyfriend said: My service to the country is to defend their freedom to say anything they want to say.
The board asked CA staff to prepare an exact easement term between CA and Howard County Veteran Foundation. Some board members had concerns that the memorial was proposed exactly at the location of the fountain.
Interview with Kirsten Coombs, HoCo BOE Candidate
We represent Chinese American Parent Association of Howard County, Howard County Chinese School at Columbia, Howard County Chinese School at Catonsville, Columbia Chinese Language School and Peiying Chinese School.
We have solicited the questions from our community, even from our kids. These questions cover variety of topics that Chinese families would like to hear your opinions. This interview will help our community to make an informed decision in November’s election.
Chaozhong Zou, Chao Wu and Tony Du joined the interview at Corner Bakery at Downtown Columbia. So there will be background music.
http://www.capa-hc.org/single-post/2016/09/19/Interview-with-BOE-Candidate-Kirsten-Coombs
Washington Post called for prosecution for its own source
I feel it is relevant to HoCo. NSA is sitting there and really close to us.
Three of the four media outlets that received and published large numbers of secret NSA documents provided by Edward Snowden — The Guardian, the New York Times, and The Intercept –– have called for the U.S. government to allow the NSA whistleblower to return to the U.S. with no charges. That’s the normal course for a news organization, which owes its sources duties of protection, and which — by virtue of accepting the source’s materials and then publishing them — implicitly declares the source’s information to be in the public interest.
In doing so, the Washington Post has achieved an ignominious feat in U.S. media history: the first-ever paper to explicitly editorialize for the criminal prosecution of its own source — one on whose back the paper won and eagerly accepted a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. But even more staggering than this act of journalistic treachery against the paper’s own source are the claims made to justify it.
When to get involved into land development process
Many of us have concerns about community development but are lack of clear view when to get involved in the process.
Here I would like to share a slide which can help us understand this better.
You can download the pdf version here.
CA new sister city Cap-Haitien Haiti
Columbia, Maryland’s newest sister city is Cap-Haitien, Haiti
The community of Columbia, Maryland now has a fourth sister city — Cap-Haitien, Haiti, a community on the northern coast of the Caribbean island of Haiti with a population of about 190,000 people. It is home to the Palace of Sans Souci and the buildings at Ramiers and the Citadel, which together have been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Cap-Haitien Mayor Jean Claude Mondesir signed the sister city agreement in July while joined by a delegation from Howard County, which is home to a large Haitian and Caribbean diaspora. That added Cap-Haitien to an expanding family that also includes Columbia’s sister cities in Cergy-Pontoise, France (since 1977); Tres Cantos, Spain (since 1990); and Tema, Ghana (since 2014).
A sister city relationship is a long-term partnership, approved by Sister Cities International, that allows both communities to get involved in citizen diplomacy, projects of mutual interest and international relations. It can lead to cultural enrichment, educational exchanges, business relationships and humanitarian contributions.
Columbia Association is seeking additional volunteer members for its Cap-Haitien Sister City Committee. Members should be residents of Columbia or Howard County who are interested in developing future exchanges and activities for the residents of Columbia and Cap-Haitien in the areas of culture, dance, visual arts, music, education, sports, environment and business. For additional information, please contact Laura Smit, program manager for CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs, by calling 410-715-3162 or sending an email toInternational@ColumbiaAssociation.org.
CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs foster international understanding and celebrate the diverse cultures of Columbia. The goals of the International Exchange Program include developing new exchanges with Columbia’s four sister cities and creating new sister city relationships in other cities and nations. CA also develops multicultural programs for the community such as the World Languages Café, Culture Fests and the International Book Club. For more information, go to ColumbiaAssociation.org/multicultural.
About Columbia Association
Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.
CA public budget hearing starts
Columbia Association holding public budget hearing on Oct. 13
Columbia Association’s (CA) Board of Directors will hold a public budget hearing on Thursday, Oct. 13, beginning at 7:30pm at CA Headquarters, 6310 Hillside Court, located off Stevens Forest Road near the county vehicle emissions inspection station.CA’s budget process provides ample opportunities for input. This hearing is one of several opportunities for residents, representatives of village community associations, advisory committee members and others to weigh in on Fiscal Year 2018, the second year of CA’s two-year budget cycle. Earlier in 2016, CA’s Board passed the budget for Fiscal Year 2017 (which runs from May 2016 through April 2017) and a conditional budget for Fiscal Year 2018 (which runs May 2017 through April 2018).
Speakers are encouraged to provide written versions of their remarks. There will be time limits for each speaker: three minutes for individuals, five minutes for groups and 10 minutes for village community associations. Testimony also can be provided via email at Board.Members@ColumbiaAssociation.org or by snail mail to Columbia Association Accounting Department, 6310 Hillside Court, Suite 100, Columbia, Maryland, 21046.
The full schedule of budget work sessions and meetings begins in September and continues into February. These meetings are open to the public; each is expected to begin at 7:30pm:
- Thursday, Sept. 22: A CA Board meeting providing an opportunity for village community association testimony, in addition to the Oct. 13 public hearing.
- Thursday, Oct. 13: A CA Board work session including a public hearing for all stakeholders regarding additions and deletions to the conditional FY18 budget.
- Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017: A CA Board work session for deliberation on stakeholders’ proposed additions and deletions to the conditional FY18 budget. CA’s Board will discuss the proposed changes and Board-approved threshold adjustments, as well as the annual charge rate and cap for FY18, and will take straw votes.
- Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017: A second CA Board work session for deliberation on adjustments and inputs to the conditional FY18 budget.
- Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017: A CA Board meeting that will include discussion of and voting on approval of the final FY18 budget revisions and annual charge rate and cap.
The approved FY2017 and conditional FY2018 budgets are online atColumbiaAssociation.org/budget.
About Columbia Association
Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.
MABE’s Objection to the Legality of Governor Hogan’s Executive Order(01.01.2016.09)
September 12, 2016
Adam D. Snyder, Esq., Chief Counsel
Opinions, Advice and Legislation Division
Office of the Attorney General
St. Paul Plaza, 200 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Subject: MABE’s Objection to the Legality of Governor Hogan’s
Executive Order (01.01.2016.09) to Mandate Starting the
School Year After Labor Day and Ending No Later Than
June 15.
Dear Mr. Snyder:
On August 31, 2016, Governor Hogan signed an Executive Order mandating a post-Labor Day start for all of Maryland’s public schools beginning in 2017. The Order further mandates that the school year end by June 15th. MABE strongly opposes this initiative as outside the scope of the Governor’s executive authority and contrary to the principle of state and local board of education governance of education policy as provided in numerous provisions of state law.
The Executive Order is Outside the Scope of the Governor’s Constitutional Executive Authority
The Executive Order references being issued under the authority vested in the Governor by the Constitution and laws of Maryland; authority which neither the Constitution nor laws of Maryland provide.
First, the Constitution provides the Governor with the authority to issue an Executive Order as follows: “The Governor may make changes in the organization of the Executive Branch of the State Government, including the establishment or abolition of departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities, and the reallocation or reassignment of functions, powers, and duties among the departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Executive Branch” (Article II, Section 24, Maryland Constitution). The Executive Order lies outside this scope of authority because the Maryland State Department Education (MSDE) is not a state agency within the Executive Branch of the State Government. Section 8-201 of the State Government Article defines the Executive Branch of the State Government to mean “not more than 21 principal departments” and enumerates 19 principal departments, including: (1) Aging; (2) Agriculture; (3) Budget and Management; (4) Commerce; (5) Disabilities; (6) the Environment; (7) General Services; (8) Health and Mental Hygiene; (9) Housing and Community Development; (10) Human Resources; (11) Information Technology; – 236 – (12) Juvenile Services; (13) Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; (14) Natural Resources; (15) Planning; (16) Public Safety and Correctional Services; (17) State Police; (18) Transportation; and (19) Veterans Affairs.
Under Section 8-201 of the State Government Article, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is not a department within the Executive branch. Therefore, the Executive Order exceeds the scope of executive authority granted a Governor under Section 24 of Article II of the Maryland Constitution.
To further support this position, and to distinguish MSDE from state agencies within the Executive Branch, Section 8-203 of the State Government Article provides that “The head of each principal department is a secretary, who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.” This law does not apply to MSDE or the office of the State Superintendent of Schools. By contrast, the State Superintendent is appointed by the State Board of Education, not the Governor, and has the general powers and duties provided in Subtitle 3 of the Education Article. In this context, the Executive Order exceeds the Governor’s scope of authority.
The Executive Order Conflicts with the Authority of the State Board of Education under State Law
The Executive Order conflicts with the scope of authority granted the State Superintendent and State Board of Education under Section 2-205 of the Education Article. Section 2-205(b) provides: “The State Board shall: (1) Determine the elementary and secondary educational policies of this State; and (2) Cause to be carried out those provisions of this article that are within its jurisdiction” Under Maryland law, it is the State Board of Education which “shall adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations for the administration of the public schools.”
Maryland’s highest court has consistently found that Section 2-205 of the Education Article confers comprehensive “visitatorial power” upon the State Board. This “visitatorial power” has been recognized for more than a century, and is typically described in the same manner prescribed by Maryland’s highest court in Board of Education v. Heister, 392 Md. 140 (2006):
The totality of [the Education Article] provisions has been described as a visitatorial power of such comprehensive character as to invest the State Board “with the last word on any matter concerning educational policy or the administration of the system of public education.” The broad sweep of the State Board’s visitatorial power has been consistently recognized and applied since the principle was first enunciated in 1879 in Wiley v. School Comm’rs, 51 Md. 401.
The court, in Heister, went on to explain the scope and purpose of the State Board’s visitatorial power:
We think it beyond question that the power of visitation vested in the State Board is one of general control and supervision; it authorizes the State Board to superintend the activities of the local boards of education to keep them within the legitimate sphere of their operations, and whenever a controversy or dispute arises involving the educational policy or proper administration of the public school system of the State, the State Board’s visitatorial power authorizes it to correct all abuses of authority and to nullify all irregular proceedings.
The Executive Order Conflicts with the Authority of the State Superintendent of Schools under State Law
The State Board of Education’s authority is to be exercised through the State Superintendent. Section 2-205(g) of the Education Article provides that: “(2) Through the State Superintendent, the State Board shall exercise general control and supervision over the public schools and educational interests of this State”; and further that “With the advice of the State Superintendent, the State Board shall establish basic policy and guidelines for the program of instruction for the public schools.” In these ways, the Executive Order conflicts with the legal authority established for the State Superintendent and State Board of Education under the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
The Executive Order Conflicts with the Authority of Local Boards of Education under State Law
Under Section 4-108 of the Education Article, “Each county board shall: (1) To the best of its ability carry out the applicable provisions of this article and the bylaws, rules, regulations, and policies of the State Board; (2) Maintain throughout its county a reasonably uniform system of public schools that is designed to provide quality education and equal educational opportunity for all children; (3) Subject to this article and to the applicable bylaws, rules, and regulations of the State Board, determine, with the advice of the county superintendent, the educational policies of the county school system; and (4) Adopt, codify, and make available to the public bylaws, rules, and regulations not inconsistent with State law, for the conduct and management of the county public schools.”
This statute delegates broad policy-making authority to each local board of education, subject to the Education Article and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education. The Executive Order purports to violate the scope of authority established under enacted statutory law for each local board of education.
School Calendar is an Illegal Subject of Bargaining within the Sole Purview of Local Boards
The authority of each local board to determine the annual school calendar is clearly indicated by the law’s definition of the scope of collective bargaining. Section 6-408 (c)(3) and 6-510 (c)(3) limit the scope of bargaining to exclude school calendar and class size. The statute provides: “A public school employer may not negotiate the school calendar, the maximum number of students assigned to a class, or any matter that is precluded by applicable statutory law.” By logical implication, the only rationale for stipulating the illegality of subjecting the school calendar to the bilateral bargaining process is to preserve this topic for the local board’s unilateral decision-making authority. The Executive Order shifts the status of the school calendar from a subject matter within the sole purview of each local board, not even subject to negotiation with employee organizations, to one governed by parameters established solely by the Governor.
Local Boards Are Not Units of State Government
Maryland’s local boards of education are not units of state government. Maryland’s highest court has held that local boards of education are not defined as units of state government (Chesapeake Charter, Inc. v. Anne Arundel County Board of Education, 358 Md. 129 (2000)).
The Waiver Process Impedes Local Board Duty to All Students
In addition, the Executive Order imposes a new legal impediment to the ability of each local board to exercise authority under Section 4-108 to “Maintain throughout its county a reasonably uniform system of public schools that is designed to provide quality education and equal educational opportunity for all children.” By imposing rigid parameters for the beginning and ending of the school year, and providing an annual waiver process based on “compelling justification”, the Executive Order would force a local board to seek a waiver in order to fulfill its statutory duty to make decisions, including the adoption of a school calendar, in a manner “designed to provide quality education and equal educational opportunity for all children.” This impediment would foreseeably have a disproportionate impact on students defined under Maryland education law as deserving additional educational resources: students receiving special education, students eligible for free and reduced price meals, and students with limited English proficiency.
Local Board Authority to Set Calendar During 10-Month Period
The Executive Order directly conflicts with the authority vested in each local board of education, under Section 7-103 of the Education Article, to ensure that each public school “Shall be open for pupil attendance for at least 180 actual school days and a minimum of 1,080 school hours during a 10-month period in each school year.” The statutory authority assigned to each local board to set the school calendar during a 10-month cannot be exercised within the less than 10-month period mandated by a post-Labor Day through June 15 school year. For example, in 2020 when Labor Day falls on September 7, and school could not commence until September 8, the June 15 deadline for the end of the school year would require a school year much shorter than 10 months. Again, unless the statute is amended, the Executive Order stands in direct conflict with the 10-month school calendar parameter delegated to each local board.
Conclusion
For the above stated reasons, MABE requests the Office of the Maryland Attorney General to issue an opinion finding the Executive Order (01.01.2016.09) to mandate starting the school year after Labor Day and ending no later than June 15 to be illegal as outside the scope of the Governor’s Constitutional executive authority.
For more information on this matter please contact MABE’s Director of Legal and Policy Services, Stephen C. Bounds, at sbounds@mabe.org; or MABE’s Director of Governmental Relations, John R. Woolums, Esq., at jwoolums@mabe.org.
Sincerely,
Brig.Gen. Warner I. Sumpter (Ret.) USA
President
WIS:kwb
Columbia Association seeking China sister city planning committee members
Post Date: 02/16/2016 4:00 PM
Columbia Association’s International & Multicultural Programs Advisory Committee is seeking volunteers to join the China Sister City Planning Committee, which is exploring the possibility of a sister city relationship between Columbia, Maryland, and Liyang, China — a city of more than 780,000 people located in Jiangsu province between Nanjing and Shanghai.
The China Sister City Planning Committee consists of Columbia and Howard County residents who are working on developing a proposal that will be presented to CA’s Board of Directors. Committee members should have a genuine interest in China, be able to participate actively as a member of the committee and attend monthly evening meetings. The committee will include residents who are of Chinese heritage as well as community members with an interest in Chinese language and culture. The next committee meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at CA Headquarters, 6310 Hillside Court, located off Stevens Forest Road near the county vehicle emissions inspection station
If the CA Board approves the request to establish a sister city relationship, then committee members will assist with the development of international exchange programs for youth and adults in areas such as art, music, dance, education, sports, architecture and cuisine.
For more information, please contact Laura Smit, program manager for CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs, by calling 410-715-3162 or sending an email to International@ColumbiaAssociation.org.
CA’s International Exchange and Multicultural Programs foster international understanding and celebrate the diverse cultures of Columbia. The goals of the International Exchange Program include developing new exchanges with Columbia’s three sister cities and creating new Sister City relationships in other cities and nations. CA also develops multicultural programs for the community such as the World Languages Café, Culture Fests and the International Book Club. For more information, go to ColumbiaAssociation.org/Multicultural.
About Columbia Association
Columbia Association (CA) is a nonprofit community services corporation that manages Columbia, Maryland, a planned community that is home to approximately 100,000 people and several thousand businesses. Additional information about CA is available at ColumbiaAssociation.org.
25th Birthday of River Hill and 4th Health Fair this Saturday
We are the newest and we are 25 now.
Saturday, September 17
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
River Hill Village Center
Health awareness info
Obesity prevention tips
Vision, dental & blood pressure screenings
Wellness & holistic demonstrations
Kids’ nutrition games, scavenger hunt & much more
The Birthday Celebration will feature carnival games, face-painting, an inflatable, and a cake-cutting ceremony at 12:30.
Be sure to come out for this FREE event! Bring the whole family!
See you then.
Summary of CA board meeting on September 8 2016
- Howard County Veteran Foundation wants to build a Howard County Veterans Monument at the fountain location at Lakefront, which is a CA property. Their president Robert Gillette presented in front of the board. Anybody wants to support them can contact him at Email: gilletterm@gmail.com or Phone: 443-668-1037. CA BOD Reg Avery is on their board.
- Downtown Columbia Partnership is looking for CA to contribute them half million dollars of their total 1 million dollar budget. The other half part funding is provided by Howard Hughes.
- Pond study result came out. CA pond management will cost 5.7 million dollars over years. And this is just a start. We have 205 stormwater BMP to manage.
The board asked CA staff to check whether decommissioning some ponds is a possible solution. Proud Food and Hobbit’s Glen Golf Course East are possible candidates. Otherwise, every ten years, we are going to spend more than five million dollars on these again. - The board approved to transfer Capital budget fund to fix Fairway Hills Flood Damage.
- The board approved request for purchasing exception ( waiver of “Request for Bids”) for the Fairway Hill Flood Damage repair.
I voted No on this since I did not see the need for the waiver.
- The board approved request for purchasing exception for video vendor of $75000.
I voted NO on this too since I did not like the idea that the staff picked up a single vendor and gave them money to do something. We have a “Request for Bids” process there. And I did not see the urgency for this project either.
Pre-submission meeting on River Hill Garden Center development
Important Note: A pre-submission meeting has been scheduled for a new development proposal at the River Hill Garden Center: Thursday, October 6 at 6 p.m. at Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Row, Columbia (across the parking lot from the Athletic Club). This is a required meeting for the developer to present the concept to the community. I recommend that members of the Development Advisory Committee (DAC) attend this meeting. Between now and then, we will put out notifications to the community via Constant Contact and will include an announcement in the October newsletter (which doesn’t start delivery until October 1).
Reminder: DAC Meeting with Raj Kudchadkar, Deputy Director, DPZ on Wednesday, September 14 at 7 p.
Community meeting on Grace Drive of River Hill development from Simpson Oaks
The developer, Simpson Oaks CRP3, LLC, has announced a community meeting to discuss minor modifications to the approved Simpson Oaks Development Concept Plan. The modifications have been brought about by requested changes to the sketch plan in regards to the 184 residential dwelling units (103 single family detached units and 81 single family attached units) located along the north side of Grace Drive, west of the existing W.R. Grace facility.
The community meeting will be held on
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Robinson Nature Center, 6692 Cedar Lane, Columbia, Maryland 21044.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may contact Sang Oh at 410-964-0300 to receive meeting minutes and follow-up correspondence.
Powerful statement of Chinese language experience at RHHS
During tonight’s meeting with River Hill High School and HCPSS on the Chinese language teaching, our former River Hill High School student Zoe Jordan’s mom shared her daughter’s email.
It is very powerful and moving. I asked her mom’s permission to share it here for your reference.
Hi, My name is Zoe Jordan and I am a 2014 graduate of River Hill High School. Currently I am a junior studying at New York University Shanghai with a major in Global China Studies and a double minor in Mandarin and Interactive Media Arts.
I was a student of Ms. Liang’s at River Hill for three years, taking Chinese my sophomore through senior year. Taking Mandarin in high school, especially with Ms. Liang (I can’t emphasize enough her influence on me as a student), is probably the largest reason that I am able to live and study in China today. So, when I heard earlier this summer that River Hill was discontinuing most of its Chinese program and limiting existing classes to online, I was extremely disheartened and disappointed. I’m hoping to take this opportunity to express a few words about my disappointment with the school board’s decision.
I’ll start with why Chinese is so important to me. Currently, Mandarin is at the core of my studies. At NYU Shanghai, I study Chinese history, culture, and China’s present interactions with the rest of the world. Without a familiarity with the language, my understanding of Chinese culture and history would be vastly less nuanced. Not only that, but now some of my closest friends, teachers, and roommates are Chinese. In high school, Chinese represented something much more complicated. I was one of a few Caucasian students in a classroom of high schooler’s who either had some prior understanding of Mandarin or who spoke Mandarin at home. Admittedly, I was terrible at the language. I didn’t understand tones, I had an awful accent, memorizing characters was terrifying to me, and I was shy in class. At times, I felt completely hopeless about progressing when speaking Chinese seemed effortless to other students. But it taught me persistence. In retrospect, Chinese was one of the only subjects that I studied with the same rigor that I would in a college class. There were tangible rewards for my progress, I made new friends, I learned how to reach out for help when needed, and I learned that high school doesn’t need to be a typical conglomeration of English-Math-History-Science-Spanish. Chinese allowed me to individualize my high school experience even at a public school, and for that I now am studying at my dream school and making friends from all over the world.
My experience with Chinese may not be as typical as most high-school-language learners get through their language classes, but I hope it can emphasize how important Chinese is to the River Hill community and even more so to an ever-shrinking world. Although we are a large public school, we are comprised of a tight-knit community including many Chinese students and parents. I was able to participate in two programs: StarTalk (a government funded language learning program) and a teaching program in which I was an assistant teacher, due to Ms. Liang and her connections within the Howard County Chinese community. Even more importantly, River Hill prides itself on being a blue-ribbon, distinguished school with (and I’m quoting this from our school’s official profile) “rigorous instruction and engagement at the center of continuous improvement.” I strongly believe that discontinuing Chinese is completely counterintuitive to a dynamic and evolving school curriculum.
If our school wants to continue its prestigious legacy, it’s crucial to prepare students for a world that is more globalized, more connected, and frankly — more Chinese. As I’m sure it will be mentioned sometime else this evening, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world and China is the fastest-growing economy in the world. While these facts might seem distant to us in Howard County, to a high school senior contemplating entering the business, political, or legal world, knowing what opportunities await in China for foreigners or how invaluable of a skill speaking Mandarin can be is priceless. Being able to communicate with a population of one billion largely influential Mandarin speakers is again, absolutely invaluable in the 21st century. From an economic, cultural, educational, and a person-to-person perspective — emphasizing Chinese in modern schools makes sense considering the trajectory of the future. I hope that my experiences learning Chinese can underscore how important Mandarin is to River Hill, and how big of an asset it could be to our community.
Thank you,
Zoe Jordan
Uber Chronics by Jessie NewBurn
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drive for Uber? Have you ever been curious as to what kind of people use Uber? Where they are going? What do they talk about during the ride? How do they behave, or misbehave?
This is the introduction for this book. The author is Jessie Newburn. Her unique perspective of life experience as an Uber driver provided me some understanding of other people’s life, especially not an engineer or a researcher.
It is like sitting in bar, drinking your favorite bear, chatting with different people and just enjoying the time being alone, being at ease.
Our Planned Community (The Villager 2016-9)
Our Planned Community
This article will be published on the September 2016 “The Villager” of River Hill Community Association.
Recently our county was hit hard by natural disasters. A hurricane hit western Howard County. Then, there was the flash flood that hit old Ellicott City. The flash flood caused tremendous damage to the old, historical city which is located in a basin surrounded by hills. Some people blame the flood on too many developments uphill from old Ellicott City and the watershed management is not functioning as expected. One Saturday I went to help clean-up the aftermath and saw the damage first hand. Some buildings’ basements were washed away and they are now supported by temporary structures to ensure safety. This experience made me think about Columbia’s future.
There is a heated community debate on the two different proposals for the Downtown Development Plan. See my August newsletter article “Columbia’s Downtown and Affordable Housing” (https://chaowu.org/2016/07/27/columbias-downtown-and-affordable-housing/) for more information. Some people are complaining we are losing control to developers. There are concerns that too large a concentration of affordable housing will be placed in the downtown area. Some people believe that the assumption that millennials will want smaller homes with less driving is unfounded.
Recently, I read a book by Joseph Mitchell and David Stebenne “New City Upon A Hill, A History of Columbia, Maryland”. The book gave me a complete and big picture view of how our city was formed and arrived at today’s unique situation. The diversity of villages, the village centers merging with the communities, the green space, the pathways and the parks, the less congested roads are the reasons I loved Columbia and moved here. If a planned community begins to grow unplanned, it will become a disaster eventually.
We should always be forward-looking when considering Columbia’s future. This community has been a planned community since the start. The community will grow. More people will move in. We would like more businesses to move in such that people living here can work here. Our population is growing older.
We have to properly plan to accommodate these changes. With proper planning, we will be better able to cope with new issues. We need all the community efforts to plan early, better and ahead.
Chao Wu, Ph.D.
River Hill Representative to Columbia Council
Columbia Association Board of Directors
Email: chaowu2016@gmail.com Website: http://chaowu.org
Disclaimer: This letter only represents Dr. Chao Wu’s personal opinion. It does not represent River Hill Board of Directors nor Columbia Association’s Board.
HCPSS six-year spending review (Part 1)
I took data from HCPSS website, and an email from our County Executive Mr. Allan Kittleman (https://chaowu.org/2016/05/15/2017-boe-budget-answer-from-county-executive/) and put them together from 2010-2015.
There are several observations:
- There has been a steady yearly increase of county funding to the education. The total HCPSS budget is increasing steadily. But the rate varies a lot, from 0.62% to 6.61%. So we need ask ourselves: what is a proper rate for this budget increase?
- Percentage of total large spending (over 25K) in the whole budget has been steadily increase. I will look at what are the major contributors later.
- There are at least more than 7000 transactions which are less than 25k. These small transactions consist of more than 20% of spending.