Education Issues

» School Improvement  

» MCCPTA Ad Hoc Committee on the Math Audit, Spring, 2001.

» Electronic Discussion Groups:

• Gifted and Talented Association of Montgomery County, MD, Inc. (GTA). Discussion is serious-minded, frank, and occasionally intense.Topics include advocacy for appropriate instruction in the home school, honors courses and magnet programs, accelerated math, mentoring, curriculum and assessment, understanding the opposition, charter schools, minority student achievement, and more.

» School Safety

» Block Scheduling

» Maryland Teacher Certification and Retention

» Charter Schools

• US Charter Schools Information
• Proposal to Create a Charter School in Montgomery County
• Does Charter School Competition Improve Traditional Public Schools?, report from Manhattan Institute, July, 2000.
  

» Class Size

» School Bell Time - what time should school start?

» Special Education and 504 Plans

• MCPS Department of Special Education:
  http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/specialed/
• Section 504 - Frequently Asked Questions:
  http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/studentservices/504/faq.shtm
• MSDE Special Education
  http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/earlyinterv/

» Internet Safety Resources

• US Department of Education, Internet Safety information:
  http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/safety.html
• There is a wealth of information on-line for teaching children (and adults!) how to be safe in their on-line experiences. A few that we have found useful are listed below.
• Montgomery County Police's Guide for Parents on Child Safety Online
• FBI Publications - A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety
• SafeTeens.Com, helping teens take care of themselves, with advice for safe use of the Internet (from safekids.com creators).
• The Children's Partnership with it's Parent's Guide to the Information Superhighway.
• Street Smart on the Web gets families in the safe-surf mode on the Web.
• 50 great sites selected by the American Library Association, along with tips for parents on guiding their kids' explorations.
• Helping Our Children With Disabilities Succeed: What's Broadband Got To Do With It?
  This Issue Brief examines how children with disabilities use broadband and other technologies. The report concludes that while technology gives children with special needs new opportunities, they are substantially less likely than their peers without disabilities to have access to computers, the Internet, and accessible and assistive technology.
  http://www.childrenspartnership.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

Information on other Educational Issues can be found in the ERIC database from US Dept of Education is a resource for finding academic articles on educational issues. Advice on how to use it effectively is available.