City school system passes $1.2B budget

The Baltimore school board unanimously passed a $1.2 billion budget Monday that essentially remained intact since it was presented.

Illness at Pot Spring Elementary investigated

Baltimore County health officials are investigating why about 200 students at Pot Spring Elementary in Timonium — a third of the children there — got sick with gastrointestinal symptoms last week.

Baltimore County hires consultant to assess facilities needs

The Baltimore County school system has hired a local architecture firm to help document its long-term school facilities needs, following a similar strategy the city school system used to generate a $2.4 billion plan and secure some of that funding from the General Assembly.

Inquiry leads to full correction page in city schools budget

It started with a simple question on Tuesday, May 14: Why is the line item for "Summer Learning" in the Baltimore City school system's budget blank? The Sun had published several stories about the program and its successes over the years, so to see that it had no number attached naturally piqued our interest.

Parent honored for involvement after Perry Hall shooting

A Baltimore County parent who stepped in to bring warmth and cheer back to the high school that had a chilling cafeteria shooting was recognized Friday during the state's annual Parent Involvement Matters awards.

Baltimore County's deputy superintendent to leave at the end of school year

The deputy superintendent for the Baltimore County school system will step down next month, officials confirmed Thursday.

Marietta English re-elected BTU president

Marietta English, longtime leader of the Baltimore Teachers Union, was re-elected to another term, the organization announced in a release Wednesday. 

Baltimore Teachers Union supports call to halt Common Core consequences

The Baltimore Teacher's Union has called for the district hold off on attaching penalties to schools' performance on the the new  Common Core assessments, citing insufficient professional development and resources to implement the new high-stakes curriculum.

Winner of $61k Kerr literary prize announced

As the five young writers sat with bated breath, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda told them that a life of wordsmithing would bring them pain.

City school system receives seven charter applications

The city school board is considering proposals for seven charter schools that include two named for female trailblazers, another attempt at an all-male, college-preparatory program in East Baltimore, and an elementary school for at-risk youths.

Mount St. Mary's president stepping down

After a decade on the job, Mount St. Mary's University President Thomas H. Powell announced Tuesday that he plans to leave the post at the end of the next academic year.

City schools chief Alonso resigns

Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso tearfully announced his resignation Monday, ending a six-year tenure marked by bold yet often divisive reforms and casting uncertainty on the future of the long-troubled school system.

Hopkins announces $4.5 billion fundraising goal

Johns Hopkins announced Saturday a $4.5 billion fundraising goal — among the largest in the country — to help the university and health system address some of the world's most challenging issues, including water scarcity, education quality and city revitalization.

Salisbury University to receive $8 million gift

Salisbury University announced Thursday the receipt of an $8 million donation — tied for the largest in its history — from the Guerrieri Family Foundation. The funds will help develop a new Academic Commons area on the Eastern Shore campus.

Synthetic marijuana among top three substances abused by high schoolers

Synthetic marijuana ranked in the top three substances abused by the nation's high school students in 2012, according to a new report compiled by the Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland, College Park.

McDaniel announces its largest scholarship bequest

McDaniel College announced Monday that a $6.7 million bequest will be used to establish an endowment for scholarships, the largest in its history.

Audit finds lapses in state school construction agency oversight

The state agency charged with overseeing Maryland's public school construction projects was found to have lacked proper monitoring of contracts, projects and maintenance inspections, according to a legislative audit.

Hopkins names new provost

The Johns Hopkins University has named Robert C. Lieberman, an interim dean at Columbia University and an expert on American politics, to its No. 2 academic spot: provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

City's revamped pre-K showing promise

Before Lauren Preston opened the cover of the book "Spring" to read to her pre-kindergarten class at Mary Ann Winterling Elementary School, her students excitedly told her why, and showed her how, the season was underway.

Baltimore City College wins national debate championship

Baltimore City College is celebrating another historic title this week, as national champions of the prestigious National Association for Urban Debate League Championship, held in Washington, D.C. last week.

Dean of Hopkins engineering school appointed Penn State provost

Nicholas P. Jones, dean of the Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering, has been named the new executive vice president and provost at Penn State University, the college announced Friday.

Principals union wants Alonso to return bonuses in light of cheating investigations

The Baltimore principals union is calling for schools CEO Andrés Alonso to pay back thousands of dollars in bonuses he received in years that schools were later found to have cheated on state tests.

O'Malley would support more mayoral control of Baltimore schools

Gov. Martin O'Malley told The Sun on Wednesday that he would be open to political accountability for the state of city schools, according to our Statehouse Reporter Erin Cox. 

W.E.B. DuBois High School wins mayor's attendance challenge

W.E.B. DuBois High School is the latest to win the Mayor's Attendance Campaign competition, after its ninth-grade class increasing its daily attendance by nearly 11 percentage points.

City officials celebrate passage of $1B school construction bill

A year ago, city officials left Annapolis distraught, their plans to obtain massive funding for school construction in the General Assembly’s trash bin.  

City schools construction bill goes to the governor

Updated at 2:20 p.m.

ACLU protests state funding for private schools

The ACLU of Maryland is calling for legislators to halt funding to religious and private schools, saying that taxpayer money should be put toward the state's funding obligation to public schools.

Baltimore educator awarded prestigious Siemens fellowship

Two Maryland educators have been chosen to take part in a prestigious, national fellowship program focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

City schools ethics panel: And then there were four

Just hours after The Baltimore Sun broke the news that a longtime Towson University professor, Benjamin Neil, was under investigation for allegations that he plagiarized several of his academic articles, the city schools ethics panel webpage underwent a rapid revision.

Alonso: State leaders 'came through' for city school construction bill

It was a Good Friday indeed for Baltimore city school students--who in the next few years will begin seeing their dilapidated school buildings undergo a major facelift.