Despite the threat of a lawsuit, the county school board gave unanimous approval yesterday to a proposal to build an elementary and a middle school on 40 acres off Gorman Road in the southeastern county.
After the vote, board members responded to criticisms that school officials had not looked at alternative sites or possible problems associated with locating two schools near a scenic route, which Gorman Road is considered.
"We want to work with the community," said school board Chairwoman Susan Cook. "I think we will be excellent neighbors, and we will certainly address all of your concerns."
But community activist Greg Fries said that a lawyer for his group of North Laurel residents will file suit today to block the board's action. He said the board improperly notified the public about the project and has not considered environmental and traffic impacts.
But Donna Thewes, who lives in a district where schools are crowded, was happy with the board's action. "We've got to get the County Council to fund it now," she said.
In other business, the board and education officials considered whether schools where students are low achievers should be given additional funds.
"We're reaching the point . . . [where] we need to begin to isolate some priority areas," said Superintendent Michael E. Hickey. "If all schools are priority areas, then no school is a priority area."
Yesterday's meeting was the first at which the board had an in-depth discussion with principals and education officials about student achievement. The board identified 10 schools with the lowest test scores and five areas -- language arts, math, writing, social studies and reading -- that the school system should improve.
The board also discussed the need to vary methods of instruction to accommodate students' different learning styles.
Administrators at three schools where test scores have improved described what they did.
At Saint Johns Lane Elementary School, the staff targeted a large group of at-risk students and their parents and, with several grants, was able to sponsor homework clubs, provide counseling for parents and children, conduct enrichment programs during the summer and take students on field trips.
The school's administrators and teachers also visited students' residences and got to know the parents who didn't help their children with schoolwork.
"The reason we started with [parents] was because they weren't involved in the school," said Darlene Fila, assistant principal at Saint Johns Lane.
Staff members at Ellicott Mills Middle School took a different approach. Teachers there focused on language arts and math and targeted about 60 students who most needed help.
At Howard High School, teachers focused on ninth-graders, who have the lowest grade-point-averages, the highest rate of suspension and lowest rate of promotions. Teachers met once a week to discuss the students and their problems and develop ways to help them.
"Teachers are exchanging teaching strategy," said Eileen Ruppel, a guidance counselor at Howard. "Teachers are identifying needs very early in the game."
Ideas and concerns raised at the board meeting will be incorporated into an overall plan to chart a course for the school ++ system into the next century, officials said.
The board yesterday also heard complaints from four parents with children at Dunloggin Middle School about low morale among teachers and students. They asked the board to reconsider the proposed involuntary transfer of a popular math teacher, who has been at Dunloggin 17 years.
Earlier yesterday, four board members, three County Council members and a handful of school officials toured two out-of-county high schools with about 1,600 students. They took the trip in part to determine whether to enlarge Howard high schools, which are now capped at 1,400 students.