Thursday, January 17, 2013
Wednesday's community action forum on school safety draws crowd.
Dozens of concerned parents packed the Montgomery County Public Schools headquarters in Rockville Wednesday night to hear police, County Council members and school officials pledge efforts to make schools safer, including increasing police presence. County Councilman Craig Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, a vocal advocate of school resource officers stationed in schools, told the meeting, "We are going to double the number of school resource officers from 6 to 12." The school resource officer, or SRO, program historically has stationed police officers in schools as an added safety boost. In recent years budget cuts have limited the SRO program to one officer per police district, in addition to one Gaithersburg City SRO. Now county …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Join county leaders to discuss 'what's realistic, what's not' in terms of student security in the wake of school shootings in other areas.
County residents are invited to participate in a panel discussion surrounding Montgomery County Public Schools safety and security on Wednesday at a community action forum. Organized by the Montgomery County Council of PTAs, Wednesday’s community forum will focus on community discussion of the county’s emergency preparedness and security. Since the December shooting that killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, county parents and leaders have spoken out about school safety concerns in Montgomery County. Ranking representatives from across Montgomery County government will answer questions, including Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger, MCPS Deputy Superintendent Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, the …
Friday, January 4, 2013
A school safety meeting is scheduled for Jan. 16.
How much security is the right amount of security for Montgomery County’s public school students? Following the shock of December’s tragic shootings in Newtown, CT, parents and family members of students at Bradley Hills Elementary in Bethesda have written to county leaders asking for security improvements at the elementary school’s temporary location, according to a Wednesday Gazette report. Students and teachers at Bradley Hills currently are housed at the Radnor Center, while the school undergoes modernization, scheduled for completion in August. “Our school has no security system in place and our front door remains unlocked throughout the school day with no mechanism for screening visitors,” parents wrote, according to the report. …
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Snowflake creators from throughout the country say they want to join the effort.
- OPINION
- Jay Corn
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
People across the country have had the families of Newtown, CT, on their minds during the holiday season and are searching for ways to help. What can you do? The Sandy Hook Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) recently announced that Sandy Hook students will be relocating to another building to continue school in January. To brighten the students' first day, the PTA is asking for handmade snowflakes from well-wishers across the country, to hang in their new building. "Please help these students have a 'winter wonderland' at their new school! Get creative. No two snowflakes are alike," they said. Snowflakes can be made and sent by Jan. 12, 2013 to: Connecticut PTSA 60 Connolly Parkway Building 12, Suite 13 Hamden, CT 06514 Click here to see …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The parents of Josephine Gay, 7, offer a remembrance of their daughter who was killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting on Friday, Dec. 14.
The parents of Josephine Grace Gay, 7, remembered their daughter as a smiling, affectionate little girl who had an indomitable spirit and loved hugs. Gay, who was born in Columbia and lived in Howard County for three years before moving to Newtown, CT, was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting on Friday, Dec. 14. Gay had turned 7 three days before the shooting and was looking forward to celebrating her birthday with her friends the day after the shooting, said her parents. "Josephine loved the color purple," wrote Bob and Michele Gay. "Born in Maryland, she grew up in a family of Ravens fans and developed an affinity for all things purple. She rarely left the house without wearing something purple. After her passing, many friends who visited…
Monday, December 17, 2012
A candlelight vigil will be held at Centerville Elementary School at 7 p.m. Monday.
A candlelight vigil for the victims of Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School will be held Monday at 7 p.m. in Ijamsville, MD, the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce announced in a news release. Noelle Tate, the mother 5- and 1-year-old girls, organized the memorial to show respect and support for the Newtown, CT, victims and their families. Follow ongoing coverage from Newtown Patch here “I’ve been deeply affected by the tragic events that took place on Friday," Tate said in a statement. "As a mother, I weep at the thought of those children being brutally murdered while innocently going about their school day. I grieve for the parents whose pain will never subside. "I know that there are other parents feeling this way …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Well-wishers worldwide send thoughts, prayers and other support to Newtown.
The Newtown, CT, shootings have sparked an outpouring of support from across the country and the world. In New Hampshire, a student created a makeshift candlelight memorial for the victims. On Long Island, a neighborhood turned off its holiday lights in the wake of the shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 school kids, at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. A blogger from Atlanta wrote a riveting Christmas poem in which he asked Santa to "take my presents and change them into hugs. And throw them down their chimneys with all your Christmas love." More than 1,000 Facebook users have shared Brandon Kelley's post. As of Sunday, more than 1,400 Patch users have posted this four-word comment—"I want to help"—on an article created for…
Patti
11:01 am on Saturday, January 19, 2013
There are 200+ public school in Montgomery County. How exactly is doubling the SROs from 6 to 12 going to make much difference? more ›