Choose Your Location
|
![]() |
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Students will no longer have to be content with just reading about the Chesapeake Bay if a new charter school is established.
“Some of these students may have never even seen the Bay,” said Kathy Lane, the Anne Arundel school system’s director of alternative education.
“They’re going to learn everything about it, like the science, math and literature surrounding it. We’re going to go to the Bay, eat the oysters and dissect them. It’s experiential learning.”
The school would be based on a model from Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound, a national nonprofit that emphasizes high achievement through active learning, character growth and teamwork.
The Children’s Guild, a Baltimore City-based nonprofit that offers many children services, is serving as the charter school’s sponsor, which will have a curriculum geared toward “environmentally disadvantaged students,” Lane said.
These students can come from various backgrounds, including the homeless, those who live in poverty or a single-parent home or even those who feel a regular school isn’t engaging enough, she said. “Children with barriers to learning might find this alternative education to be better,” she said.
Since it’s still a public school, though, all students can apply, even though it’s independently operated, said Andy Ross, president of the Children’s Guild.
Guild officials expect to submit the application for the charter to the school system by the end of the month.
If the school board approves the plan, the charter, which would be called Monarch Academy, is proposed to open in Glen Burnie for the 2009-2010 school year.
The idea is to open the school with about 195 elementary-age students, but plans are to expand enrollment to 600 students through the eighth grade, Ross said.
The only other charter in the county is Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School in Hanover, which serves middle school students with a curriculum geared toward science and technology, said schools spokesman Bob Mosier.
Ross sees a charter as a wise move, considering the Base Realignment And Closure program will increase the population around Glen Burnie.
“As [the population] grows, it could create school overcrowding,” he said. “We think [a charter] is a cost-effective way of providing another school.”
Bob Leib, the county’s BRAC coordinator, has said more than 800 new elementary school students are expected to arrive with their families across the county in the next five to seven years.
jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com



Comments from Examiner Readers
5:09 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 24, 2008 re: "Anne Arundel needs new charter school, officials say"
Report as inappropriate
5:52 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 20, 2008
re: "Anne Arundel needs new charter school, officials say"
Report as inappropriate
12:38 PM MST on Thu., Jun. 19, 2008
re: "Anne Arundel needs new charter school, officials say"
Report as inappropriate
10:15 AM MST on Thu., Jun. 19, 2008
re: "Anne Arundel needs new charter school, officials say"
Report as inappropriate
10:17 AM MST on Fri., May. 23, 2008
re: "More funding needed for school staffing, official says"
Report as inappropriate
10:03 AM MST on Fri., May. 23, 2008
re: "More funding needed for school staffing, official says"
Report as inappropriate
3:57 AM MST on Thu., May. 22, 2008
re: "More funding needed for school staffing, official says"
Report as inappropriate
12:02 PM MST on Fri., May. 16, 2008
re: "6 names sent to O’Malley for school board appointment"
Report as inappropriate
7:26 AM MST on Thu., May. 15, 2008
re: "6 names sent to O’Malley for school board appointment"
Report as inappropriate
7:18 AM MST on Wed., May. 14, 2008
re: "6 names sent to O’Malley for school board appointment"
Report as inappropriate
3:44 AM MST on Wed., May. 14, 2008
re: "6 names sent to O’Malley for school board appointment"
Report as inappropriate
2:46 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008
re: "School meal prices increased in Anne Arundel"
Report as inappropriate
8:07 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008
re: "School meal prices increased in Anne Arundel"
Report as inappropriate
1:07 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008
re: "Glen Burnie school reuses other designs to save money"
Report as inappropriate
7:59 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 29, 2008
re: "Students recognized for skills in Russian"
Report as inappropriate
6:44 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 24, 2008
re: "Educators: Extra seats aren’t extra space"
Report as inappropriate
9:43 AM MST on Sat., Apr. 19, 2008
re: "School officials may not fill teaching spots"
Report as inappropriate
6:35 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 18, 2008
re: "Anne Arundel Redistricting plan finalized by school board"
Report as inappropriate
4:08 AM MST on Fri., Apr. 18, 2008
re: "School enrollment count muddied by transfer students"
Report as inappropriate
9:11 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008
re: "County to extend school day next year"
Report as inappropriate
6:23 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008
re: "County to extend school day next year"
Report as inappropriate
6:06 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008
re: "County to extend school day next year"
Report as inappropriate
8:57 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
8:46 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
8:36 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
8:21 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
8:20 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
8:10 PM MST on Wed., Mar. 26, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:58 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:38 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:27 PM MST on Tue., Mar. 25, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
5:28 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
5:13 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
4:53 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:43 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:39 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:33 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
3:29 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
12:46 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
11:54 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
8:15 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
6:52 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008
re: "Employee: Student threatened mass killing at charter school"
Report as inappropriate
7:02 AM MST on Thu., Feb. 21, 2008
re: "Anne Arundel school board OKs new budget"
Report as inappropriate
5:18 AM MST on Wed., Feb. 13, 2008
re: "Anne Arundel school system making $500,000 in new cuts"
Report as inappropriate
6:33 AM MST on Tue., Oct. 16, 2007
re: "Fraud hot line suggested for Anne Arundel public schools"
Report as inappropriate
Examiner Reader said:
anne arundel county needs to fire everyone in the glass palace on riva rd. especially the chief clown maxwell.
4 agree | 1 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
anne arundel county needs a new school board superintendent. next time how about a business manager. this clown maxwell has over 200 people earning over 100,000. if you go inbto the public place for employment you are not suppose to be earning big bucks unless you are a politician and get the pac money, right michael busch and martin omalley. anne arundel needs many charter schools so my taxes do not go higher because this maxwell has more chiefs than indians. there is a spokesperson for the right to use the labratory in anne arundel schools.
3 agree | 2 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Sounds like ... said:
Sounds like it is already approved. Thanks to Chesapeake Science Point Public Charter School. They made it easier for the followers, despite the casualties they had to sacrifice. Live long CSP!
1 agree | 1 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
reader said:
It's nice to see an article come from Josh that has Chesapeake Science Point listed without negative comments
2 agree | 1 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Real Reader said:
Yeah, you know what....I think the school system has a big enough share of the public money. I think it's time to make do with what you have. Enough is enough, already
4 agree | 7 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
tax payer said:
It's never enough!!!
4 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Go right ahead my liberal freind said:
Liberals are nonproductive , they invent situations to take money from productive people. They are useless fake actors always on the move!
6 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Get that right! said:
Question is, who is holding the strings of the puppet? watch more coming...
4 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Josh. said:
Did you ever have guts to write anything unfavorable for the teachers union? Even a word??? The difference between a puppet and the reporter is, that the reporter is the man of honor, the puppet is not a man at all...
3 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
What was he trying to hide? said:
"Tim Mennuti, a commissioner who represents the local teachers' union, asked for the vote to also happen behind closed doors, but not enough commissioners agreed." from Capital...THANK GOD WE HAD ENOUGH COMMISSIONERS WITH COMMON SENSE TO REJECT TIM MENNUTI.
3 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Menu said:
Welcome to Liberal Parsdise where liberals know whats best for evrybody! They will tell everybody the dos and don'ts!! Don't you just love these people!!
5 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
I never could understand this school breakfast program for children. Fixing your child's breakfast is part of parenting. I do not know of anyone--friends, relatives or neighbors--who do not consider breakfast a mandatory meal before their children leave for school in the morning. People who can not or will not tend to their children properly should be sterilized immediately.
7 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
you did not give any $figures as to what the lunch/breakfast cost is now and what it will be...
2 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
AA County taxpayer said:
This makes a lot of sense. Apparently the same was not done when it came to the design of the so-called Gambrills area school (which is actually located in Crofton). According to an article in Suburban Scene, the new principal of this school was even given license with the design! The Crofton parents seem to be a very privileged group with a lot of political pull. We really need an elected school board in Anne Arundel County!
3 agree | 2 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Elite reporter(!) said:
It is easy to write stories about broadneck or severna park! a second grader can even do that. Why don't you go to meade middle, or lindale or meade high? then you would have to write series of articles about the police being called to school everyday(!)But then bob would be unhappy with you!
3 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Say, Yes said:
Is Josh fired? If so, I will become a subscriber for the paper.
6 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
blank said:
edit his articles all the time... examiner should hire a person for this job. maybe mosier can do it for him. were they getting checks from the same account?
3 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
"nearly completion" edit, edit, edit...back to school for you. Elswise, good article.
4 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Teacher Unions are to strong. They are masters at pointing the finger of blame at everyone else. Sorta like a kid. It is the Principals fault ( get rid of them), parents fault ( they need to give us better kids, societies fault ( you are not paying me enough). It is time to ban teacher unions like other states do. Teacher unions are to powerful and advocate only for teachers and not students or parents or tax payers.
6 agree | 8 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
I'm am appauled by the comments of "A Parent - Disagrees..." I am not a teacher, but I do work in 2 elementary schools. My mother was a teacher, my girlfriend is a teacher and her mother is a teacher. I see these people getting paid very little for 37.5 hours and putting in over 55 hours a week. They even buy materials out of pocket to teach their students because the school system doesn't have the money to provide the materials they need to do a good job. The majority of teachers are caring people trying to teach our children without much help from parents. They are under-appreciated and paid next to nothing. And as far as teachers looking out for themselves, who else will? Apparently nobody.
10 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
You can always depend on the taecher's union to look out for themselves, not the students! Congrats to Maxwell for taking them on.
5 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Give me a break! school teachers can't even get a pay raise and they want them to work longer, I would tell them to pound sand. I think all schools should go year round, and everyone wear uniforms.
5 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
This is sick... said:
Give me a break. This past poster was completely wrong. No school anywhere is going to provide an education if your child is suffering from parental neglect. Perhaps this should be educational neglect, at least at home. As someone who had little parental support myself for school, I had to learn to literally teach myself how to study and learn. This can be difficult if your parent or parents do help in fostering a learning environment. Not all parents are bad and do help their children learn good study habits. Unfortunately they seem to be in the minority. I just think that parents need to change and help their children learn and instill study skills for successful learning achievements.
6 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
A Parent - Disagrees... said:
I disagree with the previous poster. While education is problematic in today's society, parents are not to blame. In fact I think its the lazy teacher's fault. They work fewer hours, get summers off, and usually just sit in a chair all day. Then they want benefits and pay for it. What a joke. Teachers are poor motivators and its all their fault that kids are simply not learning these days. As a parent myself, I feel that teachers should be given more work, more over hours, and less pay. They get far too much pay for being so lazy all the time. I think this teacher in the article was simply playing games because he or she simply was too lazy and bored. This is a symptom of teacher ineptness and absolute laziness. The teacher probably called the police to get away from the boredom from laziness. The children might even be making threats just to relieve their boredom from their lazy, inept teachers.
5 agree | 11 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Parents are part of the education problem... said:
Ok this might be a little off topic...This case really shows one problem with educational problems today. Parents today seem to think that it is okay to no guide their children in learning or doing homework. Often their children do not do homework, have poor grades, and often display very offensive behaviors. They parents seem to rarely discipline or hold their children accountable for their education. Instead they scream at their children's teachers if they dare to fail their children when they do no homework or fail at the tests. Why is this? They blame teachers, the school, school systems, even the federal government. Anything but their own poor parenting skills. Kids today are not given any support outside of school. Its like parents want a school to effectively raise their kids for them. They are many reasons for educational failure. Parents can go along way towards helping eliminating themselves as part of the problem.
7 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Another past incident at CSP.... said:
Sorry...The actual date was 3/30/2006 not 3/30/1996.
5 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Another past incident at CSP.... said:
According to an article in the Washington Post on 3/30/1996, reveals that police cars arrived at the school and arrested the then principal of CSP. According to the articles, teachers were being harassed, the facilities were unkempt, and students had spotty attendance. Apparently the only 3 female teachers were harrased and discriminated against by the male teaching staff. The then principal was described as inept in his duties by investigators. The CSP officials claimed AACS was discriminating against them and were prejudiced against the founders. The article also states that it allegedly took 3 days to clean the school. See article : County Takes Over Charter School on the Washington Post website
5 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
A Reader.. said:
This is in an interesting discussion. There was a pertinent report done by the FBI regarding school threats and violence. It was quite sobering. The document was called "the school shooter:a threat assessment perspective" and it reveals the breadth of violence by students and the threats of violence that often preludes violent action. For those that say threats of violence is either non apparent or not at their school, I would really advise them to read this document.
4 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
A Reader.. said:
As a public school teacher from Virginia, I would this whole story really concerns me. From my perspective, threats such as these need to be reported immediately. The true story here is that the school principal or administration failed to report the threat. Period. Regardless of the threat, student, or the teacher involved, it should be have been investigated immediately. As a teacher myself, I would think that many of these parents would be grateful that a teacher would take such measures as reporting the incident to police to safeguard their children. I haven't read one thank you from any of these parent responses. Violence does occur in schools and students do bring guns to schools to commit murders. It is a sad fact. I would be more concerned if the story came out and the teacher had not taken the extra step to go over his or her administration's handling of the matter and reporting it to the police. This would have been a greater travesty here. I hope I would do the same.
4 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Chesapeake Science School suspension record... said:
According to the Maryland Department of Education there were 12 suspensions for violent acts, 15 suspensions for insubordination or verbal abuse, and 4 suspensions for sexual offenses. The fact is that there are several people that continually state that there is no violence or safety issues at this school. Truth as documented before suggests otherwise.
6 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
What is going on here? said:
For the person who wrote "The fake 'threat' was the result of a game brought on by the teacher". Are you really this oblivious to violence in schools these days? Yes kids can and do fool around and make jokes. But threatening to kill other students is a serious offense and is crossing the line. There is this illusion that this story is either false, unsubstantiated or made up. Apprently this is a real case with real investigations going on surround this incident. According to one police report made public, the child did indeed make the threat of killing others and did get a suspension. This is a fact, not a made up story. Call the Anne Arundel county police to discuss the case. There seems to be many falsehoods about this incident but be sure check the facts that are documented and substantiated.
5 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
parent said:
The fake 'threat' was the result of a game brought on by the teacher, herself. My child said that they were just joking around. Has everyone gone crazy? When are we going to stop taking eberything that is said literally? In that case, I am really going to eat a horse!!! Get real people.
8 agree | 8 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Parent said:
This is a gross misinterpetation of what really happened. The teacher has a lot of issues with the child and blew the situation out of proportion. Examiner: Get your facts straight. There are 2 sides to every story.
10 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
This article is ludicrous and unsubstantiated. I can't imagine where the writer gets his imagination from. I do not worry one iota about my children's safety at Chesapeake Science Point. I spend a lot of time in that school, before, during, and after hours, and I have seen nothing to concern me. The kids are great.Please do not believe everything that you read. Reporters can say whatever they want, they have misquoted me many times. In fact, on one occasion, I was quoted when I had said nothing.
7 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Another Parent said:
Why did the school do nothing about this situation? Why did the school not report the situation to the county school security? Obviously something is deeply awry here. Like the last poster wrote, something is fishy here indeed. There are many good charter schools and it is too bad that this school ends up being an example of one.
8 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
DC Teacher said:
this is really strange and fishy. How is that it is so bad that a kid can threaten this, have the police called in, and the principal not be aware of it. Where was this principal when the police arrived? Did he or she just get amnesia or something? If the principle is so disconnected from the school then they should be replaced, especially in a situation such as this. The article said he or she had already been suspended once before. perhaps this needs to be done permanently.
8 agree | 4 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Reader... said:
This is sounds like a horrible situation. If the teachers are fearing for their safety then the school must be in really bad shape. One would think such a school would be shut down or completely reorganized. Wait..this is a charter school? Why does Anne Arundel County schools keep it open when they are already on probationary terms?
6 agree | 3 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Concerned Parent said:
I can't believe this is happening in our schools. Any threats should be taken seriously. Where was the administration in this? Why did someone have to call the police to resolve this? It sounds like a horrible situation. It sounds like a school from hell.
5 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
And THESE are the kind of kids some leftard wants to send to ANY public university in Maryland for free tuition. Are YOU willing to help pay for his FREE college?
6 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
The Chesapeake Science Point Charter School must have the same type of students as are found in the Baltimore inner city schools.
5 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
This is a severe case of employee abuse by both the administration and students. While most of the news has been a positive gloss over, the fact is that there is a clear record of abuses against women at this school since it opened. Teachers are forced to work unpaid overtime, work through their lunch hours or eat in the afternoon, and are often fired without reason each year. The administration has a large record discrimination including denying use of materials for students, punishment for anyone reporting abuses, and a hostile work environment. The only reason this school is still open is the basic fact that they have ties to unknown politician that supports it.
6 agree | 5 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Just the facts said:
Oh my God. The principal was suspended for making students to push ups and sit ups. What a crime. Making children exercise certainly is cruel and unusual punishment. Not!
5 agree | 6 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
Just face the facts.Maryland is basically a democrat state with a whole bunch of liberals.Not going to get better in the short term. Balance a budget is not going to happen.PG and Montgomery counties are basically a bunch of government workers who will keep voting in fools as they want to protect their jobs.Baltimore City is a group looking for a free handout. Neither group understands hard work and a 2 job life style. The ones who take the hit are the middle class workers.
44 agree | 44 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Examiner Reader said:
But don't worry..O'Malley found money to give his buddies at the P.S.C a huge raise for saving us from those B.G.E rate hikes. Thanks Martin!! You arrogant jerk. Oh and by the way congratulations on Clinton finishing so big in Maryland...NOTTTT!!!LOL. Folks are waking up MARTIN!!
61 agree | 50 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
Boo Hoo said:
How about sending an anonymous letter instead? A fraud hotline is further misuse of tax dollars.
156 agree | 134 disagree
Vote on this comment: I agree or I disagree