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Maryland 2m grant helps troops to public school teachers Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.gazette.net/200451/princegeorgescty/county/250920-1.htmlhttp://www.gazette.net/200451/princegeorgescty/county/250920-1.html
Funding helps troops find jobs as teachers
by Staff reports
Dec. 16, 2004
Going from the military to the classroom will be an easier transition in Maryland because of a $2 million federal grant to improve teacher mobility, according to the Maryland State Department of Education.
The three-year program called Maryland's Troop to Teachers program will make the transition less difficult when former troops begin searching for teaching careers.
Because of various certifications from state to state, troops have had problems relocating and finding a teaching job. The project will review requirements in the states to find common ground, according to MSDE.
"Maryland schools continue to have major teacher shortages, especially in math, science and other specific categories," State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said in a statement. "This grant will allow us to work creatively to fill vacancies with qualified, energetic veterans of the military."
Troops to Teachers was created to improve public education by providing funds for recruitment, preparation, and to support former members of the Armed Services as teachers in high need school systems.
U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville applauded the award. "Ten years ago, Congress created the Troops to Teachers program at the Department of Defense to help improve public school education by providing funds to recruit, prepare, and support former members of the military services as teachers in public schools," Hoyer said in a statement.
"Since 1994, thousands of retired members of the military have become math, science and technology teachers and I am pleased that Maryland will be able to benefit from this program to boost the number of qualified teachers in our state."
Delegate named
legislator of the year
Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Calverton has been named "Legislator of the Year" by the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO). The award was presented at the organization's annual awards banquet in Hagerstown on Dec. 2.
" I am honored and humbled to receive this award," Frush said in a press release. "I recognize the role that county and local governments play in the everyday lives of my constituents, and realize that keeping local governments fiscally strong works to the benefit of everyone. I am looking forward to working with MACO on matters of mutual interest during the coming session of the General Assembly."
The award was presented to Frush in recognition of her outstanding work to help county and municipal governments cope with diminishing revenues in the face of reductions in state revenue assistance.
Councilman honored
for public policy leadership
Prince George's County Council member David C. Harrington (D-Dist. 5) of Cheverly was honored last week with the esteemed Phyllis Campbell Newsome Public Policy Leadership award by the Washington Council of Agencies (WCA), a membership organization of 1,130 non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Newsome was an advocate for community change and social justice. She served hundreds of non-profit organizations in the Washington area, according to a press release from Harrington's office.
In a letter announcing Harrington's selection, WCA director Betsy Johnson wrote, "Your nomination for this award acknowledges your continued efforts of service to communities of Prince George's County."
Harrington is a senior fellow and faculty member at the University of Maryland's James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership. He also has been director of education for the Close Up Foundation, a national program dedicated to improving civic literacy, particularly among high school students.
Harrington also has taught at the Summer Institute for Writing, Reading, and Civic Education at Harvard University, where he led seminars with noted social studies educators from around the country.
"I really felt honored and humbled by it. Supporting non-profit organizations, I believe, is the right thing to do because I really believe they serve the community," Harrington told The Gazette this week.
Hoyer applauds
Hubble launch
U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer this week expressed his support for the National Academy of Sciences National Research Council recommendation to launch a space shuttle mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope.
The academy's study was conducted at the request of Hoyer and other members of Congress.
The Hubble Space Telescope is managed and operated by Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Office of Space Science at NASA Headquarters. The scientific operations of the Hubble Space Telescope Mission are conducted at the Space Telescope Scientist Institute, located at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
"The recommendation by the National Academy of Sciences is a clear recognition of the unique role that the Hubble Space Telescope plays in broadening our scientific understanding of the observable universe and the importance of taking the appropriate measures to ensure Hubble remains viable," Hoyer said in a press release. "I endorse the academy's recommendation for a manned servicing mission to repair Hubble and extend its life so that future generations will be able to further understand and explore distant galaxies and the mysteries of space. I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that a new servicing mission is adequately funded and supported.
Hoyer helped secure $180 million in the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill for the Hubble Space Telescope. He also worked to include a provision that would prevent the use of these funds to de-orbit Hubble. Further, nearly $300 million will be provided for a servicing mission to the telescope.
The National Research Council is a private, nonprofit society of the nation's top scholars created to advise the federal government on science and technology.
Wynn supports
9/11 Commission bill
U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Dist. 4) of Mitchellville last week supported the final 9/11 Commission bill, which improves the intelligence gathering capabilities of agencies, to better address any terrorist threats.
The bill, consistent with the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, integrates the 15 U.S. intelligence agencies under the authority of a National Intelligence Director.
Currently, 80 percent of the intelligence budget falls under the Department of Defense - not the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or the other 13 intelligence agencies, Wynn noted in a press release. As a result, the Department of Defense often does not coordinate with the CIA, the most prominent intelligence agency, or the other 13 intelligence agencies.
"On 9/11, 30 of my constituents were killed in the attacks," Wynn said in a press release. "The term 'national security' is not an amorphous one to my constituents. We learned that national security is about our personal security. That is why I have urged my colleagues to pass the 9/11 Commission's recommendations since their release in July."
Wynn said the 9/11 bill also bolsters transportation security by directing the Department of Homeland Security to develop a national strategy for transportation security.
"The measure improves our border security by adding over 10,000 Border Patrol agents and 400 customs agents over the next five years, and creates a test program to use pilotless surveillance planes to safeguard our borders," Wynn said.
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