Around Maryland

A STEM-focused charter school has inked a deal to expand in Anne Arundel County. Chesapeake Science Point Middle-High School has leased 57,000 square feet of space at a St. John Properties-owned flex building in Hanover that sits next to its current school. The charter operator recently signed a lease for the entire building at 7320 Parkway Drive near Routes 100 and 295. The school is part of a Prince George’s County-based charter network that enrolls students in pre-K through 12th grade. The Chesapeake Science Point Charter School network has a total of seven school buildings, with five in Prince George’s County.

The Office of the Inspector General revealed that the Department of Public Works’ reporting on heat-related illnesses omitted 10 cases of employees who suffered from heat-related disorders. “Six of the 10 employee-reported illnesses that were not found on DPW’s spreadsheet occurred on days when temperatures reached 90℉ or higher, with two that occurred on a 103℉ day,” per the OIG report. Of the illnesses omitted, employees reported symptoms of lightheadedness, dehydration, blacking out due to heat, dizziness and vomiting, heat stroke, fainting, chafing due to excessive heat, and cramping, according to OIG’s findings.

Expert review teams focused on career and technical education have begun to visit all 24 school districts, the start of a two-year plan to help school officials find ways to partner with local businesses and nonprofit organizations to boost high school apprenticeship programs. Under the plan, approved Thursday by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), 26 schools in 13 school districts will be visited this school year by individuals who include members of the state’s Career and Technical Education Committee (CTE), staff with the state Department of Education and staff with local workforce development boards.

Communities on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are rallying to donate emergency equipment and supplies to hurricane-impacted regions in Tennessee. On Monday, Cambridge city commissioners will vote on a proposal to donate an old, unused fire truck from the Cambridge Rescue Fire Company to assist recovery efforts. One local farmer, Jessica Tanglao from Denton, is also working independently to deliver much-needed agricultural supplies.

Overall crime has decreased “significantly” in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to crime statistics presented to the county council’s Public Safety Committee last week. According to the data for the first three quarters of this year, the number of homicides and rapes has dropped and the number of car thefts, which accelerated wildly during the pandemic, has slowed, with the actual number of auto thefts down by 2%.https://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2024/10/montgomery-county-crime-downward-trends-continued-problems/

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich plans to run for a third consecutive term in 2026, which would be his last eligible four years under a term limits law passed in 2016. But an initiative on next Tuesday’s ballot led by the Republican who tried to unseat Elrich in 2022 would keep the Democrat from running again by limiting county executives in Montgomery to two consecutive four-year terms.

An increasing number of school systems around the D.C. region have policies that govern cellphone use inside the classroom — Prince George’s County, Maryland, isn’t one of them. As it stands, the decision on such policies is left up to local school systems, which is why some leaders in Prince George’s County are pushing for action.