Showing posts with label People Schroeder-Heidi Schroeder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People Schroeder-Heidi Schroeder. Show all posts

Thursday, April 3, 2008

20080402 Westminster Eagle articles by Kevin Dayhoff and Heidi Schroeder on Carroll County Board of Education Jeff Morse’s resignation

20080402 Westminster Eagle articles by Kevin Dayhoff and Heidi Schroeder on Carroll County Board of Education Jeff Morse’s resignation

Westminster Eagle articles by Kevin Dayhoff and Heidi Schroeder on Carroll County Board of Education Jeff Morse’s resignation:

Jeff Morse incident is a lost opportunity by Kevin E. Dayhoff

April 2, 2008

Over the past few weeks it was revealed that Carroll County Board of Education member Jeff Morse used a racial slur while describing a rock formation during a review of construction at the new Manchester Valley High School.

The incident ultimately led to Mr. Morse resigning from his position with ...

[Read full story]


School board eyes options after Morse resignation By Heidi Schroeder Friday, April 04

The chair of the Carroll County Human Relations Commission said this week that while Board of Education member Jeffrey Morse's recent use of a racial slur was "stupid" and "insensitive," she was sorry that the incident ended with his resignation on March 26.

"It was a stupid thing to do, it was an... [Read full story]



Jeff Morse incident is a lost opportunity by Kevin E. Dayhoff

April 2, 2008

Over the past few weeks it was revealed that Carroll County Board of Education member Jeff Morse used a racial slur while describing a rock formation during a review of construction at the new Manchester Valley High School.

The incident ultimately led to Mr. Morse resigning from his position with the school board last week.

The events have brought up a fair amount of talk about the history of race relations in Carroll County.

One of the topics in subsequent community discussion has been the persistent rumor of Ku Klux Klan activity in Carroll County -- an urban legend which is not supported by history.

Some confusion regarding the KKK in our county may stem from a instance in August 1998 in which a KKK rally was held in Carroll County, Virginia -- not here in Maryland. A Klan member was subsequently prosecuted for burning a cross.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, Virginia v. Black, where the decision was overturned. The white defendant's attorney, by the way, was David P. Baugh, an African-American.

This brings to mind Supreme Court Justice Hugo Lafayette Black, whose enduring legacy is his steadfast advocacy for equal rights.

Justice Black figured prominently in three landmark cases involving civil rights issues: Chambers v. Florida, 1940; Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963; and Betts v. Brady, a 1942 case which involved the right to legal counsel (that case did originate in Carroll County).

Justice Black had been nominated to the Supreme Court in 1937. His confirmation was difficult after allegations surfaced that he was a former Ku Klux Klan member (a fact which Justice Black admitted in a famous speech in October 1937 after he was confirmed).

The work of civil rights in our nation would have suffered a serious setback if Justice Black had been denied a seat on the Supreme Court.

One advantage we have in living in Carroll is that it is still small enough to hold our leadership to high standards.

So it was that after Mr. Morse offended and hurt our friends and neighbors with his remark that the community demanded that he be held accountable.

Mr. Morse made a terrible mistake, for which he apologized and then put action to words. He resigned last Wednesday, but the following evening he attended a Carroll County NAACP meeting with Superintendent Dr. Charles Ecker and school board President Cynthia Foley.

Mr. Morse's remark comes at a time when folks are beginning to realize that while we may not have "KKK running around," we just may have very polite prejudice -- and we need to talk about it.

Yet, many folks are reluctant to talk about race for fear of making a mistake and being branded a racist. After all, "No good deed goes unpunished" is the motto of many community activists in Carroll County.

Nevertheless, the Carroll County NAACP is working hard to facilitate meaningful conversation about racial relations in Carroll County.

Please do not confuse the local NAACP chapter with the national NAACP's Baltimore chapter, which seemingly finds racists hiding in every difficult moment.

When the national and Baltimore chapters wanted to brand Carroll County racist as a result of the Bowling Brook incident, it was the Carroll chapter who stood up for our county.

And so it was true that the Carroll County NAACP chapter did NOT call for Mr. Morse's resignation -- and for good reasons.

Nelson Mandela said it best. To not forgive is the same as us taking poison ... and then waiting for our enemies to die.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that," observed Martin Luther King Jr. "Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. ... (T)oughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction."

By many accounts Mr. Morse is not a racist. He has just received a crash course in sensitivity and, if he had remained on the board, all indications were that Mr. Morse would have taken the lessons learned and put them to work for all of us.

Now, we will never know.

In light of Mr. Morse's resignation it is hard to find a win-win in this difficult series of events. One thing that we have learned is that the Carroll County NAACP is part of the solution.

Hopefully, we can also learn that good folks make mistakes. And if we bestow such dire consequences to good folks, what are we going to do when we are faced with a real racist in our community?

I'm just asking.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kdayhoff@carr.org.

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School board eyes options after Morse resignation

04/02/08 By Heidi Schroeder

The chair of the Carroll County Human Relations Commission said this week that while Board of Education member Jeffrey Morse's recent use of a racial slur was "stupid" and "insensitive," she was sorry that the incident ended with his resignation on March 26.

"It was a stupid thing to do, it was an insensitive thing to do, he should never have said it," said Virginia Harrison, chair of the Human Relations Commission, of the comment, but added, "but I just felt like ... as a community we should have been able to resolve the issue."

Morse submitted his resignation following the school board's March 26 meeting.

The resignation followed an apology to the board last week for making an "inappropriate comment" during a tour of the under-construction Manchester Valley High School. The school board did not reveal what the statement was, but acknowledged that someone on that tour had lodged a complaint, which led to a board review.

In a statement from the school board, officials noted Morse's apology to those on the tour and to citizen groups, including the NAACP and Human Relations Commission, but said that after hearing citizen comments on the issue at the board meeting, Morse determined it was in the best interest of the board to resign.

Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Charles Ecker said that at the March 26 meeting, six or seven residents requested to speak. After those comments -- of which Ecker said some were in favor of Morse's resignation and some were opposed -- the board met in closed session and accepted Morse's resignation.

Harrison said she was sad that the situation reached that conclusion.

"I was very sorry that he resigned, because I felt that it was something that could have been resolved," Harrison said.

She was among those to whom Morse apologized following the comment, and Harrison said that his willingness to meet with community leaders and discuss his comment was "courageous."

Morse had been selected by Gov. Martin O'Malley from a field of 22 applications to join the board in May 2007 following Thomas Hiltz's resignation.

In the event of a vacancy -- such as Hiltz's -- the governor is responsible for appointing a new representative to the vacant post.

However, given the proximity of the November election -- when voters will elect candidates for Morse's former seat and the seat currently held by board president Cynthia Foley -- Ecker said he plans to propose to Gov. Martin O'Malley that the board operate with four members until the election occurs.

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NBH

Thursday, December 9, 2004

Westminster Eagle: 4th Annual National Inclusive Schools Week

Westminster Eagle: 4th Annual National Inclusive Schools Week

Students at Robert Moton Elementary participated by having several guest readers, including Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and Superintendent Charles Ecker

Education Notes 12/08/04 Heidi Schroeder  

Carroll County Public Schools is celebrating its fourth annual National Inclusive Schools Week through Dec. 10, promoting the capacity of schools to provide education to an increasingly diverse student population - and in particular to those who have disabilities.

Among the schools participating in events during the week are Robert Moton Elementary School and Westminster High School.

This is the first year that Westminster High is celebrating the event.

Special education teacher Donna Dougherty said students have designed a brochure highlighting ways that Westminster High is an inclusive school. The brochure will be distributed in advisory sessions on Dec. 18, and will also be included in the parent newsletter.

In addition, students and teachers have designed an interactive bulletin board with information about Braille, American Sign Language and employment opportunities.

Dougherty said that although this is Westminster High's first year celebrating Inclusive Schools Week, the school has hosted Special Olympics events each spring for many years, and the school encourages students to volunteer for those events.

David Riley is the director of networking for the National Institute for Urban School Improvement, the sponsor of National Inclusive Schools Week. He said the institute has received positive feedback from communities that have been involved with the program.

"Our message is that this week should not be the only time where schools and communities consider this, but take a pause and celebrate what has been achieved, and do some deliberate thinking about what next steps need to be taken," he said.

>Students and teachers from Westminster High were among those who presented a session at the 84th Annual National Council for the Social Studies Fall Conference in Baltimore on Nov. 20. The session was entitled "Effective Strategies to Engage All Learners in Social Studies."

Participants learned how every student's voice can be heard in a classroom that provides for diverse needs. Christina Dougherty, teacher at Westminster High School, and her students presented a strategy called "Visual Discovery."

The following Westminster High School 11th grade students presented with Mrs. Dougherty: James Mangle, Samuel Porter, Becky Middleton, Ryan Coons, Megan Lynch, Erin Morgan, Kim Flanagan, and Celia Kelly.

>Manchester Elementary School has received national recognition for the efforts of students, parents, and staff to raise funds for the treatment and cure of diabetes.

The school was one of more than 1,145 schools nationwide to participate in the School Walk for Diabetes, and raised more than $33,000 for the American Diabetes Association. The fund-raiser was held April 6 with the theme, "Run with B.B. Wolf to Huff and Puff and Blow Away Diabetes!"

The school was awarded the National Championship banner and trophy, and Manchester was featured at the American Diabetes Association National Volunteer Leadership Conference, Nov. 19-21, in Chicago.

>East Middle School recently collected 1,250 cans of food for the month of November as part of the Character Education initiatives for kindness. The food items will be delivered to Carroll County Food Sunday and will benefit needy families in Westminster.

East Middle's SHOUT Committee started an initiative to collect spare change at lunch for grocery vouchers. Some students emptied the lunch change from their pockets and some brought in change from home. Students collected $360 and provided vouchers for three families for the holidays.

>The Maryland Department of Education has honored the following local schools with certificates for top performance on the 2004 Maryland School Assessments: North Carroll High, Sandymount Elementary, Spring Garden Elementary, Westminster High, West Middle and Winters Mill High.

Title I schools will receive financial awards, in addition to their certificates, as provided under the No Child Left Behind Act. Locally, these schools are Robert Moton Elementary and Runnymede Elementary.

>Students from Robert Moton Elementary School participated in Scholastic Read for 2005, the sixth annual children's read-a-thon, on Dec. 3. On this day in countries around the world, classrooms took time to read a book together for 2,005 seconds (approximately 33 1/3 minutes).

Students at Robert Moton Elementary participated by having several guest readers, including Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and Superintendent Charles Ecker, in addition to characters Clifford and Miss Spider. For information on Scholastic Read for 2005, visit www.scholastic.com/readfor2005.

>The Board of Education of Carroll County will hold its regular monthly meeting tonight, Dec. 8, at 5 p.m. in Room 007 of the Board of Education offices, 125 N. Court St., Westminster. The public is invited. The agenda is posted on the Web site, www.carrollk12.org.

>The North Carroll High School National Honor Society will sponsor a silent auction tonight, Dec. 8, 5 to 9 p.m. in the cafeteria.

The auction will feature baked goods, crafts and sports memorabilia. All are invited.

What's happening at your school? Send items to Heidi Schroeder, education correspondent at The Westminster Eagle, at 121 East Main Street, Westminster, MD 21157. Items may also be faxed to 410-549-4274, or e-mailed to hschroeder@patuxent.com. 
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Newspapers Westminster Eagle, Westminster Mayor 2001-05 Dayhoff, Carroll Co Schools, Diversity, People Schroeder-Heidi Schroeder, 


20041208

Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT
Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun
Westminster Fire Dept. and MTA Lodge #20 Chaplain and PIO
Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/