ELLICOTT CITY, MD (February 4, 2008) – Governor Martin O’Malley today, joined by Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, visited students at the newly renovated Worthington Elementary School to meet with students and to highlight school construction funding for Howard County.
“Building on the success of last year’s investments in public education and public school construction, we are continuing to protect the priorities of the people in Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “Protecting our investments in public education and school construction is critical in providing our students with the best education, in modern and updated facilities. Worthington Elementary is vital to preparing our students, at an early stage, with the technical knowledge to succeed.”
Governor O’Malley, in his FY 2009 budget, proposed a $333 million investment for school construction in our state, building on last year’s $400 million to invest in our schools. Howard County has been allocated $14 million in school construction funds.
“The school construction funds to renovate aging schools like Worthington Elementary are a good example of money well spent. The ‘off the charts’ Maryland School Assessment scores from Worthington validate the proposed record K-12 public education funding Governor O’Malley has announced,” said Howard County Executive Ken Ulman.
During their visit, Governor O’Malley and County Executive Ulman watched a performance by students in a music class; visited with Kindergarten students, who are part of the school’s first full-day kindergarten program; and visited with students in the school’s Technology Support classroom.
Worthington Elementary was built in 1976 and was renovated in 1988 and 1998. The school has been recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education for outstanding performance on the Maryland School Assessment Test for the past eight years. Worthington has several special programs, including: Reading Recovery, a one-on-one reading intervention for first graders; Book Swap, a reading incentive program; Book-in-Bag, a program for K-2; Read to Feed, the Maryland State reading program; and Artists in Residence. The Worthington PTA offers after-school classes in Spanish, Math Enrichment, Drama, Ballet and French. Worthington Elementary teachers and staff have worked to increase students’ knowledge in technology, teaching students how to use PowerPoint and use the Internet for research.
February 4, 2008 |
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