The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • A5

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013 NEWS THE BALTIMORE SUN 5 City schools sound off on contracts "The process is not taken lightly," he said. "It is very serious. But we don't get to this point of nonrenewal from things that just come out of the air." Schools recommended for three-year contract extensions also asked the board to consider longer ones. Cecil Gray, chair of Northwood Appold Community Academy, a public charter school, told board members the students had "earned a five-year contract" and were outperforming other schools slated to receive five-year extensions. The operator of the Baltimore Montes-sori School, recommended for a three-year extension, also said a five-year extension could bring in more resources.

For Kia Harper, the three-year renewal recommendation for Connexions Community Leadership Academy MiddleHigh afforded the school the opportunity to "take a look in the mirror." Harper said the extension meant that the school had the opportunity to "not only be, but be better." erica.greenbaltsun.com twitter.comEricaLG Education board hears objections from those marked for nonrenewal By Erica L. Green The Baltimore Sun In a public forum packed with emotion as well as people, the Baltimore school board heard Wednesday from independently operated schools fighting for contract extensions as some presented narratives describing their strengths and weaknesses. Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso recommended last month three- and five-year contract extensions for the majority of the 25 schools, primarily charters, that underwent a months-long process that scrutinized various data and overall governance. But he also suggested the district sever ties with operators at six schools, four of which would close. The schools chief said he forwarded the recommendations from the charter review board without inserting his own judgments, saying he believed the "process had great legitimacy" a notion that some schools' representatives challenged.

Of the schools scheduled to close if their contract recommendations are upheld, Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy-East, an all-male middle school the district said has a history of poor achievement and overall management, made the strongest showing at the board meeting. More than 50 representatives were decked out in blue and gold, holding signs pleading with the board not to give up on the school. The school's principal, Kelvin Bridgers, said that while "the data speaks for itself," the school has met academic targets recently, and reduced suspensions and expulsions. "Obviously, there's been some challenges," he said. "But I ask that you consider what the school could do." The Baltimore Freedom Academy, a combined middle-high school with a social justice theme, would also close if the recommendations are upheld.

The school's representatives documented a list of instances in the process that they felt unfairly characterized the adcademy's perform ance. Among them, operators said, was an evaluator calling the school "hopeless." For schools that would not close as a result of the contract revocations Colling-ton Square ElementaryMiddle School and Montebello ElementaryMiddle School Alonso recommended they revert to district-run schools. The Baltimore Curriculum Project, a long-standing partner that operates several schools in the city, asked board members to reconsider taking back Collington Square and to give its new principal a chance. "It's disheartens me," Melvin Holmes, Collington Square's new principal, told board members. "I feel like I'll be hanging out there on an island." Montebello is run by national for-profit Edison Learning.

The school had 80 parents, teachers and students turn out to express their desire to stay under Edison's leadership, which they said brings in resources the system can't provide. City school commissioner Bob Heck said that while he sympathized with school representatives, he takes seriously the board's responsibility to educate students. Principal at Mount St Joe abruptly quits his position School says it discovered improper communications from Fitzpatrick to students By Ian Duncan The Baltimore Sun Barry Fitzpatrick, the principal of Mount St. Joseph High School, resigned Tuesday after officials there discovered "inappropriate" communications with students, the school said in a letter to parents. The school did not detail the content or the type of communications but said the "proper authorities" had been notified, school president George E.

Andrews Jr. wrote in the letter obtained by The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said he could neither confirm nor deny an investigation. Fitzpatrick could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. Mount St.

Joseph, a private all-boys school known for its athletics, has had a turbulent couple of years. "-'jeSM December 2011, its 1Ei Brother James Kelly, died of prostate cancer. "Our Mount Saint Joseph family has weathered a number of difficult days over the course of our 137-year history. Today is such a day," An Fitzpatrick BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLORBALTIMORE SUN PHOTO Death penalty foes speak Del. Heather Mizeur of Montgomery County, left, and Sister Helen Prejean speak to reporters in the State House Wednesday after Gov.

Martin O'Malley's State of the State address. Prejean has worked to abolish the death penalty across the United States and Mizeur, a Democrat, is seeking to have it repealed in this year's General Assembly session. ASSEMBLY DIGEST Animal advocates support pit bull compromise Advocates for animals packed an Annapolis hearing room Wednesday to support a recendy negotiated compromise bill that would undo a court ruling that declared pit bulls inherently dangerous and made it easier to sue their owners and their owners' landlords. Representatives of the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other groups told the House Judiciary Committee that the legislation, which would tighten liability standards for dog owners but not distinguish among breeds, strikes a fair balance between the interests of pet owners and dog bite victims. "Instead of singling out one breed, it imposes a high standard for all dog owners," said Tami Santelli, Maryland director of the Humane Society.

The House and Senate could not agree on a bill last year, but leaders of the committees that handle liability issues announced an agreement in January. Michael Dresser Authority agrees to report on uncollected tolls Del. Jon Cardin said Wednesday he has reached an agreement with the Maryland Transportation Authority that will make unnecessary his bill to require the agency to report how much money it failed to collect because of toll violations in E-ZPass lanes. Cardin said he had negotiated an agreement with Harold Bartlett, executive secretary of the authority, that will bring more transparency to the agency's toll collection efforts. The Baltimore County Democrat said the authority agreed to post on its website information about its fine collection efforts as well as the amounts of uncollected fines.

Cardin said the authority also will give a report to the General Assembly on its collection efforts during next year's session. The legislation was filed in response to a Washington Post article that reported the authority had failed to collect more than $6 million it was owed by E-ZPass toll violators. Michael Dresser Famed nun fights for repeal of death penalty Moments after Gov. Martin O'Malley urged lawmakers to repeal the death penalty during his State of the State address, a Roman Catholic nun famous for her repeal work turned to the effort to secure the votes. Sister Helen Prejean, who wrote "Dead Man Walking," was in Annapolis with undecided lawmakers.

She said she was pleased that O'Malley had created a simple framework that cast the death penalty as an ineffective tool that isn't worth using. "If you're putting all your resources into killing a few people, into that machinery, you can't be putting it into anything else," Prejean said in an interview. "You can't be putting it into helping at-risk ldds, you can't give it to law enforcement or community policing." Prejean said of Maryland, "There's a sense of progressiveness, that we don't have to do things the way we used to do them because simply we're used to doing them." Erin Cox drews wrote in the letter. "Our students mean everything to us. As such, we have the highest expectations for our faculty and administrators.

And when these standards are not met, we have a responsibility to our boys and their families to take action," the letter continued. Andrews could not be reached to comment and did not respond to emailed questions. His assistant said he was fielding questions from parents by phone Wednesday afternoon. Fitzpatrick had been principal at the school in Baltimore's Irvington neighborhood since 1994, according to a biography that has been removed from the school's website. He started at Mount St Joseph as a guidance counselor in 1986 and was known as "Mr.

Fitz" to students. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Fitzpatrick studied at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., as well as Loyola and Harvard universities. "He's an avid sports fan and a voracious reader," the biography reads. "But his true love will always be his students." Don Kemp a 1978 graduate of the school and a member of its board, said directors had not been told anything more than what has been made public about Fitzpatrick's resignation. The board, which will have to approve Fitzpatrick's replacement, will gather Friday for a scheduled meeting, he said, and will likely find out more then.

Kemp said Kelly and Fitzpatrick helped pull the school out of a "period of stagnation" during which its "leadership wasn't quite up to par." The loss of the school's two top figures in such a short space of time will be a blow, he said. "He was critical to the success of the school. The school had really increased the quality of the experience for the boys, educationally and otherwise," Kemp said. Director of studies David Norton will serve as acting principal until Fitzpatrick is formally replaced. Ryan Dice, 18, who graduated from Mount St.

Joseph last year, said Fitzpatrick played an especially big role after the death of Kelly. He led prayers and assemblies, and encouraged students to remember Kelly, Dice said. "Mr. Fitz really brought the school together. That's why a lot of people liked him," he said.

iduncanbaltsun.com twitter.com iduncan Joppa mother charged in death of 9-month-old girl Baltimore Sun Media Group staff An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for al9-year-old Joppa woman in the death of her 9-month-old daughter, whom the woman is suspected of injecting repeatedly with insulin. Deputies responded to the 900 block of Scannell Court in Joppa for a report of a child in cardiac arrest about 1-33 p.m. Tuesday, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said. As deputies arrived, they were met by paramedics from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, who were administering emergency medical care to the child. Nine-month-old Selena Olivia Weber, who lived with her family on Scannell Court, was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, where she was pronounced dead at 2:18 p.m Tuesday.

The child's mother, Qucelia Yvette Baldeo, attempted to kill herself by slashing her wrists, police said. She was also treated and taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where she remained in critical condition Wednesday, according to Eddie Hopkins, spokesman for the sheriff's office. Detectives from the sheriff's office were called to the scene and to the hospital. They were interviewing family members to determine what occurred. Deputies were investigating the possibility that Baldeo might have repeatedly injected her daughter with insulin, Hopkins said Tuesday night, but detectives were awaiting toxicology results and confirmation on a cause of death from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Hopkins said he could not elaborate further. Baldeo is charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault and child abuse, according to the sheriff's office. The warrant will be served upon Baldeo's release from the hospital..