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Arundel Middle Teacher Placed on Leave Following 'Disturbing' Video

A video shared on Facebook shows a teacher in a verbal back-and-forth with a student. School officials said the teacher showed "poor judgment."

A teacher at Arundel Middle School was placed on leave after an incident that became public in a video showing what appeared to be a confrontation with students regarding behavior in the classroom. The video of the Wednesday incident was posted online and is under investigation by the school system. The nearly 14-minute video was originally posted on Facebook and later was also posted to Youtube. It appears to have been taken by another student using a camera phone. It apparently shows a teacher, identified as Latesha Blue, chastising a student for talking back to her. "Everyone in this classroom saw how you were being disrespectful," the woman in the video says.  The student responds: "And everyone in this classroom saw how you were …

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Letter from Arundel High Principal Regarding Rumors

Principal Sharon Stratton said rumors of a planned shooting this Friday at the school are unfounded.

A day after administrators at Old Mill High were forced to respond to rumors about a planned school shooting, officials at Arundel High School responded to similar chatter spreading on social media sites. Arundel High Principal Sharon Stratton said there is no evidence of a genuine threat to the school and urged parents and students to avoid the spread of false rumors. Here is the full text of a letter sent by Stratton to parents: Dear Parents and guardians, It is a sign of the times in which we live, I supposed that in the wake of horrific events like last week's school shooting in Connecticut, a bevy of rumors began to spread through schools and communities. I am writing to you to address one of those rumors, and to reassure you that we …

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Dwyer Thanks Supporters on Facebook After Boat Crash

Del. Don Dwyer thanked people "who have supported me with your prayers and comments" after he admitted to drinking before crashing his boat last week.

Anne Arundel County Del. Don Dwyer (R- Pasadena) took to Facebook Thursday night to thank his supporters who have stood by him after he admitted to drinking before he crashed his boat earlier this month. The post reads: "I just want to thank all of you who have supported me with your prayers and comments. I have a long road in front of me but I assure you, I will make it past this earthly trial. Please keep me and those injured in your prayers." It's the first public comments made by Dwyer since the Republican held a press conference the day after the crash where he admitted to drinking and appeared to confirm his blood alcohol content was above the legal .08 level. "No one, no one should be drinking and operating a motor vehicle or power …

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Students Plead for Return of Popular Teacher

Students from Arundel High spoke before the school board in support of Andrew Cizek, a psychology and comparative government teacher who was reassigned last month.

Arundel High School students and parents spoke before the Anne Arundel County School Board Wednesday and urged the return of a popular psychology and social studies teacher. Wearing T-shirts with the phrase "#BringBackCizek," they spoke with great emotion in support of Andrew Cizek, who was reassigned within the school system last month and is the subject of an ongoing investigation. Dozens of Arundel High students and parents also sat in the crowd to show their support. “You cannot possibly imagine the tears that have been shed over this matter,” junior Kate Langdon said. “We are here to express our brokenheartedness over the removal of a perfectly innocent man.” A Patch reporter was not in attendance Wednesday, but watched a live …

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Monica DiCamillo

8:07 am on Friday, April 13, 2012

Well said Marc.   more ›

Social Media Expands, Schools Struggle

Recent events involving teachers and students suggest that schools are still working to perfect policies regarding social networking sites.

Schools both locally and across the country are facing tough situations involving the use of social media by teachers and students. With applications such as Facebook and Twitter now a ubiquitous part of American society, schools acknowledge they are still trying to find the best balance between embracing the new communication mediums and protecting students and staff. The issue has become a relevant one locally, after a student at Arundel High School acknowledged sending a series of controversial tweets to a teacher. That teacher is currently under investigation and has been reassigned. Patch reported last week that the teacher had frequently corresponded with students on Twitter. The Capital reported Sunday that Anne Arundel County …

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Arundel Teacher Reassigned After Tweet; Students Upset

Andrew Cizek, a popular social studies and psychology teacher, was removed from the high school last month.

UPDATE (3:56 p.m. Friday)—A popular Arundel High School teacher was reassigned last month after one of his female students referred to herself as his “girlfriend” on Twitter. Now, some of Andrew Cizek’s students plan to rally before the county Board of Education next week in support of the psychology and social studies teacher. Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesman Bob Mosier said Cizek was removed from Arundel High at the end of February. He has been reassigned to a position that does not involve contact with students. Mosier said school officials are conducting an ongoing investigation involving Cizek, but he declined to reveal a timeline or specifics, including the reason for the reassignment. He added that a final determination …

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Tim Lemke

2:25 pm on Monday, April 16, 2012

I've spoken to Dr. Ashworth about the MAN UP group. I'd like to get some on the record comments from AMS parents. Please email me at timl@patch.com or 410-305-9113. Thanks.   more ›

Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

The old public service announcement needs some updating as kids discover social media and form virtual groups

When school starts this fall, one thing that school staff are not looking forward to is the drama caused by social media. “We haven’t had major problems with it here,” said Sandy Schachter, guidance counselor at Crofton Middle School, “but it does interfere with students’ ability to learn if they’re worried about what’s being said online.” “We see students who are up at 1, 2, or 3 a.m. on Facebook,” she said. Now that students can log into Facebook through their cell phones, it’s harder to control access. Eighth grade girls in particular are like sponges and quickly become addicted, she said. “Words can be powerful tools and they can be very hurtful,” Schachter said. “Words like ‘slut’ or ‘whore’ get used a lot in type, but I don’t think …

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Clicks, Likes, Tweets and Tumbles: Who Rules on Maryland Social Media?

Super fans and followers in the Free State.

How many friends do you have? If you live in Maryland, chances are, quite a few – at least in the world of social networking. According to a recent report, more than one-third of Marylanders had accounts on Facebook, the social media network with millions of users worldwide, as of July 2010 (2,078,478 to be exact.) The state ranks 34th among the states in terms of percentage of Facebook account holders and 23rd for Twitter account holders. DCI Group Digital, part of the DCI Group public affairs company in Washington, D.C., compared each state’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to numbers from the 2010 census. Washington State ranked first and second for Facebook and Twitter users, respectively. New Mexico ranked 50th for Facebook accounts, …

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