by Alex Braun ‘23 The problem of teacher shortages across the country was magnified by the large number of teachers quitting or retiring early because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the lack of teachers will continue as a result of decreasing enrollment in teacher preparation programs. A report published by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) in … Read More
by Solaiman K Hassanin ‘23 Today, public education increasingly is a center of controversy. A recent Gallup poll found that 70 percent of Americans have “some” to “very little” confidence in public schools, compared to 28 percent who said they have a “great deal” to “quite a lot” of confidence in schools. The Gallup poll also demonstrated a stark difference … Read More
by Ziv Golan ‘26 Students want to feel that their input is considered when their schools make decisions and changes that affect them, and Sherwood responded to that prevailing sentiment by implementing Study Circles last year in which a diverse group of students met with school administrators and other staff. The need for such a meeting space became more pressing … Read More
by Bryan Kim ’23 This school year, MCPS will not be utilizing Turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection software used in high school English classes for longer than a decade. Towards the end of last school year, MCPS and Turnitin.com had a dispute regarding the protection of student and staff privacy, ultimately leading to the end of the contract. Without Turnitin.com, plagiarism … Read More
by Anna Haas ‘23 In July of 2020, MCPS began an extensive study intent on discovering the depth of racism and racial inequities in its schools and what needs to be done about it. The study was named the Anti-Racist Audit, and its findings were revealed at a media briefing on October 10 before being officially announced at the Board … Read More
MCPS Reconsiders Problematic School Names by Joon Baek ‘23 Following petitions by community members and student activists, MCPS approved a resolution in early October to determine whether to rename six schools named after Revolutionary Era individuals who owned slaves. The school names under consideration are the high schools Richard Montgomery, Thomas S. Wootton, Zadok Magruder, and Montgomery Blair, and the … Read More
by Lizzy Hermosilla ‘23 Sherwood offers three upper level courses—honors, Advanced Level (AL), and AP—that MCPS awards a single point increase contributing toward a students Weighted Grade Point Average (WGPA). Students in AP, honors, or AL courses that earned an A for a semester grade would be numerically denoted a 5 instead of the normal 4 for an unweighted course. … Read More
by Katie Gough ‘23 Starting this school year, Anne Arundel County Public Schools is mandating that its high schools start at 8:30 a.m., 30 minutes later than the national average. The decision was made as part of an effort to improve students’ academic performance by encouraging them to get an optimal amount of sleep, which, according to the Centers for … Read More
by Nia Peake ‘23 Our Minds Matter (OMM) is a nationwide non-profit organization with the mission to end teen suicide and Sherwood’s counseling department is continuing to commit to this mission as they enter their second year with Sherwood’s chapter of OMM called Warrior Minds Matter. This club will work with students to develop ideas for school-wide mental health campaigns. … Read More
by Lauren Frank ‘23 MCPS announced new rules and safety measures that went into effect Friday, September 23, at all high school sporting events. Under the new protocols, students who are not from either one of the schools competing must be accompanied by an adult. Students who attend either of the two schools must show a student ID or copy … Read More