Hard Work, Frustration Mark Baltimore’s Patterson High

Baltimore

Staff members at Patterson High School hear the clock ticking. They know that unless strong steps are taken to build students’ academic prowess, few of this year’s 9th graders will pass the tests that will be a state graduation requirement in three years.

Teachers and administrators here believe passionately that they have a plan that will lead to success for their students. They are eager to talk about the revamped curriculum, the teacher training, the extra student-help sessions that are producing steady improvements.

Maryland education leaders hear the same ticking clock, but have little faith that Patterson can put all its 9th graders in caps and gowns by June 2009. Fed up with a decade of low test scores, the state board of education tried to take over the school last month, along with expanding its role in 10 other low-performing Baltimore schools. But the state legislature postponed the step, which the state board had taken as one of its options under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, for a year. ( "Md. Lawmakers Fight School Takeover Plan," ...