* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmembers Clarke, Young
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
The Laurence G. Paquin Middle/Senior High School #457 - An Urgent Request for Restoration to Model and to Mission
FOR the purpose of urging the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of School Commissioners of the Baltimore City Public School System to immediately restore transferred personnel to prevent Laurence G. Paquin Middle/Senior High School # 457, with its onsite health services, GED, after school program, Little School, and 7 grades - 6th through 12th - from dismantlement as this system's enduring resource for pregnant girls.
Body
WHEREAS, Laurence G. Paquin Middle/Senior High School was founded in 1966 and has been operated on a staffing model that was established in 1993 and maintained consistently for 11 years and successfully implemented until the 2004-2005 school year; and
WHEREAS, As of July 1, 2004, Paquin's staff of 48 was reduced by 25% to 36, including teachers, teacher's aides, clerical and administrative personnel, and despite this cutback, Paquin, like all schools suffering from similar budget crisis, opened its doors with a resolve to do its best despite diminished resources; and
WHEREAS, On November 1, 2004, the school was dealt a devastating blow when, with less than a week's notice, 16 more teachers and aides were transferred out of Paquin resulting in a consistent staff-level of 48 has been reduced by 58% between the Spring and Fall semesters, and, according to Dr. Chinnia, teachers have been reduced by 1/3rd and aides by 1/4 from last year until the present; and
WHEREAS, Paquin's small school/citywide model established by Dr. Walter Amprey in cooperation with Baltimore Health Commissioner Peter Beilenson, and approved by the Board in 1993, has until now, ensured the staffing stability to serve as the school system's sole and citywide resource for 6th through 12th grade students who require public education throughout their pregnancies, post-partum recoveries, and child-rearing adjustments; and
WHEREAS, Academic capacity requires Paquin to maintain a quality and continuity of education which enables its students to return successfully to their home schools, including citywide programs, without losing ground or dropping out; and
WHEREAS, Enrollment rises and falls but has consistently reached 400+ in th 11 years since the Paquin model and its staffing level were adopted and Paquin, as a small school community, caps it enrollment at 500; and
WHEREAS, On November 2, voters approved a $34 million School Loan which includes a "Little School" addition to Laurence Paquin School #457 that has conducted 3 age-related programs for infant-to-five year old children of Paquin students; and
WHEREAS, With the cuts of November 1st , 2 of those 3 programs must be eliminated, only one science teacher is left for the entire middle-through-high-school, and Paquin has lost its prenatal and child development teacher as well, thus compromising Paquin's public health mission of promoting effective parenting and healthy development within its student population of teen and pre-teen mothers;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body hereby urges the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of School Commissioners of the Baltimore City Public School System to immediately restore transferred personnel to prevent the Laurence G. Paquin Middle/Senior High School #457, with its onsite health services, GED, after school program, Little School, and 7 grades - 6th through 12th - from dismantlement as this system's enduring resource for pregnant girls.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this Body in unified in its resolve to restore Paquin to its model and its mission to provide a productive future for its students, present and potential, for whom the alternative is dropping-out or falling so far behind as to give up on completing school entirely.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Education, the Chief Executive Office of the Baltimore City Public Schools, the Board of School Commissioners, the Principal of the Laurence Paquin School, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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