Our County values many things, but we value education above all.  Without the necessary training and knowledge in today's economy, communities crumble.  We've ensured that won't happen to us, or to your business.

The Garrett County school system is consistently ranked as one of the best in Maryland. Class sizes remain small, with excellent student-teacher ratios. Programs that stress career development and community partnerships are introduced as early as elementary school.

Garrett College in McHenry offers a diverse program of credit and non-credit courses, ranging from adventure sports to information technology. The College has acquired a reputation for academic excellence and a faculty dedicated to student learning during its 30+ year history.

West Virginia University and Frostburg State University are less than an hour away.

For more information, please visit the following websites:

• 2009 Garrett County Report Card (MD Department of Education)
• Garrett County Board of Education

EDUCATION IN THE NEWS!

Garrett College, Hopkins Business School Sign Articulation Agreement     

Garrett College (GC) and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School recently signed an articulation agreement, which guarantees that qualified GC students may transfer to Johns Hopkins without loss of credit, provided that students follow the educational path set forth by the agreement.  Upon graduation at Garrett, the agreement will allow GC grads to enter Johns Hopkins with junior status and begin work on a four-year degree. 

"This is a wonderful addition to the options available to Garrett College students," said Dr. Jeanne Neff, College President.  "We already have a long standing relationship with Bucknell University; a relationship with Johns Hopkins will be great for our students.  We think Johns Hopkins will be very pleased with our outstanding students."

The articulation agreement is carried out through the Johns Hopkins Carey Alliance Program for Excellence (CAPE), which is designed to increase access and encourage greater academic success for students transferring from Garrett to Johns Hopkins. 

CAPE offers eligible GC students the opportunity to benefit from joint programmatic efforts, shared resources, and other privileges while still enrolled at Garrett.  In fact, GC students enrolled in the CAPE program can take up to two classes through Johns Hopkins while still at Garrett, as long as they have completed 45 credit hours.  Students enrolled in the program also have access to Johns Hopkins library resources and advising assistance, among other things.

"We are very excited about this opportunity," said Dr. Anne McCarthy, Associate Dean for Professional Pat Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.  "Oftentimes, students who first attend community colleges perform better when they reach the four-year level than do those who began at the four-year level.  We believe this is a result of the training and quality education they receive at the community college.  We see getting these community college students as a great benefit that will strengthen our program."

Hopkins will indeed attract some of Garrett's top academic performers.  One prospect who said he is "thrilled" about the articulation agreement and the idea of going to Johns Hopkins is Marko Agbaba, a sophomore at Garrett, slated to graduate in May.  "The articulation agreement is an excellent transfer opportunity for me," said Agbaba, an international student from Serbia.  "I came to Garrett to study business nearly two years ago.  It seems ideal that Garrett would sign this agreement in my last semester here.  Everything's working out nicely for me."   

Agbaba also sees the benefit of the agreement outside of the personal impact it might have on him.  "This agreement is going to be mutually beneficial," he said.  "Because of the agreement, Garrett will attract more academically-gifted students, and Johns Hopkins, as a result, will receive the highly qualified students who graduate from Garrett College." 

While this offers an excellent opportunity, GC students must be dedicated to academic success to be accepted to and do well in the CAPE program.  To apply for the CAPE program, Garrett students must have completed 12 credit hours, with a minimum of a 3.2 cumulative grade point average (GPA).  To successfully complete the CAPE program, students must earn an associate's degree at Garrett, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5.  While the requirements for admission may be high, students who successfully complete the CAPE program are guaranteed admission into the Hopkins Business School. 

"Garrett College students are fantastic students," said Denise Dean, Graduate Advisor at Hopkins.  "They'll bring a unique background to Johns Hopkins, and that will enhance our program.  This agreement with Garrett will be a very symbiotic relationship." 

Among the many benefits of the CAPE program is the possibility for students to be awarded scholarships.  Those who successfully complete the CAPE program may be eligible for the Dean’s Undergraduate Scholarship and the CAPE Scholarship, among others.  This is a critical factor for Agbaba.  "The possibility of receiving scholarship money is very important to me," said Agbaba.  "Currently, my family's financial situation is not that great.  A scholarship would help me in achieving my dream of earning a bachelor's degree at such a prestigious educational institution as Johns Hopkins University."

The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School was established in 2007 with a gift of $50 million from Trustee Emeritus, William Polk Carey.  The School is dedicated to transforming business education through a humanistic and multidisciplinary approach to instruction and research.

The Business School, which is largely dedicated to graduate-level programs, is beginning to put more emphasis on its undergraduate programs.  The School recently added five new undergraduate areas of concentration:  management, marketing, accounting, information systems, and finance.   "We're trying to create a different type of Business School," said Dean.  "Garrett has a different type of student, who will benefit this different type of program." 

For additional information on Garrett College's articulation agreement with Johns Hopkins, persons are invited to telephone (301) 387-3043. 

Story courtesy of The Republican newspaper.

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Five LEGO Teams Compete at State Competition; Four Awards Received

Five Garrett County FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics' teams recently competed at the Maryland FLL State Championship at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) campus.  The local teams were among the 66 teams that competed across the State of Maryland.  Out of the 66, Garrett County teams were the recipients of the top two championship awards, known as the Champion's Award, as well as two additional awards.  In the robot competition, all five Garrett County teams finished within the top 10 highest scoring teams.

Accident Elementary School's Accident Moovers, coached by Accident Elementary teacher, Angie Rush, received the third place Robot Performance Award.  Northern Middle School's Fiery SnowBricks, coached by Accident Elementary teacher, Maxine Miller, received the first place Champion's Award.  Southern Middle School's NeXT Gen, coached by Swan Meadow teacher, Arlene Lantz, won the second place Champion's Award.  Northern Middle School's Polar Extremes, coached by NMS teacher, Lorie Burdock, received the second place Project Innovative Solution Award.

Dr. Wendell Teets, Superintendent of Garrett County Schools, cited the teams' success at capturing first and second place Champion's Awards as a result of the wonderful support teams receive from their schools, parents, businesses and communities.  He also thanked the team coaches for their leadership.

The Champion's Award is FLL's most prestigious award, celebrating the ultimate success of the FIRST mission and FLL values.  It measures how the children inspire and motivate others about the excitement and wonders of science and technology while demonstrating gracious professionalism.  The Champion's Award is determined by giving equal weight to all four arenas of competition - technical design and programming, robot performance, project presentation and teamwork - and additional consideration to how the team demonstrated FLL values to all the judges.

"The more often I describe FLL to friends and family and the more our chidren succeed, the more I understand what an accomplishment it is in every way," stated parent, Liz Morin.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League is a program that targets students ages 9 to 14 and is designed to inspire young people to pursue science- and technology-related fields.  Garrett County students have been participating in FLL for the past 8 years as a school-sponsored extra-curricular activity, meeting evenings and weekends.

More about FIRST and FLL can be found at www.usfirst.org.  More local information can be found at www.sites.google.com/site/garrettqualifer.

Story courtesy of The Republican newspaper.