Policies and Procedures Handbook
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Garrett County Board of Education
40 South Second Street
Oakland, MD 21550
(301)334-8900

GARRETT COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

Oakland, Maryland  21550

 

PHILOSOPHY

 

Board Policy

 

General Philosophy

 

            We believe that the major responsibility of the school is to develop each individual’s intellectual capacity to its maximum.

 

            We believe that the school shares with the home, the church, and other community agencies the responsibility of each individual’s education.

 

            We believe that the school also assists these institutions in developing an appreciation of our democratic heritage and fosters the perpetuation and improvement of this democratic heritage.

 

            We believe that education is an active, continuous process which involves the acquisition of skills, knowledge, and understandings from which arise the attitudes and values of each individual.

 

            We believe that the intellectual development cannot be separated from the physical, social, and emotional development of each individual.

 

            We believe that education develops the abilities to meet, to recognize and to solve problems in such a manner that the individual assumes responsibility for the self and for society as a whole.

 

The Elementary School

 

            Education is a continuum which spans an individual’s life.  The elementary school occupies a unique position in this continuum; as it becomes the foundation of formal education and reaches children in their most formative years of life.  The elementary school coordinates and integrates experiences by placing emphasis on the development and mastery of basic skills and the use of these skills in the acquisition of knowledge that allows each child to attain maximum development in relationship to ability and environment.  The school also recognizes its responsibility to develop in each child a positive self-concept, to mold favorably attitudes toward all learning, and to promote growth toward independence and interdependence within the child’s environment.

 

 

            The elementary school is defined as prekindergarten/kindergarten or grade one through grade five, plus non-graded special education classrooms, and has a part of its program of studies curricula adopted by the Garrett County Board of Education.  These curricula include reading, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education, art, music, and health.

 

            Full-day kindergartens are provided to all communities in Garrett County.

 

The Middle School

 

            The middle school serves as an educational experience laboratory for the needs of the early adolescent.  It consists of grades six, seven, and eight, plus non-graded special education classrooms; and exists as a school in its own right, being distinctly different from the junior high school; and for the most part, free from the image of the secondary school.

 

            The middle school continues coordination and integration of educational experiences with more emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge than on the development of basic skills.  Flexibility is to be the basic characteristic of the middle school—not only in organization and programmatic offerings, but also in design and substance; thus allowing each individual to attain multiple experiences and to expand intellectual horizons.

 

            The middle school’s program of studies is comprised of curricula approved by the Garrett County Board of Education and include reading, language arts, social studies, science, mathematics, algebra, technology education, computer technology, comparative foreign language, consumer science, art, music, band, chorus, physical education, and health.

 

The High School

 

            The high school provides each individual student in grades nine through twelve, plus non-graded special education students, with an educational base for lifelong learning  The high school and its programs must be broad enough in scope and flexible enough in organization to allow each student to acquire knowledge necessary to understand themselves and to prepare for post-secondary opportunities.  The high school must also provide opportunities for the exploration of cultures, the arts, and the humanities.  Through a democratic environment, it must also provide a framework and a process which results in critical thinking on issues which affect the individual and society.  The high school must also provide opportunities in Career and Technology Education and develop attitudes geared toward success and lifelong learning.

 

            The high school educational program provided must address student needs, abilities, interests, and career choices.  Each high school provides a program of studies with the courses offered by curricula approved by the Garrett County Board of Education to meet the needs of individual students.


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Instruction 320 ARR
Adopted

Revised 8/13/81, 6/14/84, 6/07/88, 3/09/04 DDF/BEM/LB