Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 21h

Take a peek inside UMBC's Garrett collection, one of the world’s largest archives devoted to the study of hauntings, poltergeists, out-of-body experiences and seances. Happy spooooooky season, Maryland:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

School spirit(s): Inside the ghost archives at UMBC

UMBC has one of the world’s largest parapsychology collections, including ghostly items such as seance photos and notes supposedly scrawled by spirits.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 3d

Ava Tasker-Mitchell felt so threatened during a call with the Somerset County school board chair that the superintendent left town, afraid for her safety, reports @lizbowie.bsky.social. Read: "Maryland’s messiest school district gets its dirty laundry aired"
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Maryland’s messiest school district gets its dirty laundry aired

Somerset County’s school board accused its superintendent of insubordination. She said the board chair threatened her before she left town.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 4d

Breaking news: Heidi Anderson, president of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, announced today her doctoral dissertation will be "assessed" after the @thebaltimorebanner.com reported last week chunks of the paper were allegedly plagiarized:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

University of Maryland Eastern Shore president’s work will be reviewed for plagiarism

Anderson is accused of lifting several paragraphs from a 1981 paper by Robert M. Caldwell without citations.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Dylan Segelbaum @dylansegelbaum.bsky.social · 7d

University of Maryland Eastern Shore president accused of plagiarism by former professor, @elliew0lfe.bsky.social report. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

University of Maryland Eastern Shore president accused of plagiarism

Heidi Anderson, University of Maryland Eastern Shore president, is accused of lifting multiple paragraphs verbatim from a scholarly article and improperly citing information in her 1986 doctoral disse...

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 7d

Scoop: Heidi Anderson, president of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, is accused of plagiarizing parts of her 1986 dissertation. Read about the accusation against the HBCU president, and see a side by side comparison, only in @thebaltimorebanner.com:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

University of Maryland Eastern Shore president accused of plagiarism

Heidi Anderson, University of Maryland Eastern Shore president, is accused of lifting multiple paragraphs verbatim from a scholarly article and improperly citing information in her 1986 doctoral disse...

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 7d

Missing paychecks, incorrect payments and withholding errors have burdened hundreds of Baltimore County Public Schools educators in the last month, reports @kris10griffith.bsky.social:
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

It’s payday. Baltimore County teachers are worried.

A bumpy transition to a new payroll system has Baltimore County Public Schools staff on edge.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 10d

The child care scholarship is the main way Maryland families get help with child care. Since many can't afford it otherwise, day cares and preschools rely on vouchers to fill spots. So what happens when the program gets frozen - and doesn't come back when predicted? www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

State extends the child care scholarship freeze indefinitely

The state projected getting back down to 40,000 child care scholarships by September. But the program is still thousands of vouchers over budget.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Greg Morton @invisibae.bsky.social · 13d

New w/ @elliew0lfe.bsky.social: : The Trump administration will begin to charge $100k each for visas that UMD and Hopkins use to hire researchers, scientists and professors.

Among the affected? A Ukrainian researcher who may be forced to go home.

“I am terrified"

www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Ukrainian researcher’s future in doubt as Trump’s H-1B visa costs hit Hopkins, UMD

Looking at Donald Trump’s new changes to H-1B visas, which now include a hefty $100,000 fee. Will Maryland colleges start hiring less foreign born faculty because of it?

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 15d

I wrote my first ever obituary this week, about a Morgan State professor and former dean who truly transformed the lives of those he taught.

"Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was the epitome of Morgan State University"

www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Morgan State marshal, alumni and dean was the epitome of the university

Clayton Creswell Stansbury Jr. was once Morgan State’s director of student affairs, head of the honors program and its longest-serving marshal.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 18d

Today in Maryland higher ed news: The University System of Maryland Chancellor spoke about the "crippling" federal + state cuts the USM has faced, while the president of Johns Hopkins University announced their hiring freeze is continuing. Read:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

‘Crippling’ federal cuts could prompt layoffs at Maryland's public universities

In the last two years, the state has cut the public university system‘s budget by $233 million. The sharp cuts have been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s reductions in federal grants, financi...

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · 18d

The national Blue Ribbon program has come to an end. @mayaklora.bsky.social wrote about what Maryland educators had to say about it.
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

With the loss of Blue Ribbon program, Maryland school leaders are on their own

To “return education to the states,” the U.S. Department of Education ended the national Blue Ribbon program. Maryland education leaders need to find a new way to honor their shining schools.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Ginny Bixby @ginnybixbywrites.bsky.social · 23d

Montgomery County’s first LGBTQ+ center opened last month, at a crucial moment for the queer community. But advocates told me this is just the beginning, and that elected officials need to prioritize issues like housing and transit that impact marginalized people www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

At a crucial moment, Montgomery County's first LGBTQIA+ center opens

The MoCo Pride Center opens as the Trump administration tries to roll back protections for queer people.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Maya Lora @mayaklora.bsky.social · 24d

It's been over five years since the onset of COVID-19, which means the babies born into the pandemic are off to pre-K 4 and kindergarten. How exactly can teachers support these kiddos, who spent their earliest years in isolation? I dug into it: www.thebanner.com/education/ea...

The pandemic babies are off to pre-K and kindergarten

In a major pandemic milestone, the babies born during the early days of COVID-19 are finally old enough to start school.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 27d

More than two dozen Maryland professors were placed on Charlie Kirk’s professor watchlist. Some now worry about their own safety now that Kirk is dead. Others are grappling with how to mourn someone that caused trauma in their own lives. Read:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Maryland professors were targeted by Charlie Kirk. Now what?

After Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday, some of his professor targets in Maryland worry for their own safety and feel anxious about the climate of distrust he sowed among young people.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · 28d

NEW: The Trump administration is proposing cutting all funding for TRIO, a set of programs that helps low-income, first-generation students attend college. More than 12,000 Marylanders relied on the program last year. Here’s the potential impact:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Program for thousands of Maryland's students on the chopping block

The Trump administration in its proposal called TRIO a “relic of the past,” adding “access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means.”

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Sep 10

NEW: St. John's College, which recently laid off 5% of its staff amidst declining enrollment + the departure of its president, is sticking with its Great Books curriculum despite a rise in AI. Read my profile of the college as it reaches a reckoning point:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

As universities chase AI, St. John’s College doubles down on Great Books

St. John's College in Annapolis quaintly calls its professors “tutors” who guide small groups of undergraduates through vigorous examinations of the so-called Great Books of literature, science and mo...

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Sep 3

⚕️: Notre Dame of Maryland University has officially completed its merger with the Maryland University of Integrative Health, making NDMU the nation’s first comprehensive university with a school solely dedicated to integrative health. Read:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Integrative health school opens at Notre Dame of Maryland University

Notre Dame of Maryland University has become the nation’s first comprehensive university with a school solely dedicated to integrative health.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Sep 2

🌸:Real Housewives of Potomac star Karen Huger is a free woman. The Grande Dame left jail six months early, after she was arrested for a DUI. A camera crew was spotted at the jail this morning, and Huger waved to fans as her car took her back to Potomac:
www.thebanner.com/culture/film...

‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ star Karen Huger released early from jail

"Real Housewives of Potomac" star Karen Huger was released from jail on Tuesday morning, roughly six months ahead of schedule.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Aug 29

NEW: Amid declining enrollment and a multi-million dollar structural deficit, the University of Baltimore is consolidating majors. Majors such as history and English are being eliminated and consolidated into larger programs. Read:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

University of Baltimore to consolidate majors amid enrollment decline

Ralph Mueller, the university’s provost, said during the announcement that the changes were made with “humility, gratitude and the recognition of serious programmatic and personnel implications.”

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Aug 27

📝 MCAP news: Some of Maryland's largest literacy gains are coming out of Baltimore City, report @mayaklora.bsky.social and data intern Patrick McCaslin. One of our many stories on MCAP data:
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Some of Maryland’s largest literacy gains are coming out of Baltimore City

When it comes to literacy rate improvements, many Baltimore City Public Schools take the top prize.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · Aug 27

Want to know how your kid's school performed? Check out this database created by @thebaltimorebanner.com's data team:
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · Aug 26

English Language Arts continues to be Maryland’s strongest subject. The same can’t be said for math, where just over a quarter of students are considered proficient, but test-takers still managed to move the needle.
www.thebanner.com/education/k-...

Maryland sees a reading rebound, though ‘alarming’ math gap looms large

State leaders highlighted how students fared on the exam known as the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, or MCAP.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Aug 22

NEW: The Chief Diversity Officer at Johns Hopkins left the university this summer amid a nationwide rollback to such efforts pushed by the Trump administration. Her deputy also left his role at the same time. Here’s what we know:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Johns Hopkins University sees top diversity officers leave

Johns Hopkins University said goodbye to Katrina Caldwell, the vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, as well as Emil Cunningham, her deputy.

www.thebanner.com

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Reposted by Ellie Wolfe

Kristen Griffith @kris10griffith.bsky.social · Aug 21

Some 500 to 600 students who did not qualify for income-based state grants received them because of a “system error,” the Maryland Higher Education Commission said. By @elliew0lfe.bsky.social
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Maryland will honor financial aid after quietly pulling funds given in error

The Maryland Higher Education Commission revokes promised funding as students move in for the semester.

www.thebanner.com

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Ellie Wolfe @elliew0lfe.bsky.social · Aug 21

After incorrectly awarding hundreds of students with financial aid grants, then revoking those awards, the Maryland Higher Education Commission said on Wednesday evening that those impacted can keep their scholarships after all. Read my latest:
www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Her son's scholarship disappeared days before school started. She wasn't the only one.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission revokes promised funding as students move in for the semester.

www.thebanner.com

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