private elementary and secondary schoolchildren,
teachers, parents of elementary and secondary
schoolchildren, local boards of education, local and
regional school administrators, institutions of
higher learning, and the General Assembly.

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE,
PRODUCT, & SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

Robert E. Gabrys, Ph.D., Assistant Deputy State
Superintendent for School Performance, Product, &
Service Development

200 West Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 333-2385

In December 1989, the State Board of Education
established the Maryland School Performance Pro-
gram under the State Superintendent of Schools to
measure student performance and set standards for
school performance and goals for improvement. The
Office of Maryland School Performance was reorgan-
ized in 1993 as the School Performance, Product, and
Service Development Office.

The Office develops and implements plans to
improve and accredit schools. The Office has devel-
oped a comprehensive accountability system for
schools, school systems, and the State. Under this
system, accountability is based on students' Mary-
land Functional Test Scores, yearly attendance,
dropout rate, and promotion rate.
In November 1990, the Office issued its first
report, Maryland School Performance Program Re-
port, 1991—State and School Systems. The report
provides a baseline picture of each school system
and includes measures of performance that are ex-
pected to be reached by 1995.

DIVISION OF BUSINESS SERVICES

Raymond H. Brown, Assistant State
Superintendent for Business Services

200 West Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 333-2648

The Division of Business Services was formed in
1992 from the Office of Administration and Fi-
nance. The Division develops and implements De-
partment policies, procedures, and systems for
administration. The Division oversees six branches:
School Facilities; Nutrition and Transportation
Services; Budget; Accounting; Administrative
Services; and Human Resource Management.

SCHOOL FACILITIES BRANCH
Allen C. Abend, Chief
(410) 333-2534

The School Facilities Branch helps local school
systems make long-range plans for capital improve-
ment, design, construction, and maintenance of
school facilities. The Branch oversees approval of
locally funded school construction projects by the
State Superintendent of Schools and represents the
Department on the Interagency Committee on
School Construction. The Branch also collects and
analyzes energy use data for each public school.

NUTRITION & TRANSPORTATION
SERVICES BRANCH
Sheila G. Terry, Chief
(410) 333-2600

The Nutrition and Transportation Services Branch
was created in 1981 when the programs for food
service and pupil transportation merged into one
administrative unit. The Branch administers seven
federal food and nutrition programs: the National
School Lunch Program; the School Breakfast Pro-
gram; the Child and Adult Care Food Program; the
Summer Food Service Program; the Special Milk
Program; the Nutrition Education and Training Pro-
gram; and the Food Distribution Program.
Besides working with the public school systems
of Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City, the
Branch helps nearly 700 other public and nonprofit
private agencies develop and provide food service
for children and adults in approximately 7,000
schools, family day care homes, child and adult care
centers, and other sites throughout the State. The
Branch also offers nutrition education and training.
The Branch administers and supervises trans-
portation of pupils to and from public schools. The
Branch collects data on numbers of pupils trans-
ported and on accidents involving school buses. In
addition, the Branch helps school systems imple-
ment drug-testing of school bus drivers.

DIVISION OF PLANNING, RESULTS,
& INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Mark Moody, Ph.D., Assistant State
Superintendent for Planning, Results, &
Information Management

200 West Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 333-2045

Duties of the Division of Planning, Results, and
Information Management originated in 1921 when
the Bureau of Educational Measurements was
formed within the State Department of Education.
By 1945, the Bureau was superseded by the Divi-
sion of Finance, Statistics, and Educational Meas-