2003-04 Annual Report - Harford County Public Schools
2003-04 Annual Report - Harford County Public Schools
2003-04 Annual Report - Harford County Public Schools
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<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
<strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong> <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong><br />
Success Stories<br />
Stories of interest:<br />
• Page 3 - Funds wisely spent<br />
• Page 4 - Hiring /retention success<br />
• Page 5/6 - Academic success<br />
• Page 7/8 - Highlights of ‘03 - ’<strong>04</strong><br />
• Page 13/14 - “Hall” Class of ‘03 - ’<strong>04</strong><br />
• Page 15/16 - Teachers/principals shine<br />
• Page 21 - Hayden is ‘<strong>04</strong> - ’05 TOY<br />
• Page 22 - Schmidt/Nuzman honored<br />
• Page 25 - EES pair light Ntl. Tree<br />
45 East Gordon St.<br />
Bel Air, MD 21014<br />
410-838-7300<br />
1-888-588-4963<br />
www.hcps.org<br />
Published by <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
in partnership with<br />
Homestead Publishing<br />
Marketing Department<br />
and HarCo Maryland<br />
Federal Credit Union.<br />
HCPS<br />
where:
Success is name of game in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
20<strong>04</strong>-2005<br />
HCPS Master Plan<br />
Goal #1<br />
• Ensure a positive school climate that fosters an environment wherein teachers<br />
can teach and students can learn.<br />
- analyze school climate survey results<br />
- eliminate factors that contribute to negative school climate<br />
• Establish safe and secure school buildings to maximize student learning<br />
- identify specific school security breaches<br />
- provide drug awareness and prevention strategies<br />
• Maintain, renovate, modernize, and construct school system facilitators<br />
- construct additional capacity space to relieve overcrowding<br />
- enhance school facilities with modern building systems<br />
- develop enhancements to reduce air quality and water quality conditions in our<br />
schools<br />
Goal #2<br />
• Eliminate the achievement gap for:<br />
- economically disadvantaged students<br />
- students from major racial and ethnic groups<br />
- students with disabilities<br />
- students with limited English proficiency (LEP)<br />
• Ensure academic rigor and challenging coursework for all students<br />
- design and implement program evaluation models<br />
- align the existing organizational structure to support student achievement<br />
- enhance post-high school preparation of all secondary students<br />
• Increase parent and business involvement to support achievement<br />
- introduce school improvement teams to the integrated management process<br />
to improve student achievement<br />
Goal #3<br />
• Technology:<br />
- provide universal access to technology by integrating technology seamlessly<br />
into instruction<br />
- improve administrative function and operational processes utilizing effective<br />
technology<br />
• Fiscal Management:<br />
- enhance fiscal credibility of school system with Board, <strong>County</strong>, and State<br />
authorities and taxpayers<br />
- incorporate integrated management process in performance of school<br />
administrators’/supervisors’ duties<br />
• Communication:<br />
- provide public with information on the successes of students, staff, and<br />
schools<br />
- expand collaborations with business community and families<br />
Goal #4<br />
• Recruit and retain highly qualified employees in the HCPS System<br />
- increase the pool of qualified applicants and retain employees<br />
• Identify and implement programs to assist all employees to enhance their skills<br />
in a changing educational work environment<br />
- ensure that the staff meet the ‘No Child Left Behind’ requirements<br />
- increase understanding of diversity and cross-cultural communication<br />
among all employees<br />
• Employ a diverse workforce<br />
- establish community support for recruitment/retention of minority candidates<br />
- implement the Affirmative Action Plan<br />
- increase the number of minority professionals in positions of leadership<br />
Cover: Brittney Mattingly, a 12-year-old, seventh grader at Magnolia Middle<br />
School, has her homework reviewed by the co-founder of Copley Kids Barbara<br />
Barmer. Mrs. Barmer, an English/Language Arts teacher at Magnolia Middle<br />
School, and her husband, Josh (in background) have been the driving force<br />
behind the ten-year program held in the Copley Church of the Ressurection Parish<br />
in Joppatowne. See story on page 9.<br />
When I begin to think about the “success stories” involving the<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, I barely know where to begin. We<br />
are fortunate to have some of the finest staff members, some of the<br />
finest students, and some of the finest families as part of our school<br />
system that can be found anywhere.<br />
Each day, teachers work small and large miracles in their classrooms<br />
as they communicate the magic of education. But, the<br />
process begins long before students set foot in the classroom.<br />
Parents are the first and most important teachers. From the<br />
Planning and Construction employees who put the dream of<br />
facilities into reality, to the Facilities Management crews and custodians<br />
that keep the buildings clean and functioning well, to the<br />
bus drivers who are the first to greet our students each morning<br />
and the last experience they have at the end of the day – the<br />
“success story” of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> is truly a<br />
team effort.<br />
Food Service workers, paraeducators, secretaries, counselors,<br />
school administrators and all the others who interact with students every day have their role to play.<br />
And, I’m pleased to report, in the vast majority of cases, that interaction between adult and student is<br />
very positive.<br />
How else do you explain a school system, though relatively limited in the amount of funding made<br />
available to it, soaring near the top of Maryland’s high achievers in terms of student success on any<br />
measure the public would care to observe? Elsewhere, on these pages, you will read about taxpayers’<br />
money well spent on programs and services that bring impressive results in student achievement.<br />
We are fortunate to have a Board of Education that truly cares about the students and employees<br />
it serves. Willing to stand up and make the tough decisions while working diligently with any and<br />
every constituent group, this Board has a single-minded purpose of doing whatever it takes to create<br />
more opportunities for student achievement.<br />
You’ll get a chance to glimpse what I see every day as I go about the privilege of serving as superintendent<br />
of your schools. You will see students and employees who go above and beyond what is<br />
expected of them; who reach for the brass ring of success together. You’ll read about programs that<br />
have achieved unprecedented success and individuals – students and adults – who have been recognized<br />
regionally and nationally as being at the very top of their chosen areas.<br />
Yet, our greatest achievement is our philosophy of continuous improvement - how can we serve better<br />
those students who need more?<br />
With one of the lowest teacher turnover rates in the Baltimore metropolitan area, a graduation rate<br />
well above the state average, and test scores that not only meet and exceed state standards but touch<br />
the very top of the Maryland scale, we can all be proud of the “success stories” that make being a<br />
member of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> a proud place to be.<br />
I hope you enjoy this report to our stockholders – the citizens of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>.<br />
Jacqueline C. Haas, Superintendent of <strong>Schools</strong><br />
Vision<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> is a community of learners<br />
where educating everyone takes<br />
everyone. We empower all students to<br />
contribute to a diverse, democratic, and<br />
change-oriented society. Our public<br />
schools, parents, public officials, businesses,<br />
community organizations, and<br />
citizens actively commit to educate all<br />
students to become caring, respectful,<br />
and responsible citizens.<br />
HCPS Board of Education<br />
Robert B. Thomas, Jr., President<br />
R. Robin Rich, Vice President<br />
Thomas L. Fidler, Jr.<br />
Patrick L. Hess<br />
Lee Merrell<br />
Salina M. Pleasant-Grice<br />
Mark M. Wolkow<br />
Jacqueline C. Haas, Superintendent,<br />
Secretary/Treasurer<br />
Kathryn L. Smith, Student Representative<br />
Don Morrison, Editor • MacKenzie Cather, <strong>Public</strong>ation Design<br />
Jacqueline C. Haas,<br />
Superintendent of <strong>Schools</strong><br />
Mission<br />
The mission of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
is to foster a quality educational system that challenges<br />
students to develop knowledge and skills,<br />
and inspires them to become life-long learners<br />
and good citizens.<br />
Goals<br />
1. Ensure a safe, positive learning environment<br />
for students and staff in our schools.<br />
2. Improve student achievement with a focus on<br />
closing the minority achievement gap.<br />
3. Ensure the effective use of all resources<br />
focusing on the areas of technology, fiscal and<br />
budgetary management, and community partnerships.<br />
4. Understanding that all employees contribute<br />
to the learning environment, we will maintain a<br />
highly qualified workforce.<br />
The <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System does not discriminate on<br />
the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation,<br />
or disability in matters affecting employment or in providing<br />
access to programs. Inquiries related to the policies of the Board<br />
of Education of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> should be directed to the Director<br />
of <strong>Public</strong> Information, 410-588-5203.
The <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> spent more<br />
than a third of a billion dollars in the <strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
school year to provide educational services to the<br />
more than 40,000 students who were enrolled in the<br />
school system. Included in that amount was more<br />
than $22 million spent on school projects including<br />
planning for the new Patterson Mill Middle/High<br />
School, the Aberdeen High School Science/Math<br />
Academy, the final phase of the new Aberdeen<br />
High, and the first phase of the North <strong>Harford</strong> High<br />
School modernization. Seven of ten dollars spent<br />
on the operation of the schools was devoted to<br />
salaries for the almost 5,000 people who work in the<br />
school system. The lion's share of school funding<br />
for operations came either from the <strong>County</strong> (53 percent)<br />
or the State (46 percent).<br />
State & <strong>County</strong> Capital HCPS Projects for <strong>2003</strong> - 20<strong>04</strong><br />
Project Description State State Local Local FY 20<strong>04</strong> FY 20<strong>04</strong><br />
Request Actual Request Actual Request Actual<br />
Relocatable Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$16,000 . . . . . . . .$16,000 . . . . . . $365,500 . . . . . . .$365,500 . . . . . .$381,500 . . . . . . .$381,500<br />
Patterson Mill Middle/High School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . 2,153,696 . . . . . .2,153,696 . . . . .2,153,696 . . . . . . .2,153,696<br />
Capacity Projects (SMS, CMWHS)(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . 890,000 . . . . . . . .340,000 . . . . . . .890,000 . . . . . . . .340,000<br />
Aberdeen Science & Math Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . .975,000 . . . . . . . .958,000 . . . . . . . 525,000 . . . . . . . .525,000 . . . . .1,500,000 . . . . . . .1,483,000<br />
Full Day Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . 1,100,000 . . . . . .1,100,000 . . . . .1,100,000 . . . . . . .1,100,000<br />
Aberdeen Replacement School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . 2,775,280 . . . . . .2,775,280 . . . . .2,775,280 . . . . . . .2.775,280<br />
North <strong>Harford</strong> H.S. Modernization . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,594,000 . . . . . .2,594,000 . . . . . . 3,553,490 . . . . . .4,292,348 . . . . .6,147,490 . . . . . . .6,886,348<br />
Aberdeen North Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . 450,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . .450,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0<br />
HVAC Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,788,000 . . . . . .1,788,000 . . . . . . . 962,500 . . . . . . . .962,500 . . . . .2,750,500 . . . . . . .2,750,500<br />
Roofing Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . 147,350 . . . . . . . .147,350 . . . . . . .421,350 . . . . . . . .147,350<br />
NHMS Wastewater Treatment Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . 50,000 . . . . . . . . .50,000 . . . . . . . .50,000 . . . . . . . . .50,000<br />
Fire Alarm Repair/Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 . . . . . . . . .75,000 . . . . . . . .75,000 . . . . . . . . .75,000<br />
Environmental Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319,440 . . . . . . . .319,440 . . . . . . .319,440 . . . . . . . .319,440<br />
Equipment & Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100,000 . . . . . . . .100,000 . . . . . . .100,000 . . . . . . . .100,000<br />
Technology Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,760,000 . . . . . .2,364,890 . . . . .2,760,000 . . . . . . .2,364,890<br />
Student Information System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 . . . . . . . .300,000 . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . .300,000<br />
Athletic Fields Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 . . . . . . . . .18,000 . . . . . . . .18,000 . . . . . . . . .18,000<br />
Technology Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . .50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0<br />
Central Office Admin Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . .50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0<br />
Maintenance Replacement Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,000 . . . . . . . .135,000 . . . . . . .135,000 . . . . . . . .135,000<br />
Replacement Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . 930,000 . . . . . . . .975,000 . . . . . . .930,000 . . . . . . . .975,000<br />
Total Capital Funds for FY <strong>2003</strong> $5,647,000 $5,356,000 $17,410,256 $16,999,0<strong>04</strong> $23,057,256 $22,355,0<strong>04</strong><br />
HCPS spent $360 million on education<br />
Ranking of Maryland <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> by Cost Per Pupil<br />
FY 2002-<strong>2003</strong>*<br />
HCPS Rank<br />
Total Cost Per Pupil<br />
Administration<br />
Mid-Level Admin.<br />
Instructional Wages<br />
24<br />
23<br />
23<br />
23<br />
23 Districts Spend More Per Pupil Than HCPS<br />
22 Spend More<br />
22 Spend More<br />
22 Spend More<br />
Textbooks/Instr. Supplies<br />
19<br />
18 Spend More<br />
Other Instructional Costs 22<br />
21 Spend More<br />
Special Education<br />
Student Personnel Services<br />
24<br />
23<br />
23 Spend More<br />
22 Spend More<br />
Health Services<br />
Student Transportation<br />
17<br />
17<br />
16 Spend More<br />
16 Spend More<br />
Operation of Plant 22<br />
21 Spend More<br />
Maintenance of Plant<br />
9<br />
8 Spend More<br />
Fixed Charges<br />
15<br />
14 Spend More<br />
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1<br />
SOURCE: MSDE-DBS 07<br />
Rank<br />
*Most recent figures available<br />
FY 20<strong>04</strong> Actual Expenditures<br />
Administration<br />
$1,463,337<br />
1%<br />
Education Services to the Student<br />
$196,176,371<br />
70%<br />
FY 20<strong>04</strong> Actual Revenues<br />
Fund Balance<br />
$150,000<br />
0%<br />
State<br />
$127,654,069<br />
46%<br />
Federal<br />
$386,344<br />
0%<br />
Support Services &<br />
Fixed Charges<br />
$51,841,391<br />
19%<br />
All other revenue<br />
$2,257,054<br />
1%<br />
Operations &<br />
Maintenance of<br />
Buildings<br />
$27,695,060<br />
10%<br />
Local<br />
$148,150,510<br />
53%<br />
Per Student Expenditure at bottom of state’s list<br />
Revenue<br />
Local Sources<br />
State Sources<br />
Federal Sources<br />
Special State and Federal Programs<br />
School Activity Receipts<br />
Capital Outlay<br />
Construction Fund Revenue<br />
Other:<br />
Food Service Income<br />
Other (Interest, Tuition, and Fees)<br />
TOTAL REVENUE<br />
Expenditures<br />
Administrative Services<br />
Mid-Level Administration<br />
Instructional Salaries<br />
Instructional Textbooks & Classroom<br />
Supplies<br />
Other Instructional Costs<br />
Student Personnel Services<br />
Student Health Services<br />
Student Transportation Services<br />
Operation of Plant<br />
Maintenance of Plant and Equipment<br />
Fixed Charges<br />
Special Education<br />
Capital Outlay<br />
Food Services<br />
Student Body Activities<br />
School Construction<br />
Community Services<br />
TOTAL EXPENDITURES<br />
Financial Data • Year Ended June 30, 20<strong>04</strong><br />
Excess (deficiency) of revenues over<br />
expenditures<br />
Operating transfer to school<br />
construction fund<br />
Fund Balance, July 1, <strong>2003</strong><br />
Fund Balance, June 30, 20<strong>04</strong><br />
Fund Balance Designated for FY 2005<br />
Undesignated Fund Balance<br />
June 30, 20<strong>04</strong><br />
HCPS Operating Budget<br />
Current<br />
Expense<br />
Fund<br />
$148,150,510<br />
127,654,069<br />
386,344<br />
22,428,931<br />
$2,257,054<br />
$300,876,908<br />
$6,351,802<br />
17,698,339<br />
128,381,892<br />
6,877,761<br />
3,772,052<br />
1,145,506<br />
2,132,301<br />
17,115,968<br />
19,594,527<br />
8,100,533<br />
55,352,225<br />
32,371,031<br />
418,491<br />
292,662<br />
$299,605,090<br />
$1,271,818<br />
(100,000)<br />
1,155,838<br />
$2,327,656<br />
(248,697)<br />
$2,078,959<br />
Food<br />
Service<br />
Fund<br />
$ -<br />
10,921,837<br />
$10,921,837<br />
$ -<br />
10,632,178<br />
$10,632,178<br />
$289,659<br />
1,762,442<br />
$2,052,101<br />
(431,000)<br />
$1,621,101<br />
School<br />
Funds<br />
$ -<br />
6,024,977<br />
$6,024,977<br />
$ -<br />
6,088,259<br />
$6,088,259<br />
$(63,282)<br />
School<br />
Construction<br />
Fund<br />
$ -<br />
2,154,880<br />
$2,091,598<br />
(2,091,598)<br />
-<br />
-<br />
-<br />
$ - $ -<br />
20,598,713<br />
$20,598,713<br />
$ -<br />
20,698,713<br />
$20,698,713<br />
$(100,000)<br />
(100,000)<br />
Total<br />
$148,150,510<br />
127,654,069<br />
386,344<br />
22,428,931<br />
6,024,977<br />
20,598,713<br />
10,921,837<br />
2,257,054<br />
$338,422,435<br />
$6,351,802<br />
17,698,339<br />
128,381,892<br />
6,877,761<br />
3,772,052<br />
1,145,506<br />
2,132,301<br />
17,115,968<br />
19,594,527<br />
8,100,533<br />
55,352,225<br />
32,371,031<br />
418,491<br />
10,632,178<br />
6,088,259<br />
20,698,713<br />
292,662<br />
$337,024,240<br />
$1,398,195<br />
5,073,160<br />
$6,471,355<br />
(2,771,295)<br />
$3,700,060
Successful hiring/retention continue to mark <strong>Harford</strong> schools<br />
One of the goals of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System is to maintain a highly qualified workforce<br />
throughout the system. Leading up to the 20<strong>04</strong>-05 school year, the system hired 263 new teachers, but<br />
almost half – 42 percent – came to the school system with at least one year of experience. Forty-four percent<br />
were at least 27 years of age and 35 percent had at least a master’s degree when they were hired.<br />
CONNECTION - Christine Roland connects with one of<br />
her Biology students at Edgewood High School.<br />
For a second consecutive year, the number of teacher applications was up in the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> recruiting period,<br />
reaching 2,383 total applicants compared to a recent historical low of 1,258 in the 1999-2000 recruiting<br />
period. According to the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Human Resources Office, much of the increase<br />
in applications (858 over the last two years) was traceable to additional recruitment efforts and more college/university<br />
visitations over the last few years. The office said that a significant number of the new applications<br />
are being submitted by non-certified candidates who are not considered for positions with the<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System.<br />
The report, given to the Board of Education of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> during its November 8, 20<strong>04</strong> meeting,<br />
showed that the number of teacher candidates continues to decline in the critical areas of mathematics,<br />
special education, speech pathology, school psychology, family and consumer science, technology education,<br />
and several areas of science.<br />
The 20<strong>04</strong> recruitment schedule included 72 visits to college/university job fairs/consortiums and<br />
college/university visits to states as far away as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North<br />
Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee; in addition to Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.<br />
Nineteen of the 72 visits were to historically black colleges and universities. Recruitment and employment<br />
of African-American teachers continues to be a highly competitive venture throughout the nation. Twentysix<br />
African-American teachers were employed for this school year.<br />
Approximately half of the newly hired teachers graduated from non-Maryland colleges and universities.<br />
System-wide and school initiatives continue to support new teachers in the local schools. The HCPS<br />
turnover percentage continues to be among the lowest in the region with just 7.6 percent of the local teaching<br />
staff leaving during or after the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> school year. Only Frederick, where 7.3 percent of that teaching<br />
force left, was the turnover rate lower than <strong>Harford</strong>’s among school systems in the Baltimore metropolitan<br />
area and Cecil <strong>County</strong>. Almost a third of those leaving the <strong>Harford</strong> schools did so because of retirement.<br />
Another 47 percent of those leaving (103) did so after having taught here for four or less years.<br />
About three-fourths of the new teachers employed were female, continuing the percentage of female to<br />
males in the teaching ranks of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>.<br />
Number of Teachers Hired<br />
Number of Applications<br />
310<br />
300<br />
290<br />
280<br />
270<br />
2400<br />
2200<br />
2000<br />
1800<br />
260<br />
1600<br />
250<br />
240<br />
1997<br />
1998<br />
1999<br />
2000<br />
2001<br />
2002<br />
<strong>2003</strong><br />
20<strong>04</strong><br />
1400<br />
1200<br />
1997<br />
1998<br />
1999<br />
2000<br />
2001<br />
2002<br />
<strong>2003</strong><br />
20<strong>04</strong><br />
Characteristics of New Teachers<br />
Experience*<br />
Characteristics of New Teachers Age*<br />
Characteristics of New Teachers<br />
Education*<br />
12%<br />
9%<br />
4%<br />
16%<br />
5%<br />
4%<br />
46%<br />
35%<br />
0.4%<br />
64.6%<br />
58%<br />
17%<br />
None<br />
1-4 years<br />
5-9 years<br />
10-14 years<br />
15+ years<br />
29%<br />
20-26<br />
27-36<br />
37-46<br />
57-54<br />
55+<br />
Bachelor’s<br />
Master’s<br />
Doctorate<br />
*Hired for 20<strong>04</strong>-05 School Year
<strong>Harford</strong> shows significant<br />
progress in statewide testing<br />
80<br />
70<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
30<br />
20<br />
10<br />
0<br />
80<br />
70<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
30<br />
20<br />
10<br />
0<br />
High School Assessments<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
English I Biology Government<br />
Algebra<br />
High School Assessments<br />
2002-<strong>2003</strong> - <strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
English I Biology Government Algebra<br />
<strong>Harford</strong><br />
Maryland<br />
2002-03<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong><br />
Local student scores rise in all areas;<br />
remain above statewide averages<br />
Most recent scores in both the Maryland School Assessments (MSA) and the High School Assessments (HSA) show<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School students improved in every category compared to the previous year, and local scores<br />
remain significantly higher than state averages.<br />
In the MSA tests, taken by students in grades three through eight and grade ten last March, the average <strong>Harford</strong> scores<br />
were as much as 12.8 percent above state averages for students in all 24 Maryland sub-divisions. More significantly, the<br />
county’s 20<strong>04</strong> average scores were measurably higher than those recorded by students in grades three, five, eight and<br />
ten in <strong>2003</strong> (tests in grades four, six and seven were given for the first time in 20<strong>04</strong>).<br />
Part of the federally mandated No Child Left Behind testing program, all public schools in the nation are required to meet<br />
<strong>Annual</strong> Measurable Outcomes (AMO) – or cut scores in the years leading up to 2013-14, in which all students must pass<br />
the Reading and Math exams. In addition, a total of eight sub-groups – including all five of the identified ethnic groups,<br />
special education, students in poverty, and those whose primary language is other than English, must meet the AMOs<br />
established in order for a school or school system to be declared as having attained Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in<br />
a school year.<br />
During the current year, five <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> – Aberdeen, Edgewood and North <strong>Harford</strong> middle schools;<br />
and Aberdeen High School and the Alternative Education Center did not reach their AMOs in at least one of the subgroups;<br />
though each of those schools met their overall AMO.<br />
“We are pleased with the significant progress made by most of our students in the first two years of the MSA testing for<br />
third, fifth, eighth, and tenth graders,” said Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas. “We know the cut scores will be raised<br />
annually and we will be challenged to help all our students reach those milestones, but we are confident our young people<br />
will rise to the occasion.”<br />
Meanwhile, in the state mandated High School Assessments in English, Biology, Government, and Algebra, the average<br />
results of the mostly ninth and tenth graders who took the tests last year showed gains of as much as 14.1 percent. And,<br />
the gap between the average <strong>Harford</strong> scores compared to those statewide widened in each of the test areas, increasing<br />
to more than 11 percent in two of those areas.<br />
90<br />
80<br />
70<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
Maryland School Assessments<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
Math<br />
<strong>Harford</strong><br />
Maryland<br />
This year’s eighth graders (or the Class of 2009) will be required to achieve a passing score on each of the English 10,<br />
Biology, Government, and Algebra end-of-course exams in order to receive a Maryland diploma.<br />
In the English exam given to <strong>Harford</strong> ninth graders last year, 61.1 percent achieved a passing score compared to 47 percent<br />
in 2002-03 (next year, the test will be moved to the tenth grade/English 10). In Biology, 70.1 percent of <strong>Harford</strong><br />
students passed in <strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong>, compared to 59.4 percent the previous year. In Government, 71.9 percent of local ninth<br />
graders achieved a passing score last year compared to 63.6 percent in 2002-03.<br />
Meanwhile, in the MSA testing, the total percentage of local third graders who achieved either a proficient or advanced<br />
(passing) score in third grade reading grew from 70 percent in <strong>2003</strong> to 79.6 percent in 20<strong>04</strong>. Similarly, reading scores<br />
for fifth graders improved from 78.5 percent to 78.6 percent in the same two years. Eighth grade reading scores for local<br />
students went from 71.2 percent in 2002-03 to 72.2 percent in <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong>. And, tenth grade reading results grew from 73.1<br />
percent passing a year ago to 80.0 percent passing this past year.<br />
30<br />
Grade 3 Grade 5 Grade Math 8<br />
Math scores grew by comparable scores, from 75.5 percent in third grade for the <strong>2003</strong> test to 81.1 percent in 20<strong>04</strong>; from<br />
63.8 percent to 74.5 percent in fifth grade; and from 49.1 percent to 50.6 percent in eighth grade.<br />
80<br />
78<br />
76<br />
74<br />
72<br />
70<br />
68<br />
66<br />
64<br />
62<br />
60<br />
Maryland School Assessments<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
Reading<br />
Grade 3 Grade 5 Grade 8<br />
<strong>Harford</strong><br />
Maryland<br />
90<br />
80<br />
70<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
30<br />
20<br />
10<br />
0<br />
Maryland School Assessments<br />
2002-<strong>2003</strong> - <strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
Math<br />
Grade 3 Grade 5 Grade 8<br />
2002-03<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong><br />
80<br />
78<br />
76<br />
74<br />
72<br />
70<br />
68<br />
66<br />
64<br />
Maryland School Assessments<br />
2002-<strong>2003</strong> - <strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong><br />
Reading<br />
Grade 3 Grade 5 Grade 8<br />
2002-03<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong>
The <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System was one of 15 school systems in Maryland<br />
which made the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for 20<strong>04</strong>, an October 25<br />
release by the Maryland State Department of Education confirmed.<br />
The Federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires all schools, school systems, and<br />
states to show that students are making AYP in reading, math, and one other measure.<br />
In Maryland, student progress in reading and math is measured by the Maryland School<br />
Assessment (MSA) or – for a small number of students with profound cognitive disabilities<br />
– the Alternate MSA (ALT-MSA). The state uses attendance rates for elementary and<br />
middle schools and graduation rates for high schools as the other measure.<br />
To meet AYP in Maryland, all students within a school, plus all eight student sub-groups<br />
within that school (African-American, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic,<br />
White, limited English proficiency, free and reduced price meal, and special education students)<br />
must reach the annual achievement targets in both reading and math.<br />
In addition, each Maryland school must meet attendance and/or graduation criteria.<br />
School systems must achieve both the attendance and the graduation targets. If a school<br />
or school system does not meet all of the targets, it does not make AYP for that year under<br />
the No Child Left Behind standards.<br />
<strong>Schools</strong>, school systems, and states throughout the country have had particular difficulty<br />
in meeting the special education targets, State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said.<br />
Of the nine Maryland systems which did not make their AYP goals in 20<strong>04</strong>, five missed<br />
on special education students alone, she said.<br />
Under NCLB, school systems that do not make AYP for two consecutive years are considered<br />
to be “in need of improvement.” When that occurs, school systems must revise<br />
Two-thirds of <strong>Harford</strong> schools received NCLB recognition<br />
The <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System received $92,097.32 as its share of the <strong>2003</strong><br />
School Performance Recognition Awards through the Maryland State Department of<br />
Education. Thirty of the 40 eligible <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> (high schools were not eligible<br />
to receive funding) received awards of between $2,926.82 and $4,000 indicating the<br />
school’s achievement and/or improvement among sub-groups. Another three of<br />
<strong>Harford</strong>’s nine high schools received certificates indicating significant achievement.<br />
The percentage of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> that received award funds and/or certificates<br />
(66 percent) was well above the statewide percentage of those receiving similar recognition<br />
(40 percent), according to information released by the Maryland State Department<br />
of Education on April 1st.<br />
<strong>Schools</strong> identified to receive the grants were required to complete a form detailing how<br />
they would use the money to further enhance student achievement.<br />
Under the Federal No Child Left Behind (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of<br />
2001), states were to establish a program for making academic achievement awards to<br />
recognize schools making significant steps toward achieving the goals of the act.<br />
Achievement awards are related to the percentage of students achieving at least “proficient”<br />
levels on the reading and math Maryland School Assessment Tests, compared to<br />
the <strong>Annual</strong> Measurable Objectives (AMO). Improvement Among Sub-groups is related<br />
to how much a school has closed its gaps in sub-group performance while improving<br />
from 2002 to <strong>2003</strong>. In that category, <strong>2003</strong> MSA results among sub-groups such as<br />
minorities, English Speakers of Other Languages, and Special Education, were compared<br />
to 2002 results in the final administration of the Maryland School Performance<br />
Assessment Program (MSPAP).<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> meets 20<strong>04</strong> AYP<br />
MAKING A DIFFERENCE - Tackling an<br />
issue where language can cause divisions<br />
during their HELP Conference session<br />
were Anthony Taylor, an Edgewood Middle<br />
School 13-year-old eighth grader; Aaron<br />
Brackins, also 13 and in the eighth grade at<br />
Edgewood Middle; North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle<br />
School 11-year-old sixth grader Rachel<br />
Cocoros; and Bel Air Middle 13-year-old<br />
eighth grader Stephen Albert. The conference<br />
was held at <strong>Harford</strong> Community<br />
College.<br />
their system-wide master plan in consultation with parents, school staff, and others<br />
within three months of being identified.<br />
Among other things, the school system, through its master plan, must give special<br />
attention to professional development at struggling schools. The plan must<br />
also incorporate research strategies designed to strengthen the system’s core academic<br />
program, address the specific academic problems of low-achieving students,<br />
and include strategies to promote effective parental involvement.<br />
Dr. Grasmick pointed out, unlike most states, Maryland already has a master<br />
plan program in place thanks to the Bridge to Excellence Act. It requires systemwide<br />
master plans for all 24 systems in exchange for the additional funding<br />
appropriations by the General Assembly identified by the Thornton<br />
Commission.<br />
The systems in Maryland which did not make AYP in 20<strong>04</strong> were Allegany, Cecil,<br />
Charles, Dorchester, Kent, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, and Somerset counties;<br />
as well as Baltimore City. Only Baltimore City is currently in corrective action.<br />
The remaining eight systems have been designated as school systems in<br />
improvement. Systems may exit improvement or corrective action status by<br />
meeting their AYP target two years in a row.<br />
In addition, Maryland as a state system did not make AYP based on the overall<br />
results.<br />
As No Child Left Behind continues to be phased in through the 2013-14 school<br />
year, the annual targets will rise incrementally until 100 percent of students in all<br />
test areas and in all sub-groups are required to meet standards.<br />
VIRTUAL WORK - Sarah Thornton, a<br />
seven-year-old second grader at<br />
Hall’s Cross Roads Elementary<br />
School, uses a stylus to practice the<br />
forming of the letter ‘t’ on a whiteboard<br />
used in Christine Baker’s class.<br />
The images are transmitted to a laptop<br />
computer which can be used by<br />
the teacher to reproduce the work or<br />
add information.<br />
standards<br />
Title I schools, which qualify for awards in either the achievement or closing sub-group<br />
gap categories, received $4,000 grants while all others will net the $2.926.82 amount<br />
(with the exception of this year’s Blue Ribbon <strong>Schools</strong> which will get the $4,000 amount).<br />
In <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>, the following schools received $2,926.82 each for achievement:<br />
Abingdon Elementary, Bel Air Middle, Churchville Elementary, Emmorton Elementary,<br />
Fallston Middle, Forest Hill Elementary, Forest Lakes Elementary, Fountain Green<br />
Elementary, Homestead/Wakefield Elementary, Jarrettsville Elementary, Norrisville<br />
Elementary, North Bend Elementary, North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle, Prospect Mill Elementary,<br />
Southampton Middle, and William S. James Elementary.<br />
The following schools netted that amount for improvement: Church Creek Elementary,<br />
Darlington Elementary, Joppatowne Elementary, and Meadowvale Elementary.<br />
Several schools received the grant amount for both achievement and improvement. In<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>, those schools are: Bel Air Elementary, Hickory Elementary, North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> Elementary, Ring Factory Elementary, and Youth’s Benefit Elementary.<br />
In addition, four <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> in the Title 1 category received $4,000<br />
each for improvement. Those schools are: Hall’s Cross Roads Elementary, Havre de<br />
Grace Elementary, Magnolia Elementary, and William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary.<br />
The three <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> high schools that received certificates did so in the area<br />
of achievement. Those schools are: C. Milton Wright High, Fallston High, and <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Technical High.
• <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School’s third, fifth, eighth, and tenth grade students who took the Maryland School<br />
Assessments in March <strong>2003</strong> compiled average scores well ahead of the state average in both the reading and<br />
mathematic portions of the test ranking from third to seventh among the state’s 24 sub-divisions in the tests.<br />
• In the Maryland High School Assessments, given in January and May of <strong>2003</strong>, the percentage of <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School students passing the tests was 7.2 percent higher than the state in English; 10.4 percent<br />
higher than the state in Algebra; 5.1 percent higher than the state in Biology; and 6 percent higher than the state<br />
in Government.<br />
• Former Board of Education member Eugene C. Chandler received both the Charles W. Willis Award and one<br />
of <strong>Harford</strong>’s two Achievement Initiative for Maryland’s Minority Students Award. The Willis Award is presented<br />
to one Board member statewide each year who best exemplifies the role of a Board member at the local and<br />
state level. Two Achievement Initiative for Maryland Minority Students awards are given in each of Maryland’s<br />
24 sub-divisions.<br />
• Ann Thu Phan, a junior at <strong>Harford</strong> Technical High School, was awarded one of Maryland’s ten Achievement<br />
Initiative for Maryland’s Minority Students $500 scholarships. The awards note those students who have contributed<br />
significantly to the progress of minority, disabled, or low socioeconomic students in the state.<br />
• Brian Folus, an instrumental music teacher at Fountain Green Elementary School, had his treatment of the 18th<br />
century English Composer William Boyce’s Symphony #1 published<br />
in the summer of 20<strong>04</strong> in the Alfred International<br />
Catalog, one of the world’s most respected publications of band<br />
and orchestral music for purchase by those who conduct musicians<br />
from elementary school to adults.<br />
• Fran Plotycia, a second grade teacher at Abingdon<br />
Elementary School, was named Maryland’s Elementary School<br />
Math Teacher of the Year for <strong>2003</strong> by the Maryland Council of<br />
Teachers of Mathematics. The designation marked the second<br />
year in a row a <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Teacher (Scottie Vajda of<br />
Emmorton Elementary School was the 2002 recipient) was<br />
named for the award.<br />
• Andre’ Joyner and Maggie Stuempfle, fifth graders at<br />
Edgewood Elementary School, were chosen as the only two<br />
children in America to help President George Bush and first<br />
Lady Laura Bush light the National Christmas Tree on<br />
December 4, <strong>2003</strong>. The two ten-year-olds won the opportunity<br />
through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America through an<br />
essay contest.<br />
• Karen Zello of Bel Air Middle School and Bonnie Fry of C.<br />
Milton Wright High School were named recipients of the <strong>2003</strong><br />
CHAMPION - ‘Jenn’ Chang, Edgewood<br />
High School <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> senior, is the reigning<br />
Junior Pan American light heavyweight Tae<br />
Kwon Do champion. The honor student<br />
who aspires to be a pediatrician and an<br />
Olympic champion also won tournament<br />
MVP at the November 1, <strong>2003</strong> Rio de<br />
Janeiro competition.<br />
Simon McNeely Awards emblematic of “consistent dedication<br />
and leadership to their profession.” The awards were presented<br />
by the Maryland Association of Health, Physical Education,<br />
recreation and Dance Association. The award is the top recognition<br />
a Maryland Physical Education teacher can receive.<br />
• Youngshin Jennifer “Jenn” Chang won the light heavyweight<br />
Junior Pan American championship in Tae<br />
Kwon Do during November 1, <strong>2003</strong> finals<br />
staged in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Ms. Chang, a 17-year-old 20<strong>04</strong> senior at Edgewood High<br />
School, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. She is two-time national junior<br />
champion in the sport.<br />
• Emily Schmidt, a nine-year-old fourth grader at North <strong>Harford</strong> Elementary School in <strong>2003</strong>-<br />
<strong>04</strong>, had her painting chosen as the one to be used as the model for the Maryland State<br />
Department of Education’s official <strong>2003</strong> holiday greeting card. State Superintendent Nancy<br />
Grasmick personally chose the painting for the card reproduction which was signed by Dr.<br />
Grasmick and sent throughout the world to bring greetings from her Maryland Education<br />
office.<br />
• The varsity football teams of both Joppatowne and Aberdeen high schools won Maryland <strong>Public</strong> Secondary<br />
School Athletic Association (MPSSAA) state titles in games played back to back on Wednesday, December 10,<br />
<strong>2003</strong>, at the M&T Bank (Ravens) Stadium. The Joppatowne Mariners topped Beall Mountaineers of Allegany<br />
<strong>County</strong> 26 to 6 to win the Class 1A title; while the Aberdeen Eagles defeated the Potomac Wolverines 33 to 25<br />
in overtime to claim the Class 2A crown.<br />
• Edith D. “Edie” Smith, a 26-year art<br />
teacher at Aberdeen Middle School,<br />
became the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong><br />
School System’s sixth active teacher to<br />
achieve National Board Certification<br />
through the National Board for<br />
Professional Teaching Standards. The<br />
rigorous personal staff development process<br />
requires between 200 and 400 hours<br />
of work in creating a series of portfolios<br />
validating exemplary work done in the<br />
classroom followed by a grueling daylong<br />
test to prove the teacher’s mettle in<br />
solving real-life classroom issues.<br />
PAGES - Five <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> seniors served as<br />
pages in Annapolis during the 20<strong>04</strong> session. The students were<br />
selected during a highly competitive process last fall. Pages<br />
include, from left, Kevin Kelleen, Anastasia Feaster, Amanda<br />
Henninger, Diane Ketler, and Jacob Tanenbaum. Attending the<br />
Fallston High School December 10 breakfast honoring the pages<br />
were, from left back, Julie Rivas (Del. Mary-Dulaney James’<br />
aide), Del. Joanne Parrott, Sen. Robert Hooper, Del. Barry<br />
Glassman, Del. Susan McComas, and Del. Charles Boutin.<br />
• Five <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School seniors —<br />
Kevin Killeen and Diane Ketler of Fallston<br />
High; Jacob Tanenbaum and Amanda<br />
Henninger of Bel Air High; and Anastasia<br />
Feaster of Edgewood High — were chosen<br />
to serve as student pages in the 20<strong>04</strong><br />
Annapolis General Assembly. The students<br />
were chosen on the basis of their<br />
keen interest in and aptitude for government<br />
service. They each spent two nonconsecutive<br />
weeks serving either in the Maryland Senate or House of Delegates during the 90-day session.<br />
• Fallston High School’s Marching Band was one of only 25 bands to qualify for the prestigious Atlantic Coast<br />
Championships Tournament of Bands competition which took place in Scanton, Pennsylvania in early<br />
November <strong>2003</strong>. The Marching Cougars earned the right to take part in the ACC event by virtue of its second<br />
place finish in the Chapter Championships held earlier in the fall.<br />
• Linda A. “Lin” James won her 500 game as a high school girls basketball coach on January 29 when her North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> High School Lady Hawks defeated C. Milton Wright by a 51 to 36 score. Mrs. James, 60, began her<br />
coaching career in 1965 in Augusta, Georgia’s Langford High School; and began her coaching career at North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> in 1968. Through her January 29 win, her career record was 500 wins against 226 losses.<br />
• Dwayne “Buzz” Williams, Assistant Principal at Bel Air High School, had his book, Spare Parts, published by<br />
Gotham Books, a subsidiary of Penguin Press. The book tells the story of the former Marine Corps reservist who<br />
was called to active duty during the First Gulf War in 1991. Mr. Williams, also a former member of the staff at<br />
the Kennedy Krieger School in Baltimore where he<br />
was named a National Teacher of the Year, has had<br />
inquiries about the book being made into a motion<br />
picture.<br />
• Kimberly “Kimmie” Meissner, a freshman at Fallston<br />
High School, won the 20<strong>04</strong> United States Women’s<br />
Junior Figure Skating gold medal during the national<br />
championships held in Atlanta, Georgia on<br />
January 11. Ms. Meissner, 14, had won the Novice<br />
National title the year before. Ms. Meissner had compiled<br />
third, second, and first place finishes in international<br />
junior competition last year and will take part<br />
in a series of similar events as a member of the US<br />
National team this year.<br />
AWARDED - Last February, the Board of Education<br />
• Brothers Derek Blake Fine and Keith Randall Fine<br />
of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> presented ‘Kimmie’ Meissner with<br />
shared a Troop 238 Eagle Scout Court of Honor on<br />
a certificate honoring her achievement on the ice.<br />
January 3. Derek is a 2000 graduate of <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Technical High School where his brother was a 20<strong>04</strong> senior. Derek earned Eagle Scout status on June 1, 2000;<br />
and Keith received his Eagle Scout designation on October 2, <strong>2003</strong>. Derek, a senior last year at the Coast Guard<br />
Academy, is an award-winning athlete and student; while Keith, an equally recognized athlete and student,<br />
recently received his appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.<br />
• Leah T. Grothe, a 13-year-old Fallston Middle School eighth grader in <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong>, was awarded a first place in<br />
the state writing contest, middle school division, sponsored by the State of Maryland International Reading<br />
Council (SoMIRAC). Ms. Grothe wrote a free verse poem entitled Guardians.<br />
• Don E. Jones was chosen the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Facilities Management Office Employee of the Year<br />
for <strong>2003</strong>. Mr. Jones, 50, works in the Department’s Electrical/Air Conditioning & Refrigeration section, and has<br />
been employed by HCPS for 24 years.<br />
• Robert “Bob” Rinehart, an eighth grade Social Studies teacher at Southampton Middle School, was named by<br />
the Civil War Preservation Trust as the nation’s Civil War Teacher of the Year, based on his “extraordinary dedication”<br />
in involving his students in efforts to raise money to preserve Civil War battlefield sites. Mr. Rinehart’s<br />
students raised more than $1,700 last school year and are on their way to achieving their $3,000 goal for the<br />
Highlights & Honors<br />
PROUD - Kiera McKenna of Wm.<br />
Paca/OPR Elementary displays the<br />
$5,000 facsimile check she received<br />
as a top scholarship winner in the<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> school year. Mr. Rinehart was invited to go to Nashville,<br />
Tennessee, April 24th, to receive his nationwide honor.<br />
• Southampton Middle School and William S. James Elementary<br />
School were named recipients of the <strong>2003</strong> ARC Northern Chesapeake<br />
Region’s Inclusion Program awards. The awards were made in recognition<br />
of dedication to inclusion practices in the public setting.<br />
• Kiera McKenna, a <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> fifth grader at William Paca/Old Post Road<br />
Elementary School, was one of the nation’s top winners in the “Dare to<br />
Dream/Expect to Succeed” program carried on by the BrainStorm USA<br />
company in which scholarships, computers, software and other prizes are<br />
awarded based on essays written by students concerning their dreams for<br />
the future. Parents of the students are required to document how they<br />
intend to help their children achieve the dream. Kiera won a $5,000<br />
scholarship to be invested for use in her future college plans.<br />
• Two-thirds of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> will receive either<br />
cash awards or certificates for having shown significant improvement<br />
most recent ‘Dare to Dream’ contest. and/or outstanding achievement in the first year of the Maryland School<br />
Assessment program. The schools receiving cash awards netted between $2,926.82 and $4,000; while those<br />
high schools (which are not eligible for cash awards in the program conducted by the Maryland State<br />
Department of Education in conjunction with the Federal No Child Left Behind initiative) which qualified<br />
received certificates. The 33 HCPS schools to receive recognition (66 percent) is far greater than the 40 percent<br />
of all schools in the state which will receive money or certificates.<br />
• A volleyball sent to Iraq by the Bel Air High School girls JV volleyball team last fall found its way to Lt. Vincent<br />
Jackson of the 101st Airborne, serving at a US Army base outside of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Lt.<br />
Jackson made a pledge to himself that he would keep the ball with him throughout his final four months in the<br />
war-torn country and return it safely to its donors. The US Army officer, stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky,<br />
fulfilled that promise on March 22nd, as he returned to ball to the team during an emotional reunion in the Bel<br />
Air High media center. The volleyball will be prominently displayed in the school.
• William M. “Bill” Ekey, principal at C. Milton Wright High School, was named the Maryland Student Service<br />
Alliance (MSSA) Service-Learning Principal of the Year for the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> school year. Mr. Ekey was recognized<br />
at a reception held at the US Naval Academy on April 22nd where he was the featured speaker. He received<br />
the award based on his advocacy for and support of student service learning in a variety of projects.<br />
• David R. Galbreath, North <strong>Harford</strong> High School senior two-sport, All-<strong>County</strong> performer, was awarded one of<br />
the state’s five regional $1,500 scholarships by the Greater Baltimore Chapter National Football Foundation and<br />
College Hall of Fame. Mr. Galbreath, who ranks second his his class of 331, was a two-time All <strong>County</strong> football<br />
player. He received the East Region award from the prestigious program.<br />
• Joel Leff, Aberdeen High School math teacher, was among 110 educators nationwide to receive a $3,000 cash<br />
award from RadioShack Corporation in its National Teacher Award program. The 25-year algebra, advanced<br />
algebra, and pre-calculus teacher received the award based on demonstrated commitment to academic excellence<br />
in mathematics, science or technology.<br />
• Aaron Nuzman, a <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> senior at Aberdeen High School, was the only college-bound student in Maryland<br />
and one of just 38 in the United States to achieve a perfect 36, the highest possible composite score, on the<br />
December <strong>2003</strong> national test administration of the ACT Assessment. About 2,000 Maryland students and<br />
more than 332,000 from across the nation<br />
completed the ACT college entrance exam<br />
on December 13, <strong>2003</strong>.<br />
• C. Milton Wright High School’s Dance<br />
Team scored a top five in Jazz and a top<br />
ten in Pom in the National Dance<br />
Association’s elite competition in Orlando,<br />
Florida in March. The team completed an<br />
outstanding season by earning the trip to<br />
the national competition against many of<br />
the top high school teams in the country<br />
and justified its invitation by the outstanding<br />
performances.<br />
• Joan M. Hayden, a 26-year veteran teacher<br />
— the last ten spent as Family and<br />
Consumer Sciences teacher at Bel Air High<br />
School — was named the 20<strong>04</strong>-05<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Teacher of<br />
the Year. Mrs. Hayden, among the ten<br />
finalists for the award chosen by a group of<br />
15 teachers/administrators/students/community<br />
leaders, was recognized at the tenth<br />
annual HCPS Teacher of the Year banquet<br />
held at the Bayou Restaurant on April<br />
22nd. She teaches child development<br />
classes involving upper level high school<br />
students and three-and-four-year-olds in<br />
the ‘Lil Bobcat’ program.<br />
achieved by HCPS<br />
• Fallston High School’s Envirothon team won the 13th annual Envirothon tournament held at the 4-H Camp in<br />
the Rocks State Park on April 28th. The five-member Fallston team topped 14 other groups representing nine<br />
of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> high schools and two non-public schools in the contest which has students solve<br />
real-life environmental problems. Under the leadership of Environmental Science teacher Tom Trafton,<br />
Fallston High teams have won four<br />
county titles and finished second three<br />
times in the 13 years of the local<br />
event; twice winning state championships;<br />
and once finishing as the<br />
National Envirothon runners-up. The<br />
local all-underclass student team finished<br />
sixth out of 19 teams in the State<br />
Envirothon held on June 22-24 at<br />
Mount St. Mary’s College in<br />
Emmitsburg (Carroll <strong>County</strong>).<br />
Members of the team included Ranjit<br />
Korah, Barry Wright, Ben Amos, Rob<br />
Roemer, and Steve Roetger.<br />
BALL BACK - Lt. Vincent Jackson, accompanied by his wife, Lt.<br />
Nicole Jackson, returned the volleyball Bel Air High School JV girls<br />
volleyball players had sent to Iraq with their signatures and well wishes<br />
on it. Lt. Jackson had received the ball in November while on duty<br />
near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Gabby Long, left, and Meghan<br />
McDonald, Bobcat captains, receive the ball while Coach Chris<br />
Mcdonough, right, looks on with other members of the team.<br />
NDA COMPETITION - C. Milton Wright’s Dance team<br />
enjoys the atmosphere at Disney World in Orlando, Florida<br />
during its recent successful competition at the National<br />
Dance Association championships. Members of the team,<br />
included, from left, first row, Ashley Battersby, Ann Markey,<br />
Liz Gullett, Amy Arseneau, and Aimee Voshell (coach); second<br />
row, Rachel Favazza, Kim Warrington, Sarah Gasper,<br />
Lauren Blazeck, Valierie Ruzin, Raquel Pickens, Sara<br />
Galligan, Kara Mahan, and Lauren Brennan; third row,<br />
Shana Rsismanakis (assistant coach), Natalie Green, Brittney<br />
Borowy, Brynn Shanahan, Justine Ball, and Jessica<br />
Robinson.<br />
• Eleven <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> public and<br />
non-public high school junior females<br />
were named winners of the annual<br />
Judith Resnik Math/Science awards<br />
during a ceremony held at <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Community College on April 17th.<br />
The 18th annual event, begun after<br />
Dr. Resnik, a graduate of the<br />
University of Maryland, perished<br />
along with other astronauts in the<br />
1986 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster,<br />
honors those junior girls who show the greatest ability, aptitude, and interest in science/math among their<br />
counterparts at their school. Honored were: Emily Keller of Aberdeen High, Michelle Houck of Bel Air High,<br />
Anita Sahu of C. Milton Wright High, Kelly Lange of Edgewood High, Kathleen Bradley of Fallston High,<br />
Jennifer Abernathy of <strong>Harford</strong> Technical High, Sarah Elizabeth Ashby of Havre de Grace High, Aisha N. Turner<br />
of John Carroll School, Kimberly Shurupoff of Joppatowne High, and Nicole Glos of North <strong>Harford</strong> High. The<br />
event is sponsored by the <strong>Harford</strong> Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).<br />
• <strong>Harford</strong> Technical High School won 12 first place awards in the annual Health Occupations Students of<br />
America (HOSA) competition held at the Maritime Institute in Baltimore in late March. <strong>Harford</strong> Tech took all<br />
five of the places in both Medical Math and Medical Terminology divisions while competing against schools with<br />
similar programs and some which specialize in health occupations.<br />
• Lee Squillacioti, a 16-year-old junior at C. Milton Wright High School, had his musical composition — ‘Dance<br />
Suite’ — played by the CMWHS 11th/12th grade orchestras during a special world premier held at the school<br />
on May 17th. Young Squillacioti’s composition is the first to have been performed publicly during the 28 years<br />
that Sheldon Bair has been orchestra director at the school.<br />
• A group of 85 North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle School students, under the direction of ILA teacher Jane B. Travis, began<br />
the ‘Traveling Company’ during the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> school year. The program has them go to area elementary and<br />
middle schools doing dramatizations of situations with which teens and pre-teens sometimes find themselves<br />
confronted. Topics covered range from bullying to drugs to relationships and much more. The group is open for<br />
bookings by calling the school at 410-638-3658.<br />
• <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas was named President of the <strong>Public</strong> School<br />
Superintendents Association of Maryland (PSSAM) for the 20<strong>04</strong>-05 school year. In that capacity, Mrs. Haas is<br />
leading the group of 24 Maryland superintendents in its advocacy role for public school students and staff in<br />
the state. Mrs. Haas, in her seventh year as <strong>Harford</strong> Superintendent, has held several other leadership roles in<br />
the organization.<br />
• On May 24th, students and staff at Church Creek Elementary School in Belcamp played host to ten children<br />
and their chaperones from the Cass Lake/Benne School which serves students on and around the vast Leech<br />
Lake Ojibwa nation Indian reservation in northern Minnesota. The Cass Lake/Benne School second graders<br />
in Roxanne Wimme’s class had become pen pals with Church Creek second graders in Debbie Robinson’s class<br />
and, after one of Mrs. Robinson’s students had invited her Minnesota pen pal to attend the local girl’s birthday<br />
party, a fundraiser was successful in accumulating more than $6,100 to finance the trip which had the<br />
Minnesota children travel 29-hours on a bus to <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>. While in the area, the Leech Lake children<br />
toured Annapolis, Washington, D.C. and dipped their “toes in the Ocean” fulfilling a dream for the youngsters,<br />
most of whom having never been off the reservation to that point.<br />
• Carol Dawson, Edgewood Elementary School nurse, was named the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School<br />
Nurse of the Year by the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> Health Services Association. Mrs. Dawson, a 16-year veteran school<br />
nurse in three HCPS schools, had been nurse for ten years at Edgewood Elementary School leading up to her<br />
honor as Nurse of the Year. She was scheduled to retire at the end of the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> school year.<br />
• Ring Factory Elementary School’s Destination Imagination Cartoon Dimensions team finished second in the<br />
Global Tournament held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on May 26 through 29. The Ring Factory<br />
DI team, coach by Eileen Gunther and Pam Lucchese, competed against about 70 teams from all over the US<br />
as well as South Korea, South Africa, and China. The team was composed of Gina Lucchese, Kelley Gunther,<br />
Kathie Gunther, Cameron Wann, Ben Coordes, Ryan Selvy, and Cathy Smith; and was one of six <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>Public</strong> School teams to have qualified for and competed in the annual tournament for the creative problemsolving<br />
contest.<br />
• North <strong>Harford</strong> High School graduates Angela Haley (Class of 2000) and Harmony Ann Mack Evans<br />
(Class of 1996) achieved historic status during their graduations from Washington College (Chestertown,<br />
Maryland) and Towson University, respectively, in May 20<strong>04</strong>. Miss Haley was named the 20<strong>04</strong> winner of<br />
the Sophie Kerr Prize, a national literary award which provided her with the $56,169 cash prize.<br />
Meanwhile, Mrs. Evans was awarded a doctorate in Audiology, ranking as the first ever recipient of a doctoral<br />
degree in the 139-year history of the Baltimore-area university.<br />
• Four <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> — Havre de Grace High and Middle schools; Churchville<br />
Elementary and William S. James Elementary schools — received recognition from the American Lung<br />
Association of Maryland for their efforts in providing high indoor air quality. The awards, presented during<br />
a May 18th ceremony, noted the extraordinary success of the four schools in utilizing the Lung<br />
Association’s Tools for <strong>Schools</strong> (TfS) program with each school netting a $400 award. A total of 14 HCPS<br />
schools were nominated for the awards and the ten which did not receive the top awards were also recognized<br />
during the ceremony which noted the local school system’s leadership role in indoor school air quality among<br />
school system’s in the state.<br />
• Fallston Middle School’s CyberFair team won an Honorable Mention in the 20<strong>04</strong> national on-line contest. The<br />
International <strong>Schools</strong> CyberFair is an award-winning, authentic learning program used by schools and youth<br />
organizations around the world. The FMS team received its recognition in the local specialties category entitled:<br />
“Fallston: Sports and<br />
Agriculture.”<br />
QUILT CREATORS -<br />
Members of Bel Air<br />
Elementary fourth grade<br />
teacher Shannon O’Connor’s<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> class learned lessons<br />
about all but two states in the<br />
union as part of their participation<br />
in the ‘USA Quilt Project.’ The youngsters created 49 squares depicting Maryland and received similar<br />
displays from 48 states in addition to the District of Columbia. Among those involved in the project<br />
were, from left, first row: Alec Hildebeidel, Justin Bittner, Tyler Horton, Joe Nosek, Josh Addicks, Ryan<br />
Tritsch, Patrick Starks, Tyler Cooper, Blake Paulson, Zachary Dandy; second row: Brittany Pitzer, Karley<br />
Bridges, Mrs. Pat Volrath (Mentor Teacher), Beril Ural, Valerie Wagener, Krystan Von Haack, Joy<br />
Lawrence, Eileen Kuester, Samantha Bowen, Ali Favaro, Leeanne Fitch, Iga Kozakiewicz, Mrs. Shannon<br />
O’Connor (Teacher); back: Jordy Testerman, Vaughn Clark.
Youngsters get paid<br />
to be safe at Copley Kids<br />
What if there was a safe, nurturing place for young people – elementary school<br />
through high school – to go after school and receive help with their homework, tutoring,<br />
snacks, friendship, exercise, and love? And, what if that place was free – or, better<br />
still, what if the young people got paid a small amount for showing up and being<br />
responsible?<br />
Well, not only is there such a place, but it’s been in operation for a decade and continues<br />
providing an essential service for between 30 and 35 young people in the<br />
Joppatowne area three days a week – Tuesdays through Thursdays. It’s the Copley<br />
Kids program, founded and run by the husband and wife team of Josh and Barbara<br />
Barmer. It operates in several rooms of the Copley Parish at the Episcopal Church of<br />
the Resurrection on Rumsey Island in the southeastern <strong>Harford</strong> planned community.<br />
The program is funded through a series of grants.<br />
“We saw a need in the community to provide a safe place for young people to come<br />
after school,” said Mrs. Barmer, a 29-year Language Arts teacher at Magnolia Middle<br />
School and 1999 <strong>Harford</strong> Teacher of the Year Finalist. “Those hours of three until six<br />
are critical, especially since we have so many families where both parents work and<br />
many of the kids go home to an empty house.”<br />
The veteran teacher said the effort had been intended for secondary students, but so<br />
many of the older young people babysit for younger siblings that it was quickly opened<br />
to students of all ages – not only for the schools in the Joppatowne area, but for students<br />
of any school in the county. Most stop off at the Copley location on their walk<br />
home from school, but some are dropped off by their parents or picked up and<br />
brought to the center by volunteers.<br />
“Our focus is on education,” said Mrs. Barmer. “The first priority is their homework<br />
– they must get that done before they can do anything else.”<br />
Mr. Barmer, who retired two years ago after a long career as an instructional assistant<br />
in the Joppatowne-area schools, said Copley Kids is a labor of love for him and Mrs.<br />
Barmer as well as for the many longtime volunteers who assist in the effort. “We wanted<br />
to provide them with a place they could be safe in a nourishing environment where<br />
they could pursue positive interests,” said Mr. Barmer, noting students can use a fully<br />
networked set of computers, play video games, participate in board games, or go outside<br />
in the church yard on good weather days to run off some steam. “We provide<br />
some light tutoring and they always get a nourishing snack and something to drink.”<br />
When it came time to check out a library book, then seven-yearold<br />
Haley Kane had no interest. It’s not that the Meadowvale<br />
Elementary <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> first grader didn’t like to read or wasn’t<br />
motivated to learn. Hers was a far more basic problem – she<br />
couldn’t see the print in a normal book.<br />
Born with albinism, a condition that often prevents the cones of<br />
eyes to develop rendering those impacted with the equivalent of<br />
being perpetually snow-blinded, Haley can see shapes, sizes,<br />
and colors; but could discern only extremely large letters. That’s<br />
where the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System and the combined<br />
Lions Clubs of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> came in.<br />
Earlier last school year, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system<br />
was purchased by the school system to allow Haley the ability to<br />
read books and other material in school. Capable of magnifying<br />
objects by up to 65 times, the CCTV apparatus allowed the precocious<br />
youngster to unravel the mysteries of the printed word<br />
and develop her reading to the point she devours book after<br />
book.<br />
Working with classroom teacher Kimberly Jones and HCPS<br />
teacher of the visually impaired Beverly Benke, Haley uses cumbersome portable magnifiers<br />
to enable her to see printed material in her classroom or at home. She comes to the<br />
Meadowvale library where school media specialist Kathy Wheeler helps her use the<br />
CCTV, which projects the pages of books or other material in color on a 17” monitor,<br />
magnified many times.<br />
With her appetite for reading whetted, the school and Haley’s parents Christina and Mark<br />
Kane searched for a way to extend the new-found freedom to her home. But, with a retail<br />
price tag of well over $3,500, none of it covered by insurance, it seemed the little girl’s<br />
reading would be limited to in-school sessions.<br />
“I’d retype material on our home computer and enlarge it to a 72 point font and print it<br />
out for Haley to read,” said Mrs. Kane, a Cecil <strong>County</strong> 911 dispatcher and volunteer with<br />
the Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps. “That was difficult and pictures or other graphics<br />
weren’t possible (to reproduce in an enlarged format).”<br />
That’s when Ms. Wheeler and others at the school, knowing the Lions Clubs’ interest in<br />
helping those with visual or auditory impairments, arranged a meeting with representatives<br />
from four <strong>Harford</strong> Lions Clubs.<br />
(Cover Page Story)<br />
CCTV unit ‘liberates’ Haley Kane<br />
CELEBRATION - Members of the combined Lions Clubs<br />
of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>, the Meadowvale Elementary School<br />
community, and the Kane family took part in a celebration<br />
at the school last April 20, noting the gift by the Lions of a<br />
CCTV system similar to the one shown to be used at home<br />
by Haley Kane, third from left.<br />
COMPUTERS - Brianna Carre, 11-year-old Magnolia Middle School<br />
sixth grader, enjoys a session on one of the bank of computers available<br />
to Copley Kids.<br />
He said, as an incentive, the youngsters get a dollar a day<br />
or $3 a week if they attend and take part in a positive way.<br />
Dedicated volunteers such as Stu Lyons of the local Lions<br />
Club and Church of the Resurrection Pastor Al Laveroni<br />
along with his wife Jean Laveroni, a language arts teacher<br />
at Fallston Middle School, help provide structure for the<br />
youngsters.<br />
Peg Wilson, program assistant, and Jim Rice, program<br />
coordinator, along with Mr. Barmer, the director of Copley<br />
Kids, are the only paid employees – though Mr. Barmer receives only a relatively small<br />
stipend. Funding comes from the Gap Foundation, the Episcopal Diocese, United<br />
Way, and, in the past, from Kaiser-Permanente; as well as in kind contributions from<br />
companies such as Lazer Fil, which provides printer services, and one of Josh and<br />
Barbara’s five sons, Anthony Barmer, who supports the program through his barber<br />
shop.<br />
The program runs from the second week of October through the end of May. “We’re<br />
always getting calls (at the beginning of the school year) asking when we are going to<br />
open,” said Mrs. Barmer, noting that the joy she and others receive from seeing the<br />
good done by the program outweighs the burden of time and effort it takes to keep it<br />
going.<br />
This year, for the first time, Scott Jones, assistant director of the Maryland<br />
Conservatory in Bel Air, will be coming to the Copley Kids sessions, setting up a percussion<br />
ensemble. The effort also gets great support from area principals, especially<br />
Joe Mascari at Magnolia Middle School who often visits to connect with his students<br />
and others taking part.<br />
Neither Mr. Barmer nor Mrs. Barmer want to think about a time when Copley Kids is<br />
not available for the youngsters in the neighborhood. Over the ten years it has been<br />
in existence, some 680 children have come through the doors of the Copley Kids program<br />
representing 28 schools.<br />
“This little girl won the hearts of 60 people with her personality<br />
and her love of learning,” said Senora Haywood, president of<br />
the Aberdeen Lions Club, during a celebration held in the<br />
Meadowvale Media Center last April 20th. “We knew then that<br />
we wanted to make it possible for her to experience that joy of<br />
reading in her home.”<br />
So it was that Fred Guenthner of the Churchville Lions, Tom<br />
Baine of the Aberdeen Lions (and District Vice Governor of the<br />
35-club District 22A), and Harold Boccia of the Bel Air Lions led<br />
the charge to have the Lions Clubs foot the bill for the home<br />
CCTV unit. And, Mr. Boccia, past president of the Bel Air Lions<br />
and president of the Chesapeake Low Vision firm, took it upon<br />
himself to get the Lions a break on the price of the unit. Mr.<br />
Boccia volunteered to come to the Kane home, set up the unit,<br />
and help the family learn ways to maximize its use.<br />
“It’s absolutely liberating – the freedom to be able to read that<br />
this gives Haley is something that goes beyond words,” said Mrs.<br />
Kane, tears welling in her eyes. “On library day, when other kids<br />
were checking out books to bring home to read, Haley wouldn’t<br />
check out any – now she’s bringing home books all the time and<br />
reading them on her own.”<br />
Meadowvale Principal David Denton, who took part in the hour-long celebration at the<br />
school, said he was personally touched by the Lions’ effort. “To see the community working<br />
with the school to make this possible out of the kindness of their hearts is just overwhelming,”<br />
said Dr. Denton.<br />
Funded through the annual Christmas tree and fruit sales – along with other fundraisers –<br />
the Lions also provide scholarships and a number of other services to the community.<br />
Mrs. Haywood, an assistant principal at Havre de Grace High School, said the Lions are<br />
the largest service organization in the world. There are ten active Lions Clubs in <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong>, he said.<br />
Mr. Baine, a former teacher at Aberdeen High School and current Lions 22A District<br />
Governor, said the joy on the face of children like Haley when they are able to see printed<br />
material for the first time makes all the hard work in raising funds worthwhile.<br />
Haley has two older sisters, Brittney and Caitlin, students at Havre de Grace Middle and<br />
Meadowvale Elementary, respectively, who were 13 and nine, respectively last year.
Grothe takes first in state writing contest<br />
Leah T. Grothe is a gifted writer. If you don’t believe it, just read the essay last year’s 13-year old, Fallston Middle School eighth grader submitted<br />
to the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> Reading Council for its <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> writing contest. If you’re still not sure, consider the entry won first place in the local middle<br />
school competition last year.<br />
If you still have your doubts, take a look at the letter she received in early February from the State of Maryland International Reading Council<br />
(SoMIRAC) informing her that she had won first place in the state writing contest for second through eighth graders. Her free verse poem, entitled<br />
“Guardians,” called upon the forces of nature to protect her from all that would harm her.<br />
“I like to write — it gives me the freedom to express my thoughts — especially fiction writing where I don’t have to have experienced what I’m writing<br />
about or it doesn’t have to be real,” Ms. Grothe said minutes after having been among those honored by the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> Reading Council<br />
at its annual awards ceremony, held at Southampton Middle School, February 17th. “I might like to consider writing (as a vocation) some day.”<br />
Right now the ‘Straight A’ student says she has lots of options, listing Science, English, and History as her favorite subjects. “My teacher, Ms.<br />
(Kathleen) Mikos, inspired me,” said Ms. Grothe of her eighth grade experience. “She didn’t give us a subject to write about, she just said to write<br />
about what we were interested in — that and growing up with my Mom (Melanie Ruckle) is what inspired me.”<br />
Ms. Grothe and the more than 200 others who entered this year’s 23rd annual Reading Council writing contest were asked to compose poetry with<br />
the theme of “You’re a Poet and Don’t Know It.” Twenty-eight of <strong>Harford</strong>’s 32 public elementary schools took part in the contest, with four of its<br />
eight middle schools and four of its nine high schools also having entries. In addition, five private schools in the county participated.<br />
LEAH GROTHE<br />
A m a n d a S h e r r y w a s H a r f o r d T e c h ’ s K . C . c o n n e c t i o n<br />
Each year, students from <strong>Harford</strong> Technical High School compete in Skills USA-VICA<br />
competitions. There is usually a regional competition, followed by a state competition.<br />
and then the nationals which are held in Kansas City, Missouri. For the second year<br />
in a row in <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong>, students from Tech’s Printing and Graphic Communication class<br />
won first and third places at state competition. Placing third was Shavon Worrell and<br />
taking first was Amanda Sherry. With financial support from Printing and Imaging<br />
Industries of Maryland and The Litho Club of Baltimore, Amanda was able to attend<br />
the national competition, accompanied by her parents, instructor, and three additional<br />
students who also placed first in their contests. At Kansas City she participated in<br />
opening ceremonies, several meetings, a day of preparation for competition, a full<br />
day of competition and closing ceremonies. She also got to do a little shopping, as<br />
well as watch a Kansas City Royals baseball game. Placing 14th out of 37 competitors,<br />
Amanda said she was “a bit disappointed” at the outcome. Putting it all into perspective,<br />
though, she acknowledged she was among a group of the country’s top students<br />
and was proud to represent her school and state in national competition.<br />
AMANDA &<br />
MONICA -<br />
Amanda<br />
Sherry and<br />
her instructor,<br />
Monica<br />
Chiveral in front of the Printing and Graphic Communication<br />
contest area at the Kansas City Convention Center.<br />
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT -<br />
Amanda Sherry practices running the<br />
Heidelberg press in preparation for the<br />
competition the next day.<br />
‘Traveling Company’<br />
aims to save lives<br />
NHMS TRAVELING COMPANY - About 85 strong, the North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> Middle School seventh and eighth graders who made up the<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> ‘Traveling Company’ interactive performing group, are<br />
making a difference in the lives of elementary and middle school students<br />
in two states. Their 15-minute plays depict situations teens and<br />
pre-teens experience regularly and attempt to have their audiences<br />
come up with suggestions for wise choices.<br />
Even cast members of the North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle School Traveling Company are surprised at the intensity of the reaction<br />
to what they present.<br />
“It’s as if some of the people in our audiences see their lives being played out on stage,” said 13-year-old, <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> seventh<br />
grader Ryan O’Hara. “I really didn’t expect the way we’ve connected with the people.”<br />
Ryan was one of about 85 seventh and eighth graders who came together last school year to enter into something bigger<br />
than all of them put together. Under the direction of seventh grade Integrated Language Arts teacher Jane B. Travis, late<br />
in the 2002-03 school year the youngsters wrote scenes that were incorporated into an original 15-minute interactive, educational<br />
“psychodrama” about the problems and temptations faced by middle school students. Topics include insecurity,<br />
peer pressure, and situations that test character values.<br />
At the start of last school year, eighth graders who had worked on the play last year, augmented by a number of seventh<br />
graders, tried out for parts in the play entitled “Why Me.” Divided into traveling troupes of from 12 to 17 players, the students<br />
have taken their performances to about 15 elementary and middle schools in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> and South Eastern<br />
School District in Pennsylvania.<br />
Playing young people who make bad choices in situations that face teens and pre-teens on an almost daily basis, the<br />
Traveling Company invites members of their audiences to suggest how the characters could have made wiser decisions.<br />
Mrs. Travis, who spent 30 years teaching English to juniors, directing musicals, running the school TV station, and putting<br />
together a similar traveling company at Kennard-Dale High School in neighboring Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania, said she is<br />
thrilled to see how sincere her middle school students have been in reaching out to others their age or younger.<br />
“We try to help people realize that a bad decision they make now could result in a bad outcome,” said then 13-year old,<br />
eighth grader Lauren McGehee.<br />
Members of the troupe practice after school and, when they leave school to put on performances, are responsible to get<br />
prior approval from their teachers and make up all missed work.<br />
Mrs. Travis, who lives in Fawn Grove with her husband Ralph, a retired teacher, said she ends each of her Company’s performances<br />
with an admonition to the audience. “I tell them that a close friend that only listens when someone tells them<br />
about a problem they are having is not enough. You must reach out and help that person find the assistance they need.”<br />
Representatives of the Office of Drug Control Policy of the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> government attended several recent performances<br />
by the Traveling Company and have described the interactive plays as “extremely important in helping with our<br />
prevention efforts of keeping kids from using cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs as they face challenges to their values and<br />
self-esteem,” Mrs. Travis reported.<br />
Mrs. Travis, mother of four grown children and with two granddaughters, said the new play for 20<strong>04</strong>-05 includes a variety<br />
of additional situations as well as ones that were included in the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> production.
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR - Dwayne<br />
‘Buzz’ Williams showed off an advance<br />
copy of his new book, ‘Spare Parts,’ an<br />
accounting of his experiences as a<br />
Marine reservist called to duty in the<br />
First Gulf War. The Bel Air High School<br />
first year assistant principal spent 11<br />
years at the Kennedy-Krieger School in<br />
Baltimore providing educational services<br />
for students with conduct disorders.<br />
Brian Folus had work<br />
published nationally<br />
The way Brian H. Folus figures it, if his arrangement of William Boyce’s<br />
Symphony #1 is purchased by one music teacher, his ten percent royalty will get<br />
him a meal at McDonald’s. If two teachers buy it, then he can include his nine<br />
year old daughter, Sarah, in the feast.<br />
Mr. Folus, a 20-year <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School instrumental music teacher –<br />
the last 11 at Fountain Green Elementary School – had his treatment of the 18 th<br />
century English composer’s work published this past summer in the Alfred international<br />
catalog, one of the world’s most respected publications of band and<br />
orchestral music for purchase by those who conduct musicians from elementary<br />
school to adults. The 47-year-old Randallstown native arranged the eight-minute,<br />
three movement piece during the summer of 2002 for the middle-school-aged<br />
students in his <strong>Harford</strong> Strings Orchestra, a group he founded five years ago<br />
which performs critically acclaimed concerts each November and April to sold out<br />
audiences.<br />
One of only about ten to 15 composers/arrangers to have been chosen by the<br />
California-based publishing company for inclusion in the 20<strong>04</strong> catalog, Mr. Folus<br />
said the circumstances under which his work was selected represent a series of<br />
happy coincidences.<br />
“I sent a tape of the <strong>Harford</strong> Strings Orchestra performance of the piece along<br />
with the score to Richard Meyer, the strings editor of Alfred,” said Mr. Folus of the<br />
fall 2002 submission. “Later, I received a communication from Mr. Meyer saying<br />
I had ‘made the first cut’ but I had to wait till July (<strong>2003</strong>) to find out if I had been<br />
accepted for publication.”<br />
Then came the call from Mr. Meyer on July 22, <strong>2003</strong> with good news that Mr.<br />
Folus’ work would be made available for purchase through the catalog and related<br />
outlets, along with other top musical compositions/arrangements next summer.<br />
The music teacher, who holds the distinction of having replaced legendary<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> Hall of Fame educator Ray Dombrowski as orchestra leader at<br />
Bel Air High School in 1985, said he spent eight or nine weeks, two-to-three<br />
hours a day arranging the Boyce work. Much of his efforts went into changing the<br />
key of the original work from B flat to G, simplifying the rhythms without compromising<br />
the intent of the composer, and converting the second movement from<br />
featuring oboes to highlighting fist violins.<br />
Seven years ago, the Bel Air-area resident had teamed with C. Milton Wright High<br />
School orchestra teacher Sheldon Bair and former HCPS Music Supervisor Bruce<br />
Kovacs (current North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle School principal) to organize the <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Youth Orchestra, a group for high school students associated as a non-credit offering<br />
of <strong>Harford</strong> Community College. At the same time, when it became apparent<br />
there was an interest among serious musicians of middle school age for a similar<br />
group, he founded and has directed from the outset of the <strong>Harford</strong> Strings<br />
Orchestra, a group that has grown to 65 members. The group practices ten to 13<br />
times in preparation for its two concerts presented at the William H. Amoss Center<br />
at <strong>Harford</strong> Technical High School.<br />
When Fountain Green Elementary was getting set to open in 1993, Mr. Folus<br />
made the decision to team with the school’s first principal, Marlin Dellinger, in<br />
organizing a new program. “It was like starting with a clean slate – building a program,<br />
literally, from a pile of dirt,” said Mr. Folus of the challenge. “You get fourth<br />
graders, many of whom who have never played before, but, by Christmas, they<br />
are making real musical sounds.”<br />
‘Buzz’ Williams’ book was released in March<br />
In <strong>2003</strong>, when news reports began to fill the air waves about the Second Gulf War, Dwayne E.<br />
“Buzz” Williams couldn’t watch, but couldn’t help from watching. The invasion of Iraq by U.S.<br />
forces brought back painful memories of a decade before when Bel Air High School’s first year<br />
assistant principal, in just 38 days, went from being a student teacher to a front line participant<br />
in the 1991 conflict.<br />
So impacted was the Baltimore <strong>County</strong> native that sleepless nights led to the need to put his<br />
thoughts as a former Marine reservist called to active duty on paper. Now, those words have<br />
been compiled into a book – Spare Parts — that was released in March 20<strong>04</strong> by Gotham Books,<br />
a subsidiary of the giant Penguin Press publishing house. Warner Brothers has already shown<br />
preliminary interest in buying the movie rights to the book which outlines the thoughts, fears,<br />
confusion, and anxiety that resulted as he was uprooted from a career path in the classroom and<br />
thrust into life and death situations of war.<br />
“Today, half of the 2.1 million men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces are reservists or<br />
guardsmen,” said the 35-year-old father of two. “The name of the book comes from my<br />
(Marine) drill instructor who, during basic, used that term to describe reservists, and, although he<br />
said it wasn’t meant as a slam, it was just that.”<br />
Mr. Williams, who was paid a $175,000 advance for the book, was on leave two weeks in March<br />
on a nationwide book tour to promote the publication.<br />
Mr. Williams – known as ‘Buzz’ since 1975 when he was seven-years-old and had his hair<br />
cropped close to his head to match his 18-year-old Marine Corps brother’s look – said he was so<br />
disillusioned by his and other reservists’ lack of readiness for combat that, when he returned to<br />
America in April of 1991, he was allowed to make changes in the Marines’ training of its<br />
reservists.<br />
“I was in the middle of my student teaching assignment when I was called up on November 18th<br />
and told to go home and get ready to be mobilized,” Mr. Williams said. “Thirty-eight days later,<br />
our unit – the 2nd Light Armored Battalion, D Company — was on the way to the Persian Gulf.”<br />
Mr. Williams, a vehicle crewman, served on the eight-wheeled armored vehicle that was used to<br />
help form the razor thin line that acted as a deterrent against Hussein’s forces invading Saudi<br />
Arabia once the air bombardment of Baghdad began on January 17th. “When the Scud missiles<br />
began to be fired by the Iraqis, each time we had to get in our chemical/biological/nuclear<br />
protective clothing, just in case, and pray that they didn’t leak,” he said of the harrowing days<br />
prior to the order being given to invade by land. “We crossed the border into Kuwait on<br />
February 24th as part of the third wave to liberate Kuwait.”<br />
The 2nd Armored Light Battalion’s major role was to intercept fleeing Iraqis, seeking to get back<br />
across the Kuwait border to join up with Iraqi forces. They were also called upon to eliminate<br />
threats from Iraqis and Palestinians — who had been compelled to work for the Kuwaitis, many<br />
of whom were openly sympathetic to the Iraqis.<br />
Though the “official” war lasted just 100 hours, Mr. Williams’ unit was still taking and giving fire<br />
through April when they were finally sent home.<br />
Returning to finish his degree, he found no Physical Education teaching jobs open in regular<br />
public or private schools. Instead, he took a job at the Johns Hopkins-based Kennedy-Krieger<br />
special school in Baltimore City to begin a Physical Education program for middle-school aged<br />
children with “conduct disorders.”<br />
“I couldn’t be happier here at Bel Air,” he said. “I plan on a long career in administration in the<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>.”<br />
ROBERT PECK (center) - enjoys a few minutes<br />
with media specialists from <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong><br />
<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>. From left to right, Terry LaPorte,<br />
Supervisor of Library Services; and media specialists<br />
Emily Andrews, YBES; Jane Ennis,<br />
Jarrettsville; Melissa Friedman, Wm. S. James;<br />
Joanne Slagle, Magnolia Elementary; and Debbie<br />
Kinsler, Havre de Grace High. Mr. Peck is a<br />
renowned author who visited the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong><br />
<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> last year.<br />
REACHING YOUTH - Dr. Richard<br />
Smalley reaches out to youth in an effort<br />
to get them excited about potential<br />
futures as scientists. The Nobel Prize<br />
winner addressed C. Milton Wright High<br />
school students last year.
Lin James won career number<br />
When Linda A. “Lin” James began coaching high school basketball, Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, America<br />
was in the beginning stages of war in Vietnam, and the Orioles were a year away from winning their first World Series. It<br />
was 1965, and the North <strong>Harford</strong> Lady Hawks basketball coach was winning her first game as coach of the Langford High<br />
team in Augusta, Georgia before moving to <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> and starting a sterling 36-year as teacher and coach<br />
here.<br />
Now, following North <strong>Harford</strong>’s January 29, 20<strong>04</strong>, 61 to 46 victory over the visiting C. Milton Wright Mustangs,<br />
Lin James had reached a milestone no other coach in the history of high school sports in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> had<br />
ever achieved – her 500th career win in a single sport.<br />
“It was both a relief and a feeling of euphoria,” said Mrs. James the morning after the milestone win. “I never<br />
mentioned it to my players – I didn’t want it to become a distraction to them or put added pressure on them – but,<br />
they really stepped up (against C. Milton Wright).<br />
“They always play hard, but it was a special night,” said the coach whose record stood at 500 wins and 226 losses<br />
following the Upper Chesapeake Athletic Conference—Chesapeake Division win.<br />
One of the Lady Hawks’ <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> tri-captains, senior Christina Gibson, who led her team to victory with 17 points<br />
against the Mustangs, agreed.<br />
“The intensity really came out, it was really kinda scary,” said the then 18-year-old star guard. “It’s a great feeling<br />
to be part of the team that helped her win her 500th – it’s something I’ll carry with me always – I’ll never forget<br />
the look on her face at the end of the game.”<br />
Fran Mathews, now retired North <strong>Harford</strong> High Athletic Director and Coach James’ colleague for 34-years, said<br />
racking up number 500 in front of a large and raucous crowd with many of her former players present made the<br />
night extra special. “Our fans were on their feet at the end of the game chanting ‘That’s 500,’ and even Lin, who has<br />
been trying to downplay the whole thing, had a tear in her eye and gave the thumbs up sign,” Mrs. Mathews said. “It is<br />
a significant lifetime achievement and is certainly a feather in her bonnet as well as for all those young ladies who have<br />
played for her over the years.”<br />
It’s been that way since Lin James, as a player, helped her Elbert <strong>County</strong> (Georgia) High School team to 100 straight wins<br />
and three consecutive state championships. And, the intensity continued during her college days playing for Anderson<br />
College in her native state and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.<br />
After compiling her initial wins with Langford High, she met and married her husband of 37 years, Jim James, a native<br />
of the northern <strong>Harford</strong> area who was then stationed in Georgia while in the Armed Service. The family came to <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong> in 1967 where Lin James found a job teaching special education at Forest Hill Elementary School. But, the lure<br />
of coaching and teaching Physical Education in high school led her to accept a job at her husband’s alma mater, coaching<br />
a variety of sports including gymnastics, but highlighted by her role as girls basketball coach.<br />
“The last couple of weeks have been tough,” said Coach James just before her team took the floor versus C. Milton Wright,<br />
a team they had beaten on the Mustangs’ home floor earlier in January. “I wanted to keep it (impending 500 wins) quiet<br />
and get it over with, but the word got out, so we’ll deal with it the way it is – I just want our players to play some basketball<br />
tonight — it’s not about me, it’s about them and what we do as a group.”<br />
Coach James – whose 1983 team went 22 and 1, losing in the state semi-final game - said she never really thought about<br />
going anywhere other than teaching and coaching at North <strong>Harford</strong>. “It’s just wonderful here, friends I’ve made forever;<br />
and, when I look around, I’ve coached a lot of these people – parents of the kids I’m coaching now,” she said. “It’s just<br />
a community that I’ve liked to serve.”<br />
Coach James said she prides herself in spending some of her spare time watching girls playing<br />
in the recreation leagues in northern <strong>Harford</strong>. “I want to make sure the young kids realize<br />
I’m concerned about them – establish that contact before they even come to the high school,”<br />
she said. “It’s a lifestyle for me.”<br />
Coach James’ daughter Carie – who played basketball for her mother several years ago – and<br />
Carie’s daughter Kayla (K.W.), three, were among those who swept from the stands onto the<br />
floor at the end of the game to congratulate the Hawks’ coach on the big win. Mr. and Mrs.<br />
James also have a son, Jay, who is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and was a lieutenant<br />
in the US Navy stationed in Virginia Beach last February.<br />
Jim James is a retired Baltimore <strong>County</strong> fireman and, for the past two years, has driven a<br />
school bus in his native area.<br />
How about the future for Coach<br />
James?<br />
“I really don’t know – we just take<br />
it from year to year – I look down<br />
and I’ve got kids that are young<br />
and they’re kids I certainly want to<br />
work with – it just seems it never<br />
ends,” she said last year.<br />
TENSE - Coach Lin James and Assistant Coach Walt Bogarty share<br />
the tension during a key part of the Lady Hawks versus Lady<br />
Mustangs game January 29 at North <strong>Harford</strong> High School.<br />
Coach James has more wins in a<br />
single sport than any active or<br />
retired coach in the Baltimore<br />
metropolitan area, passing the<br />
previous record holder in 1998-<br />
99. After the 500th win (combined<br />
at Langford and North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> highs), she stood 43 victories<br />
ahead of her closest rival in<br />
the Baltimore area.<br />
500<br />
INTENSITY - North <strong>Harford</strong> Lady Hawks basketball coach Lin James,<br />
here exhorting her players during a timeout in their game against C.<br />
Milton Wright January 29, picked up her career win number 500 that<br />
night, tops among active or retired coaches in the state. Sisters Christina<br />
Gibson (4) and Emily Gibson (3) are among the players heeding their<br />
coach’s advice as assistant coach Walt Bogarty looks on.<br />
Leff honored for academic excellence<br />
RadioShack Corporation presented a 20<strong>04</strong> RadioShack National Teacher Award<br />
to Joel Leff, a math teacher at Aberdeen High School. Mr. Leff was among 110<br />
educators receiving RadioShack National Teacher Awards last year for demonstrating<br />
a commitment to academic excellence in mathematics, science or technology.<br />
He received a $3,000 cash award.<br />
“I studied to be an engineer,” said Mr. Leff. “However, after getting some jobs<br />
that just happened to involve kids, I decided that teaching was what I really wanted<br />
to do.<br />
“I’m honored to be among other math, science and technology teachers who are<br />
considered to be outstanding,” he added.<br />
Mr. Leff, who has been in the classroom for 26 years, teaches algebra, advanced<br />
algebra, and pre-calculus with discrete math. He earned a bachelor of science<br />
degree in industrial engineering in 1971 from Lehigh University. He completed a<br />
certification program in education in 1976 from San Jose State University. He<br />
received a master of education degree in 1985 from Towson University.<br />
“The RadioShack National Teacher Awards program is RadioShack’s multi-year<br />
corporate citizenship effort to improve math, science and technology education,”<br />
said Leonard Roberts, chairman and chief executive officer of RadioShack<br />
Corporation. “By investing in teachers, RadioShack is strengthening communities<br />
and ensuring that more American youth prosper. We are committed to<br />
rewarding and retaining quality teachers, which is essential to the continuing<br />
growth and prosperity of our nation.”<br />
The National Teacher Awards program is funded by RadioShack Corporation.<br />
The program is open to all accredited public and private high schools. Award<br />
recipients are selected from a nationwide competitive call for applications. The<br />
selection process includes judging applicants on their commitment to education<br />
and their implementation of innovative classroom teaching methods. A panel of<br />
educators selects the honorees.
HCPS Educator Hall of Fame Class of <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong><br />
September <strong>2003</strong><br />
WILLIAM B. SECCURRO—Dr. Seccurro, 60, was born and educated in West Virginia, the first<br />
in his extended family to attend and graduate from college. After college, he took a job as a<br />
supervisor in a coal mine, but was laid off and in need of a job. He heard about a chance to<br />
teach Industrial Arts in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> without having a teaching certificate<br />
to start and took a job at Bel Air High School in 1966. He quickly realized that working with students<br />
in helping them to create projects was his calling. Dr. Seccurro returned to college in the<br />
summers to earn his teaching certificate, and, eventually, a masters and doctoral degrees. He<br />
was named an assistant principal at Aberdeen High School in 1973 and then tabbed to be principal<br />
of the <strong>Harford</strong> Vocational-Technical Center in Joppa Hall on the campus of <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Community College in 1976 where he planned and eventually helped open <strong>Harford</strong> Vocational-Technical High<br />
School in 1978. Four-years later he was named supervisor of vocational-technical education for the school system,<br />
the position from which he retired in 2000 prior to being named president and chief operating officer in the <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong> Chamber of Commerce, the job he now holds. During his time with the school system, Dr. Seccurro was<br />
known as a tireless advocate of vocation-technical education and career preparation. He was a moving force behind<br />
the development of the cooperative work studies program and a leader in the administrator’s employee association.<br />
He retired with 34 ½ years of service to the school system.<br />
J. WALTER POTTER—Mr. Potter, 75, came from Maryland’s Eastern Shore to be a Core/POD<br />
teacher at Aberdeen High School in 1950. A star athlete at Salisbury State University (eventually<br />
being named a member of that school’s athletic hall of fame), Mr. Potter coached varsity soccer at<br />
AHS during his short three-year teaching career there prior to being named principal of Jarrettsville<br />
Elementary School in 1953. After a succession of administrative posts over the next three years,<br />
he was named principal of Aberdeen High School in 1957, a position he held for the next 26 years<br />
as the school went through many changes both instructionally and demographically. Mr. Potter was<br />
described as a calm, cool, and collected leader through any crisis and was known as a firm but supportive<br />
principal who supported his staff consistently while demanding excellence. He rose to serve<br />
in state and national leadership roles with the secondary principals associations at both levels. Following his retirement<br />
in 1983, Mr. Potter was the executive director of the Maryland Association of Secondary School Principals for nine years.<br />
Mr. Potter was credited with many innovations during his time as principal including flexible and computer-aided<br />
scheduling, and programs in art, music and drama.<br />
October <strong>2003</strong><br />
DONALD A. FASSETT—Mr. Fassett, a native of the anthracite coal region of northeastern<br />
Pennsylvania, was hired as a biology teacher at North <strong>Harford</strong> High School in 1954. The veteran<br />
of World War II and the Korean Conflict developed a love for teaching through his work in<br />
helping comrades prepare for a test to qualify for promotions. After three years at North <strong>Harford</strong><br />
High, his concern for his students who could not read well influenced him to begin a program of<br />
reading remediation which developed into one of the county’s first programs for students with<br />
special needs. He later transferred to Bel Air High in the early 1960’s in order to be able to assist<br />
with the school’s football program. Mr. Fassett coached football and basketball for two decades<br />
at Bel Air where he met and married the former Connie Whaley. Mrs. Fassett, a psychology<br />
teacher and legendary softball coach at Bel Air High, was inducted into the HCPS Educator Hall of Fame last year.<br />
Mr. Fassett is credited with nurturing young people both in the classroom and on the athletic courts/fields, serving as<br />
a pioneer in the area of special education. He took an interest in all students at the school, especially those who<br />
needed an advocate. Mr. Fassett retired in 1985 but continues to follow local student-athletes closely.<br />
CAROL L. BARKER—Ms. Barker grew up in the Edgewood area where she was an outstanding<br />
athlete at Edgewood High School, helping that school to win its first ever county athletic championships<br />
in the 1959-60 school year. A young woman with strong faith, she considered going<br />
into youth ministry before opting for a career in education as a social studies/physical education<br />
teacher and coach. Ms. Barker began as a sixth grade teacher before being hired to teach history<br />
and physical education as well as coach several sports at her alma mater. She remained at<br />
Edgewood High through 1984, volunteering to sponsor many school clubs and organizations in<br />
addition to her teaching responsibilities. Ms Barker became a full-time physical education teacher<br />
and department chair at Edgewood High. In 1984, she opted to transfer to Bel Air High in<br />
order to return to her first love—teaching history—continuing as a field hockey coach while taking on a new sport,<br />
lacrosse. Ms. Barker continued her advocacy for young people, getting involved not only in their academic preparation<br />
but their social and psychological development. Throughout her career as an educator, she continued her close<br />
association with Mountain Christian Church, serving in many capacities, especially in working with youths. Ms.<br />
Barker retired after 31 years as a teacher/coach in 1995.<br />
November <strong>2003</strong><br />
SHIRLEY J. ROSE—Mrs. Rose served the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> as a teacher, assistant<br />
principal and principal for 35 years, starting her career as a Physical Education teacher at Central<br />
Consolidated School in 1956 and retiring as principal of Aberdeen Middle School in 1991. Mrs.<br />
Rose came from humble beginnings on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, attending Morgan State<br />
College on scholarship where she entered the teacher preparation program because the school<br />
did not have a nursing program. Mrs. Rose came to Aberdeen Junior High in 1965 with the end<br />
of racial segregation in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> where she taught Physical Education<br />
there and at Aberdeen Middle School when it opened in 1973. She was named assistant principal<br />
there the next year and principal in 1978, a position she held until her retirement 13 years<br />
later. Mrs. Rose was known as a compassionate child-centered teacher and administrator.<br />
LlOYD C. FRY—Mr. Fry was born in Frederick <strong>County</strong>, coming to <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> from<br />
Salisbury State Teachers College where he “drifted” into the field of education as a sixth grade<br />
teacher at Havre de Grace Elementary School in 1953. He taught only several months before<br />
being drafted into the US Army and serving until 1955, returning to teach fifth grade at Havre de<br />
Grace. The next year, he was tapped to be a teaching-principal at Youth’s Benefit Elementary<br />
School where he served for two years before moving to Jarrettsville Elementary as full-time principal<br />
for five years. He was principal at the now-closed Aberdeen Elementary for nine years and<br />
spent the final 16 years of his 34 ½ year career with the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> as principal<br />
of Bakerfield Elementary School. Mr. Fry was known as a kind and gentle leader with a<br />
passion for details and a stable presence that served as a model for dozens of future HCPS administrators. Retiring<br />
in 1989, Mr. Fry was recognized as the unofficial “historian” of the elementary schools, having accumulated and<br />
neatly filed directives throughout his tenure, often providing guidance to his supervisors in offering consistency in the<br />
school program.<br />
December <strong>2003</strong><br />
THOMAS E. OWEN—Mr. Owen spent 18 years in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> as a teacher,<br />
supervisor, and the system’s first Human Relations coordinator; and another six years after<br />
retirement in a variety of counseling and administrative roles. The Louisville, Kentucky native<br />
was touched by the racial separation he saw a young person; and, building on the lessons he<br />
learned as an Eagle Scout, “drifted” into teaching after a positive experience as a student teacher.<br />
He taught Core in Baltimore <strong>County</strong> for five years and became a counselor for an additional<br />
five before turning to school administrative as an assistant principal in that county in 1970. On<br />
course to become principal, Mr. Owen’s social conscious was awakened by a human relations<br />
course he took in 1972, eventually being named to organize the human relations office in the<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>. He taught a human relations course to thousands of HCPS educators, ushered in<br />
Title IX equality for girls in academics and athletics, and dealt with Office of Civil Rights issues. He also served as a<br />
building level instructional supervisor at four schools, coordinated countywide staff development and handled summer<br />
school responsibilities. After his retirement in 1992, he has served on many local, state and regional human<br />
rights groups.<br />
JOSEPH M. DESCHAK—Mr. Deschak the son of the first generation Polish coal miner in northeast<br />
Pennsylvania, spent 37 ½ years as a teacher and administrator in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong><br />
<strong>Schools</strong>, combining his unfailing sense of humor and “old school” belief in discipline to be one<br />
of the most revered leaders in the history of the school system. Mr. Deschak came out of the<br />
Navy to finish college and to be recruited to teach elementary school at the old Slate Ridge<br />
School in northeastern <strong>Harford</strong> in 1952. The next year, he moved on to Aberdeen where he and<br />
others taught elementary school in one wing of the then new high school. While there, he was<br />
named assistant principal in charge of the elementary wing before moving to a similar position<br />
at the new Bakerfild School in 1961. He became a principal the following year assigned to Slate<br />
Ridge, then Deerfield, and Oakington (now Roye-Williams) elementaries. After 19 years at Oakington, he closed out<br />
his career in 1989 after a five year stint as principal of Havre de Grace Elementary. Mr. Deschak, who now volunteers<br />
in many venues including acting as “Accordion Joe” in a playing and singing effort at a local nursing home,<br />
never forgot his humble beginnings nor the joy in his hardworking community shared with family and friends as he<br />
used humor to build a positive atmosphere at each of his school assignments.<br />
January 20<strong>04</strong><br />
JAMES G. SMITH—Mr. Smith, a decorated World War II hero where he won the Silver Star and<br />
fought valiantly at the Battle of the Bulge, taught Physical Education, coached, and was an<br />
administrator for 30 years in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System. Mr. Smith is perhaps best<br />
remembered as the fiery and highly successful coach of the Aberdeen High School football team<br />
for 15 years, a span during which his teams compiled a 101-39-1 record including an undefeated<br />
season in 1960. He began his teaching career at North <strong>Harford</strong> High School in 1950 where<br />
he coached soccer, basketball and boys’ softball as well as starting a track and field program. He<br />
was at Aberdeen from 1955 until 1970 where his teams won back to back state track and field<br />
titles in 1957/1958. Mr. Smith’s students and athletes revered him, but he was just as highly<br />
respected by many of his peers for whom he was a role model. He spent five years as an assistant principal at<br />
Edgewood Middle School and finished his career as a supervisor in the school system’s Transportation Office, retiring<br />
in 1980. Mr. Smith, his wife Beth, and their two daughters, Allyn Watson and Sue Hopkins, have compiled 105<br />
years of service to the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>. Mrs. Watson is the state’s Distinguished Elementary School<br />
Principal for <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong>, and Mrs. Hopkins is a Bel Air Middle School English teacher.<br />
JACK E. McCRACKEN—Mr. McCracken pitched in the minor leagues for five seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies<br />
farm system, reaching Triple A before a back injury forced him to seek an alternate career. The<br />
native of northern Pennsylvania had earned a Physical Education degree at Gettysburg College<br />
and responded to a job posting announcing an opening for a teaching job at Bel Air High that<br />
included coaching three sports for no extra pay. In 1965, Mr. McCracken began a 35-year streak<br />
of reporting for work every day on time without calling in sick once. He taught and coached at<br />
Bel Air High for 15 years, once winning 33 consecutive league baseball games and capturing 12<br />
county titles. He fulfilled a childhood dream when he was named Athletic Director at the new<br />
C. Milton Wright High School. He was also Physical Education Department Chair and coached<br />
two sports there before being named Supervisor of High School Physical Education, Health and<br />
Interscholastic Athletics programs, building partnerships with area businesses to expand the program. He also made<br />
significant improvements in the number and quality of sports offered to local students while overseeing the move<br />
toward lifetime activities as the staple of Physical Education. Mr. McCracken retired in 1999 and continues as an avid<br />
outdoorsman.<br />
February 20<strong>04</strong><br />
JUNE W. ATKIN — June Williams Atkin spent her entire 33-year <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School<br />
career at North <strong>Harford</strong> High School as a Core and English teacher, inspiring two generations of<br />
young people to be the best they could be. Mrs. Atkin, a no-nonsense, pint-sized task master<br />
had a reputation for being able to wilt a non-compliant student with a steely-eyed stare, but she<br />
also became one of the most beloved and highly respected teachers in the history of the school.<br />
Mrs. Atkin taught at North <strong>Harford</strong> High from the year it opened in 1951 through her retirement<br />
in 1986, interrupted only by a three-year period when she lived in Germany with her husband<br />
who was stationed there while in the Army. She was a stickler for grammar and insisted her students<br />
memorize important literary concepts. A native of the Whiteford area, Mrs. Atkin came<br />
from modest circumstances but, with the support of her family, found a way to complete her studies at Washington<br />
College, graduating a semester early and filling a mid-year vacant teaching spot at North <strong>Harford</strong> High at the age of<br />
20, teaching some students who were barely two years younger than she. She subsequently earned her masters<br />
degree from Johns Hopkins University and became a staunch advocate for minority rights.<br />
LESLIE G. LAWSON — Les Lawson compiled an extraordinary 33-year career with the <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System that lasted from 1965 through his retirement in 1998. Aspiring to<br />
be a dentist, he switched to a biology major in secondary education as a sophomore at Bethany<br />
(West Virginia) College. Recruited to teach in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, he found there<br />
were no secondary jobs and was assigned to teach fifth grade at Jarrettsville Elementary School.<br />
Later, he was named to be teaching-assistant principal at Edgewood (Cedar Drive) and Churchville<br />
elementary schools, before returning to his first love as a biology teacher, first at North <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Junior-Senior High School and then at North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle School when it opened in 1976. Mr.<br />
Lawson and fellow NHMS life sciences teacher Edward V. Goetz (see June 20<strong>04</strong> Hall of Fame)<br />
combined to create an series of environmental studies programs at the school ranging from a remote collection center<br />
for the county’s recycling effort to a wetlands project, to a Deer Creek program culminating in a year’s end program in<br />
which about 140 students were taken through a week-long ecological study series taught be experts in a variety of environmental<br />
fields. He and another of the school’s biology teachers, Megean Garvin, organized a student-led Ecology<br />
Club. Among Mr. Lawson’s awards was the 1993 <strong>Harford</strong> and Maryland Soil Conservation Teacher of the Year, the<br />
Maryland Department of the Environment’s Excellence award, and a co-runnerup for the Tawes Award for the<br />
Environment. He was also named the Susquehanna Environmental Center’s Educator of the Year in 1997 and was a<br />
finalist for the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Teacher of the Year award in 1998.<br />
March 20<strong>04</strong><br />
SUEANN J. WEST—Ms. West a native of southwest Pennsylvania, spent 35 years as an educator<br />
– 30 of them in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> as a guidance counselor in the elementary<br />
and middle schools. Ms. West used a combination of her naturally caring spirit and a burning<br />
desire to provide assistance to young people in meeting the needs of their lives to make a difference<br />
for establishing career education as a component of the program. In the middle schools,<br />
she made outstanding contributions as an early proponent of peer mediation and the peer helper<br />
program. Ms. West, who volunteered outside the system with spouse abuse and rape centers,<br />
now, heads a pre-school program at a local church/school.<br />
A.A. ROBERTY—A.A. Roberty came from the coal region of West Virginia to serve his country<br />
in combat during World War II and then found his life’s career as an educator in college. After<br />
a year as a science teacher in Cambridge, he came to <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> where he was recognized<br />
as an outstanding science teacher during his five years at Bel Air High School in that position.<br />
He also ran the county’s adult education program during three of those years, a position for<br />
which he was tabbed by then Superintendent Charles W. Willis who was so impressed that he<br />
brought Dr. Roberty to the central office in 1956 to create a purchasing office for the school system.<br />
He rose quickly to be the system’s first Business Manager, and, in 1962, was named<br />
Assistant Superintendent, a position he held until being named Superintendent in 1970. Dr.<br />
Roberty led the school system through turbulent times for the next 18 years, building and renovating<br />
several schools and driving the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Public</strong> schools to be among the best in the state. He retired in 1988<br />
after 38 years of service, 37 of those years in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>.<br />
April 20<strong>04</strong><br />
BENJAMIN S. CARROLL— The late Mr. Carroll, a native Eastern Shoreman, began his service<br />
to the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> in 1938 as Principal of Bel Air High School. In 1942, the<br />
quietly effective school leader was promoted by then HCPS Superintendent C. Milton Wright to<br />
be the system’s only assistant superintendent in 1942. He held that position, overseeing, among<br />
other duties, the buildings and property assets of the school system through his retirement in<br />
1962. Mr. Carroll was also given the responsibility by then Superintendent Charles W. Willis to<br />
take leadership in the creation and opening of <strong>Harford</strong> Junior College (now <strong>Harford</strong> Community<br />
College) in a wing of Bel Air High School in 1957. Mr. Carroll was an accomplished poet and<br />
musician who made many contributions to the school system during a time of great growth after<br />
World War II. Mr. Carroll passed away in 1968.<br />
GEORGE J. MAKIN, JR. — The late Mr. Makin was a World War II B-24 bombardier who took<br />
part in 28 missions over Europe, several of them considered near suicide ventures. The native of<br />
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania came to <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> as an industrial art/auto shop teacher at Bel<br />
Air High School in 1951, a job he held through 1956 before being brought to the second system’s<br />
central office where he worked as a supervisor in the maintenance department. Mr. Makin took a<br />
fierce pride in his teachings and his preparation of students to find meaningful jobs as adults. He<br />
carried that pride with him to his work as a maintenance supervisor where he had responsibility for<br />
budget preparation, planning and execution of the maintenance for more than 50 school buildings<br />
with a combined value of over $400 million, and did contract inspections. Mr. Makin retired in<br />
1988, but remained active in the community until slowed by failing health. He passed away in 1999.<br />
May 20<strong>04</strong><br />
PAUL E. BOWMAN, JR.—Mr. Bowman was an elementary teacher, elementary and secondary<br />
school supervisor, associate assistant principal, and supervisor in the school system’s Human<br />
Resources office during a brilliant career that spanned 33 years from 1966 through his retirement<br />
in 1999. Mr. Bowman, a native western Marylander, used his natural good nature and self effacing<br />
humor to endear improvement of instruction led him to be the ideal mentor for two generations<br />
of young teachers and veteran instructors alike. Mr. Bowman worked his magic through<br />
use of a low key approach that put those under his leadership to ease. During his last three years<br />
with <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, he became a valuable member of the Human Resources<br />
office, helping to recruit and maintain a viable elementary school teaching force. A humble man<br />
who consistently downplayed his own accomplishments so that other could take credit, Mr. Bowman was, nonetheless,<br />
a man of high principles who would not compromise the excellence to which he was dedicated.<br />
DORIS L. WILLIAMS—Mrs. Williams, a native Virginian who grew up in segregated Richmond,<br />
found her calling as educator after she found her first ambition, public relations, was unfulfilling.<br />
Mrs. Williams gained an appreciation for hard work and perseverance from her father, a union<br />
organizer who helped meld white and black labor organizations in the tobacco industry, and from<br />
her mother who was a practical nurse. She answered a newspaper ad for a teacher at Dunbar<br />
High School in Baltimore City where her first experience was in teaching a class that had succeeded<br />
in “chasing off” two teachers prior to her accepting the position. Mrs. Williams came to<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> to begin an extraordinary 26-year career in 1974, serving as an English teacher<br />
and Department Chair at Bel Air High, named to the leadership position in just her second<br />
year. She also served as a writing specialist for a year with the Maryland State Department of Education and with<br />
the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> before being named an assistant principal at Edgewood High School. In 1990,<br />
she became the first female high school principal in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> when she was named to lead<br />
Joppatowne High School. Later, she served as Bel Air High principal and, during the last year—1999-2000—with<br />
the local schools, was Supervisor of English/Language Arts. Throughout her tenure, she was known as much for her<br />
no-nonsense expectations as for her warm and caring spirit.<br />
June 20<strong>04</strong><br />
MARY H. BONI—Mrs. Boni taught for 29 years, 22 of those in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>,<br />
mostly fifth grade at Prospect Mill Elementary School. The native of Minnesota is the daughter<br />
of a Montana cowboy who grew up in the modest circumstances where neither parent had graduated<br />
high school nor none of her four siblings attended college. Heavily influenced by librarians<br />
in the public library where she worked as a teenager, Mrs. Boni graduated from St. Cloud<br />
Teachers College in her hometown and taught in a school close to the Canadian border for three<br />
years before meeting and marrying her late husband, David Boni, an administrator with the<br />
Bethlehem Steel Company. The couple moved first to Pennsylvania, where she taught for several<br />
years, and then to <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> in connection with Mr. Boni’s job at the Bethlehem<br />
Company’s Sparrows Point plant. Mrs. Boni taught sixth grade for a year at Homestead Elementary and then fifth<br />
grade at <strong>Harford</strong> at Hickory Elementary for two years before moving to Prospect Mill Elementary School (all because<br />
of teacher reduction force) where she spent the final 19 years of her career prior to retiring in 2000. While at Hickory<br />
then at Prospect Mill, Mrs. Boni initiated the “Patriot” program which had become a staple at most <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>Public</strong><br />
elementary schools. Students are required to memorize and recite important documents of facts about American history,<br />
achieving the status of “Patriot” if they are successful. She also used “famous quotations” as a springboard for<br />
many of her lessons. She was a self-described “hard master,” demanding much of her students who adored her for<br />
her caring ways. Mrs. Boni continues as an almost daily volunteer at Prospect Mill.<br />
EDWARD V. GOETZ— Mr. Goetz – who adopted the persona of “Indiana Goetz” based on the<br />
“Indiana Jones” film character, taught life science at North <strong>Harford</strong> Junior High and North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> Middle School for 25 years prior to his retirement in 1998. A native <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>, he<br />
became an avid outdoorsman as a child growing up in what was, at the time, a rural section of<br />
Aberdeen. He went to college with the idea of being a Federal Game Warden, but, when there<br />
were no jobs available after graduation, “drifted” into teaching as a long-term substitute at Bel<br />
Air High School. He was hired at North <strong>Harford</strong> Junior in 1973 and moved to North <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Middle when the school was constructed in 1976. He taught seventh grade students, teaming<br />
with his wife, ‘Artie’ Goetz, an integrated language arts teacher, on the same team to “double<br />
team” students in making sure they felt good about themselves and to maximize their learning. Mr. Goetz parlayed<br />
his love for the natural world into many programs at North <strong>Harford</strong> Middle that influenced students to become stewards<br />
of their environments. He began a recycling program and an “Earth Day” that quickly evolved into “Earth<br />
Week” at the school. Students took trips to nearby Deer Creek to put what they had learned in the classroom into<br />
action. He and colleague, Les Dawson, also an HCPS educator Hall of Fame member, combined to bring experts to<br />
the school and to the Deer Creek and other off-campus locations, providing their expertise to students. Mr. Goetz’<br />
classes also constructed bluebird boxes, placing many around the NHMS campus and taking some to Aberdeen<br />
Proving Ground. Mr. Goetz passed away in 2001.<br />
WALL OF FAME - Portraits of each Hall of Fame member are on display in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> Board of Education<br />
meeting room located at 45 East Gordon Street in Bel Air, Maryland.
Edie Smith completes<br />
‘Board’ certification<br />
For <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong>’s most<br />
recent National<br />
Board Certified<br />
teacher, the will<br />
to see the threeyear<br />
ordeal<br />
through to its<br />
conclusion may<br />
have come from<br />
her parents.<br />
Edith D. “Edie”<br />
Smith, 27-year<br />
Aberdeen Middle<br />
School art teacher,<br />
found out<br />
through the<br />
Internet in<br />
December, <strong>2003</strong><br />
that the last of<br />
her portfolio<br />
entries had been<br />
approved by the<br />
CERTIFIED - Edie Smith, a 26-year art teacher at Aberdeen Middle<br />
School, used the National Board Certification process to validate her<br />
instruction techniques and to prove a forum as a supporter of art education<br />
in the learning process.<br />
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), becoming the<br />
sixth active <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School teacher to have achieved the status.<br />
The final endorsement served as validation for a personal staff development process<br />
the 59-year-old native of the Netherlands had begun in 2000.<br />
Looking back, the stories her parents told being part of the Dutch resistance during<br />
World War II, helping to get downed Allied fliers back to England through a<br />
maze of transfer stations while avoiding Nazi capture, may have helped to sustain<br />
her through the moments when she felt giving up was the more logical course in<br />
her efforts at National Board Certification. To avoid capture themselves, her family<br />
had to go into hiding late in the war, risking their lives for the Allied cause.<br />
“My father was a carpenter and he immigrated with our family to New York in<br />
1950 seeking a better life for us,” said Mrs. Smith. “Only Dutch was spoken in<br />
our home – I learned to speak English in school.”<br />
The National Board Certification process involves two major parts – the creation<br />
of a series of portfolios and the taking of a day-long test involving the candidate<br />
providing evidence of being able to apply clear and educationally sound solutions<br />
to practical classroom problems.<br />
Mrs. Smith was successful on the test in her first try, but three of her five portfolios<br />
had to be redone. Her final resubmission was completed last spring, leading<br />
to the endorsement by the NBPTS of Mrs. Smith as a National Board Certified<br />
teacher.<br />
Mrs. Smith said she could not have accomplished her goal without the active support<br />
of many of her colleagues at Aberdeen Middle – most notably Assistant<br />
Principal Jim Fulton who provided tangible and emotional support throughout<br />
the process. “My art teacher colleague Roxanne Dodson, Principal Gladys Pace,<br />
Language Arts Chair Ed Mathews, my (former) Supervisor Marianne Chambers,<br />
the computer guys here at school – they and many others gave unselfishly of their<br />
time,” she said.<br />
That Edie Smith became an art teacher in the first place involved a series of coincidences<br />
that built on her natural love of the subject. “As a student, I spent a lot<br />
of my time in my regular classes drawing,” said the Darlington resident who lives<br />
there with her husband Mark, recently retired as an Exelon electric company<br />
employee at the Conowingo Dam. “I went to the University of Maryland in studio<br />
art with the goal of making my living as an artist.”<br />
She worked for several years in the publicity section of a department store doing<br />
graphics and was a free lance artist before returning to Salisbury University to<br />
pick up her education credits and earn a teaching certificate. She taught one year<br />
in a Milford, Delaware middle school before coming to Aberdeen a quarter century<br />
ago.<br />
Having earned her masters degree in Art History at Johns Hopkins, Mrs. Smith<br />
anticipated she might like to go into school administration, earning her advanced<br />
certification in that area. “That process convinced me I wanted to stay in the<br />
classroom – I love teaching and I love this (Aberdeen) community – I’m now<br />
teaching the children of children I taught years ago,” she said.<br />
National Board Certification is good for ten years after which those who wish to do<br />
so may be renewed by completing some additional staff development exercises.<br />
Bill Ekey is top service-learning principal<br />
C. Milton Wright Principal William M. “Bill” Ekey was named the Maryland<br />
Student Service Alliance (MSSA) Service-Learning Principal of the Year for the<br />
<strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> school year. Mr. Ekey, who returned to lead the county’s largest school<br />
last year after a six-year absence during which he had been a central office<br />
administrator, was informed by the statewide service-learning group in late<br />
February that he had been chosen for the honor and would be recognized during<br />
a reception at the US Naval Academy on April 22, <strong>2003</strong>.<br />
“We received many exceptional principal nominations from local school systems,<br />
but our reviewers were extremely impressed with Mr. Ekey’s level of commitment<br />
and direct involvement with service-learning in C. Milton Wright High,<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>, and across the state,” said Luke F. Frazier, executive director of<br />
the MSSA.<br />
“The sentiment that describes the purpose of my life is best summed up in something<br />
that the British author George Eliot said, ‘What do we live for, if not to<br />
make life less difficult for each other’,” said Mr. Ekey of his selection as Service-<br />
Learning Principal of the Year. “I’ve tried to use the few talents I possess to<br />
‘make life less difficult’ for the students, parents, and teachers whenever I can.<br />
“That seems to me to be the heart of service learning,” he added. “We are<br />
teaching our students to help others, to improve life for our fellow travelers on<br />
this planet.<br />
“It’s easy for me to encourage and support service activities because those are<br />
the kinds of actions that define me,” continued Mr. Ekey. “I’m most comfortable<br />
and receive the greatest personal rewards helping others through my role as a<br />
school principal, but I recognize and appreciate the many ways in which service<br />
is provided by others.”<br />
Nominated by C. Milton Wright service-learning coordinator Linn Griffiths, Mr.<br />
Ekey was called an “advocate” for all that is connected with the statewide program<br />
that, in <strong>Harford</strong> and other counties, incorporates the appreciation for and<br />
application of service to others by students. “Bill continually seeks knowledge<br />
to better understand the components, best practices, and recent research on service-learning<br />
so that he is able to better support teachers,” said Mrs. Griffiths.<br />
“He is a vocal advocate in both the county and the state and has spoken at a<br />
variety of functions, recognizing and congratulating teacher and student Service<br />
Stars as well as encouraging others to be part of the program.”<br />
Mrs. Griffiths said Mr. Ekey was instrumental in the implementation of a “matrix<br />
system” for high schools to ensure that all students were participating in servicelearning<br />
in all of the disciplines. “He holds teachers accountable for conducting<br />
service-learning and personally reads all of the report forms,” his nominator<br />
said. “Several years ago, Bill was the county leader and liaison for service-learning<br />
and was directly responsible for service-learning (being instituted in the<br />
county).<br />
“Under his leadership, the county has created a service-learning web page,”<br />
Mrs. Griffiths added.<br />
The C. Milton Wright teacher and service learning building coordinator said it<br />
was Mr. Ekey who created a state recognized service-learning celebration for<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>, encouraging and recruiting teacher participation. “He has supported<br />
and preserved service-oriented teacher duty periods, therefore giving significance<br />
to these duties,” Mrs. Griffiths said. “He is a positive problem-solver<br />
who is not easily discouraged.”<br />
Mrs. Griffiths concluded, “From the beginning, Bill Ekey has been a strong advocate<br />
and supporter of service-learning at both the county and state levels. To<br />
quote a <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> Service Learning Fellow, ‘Bill cares and believes in us’.”<br />
Mr. Ekey, 53 and a 32-year HCPS veteran, said, “When I leave this life, I will<br />
take nothing with me, except, perhaps, my conscience. While I’m here, I can<br />
give money, time, clothing, and food. But, in the final analysis, what I have to<br />
give is myself.<br />
“What I can do every day is to ‘make life less difficult’ for other people — service<br />
to others isn’t just<br />
important – it’s all<br />
there is,” concluded<br />
Mr. Ekey.<br />
SERVICE - Bill Ekey not only talks service,<br />
he pitches in. Here, the C. Milton<br />
Wright High School principal assists in<br />
the planting of a tree last fall on the<br />
school campus during Beautification<br />
Day activities. The veteran school<br />
administrator has been named<br />
Maryland’s Service Learning Teacher of<br />
the Year.
‘Ginny’ Hinckley is 20<strong>04</strong> Math Teacher of the Year<br />
-. .<br />
As a young girl growing up in Havre de Grace, Virginia M. “Ginny” Hinckley watched her<br />
third grade teacher tear open holiday gifts from her students. It was at that moment she<br />
remembers being inspired to become a teacher.<br />
-<br />
Now, more than 40 years later, after realizing that early dream and putting together a 31-<br />
year career as a master teacher in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System, the Havre<br />
de Grace Elementary School Math Specialist has been honored by a statewide group for<br />
helping the county’s math program reach new heights.<br />
Last month, Mrs. Hinckley was named the co-recipient of the Maryland Council of<br />
Teachers of Mathematics’ Outstanding Elementary School Mathematics Teacher award<br />
for 20<strong>04</strong>. She received her award at the Turf Valley Country Club in Howard <strong>County</strong> on<br />
September 14th. The <strong>Harford</strong> teacher was one of eight recipients of the award – two in<br />
each of the elementary, middle, and high school levels as well as at the college/university<br />
level.<br />
4<br />
+ 4<br />
- 8<br />
10 2 -<br />
5<br />
“The award is due, in part, to the support of the staff at Havre de Grace Elementary,” said<br />
Mrs. Hinckley of the honor which marks the third consecutive year a <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> educator<br />
has been recognized with the elementary award.<br />
After changing her major from mathematics to Elementary Education, Mrs. Hinckley<br />
received her bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State College in 1974 and, later, while a<br />
teacher at North <strong>Harford</strong> Elementary School, she earned her master’s degree at Loyola<br />
College. While at Loyola, she came under the tutelage of Dr. John Bath. That experience,<br />
Mrs. Hinckley says, “Changed my career by demonstrating a model of math instruction<br />
using manipulatives.<br />
“It began my desire to provide staff development for other teachers,” she continued,<br />
adding that she received permission from her principal to do staff development for other<br />
teachers in the school. She began her HCPS career as a fifth grade teacher at the now<br />
closed Highland Elementary School in Street and moved with the school to North<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> Elementary when it opened in 1993.<br />
Following her five-year stint at North <strong>Harford</strong> Elementary, Mrs. Hinckley taught at William<br />
S. James Elementary for two years before moving to Emmorton Elementary where she<br />
helped pioneer the opening of that new school in 1990. While there, she became part of<br />
the group that was commissioned to determine the math book which would be used for<br />
instruction in the county’s elementary schools.<br />
After volunteering to take the results to then county math supervisor, Joe Mills, she was<br />
invited to be a part of the countywide Math Committee. The new assignment allowed her<br />
not only to teach math, but to write math curricula and be at the decision-making level<br />
for the program.<br />
The thought of taking a math course still fills Francine Plotycia with dread. That,<br />
despite the fact she took a six-credit, graduate-level math recovery course in <strong>2003</strong><br />
and has taken advanced algebra, statistics, and geometry as part of her 30-credits<br />
beyond masters program.<br />
And, to watch the Abingdon Elementary School second grade teacher captivate her<br />
students during their math lessons with her combination of skill and flair for the dramatic<br />
– which often involves her singing and dancing to get across key mathematic<br />
concepts – you’d think for all the world she was a math marvel. So convincing has<br />
been her conquering of a math phobia which dates to her own elementary school<br />
days that the local teacher has been chosen by the Maryland Council of Teachers of<br />
Mathematics as one of its State Math Teachers of the Year for <strong>2003</strong>.<br />
Nominated by her principal, Kathleen Burr, Mrs. Plotycia, 48, was observed by an<br />
expert from the Maryland State Department of Education in September and last<br />
month was informed that she had been chosen as a K to fifth grade recipient of the<br />
Council’s “Excellence in Mathematics Teaching” award. She and other winners were<br />
honored at a recent luncheon held in Gaithersburg.<br />
Her ‘number lady’ song and dance was one of the innovative methods that convinced<br />
the Math Council that she should be rated as one of Maryland’s top elementary mathematics<br />
teachers, marking the second straight year that a <strong>Harford</strong> teacher won the<br />
honor. Last year, Scottie Vajda, Emmorton Elementary’s math specialist, won the<br />
prestigious honor.<br />
Last school year, Mrs. Plotycia received two small grants to purchase math manipulatives<br />
for all first grade classes and supplies to create take-home math kits for her<br />
students. She also co-chairs the school’s mathematics committee and was instrumental<br />
in planning a school-wide mathematics week which culminated in a family math<br />
night.<br />
In her essay written in connection with the award application, Mrs. Burr noted that<br />
Mrs. Plotycia’s classroom is often used by supervisors throughout the county as a<br />
place where new or struggling teachers can observe best practices in math instruction.<br />
Abingdon Special Educator Ann Bradford worked with Mrs. Plotycia when special<br />
education students were placed in the general first grade program as part of the<br />
Inclusion effort last year. “It didn’t take long for me to realize team-teaching with Mrs.<br />
While still a classroom teacher, she served as part of the Frederick Consortium, a group<br />
of math teachers from around the state who wrote questions used in the Maryland School<br />
Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), becoming that group’s leader. She also<br />
worked with the Maryland Association of Supervision and Curriculum Developers. In<br />
1996, she was appointed countywide elementary math specialist, a position she held until<br />
<strong>2003</strong>.<br />
“Volunteering pays off,” she said of the lesson she learned that resulted in her being<br />
named the county’s elementary math teacher specialist in the mid-1990s. “If you’re willing<br />
to take that step and then follow through by doing what you volunteered to do, you<br />
find yourself involved with very fulfilling things.”<br />
When her teacher specialist position was eliminated two years ago in the school system<br />
leadership reorganization, Mrs. Hinckley was offered several positions at the school level.<br />
She elected to “go back home” and serve at Havre de Grace Elementary as math specialist<br />
because of the school’s “excellent staff” and the challenges of being at a school serving<br />
a significant number of students identified with “special needs.”<br />
Now a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Mrs. Hinckley mentors<br />
fellow teachers at Havre de Grace Elementary. Marian Stewart, a teacher of students<br />
who are economically disadvantaged, says, “Ginny Hinckley is truly the most outstanding<br />
math teacher I’ve ever worked with. She is very generous with her time, knowledge,<br />
and talent; not only with students, but with teachers.”<br />
Sarah Morris, the school system’s Math Supervisor, nominated Mrs. Hinckley for the Math<br />
Council award. She pointed out that, during<br />
model lessons Mrs. Hinckley teaches for<br />
classroom teachers, she provides personal<br />
attention to each student and uses visuals<br />
to better explain lessons. The use of calculators,<br />
whiteboards, and manipulatives<br />
plays a key role in Mrs. Hinckley’s “hands<br />
on learning” classroom, Mrs. Morris said.<br />
Mrs. Hinckley will retire at the end of this<br />
school year. She and her husband, Curtis<br />
Hinckley, instrumental music teacher at<br />
Fallston Middle School, will move to<br />
Florida to begin the next chapter of their<br />
lives.<br />
Fran Plotycia beat phobia to be<br />
Plotycia would be the highlight of my day – I couldn’t wait to go to her classroom for<br />
math,” said Mrs. Bradford.<br />
3<br />
In her essay which was part of the application, the mother of three and husband of<br />
Aberdeen High School Planetarium teacher Greg Plotycia, said she begins math<br />
instruction by determining at what level her students are and how best to take them<br />
to the next level.<br />
+2<br />
-6<br />
By Joseph Gonzales<br />
HANDS ON - ‘Ginny’ Hinckley demonstrates a lesson<br />
in April Kenney’s fourth grade classroom at<br />
Havre de Grace Elementary School.<br />
She asserted that mathematics instruction should provide students with multiple ways<br />
to see number relationships, once using the example of cutting up a pizza to determine<br />
fractions.<br />
“I think my negative experience as a young student in math makes me do all I can to<br />
teach math in a better and more understandable way,” Mrs. Plotycia said. “To see<br />
my kids get a new concept and beam when they learn it and know that they love<br />
math really makes it worthwhile.”<br />
Mrs. Plotycia, who two years ago received National Board Certification after a yearlong,<br />
demanding personal development program, said she is very appreciative of the<br />
Math award and the validation that comes with it, demonstrating that she is, indeed,<br />
making a difference for her students.<br />
The oldest of the Plotycia children, Julie, will graduate this year from Nazareth<br />
College in Rochester, New York<br />
with a degree in physical therapy,<br />
while the couple’s twin<br />
daughters, Rachel and Sarah,<br />
are now ninth graders at Bel<br />
Air High School.<br />
<strong>2003</strong> Math Teacher of the Year<br />
PROUD CLASS - Francine Plotycia taught the<br />
same group of students in <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> she had the<br />
year before as first graders. The ‘looping’ process<br />
allows her to follow up on the instruction she<br />
provided a year ago with the current second<br />
graders.
Lee Squillacioti’s composition had<br />
‘world premier’ at CMW<br />
Last year, then 16-year-old Lee M. Squillacioti, a junior at C. Milton Wright High<br />
School, said he will never forget the day – it was December 17, 2000 – when he<br />
downloaded his first piece of musical composition software. Last spring, less than<br />
four years later, the young musical prodigy is about to have his three movement<br />
composition played by his school’s 42-member eleventh/twelfth grade orchestra in<br />
a world premier which was performed in the C. Milton Wright auditorium May<br />
17th.<br />
“In my 28 years as a orchestra director I’ve had students arrange music, but I’ve<br />
never had one to compose a piece that will be performed in public,” Sheldon Bair,<br />
who teaches instrumental music at Southampton Middle and C. Milton Wright High<br />
schools, said last spring. “Lee has real talent and great potential – his music is what<br />
I call ‘listener friendly’ and entertaining.”<br />
Entitled simply Dance Suite, the 12 minutes of music will be played in Rigaudon<br />
(moderate), Saraband (slow), and Waltz tempos. Lee Squillacioti’s composition<br />
was to have been accompanied by an adult composer’s new work, creating two<br />
“world premiers.”<br />
“It’s just overwhelming – I really never thought what I composed would be played<br />
by an orchestra so soon,” said Lee, a member of his school’s French National<br />
Honor Society and a 3.5 GPA student who is also an All-<strong>County</strong> clarinet player. “I<br />
guess I’ve written about 25 pieces – most of them for piano – that I’ve finished –<br />
it’s just something I really enjoy doing.”<br />
Mr. Bair calls young Squillacioti’s music “very advanced” and said he provided Lee<br />
only with technical guidance in finishing the Dance Suite. “Lee is not, actually, a<br />
student of mine,” said Mr. Bair who has more than 200 students and conducts six<br />
student orchestras.<br />
The young composer said he began writing Dance Suite last December, finishing it<br />
in February, following his meeting with Mr. Bair about a month before it was completed.<br />
Lee, a native of Massachusetts who moved to the Vineyard Oaks area near Bel Air<br />
with his family as a third grader, said he has always loved music, though he never<br />
gave writing music a serious thought until he downloaded that composition program<br />
as an eighth grader. He credits his third grade music teacher at Hickory<br />
Elementary, Carole Pearce (now at Norrisville Elementary), as having inspired him<br />
to develop that love. And, he said Jennifer Carr-Famous, former HCPS music<br />
teacher now living in Arizona, got him interested in band instruments as a fourth<br />
grader.<br />
Young Squillacioti said he gets the inspiration for his compositions in a variety of<br />
ways – from taking a long walk on a nice day to his admitted “day dreaming” during<br />
duller moments of his days in class.<br />
“I listen to a lot of music – most classical and especially Tchaikovsky,” said Lee.<br />
“My favorite modern composer is John Williams who did the music for Indiana<br />
Jones, ET, Star Wars, Home Alone, Jaws, Schindler’s List, and a number of others.”<br />
An accomplished performer himself, Lee has performed in four C. Milton Wright<br />
musical productions and had a role in <strong>Harford</strong> Community College’s production of<br />
Footloose. He is also a member of the CMW multi-cultural club known as Satori.<br />
The son of APG Research Engineer Richard and Southampton Middle School<br />
Secretary Beth Squillacioti has an older sister, Andrea, a <strong>2003</strong> graduate of C.<br />
Milton Wright who was enrolled last<br />
year at <strong>Harford</strong> Community College.<br />
PRODIGY - Lee Squillacioti is a 16-year-old<br />
junior at C. Milton Wright whose original<br />
composition, ‘Dance Suite,’ was performed<br />
by the school’s orchestra at a ‘world premier’<br />
on May 17.<br />
EPA honors local schools for indoor air quality program<br />
The <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School system was among 22 school districts nationwide<br />
selected to receive the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Indoor Air Quality<br />
(IAQ) Tools for <strong>Schools</strong> <strong>2003</strong> National Excellence and Special Achievement Awards. The<br />
award recognizes exemplary indoor air quality programs and commitment to providing a<br />
healthy learning environment for students and staff.<br />
The <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School System was recognized for its efforts in working in partnership<br />
with the American Lung Association to establish IAQ guidelines for team formation,<br />
walk through inspections, and reporting complaints. The system was also cited for<br />
allowing flexibility to meet the needs of individual schools.<br />
Steve Johnson, acting deputy administrator for the federal EPA, presented the award to<br />
Jeffrey C. Ayers, then director of facilities management for HCPS and other members of<br />
his department during the fourth annual IAQ Tools for <strong>Schools</strong> (TfS) National Symposium<br />
held in Washington, DC on October 26, <strong>2003</strong>.<br />
In 1995, the EPA developed the voluntary IAQ TfS Kit and Program in response to government<br />
studies highlighting the deteriorating conditions of the nation’s schools and the<br />
alarming rise in asthma cases, particularly among school and preschool age children.<br />
Asthma alone accounts for 14 million missed school days each year, an EPA official said.<br />
“Today, one out of every 13 school-aged children has asthma,” the spokesman said. “The<br />
IAQ TfS Kit is a flexible, comprehensive resource designed to help school staff identify,<br />
resolve, and prevent IAQ problems and is available to schools at no cost.”<br />
Currently, an estimated 10,000 schools and school districts across the country are utilizing<br />
the Kit, the spokesman said.<br />
“EPA is proud to recognize these select schools and districts for their efforts in implementing<br />
outstanding and effective IAQ programs,” said Elizabeth Cotsworth, director of EPA’s office<br />
of radiation and indoor air. “They made the health of their students and staff a priority.”<br />
Ms. Cotsworth added that the programs of the winning 22 school districts can serve as a<br />
model for other schools to address indoor air quality and provide a healthy and productive<br />
learning environment.<br />
According to the award information, <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> has an effective communications<br />
plan in place which involves the school community including training on<br />
indoor air quality and maintenance, and parent notification through newsletters, and cable<br />
access programming. “This school district’s indoor air quality efforts have been successful<br />
due to the effective communication and partnerships within the community,” the award<br />
documentation said.<br />
In addition to HCPS (the only school system in Maryland to be recognized), other school<br />
districts honored were Adams Twelve Five Star <strong>Schools</strong> in Thornton, Colorado;<br />
Bellingham School District #501 in Bellingham, Washington; Blount <strong>County</strong> School<br />
System in Maryville, Tennessee; Blue Valley Unified School District #229 in Overland<br />
Park, Kansas; Cle Elum-Roslyn School District in Cle Elum, Washington; Clovis Unified<br />
School District in Clovis, California; Millcreek Township School District in Erie,<br />
Pennsylvania; and Perkis <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> in Sandusky, Ohio.<br />
Also, Radnor Township School District in Wayne, Pennsylvania; Rochester <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
in Rochester, Minnesota; Salt Lake City School District in Salt Lake City, Utah; The School<br />
District of Palm Beach <strong>County</strong> in West Palm Beach, Florida; Waterford <strong>Public</strong> schools in<br />
Waterford, Connecticut; Westborough <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> in Westborough, Massachusetts; and<br />
West Carrollton City School District in West Carrollton, Ohio.<br />
For more information on EPA’s Indoor Air Quality Tools for <strong>Schools</strong> program, visit<br />
www.epa.gov/iaq_schools.<br />
<strong>Harford</strong> wins GFOA budget<br />
honors for second year<br />
For the second year in a row, the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Budget Office earned<br />
the prestigious Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and<br />
Canada (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation award in <strong>2003</strong>. The honor, presented<br />
on November 10, <strong>2003</strong>, represents a significant achievement by the recipient,<br />
reflecting the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles<br />
of governmental budgeting, a spokesperson for GFOA said.<br />
The award recognized the school system’s FY 20<strong>04</strong> operating budget, produced by former<br />
HCPS Budget Director John L. Cox, Senior Budget Analyst Jeannine Ravenscraft,<br />
and Budget Analyst Mary Edmunds.<br />
In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized<br />
guidelines for effective budget presentation designed to assess how well the budget<br />
serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a communications<br />
device.<br />
Since the inception of the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards program<br />
in 1984, approximately 900 entities have received the honor. According to the organization,<br />
award recipients “have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting<br />
and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.”
CMW’s Rabe is named<br />
national award winner<br />
Gary C. Rabe believes it’s not what students do in his<br />
class that matters, it’s what they take out of that class to<br />
impact the rest of their lives that makes all the difference.<br />
For 28 years the C. Milton Wright High School<br />
Engineering, Architectural Design, and Foundations of<br />
Technology teacher has been laying the groundwork for<br />
his students to help them build successful features.<br />
Now, the unassuming veteran teacher has won a national<br />
award of excellence, demonstrating that others outside<br />
the county have noticed what his students and colleagues<br />
have understood for a long time. Mr. Rabe has been<br />
named the winner of the <strong>2003</strong> Iota Lambda Sigma<br />
Grand Chapter Award for Distinguished Teaching. The<br />
national award is given to one person in the United States<br />
each year from nominations of chapters across the<br />
nation.<br />
The Technology Education teacher and<br />
CMW Department Chair was honored late<br />
this past spring by the honorary professional<br />
society which concentrates on<br />
workforce development. The organization<br />
recognizes individuals for excellence<br />
in various endeavors in workforce education<br />
and development. Nominees must<br />
be classroom and/or laboratory teachers<br />
who engage full time in teaching either<br />
Engineering Technology, Industrial<br />
Technology, Technology Education, Trade<br />
and Industrial Education, Business<br />
Education, Home Economics, Health<br />
Occupations, and/or other Career and<br />
Technical Education programs and services.<br />
The teacher must provide outstanding<br />
leadership in one or more of the<br />
areas.<br />
“It’s a great honor to be recognized by my<br />
peers and colleagues,” said Mr. Rabe. “I<br />
am humbled by being in such esteemed<br />
company.”<br />
Mr. Rabe said that his message to students in each of his<br />
28 years in the classroom has been the same. “I tell them<br />
to take what you learn today and apply it to your future<br />
and be successful,” he said. “It gives me enormous pleasure<br />
when my former students return and share the successes<br />
they have achieved both professionally and personally.”<br />
Mr. Rabe, who has sponsored the Technology Student<br />
Association in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> since 1992, has been a<br />
consistent mentor for students entering the highly competitive<br />
Maryland Engineering Challenge. His students<br />
have achieved at an outstanding level with eight of them<br />
having won or placed high in the Bridge Building<br />
Competition, enabling them to take part at the international<br />
level. Two of his students have won the Maryland<br />
Engineering Challenge Cargo Aircraft Design competition.<br />
In 2002, his robotics design team won the Maryland<br />
Robotics Design competition. Three of his teams have<br />
taken Honorable Mentions in that competition. More<br />
importantly, as far as he is concerned, hundreds of his<br />
students have pursued careers in technology engineering<br />
and architecture.<br />
Mr. Rabe was instrumental in helping persuade <strong>County</strong><br />
Executive James M. Harkins and the <strong>County</strong> Council to<br />
fund a Computer Aided Design lab for C. Milton Wright<br />
High.<br />
Three years ago, he was inducted into the NU field chapter<br />
of the University of Maryland of Iota Lambda Sigma.<br />
He has taught at C. Milton Wright since 1981.<br />
GARY C. RABE
Rinehart named nation’s top Civil War teacher<br />
Two years ago, Bob Rinehart’s eighth graders at Southampton Middle School raised more than $1,700 to<br />
preserve Civil War battle sites.<br />
But, the <strong>2003</strong>-<strong>04</strong> Team 8B students want a step further in piling up close to $3,000 in contributions for the effort and<br />
even more recognition has come to them and their teacher as a result.<br />
Early in February 20<strong>04</strong>, Mr. Rinehart was notified that he had been selected as the Civil War Teacher of the Year by the<br />
Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), a national recognition. The tenth-year Social Studies teacher went to Nashville,<br />
Tennessee on April 24th to pick up the award during the Trust’s annual conference.<br />
Jennifer Rosenberry, Education Coordinator for CWPT, said the award recognizes Mr. Rinehart’s “extraordinary dedication”<br />
in protecting the country’s Civil War heritage. “You have been chosen for your outstanding efforts to get school students<br />
involved in Civil War battlefield preservation, and (for) your ongoing participation in CWPT events and projects,”<br />
Ms. Rosenberry said.<br />
Led by a cadre of about nine students, the more than 100 members of Team 8B took part in a series of activities aimed<br />
at educating their classmates, parents, extended families, and the community about the need to preserve some of the fast<br />
disappearing Civil War sites as a way of consecrating the sacrifices made by Americans more than 140 years ago.<br />
Students reported before or after school to cut out and sell paper Lions — the school’s mascot — realizing 25 cents for<br />
each sale earlier this winter. Students also penned and mailed letters to community leaders and elected officials, explaining<br />
the project and soliciting donations.<br />
Some students — including Megan Kennedy who garnered $50 from a Haunted House in her neighborhood — came up<br />
with other ways of spreading the word and collecting money for the cause.<br />
Many of the letters written to elected officials and others resulted in written responses encouraging the youngsters to keep<br />
up the effort. But, one of the letters — this one to First District Maryland Congressman Wayne Gilchrest — resulted in a<br />
personal visit to the school. Rep. Gilchrest, a former Kent High School History teacher currently seeking his eighth term<br />
in the US Congress, addressed the assembled 8B classes on February 27, 20<strong>04</strong>.<br />
Bryan Hill, one of the student leaders in the preservation campaign, said he became involved because he was touched<br />
with stories of Americans fighting each other on their home soil. “History needs to be preserved so people won’t repeat<br />
the past,” said young Hill with wisdom beyond his years. “All kinds of students have been involved in this thing.”<br />
Another of the student leaders, Juliana Finamore agreed, adding, “People need to see what happened and preserving the<br />
battle sites is the best way.”<br />
Fifty percent of the funds raised through the Southampton Middle School effort will remain in Maryland to preserve sites<br />
in the state while the remaining 50 percent will be used in areas deem appropriate by the Civil War Preservation Trust.<br />
Mr. Rinehart and his wife, Katharine, a former <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School math teacher, live in Forest Hill and have<br />
one child, Hannah.<br />
STUDENT<br />
LEADERS -<br />
Congressman<br />
Wayne<br />
Gilchrest,<br />
seated, and<br />
S o c i a l<br />
Studies<br />
teacher Bob<br />
Rinehart,<br />
standing,<br />
some of the Southampton Middle School students who have been<br />
leaders in the Civil War preservation project. The students are, from<br />
left, kneeling, Michael Bishop and Troy Shaman; and, standing, Lily<br />
Mitchell, Karat Keened, Bryan Hill, Lindsay Carpenter, Kevin Halley,<br />
rear, were<br />
joined by<br />
Juliana Finamore, and Megan Kennedy.<br />
LEADERS - Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, center, visited Southampton<br />
Middle School on February 27 in response to a letter from students<br />
in Bob Rinehart’s 8B class about a project to preserve Civil War battle<br />
sites. Mr. Rinehart, right, has been named Civil War Preservation<br />
Trust’s 20<strong>04</strong> National Civil War Teacher of the Year. The two were<br />
joined by Southampton Middle Assistant Principal David Craig,<br />
Mayor of Havre de Grace and former Maryland State Senator.<br />
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Joan McVeigh Hayden’s eleventh grade Towson High School Home Economics teacher,<br />
Rose Rubin, made school fun, interesting, and relevant. It was then, as a 16-year-old, the<br />
young woman who had always wanted to be a teacher, decided she wanted to be just like<br />
Ms. Rubin.<br />
Last spring, 32 years later, evidence she has achieved her goal, a fact her students have<br />
known for the 27-years she has taught middle and high school, has now become evident<br />
to a wider audience as the Bel Air High School Family and Consumer Sciences teacher has<br />
been chosen as the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Teacher of the Year for 20<strong>04</strong>-05. Mrs.<br />
Hayden, 48, had her name called as the county’s honored teacher at the conclusion of the<br />
Tenth <strong>Annual</strong> HCPS Teacher of the Year banquet held at the Bayou Restaurant in Havre<br />
de Grace on Thursday, April 22nd.<br />
Mrs. Hayden teaches child development courses at Bel Air High, providing instruction to<br />
slightly more than 100 high school students a day as well as 16 three-and-four-year-old ‘Lil’<br />
Bobcats’ who take part in a 2 1/2 hour rotating laboratory experience with her older students.<br />
She also oversees the school’s Future Teachers of America (FTA) chapter.<br />
“Family and Consumer Sciences teachers are child-centered, family-oriented by the nature<br />
of what they teach,” said Mrs. Hayden of the warm and nurturing way she goes about dealing<br />
with her students that helped win the hearts of the 14 judges who selected her from<br />
among the 19 nominated to be next year’s HCPS Teacher of the Year. “Many of my students<br />
will become teachers, pediatric nurses, day care providers or go into other areas<br />
where they will work with children.”<br />
Joan Hayden is ’<strong>04</strong>-05 HCPS Teacher of the Year<br />
Mrs. Hayden and her husband of 25 years, Dennis, have two children, both in college.<br />
Erin, then 20, a 2001 graduate of Bel Air High, was enrolled at <strong>Harford</strong> Community<br />
College working toward her special education teaching degree. She works fulltime at John<br />
Archer School as an inclusion helper. Kristen, 17, a <strong>2003</strong> graduate of C. Milton Wright<br />
High, was a freshman at the University of Maryland/Baltimore <strong>County</strong> where she is studying<br />
History/Political Science.<br />
Mrs. Hayden taught Home Economics at four Baltimore <strong>County</strong> schools after graduating<br />
from the University of Delaware as a clothing and textiles major, starting with Milford Mill<br />
High School before moving on to Old Court, Stemmers Run, and Dumbarton middle<br />
schools. She came to Bel Air High ten years ago when the family moved to <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong>.<br />
Many of Mrs. Hayden’s students earn nine to 12 college credits for the classes they take with<br />
her. She said only about five percent of her students are boys, a factor she attributes to the<br />
stigma attached to males as primary care givers for children. She added that she hopes to<br />
be able to chip away at that stereotype in the coming years.<br />
In addition to her regular classes, she oversees several students in independent study who<br />
work with young children.<br />
Nominated by one of her senior students, Rachel Pardew, Mrs. Hayden was selected by the<br />
panel of judges that included principals, former Teachers of the Year, students, parents, and<br />
business people, to be among the top ten finalists. As a result of the vote of the judges, she<br />
received the top average score and was announced as the Teacher of the Year by<br />
Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas and then Board President Robert S. Magee at the conclusion<br />
of the April 22nd banquet/program.<br />
That night, she told the other nine finalists, their guests, and others among the 175 in attendance<br />
that she was humbled by the award and honored to be considered among those<br />
master teachers who were nominated for the honor.<br />
“My mother graduated high school at 16 and college at 18, but she lived in an era when<br />
you either became a secretary or a teacher,” said Mrs. Hayden of the options open to<br />
women two or more generations ago. “I never doubted that I would be a teacher and, after<br />
my experience with Mrs. Rubin, I knew this is the field I would be going into.”<br />
Mrs. Hayden is the youngest of three sisters, one now a Title 1 teacher (impoverished students)<br />
in Anne Arundel <strong>County</strong> and the other an attorney in Minneapolis. Her late father,<br />
John McVeigh, was the longtime general manager of Baltimore radio station WFBR-AM<br />
when it was one of the dominant outlets in the region.<br />
An avid quilter, Mrs. Hayden also<br />
serves on the school’s curriculum<br />
and safety committees; and is a<br />
member of the Board of<br />
Education’s Family Life<br />
Committee.<br />
HAPPY MOMENT - The 20<strong>04</strong>-05 <strong>Harford</strong><br />
<strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Teacher of the Year,<br />
Joan Hayden, receives the plaudits of those<br />
in attendance during the Tenth <strong>Annual</strong><br />
HCPS Teacher of the Year banquet at the<br />
Bayou Restaurant April 22. Mrs. Hayden, a<br />
27-year teacher, has taught Family and<br />
Consumer Sciences at Bel Air High School<br />
for the past ten years.
Emily Schmidt’s artwork is cover for MSDE card<br />
When State Superintendent of <strong>Schools</strong> Nancy Grasmick went<br />
looking for artwork to grace the cover of the Maryland State<br />
Department of Education’s <strong>2003</strong> annual holiday card, there was<br />
no doubt the one it would be. In the spring of <strong>2003</strong>, the 13-year<br />
head of the state’s public school system saw a snowy, forest scene<br />
done in tempera paint by then eight-year-old North <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Elementary third grader Emily Schmidt, and she didn’t have to<br />
look any further.<br />
Dr. Grasmick instructed her staff to inform the Graceton Road<br />
youngster that her artwork, showing a forest of white birch with<br />
cardinals and blue birds flitting from a snowman to the snowaccented<br />
trees, would be the cover for the greeting that was sent<br />
to friends of Maryland education throughout the world this holiday<br />
season.<br />
“I was very surprised and it made me happy,” said the daughter<br />
of North <strong>Harford</strong> Elementary fifth grade teacher Lisa and local<br />
businessman Jerry Schmidt. “I’ve always liked to paint and<br />
draw.”<br />
Emily’s teacher Lisa Campbell said she could tell from the start of<br />
the class project this past January that her prize pupil was creating<br />
something extraordinary.<br />
The project had students working 50 minutes, one-day each for<br />
three weeks, saw them start with a plain piece of 12” by 18” gray<br />
construction paper, use white paint with darker shading to depict<br />
the snow on the floor of the forest, and then color in the white<br />
STATE OF ARTWORK - Emily Schmidt’s artwork was<br />
used to grace the cover of the official Maryland State<br />
Department of Education’s holiday greeting card for<br />
<strong>2003</strong>. Emily and her art teacher, Lisa Campbell, proudly<br />
display the work the student did last year as a third<br />
grader.<br />
birches with their darker accents and limbs. After that, students put their individual touches<br />
on the artwork, with Emily placing a snowman to the right of her work, a birdfeeder hanging<br />
from one of the limbs and the two brightly-colored birds.<br />
“We’re all very proud of Emily, it is quite an honor,” said Mrs. Campbell.<br />
Emily, a straight ‘A’ student, is also an accomplished athlete, playing youth basketball, soccer<br />
and lacrosse. In addition, she sings in the Jarrettsville United Methodist Youth Choir and<br />
plays handbells there. She also plays flute and sings in her school’s chorus.<br />
Emily has a younger brother, Kyle, who is a student at North <strong>Harford</strong> Elementary.<br />
Aaron Nuzman, a<br />
20<strong>04</strong> senior at<br />
Aberdeen High<br />
School, was the<br />
only college-bound<br />
student in Maryland<br />
and one of just 38 in<br />
the United States to<br />
achieve a perfect<br />
36, the highest possible<br />
composite<br />
score, on the<br />
December <strong>2003</strong><br />
national test administration<br />
of the ACT<br />
Assessment. About<br />
PERFECT - Aaron Nuzman was the only student<br />
in Maryland and one of just 38 nationwide<br />
in the class of 20<strong>04</strong> to score a perfect 36 on his<br />
ACT college entrance exam.<br />
2,000 Maryland students and more than 332,000 from across<br />
the nation completed the ACT college entrance exam on<br />
December 13, <strong>2003</strong>.<br />
Nuzman among elite to<br />
record perfect ACT score<br />
Mr. Nuzman, son of Dwayne and Susan Nuzman of Aberdeen,<br />
received a letter from ACT chief executive officer Richard L.<br />
Ferguson pointing out that he should have a choice of the<br />
widest possible range of future educational options. ACT<br />
scores are accepted by virtually all US colleges and universities.<br />
The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and<br />
science. Each test is scored on a scale of 1 to 36. A student’s<br />
composite score is the average of the four test scores. For purposes<br />
of comparison, the average composite score for the<br />
national high school graduating class of <strong>2003</strong> was 20.8.<br />
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Planning was completed for Science/Math Academy<br />
In the school year <strong>2003</strong>-20<strong>04</strong>, the result of years of work and planning came together<br />
with the Science and Mathematics Academy (SMA) established as part of the new<br />
Aberdeen High School which opened its doors on August 30, 20<strong>04</strong> to its first class.<br />
Seventy three students applied to be part of that first SMA class and 50 were selected.<br />
Eight of those chosen were provided with a summer course in Algebra so that all SMA<br />
students would be at a level that would allow them to accelerate their mathematics<br />
coursework. Since the students came from all eight HCPS middle schools and several<br />
private schools, it was felt that team building would be of great value, said SMA<br />
Coordinator, Donna Clem. Team building at <strong>Harford</strong> Glen held prior to the opening<br />
of school helped develop bonds needed for the successful transition of the students to<br />
the Academy, she added. In addition, lines of communication were opened with the<br />
parents, Mrs. Clem said. The faculty was hired and immediately began the process of<br />
developing a professional learning community to support the concepts of the SMA.<br />
This faculty included two teachers who specialize in mathematics, two in science, two<br />
in English, one in Social Studies, and one in the Health curriculum. During the spring<br />
and throughout the summer, these teachers developed curricula specific to the SMA.<br />
The SMA applied for and received full membership in the NCSSSMST which is a consortium<br />
of magnet schools specializing in math, science, and technology.<br />
Meanwhile construction was completed so that the facility was ready for use on the first<br />
day of school. Details for the operation and administration of the SMA were worked<br />
out during ’03-’<strong>04</strong>. A schedule was developed to meet the demands of the program.<br />
Orders were placed for supplies, curricular materials, furniture, and equipment which<br />
included computers, Vernier probeware, microscopes, and TI-84 Silver Edition calculators.<br />
HCPS provided a transportation plan<br />
that ensured that all the SMA students would<br />
have means to and from Aberdeen High<br />
School. Partnerships were developed with<br />
ARL, Raytheon Corporation, and Battelle<br />
Corporation with seeds planted for others to<br />
eventually join Finally, through the efforts of<br />
school system Coordinator of Partnerships,<br />
Nancy Spence and a number of corporate volunteers,<br />
the SMA continued to develop a comprehensive<br />
marketing plan.<br />
Zello & Fry won McNeely Award<br />
Two veteran <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> School Physical Education teachers — Karen Zello<br />
and Bonnie Fry – were recipients of the <strong>2003</strong> Simon McNeely Award, emblematic of<br />
“consistent dedication and leadership to the profession.”<br />
The awards were presented on October 31, <strong>2003</strong> by the Maryland Association of Health,<br />
Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Association during the group’s annual convention<br />
in Ocean City, Maryland.<br />
In <strong>2003</strong>, Ms. Zello, a 23-year teacher in the local system, had been at Bel Air Middle<br />
School for 14 years, serving the previous seven as assistant intramural director at the<br />
school. She began her education career at Edgewood Middle School where she taught<br />
for five years before moving to Edgewood High for the next nine, serving as department<br />
chair there for six years. She was also varsity lacrosse coach at Edgewood High for 12<br />
years and varsity field hockey coach for eight while coaching cross country for a year.<br />
The graduate of Frostburg State University has her masters from Towson University, specializing<br />
in health education. She has won many awards during her career including the<br />
Governor’s School and Family Fitness Award. Her work with Bel Air Middle School’s<br />
Hoops for Heart program has brought the school top fundraising honors for several<br />
years. And, she won secondary curriculum awards in 1999 and 2001 for developing<br />
positive attitudes & perceptions in the gymnasium group project as well as Hoops for<br />
Heart.<br />
Ms. Zello has also netted the President’s Council of Physical Fitness & Sports recognition<br />
in 1993-95 and 1995-97; as well as the MAHPERD award for exemplary program –<br />
National Honor Roll Demonstration Center in 1995-97.<br />
She is a mentor for the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> Physical Education program and<br />
participant in statewide physical education study circles held in the county.<br />
Meanwhile, Mrs. Fry had taught for 27 years in the <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> – two<br />
at Havre de Grace Middle, two at Bel Air High, and the past 23 at C. Milton Wright High<br />
School. She has a masters plus 30 credits beyond from Towson University.<br />
Mrs. Fry had been named Outstanding Female Athlete while attending <strong>Harford</strong><br />
Community College, has been awarded the Bel Air Athletic Club Community Fitness<br />
Award, the MAHPERD Merit Award, and is a member of the HCC Sports Hall of Fame.<br />
At C. Milton Wright High, she has worked on development of the Unified Sports Program<br />
(where students in the regular education program work with those who have special<br />
needs) and has created a semester course in Exerobics, in addition to putting Wellness<br />
Walking into the curriculum. Mrs. Fry also initiated the first Varsity Club at the school.
Minnesota children endured 29 hour bus ride to visit Church Creek<br />
When Abby Schulltheis sent a birthday party invitation to her friend Katelyn Westlund last spring, she had no idea the chain of events<br />
she would set in motion.<br />
Abby and Katelyn are second grade pen pals, having corresponded for most of this school year from Abby’s home school of Church<br />
Creek Elementary in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> to Katelyn’s Cass Lake/Bene Elementary on the Leech Lake Ojibwa nation Indian reservation<br />
in northern Minnesota. While Katelyn lives just outside the huge reservation, 82 percent of the children who attend the kindergarten<br />
through fourth grade school are Ojibwa. Most have never been off the reservation and even fewer had ever set foot outside the state<br />
of Minnesota.<br />
But, Abby’s invitation for her May 24th birthday party at “Chuck E Cheese” set Katelyn’s teacher Roxanne Wimme and dozens of others<br />
at Cass Lake/Bene to thinking, “what if?” The simple question, followed by dozens of fundraisers and a gift of $6,195 from the<br />
Tribal Chairman Peter White, made it possible for Abby and nine of her classmates to accept the invitation.<br />
Tuesday, June 1st, the students and their eight adult chaperones arrived in <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong> at 5:00 a.m. after an exhausting 29 hour<br />
bus ride. Three hours later, with no sleep and only a quick refresher at a local motel, the group arrived to a tumultuous welcome by<br />
Abby’s teacher Debbie Robinson and her class along with Principal Mike Steeg and others from the school.<br />
In all, the trip cost the Cass Lake/Bene contingent $10,000, but Mrs. Wimme says the investment will be well worth it.<br />
“Our kids go to a school that is the poorest, economically, in the state, where 50 percent of them dropout, and live in an area where<br />
crime is the worst in the state,” said Mrs. Wimme. “I’m hopeful that this trip will show our young people the possibilities that exist outside<br />
the reservation.”<br />
As for Mrs. Robinson, she said the impact of the visit from the<br />
Ojibwa children is one that cannot be calculated. “This is one of<br />
those school experiences I know I’ll never forget, and I’m sure our<br />
students won’t either,” said Mrs. Robinson.<br />
DANCE - The Ojibwa children showed their<br />
ceremonial dancing dress and performed one<br />
of the dances they do at pow wows. Sharon<br />
Northbird helps her daughter Kristie<br />
Northbird, eight years old, explain the significance<br />
of the dance.<br />
GIFTS - Following the traditions of the Ojibwa Nation, the<br />
children from Cass Lake/Bene Elementary School brought<br />
gifts to their hosts at Church Creek Elementary. Teachers<br />
Sue Nelson, left, and Debbie Robinson, joined by Mike<br />
Steeg, accepted the gifts from, left to right, Terri Jo Adams,<br />
Jasmine Morris, Trisha Chastek, Kimberly Howard, Kristie<br />
Northbird, Katelyn Westlund, Nicolas Rairdon, Dylan<br />
Chase, Angel Rosillo, and Amber Guinn.<br />
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Being the only two people to help the President of the United States and the First Lady light the National Christmas Tree would<br />
be a big deal for anyone at any age. But, when you’re ‘just a regular kid’ and you’re ten years old, the chance to be the featured<br />
children to join with the most powerful man in the world and his wife in throwing the switch is just about as good as it<br />
gets.<br />
Edgewood pair helped light National tree<br />
That’s exactly what happened for then Edgewood Elementary School fifth graders Andre’ Joyner and Maggie Stuempfle<br />
Thursday night, December 4, <strong>2003</strong> as they teamed with George and Laura Bush to light the country’s most prestigious holiday<br />
tree. The two, members of the Edgewood Boys and Girls Club, had won an essay contest through the nationwide organization<br />
to secure the invitation to take part in the lighting ceremony.<br />
“It was very exciting,” both youngsters said in unison about the experience which began days before their trip with the news<br />
their essays had been chosen as winners.<br />
“I was so excited and laughing so hard that I almost tripped over the brick wall around our carport,” said Maggie after being<br />
told by Edgewood Boys and Girls Club Unit Director Michelle Crawford of her good fortune.<br />
It was only when they got to the White House and met Mr. and Mrs. Bush that the two, their families, and the Boys and Girls<br />
leaders realized Andre’ and Maggie would be the only two young people to help light the famous tree. Each had been allowed<br />
to take five people with them on the trip by van to Washington, D.C. from the Aberdeen Boys and Girls location. Maggie took<br />
her mother and father, sister Katie and two of her grandparents; while Andre’ took his mother, father, sisters Ashley and Janell,<br />
and his uncle.<br />
The “Pageant of Peace” ceremony marked the 80th anniversary of the lighting of the National Christmas Tree with every president<br />
since Calvin Coolidge in 1923 having presided over the ceremony. Andre’ and Maggie came forward at the conclusion<br />
of the December 4th ceremonies with President and Mrs. Bush to press the button that turned on the 13,000 colorful lights of<br />
the tree. The program was broadcast live nationwide on the C-Span cable network and will be rebroadcast on Christmas Eve.<br />
Maggie’s winning essay centered on the free choices she has at the club she attends regularly adjacent to the Cedar Drive<br />
school in Edgewood. Andre’ discussed how everyone is treated with respect at the Edgewood Boys and Girls Club and all are<br />
encouraged to live by the ‘Golden Rule.’<br />
“Andre and Maggie were chosen for this event by the White House staff because of their outstanding participation as Club<br />
members of the Boys & Girls Club in Edgewood,” said Darlene Lilly, director of program operations for the Boys & Girls Clubs<br />
of <strong>Harford</strong> <strong>County</strong>.<br />
Both students received personalized gifts — a Jacob Lawrence Art Kit with mixing palette, tubes of paint, brushes, a book on<br />
Jacob Lawrence, an activity book, paper, and a picture frame — in special White House wrapping paper as a reward for having<br />
taken part in the ceremony. The gifts were wrapped in gold paper with the Presidential Seal.<br />
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