2004-05 Annual Report - Harford County Public Schools

Transcription

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Harford County Public Schools
2005
2004
Annual Report
What’s RIGHT
with our schools...
Inside this issue:
Financial Responsiblity
Hiring Success
Test Scores Soar
Hall of Fame Honors 20
Teacher of Year Named
pg. 4 - 5
pg. 6 - 7
pg. 8 - 9
pg. 10 - 12
pg. 25
Published by the Harford County Public Schools
in partnership with Homestead Publishing
Marketing Department and HarCo Maryland
1-8
888-5
588-4
4963 Federal Credit Union.
410-8
838-7
7300
www.hcps.org
102 S. Hickory Ave. * Bel Air, MD 21014
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THE AEGIS / DECEMBER 14, 2005 · THE RECORD / DECEMBER 16, 2005
When I think of the theme of this year’s Harford County Public School System Annual Report “What’s
Right with our Schools,” I have only to remember each of my trips into our classrooms. As
Superintendent, I am called upon often to deal with the “business side” of being chief operating officer
of a third-of-a-billion dollar organization with 5,000 employees located in almost 60 separate schools and
school offices. It’s a daunting task and one that requires dealing with many adults inside and outside the
school system to discuss budgets, capital improvements, legislative mandates, redistricting, media scrutiny, parental expectations, and all the rest.
But when I want to see what my job is really all about, I spend time in one of our more than 3,000
classrooms. The magic that occurs there daily is something someone less privileged than I cannot begin
to imagine. It’s the uncanny interaction between teacher and student that never ceases to amaze me
and – truth be told – makes all of us who have ever had that opportunity to stand before a class of eager
youngsters occasionally feel a little pang of envy.
Be it a pre-kindergartner just learning the fundamentals of the language that will form the basis of his
education, or a senior in an upper level math course exploring concepts that are difficult to grasp, that
teaching-learning scenario is like no other interaction. It’s almost trite to hear the phrase, “teachers
touch the future,” but it’s also very true. Each day in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in the media
center, on the athletic field, and in the school hallways, teachers and other school-based employees have
the chance to impact the course of a young life. I’m pleased to report, in the vast majority of those cases,
the opportunity is seized and pursued in a positive way.
Like other school systems around the country, HCPS is repositioning our programs and services to adjust
to a more global workplace era. Our future graduates will be required to engage in a workplace that
requires them to demonstrate the ability to interact with complex technology, team problem solving and
sophisticated technical competencies unlike those we presently see in current career environments. As
a result, all students must acquire higher academic competence than ever before.
HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS - ANNUAL REPORT 3
2004-2005
Mission
HCPS Master Plan
The mission of the Harford County Public Schools is to foster a quality educational system that
challenges students to develop knowledge and skills, and inspires them to become life-long learners and
good citizens.
Vision
Harford County is a community of learners where educating everyone takes everyone. We empower all
students to contribute to a diverse, democratic, and change-oriented society. Our public schools,
parents, public officials, businesses, community organizations, and citizens actively commit to educate
all students to become caring, respectful, and responsible citizens.
Goal #1: Ensure a safe, positive learning environment for students and staff in
our schools.
• Ensure a positive school climate that fosters an environment wherein teachers can teach and students
can learn
- analyze school climate survey results
- eliminate factors that contribute to negative school climate
• Establish safe and secure school buildings to maximize student learning
- identify specific school security breaches
- provide drug awareness and prevention strategies
• Maintain, renovate, modernize, and construct school system facilitaties
- construct additional capacity space to relieve overcrowding
- enhance school facilities with modern building systems
- develop enhancements to reduce air quality and water quality conditions in our schools
We are proud of the accomplishments of our teachers and their students. We are confident that we will
be able to meet the challenge of preparing our graduates for multiple opportunities for the future.
Goal #2:
On the pages of this our third “Annual Report” done in partnership with the HarCo Maryland Federal
Credit Union and Homestead Publishing Company, you will read the facts and figures. You’ll see charts,
graphs, and narratives about how we, the Harford County Public School System, spend your money. It
is, after all, your public school system, paid for through your tax dollars, and serving those of you who
have given us the privilege of working with your children.
• Eliminate the achievement gap for:
- economically disadvantaged students
- students from major racial and ethnic groups
- students with disabilities
- students with limited English proficiency (LEP)
• Ensure academic rigor and challenging coursework for all students
- design and implement program evaluation models
- align the existing organizational structure to support student achievement
- enhance post-high school preparation of all secondary students
• Increase parent and business involvement to support achievement
- introduce school improvement teams to the integrated management process to improve student
achievement
Still, it is my fervent hope that you will also see in the pictures
and stories to follow the true story of the Harford County
Public Schools – the results where the “rubber meets the
road” in those classrooms. I trust you will be able to
vicariously experience that interaction through the listing
of accomplishments of our students, employees, and Hall
of Fame educators.
My staff and I, the Board of Education, and each schoolbased administrator exist for one reason – and that is to
support what happens in the classroom. It’s the real “job
one” that keeps us all coming back.
Jacqueline C. Haas, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
HCPS Board of Education:
R. Robin Rich, President; Mark M. Wolkow, Vice President; Thomas L. Fidler, Jr.; Patrick L. Hess; Lee
Merrell; John L. Smilko; Salina M. Williams; Jacqueline C. Haas, Ed.D., Superintendent, Secretary/Treasurer; William
R. Garrett, Student Representative
On the cover (top):
Maryland’s First Lady Kendel Erhlich, Kelly Kundratic and State
Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. See page 18 for the full story.
On the cover (bottom):
Teisha Collins and Kelly Mooney. See page 26 for the full story.
Don Morrison, Editor
Teri Kranefeld, Publication Design
The Harford County Public School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability in matters affecting employment or in providing access to programs. Inquiries related to the policies of the Board of Education of Harford County should
be directed to the Director of Public Information, 410-588-5203.
Improve student achievement with a focus on closing the minority
achievement gap.
Goal #3: Ensure the effective use of all resources focusing on the areas of
technology, fiscal and budgetary management, and community partnerships.
• Technology:
- provide universal access to technology by integrating technology seamlessly into instruction
- improve administrative function and operational processes utilizing effective technology
• Fiscal Management:
- enhance fiscal credibility of school system with Board, County, and State
authorities and taxpayers
- incorporate integrated management process in performance of school administrators’/supervisors’
duties
• Communication:
- provide public with information on the successes of students, staff, and schools
- expand collaborations with business community and families
Goal #4: Understanding that all employees contribute to the learning environment,
we will maintain a highly qualified workforce.
• Recruit and retain highly qualified employees in the HCPS System
- increase the pool of qualified applicants and retain employees
• Identify and implement programs to assist all employees to enhance their skills in a changing
educational work environment
- ensure that the staff meet the ‘No Child Left Behind’ requirements
- increase understanding of diversity and cross-cultural communication among all employees
• Employ a diverse workforce
- establish community support for recruitment/retention of minority candidates
- implement the Affirmative Action Plan
- increase the number of minority professionals in positions of leadership
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4 HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS - ANNUAL REPORT THE AEGIS / DECEMBER 14, 2005 · THE RECORD / DECEMBER 16, 2005
HCPS Financial
State & County Capital HCPS Projects for 2004 - 2005
Project Description
Relocatable Classrooms
Patterson Mill Middle/High School
Site Acquisition
Bel Air High School Replacement
New Elementary Capacity
Joppatowne HS Gym Addition
Capacity Projects (FMS, BAHS, PMES)
Full Day Kindergarten
North Harford HS Modernization
Aberdeen North Building
HVAC Replacement (NHMS)
Roofing Replacement (John Archer)
ADA Improvements (JHS)
Air Conditioning (BAMS)
Fire Alarm Repair/Replacement
Environmental Compliance
Equipment & Furniture
Technology Infrastructure
Integrated Business Systems (Software)
Milestone Project (Tech. Integration)
Athletic Fields Repair
Vocational/Tech. Equip. Refresh
Tech. Ed. Lab Refresh
Textbook Refresh - Math
Vehicle Acquisition
Bus Acquisition
Music Instrument Refresh
Security Cameras
SWM, Erosion, Sediment Control
Paving - Overlay and Maintenance
Paving - New Parking Areas
Backflow Prevention
Total Capital Funds- FY06
State
Request
State
Actual
Local
Request
Local
Actual
FY 2006 FY 2006
Request Actual
The Harford County Public Schools spent nearly a half of a billion dollars in the 2004-2005
school year to provide educational services to the more than 40,000 students who were
enrolled in the school system. Included in that amount was more than $66 million spent on
school projects including the first phase of construction funds for the new Patterson Mill
Middle/High School, planning funds for the replacement of Bel Air High School, capacity
improvements to three schools and the second phase of the North Harford High School modernization. Seven of ten dollars spent on the operation of the schools was devoted to
salaries for the more than 5,000 people who work in the school system. The lion's share
of school funding for operations came either from the County (47 percent) or the State (42
percent). Also, for the third straight year, the Harford County Public School Budget Office
earned the prestigious Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and
Canada (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.
$376,000
$0
$376,000
$376,000
$376,000
$0 $20,073,709 $26,810,709 $28,517,709 $26,810,709
$0 $2,000,000
$0 $2,000,000
$0
$0 $3,934,314
$0
$0 $3,934,314
$25,000
$0
$25,000
$25,000
$25,000
$182,000
$0
$182,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$679,000
$679,000
$101,000 $1,980,000 $1,980,000 $2,333,000 $2,081,000
$7,044,000 $8,886,450 $8,886,450 $15,930,450 $15,930,450
$640,000
$0
$640,000
$640,000
$640,000
$972,000 $3,036,000 $3,036,000 $7,745,000 $4,008,000
$658,350 $1,058,350
$428,000
$230,350 $1,058,350
$0
$0
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$0 $2,931,500 $2,931,500 $2,931,500 $2,931,500
$75,000
$0
$75,000
$75,000
$75,000
$100,000
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$0 $3,371,000 $2,503,000 $3,371,000 $2,503,000
$0
$0
$0
$193,000
$193,000
$0
$0
$0
$675,000
$675,000
$18,000
$0
$18,000
$18,000
$18,000
$100,000
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
$50,000
$50,000
$50,000
$0 $1,360,000 $1,500,000 $1,360,000 $1,500,000
$283,150
$0
$283,150
$283,150
$283,150
$0 $1,120,000 $1,120,000 $1,120,000 $1,120,000
$150,000
$0
$150,000
$150,000
$150,000
$200,000
$0
$200,000
$200,000
$200,000
$50,000
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000 Revenue
$100,000
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
Local Sources
$100,000
$0
$100,000
$100,000
$100,000
State Sources
Federal Sources
$20,978,000 $8,117,000 $47,638,159 $57,924,473 $68,616,159 $66,041,473
Earnings on Investments
Special State & Fed. Programs
School Activity Receipts
Capital Outlay-School Construction Fund
Other Sources:
Food Service Income
Other (Interest, Tuition, and Fees)
Fund balance at July 1, 2004 - designated
for fiscal year ended June 30, 2005
Supplemental appropriation of fund balance
$0
$8,444,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$353,000
$7,044,000
$0
$4,709,000
$428,000
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$
Financial Data • Year Ended June 30, 2005
TOTAL REVENUE
Expenditures
Current
Administrative Services
Mid-Level Administration
Instructional Salaries
Instructional Textbooks & Supplies
Other Instructional Costs
Special Education
Student Personnel Services
Student Health Services
Student Transportation
Operation of Plant
Maintenance of Plant
Fixed Charges
Community Services
Capital Outlay
Student Body Activities
Food Services
School Construction
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
Excess of revenues over expenditures
Total Fund Balance, July 1, 2004
Designated Fund Balance, July 1, 2004
(recognized as revenue above)
Proceeds from Capital Lease
Decrease in reserve for inventory
Total Fund Balance
Current
Expense
Fund
Food
Service
Fund
School
Funds
School
Construction
Funds
TOTAL
$154,047,408
139,758,698
371,033
269,937
21,603,298
6,400,222
38,597,991
$2,086,882
248,697
-
$154,047,408
139,758,698
371,033
269,937
21,603,298
6,400,222
38,597,991
$12,251,668
2,086,882
12,251,668
248,697
-
-
$318,385,953 $12,251,668
-
$6,400,222
-
$38,597,991
$375,635,834
$7,187,947
19,063,446
131,678,052
6,586,542
4,049,471
34,255,477
1,189,112
2,300,507
18,643,709
20,990,886
8,717,742
60,250,674
377,078
330,250
41,073,071
7,187,947
19,063,446
131,678,052
6,586,542
4,049,471
34,255,477
1,189,112
2,300,507
18,643,709
20,990,886
8,717,742
60,250,674
377,078
330,250
6,157,838
11,741,173
41,073,071
$315,620,893
$11,741,173
$6,157,838
41,073,071
$374,592,975
$2,765,060
510,495
242,384
(2,475,080)
$1,042,859
2,091,598
0
6,810,502
11,741,173
2,327,656
2,391,248
6,157,838
(248,697)
(431,000)
$4,844,019
(62,219)
$2,408,524,
Reserve for Inventory
2,475,808
$2,333,982
0
(679,697)
2,475,080
(62,219)
$9,586,525
(276,928)
(276,928)
(3,118,942)
Fund Balance at June 30, 2005 for FY 2006
(2,778,942)
(340,000)
Undesignated Fund Balance
$2,065,077
$1,791,596
$2,333,982
$0
$6,190,655
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Information - FY 2006
FY 2005 A CTUAL REVENUES
Capital Outlay - School
Construction Fund
$38,597,991
10%
School Activity Receipts
$6,400,222
2%
Food Service Income
$12,251,668
3%
Interest, Tuition & Fees
$2,086,882
1%
Designated Fund Balance
$248,697
0%
Special State & Federal
Programs
$21,603,298
6%
Federal Sources
$371,033
0%
Earnings on Investments
$269,937
0%
Local Sources
$154,047,408
41%
State Sources
$139,758, 698
37%
FY 2005 A CTUAL EXPENDITURES
Student Body Activities
$6,157,838
2%
Community Services
$377,078
0%
Food Services
$11,741,173
3%
School Construction
$41,073,071
11%
Administrative Services
$7,187,947
2%
Mid-level administration
$19,063,446
5%
Capital Outlay
$330,250
0%
Instruction Salaries
$131,678,052
35%
Fixed Charges
$60,250,674
16%
Operation of Plant
$20,990,886
6%
Student Transportation
$18,643,709
5%
Student Personnel
Services
$1,189,112
0%
Student Health Services
$2,300,507
1%
Instructional Textbooks and Supplies
$6,586,542
2%
Special Education
$34,255,477
9%
Other Instructional Costs
$4,049,471
1%
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Harford hires record number of teachers
‘Highly qualified’/ retention rates among best in state
One of the goals of the Board of Education of Harford County is to maintain a highly qualified workforce. Key to achieving that goal is the employment of ‘highly qualified’ teachers for
the classroom, as defined under the Federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ legislation. During the 12 months ended September 30, 2005, the HCPS Human Resources Office hired a record 419 new teachers, up by 61 percent over the similar hiring period for 2004, filling virtually all teacher openings for the start of the new school year. The number included 162 teachers to fill new positions created by virtue of the full-funding of the 2005-06 HCPS budget by County government officials. There are now 2,901 teachers and counselors employed by the Harford County Public Schools among
the slightly more than 5,000 HCPS employees.
This hiring was accomplished during a time of “critical area shortages” of teacher candidates in many regions of the country. In part, the impressive hiring process was aided by the County government providing a 7 percent salary adjustment for teachers and other school instructional personnel for the 2005-06 school year (with the expectation for a similar increase in 2006-07 to bring
Harford instructional salaries more in line with those in other parts of the region). In addition, a concerted effort on the part of the HCPS Human Resources Office was made, which included visitations to colleges and universities and teacher education job fairs in 16 states last year.
Applications received for teaching positions were up 26.2 percent compared to the previous years. A total of 1,320 new teaching applications were received – though a significant number continued to be from non-fully certified candidates and were not considered for employment. Of the new applicants, 345 or 26 percent were male – and almost 28 percent of those hired were male.
Less than half of the newly hired teachers graduated from Maryland colleges and universities. A major factor in the Harford County Public School System being able to maintain an outstanding
teacher work force is the continuing low rate of attrition among instructors in the county. In 2004-05, only 7 percent of the teaching staff left the system – most of them due to retirement. The
93 percent retention rate is the highest among all Baltimore/Washington metropolitan counties.
Recruiting and employing African-American teachers continues to be highly competitive in the state and nation. In 2004-05, 29 African-American teachers were employed, representing an 11.5
percent increase over the previous year. At slightly less than 7 percent of the total hires, the percentage of black educators continues to lag behind the approximate 15 percent of African-American
students in the school system, and remains a prime objective of the local schools.
Of those hired, 60 percent had no prior teaching experience and another 29.4 percent had less than ten years experience
in the classroom. Slightly less than a third had degrees beyond their bachelor’s.
400
Staying home to take care of children and relocation to another state (combined 19.8 percent) were the prime reasons given
for leaving the school system. Only 5.4 percent left to teach in another Maryland school system.
350
The 2005-06 school year marks the second that the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) has produced a
Statewide Class Level Membership Report, which shows the local school systems and individual schools where teachers
who satisfy the NCLB definition of “highly qualified.” Harford’s percentage of highly qualified teachers is fourth best out
of 24 school systems in the state with only 11.1 percent of the teaching force yet to meet the designation (largely because of teaching a specific content area for which they do not have specific college certification as in a
kindergarten through eighth grade certified teacher instructing a content area in middle school). The local non-highly qualified percentage represents an improvement in Harford from the 19.9 percent reported for the 2004-05
school year, improving the local school system from seventh last year to its current status.
300
Characteristics of
New Teachers Education
32.5%
67.5%
Bachelor’s
Master’s
Doctorate
HCPS ranks
4th in the state in
percentage of
‘highly qualified’
teachers
2004
2005
2003
2001
2002
2000
1999
200
1998
250
1997
Surveys were conducted both of recently employed teachers and those choosing to leave the system for reasons other than
retirement. Major reasons for coming to Harford by second year teachers included “rewarding experience” and “students;”
as well as “location” and “support system” for new teachers. Among those supports are the Instructional Leadership Teams
which exist at each school, including a teacher mentor at all of the county’s 51 schools who teach model lessons, help with
planning/organization and classroom behavior management, and many other aspects of the teaching experience.
Number of Teachers
Hired
419
NEW
T
E
A
C
H
E
R
S
Characteristics of
New Teacher Experience
12.2%
17.2%
6.2% 4.3%
60.1%
0 Years
1 - 4 Years
5 - 9 Years
10 - 14 Years
15+ Years
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More than 400 new teachers begin HCPS careers
First year instructors take part in two-day voluntary orientation
A record more than 400 teachers new to the Harford County Public Schools were hired in advance of the
2005-06 school year, including 162 to fill new positions made possible through full-funding of the school
system’s budget. About 250 new teachers were hired to replace those who retired or left the system for
other reasons at the conclusion of the 2004-05 school year.
About 250 of the new teachers took part in a voluntary, two-day orientation August 18 and 19, 2005 at
Aberdeen High School for which they were paid a stipend. All of the first year teachers were to have
reported for their initial two-days of official duty on August 22 and 23; then join the estimated 2,800
returning teachers for three additional days of training and preparation August 24 through 26 in advance
of the first day of school for students August 29.
The new teachers – most of whom are in their first year out of college and are native Marylanders – were
greeted by Board of Education Vice President Mark M. Wolkow during the opening session of the August
18 orientation held in the Aberdeen High School auditorium. Mr. Wolkow introduced a video-taped presentation by Board President R. Robin Rich who was out of state and unable to be present in person. Ms.
Rich urged the teachers to “look in the mirror to see the teacher you want to become.”
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Gerald Scarborough also addressed the teachers in the
opening session, telling them that “students need to see a model” in teachers who can help young people work
through academic and social issues in their lives. “It’s good that you have those butterflies and anxieties – it
shows you care and it gives you that edge,” Dr. Scarborough told the new teachers. “It’s important that you
develop the reputation of honesty and hard work, and that you be open, accessible, and consistent.”
AT WORK – Sabrina Beverly, Bel Air High Business teacher, left, and Miriam
Huddleston, business teacher at Havre de Grace High School, take part in orientation
activities on their first day as teachers in the Harford County Public School System.
The two-day orientation was facilitated by Jackie Tarbert, coordinator of curriculum and professional development. Many mentor teachers and instructional facilitators and several principals attended the two-day program,
assisting with the activities which served to welcome the new teachers and give them a head start on their
careers.
GROWING
SMILES
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Har ford students improve in
standardized tests
Harford County Public School students exceeded state averages in all elementary standardized test areas for the
2004-05 school year; and made significant gains in critical areas involving high school students. Local students’ performance in the rigorous Maryland School Assessments (MSAs) – passing rates on which are a requirement of the
Federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act – were not only above state averages but well above the already impressive rates
recorded in 2003-04.
Verbal SAT Scores 2000-2005
515
In addition, Harford public high school students did well in High School Assessments (HSAs) – end-of-course tests
given in Government, Biology, Algebra, and English II – as well as on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) taken
voluntarily by college-bound students.
510
Harford
Maryland
Nation
505
In Harford, average MSA scores increased at all grade levels – three through eight – and in both reading and math
tests. Scores increased systemwide from 2.4 percent to 6.4 percent, depending on the grade level, on the reading
tests. In mathematics, scores increased at every grade level, three through eight, from .5 percent to 5.9 percent.
MSA scores also increased in each of the four disaggregated areas – students receiving free and reduced price
meals, English/language learners, and minority students.
In Harford, at ten elementary schools, in grades three, four, and five, at least 80 percent of the students achieved
at proficient or advanced levels.
500
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Math SAT Scores 2000-2005
Dr. Haas added that she feels the Harford Public Schools are positioned to continue improvement toward the goals
of ‘No Child Left Behind’ which require all students to be achieving at a proficient or advanced level by the 20132014 school year. “We are beginning to see a welcome pattern of students making strides across the board,” said
State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. “Our schools have placed new focus on our state standards,
and the results are impressive.”
525
520
Harford
515
Maryland
Nation
510
505
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
+
A
“Our teachers, school administrators, and other instructional leaders are justifiably pleased at the improvements
made by our students on the latest round of MSA tests,” said Jacqueline C. Haas, Superintendent of the Harford
County Public Schools. “These gains have not been achieved by accident – they reflect hard work on the part of
our instructional personnel in aligning our curriculum with the outcomes mandated in the state assessments.”
2005
2005
Seniors Reporting Plans to Attend College or
University Post-High School
84
In the last year of the ‘no fault’ High School Assessments – tests given largely to freshmen and sophomores – local
students moved solidly ahead of their counterparts in the state in three of the four test results. In Algebra, 65.1
percent of the Harford public school students who took the test last year achieved a passing grade, compared to
53.8 percent statewide – an 11.3 percent positive gap. In Biology, local results showed 62.7 percent passing, compared to 57.6 percent statewide, a 5.1 percent difference. In the Government test, 65.1 percent of local students
passed the test, slightly below the state average of 66.4 percent – the first time in the three year history of the
HSAs that Harford’s pass rate has not exceeded that of the state’s. In English, 64.4 percent of Harford tenth
graders passed the test, 7.1 percent ahead of the state average.
While the Harford scores were generally higher than the state average, local school officials expressed disappointment that, after solid gains in all four areas between 2003 and 2004, county results for 2005 were actually down
in the Algebra, Biology, and Government exams. Those officials point out that, beginning with this year’s freshmen
(the Class of 2009), Maryland students will have to achieve a passing grade on all four of the tests in order to
receive a State diploma.
“We know that – while all (high school) students had to take the tests, they also knew they were not going to be
held accountable for the results,” said Dr. Haas. “Beginning with this year’s group, most are aware and all should
be if they’re not, that there are very high stakes involved.”
Dr. Haas said she is encouraged by the 82.7 percent of 2005 Harford public high school students who self-reported that they were going to pursue post-secondary education – an all time high since the surveys began to be taken
with the beginning of the Maryland School Performance Program (MSPP) in the early 1990s. The percentage is up
significantly from similar surveys taken in 2002 (72.2 percent), 2003 (79.7 percent), and 2004 (78 percent).
82
80
2 or 4 Year
College
78
76
74
72
2002
2003
2004
2005
In addition, the county’s public school graduation rate has steadily improved from 83.02 percent in 2002, to 85.21
percent in 2003, to 86.71 percent in 2004, to an all-time high of 88.99 percent for the graduating class of 2005.
Dr. Haas noted that there continues to be a significant gap between minority students and non-minority students,
but pointed to improvement among African-Americans’ graduation rates from 72.34 percent in 2002 to 82.71 percent in 2005.
Meanwhile, average SAT rates for 2005 Harford County Public School seniors taking the test showed significant
improvement in both the Math and Verbal portions. The mean Verbal score for the 1,564 HCPS seniors who took
the exam last year rose to 511, three points better than the year before, and three points above the national average. In the Math portion of the test, Harford’s mean score was 521, a point above the national average performance and six points above the statewide average.
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Mar yland School Assessments
2005 Elementary Reading
2005 Elementary Math
* 90
* 85
85
81
90
79
77
80
75
State
75
State
Harford
73
Harford
71
69
70
67
65
65
3rd Grade
4th Grade
3rd Grade
5th Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade
HCPS EXCEEDS state average on
ALL assessments
2005 Middle School Math
2005 Middle School Reading
* 66
* 85
64
80
62
75
60
70
65
60
State
58
Harford
56
State
Harford
54
55
52
50
50
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade
6th Grade
7th Grade
8th Grade
* Percentage reaching standards
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HCPS Educator Hall of Fame
Russell D. Stansbury
September 2004
Mr. Stansbury taught Industrial Arts in both segregated and integrated Harford County
Public Schools for 39 years, beginning in 1947 through 1988, following the example
of his father, Clayton Stansbury, Sr. The elder Mr. Stansbury organized the Harford
County Colored PTA and was instrumental in founding the Havre de Grace Colored
High School where each of his seven children received at least a portion of their
education. Russell Stansbury graduated from Maryland State College (now the
University of Maryland/Eastern Shore), after being inspired by a white Industrial
Arts teacher from Aberdeen High School who taught a night course in civil
defense. He taught under a provisional certificate in Frederick before returning to
his alma mater to teach a variety of Industrial Arts courses while coaching the
school’s highly successful track and field teams, even constructing the grandstands
at the school’s makeshift athletic field. Mr. Stansbury later taught at Havre de Grace
Consolidated School, Aberdeen Junior High, and Aberdeen Middle School before spending a year
helping organize Industrial Arts programs at Fallston High School. He was married for 51 years to the late
Mildred Stansbury, a former English teacher at Aberdeen High School, who was inducted into the Educator Hall
of Fame two years ago.
Hunter C. Sutherland
Mr. Sutherland came out of the poverty of Depression-ridden southwest Virginia
to become the “conscience” of the Harford County Public Schools as it struggled with racial desegregation in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1946, Mr.
Sutherland began his career in the Harford County Public Schools as a history and business teacher at Aberdeen High School, where he also coached
basketball. A year later he was named teaching-principal at Bel Air
Elementary School, eventually becoming the school’s full-time principal.
Influenced by the idealism of the Kennedy Administration and by a class he
took from a renowned civil rights leader, Mr. Sutherland became an ardent follower of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also joined the Friends Meeting
(Quakers) and determined to use his influence in making his part of the world a more
peaceful and accepting place. Having been named an elementary school supervisor in the 1960s, Mr. Sutherland
used his position, in part, to help minority students and educators. He taught Black History courses to teachers. He was also a staunch proponent of outdoor education, assisting the program at Harford Glen to grow. He
retired in 1976 after 30 years in the local school system, enjoying the skills he learned on the farm as a child
in creating gardens and raising cattle that became the envy of his neighborhood.
October 2004
Richard C. Slutzky
Mr. Slutzky was a teacher of Physical Education and Health as well as a coach
of wrestling and other sports at Aberdeen High School for 31 years. The 61year-old native of St. Louis grew up on Long Island where he became fascinated by the sport of wrestling at a young age following the death of his mother.
A champion high school wrestler, he earned a scholarship to Syracuse
University where he was a two-time All American and a national champion runner up as a senior, losing 8 to 7 to the National Collegiate Athletic Association
champion. He became a college wrestling coach, but decided he wanted the stability and interaction with young people afforded by being a high school teacher and
coach. Mr. Slutzky came to Aberdeen High in 1972, compiling an enviable record as a
teacher and coach of several sports, especially wrestling where his teams won three back-to-back-to-back state
championships and were perennial county champs. Mr. Slutzky is credited with being a major influence for good
in the lives, not only of his student-athletes, but of thousands of his former students. He was
elected to the County Council in 2002 where he continues to serve, one of his responsibilities being education liaison.
Robert S. Magee
Mr. Magee, a veteran of 20-months in Vietnam as an intelligence officer, left his young wife and his job as a social studies teacher/coach after completing his second year at Aberdeen High School, to answer the call of his country in 1967, volunteering for the U.S. Army with the almost certainty he would be
sent to war-torn Southeast Asia. A product of the blue-collar region of New Jersey,
he returned to Aberdeen High in 1972, and resumed his social studies teaching/coach-
ing position, later earning his credentials to be a guidance counselor and then being promoted to be an assistant
principal where he served at North Harford High and Harford Technical High for a total of 12 years. In 1991,
Mr. Magee got his “dream job” as principal of Aberdeen High School, a position he held until 1996 when he
retired after 26 years of extraordinary service to the school system. Mr. Magee coined the phrase “Proud to
be Seen in Aberdeen” as a way of building pride among the students and community in the Aberdeen area. He
was known as an exceptionally warm and caring educator who prided himself in knowing the names and something about each of his students. Mr. Magee served as a Board of Education of Harford County member for five
years, the last of which – 2003-04 – as its president. The 62-year-old retired educator continues to serve the
community as Executive Director of the Susquehanna Museum of Havre de Grace at the Lock House.
November 2004
Donna M. Weber
Ms. Weber came out of a broken home situation in which she was shuttled from
relative to relative during her formative years, but came under the influence of a
one-room school teacher named Anna Fair. Ms. Weber — a native of Tonowanda,
New York who spent time as a youngster in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia,
and California – followed the caring example of Miss Fair to aspire to be a high
school physical education teacher. She taught a total of 29 years – 27 of them
at Havre de Grace High School – and was also a member of the Womens Army
Corps (WACS) for five years. Her teaching style was one of benevolent disciplinarian in which she expected excellence and decorum from all her students, but was always
there for them, especially those who were having difficulty at home or in life. As a coach,
she endured fielding teams from the smallest enrollment of any high school in the county, but her clubs were
always competitive with their counterparts from schools two, three, or more times the size of Havre de Grace
High. Ms. Weber came to Harford in 1965 and retired in 1992, leaving behind a legacy of caring and expectations that has helped guide the spirit of the school.
Dolores R. Simmons
Mrs. Simmons grew up in an idyllic setting in northeastern Pennsylvania, daughter of a family that ran a summer camp for teens. She followed the example
of her elementary school teacher mother and by that of the positive experience
she had in high school to attend college as a Physical Education major. She
played sports in high school and was a member of the school orchestra. She
taught three years in Pennsylvania and, while pursuing her masters degree at
Penn State, heard about a job teaching Physical Education at Slippery Rock
State College where she became a proponent of modern dance and other cutting
edge Physical Education programs. When her husband was hired as a chemist at
what was then the Army Chemical Center, the family moved to Harford County. At about
the same time, Edgewood High School was built and opened in 1954 and she was hired as the school’s first
female Physical Education teacher and coach of girls’ sports. She continued her innovative ways, introducing
gymnastics, dance, and majorettes into the program. As a coach, her field hockey and basketball teams won
the first county titles at Edgewood High. She was a staunch believer that girls could be both athletics and feminine and helped change attitudes. Mrs. Simmons taught for 11 years at Edgewood High and an additional 11
years at Edgewood Middle, serving in Harford from 1954 through her retirement in 1976.
December 2004
Patrick E. McCarty
Mr. McCarty spent 28 productive years in the Harford County Public Schools as
a sixth grade teacher and principal at four separate local elementary schools.
Mr. McCarty came from western Maryland where he overcame a childhood of
relative poverty and discouragement by family and school counselors through
the influence of an Episcopal Priest and others to obtain his college degree
and teaching credentials. Coming to Harford County in 1965, in his second
year he coordinated the old outdoor education program at the Fresh Air Camp
in Benson for a semester prior to its closing. Mr. McCarty served as a teaching assistant principal at two schools before being named principal at the now
closed Slate Ridge Elementary School in 1972. He was also principal at Forest
Hill, Edgewood, and Hickory elementary schools, retiring in 1993 after having suffered
a heart attack the year before. Mr. McCarty was an innovative, creative educator who used his gifts in theater and song to captivate students. A man with deep faith, he reached out to the community as his ministry.
For the past seven years, he has been the executive director of the Holy Family House in Aberdeen, serving
homeless families.
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Class of 2004-05
John M. Potter
Mr. Potter, the younger brother of Hall of Fame educator and retired principal at
Aberdeen High School, Walt Potter, came from Maryland’s Eastern Shore
where he struggled as a young student with an undiagnosed learning disability. He overcame his learning problems with a combination of wit and
hard work, coming to Harford with his roommate and another HCPS Hall
of Famer, Al Seymour, to accept a job teaching sixth grade at the old Bel
Air Elementary School off E. Gordon Street. After six years, he was
appointed principal of Forest Hill Elementary School, moving on to open the
new Riverside Elementary in Joppatowne in 1968, and, six years later, was
assigned to open another new school, Magnolia Elementary, where he served
as principal for 19 years until his retirement in 1993. Mr. Potter used an offbeat sense of humor and a dedication to reaching every student no matter his or her
circumstances to rank as one of the most beloved leaders in the history of the school system. A Scoutmaster
for 22 years, he was active in his community and church. For ten years following his retirement, he supervised
student teachers and pre-student teachers for Villa Julie College.
January 2005
Albert C. Cesky
Mr. Cesky was a teacher, coach, associate principal, and supervisor in the
Harford County Public Schools for 30 years. The outstanding high school athlete played both football and baseball at the University of Maryland before
coming to Harford County in 1950, initiating high school football at Bel Air
High. He coached both football and baseball for 16 years, his football teams
compiling a 90 and 33 overall record with four undefeated teams; and his baseball teams compiling a 142 and 56 record. More importantly, Mr. Cesky instilled
in his players and students the traits of responsibility, respect, and discipline. He
inspired a generation of student-athletes to aspire to be the best they could be. Mr.
Cesky also served as an associate principal beginning in 1965 as Bel Air High School’s
enrollment exploded. In 1973, he was named supervisor of secondary school physical education and athletics,
a position he held until his retirement in 1980. As supervisor, he introduced many new sports to the county
including gymnastics, lacrosse, and swimming; and was a tireless advocate for equality for girls in interscholastic sports. Mr. Cesky served his community in a variety of swimming, tennis, and other recreational
sports and was an outstanding citizen. He passed away suddenly in 1985. A group of his former players, students, colleagues, and friends formed the Al Cesky Scholarship Committee and have provided about a half million dollars in scholarships to graduating senior high school student-athletes in the 18 years the program has
existed. More than a decade ago, the Bel Air High football field was renamed the Al Cesky Field.
James R. Harris
Mr. Harris came back to teach and coach at his alma mater, Havre de Grace
High School after a year-and-a-half teaching economically deprived students
at North Harford Junior/Senior High. During his 28-year career as a teacher,
coach, and work experience coordinator in the school system, Mr. Harris
established a reputation as a caring advocate, especially for those students
who were at risk. As an undersized high school football player, he earned a
reputation as a tenacious competitor. As a coach, he displayed the “class” that
typified his life by doing all he could not to embarrass an opponent. His Warrior
football team won a District title in 1973 and topped that with a State Class C
Championship in 1978. Mr. Harris served as the school’s athletic director for 15 years from 1978 through
1993. He also helped begin the girls lacrosse program there. As work experience coordinator for 22 years, Mr.
Harris forged strong partnerships with the business community in and around Havre de Grace, acting as a surrogate father for many of his students, getting them jobs and teaching them about the dignity of working up to
their capabilities. Mr. Harris passed away in 1993 after a valiant battle against brain cancer. Since his death,
the Havre de Grace community sought and received Board of Education permission to rename the former
“Tomahawk” Field on which the Havre de Grace High football continues to play as “James R. Harris Field.” A
new stadium complex is being erected on school property and will be named for Mr. Harris. A James Harris
Character Award is also given to the youth league football player who best exemplifies the traits that Mr. Harris
personified during his life.
Jean A. Scarborough
February 2005
Mrs. Scarborough began her teaching career in the Harford County Public Schools
at the age of 36, opting to enter college four years after deciding she wanted to
“be more educated” following a chance comment by a friend concerning who
she would like to be if she could be someone else. Married at 18, the mother of three was pleased with her life, but determined to make a contribution
beyond her home and family. Mrs. Scarborough taught Core (English/Social
Studies) at North Harford Junior High and English at North Harford High
School for a total of 25 years, making a name for herself as an exceptionally caring teacher and advocate for children. She taught at North Harford
from 1964 until her retirement in 1989, sponsoring many student activities
and becoming involved in just about every aspect of student life at the school.
Robert C. Williams
Mr. Williams, a native of North Carolina where he grew up on a 300-acre dairy farm
performing the chores associated with that existence, decided to go into education after experiencing the satisfaction that comes with helping others learn
when he oversaw classes for those seeking adult education as a member of the
US Army. He came to Harford, along with his wife Vicki Graham Williams, in
1965 to teach fifth grade at Meadowvale Elementary School. In his third year,
he was named teaching assistant principal, and, at age 29, was named principal of Youth’s Benefit Elementary School. He later was named principal at
Havre de Grace Elementary, Havre de Grace Middle, Edgewood Middle, and
Edgewood High School, becoming the only administrator in the history of the
Harford County Public Schools to serve as leader at all three levels. Mr. Williams also
served in leadership roles at the HCPS central office prior to his retirement in 2000 with 35
years of experience. Known as an advocate for students and staff, Mr. Williams was renowned for his quick
wit and extraordinary memory, which he used to endear himself to all who knew him.
Helen G. Robinson
March 2005
Mrs. Robinson taught elementary school for a total of 26 years in a career that
spanned five decades. The Jarrettsville native taught at the one-room Wilna
School in Joppa beginning in 1935 before being transferred to Bel Air
Elementary School where she taught through 1943 before leaving teaching
to be with her military husband and, later, raise her three children. Mrs.
Robinson substitute taught regularly until returning to the classroom fulltime in 1958, first at Bel Air Elementary and later at Hickory Elementary
where she was among the first white teachers to be assigned to a staff of
mostly African-American teachers when total integration was achieved in the
Harford County Public Schools in 1965. Mrs. Robinson retired in 1976. She is
described by her former students and colleagues as one of the most nurturing and
capable teachers they have ever known. She inspired her daughter, Lyn Lang, and, now,
her granddaughter, Kerry Bosworth, to become teachers.
Odessa C. Phillips
Mrs. Phillips, who passed away last year at the age of 98, grew up as the daughter
of a tobacco farmer in North Carolina, teaching in the all-black schools of that area
before coming to Harford County during World War II with her husband, Army Sgt.
William Phillips, director of the 6th US Army Band. The “grand lady” inspired elementary students first at Havre de Grace Colored School, then Havre de Grace
Consolidated School, and, when total integration was achieved in 1965, at
Oakington and Hall’s Cross Roads elementary schools. She became a special
education teacher during the last 12 years of her career. She is described as an
exceptionally generous person who gave of her time and money to young people
and adults alike. Mrs. Phillips and her husband formed and operated a drum and
bugle corps for youngsters from 1946 through 1965, playing a key role in providing
direction and purpose to thousands of lives. She was universally loved by all who knew
her as a teacher, fellow parishioner, or community citizen.
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HCPS Educator Hall of Fame
April 2005
Daniel J. Gaughan, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Gaughan become the fourth husband and wife team to be nominated for induction into the HCPS Hall of Fame, and the second couple to be candidates for induction at the same time.
Mr. Gaughan grew up in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, aspiring to be a Major
League baseball player. Influenced by the only male teacher at his Catholic
school, and by his coaches outside the school, Mr. Gaughan went to Kings
College in his hometown where he majored in another of his passions, history.
By chance, his family mailman, Joe Snee, Sr., had a son who was an administrator in the Harford County Public Schools helping Mr. Gaughan to find his way
to Harford where he began as a social studies teacher and basketball/baseball
coach at Havre de Grace High School in 1967. He transferred to the new Joppatowne
High School in 1972 where he was made social studies department chair and head varsity baseball coach. His
Mariner teams won back-to-back state Class C titles in 1976 and 1977. Mr. Gaughan was known as an exceptionally engaging teacher whom students and colleagues trusted for advice. Mr. Gaughan retired at the outset
of the 2000-01 school year. He currently serves as baseball ambassador for the Aberdeen City government,
working closely with the Aberdeen Ironbirds in providing free tickets to needy youngsters and deserving organizations in the city.
Rita L. Gaughan
Thomas P. Gibson
Mr. Gibson grew up in an affluent home in suburban Philadelphia, aspiring to
a career involving the German language, perhaps in the foreign service.
After changing his major in college to Spanish – a language he had never
taken in high school – Mr. Gibson decided on a career teaching high school
Spanish. By chance, he heard about Harford County through the recruiting efforts of then Aberdeen High School Supervisor (later Deputy
Superintendent) Alden Halsey, being hired by Walter Potter to teach at
Aberdeen High in 1965. He taught all levels of Spanish at the school for
18 ½ years, developing a keen insight into everyday Hispanic culture through
a series of on-site experiences with the culture in Kentucky, Mexico, Central
America, Puerto Rico, and Spain. “On a whim” he decided to apply for and was
hired as an assistant principal, assigned to C. Milton Wright High where he served for five years before being
named principal at North Harford High, a position he held through his retirement in 2001. He was known as an
exceptionally perceptive school administrator who worked to make discipline a learning experience for students.
Since his retirement, he has performed a series of functions for the school system, including Advanced
Placement and SAT projects. For the past three years, Mr. Gibson has served as coordinator of the school system’s service learning program, overseeing coordinators in the 17 HCPS secondary schools. Mrs. Gibson, the
former Ruth Rierson, has taught for 20 years in the Harford County Public Schools, currently teaching at
Deerfield Elementary School.
Kenneth P. Dawson
Mr. and Mrs. Gaughan become the fourth husband and wife team to be nominated for induction into the HCPS Hall of Fame, and the second couple to be
candidates for induction at the same time.
Mrs. Gaughan grew up in the western Maryland city of
Cumberland, dreaming of going into the brand new field of computers. When
that avenue closed, she capitalized on her natural talent and interest in mathematics to attend nearby Frostburg State College, graduating in 1967 at the age of
20. Responding to literature about the Harford County Public School System, she
applied and was hired as a math teacher at Havre de Grace High School in 1967 where she
met her future husband, Dan Gaughan. Twice – once to be a guidance counselor and the second time to be an
assistant principal – Mrs. Gaughan was talked into leaving the classroom briefly. However, each time she
returned to her first love, teaching at Aberdeen Middle School, Aberdeen High School, and a final year at Harford
Technical High before retiring in 1998. Along the way, Mrs. Gaughan became known as a no-nonsense teacher
who could handle even the toughest of students. However, she prided herself in being able to convince students
that they did not “hate math.” Math Department Chair at Aberdeen High, Mrs. Gaughan was a mentor for many
teachers. She taught part-time at Villa Julie College during the final eight years of her career in the local school
system and continues in that capacity today.
May 2005
Stephen C. Williams
Mr. Williams grew up in western and central Pennsylvania, “drifting” through high
school and college with no specific career in mind. Married, he found himself in an
unfulfilling job at a bank, attempting to collect bad loans. His wife, the former
Margaret ‘Peg’ Reese, an elementary teacher at Philipsburg Elementary School,
was recruited to be a teacher in the Harford County Public Schools. As part of
the deal, the school system had to find a secondary social studies teaching job
for her husband. As irony would have it, Mrs. Williams, who was pregnant with
the couple’s first child, could not begin her career in the 1963-64 school year due
to HCPS regulations prohibiting pregnant women from teaching. (Mrs. Williams
later taught 25 years in the Harford County Public Schools.) Mr. Williams developed
into an outstanding teacher and guidance counselor at North Harford Junior/Senior High
School. Later, he spent 13 years as a general area supervisor, providing his low-key, supportive brand of leadership to teachers and administrators. When budget cuts eliminated the general area supervisory positions, Mr.
Williams went back to counseling, serving at Southampton Middle School through his retirement in 1993 after
30 years of outstanding service. He continued for an additional five years as a part-time counselor/teacher in
Harford Community College’s career development division.
June 2005
Mr. Dawson taught math in Baltimore City and Harford County for 34 years, the
last 25 at Bel Air and C. Milton Wright high schools. The native of east
Baltimore is the son of second generation Polish immigrants who worked in
blue collar jobs but had high aspirations for their children. A product of the
Baltimore City Catholic school system, where he won a scholarship to
attend Mt. St. Joseph’s in high school and Loyola College, Mr. Dawson
“drifted” into teaching as a goal while a junior in college. He had acquired
his lifelong love for sports while bedridden as an 11-year-old for almost a
year with rheumatic fever. As a teacher, he was known for his demanding,
yet inclusive style. He came to Bel Air High in 1973 and moved on to the new
C. Milton Wright High six years later where he was named math department
chair. He coached several sports during his career, most notably girls soccer for nine
years at C. Milton Wright where his teams finished with an overall 94-27-6 record including four outright or
shared county titles, three regional championships, and one state final appearance. Mr. Dawson retired in 1998,
teaching part-time at Harford Community College from 2001 through this past spring.
James R. Whitehurst
Mr. Whitehurst, son of a Methodist minister, came to Bel Air from Baltimore
City College as a sophomore when his father was named to pastor Bel Air
United Methodist Church in 1949. He was a standout basketball player and
track star at Bel Air High, attending Western Maryland College where he continued his career as a basketball player. Working in summer boys camps
while still in high school, many believe Mr. Whitehurst, who passed away earlier this year, gained his desire to teach from his days working with young men
at those camps. Coming to Bel Air High to teach Social Studies in 1955, Mr.
Whitehurst became an institution at the school, retiring in 1986 after 31 ½ years
as a teacher and coach. His basketball teams were not only successful but respected
for their sportsmanship, Mr. Whitehurst’s teams having won the sportsmanship award presented by game referees three years in succession during the early 1970s. His Bobcat cross country team also won a state title
in 1961. Teaching mostly Psychology and Problems of Democracy, Mr. Whitehurst was a demanding yet
engaging teacher who often dressed in period costumes, especially emulating his alter ego Sigmund Freud. The
1963 Bel Air High yearbook was dedicated to Mr. Whitehurst, his students saying their teacher had influenced
them to “question, think, and to be individuals.” Mr. Whitehurst was 71 when he passed away.
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HCPS Honors &
Highlights
September 2004
Gary C. Rabe, 28-year teacher in the Harford County Public Schools, the last 23 at C. Milton Wright High School,
was named the 2003 winner of the national Iota Lambda Sigma Grand Chapter Award for Distinguished
Teaching, recognizing excellence in teaching either Engineering Technology, Industrial Technology, Technology
Education, Trade and Industrial Education, Business Education, Home Economics, Health Occupations, and/or
other Career and Technical Education programs. Mr. Rabe, who teaches Engineering, Architectural Design, and
Foundations of Technology at C. Milton Wright, was inducted into the NU field chapter of the University of
Maryland of Iota Lambda Sigma in 2001.
John Markowski, Chief Financial Officer for the Harford County Public Schools, has just completed an unprecedented year as president of both the 800-member Maryland Government Finance Officers Association (GFAO)
and the 700-member Association of School Business Officials of Maryland and DC (ASBO).
Joyce Byrd, chair of the Harford County Public School Superintendent’s Ad Hoc Committee on Minority Affairs,
was named the winner of the Jack Epstein Award at the annual conference of the Maryland Multicultural
Coalition held in Westminster last May.
Joppatowne Elementary School’s four-student team of Kassi Kilduff, 11, Taylor Merritt, 10, Amber Short, 11,
and Alex Velasco, 10 — all fifth graders — had their “Star Spangled Banner” storyboard entry selected by
Comcast Cablevision of the Baltimore Metropolitan area to be used as the basis for a 30-second Public Service
Announcement that aired on non-network Comcast television stations from Flag Day, June 14, through
Independence Day, July 4. The contest is co-sponsored by the National Flag Day Foundation and the Star
Spangled Banner Project of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in an effort to heighten
awareness of the role Maryland played in the development of the nation.
QUILT CREATORS – Members of Bel Air Elementary fourth grade teacher Shannon
O’Connor’s 2003-04 class involved in the project were, from left, first row: Alec Hildebeidel,
Justin Bittner, Tyler Horton, Joe Nosek, Josh Addicks, Ryan Tritsch, Patrick Starks, Tyler
Cooper, Blake Paulson, Zachary Dandy; second row: Brittany Pitzer, Karley Bridges, Mrs.
Pat Volrath (Mentor Teacher), Beril Ural, Valerie Wagener, Krystan Von Haack, Joy
Lawrence, Eileen Kuester, Samantha Bowen, Ali Favaro, Leeanne Fitch, Iga Kozakiewicz,
Mrs. Shannon O'Connor (Teacher); Back: Jordy Testerman, Vaughn Clark
October 2004
Virginia M. “Ginny” Hinckley, Havre de Grace Elementary math specialist, was chosen as the
Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Outstanding Elementary School Mathematics
Teacher of the Year for 2004. Mrs. Hinckley was one of two elementary teachers
statewide to be so honored.
Harford County Public Schools showed significant improvement in the Maryland School
Assessment (MSA) and High School Assessment (HSA) tests given to third, fifth, eighth,
ninth, and tenth graders during the spring of 2004. In the MSA tests, which are used to
fulfill the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” federal act, showed Harford students
outscoring the state average at every grade level in both the math and reading portions of
the exams, recording scores as much as 12.8 percent higher than their state counterparts.
In the HSA tests, given in biology, government, algebra, and English 9 (the 2004-05 tests will
be given in English 10), Harford’s scores were significantly higher than the 2002-03 results
and well above state averages in each of the test areas.
Darrell Sheets, a longtime volunteer at Aberdeen Middle School, received the recognition of
Governor Robert H. Ehrlich during the Bel Air Independence Day parade based on the Army
veteran’s support of the school, displayed, in part, by a large painting of an American Eagle
he presented to Aberdeen Middle School. Mr. Sheets volunteers mornings and afternoons
as a traffic controller for the school, making sure automobiles follow the established traffic
pattern to keep students and staff members safe. The 68-year-old volunteer also received
a standing ovation from Aberdeen Middle School students as he joined Principal Gladys
Pace in singing “God Bless America” during last May’s Spring Concert at the school.
BREAKING GROUND - Taking part,
from left, was former Board
Member Rick Daub, Board
President Bob Thomas, Board
Member Tom Fidler, Board Vice
President Robin Rich, Board members Salina Williams and Mark
Wolkow, and former Board members Gene Chandler and Terry Troy.
Shannon O’Connor’s Bel Air Elementary School fourth grade class in 2003-04 took part in the USA Quilt Project,
the class compiling 8” x 8” squares representing all the states in the union. Bel Air Elementary was the school
in Maryland chosen to produce and provide to similar schools in each of the other 49 states with Maryland
squares to be sewn on similar quilts by those students.
November 2004
Harford County Public Schools broke all records for the organization as its employees either gave or pledged
by payroll deductions $50,067 to the 2004 United Way of Central Maryland campaign. The amount represents a nearly 25 percent increase over the previous years giving by school employees. Churchville
Elementary, Hickory Elementary, the Planning and Construction Office, and the Human Resources Office
shared in $1,000 in incentive awards as the schools/organizations with the highest percentage of employees
giving to the United Way campaign.
Ground was broken on October 21, 2004 for the school system’s new administrative building to be located
at 102 S. Hickory Avenue (and Courtland Street) in Bel Air. The four-story, 72,000 square foot brick structure is being built by the Manekin/Clark Turner company on a 25-year lease-purchase arrangement with the
school system. Completion date for the building is anticipated to be December 2005. The office will combine most of the administrative functions of the school system with money now being spent for rent paying
a portion of the lease cost. It is expected the fixed annual lease payment will be less than the projected
future cost of rental space.
The Harford County Public School System met the Federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards as set
forth by the ‘No Child Left Behind Legislation’ for the 2003-04 school year. Harford was one of 15 (out of
24) school system’s in Maryland to reach the standards which will escalate until the 2013-2014 school year
when all students will be expected to score at a proficient or advanced level on the Maryland School
Assessment (MSA) tests which are used as a portion of the accountability in the state. Maryland also uses
attendance rate for elementary and middle schools and graduation rates for high schools as AYP measures.
Harford’s MSA scores were higher in 2004 than they were in 2003 in both reading and math in all grades
(three, five, eight, and ten) where the test has been given for two years. Harford’s results were also above
the state averages in all grades and in both test areas.
The Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter at
Harford Technical High School was named the
Maryland State Department of Education’s
Outstanding Vocational Student Organization for
2004. The award was presented by State
Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick
and Assistant Superintendent Katharine Oliver
during a statewide event in Annapolis, signifying
the local group as the top career and technology
student organization in Maryland for the current
year.
TOP POULTRY HONORS - From left, Jesse Busse, Amber Keithley, Amber
Harkins, and Megan Jones made up the Tech team representing the school’s
FFA chapter.
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What’s Right with Har ford County Public Schools
February 2005
December 2004
Adam Berry, a senior at Bel Air High School, was one of two delegates from Maryland selected to attend the United States Senate Youth
Program in Washington, D.C. from February 26 through March 5, 2005. Two students from each of the 50 states and the District of
Columbia were selected to attend the one-week program that allows them to experience national government in action with visits to
Capitol Hill, the White House, Supreme Court, Pentagon, and the State Department. Adam is an outstanding student-athlete who is tied
with his twin brother, Andrew, as his class valedictorian. He achieved a 1430 on his SATs and is president of the Bel Air High Senior
Class and Student Government Association.
Jessica R. Smith, Sarah E. Voskuhl, and Bethany M. Duke have been identified as ‘Meritorious New Teachers’ in the first year of a program administered by the MidAtlantic Regional Teachers Project (MARTP). The program recognized 192 first year teachers who attended college in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia or Washington, D.C.
and who have demonstrated an outstanding academic record in college and in teacher preparation efforts. Ms. Smith, a 2000 C. Milton Wright High graduate and graduate of the University of Delaware; Ms. Voskuhl, a 2000 Bel Air High graduate and graduate of McDaniel College; and Ms. Duke, a 2000 graduate of Edgewood High
School and graduate of Salisbury University, teach at Bel Air Middle, North Harford High, and Havre de Grace elementary schools, respectively.
Kimberly “Kimmie” Meissner, a 15-year-old sophomore at Fallston High School, finished third in the nation in the U.S. Womens Figure Skating Championships held in
Portland, Oregon in mid-January. Ms. Meissner delighted a national television audience by landing perfectly a triple axel jump, the first time the maneuver had been tried
in a U.S. figure skating competition since 1991. Because she will not turn 16 until October, Ms. Meissner is not eligible to represent the United States in the World
Figure Skating championships, but was to have led a contingent in the World Junior championships.
Three Harford County Public School teachers achieved certification from the National Board for Teacher Certification during the 2004
cycle. Aberdeen High School Earth Science teacher Yvonne K. Gabriel, Bel Air High School Technology Coordinator Randall C. “Randy”
Cerveny, and Magnolia/Hall’s Cross Road’s Elementary School Mentor Teacher Christina P. “Chrissy” Douglas were the three local teachers to net certification in the November 2004 announcement. The three had to achieve a scale score of 275 on a series of portfolios and
videos as well as a six-hour battery of tests in order to earn the certification. The program is described as an intense personal professional development process that
requires an estimated 400 hours of work to fulfill the written requirements.
January 2005
2004-2005 TOP 10 HIGHLIGHTS
Kelly Kundratic, an 11-year-old, sixth grade student at Fallston Middle School, was one of 12 students nationwide to be chosen to speak by telephone on December 10th
to scientists onboard the mother ship ‘Atlantis’ and its submersible ‘Alvin’ operating several hundred miles off the Mexican Coast in the Pacific Ocean. The project involving ‘Alvin’ descending a mile-and-a-half to the ocean floor, included the study of heat vents and exotic plant/animal life at that depth. Ms. Kundratic and the other students communicated by satellite phone hookup.
1.
Six HCPS seniors were chosen as student pages to serve in Annapolis for the 2005 Maryland General Assembly. The students — five pages and one alternate — were
to have each served two non-consecutive weeks assisting either Delegates or Senators in their work. Selected were Kate Smith and Joanna Weiss of Fallston High,
Katherine Resta and Bonnie McCubbin of C. Milton Wright High, and Alex Ratner and Shane Brinegar (alternate) of Bel Air High.
2.
William ‘Will’ Garrett of Harford Technical High School was chosen to be the 2005-06 Student Representative to the Board of Education of Harford County. The 16year-old junior will take his position after July 1, 2005. Mr. Garrett is an honor student, athlete, and activist in many
causes.
Paula Torres, a 17-year-old, C. Milton Wright High senior, had her artwork chosen to be used as the cover of the 2004
Harford County Public School holiday card. Ms. Torres’ artwork was chosen over the more than 200 submitted to be
the committee which ultimately selected her pen-and-ink drawing of a teen-age girl putting the finishing touches on a
snowman.
3.
4.
Roye-Williams Elementary School Fifth Grade Chorus was selected as one of three groups in Maryland to take part in
the ABC/Boscovs Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia.
The Aberdeen High School replacement building project was awarded a Maryland ‘Vision’ Award by the Maryland Department of Planning as satisfying the need for a
modern facility to serve students while maintaining the original site of the building which had been on that location since 1951. The award also included recognition for
the third floor Science-Math Academy.
Edgewood Elementary School received a “superior” rating from the Maryland Department of General Services and the Interagency Committee on Public School
Construction for 2004. The school was one of only three in the state receiving a “superior” rating for maintenance and appearance.
The Harford County Public School Budget Office was awarded the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) Distinguished Budget
Presentation Award for its 2004-05 operating budget document. It is the third straight year HCPS has received the prestigious award.
February 2005
Kathleen M. “Kate” McComiskey, a Fallston High School junior, reached the final five as a candidate to be the 2005-06 Student on the Maryland State Board of
Education. Ms. McComiskey, 17, earned spots in the top 12 quarter-finalists and the top five semi-finalists before taking part in the Maryland Association of Student
Councils (MASC) Legislative Session February 12th where the two finalists were chosen by the 1,000 student group. The Governor will select the student board member. Although Ms. McComiskey was not chosen as a finalist, she will continue working as a student leader in Harford County, where she is a second-year president
of the Harford County Regional Association of Student Councils (HCRASC), and as a delegate to the state student government organization.
Bel Air High School twins, Andrew and Adam Berry, signed national letters of intent to attend Harvard and Princeton universities next year,
respectively. The football-playing brothers have been invited to play for their respective colleges. Both are outstanding students and covaledictorians of their class and each has a 1430 on his SATs. Andrew, a quarterback, and Adam, a wide receiver, were both selected as
all county and all metro players this year.
Kathy Mikos, a Fallston High School integrated language arts teacher, and Clifford Coulter, a Joppatowne Elementary fifth grade teacher,
are among the 120 teachers statewide to have been chosen to pilot a unique African-American history/culture program. The pilot, a partnership between the Maryland State Department of Education and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History
and Culture, provides lesson plans and resource materials for teachers to provide instruction on a wide variety of African American topics
related to Maryland.
5.
6.
7.
HCPS graduation rates are at an all time
high
Miranda Besaw received a 9-1-1 award for her cool and effective actions in calling the Emergency Operations Center
after her mother, Jessica Besaw, had severely lacerated her finger at home on December 13th. The Bel Air Elementary
nine-year-old fourth grader was presented a 9-1-1 award at her school on January 13th, recognizing the example she set
to others in the effective use of the system.
Courtney Kalicz, a 14-year-old Fallston High School freshman, has the fastest 200 butterfly stroke time in the world
for her age. The honor student recorded a second (200 butterfly) and a third (400 individual medley) in the early
January Pan Pacific Junior Championships for swimmers under the age of 18.
Lt. Gov. Michael Steele visited Harford Technical High School on January 26th as part of his fact-finding tour in
Student attendance rates are the highest
connection with the Governor’s Commission on Quality Education, which he chairs. Mr. Steele, who had visited Harford
schools on two previous occasions, said he found Harford Technical to be a model for what he hopes all schools in the
they’ve been in eight years
state can become, asserting, “I would want to go to high school here — I’d have a blast here.”
2005
Advanced placement (AP) tests taken are at March
Edgewood Middle School Assistant Principal Kilo Mack, Sr., currently deployed on active duty in Iraq with the 1297th Combat Support Battalion, was recently promoted
to captain. Mr. Mack, whose wife Dyann is assistant principal at North Harford Elementary School, is a 1991 graduate of Joppatowne High School where he helped
a five year high
lead his Mariner basketball team to back-to-back state championships.
Percentage of graduates intending to go to Sarah Voskuhl, North Harford High School mathematics teacher; Bethany Duke, Havre de Grace Elementary School first grade teacher; and Jessica Smith, Bel Air Middle
School Health/Physical Education teacher, have been named among 192 first year educators as Meritorious New Teachers by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Teachers Project.
Teachers who have achieved outstanding scholarship and preparation in their high school and college years in a three state (Maryland, Delaware, Virginia) and Washington,
college is at an all time high
D.C. area were named ‘Meritorious New Teachers’ in the first year of the program.
County has state’s fourth best ‘Highly
Qualified’ teaching force
Teacher turnover rate lowest in
Baltimore/Washington metro area
Harford ranks seventh out of 24 state
systems in elementary statewide tests
8.
SAT tests results up significantly and are
above national averages
9.
Harford has state’s elementary Physical
Education teacher of the year
10. County has state’s Science teacher of the
year finalist
Gloria Morrell, 21-year employee with the Harford County Public Schools, has been named the 2004 HCPS Facilities Management Employee of the Year. Mrs. Morrell
works in the Preventive Maintenance department of the office. She was also the office’s November 2004 Employee of the Month.
Pilar Bosley, a junior at C. Milton Wright High School, teamed with her partner, John Corona, to finish fourth in the National Novice Ice Dancing competitiion held in
Portland, Oregon in January. The 16-year-old standout skater is a B+ student and received an invitation to take part in the American Challenge Junior Skating competition which was scheduled for Montreal in the summer of 2005.
April 2005
Michael D. Griffin, 1967 graduate of Aberdeen High School, was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the next National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) Administrator. Dr. Griffin was confirmed by the Senate to be the leader of the agency in charge of space exploration for the United States. Dr. Griffin’s teachers and classmates at Aberdeen High remember him as being both studious and driven, having identified as a teenager his desire to one day head the U.S. space program.
Steven A. Lopez, a Southampton Middle School 11-year-old, sixth grader, won the County’s 17th Annual Spelling Bee. Young Lopez outspelled
25 other school grade level champions, including representatives from several private school and home school organizations, to emerge as the
2005 winner. His victory earned him a trip to Washington, D.C. to represent Harford in the National Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee held over
the Memorial Day weekend.
Lisa E. Philipose, 1999 valedictorian graduate of Fallston High School, spoke at the 19th annual Judith Resnik luncheon program, sponsored
by the Harford Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Ms. Philipose, a 1998 Resnik Scholar, is a second year
medical student at Johns Hopkins University after having graduated summa cum laude in neuroscience from New York University. The program annually honors the junior girl from each of the county’s public high schools and participating private schools who exemplifies the greatest ability/interest in math/science in her school. Honored in 2005 were Michelle McVey of Aberdeen High, Michelle Peck of Bel Air High,
Katie Stewart of C. Milton Wright High, Emily Kansler of Edgewood High, Natasha Hochlowski of Fallston High, Lydia Siebert of Harford Technical High, Christina
Matthew of Havre de Grace High, Becca Addington of James Run Christian Academy, Lisa Floyd of John Carroll School, Stephanie Catalano of Joppatowne High, and
Caitlin Katrinic of North Harford High.
Fallston Middle School 13-year-old, eighth grader Jacob “Jake” Benden won a Maryland Instructional Computers Coordinators Association (MICCA) 2004-05 Honorable
Mention in the Graphic Arts division of the organization’s annual contest. Young Benden was honored for his “flying dragon” depiction.
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April 2005
Andy Brazil, a 12-year-old, sixth grader at Fallston Middle School, had his watercolor painting purchased by the Maryland State Department of Education to be part of
the ‘permanent’ display at its downtown Baltimore City offices.
Eight Harford Countians, including five from the Harford County Public School System, received Excellence for Minority Achievement Awards for their outstanding efforts
in the area of encouraging minority student achievement. Aberdeen High School Assistant Principal Melvin Johnson, Aberdeen High Counselor Ernestine Mitchell, Havre
de Grace Elementary School Paraeducator Shirley Warfield, Joppatowne High School Special Education teacher Cliff Giles, and William Paca/Old Post Road Elementary
School Family Liaison Terri Etheridge were the Harford winners, honored by the Achievement Initiative for Maryland’s Minority Students (AIMMS) Council on April 29th
at the group’s annual awards ceremony. In addition, Edgewood High School senior Kayla Brown received a Minority Achievement Scholarship; and retired HCPS educators Mazie Taylor and Cathy Price were also honored.
Three Roye-Williams Elementary School students won first place awards from the Maryland Instructional Computer Coordinators Association (MICCA) organization.
Trevor Rajopa, a fifth grader, won the multimedia contest (grades three to five) for the second year in a row. Shanice Lewis, a fifth grader, won the K-12 Desktop
Publishing Contest. Isaac Velez, a second grader, won the multimedia contest (grades K-2).
May 2005
Francine A. “Fran” Plotycia, a second grade teacher at Abingdon Elementary School, was one of just 46 teachers nationwide (and four U.S. provinces) to be awarded a Presidential Award for Excellence
in Mathematics for 2005. The 2003-04 Maryland Elementary Math Teacher of the Year, was feted with a week of activities in Washington, D.C., a $10,000 prize, and a trip for two to Disney World.
The other Maryland finalist for the award was Patricia “Scottie” Vajda, Emmorton Elementary School math specialist, who won Maryland Elementary Math Teacher of the Year.
Lorna L. “Lori” Frendak, North Harford Middle School Classroom Support Program (Special Education) teacher, was named the 2005-06 Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year during the 11th
annual HCPS Teacher of the Year banquet/program held at the Bayou Restaurant in Havre de Grace on April 28th. The eighth year HCPS teacher (18 years overall) was one of ten finalists chosen from
among those nominated for the award. Other finalists were Math teacher Jann C. Barber of Bel Air High, Health Occupations Education teacher Terri C. Broemm of Harford Technical High, Physical
Education teacher Paul J. Flottemesch of Abingdon Elementary, Third grade teacher Karen L. Jankowiak of Havre de Grace Elementary, Math teacher Joel M. Leff of Aberdeen High School (Science/Math
Academy), English teacher Heather L. Moorefield of C. Milton Wright High, Science teacher Donna C. Motsay of Fallston Middle school, Instrumental Music teacher Faye A. O’Brien of Hickory Elementary,
and Art teacher Yolanda D. Presberry of Havre de Grace Middle School and the Alternative Education Center. Mrs. Frendak will compete in the Maryland Teacher of the Year program with the state
teacher of the year to be announced on October 7th.
Matthew H. “Matt” Anthony, a 14-year-old, eighth grader at Southampton Middle School, reached the semi-final round in the Maryland State Geography Bee for the second consecutive year.
Fallston High School’s Envirothon team won the County Envirothon for the second straight year. The team, composed of Barry Wright III, Rob Roemer, Gary Wilkins, Ranjit Korah, and Ben Amoss (with
Caren Wiley as alternate) won in one of the closest competitions in the 13-year history of the program which pits teams from most Harford public schools, Harford Christian School and John Carroll
School. The Fallston team will now advance to the state competition to be held at Harford Glen in June. The winner there advances to the International Envirothon. Fallston High, coached by Tom
Trafton, is a five-time county Envirothon winner and two-time state winner, having finished second in the International event in 1998 and fourth in 1999.
Four Harford County Public School employees were honored for 40 years of service in the school system during the annual service awards held May 2nd. William E. Collier, a social studies teacher at
Havre de Grace Middle School, Dale H. Hunsinger, principal at Homestead-Wakefield Elementary School; Donald R. Osman, English teacher and coordinator of the SMILES service club at Havre de Grace
High School; and Joseph Stevens, principal of Bakerfield Elementary School were the employees honored for four decades of service. Fifty-seven other employees were honored for having contributed
30 years of service; 71 were noted for having compiled 20 years of service; and 132 were recognized for ten years of service.
HCPS Highlights
June 2005
Two Harford County Public Schools – Bel Air and C. Milton Wright high schools – have had their Physical Education programs declared “model” Demonstration Schools by the Maryland Association of Health, Physical Education,
Recreation, and Dance (MAHPERD). The designation represents a second consecutive cycle in the two-year evaluation process in which the programs at the two schools were found to meet rigorous standards of quality instruction, philosophy, organization and administration, curriculum and planning, assessment and evaluation, personnel, and facilities/equipment/supplies. The “model” or “honor roll” designation means the schools become two of
only three in the state to achieve the status in recent years, enabling them to act as examples to other schools in the state for outstanding
physical education programs.
Harford County’s average test scores on the annual Maryland School Assessments (MSA) improved at all grade levels tested – three through eight – and in both the reading and math tests at each level. Depending on the grade
level, Harford scores improved from 2.4 to 6.4 percent on the reading tests; and from .5 to 5.9 percent on the math exams. MSA scores also improved in each of the four disaggregated areas – students receiving special education services, students receiving free and reduced price meals, English/language learners, and minority students.
Laura Powell, a graduating senior at C. Milton Wright High School, was named Harford County’s ‘Service Star’ for 2004-05, joining students similarly designated from the other 23
Maryland sub-divisions in the statewide program. Ms. Powell was honored for her commitment to the concept of ‘service learning’ in spearheading a project that involved the archiving of pictures and text describing 18 of Harford’s most important historical structures in a book donated to the school library. She has also participated in the ‘Bay Grasses in Classes’
project aimed at raising aquatic grass to be transplanted into the Chesapeake Bay tributaries as a way of improving the health of the Bay.
Maureen Nersten of North Bend Elementary School was named the Harford County Public School Nurse of the Year. The mother of three has been a school nurse for six years and
was honored for her commitment to students and staff at Magnolia Elementary for the first four years of her service in the schools and at North Bend for the past two years.
Andrew Berry of Bel Air High and Megan O’Connor of Fallston High were named as the top $5,000 Al Cesky Scholarship Fund winners for 2005. Mr. Berry was the outstanding football quarterback and co-valeictorian (with his twin brother Adam) at Bel Air High; while Ms. O’Connor played four sports and ranked tenth in a class of 410. Twenty other school winners were awarded $1,000 scholarships
from the program which completed its 19th year as a tribute to the late Al Cesky, who was a football coaching legend at Bel Air High.
Alex Giannaras, an Abingdon Elementary School fifth grader, was chosen as the county’s top Safety Patrolman in the annual awards program sponsored by AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety &
Education. Young Giannaras and other county winners were honored during a statewide awards luncheon during which he and the others received $150 U.S. Savings Bonds awards.
Susan Melefsky, North Bend Elementary School special education teacher, was named Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year for 2004-05. Mrs. Melefsky was chosen from among the 150 nominated for the honor.
Both Bakerfield Elementary (fall game) and Norrisville Elementary (spring game) won state titles in the 2004-05 Stock Market Game, sponsored by the Council on Economic Education of Maryland (CEEM) through Towson
University. The game involves students being given a make-believe $100,000 to invest in the U.S. Stock Market. Students must chart their investments/transactions for a ten-week period with the team which gains the most
money being declared the winner in the elementary/middle/and high school categories. Bakerfield’s first place team was composed of Jordin Kelly, JoAnna Marlow, and Carianne Jones. Enrichment teacher Karen Gyolai was
the sponsor of the team. At Norrisville, enrichment teacher Janet Adams’ first place team was composed of Billy Sullivan III and Sarah Sovinsky.
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State Superintendent ‘inspired’ by her visit to Bel Air High
When Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick
left Bel Air High School following an hour-and-a-half morning visit
November 18, 2004 she said she had been “inspired.” It would have
been difficult for the Maryland school chief executive not to have
been impressed by what she saw during her visit to the place where
Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year for 2004-05, Joan
M. Hayden, teaches Family and Consumer Sciences, specializing in
child care education.
After all, the former teacher of the deaf and graduate of the
Maryland Institute of Art had the opportunity to read to pre-schoolers, talk to seniors involved in learning about the care of young children, be amazed at the level of artwork done by Bel Air High art students, and exchange views with Bel Air High’s co-valedictorians and
leaders of the Bobcat championship football team, twins Adam and
Andrew Berry. Along the way, she also had the chance to marvel at
the 55-year-old building, though in need of modernization, still a
bright and inviting place for students to learn.
education involving deaf children, told Ms. Moffa that Maryland is
the “mecca of deaf education and has the largest deaf population in
the country.”
Ashley Bolling told Dr. Grasmick she has worked with pre-kindergarten students at the John Archer School which educates children
with severe and profound mental or physical challenges. She said
she is considering a career in the medical field working with special
needs students.
BERRY VISIT - Dr. Grasmick began her visit to Bel Air High with
Adam and Andrew Berry, the school’s co-validictorians and stars of
the BAHS football team
“I am truly inspired,” Dr. Grasmick said as she left to face the challenges
inherent in running one of the country’s most progressive and respected public school state systems. “This
just made my day, I was very impressed.”
One of a series of visits the school chief is making to the schools of all
24 of Maryland’s 2004-05 Teachers of the Year, Dr. Grasmick began her
day in Bel Air with a 15-minute conversation with the Berry twins and
their parents, Andrew Berry, Sr. and Brenda Fowler-Berry in the Bel Air
High media center. BAHS Principal Joe Voskuhl, Executive Director of
Secondary Education Dave Volrath, and Supervisor of Career Education
Sue Garrett took part in the tour which moved on to a quarter-hour conference with seven of Mrs. Hayden’s independent study child care senior students.
Jaclyn Duncan, the oldest of six children in her family, said she likes
the attention young children give to their teachers and how the little
ones are amazed at each new piece of learning.
“I am truly inspired,”
said Dr. Grasmick.
During the exchange, Megan Moffa told Dr. Grasmick that she aspires to a career working with deaf children.
The State Superintendent, a graduate of Maryland’s Galludet College which specializes in
Helen McDermott had been considering a career as a speech and
language pathologist, but her work with Mrs. Hayden’s “Lil’
Bobcat” pre-schoolers has led her to adjust her career ambitions
toward teaching young children. “The program gave me experience
in working with the younger children and helped me realize that’s
what I want to do,” said the Syracuse University bound senior. “I
feel comfortable with young kids and they make me feel good.”
Katie Drost, like many of Mrs. Hayden’s students, assists with early
childhood classes at the neighboring Homestead/Wakefield Elementary
School, working with one class that contains a number of students with
severe allergies. “It’s wonderful working with those children – it’s
made me sure that I want to pursue a career in teaching,” said Ms.
Drost who is bound for Valley Forge Christian College next year.
Next on the whirlwind schedule prepared for Dr. Grasmick came her
opportunity to read to several of the pre-school children who are brought to Bel Air High for morning or afternoon two-hour sessions where Mrs. Hayden’s students get hands on experience working with the youngsters.
After the half-hour storytime, what had been billed as a tour of the school with Mr. Voskuhl got only as far
as the neighboring art rooms of Laura Crocker and Jan Carpenter where Dr. Grasmick alternately stared in
amazement and complimented the student artists on their outstanding work.
Comic books can inspire reluctant/
advanced readers
Erin Rebhorn is a fifth grade teacher at Church Creek Elementary School and one of several teachers at two Harford County
Public Schools helping to pilot the “Comic Book Initiative” or “Graphic Novels” program for the Maryland State Department of
Education (MSDE) this year. The three-week reading/writing units are intended to motivate struggling readers and stir the imagination of more advanced readers by using a multi-sensory approach in the reading/writing process.
“For our struggling readers, the colorful panels of a comic with simple blurbs of text motivates their interest in the
reading process,” said Mrs. Rebhorn, part of the curriculum writing team that established the foundation for the
units this past summer. “For upper level readers, it allows them to use their higher level thinking and reading skills.”
Led by Church Creek/George D. Lisby Elementary School at Hillsdale Mentor teacher Alberta Porter, the Comic
Book Initiative has attracted the interest of regional and national media outlets including The Washington Post,
WMAR-TV, WJZ-TV, and the CBS Morning Show. Harford is one of four counties in Maryland piloting the program.
MOTIVATION - Ten-year-old Church Creek fifth graders, from left, Nicole Nehrebecki, Christian Carpenter,
Aliyah Russell, and Antonio Washington work on their creation of comic panels.
“We’ve noticed a huge increase in students’ vocabulary following completion of reading units at Lisby/Hillsdale,”
said Ms. Porter, a former Harford County Teacher of the Year and State Teacher of the Year finalist. “The goal is
for this initiative to be another tool in the teachers’ took kit to help them reach and motivate both reluctant and
advanced readers.”
Ms. Porter said MSDE has engineered partnerships with the Disney organization and Diamond Comic Distributors
in supplying comic strips and larger works that are appropriate to elementary school-aged students. She added
that full-length “graphic novels” are being written commercially and can be purchased by school libraries to advance the reading/writing format.
“It’s fun – I like to draw and some parts of the graphic novels are funny,” said ten-year-old Church Creek fifth grader Christian Carpenter after he and his classmates in Mrs. Rebhorn’s class had experienced a week in the
Comic Book Initiative writing unit. “I like how each panel shows what the character is thinking or what the character is saying.”
(continued on page 21)
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Kelly was chosen by her teacher, Jeanna Essery, to be the Fallston Middle spokesperson during a
satellite phone hookup with scientists on the mother ship ‘Atlantis’ and its deep water submersible,
‘Alvin’ on December 10. To the fascination of her 130 Tropicana team members assembled in the
school’s cafeteria, the 11-year-old Upper Crossroads resident joined similar student representatives
from 12 schools nationwide chosen to be involved in the hour-long conversation with the marine scientists operating several hundred miles off the coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean.
“It was hard to believe I was actually talking to someone on the ocean floor,” said Kelly, who aspires
to be a marine biologist. “I was extremely nervous, but I had done a lot in class to prepare for my questions.”
or
flo
On a scale of one to ten – ten being the best – Fallston Middle School 2004-05 sixth grader Kelly
Kundratic said her conversation with scientists located a mile-and-a-half below the surface in the
Pacific Ocean “was a 15.”
fic
Fallston Middle sixth grader one of 12 nationwide to reach ‘Alvin’
Cover Page Story
ci
Kundratic in
‘direct line’ to Pa
Going fifth in a rotation of the 12 schools, Kelly and the other students asked one question of the scientists onboard Atlantis; and the other of those in Alvin. Fifty schools – including Bel Air, Edgewood
and Fallston middle schools from Harford — had been chosen to be part of the project from the 800
which had applied. Fallston Middle joined elementary, middle, and high schools from Arizona,
Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
South Dakota, and Wyoming in being selected to talk live to the scientists.
Kelly’s question of the Atlantis representative asked about the kinds of chores ship members have to
perform while on their 21-day mission. She was told being aboard Atlantis was like being at a “nice
hotel with three square meals served each day.”
“They feed us well – too well,” said the Atlantis representative through a conference call hookup with
voice amplification in the FMS cafeteria public address system. “But, we have to do our own laundry
and we do the cleaning ourselves.”
Her question to the three occupants of Alvin centered on the one-to-two-hour descent from the mother ship to the floor of the Pacific mid-ocean ridge. “When you’re going down in Alvin, do you feel any
changes in your body?” was Kelly’s question.
LONG DISTANCE - Kelly Kundratic, 11-year-old Fallston Middle School sixth grader, was one of 12
students nationwide afforded the opportunity to talk to scientists on the Atlantis and Alvin crafts,
operating in the middle of the Pacific and on the Ocean’s floor respectively, December 10th.
Lt. Governor Steel blown away by
Harford Tech
The answer, though difficult to hear each word, was that the pressurized interior of the submersible
makes it difficult to distinguish any differences as the submersible descends. However, the scientist
said the color of the water (as seen through Alvin’s porthole) changes, getting dark within ten minutes
of beginning the descent. And, he said, it gets very cold in the ocean depths, the outside temperature
falling to near freezing, necessitating the wearing of several layers of clothing including multiple socks.
The Extreme 2004: Exploring the Deep Frontier project was under the direction of the University of
Delaware College of Marine Studies with support from the National Science Foundation. The 274 foot
Atlantis carried the submersible Alvin which is owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institute, located in Massachusetts. Alvin is 23.3 feet long and is capable of diving to a depth of 14,764 feet with its one pilot and two observer crew.
The mission of the Alvin on the Extreme 2004 dive was to explore the mysteries of the deep-sea vents.
University of Delaware marine biologist Dr. Craig Cary and his team from the institution’s College of
Marine Studies and Dr. Alison Murray with her research group from the Desert Research Institute in
Reno, Nevada worked together to learn more about the Pompeii worm and other strange creatures
which live on the ocean’s floor and can tolerate the extreme heat produced by the deep-sea vents.
The Pompeii worm and its bacteria are of interest to industry, a brochure developed by the University
of Delaware reports, because they may yield a variety of products and applications, from new pharmaceuticals to enzymes capable of operating in hot, corrosive, high-pressure environments.
Dr. Cary told schools linked to the satellite call that the group hoped to head home the following week.
He urged his listeners to continue their interest in and study of science. “The deep sea is only one of
the amazing places science will take you,” he said. “Never stop dreaming.”
Ms. Kundratic, daughter of Cathy and Jeff Kundratic, said she “loves studying about ocean animals”
and the prospects of some day being aboard a ship like the Atlantis or a submersible like Alvin (named
in part for the cartoon ‘Alvin the Chipmunk’) “would be awesome.”
SERIOUS - Harford Tech junior Denee Crumrine has the undivided attention of Lt. Gov.
Michael Steele and Governor’s Commission Executive Director Robert Kemmery during a
visit consisting of meetings and a tour of the central Harford magnet trade school.
“I would want to go to
high school here.”
Lt. Governor Michael S. Steele
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MERITORIOUS NEW TEACHERS
Nancy Grasmick ‘impressed’ with Aberdeen High
MEETING - Seventeen-year-old MarLisa Hill, left, talks with State
Superintendent Nancy Grasmick as her U.S. History teacher
Jayme Hill and Principal Tom Szerensits take part during Dr.
Grasmick’s visit to Aberdeen High on March 11th.
Bethany Duke
Jessica Smith
Sarah Voskuhl
One hundred-ninety-two new teachers in the Delaware/District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia area
- including three who are first year teachers in the Harford County Public Schools - were designated as ‘Meritorious New Teacher Candidates’ by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Teachers Project
(MARTP) in 2004-05.
The three Harford teachers - Sarah Voskuhl of North Harford High, Jessica Smith of Bel Air Middle,
and Bethany Duke of Havre de Grace Elementary - were feted along with their 189 co-designees at
a Capitol Hill briefing held at the Rayburn House Office Building on January 4th in the first year for
the program which provides for reciprocal certification in the particpating states and Washington,
D.C.
western
auto
State superintendent says people even better than building
LONG WAY - Aberdeen High 16-year-old sophomore Lavdrim
Shabani talks about his experiences in a Macedonia relocation camp in 1999 where his family had taken refuge from
their native Kosovo. Aberdeen High Principal Tom
Szerensits joins in the conversation.
ymca
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campion
filler
Plotycia named
Presidential Math winner
Abingdon Elementary second grade teacher
one of 46 in nation to be honored
It wasn’t exactly the average week for Frances A. ‘Fran’
Plotycia.
Francine A. ‘Fran’ Plotycia
town of
bel Air
There was the reception in Washington, D.C. on Monday;
the forum with the discoverer of the wreck of the Titanic
and NASA’s chief scientist on Tuesday; the White House
reception, dinner at the U.S. Department of State, and private White House tour on Wednesday; the Congressional
breakfast and the awards ceremony at the National
Academy of Science on Thursday; and the National Council
for Teachers of Mathematics breakfast and the dinner
cruise on the Potomac on Friday.
Oh, yes – there was the shaking of President George Bush’s hand twice, and the $10,000 award
she received, and the promise of an all expenses paid trip to Disney World next October.
The Abingdon Elementary School second grade teacher was one of 94 national winners of the 200405 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Mrs. Plotycia, who
was one of two 2003-04 Maryland Elementary Math Teachers of the Year, was among the 46
teachers from kindergarten through sixth grade to receive the nation’s highest honor for their ability to communicate math principles to their students. Up to two teachers per state and four U.S.
territories were eligible for the awards in math and science.
Established by Congress in 1983, the award is administered for the White House by the National
Science Foundation. The award is given in alternate years to elementary and secondary teachers in
math and science. The awardees are chosen by a blue ribbon panel including college professors, former Presidential Award winners, and professionals in the field.
“I was notified on March 17th, but I could only tell my principal and my family and they couldn’t tell
anyone else – that was the hardest part,” said Mrs. Plotycia, 49, now in her eighth year of teaching after completing her college work at night and evenings. “The week of April 11 through 16 in
Washington, D.C. with the other honorees was certainly a whirlwind time.”
Nominated by her principal, Kathleen Burr, Mrs. Plotycia is called a teacher who will do anything –
including donning math wizard outfits and other motivational costumes – to reach her students.
“Fran is both a knowledgeable and dedicated teacher (who) provides her students with captivating
lessons in all subject areas,” said Mrs. Burr. “The fact that she now has been recognized with a
national award for her teaching of mathematics shows just how much she knows best practices in
mathematics instruction and her ability to transfer this knowledge to classroom practice.”
kids
2000
A great deal of Mrs. Plotycia’s efforts in teaching math are related to her early struggles as a student in the subject. “I wasn’t good in math (as a student) – I didn’t understand algebra or anything
beyond arithmetic – I thought I was stupid,” said Mrs. Plotycia, a native of Buffalo, New York.
“Math was always a struggle and it still is for me – I just didn’t have the background to be able to
handle the higher math concepts.”
Mrs. Plotycia, who taught first grade for six years and is now in her second year as a second grade
teacher, said a child who develops an aversion to math in his or her early years of school carries
that fear with them into higher grades. “I want them to have confidence – to believe they can solve
any problem,” she said, adding that her strategy, a part of the Harford County Public School curriculum, is to provide many concrete examples for students to use in finding answers to math problems.
“I consider this (Presidential Award) as a validation of the math curriculum in Harford County where
we encourage children to construct an understanding by seeing numbers in many different ways,”
said Mrs. Plotycia. “We decompose and construct numbers as the strategy in solving problems.”
The application process required Presidential Award candidates not only to record their strategies
and methods but to provide a five to eight minute video tape of the strategies being put into action
in the classroom. Mrs. Plotycia chose to submit a lesson she presented in January 2004 using unifix
cubes in a regrouping strategy during a subtraction unit. “It’s all about understanding the why of
what we do in math,” she said.
The application had to include the teacher’s background, formal education and teaching history, professional development, awards and grants received, and professional organizations to which the
teacher belonged. It was submitted last school year with the 94 winners announced this April considered the 2004 honorees.
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Comic books can inspire reluctant/ advanced readers
continued from page 17
Another accomplished reader in the class, fellow ten-year-old, fifth grader Aliyah Russell, isn’t quite as enthusiastic about the initiative but says she does enjoy creating her own comics. “I’d rather read (traditional) books,”
she said.
Ms. Porter said there may be options for a teacher to differentiate materials, using the graphic novels with some
and more traditional works with others. She added the graphic novels can be used for “Silent Sustained
Reading” (SSR) where students are allowed to choose a work to their own liking in reading for pleasure.
Mrs. Rebhorn said the writing unit asks students to compare and contrast comics with more traditional tradebooks, looking at the way each is organized, the text structure, illustrations, and other factors. “In comics, the
pictures tell the story while, in tradebooks, words tell the story,” said the West Chester (Pennsylvania)
University graduate. “The students have been extremely engaged, on task, and excited; and, when a student is
enjoying what he is doing, he is enlightened to learn.”
Mrs. Rebhorn said some among the general public feel that comics are replete with violence. While she said
there is some “implied violence” in many comics, that which is used in the curriculum is screened carefully to
make sure the images are not too graphic or inappropriate in other ways.
Familiar Disney characters such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and others; along with Superman and a variety
of other traditional comic book characters are included in the materials being used. Other full-length graphic novels will feature the works of writers of more classical works.
Ms. Porter said one graphic novel which describes women in science has potential to be used beyond the reading/writing process. She said the graphic novels can support social studies and other subject areas, noting they
fit nicely with the State’s voluntary state curriculum. She added that the local group will present on the early
findings from the pilot at the International Reading Association conference set for May in San Antonio, Texas.
“We are finding the process can remove barriers to reading in grades three through five where it would be used,”
said Ms. Porter, noting the goal is to make the units available to many of the school system’s elementary schools
in the 2005-06 school year. “Whether it will be used as a supplement to the regular reading program would be
left up to the schools.”
or separately.
Ms. Porter said it is likely the graphic
novel/comic book initiative would eventually
find its way to first and second grade as
materials are matched to those reading/writing levels.
Ms. Rebhorn said her fifth grade team at
Church Creek Elementary will be getting
together soon in planning expansion of the
pilot to their classrooms.
Kim Stackhouse, special educator at
Lisby/Hillsdale, said the comic book format
has been a boon to students with special
needs who get to work alongside students
from the regular program, using the same
vocabulary and discussing mutual inferences
derived from the graphic works. Ms.
Stackhouse works in an inclusion environment in which students with special needs and
regular education students are served in the
same classroom.
COMIC WORK - Church Creek fifth grade
teacher Erin Redhorn works wth students as
they create their won comic panels.
“I see the comic books having great potential for students with special needs,” said Ms. Stackhouse. “But, I’ve
also observed students from the regular program becoming very involved with the process.”
Members of the local team that wrote the Harford version of the “Comic Book Initiative” included Mrs. Rebhorn,
Ms. Porter, and Ms. Stackhouse; along with Prospect Mill Elementary Assistant Principal Jeanette Jennings,
Forest Lakes Elementary Reading Specialist Jennifer Palmer, and Forest Lakes Media Specialist Laura Coyne.
She said the three-week reading and three-week writing units could be presented back-to-back, simultaneously,
huntington
learn
kinder
care
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Mary Procell is State Science teacher finalist
Mary Y. Procell has a standing offer to her Bel Air High
School Biology students to come to her home for a
Friday night party. She is yet to have any takers. Of
course, the party would consist of “making flash cards
for class review, reading the Biology text, and eating
tubers.”
one more
time
rite aid
Late last month, Mrs. Procell was identified as one of
two Maryland science teachers to be a finalist for the
award that will net the winner from each state
$10,000 and an all expenses paid trip to Washington,
D.C. to meet government leaders as well as an excursion to Disney World.
ENGAGED - Mary Procell listens as 14-year-old Bel Air
High freshman Emma Jackovitz provides an answer to
a question in an honors biology class at the school.
Mrs. Procell is one of two in the state to be named a
finalist for the Presidential Award in the teaching of
science for 2005-06.
A Natural and Biological Sciences graduate of Towson
University, Mrs. Procell aspired to join the Peace Corps
after college. “But, I found out they would not take
anyone without a teaching degree, so I went back to
school to be certified and then got a job teaching (Earth
science and biology) at Bel Air High,” she said, transferring after the first year to Aberdeen High for four
years, and then to Edgewood High for two more before
taking some time off as hers and husband Ken Procell’s
two children, Kara, now 14, and Katie, now 11, were
born. Nine years ago, she came back to Bel Air High
and now teaches honors and traditional biology to
ninth and tenth graders.
“She
is committed to
the success of her
students.”
Established by an Act of Congress in 1983,
the Presidential awards for math and science are administered for the White
House by the National Science
Foundation. The awards are given in
alternate years to elementary and secondary teachers in math and science.
~Joseph Voskuhl, Principal
The awardees are chosen by a blue ribbon
Bel Air High School
panel including college professors, former
Presidential Award winners, and professionals in
the field.
‘Regular guy’ Mike Griffin
appointed to head NASA
fred ward
Brian French was beginning to lose the feeling in his feet and toes, but
his best buddy, Mike Griffin, insisted they finish their round of golf. It
was 1966 and the two Aberdeen High School juniors were pursuing their
passion on the Swan Creek Country Club links despite frigid winter conditions that had frozen over the pond in front of the par three.
The incident almost 40 years ago is an indication of the kind of perseverance that has led Michael D. Griffin to the brink of realizing his lifelong dream to head the United States
space program. The nominee of President George W. Bush to be the next Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was confirmed by the Senate.
The 1967 Aberdeen High graduate was in his second stint in Harford County when he was in a class that
included not only Mr. French but former Harford County Public School administrators Mike Heiberger and
Debbie Jordan Heiberger. The oldest of Richard and Beryl Griffin’s three children, his pre-school years were
determined by his father’s assignment to Aberdeen Proving Ground while in the military. Mike attended the
old Aberdeen Elementary School (now Aberdeen Recreation Center) building off Rt. 40 in the city until the
middle of third grade.
Formerly serving as Space Department Head at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Dr.
Griffin had been president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, Inc.; and had served in several positions
within Orbital Sciences Corporation, including chief executive officer of Magellan Systems, Inc. Earlier in his
career, Dr. Griffin served as Chief Engineer at NASA and as Deputy for Technology at the Strategic Defense
Initiative Organization.
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Drug use down among local youth
Drug, alcohol, and tobacco use is down among Harford County young people in almost every area included in the 2004 Maryland Adolescent Survey. The bi-annual survey – given to selected sixth, eighth,
tenth and twelfth graders in December 2004 and released October 26 – shows Maryland and Harford
teen-agers continued a downward trend in most areas of substance abuse that was begun in 1998.
Among Harford County Public School eighth graders, 20 of 24 categories of substance use declined or
stayed the same in the 2004 survey compared to the one given two years earlier. At the tenth grade
level, there was a decrease in 18 areas during the same period; while twelfth graders showed a decrease
in 23 of the areas with the 24th staying the same.
Particularly encouraging are significant decreases in the use of tobacco at eighth, tenth, and twelfth
grades. Only 23.5 percent of last year’s seniors surveyed reported having used tobacco within the 30
day period prior to the questionnaire while 36.9 percent had said they smoked tobacco during the same
period in the survey given in 2001. Eighth graders showed an 80.6 percent decrease in use of tobacco
between the 1998 survey and the one given last year. Tenth graders reflected a 65.5 percent decline
in tobacco use between the same two surveys.
Similar results were seen in the use of marijuana by Harford youth. Eighth graders showed a decrease
of 65.4 percent in marijuana use between the 2002 and 2004 surveys; while tenth grade use declined
by 20.7 percent and seniors by 14.2 percent during the same period.
Students at all grade levels surveyed reported a decrease in use of any form of alcohol during the year
prior to the 2004 survey as compared to the 2002 results. Eighth graders reported a decrease of 54.8
percent, tenth graders indicated a 22.6 percent decline, and alcohol use by twelfth graders was down
by 11.5 percent.
“These results are, obviously, very encouraging and reflect a combined effort of our schools, parents,
community agencies, and governmental agencies to not only show young people how dangerous drugs
and alcohol are, but strategies to combat their use,” said Harford Superintendent Jacqueline C. Haas.
“We can’t be satisfied as long as there are those young people who risk their health and their futures
by becoming involved in drugs.”
The survey also showed that the percentage of students who feel safe at school and in their neighbor-
fredom
martial arts
FILLER
hoods – while over 80 percent in all grade levels – is declining slightly in Harford County.
Still, the county’s chief drug educator said, the survey results show the combined efforts of the school
and local agencies in providing information about the dangers involving drug use seems to be making an
impact. The strategies used by the schools are designed to involve parents at each grade level
throughout the drug prevention instruction. Youth at all levels have taken a stand against drug abuse.
Each secondary school has active drug prevention clubs whose goal is to promote drug-free activities
and remind their peers about the dangers of substance use. Parent resources including a newsletter
and a link to the county web site have been added.
In December, 2004, 41,303 questionnaires were sent to the public schools in Maryland. Of these,
34,529 were returned and analyzed. In Harford, 1,805 surveys were administered in the four grades.
While use of illicit substances by Harford youth outstrips their counterparts statewide, results of the survey shows local young people have a better understanding of the dangers of the substances.
State of Maryland: Comparison of Use Rates of Major Substances
Last 30 Days - Grade 12
Percent
80
60
52.4 48.4 47.5
44.3 44.1
40
52.0 28.6
20
0
Alcohol
25.5
19.8 19.8
Cigarettes
27.4 24.2
22.7 21.0 21.9
Marijuana
Substance
1996
1998
2001
2002
2004
hickory
international
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Wright, Bel Air
High P.E.
pr ograms
net
honors
dance
moves
It’s not your father’s gym class anymore.
Increasingly, at all Harford County Public secondary schools, Physical Education class no longer NEW AGE - Among the sports being emphasized as lifetime
means a teacher allowing his or her class to “play sports that are attracting more students in the modern Physical
Education effort is rollerblading. Here, from left, seniors Gina
games” for the class period. More and more, Domiano, Erika Sayer, and Samantha Dorsey try their luck on
schools are turning to ex-aerobics, or wellness the C. Milton Wright High School campus during their final semster as students.
walking, or golf, or rollerblading, or hiking, or
weightlifting to tone muscles, or “adventure” programming.
In fact, Harford County’s Public Schools now has two of only three high schools in the state to have
received the coveted “Model” or “Honor Roll” Demonstration School status in recent years, indicative of
having met rigorous standards set by the Maryland Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation,
and Dance (MAHPERD) and endorsed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
The schools – C. Milton Wright and Bel Air High schools – were named Demonstration Schools two years
ago – two of only seven high schools in the state to be in that category. This past spring, the schools
were evaluated and given the Demonstration status again, placing them on the “permanent” list of schools
which MAHPERD and MSDE feel can serve as models for other P.E. programs around the state.
“The leadership provided by Bonnie Fry and Kathy Thornton (Physical Education Department Chairs at
C. Milton Wright and Bel Air high schools, respectively) has played a vital role in the development of
exemplary physical education programs at the two schools,” said Forest Wiest, supervisor of high
school physical education & athletics for the county schools. “I am most proud because these programs obtained the high honor by doing what they do every day during the entire school year.”
In order to achieve Demonstration status, schools must do a rigorous self assessment in areas
involving the quality of instruction, philosophy, organization and administration, curriculum and
planning, assessment and evaluation, personnel, and facilities/equipment/supplies. Teams of
evaluators then come to the school from MSDE to see the program in action, assessing whether
the self evaluation matches their observations. The score provided by the evaluators determines whether the school achieves Demonstration status or
not.
hc
library
“What it means is we are meeting all state and national curriculum standards for Physical Education,” said Mrs. Thornton, a 28-year Harford
County Public School teacher, now in her fifth year at Bel Air High. “The key
is the (Physical Education) staff we have here at Bel Air High – they are all enthusiastic and we have a
great rapport with each other and the students.”
Mrs. Thornton said team sports still do play a role in what is offered in some classes, but the emphasis
has shifted much more to individual skills and activities. “The staff and I have to make Physical Education
relevant to today’s students – only one-half P.E. credit is required and most students get that in the ninth
grade,” the veteran teacher said. “If we are going to do something about childhood obesity and attitudes
that carry into adulthood, this is the time it has to be done.”
Mrs. Thornton estimated that 800 to 900 of the school’s 1700 students take Physical Education classes
each semester. Since there were 466 ninth graders this year, that would mean more than half taking P.E.
at Bel Air High do so voluntarily.
At C. Milton Wright High, where Mrs. Fry has taught for 26 of the 29 years she has been an instructor,
she reports a similar attitude. “We are using a lot more technology – everything from a tri-fit computer to
heart monitors, to pedometers, and technology that measures body fat and blood pressure,” said Mrs. Fry,
a one to five handicap golfer who has won three senior
events in the Baltimore area and has achieved eight
holes-in-one during her lifetime. “The key is we have a
very fine staff and each one has his or her area of
expertise that we try to match up with courses that will
be of interest to and beneficial for kids.”
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‘Lori’ Frendak is Harford’s
2005-06 Teacher of the Year
North Harford Middle CSP teacher honored along with nine others
Trained and experienced as a teacher of the visually impaired, Lorna L. “Lori” Frendak felt
misplaced as a Classroom Support Program (CSP) teacher at North Harford Middle
School. Hired in February, 1997 to make a difference in the lives of students with serious academic, social, or emotional issues, Mrs. Frendak had been warned she’d be dealing with
some of the most challenging students in the school system – a warning that didn’t begin to
define some of the new and frustrating situations in which she would find herself.
“I had dealt with blind students, most also with significant mental retardation – they never talked back
to you,” said the newly named 2005-06 Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year. “They
handed me a stack of files on my students, each stuffed several inches thick with (discipline) referrals,
arrest records, and psychological profiles – I’d go home every night and cry from frustration.”
In fact, Mrs. Frendak had secured a waiver from the Maryland State Department of Education to
void her Harford County contract and had a job waiting for her teaching at the Maryland School
for the Blind. But, then, there was “Charlie” (not his real name).
“He was a sixth grader, and every day he came to me high (on drugs),” said the 47-year-old veteran
of 18 years in the classroom – the first ten in Germany and Oklahoma as the wife of a career military
officer. “I just couldn’t leave him – I had to come back for him and the others – they’re all such great
kids with wonderful gifts.”
Having completed her eighth year as the leader of the CSP Special Education team at North Harford
Middle, Lori Frendak feels she is where she was meant to be. “My philosophy is to treat all students
with respect, kindness, and love – especially those who come to us with so many issues,” she said.
Charles Bartberger,” Mrs. Frendak said. “At that time, they had an accelerated math program that you
had to maintain at least a ‘B’ average in order to stay in.
“I earned a ‘C’ the first marking period, but Mr. Bartberger gave me a ‘B’ because he told me he knew I
could do the work,” she added. “After that, I got straight ‘A’s’ because he believed in me – that has
stayed with me all these years.”
Enrolling at Kutztown State College (near Reading/Allentown) as a combined teacher of the visually
impaired/elementary education major, Lori Brown met Thomas Frendak, also a student at Kutztown, who
subsequently obtained an ROTC Army commission at Lehigh University. The two were married and
began the typical life of an Army family, with assignments to Germany, Korea, Oklahoma, and, finally,
the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground where Lt. Colonel Tom Frendak ended his military career
after 22 years and became a government consultant for the Army Environmental Center where he had
been deputy commander.
For the next year, she will be traveling in style in a new black Buick Lacrosse presented to her by
Boyle Buick in Abingdon on the night of the banquet. She also received a watch from
Talles Jewelers of Bel Air, a Dell laptop computer, a commemorative school bell, and
plaques and certificates from school and government leaders. She and the nine
other finalists also received dinner certificates from sponsoring area restaurants,
newspaper subscriptions to The Aegis, free cable service from Comcast, complimentary membership to the Bel Air Athletic Club, U.S. Savings Bonds from the Har-Co
Maryland Federal Credit Union and other participating banks, and several other awards. Lou
Ward and The Bayou Restaurant, as in all 11 of the Harford Teacher of the Year banquets, supplied prime
rib/crabcake dinners and service free of charge for the 180 guests.
Nominated by NHMS Assistant Principal Karl Wickman, Mrs. Frendak was chosen as one of ten finalists for the 2005-06 Harford Teacher of the Year award by a panel of 15 judges comprised of student
leaders, parents, principals, former HCPS teachers of the year, and business people. The aggregate ratings of the judges also determined the Teacher of the Year, although the identity of that person was
not revealed until the conclusion of the 11th Annual Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year
banquet/program held at the Bayou Restaurant in Havre de Grace on April 28th.
“I say this with all sincerity, anything that I am I owe to my family – my mother and father, my husband, and our (two) children – they are my rock, my support,” said Mrs. Frendak. “And, whatever we
accomplish with students is due to the wonderfully supportive team we have at North Harford Middle
School, the educators, the parents, and the students.”
She said her immediate CSP team – composed of paraeducator Debbie Leroy, counselor Patti Schlough,
and inclusion helper Dawn Wilson – works in a seamless way with the goal of providing their students
with a safe and nurturing haven while, at the same time, integrating them into the regular school program wherever possible. The North Harford Middle CSP program averages about ten to 12 students
who meet with Mrs. Frendak each day for an hour long class in the middle of the day which provides
them with academic instruction and coping skills. Those and other students with academic/social/emotional needs can go to “their” classroom during parts of the day to receive support. The CSP team supports regular education teachers throughout the day in working with students with special needs.
In fact, she says she’s often teased by her colleagues who ask her, “Is there any kid who is not a great
kid?” Born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, Lori Brown Frendak is the daughter and
oldest of retired draftsman Russell and retired office manager Reba Brown’s three children.
Her middle brother Craig is the head diving coach at Penn State University, and
younger brother Ken is an eighth grade science teacher in Pennsylvania.
“The teacher that made a difference for me – who made me know I wanted to be a
teacher – was my eighth grade math teacher (at Hatboro-Horsham High School) –
SHOCK - North Harford Middle School Classroom Support Teacher Lori Frendak reacts with schock and joy as
her name is called as the Harford County Public School Teacher of the Year for 2005-06. Mrs. Frendak was
surrounded by members of her family, friends, colleagues, and Board of Education Vice President Robin Rich
when the announcement was made at the conclusion of the 11th annual Teacher of the Year banquet held at
the Bayou Restaurant in Havre de Grace April 28, 2005..
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Collins uses indomitable spirit to succeed
Edgewood High School sophomore Teisha Collins carries a 3.57 grade point average in a full load of honors classes including two advanced math courses. She is a prolific poet with three of her free verse works having been
published. She’s on Edgewood High’s Academic Team, and she plays violin in the school’s Concert Choir. Ms.
Collins aspires to attend Harvard and major in law.
Oh, by the way, Teisha Collins is blind.
Afflicted since birth with a condition that limits her to seeing only vague shapes and colors through her peripheral vision, the 15-year-old Edgewood-area resident uses Braille text and an indomitable spirit to find success in
the classroom and among her peers.
“She is just amazing – she honestly does not see her lack of vision as a disability or even a challenge,” said itinerant teacher of the visually impaired Karen Karnes who provides support for Teisha and several other students
with visual challenges in the Aberdeen and Edgewood areas. “She never complains – she’s an inspiration to all
of us.”
The eldest of seven sisters, Miss Collins has a history of “amazing” teachers and classmates at Church Creek
Elementary, Edgewood Middle, and now Edgewood High schools, fielding every challenge and turning them into
successes.
“My condition is one that could have been in our family from generations ago and just popped up in me,” Teisha
said. “I get a lot of help from computer programs that help me with my research and I have two students who
help me in math classes by recording my (dictated) answers and with the graphing calculator.”
The Job Access With Speech (JAWS) software allows her to gain access to a variety of topics by plugging the
subject into a computer which reads aloud the information she is seeking. All of her reading material is converted
into Braille by Roxanne Constantino, Braille technician at Edgewood High. Seniors Kelly Mooney, in Algebra II,
and Kara Moffoletto, in Trigonometry, lend a hand in helping Teisha “see” the material in class.
“Her ‘mental math’ ability is phenomenal – she doesn’t want to use a calculator for things that she could even
attempt to do mentally, including powers and division problems,” added Mrs. Finney, a 2004-05 Harford County
Public School Teacher of the Year finalist. “In general, she is just an amazing student.”
Cover Page Story
Mrs. Finney said Teisha will often have
already started and completed homework
questions at the end of a section the class
has not yet been assigned. “She tells me
when we should have quizzes and tests –
she keeps me moving,” added the 11-year
teacher, eight of those years at Edgewood
High. “When a section is something she is
familiar with, she wants to skip it so she
can keep learning new things.”
In Spanish and Honors English, Honors
Biology, and Honors European History the
precocious student needs little assistance
to be among the top students in those
classes.
SUPPORT - Itinerant teacher of the visually impaired Karen Karnes
who provides support for Teisha and several other students with visual challenges in the Aberdeen and Edgewood areas.
“In orchestra, she has to memorize all the
music because, obviously, she can’t see to read the music as she plays,” said Mrs. Karnes. “Braille is a lifesaver
for these kids, but Teisha takes it to the next step – she spends hours every night doing homework in order to
keep up with her classmates.”
The daughter of Melinda and Brian Collins and stepdaughter of Garrett Taylor finds her way around school
through the help of sighted friends who include her in their social world. Mrs. Karnes, who works with Mrs.
Constantino in a workroom off the EHS media center, said the Edgewood High administration has been extremely helpful by having Braille signs installed throughout the building. Last year, there were three legally blind students attending the school.
As for her poetry, she has now written around 37 complete poems, some rhyming but most in free verse. “It’s
a hobby, it’s fun – I write about the normal things – life, dreams, love, happiness,” said Teisha, noting her
favorite poem may be the one she wrote three years ago when her grandfather passed away entitled ‘Until We
Meet Again;’ or the one she wrote for a friend just last May, ‘With Parted Wings.’
Clark is Maryland’s top elementary
P.E. teacher
c2’
education
D
E
B
B
I
E
C
L
A
R
K
IT’S LIKE THIS - Debbie Clark gets involved in every aspect of her student’s physical education classes. Here, she demonstrates the right way to catch a ball. She believes in tailoring her activities so
that each student feels the success in doing the best he or she possibly can. Maryland’s 2005
Elementary Teacher of the Year makes sure each of the more than 500 students she sees on a weekly basis gets more than a taste of success.

2004-05 Annual Report - Harford County Public Schools

Transcription

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