Carroll County was to open Ebb Valley Elementary School in Manchester, the 42nd school in the system.
Principal Robert Mitchell said, "We've got a lot of new space, new technology, a lot of beautiful furniture. The building sparkles."
To some degree, parents take risks by agreeing to put their children in a school with no track record. And at Friendship Academy for Engineering and Technology in Baltimore, the principal met with parents for part of the morning to answer questions and allay concerns. Renee Toppin said she chose Friendship for her son because of its emphasis on preparing all of its students for college. She said she was excited to "have a school that was already focused on the next level."
"It is a different opportunity from the regular public school," said LaChelle Wright, the mother of a sixth-grader.
Howard County, a school system that has built 35 schools since 1981, is one of the few school systems not opening a new one this year. "It's the first time in 20 years," said Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin, who toured seven schools yesterday with Board of Education Chairman Frank Aquino.
"That is because our population growth has slowed. We've stayed ahead of the curve by providing facilities as needed." said Aquino.
No new schools have been built in Harford County this year, but the first day of school brought excitement even for middle-schoolers. At Fallston Middle School, Clark Stratmeyer, 13, said he was looking forward to Spanish class. "I've always wanted to learn a new language," he said.
Sixth-graders Rachel Noyes and Toria Smith, both 11, were nervous about their first day with the big kids. "If you walk into the wrong class, you get embarrassed," said Rachel. Both girls had carefully selected their first-day outfits, and Toria wore blindingly white New Balances.
Reporters Nicole Fuller, Liz F. Kay, David Kohn and John-John Williams IV contributed to this article.
