Academic Standards

COLLEGE PARK -- University of Maryland basketball coach (( Gary Williams said that, despite a rash of recent recruitingdisappointments, he doesn't plan on lowering his sights or changing his approach in the future."

In his recent column ("Student-athletes need a degree, not a paycheck," May 6),Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.makes a persuasive case for the bargain available to students who are talented enough to win an athletic scholarship to a college or university. They, as Mr. Ehrlich was, are in college primarily to prepare for a career in something other than professional sports. However, for the student-athletes with professional prospects, I believe that we can design a better system. Although some might find this approach a radical change, I believe that it is practical in they way it effectively utilizes the existing infrastructure and would actually make the jobs of coaches and athletes clearer and simpler.

RICHMOND, Va. -- As states press for better performance from public schools, they may soon discover a lesson that Virginia learned this year the hard way: If you raise academic expectations, prepare at first for failure.Virginia has adopted new benchmarks for what students should know from grade to grade in English, mathematics, history and science. Educators here call the benchmarks "Standards of Learning."But in the first round of testing to see whether students are meeting those standards, more than 97 percent of Virginia schools flunked.

The state school board is considering whether students who play sports in high school should maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average to be eligible, a requirement already in place in 16 school systems in Maryland. A statewide committee of superintendents, principals and coaches made the recommendation, although school board members expressed concern at a meeting Tuesday that such a standard might increase the dropout rate among students who are drawn to school for the chance to play on a team.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES are secondary to curricular activities. That's the way it should be in any public education system, and especially in one such as Carroll County's that takes just pride in academic accomplishments.At the same time, educators and parents recognize that these non-classroom activities contribute greatly to a student's school experience. Whether sports teams or clubs or other organized activities, they can play a meaningful role in the lives of young people. They can encourage marginal academic achievers to do better, they can enrich the classroom learning environment.

COLLEGE PARK--Joe Krivak, still Maryland's football coach, strode into the room with the smile of a man who had just signed a new contract.But he hadn't."

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was fired yesterday, a day after the Bruins accepted a bowl bid and two days after a loss to cross-town rival Southern California. Dorrell, 43, was let go despite leading the Bruins to a postseason game in each of his five seasons at UCLA, which had an outside chance to reach the Rose Bowl before its 24-7 loss to USC over the weekend. Dorrell had a 35-27 record. UCLA (6-6) will play Brigham Young (10-2) in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 22. Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero said Dorrell will decide whether he wants to coach that game.

Four years ago, as a special convention of the National Collegiate Athletic Association was ending in Dallas, one of the sharpest critics of college sports caught up with John B. Slaughter then chancellor of University of Maryland College Park.Mr. Slaughter was also president then of the NCAA's reform-minded Presidents Commission. He was leaving Dallas with deep bruises which had been administered by coaches and athletic directors re-asserting their control over intercollegiate sports.The presidents had wanted to start a debate on the proper role of athletics at American universities.

Forty-six percent of second- and fourth-graders who attended Baltimore's summer school program this year were promoted to the next grade, a pass rate officials called "outstanding" last night. Just over half of the 3,723 second-graders enrolled in the five-week program, which focused exclusively on reading, improved enough to be promoted to the third grade. Forty-one percent of the 4,764 fourth-graders enrolled were sent on to the fifth grade. The remainder of the pupils are enrolled in transition classes and have one more chance to pass a standardized reading test, which would mean a ticket to the next grade.

So who gets to decide what constitutes cultural diversity? It's a question worth asking in light of the recent discussion among members of the Harford Community College Board of Trustees. To comply with legislation that was approved two years ago, the college devised a plan for making sure it promotes cultural diversity. In other words, the school needs to find a way to make sure the student body reflects the community the college serves, presumably without compromising on academic standards.

So who gets to decide what constitutes cultural diversity? It's a question worth asking in light of the recent discussion among members of the Harford Community College Board of Trustees. To comply with legislation that was approved two years ago, the college devised a plan for making sure it promotes cultural diversity. In other words, the school needs to find a way to make sure the student body reflects the community the college serves, presumably without compromising on academic standards.

Selena Guerrero-Martin must have a Time-Turner. The Poly senior couldn't possibly do so much so well without being in two places at one time. She has to be hiding one of those little hourglass necklaces that hurled Harry Potter's friend Hermione Granger back in time so she could double up on her classes. Just look at this slice of Guerrero-Martin's academic resume: 4.0 weighted grade-point average, National Merit Scholar commended student, Maryland Distinguished Scholar semifinalist, Maryland Hispanic Recognition Program finalist.

Parents and community members expressed concerns and confusion Thursday night over a plan to reorganize several Baltimore schools, closing failing ones and expanding those that are successful. More than 100 people came to the Polytechnic Institute/Western High School complex for the first of two hearings on school closure and merger proposals. The proposals are part of a reorganization plan unveiled last month by city schools chief Andr?s Alonso, who says his goal is to create more schools that students want to attend and where parents don't feel they have to settle.

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was fired yesterday, a day after the Bruins accepted a bowl bid and two days after a loss to cross-town rival Southern California. Dorrell, 43, was let go despite leading the Bruins to a postseason game in each of his five seasons at UCLA, which had an outside chance to reach the Rose Bowl before its 24-7 loss to USC over the weekend. Dorrell had a 35-27 record. UCLA (6-6) will play Brigham Young (10-2) in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 22. Bruins athletic director Dan Guerrero said Dorrell will decide whether he wants to coach that game.

No one would disagree that all children should receive a quality education, and that our state and nation depend on it for a competitive work force and cohesive citizenry. Yet that isn't happening, despite the fact that such an education in Maryland is a constitutional right - as well as a matter of self-interest and moral principle. Worse, at the special session of the General Assembly that starts today - called by Gov. Martin O'Malley to deal with the state's fiscal problems - the state may be on the path to backtrack on this right and the progress achieved over the past decade.

Hunched over a small table at a West Los Angeles learning center, Sehajpal Singh is a study in concentration as he figures out that the dots on his worksheet add up to 10. Sehajpal is 3, but he has a good grasp of counting, simple words and sentences, and taking directions. After a half-hour of work, he stretches and yawns, then seems eager to jump back into his lesson. Sehajpal represents a growing trend of preschool-age children putting away the toys and picking up a pencil for private tutoring sessions.

No one would disagree that all children should receive a quality education, and that our state and nation depend on it for a competitive work force and cohesive citizenry. Yet that isn't happening, despite the fact that such an education in Maryland is a constitutional right - as well as a matter of self-interest and moral principle. Worse, at the special session of the General Assembly that starts today - called by Gov. Martin O'Malley to deal with the state's fiscal problems - the state may be on the path to backtrack on this right and the progress achieved over the past decade.

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams signed a new contract yesterday morning that boosted his salary by $300,000 and left open the possibility of him making as much as $2.3 million this year and earning annual, one-year contract extensions through 2013, the university announced. It all hinges, though, upon his players' academic and athletic success. Williams' salary increased from $1.3 million to $1.6 million, but if he wins the national championship this season and all other academic standards are met, he could earn as much as $2.3 million.

COLLEGE PARK -- Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams signed a new contract yesterday morning that boosted his salary by $300,000 and left open the possibility of him making as much as $2.3 million this year and earning annual, one-year contract extensions through 2013, the university announced. It all hinges, though, upon his players' academic and athletic success. Williams' salary increased from $1.3 million to $1.6 million, but if he wins the national championship this season and all other academic standards are met, he could earn as much as $2.3 million.

"If we were worth a ----, we wouldn't be playing at The Citadel." -- My Losing Season A teammate of Pat Conroy's made that observation during their senior year at The Citadel, back in 1966-67, when the seeds of The Great Santini and The Lords of Discipline were germinating in the Bulldogs' point guard. Pat Dennis, the coach who is in his 13th season tilting at windmills at the military academy in Charleston, S.C., has a signed copy of My Losing Season, an autobiographical work about Conroy's final go-round in the game.