Howard County Schools

I read with dismay the story in the Howard County section of the Sun headlined "School board makeup raises concern" (Jan. 2). As a 34-year resident of Howard County I have learned that the county is a great place for minorities to live and where minorities have plenty of influence and plenty of opportunity. What would Del. Frank Turner and the mysterious African-American Coalition of Howard County have us do about the fact that there isn't a black person on the school board?

A Catholic school in Howard County will soon be joining a growing initiative to explore wind power's ability to supply energy. Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, an elementary/middle school in Ellicott City, received a $50,000 grant this week from Constellation Energy to partner with Baltimore's Federal Hill Preparatory School to launch a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) project to study the alternative power source. The schools will partner with the Albright Foundation and the University of Maryland Baltimore County to launch the project, which will evaluate whether a wind turbine can produce enough energy to power the two schools.

Sarah E. Beaty, a homemaker who had worked with special-needs students, died Monday of pneumonia at York Hospital in York, Pa. She was 89. The 50-year Savage resident had lived in new Freedom, Pa., since 2005. Sarah Elizabeth Parks was born in Sykesville, where she spent her early years before moving with her family to Baltimore. She was a graduate of city public schools, and in 1941 married John Wesley Beaty, a businessman. He died in 1994. In 1955, the couple moved to Savage, where Mrs. Beaty worked for eight years as a cafeteria worker for Howard County public schools.

The family of a Howard County student has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against several officials in the school system, alleging that administrators failed to protect the student from bullying that led to his suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Tuesday, alleges that in December 2007, officials at Patapsco Middle School in Ellicott City failed to protect the student's rights to due process and equal protection by not intervening in "serious episodes of student-on-student violence" by a group of five students.

Players, coaches and fans at sporting events are often reminded of how important it is to practice sportsmanship and courtesy, but in Howard County, schools officials are hammering home the point with banners that can be seen at every high school football field and gymnasium. The words "Choose Civility" greet those who attend school sporting events as part of a Howard community initiative to ensure that cooler heads prevail even in the heat of competition. The initiative Choose Civility, founded in 2006, is led by the Howard County Library and aims to garner the county a reputation for tolerance and respect of others.

Deborah J. Williams, a longtime Howard County public school speech pathologist, died June 14 of heart failure at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Columbia resident was 52. Deborah June Lockwood was born in Baltimore and raised on Appleton Street in West Baltimore. She was the daughter of Dr. William V. Lockwood, an educator who had been vice president of Baltimore City Community College, and Eva F. Lockwood, an educator. She was a 1970 graduate of Northwestern High School and earned a bachelor's degree in speech and audio pathology with honors in 1974 from Hampton University.

In two short years, Mount Hebron High School has gone from a relatively unknown school in the study of economics to a contender in the National Economics Challenge. Of the 1,200 schools that originally entered the competition, the four-member team from Mount Hebron is one of six finalists vying for the championship this weekend in New York City. The quick ascension comes as no surprise to the team's coach, Vann Prime. "This is a very gifted group of young men," said Prime, who has taught at Mount Hebron for five years.

With candidates already filing to run for the seven-member Howard County Board of Education, several current members whose terms are ending are contemplating their future on the panel. The seats of four board members, Sandra French, Pat Gordon, Frank Aquino and Larry Cohen, are on the ballot this year. French, who is entering her 16th year on the board, plans to seek re-election. "I definitely enjoy the job," said French, who has completed two six-year terms and is finishing up a four-year term.

In a decision that he said would protect Howard classrooms, county Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin announced Monday that he will furlough 77 nonschool-based administrative, management and technical staff for three days this month to save money for the top-performing school system. Cousin informed the affected staff members Dec. 4. The unpaid furloughs will take place Dec. 29, 30, and 31. The resulting salary reductions, which will save the county about $120,000, will be distributed evenly across remaining pay periods this fiscal year, according to the school system.