Parents And Students

In the brilliant morning sunshine before their first class yesterday, students spoke of a perilous, sometimes terrifying daily journey. Some recalled shootings in broad daylight; others, brutal beatings. Almost all have heard gunfire on their way to and from school through some of Baltimore's most violent streets.Now, they said, at least they will have a place to run: eight East Baltimore churches that will serve as havens for children at 11 schools.The city started the havens, refuges for frightened or threatened children, yesterday in response to long-standing concerns among students and their parents about violence in neighborhoods surrounding schools.

Principals and teachers, rather than central administrators would decide who gets into Baltimore County's program for gifted and talented students next year under a proposal the school board heard last night.The plan, from a committee that studied the politically sensitive GT program for six months, would switch from heavy reliance on standardized test scores to evaluations by staff in each school.If the school board agrees, the result will probably be more students in GT classes, said Phyllis Burke, assistant superintendent for instruction and committee chairwoman.

As another deadline looms next week for students to show proof of immunization or be kept out of class, Baltimore school principals and staff should be making every effort to ensure that parents and students comply with the vaccine requirements. And parents need to stop being a roadblock to their children's education. Required immunizations against chickenpox and hepatitis B reflect growing concerns that these diseases can have serious consequences for children well beyond kindergarten.

Troubled by what has been called "a climate of intolerance," an angry group of black parents in southern Anne Arundel County called school board officials to a community meeting last night to address reports of racial slurs directed at their children and public references to lynching at Southern High School in Harwood. Les Stanton, school board human relations specialist, attended the meeting at Carter United Methodist Church in Friendship, which was attended by about 50 parents and students.

County school board to meet tomorrow in Ellicott City The Howard County Board of Education will meet at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the boardroom of the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108, Ellicott City. Both sessions will begin with a public forum, when members of the public can address the board on any topic. Speakers are asked to sign up in advance. A public meeting to approve the fiscal year 2003 operating and capital budgets and the 2004-2008 Capital Improvement Program will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

IN THE PAST, Howard High School has received its share of negative attention. But nearly every time someone tries to give it a bum rap, the Ellicott City school receives some award to show otherwise. Howard High's most recent accolade comes from Redbook magazine, which in its April edition named the school one of America's best in the category of "significant improvement." In May, school representatives will visit the White House to meet President Clinton.Howard may not appear on the surface to be a natural model for such recognition.

CHANGE HAS COME SMOOTHLY at Mount Hebron High School. An influx of children from half a world away could have resulted in turmoil at the Ellicott City school. But teachers, administrators, parents and students have done a commendable job of merging the heavy flow of Korean and Korean-American children into a new environment over the years.Children of Korean descent now comprise 12 percent of the school's 1,250-pupil population, or 150 students. That's a sharp increase over the early 1980s when they numbered fewer than 10 -- children, that is, not percent.

An Annapolis private school has expelled five high school students after they confessed to purchasing and smoking marijuana on a school trip to Costa Rica, according to school officials. The Key School sent 21 students to the Central American country during midwinter break in February as an extension of environmental study. Of those, 16 violated school policies in some way, said head of school Marcella Yedid. The students who were not expelled will receive a range of punishments; some will be suspended.

The Northeast High School guidance department will offer an orientation for incoming ninth-graders and their parents at 7 p.m. Wednesday, at the school on Duvall Highway.Northeast is small -- only 1,000 students -- compared to other county high schools, but it still offers many educational options for students, explained school counselor Anne Klyman."We offer a wide variety of core course selections, fine arts, practical arts and technology education courses here," Ms. Klyman said."There are new graduation requirements for incoming freshman, so both parents and students need to be aware of course options that are available," she said.

In what has become a back-to-school ritual, more than 120 Morgan State University students showed up for the first day of classes yesterday and discovered they were temporarily homeless. Throughout the morning, scores of irate parents and students overwhelmed the residential housing office - which had yet to assign them dormitory rooms. "I'm going to pull him out of here, bottom line," a visibly upset Ron Hargrove said of his son Matthew, a sophomore. "There's no reason why we have to be going through this kind of stuff.