Ready For School

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested after he told police he beat his 66-year-old grandmother unconscious with a hammer when he became angry while getting ready for school. The teen was being held at Central Booking, but was not identified by police because he had not been formally charged as of late Thursday. Police said boy called 911 after the assault at about 8:30 a.m., and officers responded to the home in the 800 block of E. 34th St. in the Waverly community, where they found the grandmother unresponsive in her bed, said Detective Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman.

Is your youngster going to school in September? Here are ways you can help your child get ready to read:* Teach your child to become familiar with the letters in her own name.* Capitalize on any other word your child recognizes, such as a cereal name or a soft drink brand, and teach the letters used in the label.* Teach the ABC Song while pointing to the letters in a book or on a chart.* Use the alphabet books available.* Note likenesses in the sounds of words; for example:- Tell your child a word.

Item: Eggo Toaster Muffins What you get: 6 slices Cost: About $2.25 Nutritional content: Cinnamon - 130 calories, 4.5 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 270 milligrams sodium; Blueberry - 120 calories, 4 grams fat, 0.5 gram saturated fat, 250 milligrams sodium Preparation time: One or two cycles at lowest toaster setting Review: Who would've thought this muffin-French toast hybrid would taste so good? My daughter loved these cut in fork-size pieces and topped with syrup. I liked grabbing one out of the toaster and eating it plain, one-handed, while I tended to the baby, got my oldest ready for school or performed one of those countless other morning "Mom" tasks that usually leave me no time for breakfast.

The case of a 14-year-old Baltimore boy, who allegedly confessed to beating his grandmother with a hammer this spring, will be heard in juvenile court. Hassanhii Garrett had been charged as an adult with attempted murder in the attack, which police said occurred after he became enraged while getting ready for school one morning. He was scheduled for trial Monday, but online court records show that the case was remanded to juvenile court on Aug. 1. Under state law, teens 14 and older who are accused of certain violent crimes must be charged as adults from the outset.

Now that August has arrived, I'm starting to get the kids ready for going back to school. I'm trying to get them to bed earlier. I'm nagging them to finish their summer reading assignments. And I have the 11-year-old practicing his multiplication and division. The kids are whining that I'm being too mean, but they don't know how easy they have it. I read a recent report from the National Retail Federation that says the average 13-to-17-year old will spend $36.48 on pens, papers, lunch boxes, etc. as they get ready for school.

Can 3-year-olds learn online? Susan Magsamen believes they can, with moderation and careful monitoring by a mentor or parent. And she's building a company to prove it. Last month, Magsamen launched Curiosityville.com , a company that focuses on online learning for children ages 3 to 8. The Cockeysville company has raised $2.3 million from investors and has struck several partnerships with some major children's learning brands, including National...

Robert Wetzel, Archbishop Spalding SPORT INDOOR TRACK BOYS STATS -- Wetzel was an All-Metro selection in cross country this fall after three impressive victories in the Spiked Shoe Invitational, the A1 division of the Doc Jones Invitational and the Meade Autumn Classic, and was the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference runner-up. The junior hopes to carry over his fall distance success to the winter. SIDELINES -- Running is a family tradition in the Wetzel household.

While the recent op-ed, "The importance of showing up" (Commentary, July 30), rightly emphasizes the link between school attendance and achievement, we are troubled by the authors' emphasis on programs that tend to focus on a "quick fix" rather than those that address the many complex problems that underlie truant behavior. It is critical to develop a continuum of interventions into truancy, ranging from a brief "reminder" telephone call to parents to prosecution in the courts, only as a last resort.

An elderly woman who was severely injured by her 14-year-old grandson in an attack with a hammer in March has died from her injuries, police said Thursday.  Shirley Garrett, 67, died over the weekend at Union Memorial Hospital, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. She was repeatedly struck in the head with a hammer on March 31 by her grandson Hassanhii Garrett, who told police that he had become angry at her while getting ready for school.  He called 911, and police responding to the home in the 800 block of E. 34th St. found her face-down on the floor in a pool of blood.  The boy, who had no previous contacts with the juvenile justice system, was charged as an adult with attempted murder, but the case was remanded to juvenile court in August.

While Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso deserves thanks for six game-changing years in Baltimore, the transformation he presided over owes as much to the vision and resolve of a city school board that insisted on fostering choice and accountability while also investing more in the schools. The board must now stay the course on institutional reform and move forward with an even sharper focus on academic achievement. First, it should maintain a strict focus on the core principles of our turnaround: school choice and the "fair student funding" that undergirds this market-oriented approach to opening and closing schools.