Solley Elementary

The announcement blared loud and clear over the public address system at Solley Elementary School's May Day Festival on Wednesday: Line up for a chance to throw a pie at Principal Robert Wagner. Students rushed over to the pie-in-the-face stand as if they were flocking to an ice cream truck. Wagner, donning goggles and a shower cap, poked his head out of a box and stared at the throng of youngsters and parents before him. Then the educator named this year's National Distinguished Principal by the Maryland branch of the National Association of Elementary School Principals said in a joking voice to the kids, "Remember, I know you," and braced himself as the whipped-topping pie shells flew.

The announcement blared loud and clear over the public address system at Solley Elementary School's May Day Festival on Wednesday: Line up for a chance to throw a pie at Principal Robert Wagner. Students rushed over to the pie-in-the-face stand as if they were flocking to an ice cream truck. Wagner, donning goggles and a shower cap, poked his head out of a box and stared at the throng of youngsters and parents before him. Then the educator named this year's National Distinguished Principal by the Maryland branch of the National Association of Elementary School Principals said in a joking voice to the kids, "Remember, I know you," and braced himself as the whipped-topping pie shells flew.

A developer that is hoping to build about 1,100 homes on the Marley Neck peninsula has proposed building -- and paying for -- an addition to nearby Solley Elementary School, to ensure that the school has enough seats to accommodate future growth in the area. If the county school board decides to accept the offer in the next several months, it would be among the first in the state to take advantage of a new provision in state law that allows such deals. In Frederick County, the school system is working out a deal in which a developer is paying for an addition to a high school.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education has approved plans to redistrict students in two communities to different schools in the northern part of the county. Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell had proposed three plans last year for the redistricting of schools in Glen Burnie and Severn to alleviate crowding and to plan for an influx of students because of planned development. The changes unanimously approved by the board will send about 70 students from the Fox Chase community in Glen Burnie who currently attend Rippling Woods Elementary School to Southgate Elementary, beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.

1,800 homes will tax Marley Neck services How can the county go through the planning and zoning process and allow 1,800 homes, plus commercial development, on the Marley Neck Peninsula? [School crowding remedy: Home developer offers to build addition to Solley Elementary, Feb. 19, 2006] This area only has a two-lane road and is served by two volunteer fire companies, Orchard Beach and Riviera Beach. Can you also imagine the strain on the police, water and road systems? Imagine, also, at least 3,600 additional vehicles crowded onto a peninsula.

Solley Elementary School, a solid, brick building with immense 6-foot-high windows, looks as though it could stand forever. But it won't.Construction workers building a new, larger Solley Elementary a few yards away are set to demolish next week the building that has been a Solley Road landmark. In its place, they will put a parking lot."Within a two-week period, the school will be gone," said Bernard Eckhart, construction project manager.Mark Moran, a school board official, said all that will remain of the old school, which is almost 60 years old, will be a pile of bricks that workers will set aside for the school's PTA, which plans to sell them one-by-one to raise money.

School board members are scheduled to vote tonight on plans to change school attendance boundaries for three Anne Arundel county high schools: Northeast, Meade and Annapolis.The Annapolis redistricting plan would affect the most students -- 865. It also is the most controversial. Five plans, including the superintendent's, are under consideration.Superintendent C. Berry Carter II's plan would relocate students into neighborhood schools as a way to encourage parents to get more involved. However, his plan would change the racial balance of some schools, leaving some schools with a higher minority population than others.

Alexander Colbert was just a little bit confused yesterday to find himself at Solley Elementary School."I thought we had to go to school tomorrow," the shy 8-year-old said as he stood by his locker outside Laura Word's third-grade class.But when his mother got him up and said this was the big day, he ate breakfast and went to school, as did thousands of elementary students, sixth-graders and ninth-graders.Today, the remaining middle school and high school students return to school, as do all students at Broadneck High School.

After nearly a year of often heated discussions, Anne Arundel County school board members last night adopted redistricting plans for two feeder systems and were considering adjustments in a third.Before a crowd of about 400 placard-carrying parents and students, the board voted 8-0 to move eighth-graders from George Fox Middle School to Northeast High School to alleviate crowding.Fox is 40 students over its capacity, and is expected to be more than 340 students over by 1996. The plan will go into effect in September 1994.

The redistricting wars are about to begin.Anne Arundel County School Superintendent C. Berry Carter II is to make his recommendation tomorrow on the redrawing of school boundaries in Pasadena and Annapolis and the shifting of students at Fort Meade-area elementary schools.Traditionally any talk of redistricting has led to numerous battles between parents who don't want to see their children moved and school officials who are trying to accommodate growth in crowded schools.This school year has proven to be no different.

1,800 homes will tax Marley Neck services How can the county go through the planning and zoning process and allow 1,800 homes, plus commercial development, on the Marley Neck Peninsula? [School crowding remedy: Home developer offers to build addition to Solley Elementary, Feb. 19, 2006] This area only has a two-lane road and is served by two volunteer fire companies, Orchard Beach and Riviera Beach. Can you also imagine the strain on the police, water and road systems? Imagine, also, at least 3,600 additional vehicles crowded onto a peninsula.

A developer that is hoping to build about 1,100 homes on the Marley Neck peninsula has proposed building -- and paying for -- an addition to nearby Solley Elementary School, to ensure that the school has enough seats to accommodate future growth in the area. If the county school board decides to accept the offer in the next several months, it would be among the first in the state to take advantage of a new provision in state law that allows such deals. In Frederick County, the school system is working out a deal in which a developer is paying for an addition to a high school.

ALWAYS UP FOR a challenge, members of the executive board of Solley Elementary School's PTA will be jumping into the frigid waters of the Chesapeake Bay at 2 p.m. tomorrow, taking part in the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge at Sandy Point State Park. "It seemed like a good idea last summer," said Tracey Myers, PTA president, "but the other evening I heard that the bay's water temperature is 39 degrees - now I'm not so sure." Myers and the other board members, Stacey Dumsha and Cathy Hill, learned about the Polar Bear Plunge from Hill's husband, Walt.

Principals and assistants throughout the Anne Arundel County school system will be starting at new schools this fall under a transfer policy designed to give administrators experience at different schools.The board approved these routine transfers at its June 16 meeting: The top three administrators at Meade High School have been shifted to other schools. Joan Valentine will replace Principal George Kispert. Kispert will head Northeast High School in Pasadena. Steve Banian and Carol Thornburg, both assistants at Meade, were transferred: Banian to North County High School in Glen Burnie and Thornburg to Southern High School in Harwood.

$TC Millions of tax dollars are wasted on school construction in Anne Arundel County as a result of planning, design and construction mistakes and delays.A dozen projects have gone awry recently, costing county taxpayers $7.2 million. That includes this year's construction and work the superintendent is recommending for next year."They certainly have had their fair share of trouble," said County Council Chairman Diane R. Evans.From the air conditioning system that wouldn't fit in Solley Elementary to the media centers that cost $120,000 instead of $50,000, it seems as though the school system has had one embarrassment after another.

Alexander Colbert was just a little bit confused yesterday to find himself at Solley Elementary School."I thought we had to go to school tomorrow," the shy 8-year-old said as he stood by his locker outside Laura Word's third-grade class.But when his mother got him up and said this was the big day, he ate breakfast and went to school, as did thousands of elementary students, sixth-graders and ninth-graders.Today, the remaining middle school and high school students return to school, as do all students at Broadneck High School.

Principals and assistants throughout the Anne Arundel County school system will be starting at new schools this fall under a transfer policy designed to give administrators experience at different schools.The board approved these routine transfers at its June 16 meeting: The top three administrators at Meade High School have been shifted to other schools. Joan Valentine will replace Principal George Kispert. Kispert will head Northeast High School in Pasadena. Steve Banian and Carol Thornburg, both assistants at Meade, were transferred: Banian to North County High School in Glen Burnie and Thornburg to Southern High School in Harwood.

The Board of Education is hoping to replace the Meade Heights and Solley elementary school buildings, after estimates for renovations proved nearly as high as those for replacing the buildings.Ron Beckett, assistant superintendent for support services, said an engineering study into the merits of renovating Meade Heights showed that a back wall was in far worse shape than anyone realized."We knew (the wall) was a problem," Beckett said. "We just didn'tknow quite how bad it was. It was far worse than we expected."

The First Day of SchoolWill they let me go when I need to go to the bathroom?And what if I get lost on my way back to class?And what if all the other kids are a hundred, a thousand, a million times smarter than I am?And what if we have a spelling test, or a reading test, or an . . . anything kind of test and I'm the only person who doesn't pass?-- Portions of a poem by Judith Viorst that hangs in a classroom at Solley Elementary SchoolJudith Viorst's poem exemplifies an elementary school student's worst fears, but the children at Solley Elementary School needn't worry -- Principal Deborah Huey is ready to help them clear the first-day's hurdles.

Solley Elementary School, a solid, brick building with immense 6-foot-high windows, looks as though it could stand forever. But it won't.Construction workers building a new, larger Solley Elementary a few yards away are set to demolish next week the building that has been a Solley Road landmark. In its place, they will put a parking lot."Within a two-week period, the school will be gone," said Bernard Eckhart, construction project manager.Mark Moran, a school board official, said all that will remain of the old school, which is almost 60 years old, will be a pile of bricks that workers will set aside for the school's PTA, which plans to sell them one-by-one to raise money.