Students And Parents

Ever since the sixth grade, 14-year-old Whitney Wilburn couldn't wait for the end of eighth grade because, as she explains, eighth-graders "always had fun." She was so excited about the year-end class trips to amusement parks that she had already planned what she would wear. But now the end of eighth grade is here, and the fun is not. The administrator overseeing the city's middle schools has issued a directive that all field trips must be educational. So Whitney's school, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle in East Baltimore, has called off long-awaited trips to two amusement parks and a beach -- three months after it started collecting money from kids who planned to go. "I feel like my child is being punished, and you're not saying why," said Whitney's mother, Lisa Wilburn, who had arranged to take a day off work to chaperone the trip to Six Flags America.

When I was growing up in Cuba in the 1960s, I went to schools with 45 students in a classroom, where we shared textbooks and spent two months out of the year working in the countryside and attending lessons in buildings with dirt floors. The country was undergoing a social revolution, with nearly a tenth of the population leaving for political exile. Everyone was poor. The great majority of the students were of color. And yet, there was never any doubt or even thought of the possibility that we would not learn.

A seminar on the college athletic recruiting process will be held at 7 tonight in Centennial High School's auditorium. It is open to all students and parents.Centennial's Dave Greenberg and P. J. Kesmodel of Mount Hebron will coordinate the evening. Featured panelists are University of Maryland coaches Chris Weller and Dick Edell.Topics that will be covered include goals of the recruiting process, role of the NCAA and roles of the students and parents.

It could happen.That assessment by participants in a mock hostage drama yesterday at Anne Arundel County's Chesapeake High School was the point of the exercise by role-playing police, educators, students and parents.The script had two angry students armed with automatic rifles go on a shooting rampage though the halls of the Pasadena school, where about 1,700 students return to classes next week.Police and school officials said they planned the three-hour exercise because they expect the best behavior from students but need to be prepared for the worst.

With rumors of May 10 schoolhouse attacks circulating wildly, education officials in Anne Arundel and Howard counties are making plans to deal with potentially dangerous situations and trying to reassure students and parents.Anne Arundel school administrators will meet today to discuss how to deal with parental concerns and student fears about attacks rumored to be set for Monday, the day students throughout the state are to take MSPAP (Maryland School Performance Assessment Program) tests.

CUSTOMER satisfaction is as important for schools as for any enterprise. Howard County schools deserve praise for conducting a new survey that reveals what parents, students and teachers think of the system.Most participants in the survey were satisfied. About 86 percent said Howard schools "promote creativity, responsible risk-taking, cooperation, mutual trust and respect." Shortcomings pointed out by the survey were known. But reiterating these problems should spark efforts to address them.

TIP to students and parents who are tempted to cheat on their applications for student aid: Congress is considering a proposal to make you easier to catch.Federal aid is based on financial need, so students have to disclose their family income and savings. Congress is currently re-evaluating the entire federal student-aid program. Under changes requested by the Education Department and in a bill proposed by the House, all applications would be checked against your income tax returns. If you low-balled your income in order to qualify for more aid, you'd be exposed.

Israel will not die for the world's good wordGeorge F. Will's column ("Arafat's politics of violence," March 27), should be required reading for key officials of every nation represented in the United Nations.Perhaps then a vote on Israel deciding to build apartments in a bare stretch of its own land, among its own people in East Jerusalem, would not go overwhelmingly against Israel.Golda Meir's words that concluded Mr. Will's column are worth repeating once again: ''Jews are used to collective eulogies, but Israel will not die so that the world will speak well of it.''Perhaps the world should at least think twice before believing a liar's promises.

COUNTY SCHOOL officials excelled at promoting their new technology magnet program, an ambitious effort to improve and update technical education. Eager students, often with prodding from their parents, have flocked to the program, pushing first-year enrollment to 660 freshmen, sophomores and juniors. The next freshman technology magnet class could contain 600 students if all eighth-graders who registered for the program are admitted.However, the larger number of students registering is forcing officials to consider the unpleasant alternative of instituting a lottery to determine which students to enroll.

With the tab for attending the nation's top universities exceeding $30,000 a year, there's plenty of angst over higher-education costs among students and parents over higher-education costs. But many tend to overestimate actual tuition rates -- and often know little about discounts increasingly available at most colleges.High tuition costs recently stirred Congress to create a federal task force to study the problem. Earlier this year, a Time magazine cover story declared that college costs $1,000 a week.

City schools chief Andr?s Alonso is urging underclassmen at a struggling West Baltimore high school to transfer to other schools midyear - a highly unusual step in keeping with his pledge to hold all schools to high standards. The system is legally prohibited from closing the 575-student school, Homeland Security Academy, in the middle of the academic year, but Alonso is strongly encouraging students to choose to leave and asking the school board to close it this summer. Students will be able to select from 21 other city high schools that have extra space and are deemed stable.

Paying for college or professional school isn't getting any easier. According to collegeboard.com, most students and their families can expect to pay even more this year on tuition and fees and, on average, $371 to $406 additional for room and board a year, depending on the school. Although parents and students can limit their overall costs by buying used books and applying for financial aid, there are ways to save on housing as well. Renting an off-campus condo or apartment may seem like the most valid option when trying to save, but in the right situation, buying a house near campus -- even with the real estate market in a downturn -- is a viable alternative to shelling out thousands of dollars over the course of a few years without seeing any return.

Thousands of seniors graduating from Maryland colleges this spring will be guaranteed the right to stay on their parents' health insurance until they turn 25, thanks to a law that went into effect this year. In the past, many lost coverage when they finished their studies, making the group - especially those who attend graduate school - among the most likely in the country to lack insurance, according to studies of the issue. "I know this will help a lot of students, including me, especially considering how expensive health insurance has become," said Jenny Haley, 21, a political science and economics major from Towson University who will begin graduate work at the Johns Hopkins University in the fall.

Larry Walker is the type of parent every school administrator dreams of having. The 50-year-old Ellicott City resident developed a Saturday mentoring and homework session for black boys. He has helped organize Asian and Hispanic parent groups. He's also found time to serve on various parent groups and committees throughout the Howard County public school system. Walker was honored last night as the inaugural statewide winner of the Comcast Parent Involvement Matters Award. The award honors parents, guardians and parent groups for their work in support of Maryland public education, according to the Maryland Department of Education and Comcast, which is sponsoring the award.

College is expensive enough without having to pay for something you're already getting. Yet many parents are spending hundreds of dollars more than necessary each year on health care for their student. Most students are covered under a parent's insurance. That's good, because even young adults can be hit with a medical emergency. Problem is, campus health centers rarely accept that insurance. "So parents are paying for insurance they're not able to use for their son or daughter," says James A. Boyle, president of the advocacy group College Parents of America.

On a recent morning, the red pushcart sits outside Room 216 at Randallstown High School. Its owner - the school's principal - has stepped into the classroom to see what is wrong. Back in the hallway, Principal Cheryl Pasteur remarks that it seems some students were giving the substitute teacher a hard time. With the students removed from the classroom, and order restored, Pasteur pushes on. Two doors down, the beat of salsa music emanating from a Spanish class draws her into Room 214, where she and a student pair up and ease into a crowd of dancers.

When I was growing up in Cuba in the 1960s, I went to schools with 45 students in a classroom, where we shared textbooks and spent two months out of the year working in the countryside and attending lessons in buildings with dirt floors. The country was undergoing a social revolution, with nearly a tenth of the population leaving for political exile. Everyone was poor. The great majority of the students were of color. And yet, there was never any doubt or even thought of the possibility that we would not learn.

Recently, lawmakers and the media have focused on potentially improper relationships between student financial aid administrators and certain lenders, even going so far as to propose eliminating the position in college student aid offices. These proposed measures could have harmful, unintended consequences for students and parents attempting to finance higher learning. Without an objective third party, consumers would be more prone to manipulation by direct-to-consumer marketing by unscrupulous lenders.

Americans love to shop. After all, we made The Price is Right the longest running TV game show. But when it comes to shopping for student loans - a complex product with hundreds of lenders to choose from - we'd rather have someone else do the legwork. Now, we've learned, that can be a problem. Colleges for years have compiled lists of recommended lenders to help families navigate through a maze of options. An investigation by the New York attorney general's office, though, uncovered chummy financial relationships between some financial aid officers and lenders promoted on the school's list.

After wringing his hands over final exams last week, rising ninth-grader Miles Kraemer welcomed the down time that came this week with the last two days of school. Instead of having to fret over math, he was able to watch three movies, including Forrest Gump for the first time, play a few hands of cards with friends and sign yearbooks while his teachers packed up classrooms, accounted for missing textbooks, and otherwise prepared to turn in their keys for the summer. "Forrest Gump was kind of educational," Miles, 14, offered in a futile attempt to justify how he and his classmates had wiled away the time at Franklin Middle School in Reisterstown.