Superkids

Six correctional officers at the Patuxent Institution remain on medical leave after a fight Wednesday night at the Jessup facility involving 10 inmates that sent 10 officers to the hospital, the institution's spokeswoman said yesterday. The facility, which offers drug and psychiatric rehabilitation to about 775 offenders, was locked down after the fight until yesterday morning, said spokeswoman Judy West. Wednesday's incident began as a fight between two inmates during dinner and grew to involve other inmates in one of the facility's four wings, West said.

The summer fun is over.Daily field trips, splashing in a pool, museum-hopping -- it all ended last week with graduation ceremonies for the 70 SuperKids Camp youngsters at Baltimore's Federal Hill Elementary School, and hundreds more at 16 other camp sites.But one thing the campers at Federal Hill Elementary School will be able to take with them as a new school year dawns is a new attitude about reading."Reading was fun before, but now it's better," said Josh Millward, 8, after the SuperKids Camp closing ceremonies Thursday.

THE MORE CHILDREN read, the better they'll read.That hardly seems a revolutionary idea but, in Baltimore, where so many school libraries and classrooms have bare shelves, and where only 16 of 123 elementary schools have full-time librarians, it's an idea with stark limitations.But in 10 city schools, pages are turning by the thousands as kids devour books. This phenomenon is the result of a program -- a Philadelphia import -- called the 100 Book Challenge.With a $130,000 grant from the Abell Foundation, the schools have been stocked with 26,000 books.

A new nonprofit institute financed by Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros has pledged up to $750,000 to continue a unique summer camp that helps children improve their reading skills.The camp, in its second year, is open to city children between the second and third grades who need help in reading. Baltimore school tests show that 4,680 second-graders -- about 70 percent -- are reading below grade level.Of those, said Sally Michel, organizer of SuperKids Camp, "I think we can do 4,000" at a nominal price for parents.

As the 60-foot racing yachts competing in the 8,000-mile EDS Atlantic Challenge slowly sailed out of Baltimore's Inner Harbor yesterday, they provided a grand backdrop to a decidedly more modest regatta: A wobbly line of 21-foot boats steering through a simple buoy course, each vessel crewed by a team of soon-to-be third- and fourth-graders who before had barely seen Baltimore from the vantage of its waters, let alone dabbled in sailing. Their immersion was part of a goal far more fundamental than mastering the water.

An asthmatic child of a generation ago, Diana Barbour led a sheltered and largely inactive life.As she watches her two children -- Nikia, 15, and Kenneth, 9 -- gear up for day camp, Ms. Barbour recalls, "I didn't do any of those things. My mother kept me in the house because she thought if I did a lot of rough activities, that would cause an asthma attack."Nikia and Kenneth are asthmatics, too, but a recent revolution in the treatment of this chronic disease has made their childhoods very different from their mother's.

Most college students measure the rewards of their summer jobs in future recommendations or dollars and cents. But for the 60 college students teaching this summer at Baltimore's SuperKids Camp, it is the little things that make their efforts worthwhile. In its fourth year, the camp's 20 sites give city second-, third- and fourth-graders a summer boost and a head start on the school year. With less than a week remaining in the six-week course, the counselors measure their success in small moments.

School's out, but thousands of pupils in the Baltimore area will have their noses tucked in books during the summer months -- thanks to a variety of free programs encouraging children to keep reading.One of the biggest programs will be Baltimore's SuperKids Camp, run by the nonprofit Parks & People Foundation to provide reading instruction and recreational activities for children entering the third grade with below-level reading skills.Mornings will be devoted to reading instruction. Afternoons will be spent on activities at places such as the Downtown Sailing Center, Baltimore Zoo, Columbus Center, Peabody Conservatory, Center Stage and Maryland Institute, College of Art."

Two weeks ago we asked you to name Amelia Bloomer's newspaper. The response has been overwhelming. More intrepid reporters told us she used THE LILY to express her unconventional viewpoints. Thanks to: Chelsea Merryman (Whiteford), Kalin Grace Palmer (Towson) and Meagan Forney (Baltimore). We also appreciate the efforts of the students in Mrs. Lloyd's class at the Superkids Camp 2000 at the Living Classroom.

If you're looking for high-tech toys to make sure your baby gets off to a fast start in the digital age, here are some Web sites to browse: BabyToons.com: Download an evaluation version that teaches concepts such as cause and effect, big and little, up-and-down. The full version is $14.95. Geniusbabies.com: If it beeps or bonks, you'll probably find it here, along with a wide variety of more traditional baby toys. There's even a department called "embryonics," with prenatal entertainment for babies-in-waiting.