Transfer Students

Atholton Raiders1997 record: 3-14 overall, 2-11 countyCoach: Bruce LindbladClassification: 2ATop players: Jen Thomas, Sr., OH; Lauren Mickley, Jr., OH; Jessica Poston, Soph., MH; Jen Poston, Jr., S.Outlook: "We'll be much improved from last year," said first-year coach Lindblad, who served as an assistant varsity coach the last two seasons. "Athletically we're in better shape. We have better athletes. They work hard and I think they'll see some positive results." Thomas, Mickley and Jen Poston are returning starters, and Thomas and Mickley will serve as captains.

IT'S THAT time of year again when young scholars publicly complain -- and secretly rejoice -- about returning to school.The structure of school days, the opportunity to make new friends, learn new things and make mistakes away from the scrutiny of parents frightens and beckons.School lunches may be acceptable to some, although saying so is an unacceptable breach of the unspoken student code.Murray Hill Middle School will begin its second year this month.Returning staff and students are veterans, who will blend with the year's new crop of students.

The siblings of Howard County students going to schools outside their districts would no longer automatically be allowed to enroll in those schools under a policy proposed by county school officials.The new regulations on school transfer would also mean that students transferred by administrators because of behavior or other problems would not get to choose their new schools, as is now allowed."I personally see it as a little more restrictive," Susan Poole, Howard County PTA president, said of the proposal.

Boys' Latin responseAs a Boys' Latin alumnus, I was thrilled to witness the Lakers' recent MIAA Division A lacrosse championship victory over Loyola. However, the day before the contest, some disparaging remarks concerning Boys' Latin transfer students were made by Loyola coach Joe McFadden in The Sun. Those remarks require clarification. First, it should be noted that all private schools in the area accept transfer students. This past year, for instance, St. Paul's accepted several senior transfers who assisted them in winning MIAA championships in football and basketball.

Nearly half of all freshmen who went straight from high school to Maryland's public colleges and universities in 1994-1995 needed at least one remedial class because they could not do college-level work, according to a report presented yesterday to the State Board of Education.Among the nearly 200,000 students at public campuses statewide -- including adults returning to college and transfer students -- about one in four was "under prepared," requiring remedial classes that cost about $17.6 million that year.

A proposal to transfer 230 Westminster West Middle students to Northwest Middle School in Taneytown could stall a more permanent solution to crowded schools: a new middle school in Westminster.A hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the West Middle cafeteria, and the school board will vote by the end of April. School officials have been getting many calls and expect a large crowd tonight.The affected families live in the Greens, Whispering Meadows and Pleasant Valley subdivisions in Westminster.

Park Elementary School students could be squeezed into a new building that is not big enough for them next September, or some of them could be forced to go to a different school.Parents are outraged."They're asking us for options and we don't want any options. We want a school that's big enough," said Edward Kosack III, president of the Park Elementary School PTA. "We're really burned up."Park was supposed to hold 600 students, but the county school board reduced the capacity of the building to 450. However, school documents show that 550 students are expected to be enrolled at Park next fall.

Joseph E. Gann loves maps. He has drawn them since he was 5. For the past two years, he has studied geography at Essex Community College and he will receive his associate's degree today. And this fall, with hundreds of other community college graduates, the 19-year-old Essex man will head to Towson State University to pursue his education."I had already planned on using Essex as a steppingstone and going on to university," Mr. Gann said. For him, attending a community college served as "a transition from high school to university.

Natalie Page looked forward to graduation from Morgan State University last spring with the eagerness of a student nearly half her age. But she and five others appear to have lost that dream in a tangle of regulations that has also led to a lawsuit and a fight between state agencies.A 38-year-old mother of two, who holds two jobs counseling the homeless, Miss Page went back to school to receive a bachelor's degree from Morgan's department of social work and mental health. She had attended what is now Baltimore City Community College in the early 1980s, receiving her associate's degree, and took a full course load in her two years at Morgan, earning mostly A's and B's.But two days before graduation in May, two administrators told her she lacked seven introductory courses needed to graduate.

Advice to community college students who want to transfer to four-year institutions: Look early and look often."The sooner students make a decision, the better," said Kristine DeWitt, Carroll Community College's director of career/life planning and transfer, during the school's transfer advisement day last week.More than 30 colleges, primarily in Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, participated in the biannual event Tuesday to help students and community members make informed decisions about higher education.