Walbrook High

Lois Theresa Scherer, a lifelong educator who was head of the guidance department at Baltimore's Walbrook High School for 30 years, died of a stroke Dec. 29 at Bon Secours Hospital. She was 85. Ms. Scherer devoted her life to education and was beloved by her students, who called her "Grandmom," according to a former colleague. When she retired in 2003, at the age of 80, Walbrook named its guidance center in her honor. "She was the essence of that school," said Marilyn E. Rondeau, who joined the Walbrook faculty in 1982 and later became the school's principal.

A 28-year-old man who was recently released from prison was charged Saturday night in what police described as a bloody melee that left one dead and seven others wounded at a high school reunion in Cherry Hill earlier the same day. James L. Dixon of 900 Kevin Road was charged with fatally stabbing Carrington McNutt and injuring at least seven others at a Walbrook High School reunion for classes 1995 through 2005 at the Patapsco Arena on Annapolis...

Another fire broke out yesterday at Walbrook High Uniform Services Academy even as City Hall, in a sign of its growing involvement in Baltimore public schools, sent about 75 of its employees to work as hall monitors at the troubled West Baltimore school. The city employees began work yesterday at the school, where at least 16 fires have been set and one gun fired since the school year began. Despite their presence, the school was evacuated during a small fire that officials said posed no threat to students and staff.

Lois Theresa Scherer, a lifelong educator who was head of the guidance department at Baltimore's Walbrook High School for 30 years, died of a stroke Dec. 29 at Bon Secours Hospital. She was 85. Ms. Scherer devoted her life to education and was beloved by her students, who called her "Grandmom," according to a former colleague. When she retired in 2003, at the age of 80, Walbrook named its guidance center in her honor. "She was the essence of that school," said Marilyn E. Rondeau, who joined the Walbrook faculty in 1982 and later became the school's principal.

Ebony Ashley, a poised 17-year-old, greets strangers with a firm handshake and confident smile. It wasn't always that way. The teen-ager said she used to suffer from chronic shyness, and was not comfortable meeting new people or speaking in her classes at Walbrook High School. But she has bloomed since she joined the school's debate team in an innovative program coached by a city police officer that stresses the importance of having a "commanding voice." "Before, I didn't talk to anybody.

WHEN THE LIGHTS went out in Baltimore Polytechnic Institute's gymnasium that afternoon 16 years ago, Walter Reed Sr. was the prime suspect. The occasion was the finals of the Maryland Scholastic Association wrestling tournament. The 1988 affair wasn't the best of all the MSA wrestling tourneys over the years, but it was sure the weirdest. First, Southwestern High School senior Ed Kennedy, who had never lost a high school match, was pinned in the first round by some side of pork who had done nothing but lose.

An audit released by the State Department of Education this week calls into question more than 120 diplomas awarded to special-education students by city high schools last summer. State officials say that findings involving student records at 24 high schools indicate that the problems seen at Walbrook High Uniform Services Academy - where 93 students were allowed to graduate in June without meeting requirements - might not have been isolated. City school officials vigorously contested the audit's conclusions yesterday.

The rash of fires at city middle and high schools this fall may have resulted in part from the lack of opportunities for students to express themselves artistically, Mayor O'Malley said last night. The more than 40 fires set at 14 schools - 15 alone at Walbrook High Uniformed Services Academy - have led to the allocation of $1.5 million in increased security measures. Yet O'Malley, in remarks delivered during the third annual Cultural Town Meeting, suggested that part of the problem might have been the elimination of arts initiatives often dismissed as frills.

In Baltimore County NAACP schedules meeting Tuesday to discuss education RANDALLSTOWN - The Baltimore County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold an education town meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Randallstown High School, 4000 Offutt Road. The meeting is to discuss the education of African-American children in Baltimore County public schools, including a persistent and worrisome achievement gap between black and white students. Sparrows Point teacher receives award from VFW SPARROWS POINT - The Veterans of Foreign Wars has named Julienne Brownrigg, an English teacher at Sparrows Point High School since 1980, its Maryland Teacher of the Year for 2001.

To artist Shawn McRaney, refurbishing the mural at Walbrook Junction is an opportunity to bring life back to a work created 19 years ago. And a chance to make some money. For people who grew up in Walbrook, McRaney's work is a symbol that someone cares about the community's history as well as a reminder of the trains that once rumbled through the area. In the two weeks he has labored on the mural, McRaney, 35, has come to appreciate its importance to the community. "I don't know how much power a mural can have, but it definitely means something," he said.

An audit released by the State Department of Education this week calls into question more than 120 diplomas awarded to special-education students by city high schools last summer. State officials say that findings involving student records at 24 high schools indicate that the problems seen at Walbrook High Uniform Services Academy - where 93 students were allowed to graduate in June without meeting requirements - might not have been isolated. City school officials vigorously contested the audit's conclusions yesterday.

WHEN THE LIGHTS went out in Baltimore Polytechnic Institute's gymnasium that afternoon 16 years ago, Walter Reed Sr. was the prime suspect. The occasion was the finals of the Maryland Scholastic Association wrestling tournament. The 1988 affair wasn't the best of all the MSA wrestling tourneys over the years, but it was sure the weirdest. First, Southwestern High School senior Ed Kennedy, who had never lost a high school match, was pinned in the first round by some side of pork who had done nothing but lose.

The rash of fires at city middle and high schools this fall may have resulted in part from the lack of opportunities for students to express themselves artistically, Mayor O'Malley said last night. The more than 40 fires set at 14 schools - 15 alone at Walbrook High Uniformed Services Academy - have led to the allocation of $1.5 million in increased security measures. Yet O'Malley, in remarks delivered during the third annual Cultural Town Meeting, suggested that part of the problem might have been the elimination of arts initiatives often dismissed as frills.

Another fire broke out yesterday at Walbrook High Uniform Services Academy even as City Hall, in a sign of its growing involvement in Baltimore public schools, sent about 75 of its employees to work as hall monitors at the troubled West Baltimore school. The city employees began work yesterday at the school, where at least 16 fires have been set and one gun fired since the school year began. Despite their presence, the school was evacuated during a small fire that officials said posed no threat to students and staff.

THE SON WAS angry much of the time, and is angry still. But the anger has a different target now. The son went to public school and the father went away on the railroad, and this was supposed to change the whole country. But the son stands there in the old Camden Yards train station and remembers his father's struggle, while a few blocks away, at the federal courthouse, school officials prepare to defend themselves today, and to explain all of the lost years. The son is Del. Tony Fulton.

When Denitra Whitley was handed her diploma from Walbrook High School Uniform Services Academy last month, she felt as if she could get any job she wanted. It didn't even bother her much that her middle name was spelled wrong on the piece of paper she had worked toward for four years. But when Whitley, 18, visited Walbrook yesterday to check on her transcripts -- even though she had not received any calls from school officials -- she learned that her plans to enroll at Baltimore City Community College and become a nurse may have to be put on hold.

THE SON WAS angry much of the time, and is angry still. But the anger has a different target now. The son went to public school and the father went away on the railroad, and this was supposed to change the whole country. But the son stands there in the old Camden Yards train station and remembers his father's struggle, while a few blocks away, at the federal courthouse, school officials prepare to defend themselves today, and to explain all of the lost years. The son is Del. Tony Fulton.

Despite objections from Jewish citizens, the Baltimore school board said last night that a controversial black professor would be allowed to speak at Walbrook High School Saturday night on the topic of "Battling the Jewish Onslaught."Leaders of an ad hoc Jewish citizens group, People Against Hate, said they would mount a protest outside the school to ensure that "Baltimoreans do not sit silently by."After consulting with its attorney for half an hour in closed session, the school board said in a statement that barring Tony Martin, the Wellesley College professor, would violate his First Amendment right to free speech.

Ebony Ashley, a poised 17-year-old, greets strangers with a firm handshake and confident smile. It wasn't always that way. The teen-ager said she used to suffer from chronic shyness, and was not comfortable meeting new people or speaking in her classes at Walbrook High School. But she has bloomed since she joined the school's debate team in an innovative program coached by a city police officer that stresses the importance of having a "commanding voice." "Before, I didn't talk to anybody.

Oh, to be valedictorian of your high school class, to bask in the limelight, to take the graduation podium and speak your mind to peers and parents alike, to know you are the best, A-number one, king of the hill. Few ever get the experience. That's the point, after all. But what does it all mean on the day after, a year later, or 35 years later? Is it your passport to success or an early peak, from which the rest of your life will be a quiet stroll downhill? As we enter another season of high school graduations across Maryland, we decided to check in with eight former valedictorians and find out what they remember of that fateful day -- and what impact, if any, being valedictorian had on their lives.