Woodlawn High

Administrators at Woodlawn High School, the only Baltimore County high school to have reached "restructuring status" after years of failing to meet state benchmarks in reading and math, have begun the wrenching process of planning an overhaul of the school's academic program. In recent meetings with teachers, staff and parents, Principal Edward D. Weglein explained the four options being considered but stressed that no decisions have been made. "Within any of them, there's no real perfect answer," Weglein said in an interview.

Guy Thomas Germana Jr., a retired Woodlawn High School educator, died Sunday of a heart attack at his Millersville home. He was 81. Mr. Germana was born and raised in Atlantic City, N.J., where he graduated from public schools. He served in the Navy for two years in the early 1950s and earned a bachelor's degree from Bloomsburg State College in Bloomsburg, Pa., which he attended on a football scholarship. Mr. Germana, who taught biology for more than 20 years at Woodlawn High School, also taught the school's first honors program in entomology.

Nearly a dozen people were arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer and disorderly conduct at a Woodlawn High School fashion show during the weekend, Baltimore County police said yesterday. The officer was not seriously hurt during two fights outside the school Saturday, where students were holding a fashion and talent show, according to police reports. In the first fight, about 7:40 p.m., two juveniles and one adult - Kevin Parker, 18, of the 3000 block of Harlem Ave. in West Baltimore - were charged with disorderly conduct and second-degree assault, police said.

Woodlawn High School alumnus Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Johnathan York completed the nuclear power training unit course in Ballston Spa, N.Y. Catonsville resident Jeffrey Winns is his father.

Woodlawn High School was evacuated twice yesterday, the first time after a firecracker was set off in a stairwell and then after small fires were set in two trash cans, police and school district officials said. Administrators were breaking up a fight among four girls in the cafeteria about 7:45 a.m. when someone set off at least one firecracker in a stairwell, creating smoke, according to police and school district officials. About 10:30 a.m., two small fires were set in trash cans, said Baltimore County school district spokesman Charles A. Herndon.

A 16-year-old Woodlawn High School student who had been reported missing by his mother early yesterday was found shot and killed several hours later in the back yard of a home in the 6200 block of Liberty Heights Terrace in Gwynn Oak.The body of Rashad Aron Grogan of the 3500 block of Meadowside Ave. in Gwynn Oak was discovered a few blocks from his home.The homeowner, who was not identified by police, saw the body in the bushes shortly after 8 a.m.. The back gate to the yard had been broken down.

A Woodlawn High School algebra teacher was charged yesterday with a number of sex offenses after female students complained he touched them inappropriately and made suggestive comments, county police said. James Eure, 29, of the 3900 block of Ednor Road in Baltimore, surrendered to authorities at the Garrison precinct. Police said they issued an arrest warrant for him on March 31. Eure was charged with seven counts each of fourth-degree sex offense, second-degree assault and child abuse, police said.

Charges were pending against three women after a fight involving a female student at Woodlawn High School triggered two other fistfights yesterday in the school cafeteria, Baltimore County police said. A 40-year-old woman apparently went to the school with her daughter and niece, both 18, to settle a dispute with a student there, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. They found the student and a fight ensued, he said. An officer assigned to the school was able to break up the fight quickly, Toohey said.

Tom DeGraziano is ecstatic.After 28 years in the classrooms of Baltimore County, he's working longer hours than ever. He has forgotten about retiring, and he can barely sit still as he describes the adventure on which he and 100 gutsy students are about to embark."

Baltimore County police are asking for help in identifying a man who is wanted for questioning in the slaying of Erik Patrick Chestnutt, a 16-year-old Woodlawn High School student who was shot Friday night at a gasoline station near Security Square Mall.The man is described as black and between the ages of 16 and 20, with a slim build and a light to medium complexion. He has a gold top front tooth and light brown hair that is cut short on top and shaved on the sides.He was seen leaving the scene in a blue Chevrolet Cavalier or Beretta driven by a man witnesses could not identify.

The components for a new robot arrived early in January and signaled the start of another robotics season for the Woodlawn High School TechnoWarriors. The students took six weeks, as many as 300 hours of intense labor after school and on weekends and holidays, to design and build a robot, all while maintaining their school grades. They tested and retested and practiced until they were certain they had constructed a robot armed for competition in a field that is becoming increasingly more intense as interest builds in the science.

Theodore A. Heun, a retired Baltimore County high school history teacher who was a witness to the shootings of students at Kent State University in 1970, died June 5 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Ellicott City home. He was 69. Mr. Heun, the son of German immigrants, was born in Baltimore and raised in Oliver Beach. After graduating from Kenwood High School in 1959, he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1963 from what is now Towson University.

The Woodlawn High students were divided into three groups stationed at chalkboards, writing out questions. n What year was the microscope created? What do you view microorganisms on? And finally: Describe the similarities of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. "That is an excellent question," said James Martin, drawing the attention of the 25 students in his class. The teens - all black male freshmen - were giving one another "critical thinking" problems in various subjects as part of a semiweekly, in-class tutorial.

In the next few months, the unblinking lenses of digital cameras will be trained on roads and drivers around more than a dozen Baltimore County schools. Their aim: to catch speeders and deter others with heavy accelerator feet. On Friday, police released a list of 15 school zones where they plan to install the cameras, some before the end of the year. The list does not specify their locations, and officials would say only that the devices will be placed within half a mile or so of each school.

For nearly a week, dozens of Maryland youths have rubbed elbows with the pros on the football field, picked their brains and even caught a glimpse of a real Super Bowl ring. But they also took time to talk about the challenges they face daily: choices about drugs, about girls, about school. The 80 or so boys and young men participated in a new football camp called Commitment 4 Change, which aims to teach children from ages 8 to 17 how to better play the game - and equip them with what they need to succeed both on and off the field.

Public forums on growth set across state Marylanders will have an opportunity to air their views about future growth and development in a series of "listening sessions" scheduled across the state next month, the Maryland Department of Planning said yesterday. The six forums are planned to provide public input to a task force appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley to review Maryland's Smart Growth laws and policies.

Woodlawn High School physics instructor Curtis Lee Jones watched his students achieve sixth place last Sunday in a national solar bike race. On Friday, he was given the school's Unsung Hero Award, an Employee of the Year Award -- and suspended.The abrupt change of fortune resulted from what police said was a violation of probation and what Jones said was his own mistake. The 38-year-old Woodlawn resident was arrested at the school Thursday, the day before classes ended.The arrest stemmed from a 1997 handgun possession charge, which Jones said was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

At Woodlawn High School, long known for overcrowding and underachievement, Principal C. Anthony Thompson recently gathered some seniors in his office and gushed about how proud he was of their leadership. This was a few days after he had talked about bolstering school pride - "The Woodlawn Way" - and honoring students for good attendance. It might seem odd that the tenor has turned warm and fuzzy at Woodlawn High, which audits by state and Baltimore County educators two years ago described as a dirty place where loud, rude students showed "disrespect for authority" and could barely be controlled in the halls by teachers who displayed "minimal effectiveness."