Howard County's graduating seniors rake in $67 million in scholarships, survey shows

The Baltimore Sun

Graduating seniors in Howard County earned more than $67 million in scholarships this past school year. The number almost triples the amount earned by the graduating Class of 2006.

According to a survey of 3,521 students who graduated from the county's 11 high schools (Marriotts Ridge does not have a senior class) in May, River Hill High School graduates garnered the most scholarship money, $15.4 million, while Mount Hebron graduates received the least, $2.2 million.

Between the two were Centennial ($10.4 million), Glenelg ($8.2 million), Atholton ($7.2 million), Hammond ($5.3 million), Wilde Lake ($5 million), Howard ($3.7 million), Oakland Mills ($3.6 million), Reservoir ($3.3 million), and Long Reach ($3.1 million).

Patti Caplan, the school system's spokeswoman, warned that the figures from individual schools were estimates.

"We depend on students and families to report back to schools," she said.

The Class of 2006 earned $28 million in scholarships. In 2006, River Hill High seniors accepted the most scholarship money ($5.4 million) while Oakland Mills High School seniors accepted the least ($343,894).

The survey of the 2007 Howard County graduating seniors showed that: 66.2 percent plan to attend a four-year college or university; 21.7 percent plan to attend a two-year college; 5.1 percent report other plans; 3.7 percent plan to join the work force; 2 percent plan to attend a trade or technical school; and 1.3 percent plan to enter the military.

The Class of 2007 featured 30 National Merit finalists, 10 National Merit semifinalists and 158 commended-scholar nominations.

New leader at Norbel

Norbel School in Elkridge has a new leader, and she is a familiar face to the small private school's community.

Sharon DellaRose, who has worked at Norbel for the past 26 years, was recently named head of school. The former associate headmaster replaces Eric M. Isselhardt, who went to Kingsbury Day School in Washington. Isselhardt had been with Norbel for eight years.

Norbel, a private elementary through high school, serves 100 students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, and language delays. The school has been open for 27 years.

DellaRose came to Norbel as a teacher in 1981, a year after it opened. In 1996, she became the school's academic director. In 2001, she became associate headmaster, responsible for the school's daily operations.

"It is a true honor to serve the Norbel community in this leadership capacity," DellaRose said in a statement. "And, what a wonderful community this is. ... Bright, capable students, supportive families, and a superior faculty and staff creating an environment for optimum growth for everyone."

DellaRose has been a guest lecturer at the Association of Independent Maryland Schools Conference, the Catholic School Convention on issues involving learning-disabled populations, the Early Childhood Conference on the importance of early intervention and the CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) Conference on a program to assist AD/HD children and parents.

In 2003, DellaRose received the Howard County Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year Award.

DellaRose holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and a master's degree in reading education from Towson University.

Summer in schools

Summer vacation is here, but that did not stop several thousand Howard County students from roaming the familiar halls of school.

Summer classes started July 2 and ended Friday.

Some students took enrichment courses, while others attended the equivalent of dreaded summer school.

This year, 2,080 students were asked to attend classes for academic intervention programs, while 1,163 students attended comprehensive summer school to master a subject or get ahead for the coming year.

Students in the academic intervention programs were recommended by their teachers and went free of charge. Students in the comprehensive summer school programs had to pay. Courses ranged in cost from $75 for one week to $475 for a four-week program.

john-john.williams@baltsun.com

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