Girard College

Members of Teamsters Local 628, mostly drivers for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Inquirer, picketed Girard College yesterday on behalf of 75 employees - women who cook, serve meals, clean and do laundry for the students. The union says the Board of City Trusts, which administers the will of college founder Stephen Girard, has demanded that the women take a pay cut from $11 to $9 an hour.

AUTUMN Adkins Graves, the first African-American and first female president of Girard College, will leave the school in June, she said Tuesday. Graves, 39, presided over a difficult stretch for the private North Philadelphia boarding school founded by 19th-century merchant-banker Stephen Girard for orphan boys. Serious money problems forced the school to enroll fewer students, lay off staff and end a weekend residential program. Graves said that family concerns led to her decision to step down.

Don P. Sheldon, the president of Girard College for the last two years, told school employees yesterday that he would resign at the end of the week, according to an officer of the union that represents teachers at the school. Sheldon made the announcement in a memo distributed to the school's faculty and staff, said John Kozempel, vice president of the union. Sheldon said in the memo that it was time for him to move on, but he did not say where he was going, according to Kozempel, who teaches history at the school.

Dwan Cooper stood slumped against a whitewashed cinder-block wall, speaking in a voice that would have made a whisper sound like a shout from the highest mountain. His eyes were still red and the gentle heaves came every few seconds. A dozen minutes earlier, Cooper and his Girard College basketball teammates had been ousted from the PIAA Class A tournament by Holy Name, of Reading, in one of the most painful ways imaginable. The final score, in overtime, at Coatesville High in an intense, interesting quarterfinal was Holy Name 40, Girard College 39. It was Holy Name's only lead.

Tyrone Morris, who only nine months ago led Girard College to its first PIAA Class A state boys' basketball championship, has been dismissed as the Cavaliers' head coach just two games into the 2009-10 season. Sabrina Allen, Girard College athletic director, said Morris resigned in a meeting yesterday. Morris said he was fired. "I was asked to resign, and I didn't want to resign," Morris, 32, said. "Now I'm no longer the coach. I take that as being fired. " Said Allen: "He has resigned.

Now, this was much closer than expected. Many though Imhotep Charter's Martin Luther King Day game with Girard College would be a breeze. That's because the Panthers are The Inquirer's seventh-ranked team in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, are an unproven Class A squad. At least that was the thought before yesterday's nonleague game. Imhotep defeated Girard College, 56-48, at the Panthers' gym. The victory improved the Panthers to 15-1.

If an amendment to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association constitution is approved this summer, Girard College will become the first school from Philadelphia to join the PIAA. Girard College athletic director Bill Gallagher said the boarding school had initially applied for PIAA membership last spring after a futile attempt to align with a conference. PIAA District 1 chairman James Gallagher said he expected the amendment, which would permit Philadelphia schools to join the PIAA, to be approved by member schools, allowing Girard to join the association for the 1990-91 school year.

Squeezed between rising costs and a decline in income because of lower interest rates in the bond markets, Girard College has laid off 34 employees in what officials said is the largest round of layoffs at the privately endowed boarding school in 40 years. Twenty-five workers in maintenance, grounds, housekeeping and other support services were laid off Feb. 18, along with nine administrators. Three part- time music teachers also lost their positions, union officials said. Howard B. Maxwell, president of Girard, referred all questions to the board of directors of City Trusts, the public body that oversees the Girard Estate and 121 other city trust funds.

Girard College, whose bitter 1982 teachers' strike was the longest school strike in Pennsylvania history, is in the midst of another contract dispute. Teachers at the privately endowed boarding school for low-income students in the city's Fairmount section have been working without a contract since their four-year contract expired Aug. 31. A representative from the state mediator's office is involved in the talks. The two sides are reported to be far apart on wages. The union, affiliated with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, represents the school's 66 teachers.

Autumn Adkins Graves, the first African American and first female president of Girard College, will leave the historic school in June, she said Tuesday. Graves, 39, presided over a difficult stretch for the private North Philadelphia boarding school founded by the 19th-century merchant-banker Stephen Girard for orphan boys. Serious money problems forced the school to enroll fewer students, lay off staff, and end a weekend residential program. Graves said family concerns led to her decision to step down.

Immigrant millionaire Stephen Girard's 1830 will has benefited generations of Pennsylvanians: students at Girard College, the free North Philadelphia boarding school his legacy still supports, and the lawyers who have been fighting over the will and Girard Estate funds since his death. The latest challenge will go before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday. Lawyers for the Girard Estate, which is administered by the Philadelphia Board of City Trusts, are fighting to protect its state tax exemptions.

The privileged world in which Prince Edward grew up, a world of palaces, polished silver and nobility's obligations, could not have been further from that of the students at Girard College, where hardship — both financial and emotional — are among the criteria for admission. But Thursday, when Edward visited Girard, the distance between him and the students who greeted him was easily bridged with handshakes, friendly banter, and some gentle ribbing. His motorcade of Land Rovers and Range Rovers drove through the boarding school's black iron gates at 12:30 p.m., greeted by hundreds of students in burgundy and gray uniforms, lining the circular drive, cheering, and waving handmade paper American and British flags.

Prince Edward, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II,is due in Philadelphia this afternoon.   Just a word of advice: For men, the standard protocol is to bow - from the head only. For women, a slight curtsy will do. Or, if you won't have none of that. Don't worry. There is no obligatory greeting. However, it would also be good to refer to the Prince as, "Your Royal Highness" on first reference, then "Sir" on second.   Prince Edward is in town to honor his mother's 60th Anniversary as queen and to support the Duke of Edinburgh's Award program in the city, so named after his father.

A BRITISH PRINCE will pay a royal visit to Philadelphia at the end of the month. Nope, not William or Harry. Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, is coming to the city on April 26 and 27 for a series of events to mark his mother's 60 years on the throne, the city announced Tuesday. And Mayor Nutter is delighted. "This is a high honor for us here in Philadelphia," Nutter said. "I'm looking forward to meeting Prince Edward, strengthening our ties.

AUTUMN Adkins Graves, the first African-American and first female president of Girard College, will leave the school in June, she said Tuesday. Graves, 39, presided over a difficult stretch for the private North Philadelphia boarding school founded by 19th-century merchant-banker Stephen Girard for orphan boys. Serious money problems forced the school to enroll fewer students, lay off staff and end a weekend residential program. Graves said that family concerns led to her decision to step down.

Autumn Adkins Graves, the first African American and first female president of Girard College, will leave the historic school in June, she said Tuesday. Graves, 39, presided over a difficult stretch for the private North Philadelphia boarding school founded by the 19th-century merchant-banker Stephen Girard for orphan boys. Serious money problems forced the school to enroll fewer students, lay off staff, and end a weekend residential program. Graves said family concerns led to her decision to step down.

Prep Charter coach Paul Rieser can still picture her: the tall, gangly star of the New York Gauchos, springing for rebound after rebound on the Rutgers University hardwood. On that July 2010 day, he had come to watch his senior point guard, Bria Young, compete in the Summer Exposure Championships, a national event that showcased AAU players to college coaches. But as the games wore on, he found himself captivated by one girl whom Young soon pointed out. "Coach," Young told Rieser, "that's my friend Kahleah Copper.

Highlights of Tuesday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Boys' Basketball DISTRICT 1 CLASS A TOURNAMENT Playoff Semifinals Faith Christian 67, Girard College 57 Church Farm 57, Calvary Christian 41 Consolations Souderton 66, Coatesville 56 Cheltenham 67, Pennsbury 63 Council Rock North 50, Penn Wood 47 DISTRICT 1 CLASS AAAA TOURNAMENT ...