Graduate School

In the fall, when the sixth grade moves out of the Tredyffrin/Easttown elementary schools and into the newly organized intermediate schools, a number of elementary teachers also will make the change. "It's been kind of emotional this morning," Valley Forge Elementary School teacher Peter Staudenmaier of Devon said last week on the last day of the school year. Staudenmaier, who has taught elementary school for 30 years, said that in September he will become an English teacher at Valley Forge Intermediate School near Chesterbrook.

Francis L. Lawrence, 75, who served as president of Rutgers University from 1990 to 2002, died Tuesday, April 16, in his Mount Laurel home, the university said Wednesday. A cause of death was not disclosed. Dr. Lawrence oversaw a period of sweeping changes at the state's flagship public university, including the implementation of the school's first long-term strategic plan, "A New Vision for Excellence," and the establishment of more than 50 new undergraduate and graduate degree programs and more than 45 research centers and institutes, the school said.

Preston Bodison was a junior at St. Joseph's University in 1990, and contemplating his future. Like a lot of his classmates, he was considering graduate school but - to put it frankly - "I didn't think I had the smarts; I mean, I'm average," he said. Then, he was invited to attend a three-day seminar on graduate school opportunities for African American and Hispanic students, sponsored by State Sen. Chaka Fattah. At the end of the three days, Bodison was not only planning to pursue a master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania; he also was determined to earn a doctoral degree in psychology at Temple University.

For a few thrilling minutes during January's playoff game, Eagles cornerback Ben Smith tasted the glory he had dreamed about in his first season as a pro football player. His well-leveraged tackle of the Washington Redskins' Earnest Byner had lifted the running back's legs skyward and sent the football squirting out onto the turf. Smith had scooped it up deftly and dodged his way downfield 95 yards for a touchdown. The exhilarated Veterans Stadium crowd stood and screamed as one. It was the kind of big play that then-coach Buddy Ryan had in mind when he drafted Smith in the first round last year, and it couldn't have come at a better time . . . Then the moment was gone.

There is a graduation scheduled for tonight at Gotwals Elementary School in Norristown, and the graduates will include entire families. Ten Norristown families that participated in the FAST (Families and Schools Together) program have completed activities designed to strengthen the family and reduce family stress. The program is an intervention and prevention program that teaches communication skills to families with children ages 5 to 9. Involvement in the schools is encouraged.

Glenside is about to get a shot of spiritual enlightenment. Oh sure, those who have wanted to be one with the Earth have long flocked to Primex, the gardening center there. And those who have wanted to be one with the stars have screamed for hours at concerts at the Keswick Theater. But now, a 1.3 million-member organization of reformist Korean Buddhists has chosen this small Montgomery County community as the site of its first graduate school in the English-speaking world.

Members of the Black Horse Pike Regional School District said last night they would reconsider a policy that would allow student-led prayers at graduation ceremonies at its two high schools. Student-led prayers are scheduled for June 28 graduation ceremonies at both Triton Regional and Highland Regional High Schools. School district officials, after hearing from both sides of the emotionally-charged issue, announced that they would review the policy at a meeting June 24, just days before the ceremonies.

An M.B.A. from the Wharton School wasn't exactly chopped liver before Thomas P. Gerrity became the school's dean in 1990. But since Gerrity took over, a Wharton degree has definitely become the creme de la creme. This week, Wharton was named the country's top graduate business school in a Business Week survey of former students and corporate recruiters - the school's second straight first-place finish in the poll. Earlier this year, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education called Wharton the best business school for African Americans.

This was Brian Niles' challenge. As director of graduate enrollment at La Salle University, Niles wanted a catchy, annual vehicle to pique students' curiosity about La Salle's graduate programs. Oh, sure, there were those traditional information fairs the Graduate Management Admission Council held, where prospective students wandered from booth to booth to collect literature and ask questions of admissions officials. But GMAC only holds such fairs every other year in Philadelphia.

The Haverford High School dropout rate is less than 2 percent, but that is too high for district administrators. To further reduce the rate, the Haverford Township School District is proposing a late-afternoon alternative program for the handful of students identified as likely to drop out. The program, Twilight Alternative School, would allow a group of at-risk students to attend classes Monday through Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. It...