High Standards

Joseph Kircher, who became principal of Elkins Park Middle School on Jan. 2, says he will maintain high expectations for students and the staff and be highly visible to them. He believes in setting high standards, Kircher said, because students can do as well as they're expected to do. He said he would make himself available to the staff and students as often as possible. "I can do the paper work when they're not here," he said. He also said he planned to help develop specific goals, because "a school as a whole must have stated goals.

To enhance its teacher evaluations, the school district is expected to ask the state to approve a method that emphasizes staff development. Under the system in force across the state, instructors are evaluated by principals and other administrators who visit their classrooms from five to 12 times a year. The Springfield plan, outlined to school directors at a session Thursday, would increase those visits to 15 a year. It would establish 16 criteria for evaluation, according to David Bollinger, the district's personnel director and a chief proponent of the plan.

Want a proven formula for educational failure? Start by making two false assumptions: Insist that self-esteem is the master key to learning, and that all students who fail to excel are victims of bigoted teachers. That's the formula in "How Schools Shortchange Girls," a recent report issued by the American Association of University Women, and we know it's a formula for failure because we've tried it before with devastating results. Black children were its first guinea pigs. When the walls of segregation were breached by the Brown case, reasonable people expected them to surge ahead, narrowing the gap between black and white test scores.

Parkside Elementary principal Claudia Cream immediately commands attention when she enters a classroom. She greets students in the African language Swahili: "Ago," or "May I have your attention?" Sitting up straight in their chairs, they politely respond, "Amay," or "Yes, you may. " At Parkside, in Camden, students are immersed in African American and Hispanic culture from the moment they enter the three-story brick building. Enrollment is 100 percent black or Latino.

Kevin Nolan got his start in the painting business while he was a college student about 20 years ago, knocking on doors looking for work. Now, his company, Nolan Painting Inc., has been named business of the year by the Main Line Chamber of Commerce. "I told all my employees, 'Now, we have to live up to this,' " Nolan said. "It's good for the business, sure, but it will do more for the way we carry ourselves. " What makes a good house painter? "It's really about relationships," he said.

"Nope. No, no, no. I don't want to talk about it. " But, 400 wins - must make you a little nostalgic, right? "You know . . . I honestly hate talking about it," Moorestown girls' lacrosse coach Deanna Knobloch said. Those sentiments, seemingly deep and layered, were confirmed by Knobloch's husband and longtime assistant coach, K.C. "I'll bet you somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she knows about it," he said. "But, no, she's certainly not thinking about it. It doesn't mean that much to her. It's always the next game that's important to her. " With the Quakers' first win this season - and if history is any indication, it won't take long to record - Deanna Knobloch will notch her 400th career victory.

Teresa Pica, 66, of Philadelphia, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and a leading expert in the field of second language acquisition, died Tuesday, Nov. 15, at home of complications from viral encephalitis. She had been ill since March after returning from a lecture abroad, said her sister, Anna Marie Goldberg. Dr. Pica's influence on the theory and practice of second language acquisition was groundbreaking, according to biographical material Penn made public.

A cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy and College has been charged with sexually assaulting another cadet in a dormitory room. Jerrell McEachin, 19, is accused of forcing a female cadet to perform oral sex on him at Younghusband Hall last Wednesday, said an official familiar with the case. The Valley Forge administration learned about the alleged incident and called Radnor Township police, who arrested McEachin, the official said. McEachin, who is now suspended, and the woman are college cadets.

Before fast food, plastic plates, and paper cups, dining away from home meant packing up edibles, beverages, and a complete table setting into something fairly easily portable. Though Americans have a long tradition of picnic baskets and covered-dish gatherings, the English are the ones who perfected the well-fitted food hamper. The goal was to serve a full meal outdoors in a delightful setting. And as use of the motor car widened, destination picnicking grew increasingly popular.

"Nope. No, no, no. I don't want to talk about it. " But, 400 wins - must make you a little nostalgic, right? "You know . . . I honestly hate talking about it," Moorestown girls' lacrosse coach Deanna Knobloch said. Those sentiments, seemingly deep and layered, were confirmed by Knobloch's husband and longtime assistant coach, K.C. "I'll bet you somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she knows about it," he said. "But, no, she's certainly not thinking about it. It doesn't mean that much to her. It's always the next game that's important to her. " With the Quakers' first win this season - and if history is any indication, it won't take long to record - Deanna Knobloch will notch her 400th career victory.

A cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy and College has been charged with sexually assaulting another cadet in a dormitory room. Jerrell McEachin, 19, is accused of forcing a female cadet to perform oral sex on him at Younghusband Hall last Wednesday, said an official familiar with the case. The Valley Forge administration learned about the alleged incident and called Radnor Township police, who arrested McEachin, the official said. McEachin, who is now suspended, and the woman are college cadets.

ELZ, Germany - Every summer, Volkmar and Vera Kruger spend three weeks vacationing in the south of France or at a cool getaway in Denmark. For the three other weeks of their annual vacation, they garden or travel a few hours away to root for their favorite team in Germany's biggest soccer stadium. The couple, in their early 50s, aren't retired or well-off. They live in a small Tudor-style house in this middle-class town about 30 miles northwest of Frankfurt. He's a foreman at a glass factory; she works part time for a company that tracks inventories for retailers.

Teresa Pica, 66, of Philadelphia, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and a leading expert in the field of second language acquisition, died Tuesday, Nov. 15, at home of complications from viral encephalitis. She had been ill since March after returning from a lecture abroad, said her sister, Anna Marie Goldberg. Dr. Pica's influence on the theory and practice of second language acquisition was groundbreaking, according to biographical material Penn made public.

RIDLEY IS 3-0 to begin this season, though you wouldn't know it by talking to the Green Raiders' Dave Jankauskas. The 6-1, 250-pounder, who starts at right tackle and defensive nose guard, plays according to a set of high standards - that every time the Green Raiders take the field, the offensive and defensive lines consist of the toughest cats in the alley. Ridley proved that in last year's District 1 Class AAAA championship game by knocking out seven North Penn players in upsetting the Knights.

R IDLEY IS 3-0 to begin this season, though you wouldn't know it by talking to the Green Raiders' Dave Jankauskas. The 6-1, 250-pounder, who starts at right tackle and defensive nose guard, plays according to a set of high standards - that every time the Green Raiders take the field, the offensive and defensive lines consist of the toughest cats in the alley. Ridley proved that in last year's District 1 Class AAAA championship game by knocking out seven North Penn players in upsetting the Knights.

When the South Jersey high school football season begins this weekend, skill-position players won't be in short supply. Throughout the region, though, there are concerns about offensive lines that need time to mesh, that need to counter a strong corps of linebackers that includes Shawnee's Dillon Lucas and Holy Spirit's Antony Sarao, that must protect a collection of quarterbacks such as Gloucester's Cody Brown and Cherokee's Andrew Martin who like...

When the South Jersey high school football season begins this weekend, one thing that won't be in short supply are skilled position players. Throughout the region, there are concerns about offensive lines that need time to mesh, that need to counter a strong core of linebackers that includes Shawnee's Dillon Lucas or Holy Spirit's Antony Sarao, that must protect a collection of quarterbacks such as Gloucester's Cody Brown or Cherokee's Andrew Martin,...