Middle School

They gathered in the shadow of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia's main Catholic church, in an amen chorus of support for nuns. "For Sister Marie Timothy, who assured me I didn't have an attitude problem and that I was a strong woman in the making," said a school nurse. "For Sister Evelyn, who put my feet on the path of demonstrating in Washington in 1972," said a baby boomer. "To Sister Mary Paul, for teaching us the mysteries of sex in middle school!"

Inside Nancy Lynn's sixth-grade classroom at the Warren G. Harding Middle School, students' reports - many decorated with crayon-colored covers - hang from a clothesline along a back wall. Glossy cutouts about magnets and electricity cover a strip of wall above the blackboard. Pictures of fall leaves - brown, orange, yellow - spruce up Lynn's bulletin boards. When the bell rings to signal the end of class periods, her students usually stay put. But just beyond her door, a flood of older students - seventh and eighth graders - pour into the hallway, clanging lockers and chattering among themselves as they rush along to their next classes.

A proposal to reorganize the Ridley School District by creating a middle school in the junior high building and moving ninth-grade students to the high school was presented to parents last week. Superintendent John Cochran told the 200 parents who attended a meeting at Edgewood Elementary School last Thursday that an administrative team has been studying the middle-school concept for more than a year and the research indicates that such a reorganization would be best for the district.

Phoenixville school board members have approved a plan that will create a middle school made up of grades five through eight, despite parent demands that the vote be delayed. Superintendent Carolyn Trohoski said the reorganization, which changes the junior high school into a middle school, needs to be in place by next September to reduce crowding in the district's four elementary schools. There are 1,848 pupils in grades one through six, 670 in junior high grades seven through nine and 548 students in the high school.

The Ridley School District should turn its junior high school into a middle school, moving ninth-grade students to the senior high school, Superintendent John S. Cochran has recommended. Cochran made the suggestion to the school board at its meeting Tuesday night after he reviewed studies presented by two district administrators. Cochran told the board that he wanted the district to implement the middle- school plan by September 1989. Under Cochran's proposal, the district's seven elementary schools would house kindergarten through fifth grade.

Pervis Ellison is perhaps the area's most recognizable middle school coach. The former 12-year NBA veteran is the coach of the New Beginnings Academy's middle school boys' basketball team. New Beginnings, which has students in kindergarten through 12th grade, is a new school in Chester. "It's not my intention on being a coach," said Ellison, who resides in Voorhees, Camden County. "I'm just giving back, so to speak. I just wanted to help the best way that I could. " The 41-year-old Ellison, who sought the position, said he will not get paid for coaching.

Consultants for the Downingtown Area School District recommended building a new middle school although it would cost $4 million more than if the district renovated a junior high. The Heery Program Management Inc. of Bala Cynwyd expected a new middle school to cost $15.4 million. Renovating and converting Lionville Junior High into a middle school was estimated at $11.4 million. The direct cost to the district would vary for either project, depending on the state reimbursement, consultant Stuart Lacy said Wednesday at a work session of the school board.

Despite some community and parent protests earlier this year, the Northeast will get a new high school and new middle school this fall under the final phase of a grade-reorganization plan announced Wednesday. The Samuel S. Fels Junior High School in Oxford Circle will become a senior high school over a three-year period. Starting this fall, the school will add 10th grade. The Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Castor will become a middle school with sixth- through eighth-grade students.

When about 1,400 students arrive at the Howard M. Phifer Middle School today, they will head to their lockers, shut their backpacks inside, and leave them there until the final bell rings in the afternoon. School officials last week decided to bar students from carrying book bags during the school day at Phifer after learning that a sixth grader had taken two guns to school last Monday. The 12-year-old accidentally shot himself in the left hand at a friend's house after school that day, authorities said.

The Tredyffrin Easttown school board approved the appointment of D. Allen Wolstenholme as the principal of Tredyffrin Easttown Intermediate School at a meeting Monday night. Wolstenholme has been acting principal at the school since September. The appointment becomes effective July 1. The board also accepted the resignation of John Reilly, a teacher at Valley Forge Elementary School. Superintendent George Garwood said Reilly served 15 years as a classroom teacher and 12 years as director of personnel.

TO THOSE familiar with his body of work, it should come as no surprise that Dean Grande fills the leadership role for George Washington High's baseball team. Even as a freshman, he was saying, in effect, "Yo, see those horns over there? I don't care if they belong to a bull. I'm gonna grab them. " The 5-8, 170-pound Grande is in his fourth season of starting at catcher. And that's exactly how long he has played the position. Not bad, right? "I always saw myself as a shortstop.

THREE COLLEGES based in Florida had been making overtures to Britton Lee because of his basketball skills. Monday night, however, the 5-10, 175-pound guard from Roman Catholic made an oral commitment to Robert Morris, in Pittsburgh. That might seem like a curious move, especially since Lee is a junior, but it makes every last bit of sense to him. "Why am I doing this? Because of all the loyalty they've shown," Lee said. "They've been after me since 2 years ago. And they were my very first offer.

UPON FIRST GLANCE, there's a strong temptation to think Oumar Diawara is cool only because he has participated in five sports this school year for Boys' Latin Charter. And, indeed, that's an amazing accomplishment. But Diawara, a 6-foot, 150-pound senior, also deserves praise for his classroom feats (cumulative 3.2 GPA through 4 years), especially with one very important variable in mind. As recently as 7 years ago, English was mostly a rumor to Diawara. Though he was born in Philly, at age 5 he'd been sent to Bamako, Mali, in Africa, to live with his grandfather/namesake, Oumar Diakara.

When Ben Simons was born at Chester County Hospital in May 1994, the doctor who delivered him told his parents he would be a soccer player - for a practical reason. Simons was born without his left hand and forearm. His mother, Katie Simons, initially thought she might leave her job to tend to her son full-time. "For the first few months I was home with him, I thought, 'This is ridiculous,' " she said. " 'Look at this kid. He's just smiling and growing; there's nothing else wrong with him. He can do whatever he sets his mind to.' And he's continued to prove that to us throughout his life.

When Ben Simons was born at Chester County Hospital in May 1994, the doctor who delivered him told his parents he would be a soccer player - for a practical reason. Simons was born without his left hand and forearm. His mother, Katie Simons, initially thought she might leave her job to tend to her son full-time. "For the first few months I was home with him, I thought, 'This is ridiculous,' " she said. " 'Look at this kid. He's just smiling and growing; there's nothing else wrong with him. He can do whatever he sets his mind to.' And he's continued to prove that to us throughout his life.

Five thousand students are in the middle of an educational tug-of-war in one of the largest and most affluent school districts in Pennsylvania. More is more, administrators and school board members say. An additional 10 minutes a day spent on each core subject, such as math, science and social studies, will help middle-school students learn better, they insist. More is less, parents and teachers counter. Students will lose one period a day of art, music, gym, and other "special" classes.

Brian Wright is a former offensive lineman, so he knows all about the down-and-dirty work that makes for a successful football team. The former Rowan University assistant coach plans to bring that same blue-collar approach to building a strong program at Cherry Hill West. "This is a great opportunity," said Wright, who has been named football coach at Cherry Hill West. "I know some people think it's a tall task to turn things around. But it can be done. " Wright succeeds Jim Scerbo, who resigned after last season.

Medford Township Schools Superintendent Joseph Del Rossi, under fire for his arrest on drunken-driving charges in Evesham Feb. 26, left Tuesday on administrative leave. Del Rossi was cited by Evesham Police with driving under the influence after he flipped a district-owned Jeep Liberty he was driving. He said he had swerved to avoid a deer. In a statement the school district e-mailed to news media Tuesday, Del Rossi apologized and said: "Because of the disruption the current circumstance has caused, I feel that it would be in the best interest of our entire school community for me to take some time away from my responsibilities.

Medford Township Schools Superintendent Joseph Del Rossi, under fire for his arrest on drunken-driving charges in Evesham Feb. 26, left Tuesday on administrative leave. Del Rossi was cited by Evesham Police with driving under the influence after he flipped a district-owned Jeep Liberty he was driving. He said he had swerved to avoid a deer. In a statement the school district e-mailed to news media Tuesday, Del Rossi apologized and said: "Because of the disruption the current circumstance has caused, I feel that it would be in the best interest of our entire school community for me to take some time away from my responsibilities.