The Baltimore Sun ran a four-part series in the spring of 1988. The articles were about Baltimore City Public Schools, and they covered the usual woes we still contend with today – attendance, student performance, accountability, and standardized tests. The series was entitled “School Maze,” and was intended to “nettle defenders of the status quo.”
One family member of a student was surprised. They wrote a letter to share their positive view of Glenmount Primary School: “…when one enters the building [they notice] large well-made pictures on both walls of what the youngsters do and current events… Quietness is the order of the day. The PTA and other groups take part in the school work.” The reader, Frank J. Huebel shared anecdotes of his great-granddaughter learning math and reading and writing. “All of this tells me that Glenmount is a well-run school and that the youngsters are learning the basics, in spite of the ‘School Maze.'”
Huebel was not alone in his positive view of the school. A 1985 story about a blind student’s guide dog Lavette quoted the dog’s owner, Nancy Jaslow. “Everyone knows not to touch or play with a guide dog. My principal, Marylee Felton loves dogs and loves having Lavette around.”
A few decades after Lillian Lottier, Marylee Felton was taking the same path: serving the city and community through a career in education. Her position as a teacher and later as a principal would have her face school fires, understaffing, overcrowding, state politics, and all of the other tribulations faced by educators.
Continue reading “Mayonnaise Cake, Marylee Felton”