MARYLAND BRIEFING
MARYLAND BRIEFING
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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY
Md. Teacher of the Year From Wise
A Prince George's County social studies teacher has been named the 2009 Maryland Teacher of the Year, state officials announced yesterday.
William Thomas, a teacher at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Upper Marlboro who specializes in government, earned the state's highest honor for teachers out of a pool of 24 candidates from each county and Baltimore.
State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick said in a statement that Thomas "equates classroom teaching to art" and has repeatedly declined offers to become an administrator because teaching is "his life's calling."
Thomas will receive $9,000, several thousand dollars' worth of teaching materials, a trip to the Teacher of the Year conference in Dallas and a Saturn Aura. Thomas will also participate in a national competition. The winner will be announced in April.
-- Nelson Hernandez
Health Dept. Probes Girl's Death
The Prince George's County Health Department is investigating the death of a middle school student. William R. Hite, interim superintendent for the school system, said the girl was an eighth-grader at Walker Mill Middle School in Capitol Heights.
A spokeswoman for the health department said that the girl died at a local hospital and that she did not know when the girl was admitted or what symptoms she displayed.
Health Officer Donald Shell said authorities will conduct a battery of tests, including for bacterial meningitis, but expect no results for 24 to 48 hours. He said officials have only sketchy information on the girl's death so far, but what they had learned as of yesterday evening suggested to them that other students and staff were not in any immediate danger.
