The PTA Council of Howard County is creating a "talent bank" of county parents who wish to lend their expertise to school system initiatives.

PTA Council president John Hannay described the project as a "database of human talent" and added that those in the network must be active members of the PTA at their child's school.

Those in the talent bank would be considered for the Board of Education's policy review committees.

Hannay said the talent bank is intended to get more parents involved and to match them with initiatives that complement their line of work or area of interest.

"We have a sense that there's a lot of people out there who would be interested in this but we don't know who they are, or where they are," Hannay said.

PTA staff will compile the database over the next few months, Hannay said, adding that those who are interested should contact their school's PTA Council delegate or e-mail ptachc@gmail.com.

-- Jennifer Broadwater

Children's Learning Center unveiled at HCC

Howard Community College last week unveiled an expanded and renovated Children's Learning Center.

The center, which serves the children of HCC students and employees as well as other area families, recently underwent a $892,000 renovation.

The project, funded by $792,000 in county bonds and $100,000 in college funds, added a new 4,400-square-foot wing that includes additional rooms, observation booths, a food preparation area and storage space.

The center, which enrolls children from infancy through age 5, serves as a lab school for the college's Early Childhood Education students and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The center first opened in October 2000 with a capacity for 63 children. The new wing expands the capacity to 104 children, college officials said.

"The CLC is an integral part of the college campus," HCC president Kate Hetherington said in a statement. "We are thrilled that we have completed the expansion and are able to serve even more members of the HCC community."

-- Jennifer Broadwater

Thunder Hill students to operate school bank

Students at Thunder Hill Elementary School will be trained to operate an in-school bank through a new partnership between the east Columbia school and The Columbia Bank.

Under the terms of the partnership between the school and the bank's Oakland Mills branch, bank employees will create a school-based, deposit-only bank for Thunder Hill students and train fifth-grade students to serve as bank tellers. The bank employees will assist the student tellers in running a biweekly banking day at the school and also will guide students through a tour of the Oakland Mills branch of the bank.

The partnership is intended to introduce students to the concepts of personal financial planning and money management, while illustrating how mathematics are used in daily life, according to a news release announcing the partnership.

-- Jennifer Broadwater

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