Superintendent of Schools Laval S. Wilson of Boston, citing fears about his daughter’s safety, has transferred her to a public high school in a suburban district.
Nicole Wilson, 16, was attending Boston Technical High School last spring when she testified against seven students who had allegedly stored a homemade bomb in a locker. The youths, who were linked to a local gang, have since been expelled or transferred.
Although Nicole has received no threats, Mr. Wilson said he feared that the youths or their friends might retaliate against her for cooperating with the police. Mr. Wilson refused to disclose the name of the district where Nicole is attending school, revealing only that the school board there has requested that the family pay a “nominal” tuition charge.
Mr. Wilson said that his four children have always attended public schools in districts where he served as superintendent.
Charles R. Eilber, who in 1980 oversaw the development of the nation’s first residential high school for gifted science and mathemetics students, has announced that he will step down from his post as director of the Durham, N.C., school next July.
Mr. Eilber said that both he and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics are ready for a change. He said he plans to serve as a consultant to governments that want to create similar schools, both in the United States and abroad.
Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities, the foundation established in 1984 by the McDonald’s Corporation, this week honored Marian Wright Edelman, the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, with a $100,000 prize saluting her work on behalf of children.
The “Award of Excellence” is one of two given by the foundation this year. The other recipient is Dr. Stanley James, director of the division of perinatology at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and an internationally known research scientist in neonatology.
Both winners were cited for their advocacy of “preventive investment"--the concept of dealing with children’s needs before they develop into problems for society.
The new honor marks the latest in a long list for Ms. Edelman, who in 1985 won a coveted “genius” award from the MacArthur Foundation. A spokesman for Ms. Edelman said last week that the McDonald award would be used to support cdf work on the issues of teenage pregnancy and child care.
