Odenton Rotary Brings Dictionaries and History Lesson to Hebron-Harman

 When the Odenton Rotary Club distributed dictionaries to 138 students in six third-grade classes at Frank Hebron-Harman Elementary school on Feb 18, there were a few special helpers handing out the books. The nieces and the grandnephew of the man for whom the school is named.

Darvin Hebron, Hebron’s grandnephew, started attending the former Harman Elementary school in 1956. At the time it was for grades 1 through 6, and his uncle was Frank Hebron, was its principal.

Frank Hebron is the second African American Educator in Anne Arundel County to have a public building named in his honor. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Bowie State College in 1948 and went on to attend Columbia University, New York where he received his master’s degree. He was a teacher, principal, supervisor of adult basic education, and worked as director/coordinator of the Youth Work Experience Program. Hebron retired in 1978 after 30 years of dedicated service to the youth and adults of Anne Arundel County.

After he died in 2001 at the age of 75, his church, St. Mark United Methodist Church, advocated for a new building and petitioned the Board of Education to rename the school after Hebron. They were successful, and in 2005 the County Board of Education approved the renaming of the school to Frank Hebron-Harman. The name stayed when a new building was completed in 2007.

Also on hand to help out was Laverna Hebron Hall, Frank Hebron’s niece. Laverna worked as a fifth-grade teacher at Harman Elementary Consolidated School and was reassigned to Meade Primary School after the Brown vs. Board of Education Decision in 1954. “Frank Hebron would be so very proud today,” she said. “He did have a grand sense of humor and was involved and respected as he helped young persons in the community reach goals set and /or established.”

The Rev. Herbert Watson of St. Mark United Methodist Church spoke with the third-grade students before club and its guests gave them the dictionaries.

“What happens when your iPad, cell phone or computer is down and you want to look up a word? That is what this is for,” Watson said. He connected with the students encouraging them to grow by learning more words. Energy and enthusiasm poured out as he challenged the students to learn a new word each day.

Rotary member Jim Thomas is the driving force behind the club’s dictionary program. The club also left dictionaries for the third grade teachers the principal, assistant principal and the school’s counselor.When the Odenton Rotary Club distributed dictionaries to 138 students in six third-grade classes at Frank Hebron-Harman Elementary school on Feb 18, there were a few special helpers handing out the books. The nieces and the grandnephew of the man for whom the school is named.

Darvin Hebron, Hebron’s grandnephew, started attending the former Harman Elementary school in 1956. At the time it was for grades 1 through 6, and his uncle was Frank Hebron, was its principal.

Principal Rebecca Blasingame-White appreciates Thomas and the club’s dictionary program. “It demonstrates to the children that someone thought enough about them to give them something so valuable. It helps the students make the connection that someone had to fund the dictionaries,” she said.

The club purchased the dictionaries with sponsorships from many people, including County Councilman Pete Smith, who also was in attendance at the event. Wayne and Linda Smith also donated to the Rotary dictionary project. This is their second year to do so. “It’s a great dictionary, very impressive. There is lots of information in it, not just words.” Linda said.

The 540-page book of words and their definitions also contains biographies of the U.S. Presidents, The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, information about the 50 states.

The students appreciate the dictionaries. Kamari, a third grade student, was very excited and said that the new word for the day is “clip, as in hair clip.” Kamari didn’t look up words before, “But now I will, every day,” she said.

The half hour program was winding down at 3 p.m. Students were being rushed away in preparation for the end of the day. A handful of the students who had lined up to have Watson autograph their dictionaries were left. Lisa Bowen, a fifth-grader, went to Watson, she smiled and thanked him for the dictionary she received two years ago. She still uses it, and was grateful her sister, a third grader, received a dictionary this year.