Newsweek Names 4 Columbia Schools Among 'America's Best High Schools'

The magazine's 2013 rankings came out Monday.

On mobile? You can see interactive map here. Newsweek has ranked four of Columbia's high schools among its list of the best high schools in the country. In its list, Atholton High School ranked 772; Oakland Mills High School ranked 1,596; Wilde Lake High School ranked 1,765; Long Reach High School ranked 1,897 and Hammond High School was not ranked. See how Columbia schools compare. Here is the full list of Howard County rankings from Newsweek: For its rankings, Newsweek sent out a survey to more than 5,000 high schools in the U.S., with about 2,500 schools responding in 2013. You can see the details about Columbia schools' ranking, and every other ranked high school by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above. The survey …

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Columbia Public Schools to be Expanded, Renovated in Proposed 2014 Capital Budget

County Executive Ken Ulman's fiscal year 2014 capital budget includes several improvements to local schools.

  Atholton High School Renovation Running Brook Elementary Addition Longfellow Elementary Addition and Renovation Wilde Lake Middle School Renovation and Addition The full fiscal year 2014 capital budget proposal can be found by clicking here. County Executive Ken Ulman made his capital budget proposal public last week. The capital budget still needs to be reviewed and approved by the Howard County Council before it is goes into effect. Related Article Ulman's Budget Proposes Funds for Atholton Renovation, Blandair Park

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Atholton High School Evacuated After Bomb Threat

School officials also canceled after school activities due to the threat.

Atholton High School was evacuated and all after school activities were canceled on Thursday after a bomb threat on the building was received in the afternoon, according to Howard County Police. A police spokesperson said the bomb threat was sent to a school administrator's email account around the time of dismissal. Dismissal was completed and police searched the school with a bomb sniffing dog, according to police. School officials sent out a notice around 5 p.m. Thursday that after a search of the school, police determined the building is safe. The school will remain closed Thursday, but will open as usual on Friday, according to the notice.

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(Updated) Phone Service Restored at Atholton High

Outside phone lines were temporarily down Thursday afternoon.

Updated at 3:38 p.m. Phone service at Atholton High School has been restored, according to school officials. Atholton High School officials have announced that the school's outside phone lines are currently down. Howard County Public School System officials are working with Verizon to resolve the problem.  Anyone with an urgent need to reach the school should contact the Central Office at (410)313-6600 and staff members there will relay a message to the school. School leaders will announce when the phone service is restored.

River Hill Defeats Atholton for 3A East Football Title

The Hawks advance to the 3A state semi-finals next week when they host No. 12 Aberdeen.

Playoff Preview: River Hill at Atholton

Howard County teams will meet in the regional title football game in Columbia on Friday.

Howard County is assured of having a football team in the Class 3A high school state semifinals. That was guaranteed last weekend when Atholton High School beat Stephen Decatur High and River Hill knocked off Howard High in the first round of the regional playoffs. Atholton will host River Hill on Friday at 7 p.m. in Columbia in the Class 3A East Region title game on Freetown Road. What will be the keys to the game? "Turnovers and penalties will make the difference," Kyle Schmitt,  head coach of Atholton, said. "At this point in the playoffs all of the mistakes are magnified." The Raiders are 10-1 overall while River Hill is 9-2. The Hawks are making their ninth straight trip to the playoffs. Atholton beat River Hill, 14-0, earlier this …

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Prep Preview: Atholton Football at Centennial

Howard County clash will be Friday at 7 p.m. while River Hill plays at Mt. Hebron.

The Atholton High School football team will try to prepare for the playoffs at the Class 3A level in its regular-season finale. The Raiders, 8-1 overall, play Friday at Centennial High School at 7 p.m. Atholton has secured the No. 1 seed in the East Region for the playoffs, according to head coach Kyle Schmitt. Last year Atholton won, 29-22. "The key to Friday's game will be execution on both sides of the ball. Each week our goals don't change," Schmitt said. "We want to run and throw the football on offense and avoid turnovers. On defense we want to tackle and get three and outs. On special teams we want to be efficient and make big plays that can change the game." River Hill High, which is 7-2 overall, also plays Friday at 7 p.m., at Mt…

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Once His Son's Coach, Now His Opponent

Paul Courtney and his son, Kyle, faced off as their teams played against each other in a recent soccer game.

It's 5 p.m. at Atholton High School's soccer field. There's just 80 minutes to go until assistant coach Paul Courtney will know whether his team, the Marriotts Ridge High School’s varsity soccer team, has crushed the competition. In this case, the competition includes his 16-year-old son. Paul Courtney, also the head coach of the Marriotts Ridge High School’s junior varsity soccer team, had just come off a win that afternoon. The team had beaten the Atholton Raiders 4-0, a shutout on Atholton’s turf. Across the field, the varsity team walked in to warm up. Paul looked across at the opponent. His son, Kyle, 16, a junior at Atholton, jogged out onto the field. “I am from England so soccer is in my blood,” Paul said. “I played minor club …

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Atholton Grad Makes First Major League Hit

After making his major league debut last week, Steven Lombardozzi’s first hit the Nats secured a victory over the Mets this week.

Last week, Steven Lombardozzi got the call he had undoubtedly been waiting for when The Washington Nationals officially added him to the team roster. This week he showed the team exactly why he belongs there. According The Washington Post, Lombardozzi or ‘Lombo,’ made his first big league hit during the seventh inning of the game against The New York Mets, Monday night. Lombo knocked a knuckleball into leftfield helping the team secure a 3-2 victory over the Mets.  An athletic career almost didn’t happen for Lombo. Born with club feet, Lombo’s legs were confined to casts for the first three months of his life, said his mother, Jill Lombardozzi.  Lombo grew up in Fulton, MD and graduated from Atholton High School in Columbia. He was drafted…

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