Patricia Skebeck is director of elementary education for the Harford County Public Schools in Bel Air. Previously, Skebeck was principal of the William Paca—Old Post Road Elementary School in Abingdon. "I believe that the school is the hub of the community," said Skebeck when she was principal of Hall's Cross Roads Elementary School in Aberdeen, where she implemented a variety of academic and social service programs to address the needs of the more than 40 percent of her students who live in poverty. Through programs that use advanced computer technology, she provided students with experiences and ideas to which they might not otherwise have access in their communities. "POWER," another program implemented by Mrs. Skebeck, was a math remediation program designed to improve the skills of students at risk of failure. After just one year of daily participation in this program, student performance on standardized mathematics tests improved dramatically.
