Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 22, 1990 TAG: 9003232450
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE LENGTH: Medium
The latest step is a list of priorities from the curriculum committee, which gave a preliminary report to the School Board recently.
The priorities are areas of the school system that the committee believes should be given top consideration. They are:
Departmentalization of the sixth and seventh grades.
Better communication within the school system.
Upgrading textbooks and library materials.
Beginning planning toward a middle-school concept.
Reducing class size.
Testing students to determine in advance what sort of specialized classes should be offered.
Replacing and expanding resource materials, including computers.
School Superintendent Dallas Helems gave the report for the committee and said the committee was still considering these items.
Board member Marsha Via suggested the committee perhaps should add to the list the need for higher math courses. She said she had talked with college admissions personnel and learned that colleges are putting more emphasis on higher math as an entrance requirement, depending on the student's major.
She said this is especially true with calculus. Many students, she said, are lacking on this requirement and are required to take a pre-calculus course in their first year in college.
William Gerrol, principal of Craig County High, said students at the high school can get calculus, among other subjects, through the electronic classroom.
In a matter related to study, board members were told that several students in the high school's home economics department had high scores in a food service competition held March 3 at William Byrd High School in Roanoke County.
Rebecca Overton won first place in the dessert cart category. She also was selected to represent the public schools' District 4 in a state leadership conference to be held in Williamsburg April 20-23. District 4 is made up of about 20 school divisions in Western Virginia.
Shannon Zimmerman won first place for artistic decoration of pastries. She also won the Judges' Award given for creativity.
The other winners were Amy Caldwell, first place for yeast breads; James Jackins, second place for pastries; and Crystal Greenway, third place for an exhibit of candies.
All of those students are members of the Hero chapter of the school's food service department.
On another matter, Helems told the board that the administration is moving ahead with getting its bus drivers qualified to meet new and tougher state requirements.
Drivers must obtain commercial licenses from the Department of Education to drive a school bus.
One of the steps toward getting that license, he said, is a pre-trip inspection test. This requires a driver to inspect many operations of a bus and determine if they are operating properly. Helems said some of the drivers are having trouble with this procedure so it is being given more attention in the training.
Board members learned that a kindergarten open house will be held at McCleary Elementary School on April 27. The purpose will be to register children who will enter kindergarten next fall. Dan Huffman, McCleary principal, said the open house will be for parents as well as the children.
by CNB