Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 12, 1990 TAG: 9004120827
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mr. Davis is frustrated because he knows that Amy has the capability to score A's on reading comprehension tests, if only she were interested. But with 20 other pupils, Mr. Davis cannot give the personal attention she needs.
Enter Chapter 1, a federal program that gives money to local school systems so they can provide supplemental teaching in reading and math for educationally disadvantaged children. Amy is a hypothetical example, but her reading problem is not. Many children fall through the cracks for years until they get far enough behind to qualify for extra help.
Chapter 1 teachers use alternative teaching methods where regular methods have failed, including high-interest reading materials and games. Roanoke has also started a number of innovative programs such as phone-in story time, in which children can call in and read along with a recorded story, and the take-home computer pilot program, in which parents are trained to use a computer and allowed to take it home for a child's use, to extend learning time beyond the school day.
This week marks the 25th anniversary of Chapter 1, originally started in President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" program.
Chapter 1 is often confused with special education programs that help children with learning disabilities. Sometimes it is misunderstood to be a place where kids with behavioral problems are sent for baby-sitting so they do not disrupt other children.
Contrary to both of these misconceptions, said Dolores Johns, administrator of Chapter 1 for Roanoke City Schools, Chapter 1 is a tightly controlled program that helps pupils performing below average catch up to their peers. Participants are not stupid, just behind for a variety of reasons that include poverty, hyperactivity, lack of concentration and family problems.
"Just because you are poor does not mean you are dumb," Johns said. But, she added, family income is a leading indicator for school success. Low-income pupils face disadvantages in the early grades because their parents often are too busy or simply not interested enough to encourage reading and studying.
The number of low-income families in the city school system has been rising even as overall attendance is dropping. The poverty rate among children in city schools has risen from 33 percent in 1984-85 to 39 percent in 1989-90.
Federal money is allocated to the school system, which in turn includes in the program those schools with the highest number of low-income families. Income is not a factor in deciding which pupils in the participating schools actually participate, however.
According to Johns, schools use a formula based mostly on test scores and classroom performance to decide which pupils to include.
After pupils are tested, they are ranked by need. Roanoke does not have the money to help every child who needs Chapter 1 in preschool through eighth grade, but it reaches about 60 percent, Johns said. The city's annual budget for Chapter 1 is $2.1 million.
Johns is proud of Roanoke's program, which has twice been cited by state and national offices of education as "unusual and successful" in its preschool and reading programs.
The program has some of the most experienced teachers in the city and a higher percentage of teachers with masters' degrees than the school system as a whole. "Consequently, our program has shown constant improvement compared to other pupils on a national level," Johns said. In 1987-88, average gains by Roanoke pupils were almost double Virginia's statewide Chapter 1 averages.
According to Johns, 25 percent to 40 percent of participants test and perform at the grade level they should during the year.
Sixteen elementary and middle schools and seven preschools in Roanoke are involved with the program, up from 10 elementary and middle and three preschools five years ago.
by CNB