Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 12, 1990 TAG: 9006140465
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Margaret Camlin
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The spread of hors d'oeuvres included some of the biggest, juiciest strawberries dipped in chocolate ever tasted by this reporter.
And watermelon halves filled with berries, melon and grapes. And finger sandwiches, pink and green mints. And much much more.
The snacks kept school employees and guests who stayed around through the School Board meeting happy till the wee hours. We thank you.
There was serious talk at the last board meeting about getting high school students involved with the School Board - on some level yet to be determined.
Superintendent Harold Dodge suggested the board have a "free and open interchange" with students several times a year.
Member Richard Zody recommended inviting a representative from each of four high schools, or an alternate, to board meetings at the beginning, middle and end of each school year.
Not surprisingly, student leaders applaud the idea.
"I think it's fantastic," said Heather Mullins, student council president-elect at Blacksburg High School.
"One of the biggest problems in the Montgomery County school system is [poor] communication between the administration and students," Mullins said.
Katie Tollison, Christiansburg High School's student council president-elect, said it would also be an excellent way to inform students about policy decisions affecting them. She said she would want to meet with the board more often than three times a year.
Last year's controversy over the 2.0 grade-point-average policy - adopted by the board and later dumped after steady and intense opposition - could have been averted if students had been involved in the decision, Mullins said.
The board had good intentions in passing the policy, but there was not enough research done, she said. Furthermore, the policy was misconstrued by the press, she said.
"If students had been more involved on the board it could have been evaluated more objectively," Mullins said.
Students also would have liked more of a say about the recently adopted attendance policy, she said.
The policy, which keeps students from getting credit if they miss more than 18 days or classes a year, is widely opposed at Blacksburg High, she said.
Mullins said she would have failed this year if the policy had been in effect without an appeals procedure.
Mullins, who has an A average, missed more than 20 days of school because of student council meetings, family trips and illnesses.
"The thought of not being able to graduate is ridiculous if students have been able to maintain their GPAs or have been able to pass classes even if missing that much school," she said.
"It's a thrown-together policy pushed through as a quick fix that's not going to fix anything," Mullins said.
by CNB