THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408030108
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
IN THE 1960s, idealistic youth in this country answered the call of a president and volunteered to aid needy people around the globe. A generation later, that spirit of community service remains intact - and very much closer to home.
This summer, high school and college students have offered helping hands to teach bright but academically ``at-risk'' middle schoolers in an unusual partnership between Norfolk Public Schools and private Norfolk Academy.
The young teaching staff taught the kids such core subjects as math and science, but also conducted music and cooking classes. Their approach could be summed up by a Chinese proverb: Give me a fish and I'll eat a meal; show me how to catch a fish and I'll never go hungry.
``It's sort of a Peace Corps of teachers,'' said Patti Wainger, local director of Norfolk Academy's Learning Bridge, part of the worldwide Summerbridge National program.
Nationwide, about 65 percent of the fledgling teachers who participate in Summerbridge eventually enter the teaching profession, Wainger said.
Many of the young recruits who taught in the six-week, tuition-free program at Norfolk Academy already plan careers in education.
``I would say the staff we have here is definitely one that wants to change the world, and this is a major way to do it,'' said Erica Smith-Llera, a Norfolk Academy grad from Virginia Beach who is majoring in English and elementary education at the College of William and Mary. ``We're testing ourselves more than anything else. The work and concentration required to teach are absolutely phenomenal.''
Smith-Llera is among a select few at Learning Bridge - 111 applied for the 18 teaching spots. The group hails from campuses as diverse as Yale and Norfolk State universities and Norview High School.
The pay is a pittance - $500 for high schoolers and $750 for college students. But they find far greater rewards.
``I realize the money isn't that big in teaching, but just helping people makes me feel better, and giving back,'' said Dante Payton, who graduated this year from Norview High and will study math and music at Virginia Commonwealth University.
``I want to show these kids that somebody cares for them, to make a difference in their lives,'' said Norfolk State math major Sean Carter, a Lake Taylor High School grad.
The partnership program, in its second year, enrolls mostly A and B students from Norfolk middle schools. Classes are held at Norfolk Academy. Norfolk Public Schools provides lunch and works with Learning Bridge officials to identify potential students.
While students selected for the college-prep program come from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, preference is given to students from low-income families.
Even though they all are bright and full of potential, many easily could become frustrated without the encouragement and academic stimulation offered through Learning Bridge, Wainger said.
``We look at the child who we feel really needs our support,'' Wainger said. ``We are their advocates. We are their friends. We are the support network for these kids.''
Some live in single-parent homes or in neighborhoods where their peers are more likely to lead them astray than promote learning. Research has shown that many bright kids get sidetracked during their middle-school years.
``Peer pressure is very strong in this age group, and I hope they get on the right track and keep their heads straight,'' said Felicia Pugh, a Norview High senior who taught math and biology at Learning Bridge.
Enrollment in the two-year program is limited to 46 kids to keep a ratio of three students to one teacher. During the school year, the students' performance is tracked closely and volunteer tutors work with them if needed.
``We have very high expectations,'' said Sean Wetmore, who just completed his first year of teaching at Norfolk Academy and is Learning Bridge's dean of faculty. ``We expect them to do homework and to act civilly toward each other and toward us.''
The students are on a first-name basis with their teachers.
``It's important for us that they consider us more than teachers, but as mentors and friends,'' Smith-Llera said. ``I think it's more important for students to feel relaxed around their teachers rather than keeping a respectful distance.''
The teachers have freedom to design courses after their own interests. Smith-Llera, for instance, developed a course about women in culture, in keeping with this year's theme of diversity. Other offerings included the ``power of myths,'' the Jewish Holocaust and the Civil War.
But every student also logs daily computer time, and takes math, writing, foreign language and science classes. Study skills are taught across the board. Electives include swimming, problem solving, cooking and music.
It's not for slouches. Students attend a full day of classes, from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., for six weeks. They're tested and evaluated weekly. They are required to complete two hours of homework every day. And it doesn't end with summer.
``We stay on top of them all winter,'' Wainger said. ``We want to see their grades, we talk to them weekly, we tutor them.''
The grades of a few of the kids in the program the first year nosedived during the school year. ``We read them the riot act,'' Wainger said, and they turned themselves around.
Students said they like the atmosphere - and the challenges. Some said they wish their public school offered as much.
``They don't press us to do our homework,'' said Donna King, a rising eighth-grader at Norview Middle. ``I think they can have harder classes and more homework.''
``I felt this program would help me to progress in subjects over the summer I might not have learned in school,'' said Brent Gardner, 11, a rising seventh-grader at Rosemont Middle. ``Basically, I think it's very fun and innovative. I think my experience here will stay with me for life.''
Norfolk schools officials say the program has been popular with students and has produced academic results.
``Our principals were pretty impressed,'' said J. Frank Sellew, deputy superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools.
``Our kids thoroughly enjoyed it and, I felt, came back to school with an excitement that might have been lacking in a previous time,'' said Frank L. Steadman, principal of Azalea Gardens Middle, where about 70 percent of students are from low-income families and receive free or reduced-price lunches.
Learning Bridge, with a budget of about $65,000, is the only program of its kind in Virginia, Wainger said. Funds have come from grants and foundations. She said she'd like to see the concept spread.
``My dream is that we have several of these programs in Norfolk, in Virginia Beach,'' Wainger said. ``The model is sound. There are other school systems and cities that need to know about this program. We're just waiting for others to take the bait.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by PAUL AIKEN
Sean Carter, second from left, works with middle school students
Sunny Tsang, Frank Papa and Ernesto Vera during a science class.
Carter, a Norfolk State student, is one of 18 Learning Bridge
instructors.
by CNB