THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410060501
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
A decade ago, alarmed by a national report decrying the quality of America's education system, Norfolk Academy's lower school embarked on an ambitious effort to improve itself.
Led by Director Rachel C. Hopkins and Headmaster John H. Tucker Jr., the private academy invested heavily in technology, put a premium on professional development for teachers, encouraged risk-taking in the classroom, toughened academic standards and recruited parent volunteers.
It was an award-winning formula.
Today, Hopkins, Tucker and Vincent J. Mastracco Jr., president of the school's Board of Trustees, will travel to the nation's capital to accept the U.S. Department of Education's most prestigious honor for schools: the Blue Ribbon School award.
The lower school was one of only three private and public elementary schools in Virginia and 276 nationwide selected for the award during 1993-94. It also earned special recognition for excellence in science education.
For Hopkins, director of the lower school since 1977, the award is icing on a 28-year career at the academy.
``Everybody worked so hard, the teachers, the students and the parents,'' Hopkins said Wednesday.
The academy's upper school won the Blue Ribbon in 1984. Since the awards program began in 1982, only a few other schools in Hampton Roads have earned the honor, including private Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach and two Norfolk public schools, Norview High and Northside Middle.
At Norfolk Academy, founded in 1728 and the state's oldest independent school, tradition counts for a lot. Since 1950, every academy graduate has gone on to attend college, Tucker said.
Teachers acquire a sense of ``ownership,'' Hopkins said, because they make decisions on curriculum and instruction.
``Teachers are very fragile, and they need a lot of support,'' Hopkins said. ``I feel my job is to encourage and support - and push.''
Technology drives the curriculum. Beginning in first grade, children learn to use a computer mouse to find information with CD-ROM. By second grade, they're creating databases.
But academic excellence is not all that counts.
The academy, Mastracco said, ``constantly evaluates itself to make sure it is balancing the educational process with the building of good character and strong values,'' Mastracco said.
Even first-graders adhere to a strict code: ``I tell the truth, do my own work and don't take things that belong to others.''
The school has plenty of helping hands from parents, a key element in its success, officials said.
On Wednesday morning, Patt McKinnon, mother of a third-grader at the school, helped students write goals for the year on a computer stationed in the hallway.
``I think it's important for parents to get involved, to let the teachers and administrators know that you care and that it's important to you that your child get a good education,'' McKinnon said.
For his goals, third-grader Andrew Gibbs, 8, said he wants to play the violin better, get his classwork done on time and keep his desk cleaner. Gibbs said the school deserves the Blue Ribbon award.
``They have lots of fun activities,'' Gibbs said. Besides that, ``The food's good.''
At today's ceremony in Washington, U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley and Attorney General Janet Reno will speak at a luncheon honoring the recipients. The Norfolk Academy representatives are scheduled to visit the White House on Friday and may meet President Clinton.
To keep the kids from feeling left out, Hopkins said, school officials this morning will hand out gold seals and pencils imprinted with the school's name and the award.
``They can celebrate while we're celebrating,'' Hopkins said. by CNB