THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509260106
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jon Glass
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Granby junior Matthew Hartnett also is putting Norfolk schools on the map nationally. The School Board recognized Hartnett, the first Norfolk student to be selected to sit on The College Board Advisory Panel on Student Concerns, school officials said.
The College Board sponsors the annual Scholastic Assessment Test, or SAT.
Hartnett has traveled to College Board headquarters in New York and will attend a conference in San Diego.
The student advisory panel consists of 12 students from across the country. One discussion Hartnett said the panel recently had was whether the SAT should continue to be a timed test. School Board backs `bill of rights'
The School Board last week unanimously approved a resolution in support of a nationwide effort by the American Federation of Teachers to uphold high standards of academics and discipline in the classroom.
Marian Flickinger, president of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers, the local AFT affiliate, said the so-called bill of rights focuses on responsibility, respect and results.
``We think this is something we can embrace all together,'' Flickinger said.
It's time to stop placing blame for the problems facing public schools, Flickinger said in an interview. She said parents, teachers, school administrators and business and community groups must work together.
``If we keep pointing our fingers at each other, we're never going to solve the problem,'' Flickinger said.
Among other things, the bill of rights calls for:
Alternative settings for violent or chronically disruptive students.
Courtesy and respect among teachers and students.
Schools where high grades stand for high achievement.
Discipline policies that are fair and consistent.
A high school diploma that guarantees students have the knowledge and skills essential for college or a good job.
Schools where teachers know their subject matter and how to teach it. Maury students are making history
Two Maury High students have made a name for themselves as historical sleuths while making local history in the process.
For the fourth straight year, Jake Shaffer and Frank Scully, sophomores at Maury, have produced a research project that won on the national level in the 1994-95 National History Day competition. The contest is open to students from sixth- to 12th-grade.
They placed third in the senior group category for a project examining how African Americans broke the racial barrier in baseball. It was titled ``Conflict and Compromise: Breaking the Color Line in Baseball.''
As eighth-graders, they collaborated on a project about a Civil War mapmaker that took first place and a $1,000 prize in the junior group category.
The teens were the first from Norfolk to win top prize in the competition, and school officials said they set another record by advancing to the nationals four straight years. The School Board honored them last week.
Norfolk students in honors classes are required to do an independent research project. It's optional whether they enter National History Day.
In sixth grade, Jake and Frank teamed up to explore the vanishing culture of Eskimos. They won first in the state but didn't place after advancing to the nationals.
They did separate projects in seventh grade. Jake examined the significance of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Frank, a Civil War buff, focused on the work and impact of war correspondents.
Frank won first in the state and placed eighth nationally. Jake finished second in the state but didn't place in the nationals.
Gloria P. Hagens, senior coordinator of social studies for Norfolk public schools, said their work reflects what the school system is trying to do for all students: help them become masters of their own learning. by CNB