THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160554
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Valentine's Day was celebrated in a new way at Northeastern High School this year.
It was virtually ignored.
Sure, heart-covered cards were traded and the occasional carnation passed from hand to hand. But the scene Wednesday was nothing like the circus atmosphere of recent years, when truckloads of flowers were delivered throughout the school day - overwhelming staff and inhibiting instruction.
``We had a normal school day, which was wonderful,'' Principal David Christenbury said after his first Valentine's Day at Northeastern. ``From what I had heard in the past, there were horror stories.''
The change in atmosphere was prompted by a School Board policy passed last fall that prohibited deliveries to students during the school day. Administrators pushed for the policy after officials reported nearly 1,100 deliveries to the high school last Feb. 14.
Burgeoning bouquets and buoyant balloons had grown in number over the past few years as students sought to outdo one another in expressions of adolescent love, school officials said. The trend had worked its way down to the Elizabeth City Middle School, whose staff also got relief from the new policy.
``I think it had gotten out of control over the years,'' said Fay Agar, assistant principal at the middle school. ``I think there was a lot of pressure on the students, and I think there was a lot of competition.''
The middle school received about 500 deliveries last year, Agar said.
But this year, ``There was such a big change,'' she said. ``Yesterday was just like any other normal day. Teachers taught and students learned. We were real pleased.''
Deliveries were made in several other Albemarle school districts Wednesday, bending but not breaking the instructional day, officials said.
Manteo High School received a little more than 100 deliveries, office receptionist Becky Bennett said. Rather than delivering the packages to rooms, Bennett kept a running list for students to check between classes.``We had a lot of different flowers and candies and balloons to come in for the students,'' Bennett said. ``I didn't see it as a problem. I don't know that I'd want to do it every day.''
The no-delivery policy in Pasquotank has annoyed some students and put off city florists, who lamented either a loss of business or poor communication with the school system. Administrators met with merchants before the policy passed last year, but some florists said they didn't know it had taken effect until they received a letter Friday.
``I was curious as to why they had waited so long to let us know,'' said Susan Cooper, owner of Mildred's Florist Shop, who added that her Valentine's business was ``great'' despite the new rule.
``We've had to stop taking orders every year, anyway,'' Cooper said. ``So we make it up somewhere in the process.''
And despite some ruffled petals among students and businesses, administrators believe the new policy has transformed the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank school system to a land of learning, rather than a land of love, on Valentine's Day.
``The idea of the policy was to help the students focus on learning,'' Agar said. by CNB