THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 1, 1996 TAG: 9604010066
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
Currituck County students probably will move into their new schools midway into the next school year.
The announcement came during the 2nd Annual School Forum attended by 40 parents, teachers, community leaders and school administrators Saturday at J.P. Knapp Junior High School.
The 5 1/2-hour session provided a glimpse of what schools are doing to keep Currituck County students competitive.
Also released at the Forum were the new projected opening dates for those schools affected by the new Currituck County school that is now about 60 percent complete.
High schoolers should be moving into their new building after Thanksgiving break, said Skip Sanders, the director of facilities and planning.
The new high school is the key element in a reorganization plan that will create a new elementary school when junior high students move into the existinghigh school.
Sanders said it will take several more weeks to ready the Knapp School for use by elementary students, and the existing high school for the junior high students.
``When school begins again after Christmas, everyone should be in their new schools,'' he said.
Some parents, however, are concerned about moving elementary-aged children from Moyock, Central and Griggs schools during the school year.
Unlike the junior and senior high schools, which will move collectively into new schools, grade-school children will suddenly be separated from friends and, possibly, their teacher.
School board member Sam Walker asked if it might be possible to keep Knapp School vacant until the start of the 1997-98 school year to avoid disrupting young children and their parents.
``We'll look at every single option,'' said Mary Ellen Maxwell, the chairwoman of the Board of Education. ``We want the simplest move that we can have.''
Also discussed at the Saturday Forum was students' performances on state tests.
While Currituck County students did well in areas such as math and reading tests for grades three through eight, they did poorly in others, such as the eighth-grade writing test.
Out of 119 school districts, Currituck County ranked 104 or below last year in seven of 18 indicators used to measure school achievements.
Julie Douglass, the school system's director of curriculum and instruction, said Saturday that scores could be misleading and not paint an accurate picture of students' abilities.
``Remember this state testing is only one snapshot - at only one particular point in time - of student performance,'' she said. ``On any other day, on that very same test, that very same student could do better or worse.''
But schools officials admitted some areas needed a closer examination, in particular participation levels in advanced math and science courses - which are among the worst in the state.
While students who take the classes do extremely well - ranking among the state's best in proficiency - very few sign up for classes such as Algebra II, chemistry and physics.
``If our kids are phobic about one academic area, it's math,'' said Superintendent Ronnie Capps, who suggested that a way to improve both proficiency and participation might be optional separate-gender classes.
The concept of all-girl and all-boy math classes, to promote more participation among girls who are easily intimidated, has been gaining a lot of attention lately.
Studies have shown that in schools with segregated classes, girls' math scores have improved by as much as 56 points on annual assessment exams.
``I think it's worth looking into at the high school level,'' Capps said, adding that it would apply only to certain math classes. ILLUSTRATION: THIS YEAR'S SCHOOL GOALS
Most schools planned to work on improving staff, student computer
skills and specific test scores this year. Here are some other goals
planned for this year in specific schools.
KNOTTS ISLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Continue implementing ``Literacy Learning,'' a teaching approach.
Use Authentic Assessment techniques (new report card system).
Improve parent and teacher participation in PTA.
MOYOCK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Implement ``Literacy Learning'' school-wide.
Implement new science curriculum.
Implement Healthful Living Education, which stresses physical
education.
Continue with cooperative discipline.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Work toward 40.2 percent of students earning a minimum score of 2.5
or better on North Carolina Writing Test
Work toward a quarter of all students scoring at or above the 50th
percentile on the spring physical fitness test.
Work on improving other test scores.
CENTRAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Expand and refine use of portfolios, which hold student work.
Improve student achievement in reading and math.
CURRITUCK COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL
Prepare for new block scheduling next year.
Train department heads in site-based management.
Have teachers review grading criteria with all students.
Establish a cutoff score of 60 for first marking period.
Distribute low- and high-ability students to all teachers.
GRIGGS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Implement A+ program, which uses the arts in all subject areas.
Continue Literacy Learning model.
Increase Authentic Assessment and reporting.
Increase number of books read by students.
Have 24 to 26 teachers complete ``Using The Outdoors To Teach
Experiential Science.''
Continue ``Teachers are Readers'' Group.
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION by CNB