THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996               TAG: 9606040093
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 13   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT 
                                            LENGTH:   52 lines

CONTRIBUTION OF SCHOOLS TO ECONOMY RECOGNIZED ADOPT-A-SCHOOL PARTNERS LAUDED FOR THEIR SUPPORT, TOLD OF PROGRAM'S SUCCESS.

Donald Maxwell knows that a well-educated workforce and economic growth go hand in hand.

``Businesses look toward schools as a barometer of municipal well-being,'' Maxwell, the city's director of economic development, told a crowd of Adopt-A-School partners at a recent reception honoring their contributions.

That measure would indicate that businesses like what they're finding in the city's schools.

Last year alone, the city attracted 14 new companies and witnessed the expansion of 22 other businesses. About 1.5 million square feet of new commercial and industrial office space was built and leased in 1995 in Virginia Beach. That represents an area larger than Lynnhaven Mall. About 2,500 new jobs were created, and along with that, came a manifold increase in income and the tax base.

``The 1995 growth was the equivalent of the last five years together,'' Maxwell said.

Maxwell's message delighted the audience of several hundred educators and school partners who attended the May 22 event at the Oceanfront Hilton. It was the school system's way of saying thanks to the 450 businesses and organizations that participate in the Adopt-A-School program. The attendees spent time socializing, enjoyed an Olde Virginia menu buffet, were lauded in speeches and recognized for their efforts.

The Adopt-A-School program began in the mid-1980s to forge a partnership between schools, businesses and the community. The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce played a major role in initiating the Adopt-A-School program in the city, said Anne Meek, former executive assistant to School Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney.

``The business community needed to know what the students were doing, what the students needed to know about business,'' Meek said. ``And the students needed to know what went on in the business world.''

This ``reciprocity'' was at the core of the Adopt-A-School concept, Meek added. ``There was a conscious desire to exchange perspectives.''

Jenney, who joined the school district three months ago, echoed the theme of community, citing the three C's: cooperation, collaboration and consensus.

These ``C's,'' Jenney said, form the ``civilities,'' or the glue that holds a community together.

Meek concluded the event by awarding angels to businesses and individuals who made contributions in kind - time, space, food, etc. - to the afternoon's activities. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

``The (city's) 1995 (business) growth was the equivalent of the last

five years together,'' said Don Maxwell, the city's director of

economic development. by CNB