THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996 TAG: 9610170383
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 67 lines
With principals talking about working in a climate of ``fear and frustration,'' and the public and teachers decrying inadequate supplies and buildings, the School Board was treated Wednesday to a candid assessment of needs facing the city's schools.
Meeting with board members at Lake Taylor High School, principals said morale is at a low point as the administration and board push for changes to improve student achievement.
Principals said school employees feel unappreciated for successes that have occurred, and said they have had to rely on rumor and news accounts to find out details of a new plan being prepared to hold schools accountable for raising test scores.
While they said they welcomed accountability, the principals pleaded with the board to move more slowly, to communicate better and to give them a chance to help develop the plan.
``We feel like puppets on strings being pulled in all directions,'' said Camp Allen Elementary School Principal Carolyn Sands, president of the city's elementary school principals' association.
Under the plan, principals would have three years to improve test scores or potentially lose their jobs. As proposed, employees at schools that improved scores would be rewarded with bonuses. Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. estimates that $2 million would be needed for the bonuses, but acknowledges that such a large sum couldn't be provided without City Council approval.
One principal said the board would be ``misleading a lot of people'' if the extra money wasn't provided. Another principal said many teachers would rather get needed technology and classroom supplies than a bonus.
Board members said the get-tough measures reflected their frustration over persistently low test scores among many of the district's urban students. After quizzing one principal, board member Anita Poston asked if he was happy about the estimated 40 percent of students at the school reading below grade level. The principal said no.
``Neither are we, and that's where the frustration lies,'' Poston said. She called low achievement an ``urgent problem'' that the school system had to address to maintain public support.
Board Chairman Ulysses Turner called the two-hour discussion a ``constructive dialogue,'' and plans were made to set up additional meetings to address concerns.
Later in the evening, the board held its first hearing on the 1997-98 budget, an annual ritual in which the public presents the board with spending wish lists. Building maintenance needs, additional classroom space, technology and classroom supplies received priority.
Several citizens called on the public and the School Board to pressure City Council for more money, especially for capital needs in a city where the average age of schools is 40 years, and where 130 mobile classrooms - enough for about five schools - are used.
``Our students and staff members deserve better places to learn and teach,'' said parent Nell Armstrong. ``For too long we've been spoon-feeding City Council our needs for capital improvement. Let's gag them with the whole plate full of physical necessities.''
Norview High School teacher Carol Taylor pleaded for classroom supplies, saying that science students are using 40-year-old microscopes and scientific balances that ``cannot be repaired because parts are no longer made.''
Calls also were made for more alternative classrooms for disruptive students, better salaries and improvements to Norview Elementary School, including a larger parking lot and a ``gymnatorium.'' With enrollment growth at the 1952-era school, some students take physical education in the hallways on rainy days because there's no space in the room that doubles as a cafeteria and auditorium.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOLS by CNB