
DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710050061

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ALETA PAYNE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   94 lines

HIGH STANDARDS MESH WITH FUN, COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT

The way Donovan Badjue figures it, his family found one of the best-kept secrets in Virginia Beach when they moved here from New York in 1989.

Four of Badjue's six children have gone through Thoroughgood Elementary School, two more are there now, and the African-American family is delighted with the results.

``(The children's) elementary education has been wonderful,'' said Badjue, a member of Thoroughgood's School Planning Council. ``We couldn't have asked for a better school.''

When the family first moved to the area, their oldest son had fallen behind grade level. Badjue said he and his wife, Allison, were impressed by how hard the Thoroughgood teachers worked with their child and with them to help the young man catch up.

Along with personal testaments, Thoroughgood has the numbers to prove its success. In a season of dismal standardized test scores for the region's African-American students, Thoroughgood's children broke from the pack. Black students at the school earned the highest scores for that racial group in the region. And while people who know the school say they are pleased, they aren't necessarily surprised.

``We have very high expectations for all of our children,'' said principal Rebecca Harvey. ``We don't look at race. We look at the child and the child's needs.''

During a visit to classrooms in Thoroughgood, certain things quickly become clear. Teachers connect individually with students. Teachers lead classes with an enthusiasm that holds the attention of even a fidgety 8-year-old. In hallways, parent volunteers are busy at work with smaller groups of children, drilling with flash cards and worksheets to give them an extra boost.

This is a place where learning is obvious, visual and active.

In Sheila Wynn's third-grade class, the teacher's explanations and instructions are punctuated with the names of her students, so minds stay focused. It's not just the students with their hands in the air who automatically are called on, but always there's an effort to make her charges feel good about what they're doing.

``Boy, I see some great, great paragraphs,'' Wynn said as she wandered the room during a writing exercise.

``I like the way Brittany was using her pre-writing strategies. I like the way she went back and checked it.''

``He's putting on his thinking cap,'' she says during another lesson, buying some time for a student who is struggling with his answer.

Wynn, who is African-American, left a 12-year career in banking to become a teacher six years ago. She initially wanted to work in a school with a high minority enrollment, but after interviewing at Thoroughgood realized ``all children need to be exposed to positive role models.''

She commutes 35 miles each way from her home in Chesapeake.

``It's a very positive environment, and the students feed off that,'' she said. ``I personally tell all of my students to give 110 percent of themselves.''

A couple of halls away, Maureen Early is wearing tennis shoes as she leads her class of first-graders, and it's probably for the best. The 23-year teaching veteran rarely stops moving, whether leading a lesson on maps or reviewing a list of vocabulary words. The students, although only 6 years old, don't just memorize. They analyze.

``Which word is a number between 2 and 4?''

``Which word is the opposite of stop?''

``Which word is an animal that barks?''

Given a few minutes for free reading so Early can work one-on-one with a child, the other students rush to the bookshelf, then sprawl with their feet up on their desks. Clearly, they've absorbed that reading is something you do for pleasure as well as work.

At first grade, teachers see a variety of reading skills, from barely knowing sounds to tackling books independently, Early said. Improving that ability is a key achievement, she said.

``Their faces light up,'' Early said. ``They run home with a book and read it over and over again.''

At Thoroughgood, Early said, there is an emphasis on different cultures, but all students are held to the same high expectations. And the staff works hard, she said, so ``that we don't leave any child to fall through the cracks.''

The students have heard the message of expectations, and they understand it.

Fifth-grader Sean Sheppard said teachers assign homework and expect it to be done.

``When you slack off your work, you get a bad grade,'' he explained. ``You always have to do your best.''

Does that mean the teachers are too hard? Nope, said Sean and other students.

``But, they don't let you slack,'' said 10-year-old Chris Gunter. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MOTOYA NAKAMURA/ The Virginian-Pilot

Sheila Wynn, a third-grade teacher, is 1997 Teacher of the Year at

the Beach's Thoroughgood Elementary. She tries to make her students

feel good about what they're doing - and she tells them to give

``110 percent.'' KEYWORDS: TEST SCORES STANDARDIZED TESTING

SCHOOLS HAMPTON ROADS VIRGINIA BEACH