DATE: Tuesday, October 28, 1997             TAG: 9710280005

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   51 lines

VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOLS COUNTING BY RACE RACIAL DISCREPANCIES IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE NEED TO BE ANALYZED AND ADDRESSED.

Virginia Beach, like the rest of America, has a race problem.

This was highlighted last week when Beach school administrators released the results of a year-long study showing that black students are disciplined more frequently than white students.

There is no surprise here. According to a report by Pilot staff writer Aleta Payne, discipline problems are highest in schools with large numbers of students in the free and reduced lunch program and those with the highest number of transient students. Sadly, African-American children tend to be over-represented in these categories.

If there was any good news in these dispiriting figures, it was that once they are in the disciplinary pipeline, black and white students in Virginia Beach appear to be treated equally. That speaks well of Beach vice principals who tend to be in charge of discipline in their schools.

What's next for Virginia Beach schools? Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney has said he wants more data and more analysis before deciding how to address this problem.

We believe the solution will ultimately be three-pronged: First, school administrators will need to continue to ensure that there is an even-handed approach to punishment. Second, teachers will have to redouble their efforts to be unrelentingly fair in their dealings with students. Third, and perhaps most important, children must be taught the basics of respect and good manners at home, by the best teachers of all - their parents.

Virginia Beach should be commended for completing a comprehensive study. Other Hampton Roads' schools systems should follow suit. When results are tabulated, a regional roundtable on discipline could take place, allowing administrators from diverse backgrounds to brainstorm the problems of fairly maintaining disciplined schools.

If there is a danger inherent in this Virginia Beach discipline study, it is that the figures could lead to a relaxation of standards if teachers become overly concerned about their ``numbers'' being high. That would be unfortunate. Educators should be reassured that their evaluations will be based on more than raw data. Teachers who take a strong, but color-blind, approach to discipline must be supported by administrators as they attempt to keep order in their classrooms.

Educators in Virginia Beach should stand fast and keep discipline standards high. Learning can't occur in nthe midst of chaos.

But parents remain the most important teachers their children will ever have. If families instill the fundamentals of respect in their children there will be less need for discipline in the schools.

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