Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990 TAG: 9003092295
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W1 EDITION: WEST
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Moore referred to a recent profile of Larry Wills, a former Salem High football player who said he was reading on a third-grade level when he graduated. The profile appeared in the Feb. 22 issue of the Salem Times-Register.
"Perhaps we're not providing the very best education we possibly can to every student," Moore said. "Perhaps we need to put in place safeguards, do everything we can to ensure that it does not happen again."
Moore said the young man had come into contact with at least 40 educators during his four years at Salem High. It is difficult to understand, Moore said, how the young man's deficiency was not detected.
"The School Board is not looking to criticize," he said. "But if it meets with the board's approval, I'd like to review the subject and determine what went wrong and why no intervention was attempted."
Board member Gerald Pace objected to putting safeguards in place, saying that school staff should be able to "automatically" identify students with reading deficiencies.
"There's something we're not doing as well as we can, and we ought to pinpoint it," Moore said in response to Pace's remarks.
In other business, the board authorized Superintendent Wayne Tripp to establish a task force to study the physical future of G.W. Carver Elementary School.
A tour of the 51-year-old building with architectural and engineering consultants revealed that it "does not come up to standards of our other three elementary schools," Michael Bryant, director of administrative services, told the board.
Improvements to G.W. Carver have been targeted in the school system's five-year capital program but that alone "might not be enough," Bryant said.
The school system, Bryant said, has three options: raze the building and start over; total renovation; or use the building for another purpose and build additional space at the other schools to handle the increase in pupil population.
"I cannot state enough, the importance of equity of opportunity for the people of Salem," Tripp said. "Carver has a quality staff and above-quality programming but the facility is not on par with the other three schools. Facilities do have an effect on youngsters' educational experience."
The task force, which will include members of the Carver community, school staff and city staff, will review the three options and report back to the board in June.
In another matter, the board tentatively approved a summer intervention program for at-risk primary-grade pupils. The program, developed by two West Salem Elementary School teachers, has been titled SEEK - Salem Educational Experience for Knowledge.
"Early intervention is vital to the success of at-risk students," teacher Kim Hagood said.
"We've designed the curriculum to encourage success in math, reading and writing," teacher Carroll Lipps said. "But we'd also like to focus on building confidence, self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning."
Provided that funds are available in the 1990-91 school budget, the program will begin this summer and accommodate 50 kindergarten through second-grade pupils for five weeks. The program is estimated to cost $11,000.
In other business, the board authorized the Salem High School staff to apply for affiliate status with the International Baccalaureate of North America, part of the process that will ultimately give Salem High students the opportunity to earn a prestigious international diploma.
The school system will be required to pay a $2,500 application fee and a $1,600 affiliate fee. The application fee will come out of the current school budget. The affiliate fee is a portion of the estimated $49,000 needed to fund the International Baccalaureate Program during the 1990-91 school year.
by CNB