THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060340
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 115 lines
They're hardly returning to the city's public elementary schools in droves.
But prodding from neighbors, tuition increases or the appeal of neighborhood elementary schools has convinced some parents to go public instead of returning their children to private schools such as Court Street Academy downtown or The Williams School in Norfolk.
While official, district-wide numbers of such parents aren't available, the shift has been especially apparent the past two years at two elementary schools: Olive Branch and John Tyler, both of which are located in middle-class neighborhoods and run by principals known for their leadership.
From last school year to the current year, Olive Branch has enrolled about 50 students who previously attended private schools; Tyler has enrolled nearly 40.
The 18,000-student district, cash-strapped with a dwindling overall student enrollment, typically welcomes any enrollment increases because they spell additional state aid. But the return of these parents in particular is seen as critical: They bring not only their kids, but also their clout.
School officials described most of the parents as educated, articulate and middle-class.
``One of the things that has hurt inner-city school districts and inner-city public schools all across the country is the flight of the middle class,'' said Tyler Principal William J. Wiseman, whose two daughters attend city schools.
``When you lose the middle class, you've lost the people who have the get-up-and-go to get things done, to support your PTA, your fund-raiser; (people) who will go to the School Board and the councilmen and say, `We need this for the school, this for the playground.' ''
Last school year, Allyson Jackson switched her 9-year-old son, Brennen, from a private school to Tyler. She said she once passed over the Glensheallah-area school because of safety concerns.
Crosstown busing itself also appeared to weaken the surrounding community's sense of ownership in Tyler, she said.
But Jackson began to reconsider when a network of neighbors told her about the move to neighborhood elementary schools, talking up changes that would take place at Tyler - like a smaller student enrollment, stemming from redrawn attendance boundaries and the razing of a low-income apartment complex near the school.
Invitations to the school's social gatherings, like its Open House Night, were left in her mailbox or inside her door. She attended several.
The more she heard about Tyler, the more at ease she felt. She decided to try it out for a year.
Brennen made the honor roll each period last year, she said. Now in the third grade, he's still enrolled at Tyler, which has just under 200 students.
This fall, Jackson plans to enroll her youngest son in first grade there. Brennen had ``a great year'' last year, she said. ``Who can argue with success?''
Maureen Shoemaker is equally satisfied with Olive Branch Elementary, her neighborhood school.
Her grandson, Kevin, previously attended Catholic school. But Shoemaker said a tuition increase led her family to enroll the fourth-grader at Olive Branch this year.
And so far, things have worked out well, she said.
``I'm thrilled,'' she said, describing the school's orderly environment and nurturing teachers.
What does Kevin think?
``It's a nice school,'' he said. ``You don't have to wear uniforms.''
Elementary busing for desegregation purposes ended last school year in Portsmouth.
A key reason for the change was to keep the youngest students closer to home, making it easier for parents to get involved early on.
Given the city's housing patterns, the move drastically changed the racial composition at several elementary schools.
The enrollment at Olive Branch, for example, had been 53 percent white before the change. Its enrollment is now 80 percent white.
Some critics of the move to community schools have privately speculated that parents who pulled their kids from private schools in favor of their neighborhood elementary schools really did so because new elementary attendance zones left particular schools with more white students, fewer poor students or fewer kids considered troublemakers.
Such issues may or may not have factored into the parents' decisions when sizing up public elementary schools.
But one thing seems certain: The district's hold on many of them is tenuous.
While those interviewed said they were so far satisfied with their neighborhood elementary schools, they also made it clear that what happens after fifth grade is another story - especially given the challenges of adolescence.
What's more, many of these parents have yet to encounter their first snag - an unpleasant brush with the central office, or a teacher who's unresponsive to their concerns, for instance.
Terri Joyner enrolled her son at Tyler last school year from a private school, in large part because of positive things she heard about Wiseman and the influence of neighborhood folks who had decided to give the school a try.
``It was definitely a sense of, `If we all jump off the bridge together, we can save each other' '' if things don't work out, she said, referring to some other parents whose children also had attended a private school.
Joyner was almost immediately struck by the talents of her son's second-grade teacher that year, Marilee Ward.
Still, she's taking it slowly. ``A year at a time.''
Olive Branch Principal Bonnie Teig remains optimistic about what could be an emerging trend.
``I certainly hope and think this is an indication that we're moving in the right direction as a district,'' she said, referring to the increased number of former private school students at her school.
A Portsmouth resident, Teig has a 15-year-old son in private school. The school was better for his specific needs once he finished elementary school in the district, she said.
This school year, Teig moved her 7-year-old son from the same private school to Olive Branch, in the Park Manor area. ILLUSTRATION: GARY C. KNAPP
Last school year, Allyson Jackson, left, switched her 9-year-old
son, Brennen, right, to John Tyler Elementary School from private
school. This fall, Jackson plans to enroll her youngest son,
Patrick, there.