Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990 TAG: 9005170418
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The proposal has been around since the 1981 General Assembly passed a resolution supporting a residential high school for the gifted. In late May, the state Board of Education will consider a resolution endorsing the idea.
Parents, students and some business leaders also have embraced the plan, but others wonder whether another program for the gifted should be a priority when state finances and corporate donations are squeezed.
"It's a delicate subject because I do believe that we must serve all the students in Virginia and we need to train the future leaders of Virginia as well as everybody else," said Frances Lewis, a Board of Education member from Richmond.
"Whether the most cost-effective way to do it is a residential school is a question. If it doesn't take away from other programs, it may be the right idea," she said.
Another board member, Sandra Adair Vaughan of Petersburg, said that putting art, music and physical education teachers in the elementary schools is more important.
"In a perfect world, it would be a good idea," she said of the boarding school. "The bottom line is we have so many other needs that are not being met that we know are necessary for children to succeed."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has offered land for the school at Montpelier, the 2,700-acre Orange County estate of President James Madison, said Pat LaLand, assistant director at the home.
The school would have about 900 students in grades 10 through 12. They would be selected from the 9 percent of Virginia students who are considered academically gifted. The school would serve other advanced students through television broadcasts and summer programs and would be a training center for teachers of the gifted.
"It's going to address a group of gifted students who are unique in that they are highly gifted," said Janie Craig, associate director of the state's programs for the gifted. "There aren't very many children like them in any one division in the state."
Regional schools for the gifted in Lynchburg, Fairfax, Roanoke and Hampton serve 24 of the state's 133 school divisions. The state also offers residential summer schools for the gifted.
Public boarding schools particularly help gifted children from rural and low-income areas, said Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, a College of William and Mary education professor.
"It provides them with the highest quality education that they could possibly have at no cost to themselves or to their parents," she said. "It also allows for students who have a great deal of common interests and ability to come together in a high-powered learning environment."
The residential school would cost as much as $28 million to build and $4.5 million a year to operate, the education department said. The Virginia school would be modeled after one in North Carolina, which was opened 10 years ago with state money and is run with state and private funds.
A consultant's survey of 65 Virginia business leaders brought mixed comments on whether they would support the school.
"If the school helps steer more youngsters toward careers in science and engineering, I'm all for it," said one respondent. "If it's going to create more lawyers, that's not going to help the economy."
"This project is like motherhood and apple pie. Nobody can be against the concept. But it has an awful big price tag," said another.
Some executives said the competition for corporate dollars is already fierce and more money needs to be spent on teaching basic skills rather than helping the gifted, who probably will seek careers out of state anyway.
North Carolina opened its school that concentrates on math and science in hopes of training more workers for its high-tech industries. A survey of its graduates shows that nearly half of those finished with schooling are employed in the state, said Paula Krist, a research associate for the Durham school.
Other public boarding schools are in South Carolina, Louisiana, Illinois, Mississippi and Texas. One will open in Indiana in the fall.
The North Carolina school got off the ground with the strong backing of former Gov. James Hunt, and one survey respondent said similar support would be needed to get a school started in Virginia.
Gov. Douglas Wilder has taken no stand on the residential school, said Laura Dillard, his press secretary. "The governor has other concerns in education," she said, such as helping at-risk students.
by CNB