Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990                   TAG: 9007270394
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Medium

'ATMOSPHERE' MAY BE AWHILE IN COMING AT GOVERNOR'S SCHOOL

And chances are that some of equipment won't be in by the time school starts in late August. But school officials say that doesn't matter.

"All we need, when it comes down to it, is students and teachers," Michael Bentley, director of the school, said at a board meeting this week.

Orders eventually will come in. Computers will fill some of classrooms, murals will cover walls and fossils will be placed in showcases.

"We want to make this school look really good - inside and out," Bentley said. "We want to establish an atmosphere."

The school will eventually have a lot of extras, what some would call icing on the cake, Bentley said. "But this school is an icing school."

To help fund some of the extras, the staff is developing a "wish list" of special equipment for people who ask how they can help, said Bentley.

Bentley has been using a card table as a desk since he came on board earlier this month. But the school will be able to provide the basics for supporting a high-quality science curriculum.

More texts also will have to be ordered for the school, though Bentley said they will be used as resources instead of as the sole reading material for classes.

Board members said Wednesday they are excited about the two-year curriculum, which will emphasize group and individual interests and in-depth inquiry. And work will go beyond the classroom.

The students should be able present findings to elementary school classes from the eight participating school systems, Bentley said. They also will study various aspects of Southwest Virginia, particularly the New River Valley, and make recomemendations to area policy makers.

"It sounds great," said Wayne Wherry, Grayson County's board member. "I wish I could go." Grayson was the most recent school system to join the project.

Bentley said the Governor's School will be relying on volunteers to lead reading groups or to share knowledge. He urged board members to get involved with the students and the curriculum.

The grading system that will be used for the school also is new - at least to the participating counties, Bentley said.

Students will build portfolios of their work over the year, and the evaluation of the portfolios may be a committee effort.

"It will help them build a sense of quality," he said.