Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408240005
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Phase I (1-2 years):
Help the Roanoke Valley community become more aware of the economic impact of the problem of the school-readiness issue through translation of national data into local economic impact of children not prepared to enter school in the year 2000.
Secure more financial support for expansion of Comprehensive Health Investment Project services and Head Start in order to eliminate waiting lists.
Phase II (1-5 years):
Encourage all public-school systems to establish an optional preschool program in order to close the gap between the economically disadvantaged and the middle class, and to provide an alternative for the "working poor."
Phase III (1-10 years):
Hire adjunct staff who would identify and follow high-risk preschoolers throughout their school years. This will include school-based and home-based services.
Make better use of public-school buildings as centers for comprehensive services. This responsibility should be shared by all participating agencies.
GOAL NO. 2: The high-school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent.
The task force has recommended immediate efforts that should be undertaken and the complete report suggests additional longer term goals. The task force has suggested nine components for all programs that may be considered to achieve the goal:
1. Focus on individual students.
Perhaps the most important component of any program is one-on-one contact with students rather than simply large-group presentations. There is also a need for early intervention. At-risk students need to be identified early (at the elementary-school level) and monitored throughout their school careers. Students also need to be identified at any level when they start to become at risk. The program needs to provide direct contact between volunteers, teachers, peers, counselors, parents and mentors.
2. Parental involvement.
Parents need to be encouraged to become involved in the education of their children and they need to be kept informed. They also need to be reminded of their responsibility to their children. The program should make it easy for parents to participate and should include assistance to parents who feel uncomfortable or incapable of participating. A policy of active, two-way communication between schools and parents should be adopted by all Roanoke Valley school divisions. Parents should be provided with help in improving their life skills and should be shown the benefits of their participation. Both parents and students should be rewarded for their efforts.
3. Mentors/role models.
In circumstances where parents cannot or will not be involved, volunteers from the community need to be a part of the program to step in and provide support to the students in place of parental support. Mentors and role models need to work one-on-one or in small groups of students, rather than being placed before the class on a pedestal. Students need to interact with mentors so that they understand what is possible and what is expected in the real world.
4. Active teacher participation.
Good, dedicated teachers are the key to any educational system. If the teacher turns a pupil off to education, it is very difficult to get the student back. Teachers need to be encouraged to participate in the program. The program should be designed with the assistance of teachers and administrators, so that it is seen as a help to the process rather than an additional burden. Also, professional development and training for teachers to enable them to handle today's problems and to educate the teachers about new programs is critical. This education of teachers needs to begin in our education programs and be made available to our current teachers through in-service programs.
5. Site-based.
Because of the diversity of student populations among the schools within the Roanoke Valley, programs need to be tailored to the needs of the students within each school. No single program will meet those needs. Accordingly, a basic outline of the program should be provided to the schools, but each school should be allowed to tailor a specific program that meets its needs. Schools at all levels need to participate, with a special focus on grades five through eight. Early intervention will reduce the number of at-risk students that need help in the higher grades, when it is more difficult to intervene effectively.
6. Relevant.
The program needs to show students that education is relevant to their lives, both now and for the future. School-to-work programs have proven to be particularly effective for many, although not all, at-risk students. Students also have to be challenged at their skill level, whatever that may be. They need help and guidance, but they also need to be pushed to learn more. As part of relevancy, education also needs to be interesting. Enrichment, even for at-risk students, increases interest and improves opportunities for learning. Field trips and special programs are seen as rewards that encourage further progress. Nontraditional alternatives can play an important role in increasing interest in at-risk students.
7. Elements of success.
The program needs to allow students to succeed. On the other hand, the success has to be real and not just false praise. Success and encouragement help students stay interested in education and interested in the results of education.
8. Business participation.
Businesses need to participate both directly and indirectly in educational programs. First, they need to provide mentors who can come into the schools as volunteers to give one-on-one and small-group training. They also need to allow their facilities to be used for field trips and sites to show the relevancy of educational activities.
Indirectly, they need to participate by allowing and encouraging their employees to participate. The encouragement of employees by businesses can help increase parental involvement and expand educational support in our community. Encouragement should include providing time off for parents to visit in the schools or participate in other educational opportunities with their children. Employers can also assist in training employees at the job site about how to assist and encourage their students. Employers should make their facilities available for programs to teach their employees parenting skills and to assist them in being better parents for their children.
9. Use of total community resources.
Many of the problems and pressures facing students today are our problems, problems within our communities, not our schools. State and local-government agencies, public and private social-services agencies, and the community at large have services available for students, to assist them in facing these social and family problems. These services should be made more accessible to students through the schools, without requiring the schools to provide them directly. Many of the programs are in place, but the students are not able to access them when they are most needed.
GOAL NO. 5: Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
1. Initiate and coordinate a joint meeting or coalition on literacy composed of all agencies and programs mentioned in this report, along with Chamber [of Commerce] business representation to further assess needs and goals. (The current Regional Literacy Coordinating Committee would be a starting place.)
2. The Chamber should work more closely with businesses to encourage individual business approaches to improve literacy in the workplace. (Example: Some task-force members and Literacy Volunteers of America-Roanoke Valley staff visited Carilion Health System to ask it to sponsor a literacy program among its staff at Roanoke Memorial Hospitals. Carilion has been very receptive, and it looks promising that this might be done soon.) Using the workplace as a basis for programs taps a very new and exciting source of access to adults with literacy deficiencies.
3. Encourage, and participate in the establishment of, a Regional Adult Education Resource Center with Literacy Volunteers of America-Roanoke Valley as the lead organization. (It is the only group whose full-time mission is literacy). Efforts are under way in this regard, and support and encouragement by the Chamber would provide additional impetus for its establishment.
4. Make use of resources at local colleges (Roanoke, Hollins, Tech, Radford, etc.). During the committee's work, contact was made with Roanoke College, and it was very receptive to the idea of getting students involved in tutoring, etc., for a literacy program.
5. Provide a follow-up effort in five years to assess the success of any programs that are put in place as part of the Roanoke Valley 2000 project.
GOAL NO. 6: Every school in America will be free of drugs and violence by the year 2000, and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
Short-term goals [for the Roanoke Valley] are listed below in this summary. Longer-term goals are provided in the complete report.
1. Stakeholders' active involvement.
Involve students in all steps or phases of improving safety and reducing drug use in schools. Peer expectations as a motivating force should be better utilized.
2. Unambiguous, well-known school-behavior policies reflecting community standards.
a. Accurately and objectively assess the climate in each school division and each school in the Roanoke Valley.
(1) Develop a procedure to assess the problems; i.e., school-climate checklist of the National School Safety Center and National Association of Secondary School Principals Climate Survey.
(2) Conduct security assessments of schools. Resource: Virginia Crime Prevention Overview of Safe Schools Mechanics of Conducting Security Assessments of Schools.
b. Develop or update behavior and discipline policies for each school in a division, which leads to high expectations and strong discipline for every student. The sanctions for violations of the school-behavior policies should be acceptable to and supported by the community.
c. Develop or update rules and duties of school staff and police departments, and their relationship within each community and school.
d. Develop a well-designed school-behavioral standards or policies handbook to be used as a resource by students, teachers, parents, administrators and the general community. Reach out and educate using the handbook.
e. Provide extensive training and professional development for teachers and administrators in all aspect of classroom management and discipline of students. Evaluate their skills in classroom management and discipline of students as part of their regular performance evaluations.
f. Provide a consistent no-drug-use message to [grades] K through 12 by implementing the DARE and School Resource Officer programs in all valley schools.
3. Communication/facing and dealing with the issues.
4. Focused resources.
a. Roanoke Valley localities should commit funds and support to Student Assistant Programs in each school division. Existing programs (Roanoke city and Roanoke County schools) need higher visibility, sanctioning and promotion within the schools and throughout the community. Student Assistant Programs need to be viewed as assets to the school community.
b. The business community should provide more career-oriented, entrepreneurial-employment opportunities to young people as an alternative to selling drugs.
c. Roanoke Valley localities should commit funds to provide school-resource officers and DARE officers to elementary and secondary schools.
d. Establish a code of conduct based on the philosophy of choices and consequences. Provide consistent implicit and explicit messages about behavior expected from students and faculty.
e. Sponsor with the Chamber of Commerce a seminar for business leaders that solicits their expertise, resources and energy regarding the potential role(s) they could play in addressing the substance-abuse and violence problems of our community.
(1) Provide opportunities for the business community to take part in work groups such as Roanoke Valley 2000, Roanoke Valley Alliance for Children, etc., which focus on the future of our community's youth.
(2) Have the Regional Chamber of Commerce serve as a clearinghouse for available resources and serve as a liaison between schools and the human-services community and the business community.
by CNB