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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 31, 1994                   TAG: 9408310048
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BLACKS PLAN TO RALLY FOR FIRED TEACHERS

Even if it doesn't want to, the Roanoke School Board may have to deal with the controversy over the replacement of more than half the staff of the city's alternative-education program.

Roanoke's black community has started a campaign to get a large turnout at the board's next meeting, Sept.13.

Perneller Wilson, who heads an ad hoc group, Concerned Citizens for Justice, said Tuesday she expects supporters of ousted director George Franklin and others who lost their jobs will attend the meeting.

Wilson, host of a weekly radio talk show on WTOY, said many listeners have called and complained about the replacement of about 15 staff members.

School Board Chairman Nelson Harris has defended the way school administrators handled the issue.

Harris said the board has no plans to schedule a special meeting sought by the Roanoke County Education Association.

But Wilson said that doesn't mean the REA and others will drop the issue. The replacement of Franklin and other staffers has racial overtones because several are black, she said.

While race is not the only issue in the controversy, Wilson said, the city needs more black teachers, not fewer.

"We don't have enough black teachers," she said, ``and we need to keep the ones we have.''

In Roanoke, 24 percent of the population is black, 39 percent of school children are black, but only 19 percent of school administrators and teachers are black.

"We need more teachers who can be role models, someone who can communicate with" students, Wilson said.

Michael McIntosh, who has been hired to oversee the alternative-education program, is black.

Ann Harman, executive for student services and alternative programs for city schools, said some staffers were not rehired for another year because they either do not have teaching certificates or could not obtain them within two or three years.

The alternative-education program is being revamped with a goal of using only certified teachers.

"We are redesigning the program, not house cleaning," Harman said.

But REA leaders have charged that the school system reneged on a promise to hire the staffers for another year and give them two years to get new teaching certificates.

The state has certification standards to ensure that teachers have the background and expertise to teach a particular subject.

Twelve of last year's staff of 29 have been rehired. Many jobs have been filled by other teachers and aides.

As a first step in revamping the alternative education program, McIntosh has been hired as administrator. He came from Danville, where he helped run a similar program.

Consultants recommended the restructuring of the alternative-education program, saying it needed to be upgraded to provide a better educational environment.

Memo: ***CORRECTION***

by CNB