Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220042
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And a community center for computer instruction, led by specially trained docents, who weave novices into the worldwide information web.
It adds up to an exemplary program that would make Montgomery County the 21st century model for any progressive American school system.
Far-fetched? Perhaps not.
The realization of this dream - like many things in life - depends on money, in this case $7 million from a competitive federal grant program.
Yet the visionaries proposing a technology-based middle school believe they have caught the kind of lightning that may spark the proposal into reality.
"Since no one else has done it yet, why shouldn't we?" said Melissa Matusevich, a Montgomery County schools' administrator.
County schools are asking the federal Department of Education to fund a "key" school for grades 6 through 8 that would offer computer-based instruction to students, teachers and the public.
The grant application was submitted several months ago and a decision on it may be announced as soon as next month. If funded, the school could be opened by September 1996.
Odds are long. Only a small fraction of the Challenge Grants for Technology in Education will be funded, and Congress recently cut back funding for the program.
Despite that, Linda Waggaman, county schools' supervisor for Gifted and Talented programs, says the unique resources of Virginia Tech and the Blacksburg Electronic Village should boost the proposal significantly. "It's a natural connection."
The precedent-setting idea is to establish a school in its own building and draw applicants equally from the county's four attendance zones. Waggaman said the program would be vigorous yet inclusive, seeking a mix of gifted students, students interested in technology that might not have superior grades and problem students who would benefit from participating.
Use of computers is the key. Students would be challenged to obtain and examine information on a variety of topics - comparing the American Civil War to the current conflict in the former Yugoslavia, or learning foreign languages by speaking directly with students in other nations, for example.
Plans are to have about 240 students and one modem-equipped computer and laptop for home use for every two of them.
After three years in the program, students and teachers would spread their knowledge by taking what they've learned and some of the equipment to other classrooms.
At night and during summer months, the school would open for public programs to enhance computer learning, some led by volunteers trained to be "computer masters." Tech graduate students in computer science and education also would be involved in instruction.
The committee that drew up the proposal, which includes Waggaman, Matusevich, county schools' administrator Heidi Bernard and Virginia Tech professor Roger Ehrich, believe the school can revitalize outmoded teaching methods by demonstrating computers as educational tools.
They say the idea's important enough to pursue via the Challenge Grant program or by other means if that method fails.
"It's a pretty hefty project. But we feel good about it," Waggaman said.
by CNB