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

DATE: THURSDAY, August 24, 1995                   TAG: 9508250119
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-15   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

KEEPING TRACK OF THE VALLEY'S SCHOOLS

Magnet schools. Primary schools. Intermediate schools. Junior High schools. Elementary schools. Middle schools. High schools.

You almost need a directory to keep track of the different kinds of schools you find in the Roanoke Valley.

Most are defined by the grades they house. Take elementary schools: most have kindergarten through the fifth grade. A few include the sixth grade.

Roanoke has 21 elementary schools; Roanoke County, 17; and Salem, four.

Generally, high schools house grades 9-12, but Cave Spring High in Roanoke County has only grades 10-12. Glenvar High in Roanoke County has included grades 7-12, but that will change next year when grades 7 and 8 will be shifted to a new middle school under construction.

Roanoke has two high schools; Roanoke County, four; and Salem, one.

Magnet schools are federally funded schools designed to promote voluntary desegregation in Roanoke through innovative programs. The schools are organized around a theme and have the latest in educational technology. They include elementary, middle and high schools.

The city has six elementary magnet schools: Fairview, Fishburn Park, Forest Park, Highland Park, Roanoke Academy and Westside. It will add one elementary magnet school this year, Lincoln Terrace, and one intermediate school, Huff Lane. The city has three magnet middle schools: Addison, Madison and Ruffner. And William Fleming High is also a magnet school.

Primary schools are elementary schools that contain grades K-2. There are two in Roanoke - Preston Park and Round Hill - but none in Salem or Roanoke County.

Intermediate schools house grades 3-5. Roanoke has the only two intermediate schools in the Roanoke Valley: Huff Lane and Oakland.

Middle schools contain grades 6-8. Roanoke has six middle schools; Roanoke County has two and a third under construction; and Salem has one.

Junior high schools house either grades 6-9 or 7-9. Roanoke County has the only two junior highs in the Roanoke Valley, Cave Spring and Hidden Valley. The county retains the junior highs because there is no space to put the ninth-graders in that area in Cave Spring High. The school system is considering the construction of a new high school in the southwest section of the county.

by CNB