ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010091
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DONNA VITTUR
IN RESPONSE to Don Terp's Jan. 26 letter to the editor, ``A new high school isn't needed,'' the facts are:
Cave Spring High School is so overcrowded that 408 students (the entire ninth grade) must attend Cave Spring Junior High and Hidden Valley Junior High schools. It is one of 10 schools in Virginia with grades 10 through 12, and the only high school in Roanoke County with that grade configuration.
Southwest County ninth-grade students are missing the following high-school opportunities: access to high-school counselors and guidance experiences, broader academic choices and improved transition to higher grades. Other county students are receiving these benefits.
Changing the attendance lines between Cave Spring Junior High and Hidden Valley Junior High would relieve overcrowding at Cave Spring Junior High, but would do nothing to help ninth-grade students attend the high school. The only way ninth-graders in Southwest County can attend class in a high-school setting is to build a new school.
The study of Southwest Roanoke County schools prepared by the Moseley McClintock Group predicts a Cave Spring High School population (ninth through 12th grades) of 1,848 students by the year 2000, and 1,914 students by 2004. The current capacity of Cave Spring High is 1,300 students.
This same study observed that Cave Spring Junior High ``is not adequate for the academic programs being taught.'' The study found that the ``facility is not arranged for the middle-school concept, classrooms do not meet state minimum size, the main electrical service is old and switch gear should be replaced, and there is minimal heating and no positive ventilation or cooling.''
What does all this mean? It's hard to use new technology because there are only two outlets per room; therefore, computer time is limited. The main building isn't air-conditioned. The temperature usually runs 5 to 10 degrees higher than the outside temperature. On warm fall and spring days, the temperature inside easily passes 80 degrees, and has been documented at 100 degrees. This isn't exactly an atmosphere conducive to learning.
If a new high school is built, Cave Spring Junior can be moved to the current Cave Spring High School. By building one school building, we'll actually solve the problems of two schools - Cave Spring High and Cave Spring Junior High.
Moseley McClintock has assured the county School Board that the proposed site for Cave Spring High is on a buildable site.
As documented in a recent article in The Roanoke Times, there are problems with the infrastructure of schools throughout the United States. The April bond referendum in Roanoke County proposes to address some of those needs. It provides for improvements to schools throughout the county, solves some major problems, and will allow our School Board and school administrators to move on to other important issues in our educational system.
Secondary students in Southwest County are academically successful due to the hard work of teachers, staff and the students themselves, despite poor learning conditions. We've reached a time when inadequate facilities are encroaching upon successful learning. The time for action is now.
Donna Vittur of Roanoke is a member of the Southwest County Steering Committee for Cave Spring High School.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB