ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608230022
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-6 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BACK TO SCHOOL
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
As Roanoke County students return from summer break, they will find two new principals, school renovations and a computer-oriented science curriculum.
Students attending the new Glenvar Middle School will notice a new face, that of Michael Crowder, the school's principal.
Crowder was introduced to Roanoke County schools as a student. He began teaching in 1970, and has been the assistant principal at William Byrd Middle School since 1988.
Everyday routines will change slightly with the new year. A team teaching concept will be employed where teachers have common planning times to work together on lesson plans. Another change will place the grade levels on different floors.
"It will be like a school within a school," Crowder said. The floors "operate like independent little schools."
Physical education classes and team sports will have new policies to de-emphasize competition. PE classes will be separated by grade levels so students participate with students of similar size.
Some team sports, such as soccer, will play for five quarters instead of four. At the end of regulation time, the score will be erased and teams will play for an extra quarter.
The new quarter system is designed to get more players involved in middle school sports, where teams typically have more players, Crowder said. "If a kid practices all week, he should get to play."
Track will also promote student participation. "In track, everyone gets to participate. If you come out, you get to run," Crowder said.
Crowder said he is glad to be the new school's principal. "The building is beautiful," he said. "I encourage people to come by and see their tax dollars at work."
Janet McLeod will be the principal at the county's career center. She has been in the Roanoke County school system since 1984 and has been assistant principal at the career center since 1989.
McLeod said she doesn't plan any major changes. "We'll continue the job we've been doing, encourage the kids to stay in school and get some skills under their belts, so they can return to their home schools to graduate.
"I'm excited and looking forward to a different year."
Many county schools have been undergoing face lifts in preparation for the coming school year. Among other things, older restrooms are being renovated and made accessible to the handicapped.
Hidden Valley Junior High will be implementing new door magnets for use with the fire alarm system. Fire doors in hallways that must be closed in the event of a fire, according to fire codes, will now be held open with electromagnets. The magnets will deactivate when the fire alarm sounds so the doors can be closed, said Homer Duff, director of facilities and operations.
The new system will serve as a model for other schools.
"This special feature enhances the movement of students through the doorways," Duff said. "It keeps students from having to open the doors all day. This is a good feature to look into for use in elementary schools, where students sometimes have trouble opening the doors."
American Electric Power is conducting an outdoor lighting survey of each school in the county. AEP has already performed a topographic study of Glenvar Elementary and has devised a plan for "dusk to dawn" lighting around the school.
The Glenvar plan will serve as a model to improve lighting at other schools. "Right now, we do not have good outdoor lighting at the schools," Duff said.
Parents of students at Green Valley Elementary may be relieved to know traffic pattern improvements are scheduled for the front entrance and parking lot connections.
"We will change the area where students will be dropped off, so there will be less traffic," Duff said. The improvements will likely include a driveway through both parking lots.
"Many times traffic is backed up so far, it's almost out to the street," said Cheryl Fischer, parent of first-and third-graders. "It's very tight, like a tunnel effect, trying to get through. ... When you are trying to pull around someone who's parked, you don't know if a child is going to come out.
"I'm definitely in favor of the changes. As an outsider coming from the city to the county, that is my one problem area."
The county has also adopted new science books for grades K-12. While most textbooks in K-12 have CD-ROM programs to complement lessons, grades K-5 will also use a new computer program called "Windows on Science." Kindergartners will use a similar program called "Kinderventures."
The program is designed in modules, like small textbooks, where students take virtual trips to study various science-related processes. Students can observe a tornado from a helicopter, chemical processes on limestone within a cave, or watch from a room in Japan as an earthquake takes place, said Billie Reid, supervisor of science for Roanoke County schools.
The modules "give elementary school teachers the ability to integrate science into everything they do," Reid said.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. Michael Crowder, former assistantby CNBprincipal at William Byrd Middle School, takes over as principal at
Glenvar Middle School, which is nearing completion.