ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 14, 1996 TAG: 9611140046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
By early next century, students in Roanoke could go to high school at four or five sites where they would take specialized courses in the arts, business, science, technical and vocational education or other subjects.
Or they might go to different academic centers for 200 to 400 students within a single large high school.
The city could have one high school for freshmen and sophomores, and another for juniors and seniors.
Students could attend high school for part of their classes and take other courses at a proposed higher education center in the former Norfolk Southern Corp. office building near the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.
Or, they might still go to Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools, much as they do today.
School officials said Wednesday they will study a number of alternatives when they begin a planning process early next year for high school improvements.
"We're starting from scratch, and we're leaving it open-ended," said Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations. "It's too early to answer the questions. The curriculum will determine the facilities."
Kelley said it's possible that the decision on high school facilities could be affected by the proposed higher education center. There could be cooperation between the schools and the education center on academic and technical opportunities for high school students, he said.
Kelley said that a study of curriculum and innovative educational programs will dictate the size, shape and location of high school facilities.
The School Board and several Parent-Teacher Association leaders support this approach, but they know that there is strong emotional attachment to Patrick Henry and William Fleming.
"We should all remain open-minded to what we will be hearing," said Marsha Ellison, board chairwoman. "Let's see what the study says."
"It may say that we need one, two, or three new schools or none. It may say that what we have now is good," she said.
Ellison said the board and school officials will seek the views of city residents and parents in every phase of the four-year study.
"We will keep the whole community involved. We will have the time to do this."
Ruth Willson, president of the Central PTA Council, said she thinks school officials have an obligation to study all possibilities because of the large cost and long-range implications for the school system.
"Just because Roanoke has two high schools now doesn't mean that we need to continue that configuration," she said. "No one knows what is best at this point. We do not know where technology will take us."
William Lee, president of the William Fleming PTA, said the city needs high schools that will prepare students for the next century without being restricted by preconceptions on the number and location.
"Let everyone see what the possibilities are," he said. "This is the best way to start the study."
Some residents might want to keep Patrick Henry and William Fleming as they are and they should be heard, Lee said. "Both sides of town can give their views early on in the study."
Kelley said school officials have dealt with neighborhood attachment to schools in the renovation of Stonewall Jackson and other middle schools.
"It is something you have to work through if it comes up," he said.
June Tegenkamp, first vice president of the Patrick Henry PTA, said she would oppose one large high school because studies show students don't do as well when schools get too big.
Tegenkamp said she attended a large high school in Florida and wouldn't want to see a similar school in Roanoke. Smaller high schools might be better, she said, but she has no major complaints with the size of Roanoke's existing high schools.
Patrick Henry has 1,765 students, and William Fleming has 1,426. They are the largest high schools in the Roanoke Valley.
The upcoming study of Roanoke's high schools is expected to deal with the issue of the optimum size for a high school for academic achievement.
In a report released earlier this year, researchers at the University of Michigan said the ideal size for a high school is 600 to 900 students.
Students recorded the highest scores on reading and math achievement tests in schools with an enrollment of 600 to 900, the researchers said. Scores declined as schools became both smaller and larger than the ideal size.
Researchers said the greater decline occurred as the schools became larger. Students "learn considerably less" in schools with more than 2,100 students, they said.
School size was an issue in the debate earlier this year over the county school bond referendum for a new 1,900-student Cave Spring High.
Some parents preferred two smaller schools of about 1,000 students each because they said students would do better academically in smaller classes where they would receive more attention and get to know the teachers better.
They said two schools would also offer more opportunities in athletics and extracurricular activities for students.
But school officials, with the support of many parents, opted for one large school because they said it could offer more courses, save operating costs and retain the sense of community in Southwest County.
Several high schools In Tidewater and Northern Virginia have nearly 2,500 students, while some high schools in cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles have 4,000 or more students.
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