THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407170052
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTERAS ISLAND LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The Dare County School system will review its counseling program and its offerings for academically gifted students during the 1994-95 school year.
Areas for improvement and goals for the coming year were discussed during a three-day board of education retreat on Hatteras Island.
The board agreed to implement the reviews as part of a carry-over of its goals from 1993-94 to enhance and strengthen the curriculum, raise student and faculty expectations, begin a staff development program, expand communications and improve the general administration of the district.
The goals were not formally adopted at the retreat, but are expected to be approved at the board's August meeting.
The system will engage in a restructuring of the program for academically gifted students. It will also ask an outside consultant for advice on including more students in accelerated programs.
``We're trying to remove the stigma that's sometimes attached to being academically gifted,'' Dare County School Superintendent Leon Holleman said. ``We want to give more children more opportunities. We want to adopt a `challenge curriculum' to give children an opportunity to jump those (academic) hurdles if they have the desire and ability.''
In a Friday afternoon session, Holleman told the board he was ``not satisfied'' with the gifted program. He cited system SAT scores, which showed a number of secondary school students scored high in mathematics and low in verbal skills. There were no students, however, who scored well in the verbal area of the test and low in mathematics.
``We do a great job in mathematics,'' Holleman said. ``We need to do the same kind of job for students who are gifted in science, art or in verbal areas.''
Also as part of its curriculum changes, the board will monitor progress in a new curriculum plan at Manteo High School. In the past, students at Dare County high schools have attended six two-semester classes per year, with periods 55 minutes long. Under the new concentrated curriculum, students will attend four one-semester classes each semester, with 90-minute daily class sessions. At the end of four years, students will have completed 32 classes rather than 24 under the previous plan.
Holleman also called for a thorough examination of the guidance counseling program for all grades in the district.
He also discussed a concern voiced by board member Fletcher Wiley, who called for standards to be set as a ``measuring stick'' for progress.
``To say we're measuring is not enough,'' Holleman said. ``We have to let the students, parents, teachers and the community know how we're measuring.''
The board heard reports from each of the system's principals, who gave a review of 1993-94 and outlined their plans for the coming year.
The board also reviewed preliminary standardized test results. The final results are expected to be released by state officials next month. by CNB