THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240036
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH
DATELINE: HATTERAS ISLAND LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
The American educational system, in many respects, is in trouble. Plagued by high dropout rates, violence and teen pregnancy, American schools that once were the envy of the Free World are falling behind our European and Japanese counterparts.
But to those who say there is no hope left for American education, let them come to Cape Hatteras School and listen to Joyce Bornfriend's story.
Joyce Bornfriend is the principal at Hatteras School. Eleven months ago her school year was supposed to begin with expectant smiles, freshly decorated and scrubbed classrooms, and young but reluctant feet carrying children to their first day of a new school term.
That was the way it was supposed to be.
Instead, Bornfriend, the teachers, students and the entire Hatteras community saw terror-filled faces and rooms filled with muck and floodwater. The feet that were supposed to rush to class had nowhere to go. Hurricane Emily grabbed education's welcoming open door and not only slammed it shut, she left it in splinters.
There was nothing left to do but go home. But for many, there was no home left. So the people of Hatteras Island went to work hoping to pull life out from under the rubble.
``All of you saw what it was like,'' Bornfriend told members of the Dare County Board of Education recently. ``Day in and day out you could see the community working together. They found things to do other than feel sorry for themselves.''
There was much to do in the storm's aftermath. Teachers had to piece together not only their personal lives, but their professional ones as well. In some cases, decades of teaching materials were wiped out in a day.
``There would be 18 to 20 years of teaching materials that were suddenly completely gone,'' Bornfriend said. ``Every time you reached for an air conditioner that wouldn't work, or encountered any of the other frustrations, we tried to focus on what we had to do to turn a difficulty into a positive.
``Every morning, many of our kids woke up from having slept in someone else's home. The kids and everyone else were exhausted during the first semester. We wore our emotions on our sleeves that first semester, but we made it through.''
The parents, staff and students suffered losses in very measurable material terms. One-third of the teaching staff lost their homes. Many of the students at Hatteras were still without homes at Christmas. For them, as for all the children on the island, school was more than a place to learn. It became a place as familiar as a favorite old pair of sneakers, or a cherished teddy bear.
``The kids were so happy to get back to school,'' she said. ``They were happy to get back to some place that gave a semblance of safety and community. We dealt with the emotional needs as best we could.''
Meanwhile, teachers and volunteers from all walks of life came to Hatteras to help bring a school and a community out from the debris. In the classic sense, neighbor helped neighbor. Donations of money, clothes and good-old-fashioned sweat came from virtually every quarter of the county.
Hatteras Island began to rebuild for the present. And, despite heavy hearts and worried minds, students and staff at Hatteras School began to prepare for the future.
Despite the storm, Hatteras students came very close to meeting the goals set before Emily tried to destroy their dream.
``We missed our attendance goal by two-tenths of a percent,'' Bornfriend said. ``No one had a car, but we got help from other teachers and they still made it to school.''
In academics, reading scores in grades three, four, five and seven were up. Mathematics scores in grades five, seven and eight also rose, as did scores in Algebra I. In science, grades three, six and eight saw scores increase. All 23 of Hatteras School's seniors graduated. Six of those were honored as North Carolina Scholars.
But the achievements of Cape Hatteras School and the surrounding communities cannot and should not be measured strictly in terms of test scores and awards. Hatteras Island learned a lesson not to be found in any textbook, but in the place where courage lives, the human heart.
``It would have been so easy to make excuses,'' Bornfriend said. ``We did more than survive a challenge. Our kids learned the valuable lesson that you can face a really tough time, overcome it and get on with life. This wasn't just a success for the year, but for the rest of their lives. It wasn't just our success. It was a success for the entire county.''
Today there are reasons so many question not only the ability and the resolve of our nation's schools to teach our children, but the desire of our children to be taught. To these skeptics, it is a hopeless situation.
Let them come to Hatteras. by CNB