THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 12, 1994 TAG: 9408110153
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
He knows many of the area's residents because he lives among them. He's familiar with the nearby school - John Tyler Elementary - because he enrolled his 7-year-old daughter there last year.
And despite some flagging test scores and a neighborhood where numerous families abandoned Tyler for private academies, William J. Wiseman is confident that he can help turn things around, slowly.
Wiseman, 53, is Tyler's new principal. He succeeds William H. Slate, who moved to the personnel department as part of a district reorganization for the upcoming year.
``This school, at one time, was a flagship school. It was one of the schools where people wanted to work and where people wanted their children.
``I'd love to see what we could do to re-establish that kind of attitude again,'' he said, recalling past decades when Tyler primarily served white children from the upper-middle class area of Hartford Street in Waterview.
The school is now nearly 60 percent black, and 72 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
Wiseman said he would increase academic support for the school's disadvantaged students. But, at the same time, he wants to further challenge average and bright students by allowing them to progress at their own pace in ways that excite them.
``I think we're losing a lot of middle-class parents because they feel we only care about the kids who may be at the bottom,'' he said.
Wiseman isn't promising any overnight miracles.
But he and members of the school's PTA have a few ideas that could spark more community involvement and help lagging students make up ground in key academic areas, particularly reading.
``There's an African proverb that it takes an entire village to raise a child. Well, I think it takes a whole community of parents and everyone else to educate a child, too,'' said Wiseman, a former elementary school teacher and longtime principal of James Hurst Elementary.
To that end, he has secured volunteers from the city's Kiwanis Club, Green Acres Presbyterian Church and Waterview Civic League who will serve as reading tutors beginning this fall. Tyler students also will get a new reading program this school year.
The ``Accelerated Reader'' project is designed to push all students toward problem-solving and reasoning, not memorization. Wiseman says it also will boost their interest in reading because prizes are awarded to those who rake up points on computerized reading comprehension tests.
Wiseman, a Teddy bear of a man who sports a Mickey Mouse watch, described his approach to education as one in which the three Rs and a T (for thinking) are emphasized.
``You don't drop out of school today and do well,'' he said. ``All of our children need to be educated. We must have high expectations for all of them.''
He was quick to point out, however, that the school's staff might need its batteries recharged.
``I want to work on a strong, positive tone for the school next year,'' he said. ``I think maybe there is some loss of esteem in the school because of the perception that it's not a high-achieving school. I want to make the teachers feel more empowered.'' MEMO: RESUME
WILLIAM J. WISEMAN, principal of John Tyler Elementary School
Age: 53
Residence: Portsmouth
Family: Married; two daughters enrolled in Portsmouth public schools
Education: Bachelor's in English literature from Randolph-Macon
College; master's in education from the University of Virginia
Previous position: Hodges Manor Elementary principal
Years in district: Beginning 28th year this fall; about 24 years as a
principal
Salary: $56,284.80 ILLUSTRATION: Photo
William J. Wiseman
No miracles promised
by CNB