THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409020611
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
A group created to help find ways to improve Virginia's public schools has borrowed ingredients from some of the hottest reform recipes around.
Among them:
Longer school days and school years. Student uniforms. Tuition tax credits for those who send their children to private schools. Single-gender classes. And a few extra pinches of accountability: Make school districts provide ``competency guarantees'' for their graduates.
Whether the public will find the mix palatable remains to be seen.
Moreover, some say the group - Gov. George F. Allen's education reform ``strike force'' - still needs to place more emphasis on school funding disparities that compound problems or leave districts with little money for extras.
``In my own personal opinion, the funding disparity is very visible in the cold light of day,'' said Dolores Delaney, a Virginia Beach resident and education committee chairwoman for the state PTA's Tidewater District. ``That issue still hasn't been completely resolved yet.''
Several of the group's recommendations have sparked national debates in recent years, most notably the idea of tuition tax credits for the parents of private-school students.
Opponents say tax dollars should not be used to subsidize private school educations.
But some South Hampton Roads educators already have embraced many of the group's other recommendations or called for similar changes themselves.
Chesapeake and Virginia Beach are experimenting with ``block scheduling,'' a system used to extend high school class periods.
Portsmouth will begin a pilot project this year in which the school day will be increased by one hour, three days each week, for some disadvantaged students. The district also will give parents the freedom to choose their child's public elementary school beginning in 1995.
For the past four years, the Chesapeake school district has ``guaranteed'' the quality of its graduates. A company can send any employee found to be lacking in basic skills to adult education classes at the district's expense.
The state group goes a step further by calling for public schools to reimburse colleges for any remedial work their graduates may need. But Robert H. Pate, interim dean of the University of Virginia's School of Education, said solutions lie elsewhere.
Community colleges and existing adult-education programs can help bring underachievers up to par, he said, adding that larger institutions should limit the number of weak students accepted only to those they're willing to nurture.
Chesapeake Superintendent C. Fred Bateman said he didn't oppose the idea of extending the guarantee to colleges because districts should ``stand behind'' their products.
But he is cautious.
``What's required for a remedial course at Harvard might not be the same as what's required at a community college,'' he said. ``There's such a variety.''
At Norfolk's Bowling Park Elementary, students wear uniforms and are segregated by gender, although mixed-gender classes are available for parents who prefer them.
Thomas B. Lockamy Jr., an assistant superintendent in Norfolk, said student uniforms have played a crucial role in fostering a sense of family at the school and relieving peer pressure to wear the latest styles.
But experts are split on whether single-gender classes really benefit boys or girls. Legal challenges also have been raised in some districts that tried them.
The committee also urged slowing the pace at which public school teachers gain tenure by lengthening teachers' probationary period beyond the current three years. Tenure virtually guarantees them jobs.
James D. Caruth, executive director of the Chesapeake Education Association, which represents teachers on job issues, said three years is enough time for administrators to determine whether a teacher is performing in the classroom.
Said Pate of U.Va.: ``If the idea is to better develop teachers or say that they must achieve more standards before a contract is awarded, then the idea makes sense. But if you're simply adding years on, I'm not sure if it's going to improve anything.''
Other recommendations from the strike force included:
Increase the number of programs to help disadvantaged 4-year-olds and revise the state's school-funding formula to build in money to aid needy children.
Start programs to deal with disruptive students.
Stop the ``social promotion'' of students who flunk but are nonetheless passed to the next grade level because of their age. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE PROPOSALS
Gov. George F. Allen's strike force on education also issued
recommendations this week for higher education. The panel suggested
changes in political institutions as well as academic ones. The
proposals included:
Sharply curtailing the power of the State Council of Higher
Education, which oversees state colleges, and transforming it into a
``specialized advisory study group'' for the governor and
legislature.
Expanding the power of the secretary for education. For example,
the administration of about $75 million in financial aid grants
should be transferred from the state council to the secretary.
Giving the governor authority to appoint the director of the
state council and the chancellor of Virginia's community colleges,
now chosen by the groups' independent boards.
Continuing to cap tuition and student fees at the rate of
inflation.
Examining centers, institutes, bureaus and foundations created by
colleges for consolidation or elimination.
Barring college admission to students who need more than ``very
minimal'' remedial work.
Increasing the availability of three-year bachelor's degrees.
by CNB