THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994             TAG: 9409230019
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J4   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   39 lines

TAKING CHEAP SHOTS AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Regarding ``Public-school lessons'' (editorial Sept. 14):

I am a parent of a Norfolk public-school elementary student. I have the means and opportunity to send my son to a private school. Let me be clear: I choose to send my son to the local elementary public school. It is from my direct experience with public education here in Norfolk that I feel qualified to rebut your editorial.

It's audacious for you to urge public-school educators to ``start looking at what private schools are doing right and public schools are doing wrong.'' It is easy to do things right when you have the financial resources and work only with students whose parents value education.

Give these same private-school administrators and teachers the limited resources and the diversity of students that the public schools get, and I'll bet you would not see any better results; they don't have the experience to deal creatively with lean budgets or to motivate difficult students that seasoned public-school officials have.

If anyone is failing to meet children's needs, it's not the schools; it's local governments refusing to properly fund and support public education, and ill-informed editorials, such as yours, which exacerbate misconceptions. Instead of supporting a public-education system that taught your customers to read (a direct requirement for the well-being of your business), you take cheap shots at a situation you don't fully understand.

Please rethink your editorial policy toward public education and choose to be a positive influence in the community instead of bashing a public scapegoat just to sell papers.

RODERICK V. FRANK

Norfolk, Sept. 19, 1994 by CNB