THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 6, 1994 TAG: 9410050106
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Suffolk public schools are a lot like comedian Rodney Dangerfield. They get no respect.
But as a recent report by staffer Vanee Vines indicated, the way residents perceive the schools is changing. And, in what should be a surprise to no one, the positive vibes are from newcomers.
While longtime residents hold opinions shaped over the years, the newcomers are willing to base their views on experience, dismissing some of the things they've heard. Each of 12 newcomer families interviewed by Ms. Vines said it had found the schools neither as ``bad'' nor as ``backward'' as the grapevine depicted them.
While that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, it's far from a condemnation - particularly considering that some of the middle-class families had been advised to forget public schools and plan for their children to join the 1-in-11 other Suffolk children enrolled in private schools.
Credit them for realizing that reasons for private-school enrollment are as diverse as students and their parents and often have absolutely nothing to do with the ability of public schools to deliver a satisfactory education.
An infusion of middle-class interest is just what the schools need. As a rule, middle-class parents demand more but also are willing to do more to help meet the demands.
If you doubt the impact of parental involvement, consider what some private schools are able to achieve because of it. And while we're at it, consider what public schools could achieve if parental involvement were at the same level. Working with willing, abundant volunteers is a heck of a lot different than begging for help on everything from PTA fund-raisers to obtaining electric fans - yes, fans, not air conditioners - to cool overheated classrooms.
And, as the parent of a child in a public school, check attendance at the next parent/teacher conference day. In most cases, the people who come are the parents of achievers, not of students who need more parental involvement just to pass.
In many instances, the cream of the crop goes to private schools: students whose performance would elevate the school district's overall scores on standardized tests; whose parents can afford contributions toward up-to-date equipment and facilities; students selected on the basis of admissions testing rather than admitted as a right and grouped with students on the same achievement level.
Still, newcomers are verifying what some of us have believed all along: that Suffolk's public schools are not a ticket to Dumbville. More important, the system is addressing its weaknesses: lowering its teacher-pupil ratio; adding computer equipment; starting a special program next year for 4-year-olds, with the aim of heading off later academic trouble and dropouts; and planning buildings suitable for contemporary education.
All of these programs need parental support. The greater the infusion of middle-class children into public schools, the better to chip away at the Rodney Dangerfield simile. MEMO: What's your opinion of Suffolk public schools? Call Comment Line:
446-2494. by CNB