THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410140257
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
LENGTH: Long : 153 lines
The inaugural term of the School Board's first elected members - six of the 11 now seated on the board - has been anything but smooth so far.
In the four months since taking office, they have faced an uproar among school custodians over an unpopular contract with a private cleaning company.
No sooner had the board smoothed the waves of that controversy, than one newly elected member was indicted on charges of violating state ethics laws.
Many have looked to James R. Darden, who rose to chairman just seven months after first being appointed to the board, to keep the board on track.
Darden, a 59-year-old retired Beach schools administrator, seems to be making progress. The board has agreed on a set of priorities for the school system, including school safety, teacher performance, work training and ``at-risk'' student achievement.
We asked Darden to highlight what he sees as the challenges and opportunities facing the school system now.
Following are his comments.
As our community continues to grow and to change, our school system encounters several challenges. When we board members think of these challenges, we need to put them in the perspective of our mission - educating the children for the future.
Our major challenges deal with the following areas:
Maintaining a safe school environment for learning and improving the consistency of discipline management;
Supporting schools as they implement shared decision-making;
Making certain that our school system maintains and increases its academic rigor;
Developing successful instructional programs for our at-risk students;
Focusing vocational education on the technological skills workers will need in the future;
Training teachers and other employees to be the best they can be as they work with our students.
The first priority for the School Board is to maintain a safe school environment. Students and teachers can learn and work only if our schools are free of weapons, drugs, violence and disruption. This School Board is directly involved with discipline and is committed to making sure that our classrooms and schools are places where learning is the priority.
Basic skills must be at the heart of all that we do in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools. All of our students, regardless of their educational or career plans, will need to read and to write and to compute. On the one hand, we need to make certain that our elementary teachers are giving students these foundational skills, while on the other hand, we must also see that instruction in reading and writing continues beyond the elementary school years.
If teachers are to be effective in teaching these basic skills, we will need to constantly evaluate our progress. The information we will eventually have through the Gateway Assessment Program will help us track students' progress in the fundamental skills. We will also need to look at teacher training in strategies to help them reach at-risk students, while we also look at class size and at our use of technology in the classroom.
Academic rigor is equally important in setting a pace for our school system. By academic rigor, we must mean that all students are challenged, that all students are enrolled in challenging courses which require them to use and to apply fundamental skills that they have learned. By academic rigor, we must mean that all students use their minds and the latest technology; we are establishing habits we want these students to take into the work place.
During the past two years, our schools have moved toward shared decision making. We have adopted the philosophy that those closest to the action - teachers and parents - are frequently able to make more effective decisions. We must make certain that principals, teachers, and parents have the training and the support to make decisions. We must make certain that the board encourages local schools to be creative, but that the board also holds all schools to a high standard of accountability. We need to remember that the purpose of shared decision making is to improve student learning.
Another challenge for our system is our at-risk population. The School Board is committed to the belief that all children in school will learn, regardless of factors in their lives, and that teachers and schools can make a difference. I believe that we need to define what we mean by ``at risk'' and make sure our efforts are matched to the needs of the students. Through these efforts, we can empower our teachers and schools with access to the information and resources they need to make sure that all children gain success in high levels of academic achievement.
A major challenge for our school system will be the redirection of our vocational education program. Our students will continue to need the three Rs, but they will also need to apply these skills through the effective use of technology. If we successfully redirect our career preparation programs, we must work closely with our business community to identify trends in the work force and to identify training needs.
For all of these initiatives, our school system needs effective training for employees. We need to offer training in that content which will help our teachers maintain academic rigor. We need to update our staff on instructional techniques which work with special needs students. We need to train our staff so that they work more effectively with students from different cultural backgrounds.
It is easier to describe the challenges facing our schools and our School Board than it is to describe how we will deal with the challenges. I feel, however, that our primary responsibility is to make the Virginia Beach schools a better place four our students to learn. If we are going to improve the schools, the first responsibility for board members is to communicate.
We need to communicate openly and frequently. It is critical for us to agree on our priorities and to focus our time and our resources on those priorities. Focusing on those few areas will be difficult because of competing interests and because of pressures to do other things or to pursue other goals.
A part of our communication has to be with the staffs in the different schools and offices. The board must set the direction, but the staff must help us get there. The staff needs to know the direction as they develop their strategies and plans for improvements.
A critical part of our communication has to be from staff. We must expect the staff to keep us informed and updated on our priorities. They can not only tell us the successes, but also describe the problems; together, we can work to overcome setbacks.
One of the most important jobs in communication is to work closely with city and legislative officials. The City Council and the legislators need to know our priorities, and they need to be assured that we are working for the continued improvement of the schools in the city. This communication is critical if we are to receive support as we request resources to help us reach our goals.
Another key role for board members is communicating our goals and priorities to the community. We need the help of parents and community members if we are to stay on track. We need the volunteer services from the community if we are to improve programs to help us deal with the challenges I described earlier. We need the community's support and help to keep all of us focused on these critical areas for the schools.
In addition to communication, another key role for the Board is planning. We need to expect planning from the staff, and we need to see that plans developed by the staff address the priorities we identify for the school division and are revised as needs arise. All of this planning is for one sole purpose: to see that the resources of the school system are focused on the challenges we have identified.
Our last major responsibility as board members is in evaluation. We must be willing to evaluate our efforts as we try to meet these challenges. Although it will be difficult, we must be willing to discontinue what is not working and to expand what is successful.
Our central purpose is to make the schools better for students so that student achievement increases. To accomplish this, the School Board needs to lead by strong example. We must state and share our priorities with every audience. We must see that our resources and our energies are focused on those priorities. We must expect results and plan to get them. We must check to see what the results are and reward our successes and correct our shortcomings.
I believe we can be successful if we can work together and if we can focus the attention of the school system and the community on those priorities we have identified. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
James R. Darden
School board chairman
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH SCHOOL BOARD
by CNB