THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9412300245
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Special To The Clipper
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Oscar F. Smith High School and Norfolk State University recently entered into a partnership to enhance educational opportunities at both schools.
Harrison B. Wilson, president of Norfolk State University; C. Fred Bateman, superintendent of Chesapeake Public Schools; Glenn L. Koonce, principal of Oscar F. Smith High School; and Leesa Kemp, student representative of Oscar F. Smith, signed a partnership agreement Dec. 20 to promote interinstitutional work relationships, activities and programs for faculty, staff and students.
Partnerships with public schools and other Virginia colleges are not new to Norfolk State.
The university has such relationships with several other institutions, including junior high schools and middle schools throughout South Hampton Roads.
``I have always felt that in order to be successful in life you have to develop strategies to work with people,'' Koonce said. ``The future is going to demand the establishment of partnerships.
``In working together with Norfolk State, we'll be looking at the team process,'' he said.
``Teams outperform individuals who act alone, especially when performance requires multiple skills, judgments and experiences. Helping one another is the American way, and it's the community way also.
``While these institutions have their own visions and missions to meet their goals, before you know it, Oscar Smith High School and Norfolk State University will have shared visions and plans of how to reach those goals. That's what a partnership is all about.''
Bateman applauded the team concept, saying, ``partnerships such as this one have endless opportunities and possibilities for both schools and their students.''
Wilson referred to other successful partnerships between the university and Chesapeake Public Schools.
He credited Bateman with ``exceptional foresight as an administrator'' in initiating a program to hired NSU students for teaching jobs prior to graduation.
``This partnership, too, we see as a great relationship in the making with great potential for future teachers and other leaders in America,'' Wilson said.
Oscar Smith High, which has 1,558 students, moved into a new high-tech building in September. by CNB