THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, January 17, 1995              TAG: 9501140080
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 
SERIES: LIFE IN THE PASSING LANE 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   30 lines

FAMILY VALUES BEHIND SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS ARE THE PARENTS WHO CREATE A LOVING HOME AND ENCOURAGE THEIR CHILDREN TO FULFILL THEIR POTENTIAL. HERA ARE THE STORIES OF FOUR SUCH FAMILIES.

Americans seem to spend a lot of time these days trying to figure out why kids turn out bad. With youth crime and violence becoming daily staples of the news, everyone's ready to point fingers - and most often those fingers are pointed directly at parents.

Yet when youngsters grow up to be solid, successful women and men - as most still do - families rarely get more than a perfunctory nod for their role in making that so. Let's face it: Happy homes are considered dull. Providing three meals a day and big helpings of love won't make headlines on Hard Copy.

But it's a script that still plays out every day in America's homes. We need look no further than four outstanding local teenagers, whose progress is being followed throughout the year, for examples of what families - traditional and nontraditional - are doing right.

KEYWORDS: FAMILY VALUES by CNB