THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9503310252
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SERIES: School Report Card
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 147 lines
AT LEAST TWICE a month, Lakeland High School teacher Nancy Johnson calls parents to discuss any concerns, praise their kids or invite the folks to observe her class in action.
Johnson teaches students in the district's Education for Success program, which targets potential dropouts. In many other small and big ways, she tries to keep them - and their parents - firmly connected to school.
``All students can achieve in the right environment,'' she said.
Her efforts are among those that helped push down the district's overall drop-out rate to 5 percent and its high school drop-out rate to 6 percent, according to the state's latest report card on city schools.
The good news didn't end there. More students are earning advanced diplomas and taking college-level courses. Last school year, 92 percent of graduates with no plans for further education had been steered toward vocational programs.
While college-prep is improving and vocational education remains strong, the state report card showed that much still plagues the district:
High school attendance is dismal.
The percentage of fourth-graders who have flunked at least one grade is still among the highest in the state.
Low standardized test scores barely budged.
The state report card highlights strengths in public schools as well as areas of performance that need more work. It covers 1990-91 through 1993-94. Educators and teachers - even parents and students - can use the information to improve schools.
Superintendent Beverly B. Cox III said the gains were heartening. ``Our district,'' he said, ``is the rising star in this region.''
Suffolk outdid neighboring school districts in two key areas. It posted the largest high school drop-out rate decrease in the region while Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake had increases from 1990-91 to 1993-94.
About one out of three city students earned advanced-studies diplomas last school year, placing the district beneath the state's 46 percent average. But compared with other local districts, Suffolk saw the biggest percentage increase in that category - to 37 percent from 29 percent in 1990-91.
``I think students are understanding that the reality is: There's no way out of hard work given today's job market,'' said Isaac Williams, senior-class guidance counselor at Nansemond River High. ``I guess you could say we've been pounding in that message.''
Said Nansemond River junior Kristi Mizelle, who takes college-level chemistry: ``The advanced courses give you a step up.''
Last school year, 11 percent of the city's high school juniors and seniors took at least one college-level course during their high school career. That's up from 4 percent in 1990-91.
Ultimately, those gains may reverse previous trends that showed Suffolk to be relatively weak when it came to college preparation.
But in two areas considered important to build critical-thinking skills and help prepare students for advanced material, Suffolk's achievement has been less stellar.
Last school year, 17 percent of eighth-graders took algebra before ninth grade - a decline to the same percentage recorded in 1990-91. In 1993-94, 29 percent of eighth-graders took a foreign language class before ninth grade - up from 20 percent in 1990-91, but well below the state's 37 percent average.
John Yeates Middle School has led the pack in luring more students into classes where they learn to roll their R's and make their lips form new sounds. In 1993-94, 42 percent of eighth-graders there had taken a foreign language.
Part of the attraction is the no-pressure teaching style, said Spanish teacher Linda Bouchard.
Instead of primarily emphasizing verb conjugation lists and mind-numbing grammatical rules, Bouchard relies on an approach she and French teacher Nancy Pyle are trying to spread throughout the district.
``The only way to learn a language is to live it and do it,'' Bouchard said. Students are urged to engage in hands-on, ``physical'' activities where lessons can sink in easier while students have fun, she said.
School officials said teachers are trying harder to make classes come to life for more students by incorporating hands-on activities in lessons and better explaining how classroom learning is connected to the real world, among other strategies.
The district's Tech Prep initiative also guides students from fulfilling minimal general-track requirements by urging them to take tougher academic courses or to seek a more-focused vocational diploma.
However, few academic goals can be reached if students infrequently show up for school. The districtwide attendance rate dipped 2 percentage points while the high school rate dipped 3 percentage points from 1990-91 to 1993-94.
Last school year, 53 percent of Suffolk's high school students were absent from school for more than two weeks.
The district has since implemented an incentive program that rewards high school students who earn good grades and miss few days by allowing them to opt out of taking certain exams.
Another nagging problem has eased since 1990-91, but it persists. The percentage of fourth-graders who have failed a grade at least once declined 5 percentage points from 1990-91 to 1993-94. Still, 10 percent of the district's fourth-graders were older than 11 last school year.
That's an early sign of academic trouble and one that's often connected to drop-out problems in later years.
With 18 percent of such students, Robertson Elementary ranked second-worst in the region. Thirty-eight percent of the school's minority fourth-graders were held back at least once.
Robertson Principal William Krupp said much of the problem appears to stem from students having trouble with reading. Teachers have been encouraged to use a wider range of techniques to help at-risk children better develop those skills, he said.
Superintendent Cox is hopeful that a new program for at-risk 4-year-olds - scheduled to start this fall - also will nurture more children before school failure is routine. The program will serve about 80 students.
At Southwestern Elementary, where 16 percent of fourth-graders have flunked at least once, teacher Paula Galloway oversees a pilot project that targets at-risk first-graders. Their progress will be monitored through third grade. Instruction is tailored to each student.
Such efforts are crucial and will require additional financial support, Cox said. ``Obviously, it makes more sense to put resources in place so failure can be prevented from ever occurring,'' he said. MEMO: School Report Card
Opportunities for Suffolk Schools
Threats for Suffolk Schools
For complete information see microfilm
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Spanish teacher Linda Bouchard works with students Brandon Willis,
front left, and Brittany Kanuck at John Yeates Middle School, which
leads in the number of eighth-graders taking a foreign language.
Bouchard attributes the success to a no-pressure, hands-on teaching
style.
Chart
Your School Snapshot
For complete information see microfilm
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK SCHOOLS COMPARISON by CNB