THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508250217
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
Here's a brief look at some of the changes for the upcoming school year:
New Directions Center returns
The New Directions alternative education center has been reopened at 5555 Portsmouth Blvd.
Last year, the School Board farmed out alternative education to the Richard M. Milburn High School company, which manages alternative education programs for public schools.
The board hired Milburn for about $400,000 after the administration closed New Directions, formerly housed at S.H. Clarke. Clarke has been under renovation for the past year. Principal Darnell Johnson, previously on special assignment, is back in his old job leading the center. Teachers were reassigned to New Directions, which serves students with serious academic or behavioral problems.
In April, the board unanimously voted to fire Milburn at the end of the 1994-95 year. City residents and central office staffers had complained about Milburn's failure to stay on top of record-keeping duties or to closely supervise students.
The center's new home has a three-year lease worth at least $64,896 annually. Renovation work at Clarke - officially S.H. Clarke Community Academy - is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 5.
Block scheduling
Churchland High will experiment with ``block scheduling'' to provide more time for creative projects and in-depth lessons that are hard to cram into the traditional class period of about 50 minutes.
Public schools increasingly have turned to block scheduling, which basically doubles the consecutive time spent in some classes, as a way to stretch the classes' potential.
Churchland students will have only four daily classes and a four-class load at any given time. The number of students teachers see daily will decrease from a maximum of 150 to 90. Teachers also will have 90-minute daily planning periods.
Helping needy 4-year-olds
The General Assembly offered all school districts money this year to help disadvantaged 4-year-olds. Portsmouth will give about 120 more needy 4-year-olds a preschool education in 1995-96. The state covered 75 percent of the $642,000 price tag. The district covered the rest.
The goal is to give more kids a leg up in school. Twenty-seven percent of city children under the age of 5 live in poverty, 1990 Census records show.
Clear oversight
Members of the School Board's oversight committee say they now have a better understanding of their purpose. Generally speaking, they will monitor the distribution of resources among elementary schools to make sure no school is shortchanged.
The board called for the committee's creation in March 1994, when it approved the ``community schools'' plan.
Earlier this year, the committee asked the board for authority to investigate beyond physical resources, such as textbooks. The board recently told the committee it could review all areas.
But board members said they would handle potentially problematic requests - such as those concerning personnel matters - on a case-by-case basis. Attorney Patricia M. Wright is committee chairwoman.
On the move
Portsmouth lost several veterans this year to neighboring school districts.
Former Business Affairs Director James T. Roberts went to Chesapeake; former Hunt-Mapp Principal Michael Spencer went to Norfolk; and former Churchland Elementary Principal Sheila Hill went to Newport News.
Thomas M. Cimino, former assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, resigned in June. He and Superintendent Richard D. Trumble disagreed on several key policies. Cimino said he didn't favor the community schools plan, for example.
In December, regional alternative school Principal Daun S. Hester left Portsmouth for a job in Norfolk. Stephanie Johnson then was tapped as principal of Emily Spong Elementary.
By the end of June, a total of 163 district employees had resigned during the 1994-95 year, compared with 127 employees at the same time in 1994. The flight isn't surprising, Trumble said. Few ambitious administrators, he said, will hang around a district that's down-sizing. Most vacant jobs will be filled internally. In some cases, others will take on additional responsibilities. Roberts, for example, won't be replaced - resulting in a $60,320 savings.
I.C. Norcom High
City Council approved Tuesday the final funding for construction of a new I.C. Norcom High.
On Wednesday, the School Board approved the construction contract. Work will begin this fall. The new Norcom is scheduled to open by the fall of 1997.
The council's 4-3 vote authorized borrowing $23.7 million, which will complete the funding for the $38 million project.
In an interview Tuesday, City Engineer Richard Hartman said construction of the school would comply with 1993 building codes. Compared with previous codes, the 1993 regulations call for a considerably larger volume of indoor air. Too little fresh air in a building raises carbon dioxide levels and can cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness or nausea.
The illnesses are associated with what's called ``sick building syndrome.'' Teachers and students at Churchland High have complained about poor indoor air quality at that school, which opened three years ago.
In May, the council hired a Virginia Beach architectural engineering company to study the Churchland situation. The company - Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern Inc. - will release its report this fall.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOLS by CNB