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

DATE: Thursday, September 7, 1995            TAG: 9509070438
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   54 lines

TEACHERS HOPE 3 NEW R'S WILL GET SCHOOLS GOING

Worried about eroding support for public schools, a local teachers group on Wednesday joined a campaign that will focus on three R's of a different kind: responsibility, respect, results.

The goal of the national push is to improve school discipline and academic standards, said Marian Flickinger, president of the 1,400-member Norfolk Federation of Teachers. The group's parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, is leading the drive.

Disenchanted parents in Virginia and elsewhere are pulling their children out of public schools and calling for tuition tax credits and vouchers, which would drain scarce tax dollars, Flickinger said.

``The public is saying that if we don't do something we're going to lose public education,'' Flickinger said at a news conference Wednesday.

Flickinger called on the city School Board to adopt a ``Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Learning,'' a 10-point plan to achieve safe, orderly schools focused on high academic achievement.

Among other things, the document calls for:

Removing chronically disruptive students from regular classrooms and placing them in alternative settings.

Courtesy and respect among teachers and students.

Schools where high grades stand for high achievement.

Discipline policies that are fair and consistent.

A high school diploma that guarantees students have the knowledge and skills essential for college or a good job.

Dealing with disruptive students is one of the biggest challenges facing school systems, she said. Placing unruly kids in an alternative setting is expensive - on average $7,000 a child - but it's cheaper than the alternative: prison for $20,000 a person, she said.

Norfolk schools had space for about 300 of the approximately 900 children who were expelled or placed on long-term suspension last year.

Flickinger said schools should refocus on teaching children to treat themselves and other people with respect, one of the many common social values that seem to have been lost in the societal changes of the past three decades.

Norfolk School Board Chairman Ulysses Turner said that he supports the group's effort and that it dovetails with the board's three goals: academic excellence, safe schools and community involvement.

``The timing could not be better,'' Turner said. ``It creates a concerted effort. If we don't implement more challenging courses of study we're going to lose more students, because that is what parents are requesting. Hopefully, we will improve values, too - when you're talking respect, you're talking values.'' by CNB