THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509280144
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
SUFFOLK HAS lured thousands of newcomers interested in finding a bargain on a starter home, or trying life in the slow lane.
The problem: There isn't much room for their kids in city schools.
The district is in the midst of one of its biggest enrollment increases. In previous years, annual increases ranged from 1 percent to 2 percent. But at just over 10,100 students, enrollment by the eighth day of school this year was 5 percent higher than at the same time in 1994. And there are no signs that growth will ease up.
In its latest 10-year capital-improvements plan, the School Board addressed the situation head-on, calling for six new schools and renovation work. City schoolchildren need up-to-date learning environments that foster high achievement, the board said.
``What we're doing is playing catch-up for years of neglect,'' board member William L. Whitley said. ``We fall behind year after year.''
Excluding two 5-year-old high schools, city schools have an average age of 33 years. Oakland Elementary, the oldest, opened in 1924.
Final approval of the district's $105.7 million CIP rests with the City Council, which will review the plan in early October.
Meanwhile, schools are finding ways to cope. In most cases, rooms previously reserved for art or music have been converted into regular classrooms to keep class sizes down, especially in kindergarten through third grade. When that happens, art and music teachers typically teach from a cart, traveling from class to class.
The district has a two-prong approach to crowding: additional teachers and mobile classrooms. Over the past couple of years, mobile classroom ``villages'' have sprung up outside schools. Elephant's Fork Elementary has the most mobile units - 10. Three of those were purchased this year.
But while schools can add more mobile units for instruction, they cannot magically increase the size of the cafeteria, library or gymnasium, or increase the number of student restrooms. Scheduling lunch shifts and classes also becomes a bigger administrative headache.
``It's definitely an adjustment,'' said Elephant's Fork Principal Janice Holland, a 24-year district veteran. ``But it's important for people to know we're still providing a good education. The positive aspect is not only do we have more students, but the district has continued to make sure we have the teachers we need to keep classes small.
``I don't think anybody imagined in their wildest dreams that Suffolk would have the kind of growth we've seen in the last two years.''
So far this year, enrollment at her school is up 10 percent.
Two values shaped the district's CIP.
First, neither the board nor the administration wants to continue absorbing enrollment growth with mobile classrooms. If the council approved the plan as presented, four new elementary schools would open between 1996 and 2003. Two of those schools would open in 1998. A fourth middle school would open in 2000 and a third high school would open in fall 2002.
Depending upon growth patterns, the district might vacate Robertson and Southwestern elementary schools within the next three to five years - turning both over to the city for community use; or vacating one but maintaining the other for alternative-education programs.
``We've tried to keep all of our buildings in the best possible condition,'' said James Thorsen, the district's director of facilities and planning. ``But we still have aging facilities, and they don't age well.'' Southwestern opened in 1955; Robertson opened in 1961.
Second, city educators say smaller schools are better for kids, offering teachers more opportunities to have close relationships with parents and students. The CIP reflects that belief.
The new elementary schools, for example, would serve about 675 students. The ILLUSTRATION: [Color cover photo]
[Students changing clasess.]
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Students change classes outside at Elephant's Fork Elementary, where
10 portable classrooms are in use.
Students have ample room to arrange their desks in work groups
inside one of the portable classrooms at Elephant's Fork.
Graphic
School enrollment Growth
[School..'94 enrollment...'95 enrollment...percent increase]
Portable Classrooms
[School ...Number of units]
Graphic
Highlights of the capital improvements plan
For copy of graphic, see micrfilm
by CNB