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

DATE: Thursday, October 19, 1995             TAG: 9510190362
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                         LENGTH: Medium:   55 lines

PORTSMOUTH BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW NORCOM

For many of the participants at Wednesday's I.C. Norcom High ground-breaking ceremony, the event marked not only the beginning of construction, but also a transformation in the way city residents should relate to one another in the future.

The new school is scheduled to open at 1801 London Blvd. in September 1997, serving up to 1,800 students. Like its predecessor, it will offer the Math, Science and Technology Magnet Program.

In her remarks, Mayor Gloria O. Webb urged residents to forget the racial strife, ``name-calling, rumor and innuendo'' that have surrounded the project since its inception about a decade ago.

The city, she said, must ``move on with a new attitude. . . and show we can live in harmony.''

School Board Chairman J. Thomas Benn III hit a similar note. ``This is a symbol of our unity and of our resolve and promise to each other to continue to improve Portsmouth,'' he said.

I.C. Norcom - named for a black educator - was the school for black students in the days of racial segregation. The current school, on Turnpike Road, was built in 1953. Parents, students, teachers and alumni repeatedly have complained about its condition in recent years.

``We kept the faith. We persevered. This is a wonderful thing,'' David C. Sanford, president of the school's alumni association, said in an interview Wednesday. ``Without our fight, the school wouldn't have been built.

``. . . In the final analysis,'' he said, ``all of those who opposed the project will see that this is good for the city.''

Norcom's fate has been a recurring issue since the early 1970s, when the city wanted to turn the high school into a vocational center. Students and alumni stopped that from happening by staging sit-ins and marches.

When the City Council and School Board began debating whether to build a new Norcom - at the urging of the school's alumni - the issue became racially divisive. The council approved building the school in 1991.

In August, the council voted 4-3 to authorize borrowing $23.7 million for the school, completing the funding for the $38 million project. Site work began last month. In its economic-development plan, the city said the new school would act as ``economic flypaper'' by attracting new business to Portsmouth.

More than 300 residents and city officials attended Wednesday's ceremony.

Nathan Smith, a 14-year-old Norcom freshman, was among the students invited to participate.

``I think this is a big deal,'' he said. ``A better environment helps students learn more.''

KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH SCHOOLS by CNB