THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260434
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
There are flashes of excellence: Minority students with stellar academic records. Or minority students whose schooling is solid enough to help them thrive in the workplace after high school.
But, in contrast to those successes, there are many students who see school as a place where they are expected to fail.
This year, the School Board made improving academic achievement among minority students a priority. And to show how important it considers the issue, the board tapped Charlene E. Christian to lead improvement efforts primarily aimed at those students.
Many students don't get the skills they need because educators often rely on yesterday's methods to teach today's youngsters - who are more at-risk and impoverished than those of recent decades, reform advocates say. The problem is most evident among students who aren't middle-class or white.
Next week, Christian will join the central office staff after spending the past five years as head counselor at Forest Glen Middle School. She says she will not be just another bureaucrat.
``It's not another desk job. I'll be very visible,'' she said. ``I want to share with teachers, administrators and guidance counselors the research on successful strategies and give them information on what other districts are doing to better serve not only minority children, but all children.
``I'm really excited about the job. Just having someone to follow through on things can make a big difference.''
She'll be expected to pound the pavement with the determinationof a detective - evaluating programs offered in the district and checking out others elsewhere; helping to plan workshops; and meeting with teachers, parents and community groups to discuss ideas.
Suffolk is only the latest to create such a position. Norfolk made a similar move last year when it hired Fred M. Oliver.
The Williamsburg-James City district has had a ``minority achievement coordinator'' since 1989. While there have been notable gains in minority students' test scores and the number of minority students taking college-track classes, many benefits aren't easily measured, said Assistant Superintendent Carol Beers.
For instance, that district's Saturday morning, after-school and summer enrichment classes that target minority students have turned many of them on to learning, she said.
Beefing up staff training and designating a teacher as the ``minority achievement leader'' of each school also has raised awareness about the diverse needs and backgrounds of children, she said.
The overall achievement trends among Suffolk's minority students mirror those found across the state.
Black students, for example, are under-represented in programs for the gifted. Last school year, only 24 percent of Suffolk's gifted students were black, although blacks make up 57 percent of the city's total enrollment. Sixty-nine percent of students recommended for expulsion were black; 74 percent of suspended students were black.
In 1993-94, 27 percent of Suffolk's minority high school graduates earned an advanced-studies diploma. That was up from 22 percent in the 1990-91 year.
Although School Board members didn't spell out the kinds of minority achievement gains they're looking for - a certain percentage increase in test scores or attendance rates in three years, for example - they said the district needed to take a hard look at the issue.
The administration agreed. The board's Minority Achievement Task Force proposed the idea of a special administrator earlier this year. Simply acknowledging the problems won't correct them, however. And schools don't turn on a dime. Still, observers are optimistic.
``I think creating that type of position is a positive move,'' said Elaine P. Witty, dean of Norfolk State University's School of Education.
``To say teachers and others should have been dealing with the problems of minority achievement all along does not address the problem. Sometimes, you need someone to focus on a particular issue so it won't get lost in the total picture. . . . To make it all work, the person must be given the kind of room required to make changes and the necessary resources, of course.''
Growing up in a home where both mom and dad were educators, Christian, 38, never considered not doing well in school.
Her parents, she said, pushed her to excel. She pushed herself, too. Hard. ``I knew I had no choice but to do my schoolwork and to do it well,'' she said. ``The importance of education was made clear to me from the start.''
Christian, a 16-year district veteran, says she wants to be an advocate for students who lack the kind of family support she had growing up.
Unfortunately, some teachers don't expect much from minority students, and some minority students don't expect much from themselves, she said.
That's why she's especially interested in coming up with more creative ways to reach out to parents. ``I think an important part of what I'll try to do is educate the parents, too,'' she said.
If they know more about the system, perhaps they can make it work better for their children, Christian said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Charlene E. Christian says she wants to be an advocate for students
who lack the kind of family support she had growing up.
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION SUFFOLK SCHOOL BOARD by CNB