THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602190024
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
City school officials are developing plans to transform schools into year-round centers of community life, a long-range effort they hope will benefit children and neighborhoods.
Their goal is to keep schools open longer for before- and after-school activities, on weekends and during the summer for programs geared toward students, parents and other adults.
They envision such things as evening ``homework centers'' in school libraries, family health and adult job-training programs, and expanded recreation in school gyms and playgrounds. Now, officials say, many unmonitored playgrounds are unsafe - havens for drug trafficking after schools close for the day.
``Schools should be more than education centers, they should be community centers,'' said Ulysses Turner, chairman of the School Board.
Officials acknowledge that their plan is ambitious, requiring money they don't now have. Also crucial to the plan is the support of many city agencies and volunteers to help organize and run the programs.
For those reasons, the effort may not move into the schools until the fall, and it may begin on a small scale at a few test schools, Turner said.
But community leaders who are involved see great potential for enhancing the city's quality of life, including improving education, reducing juvenile crime and bringing neighborhoods together for a common cause.
``The communities need to start talking to each other, and the schools are right there in the middle,'' said H. Thomas White, president of the Norfolk Federation of Civic Leagues. ``We have seen the division of our communities, and this is a trend we're trying to reverse.''
At the first meeting to discuss the idea this month, school officials traded ideas with representatives of civic groups, PTAs and several city agencies, including recreation, police, libraries, youth services and the city manager's office.
The effort marks the first time that the school system has tried to bring those groups together in a systematic way, Turner said. One of the board's top three goals is to increase community involvement in schools.
``I'm a firm believer that we're not going to raise test scores until we get more parents and community members involved in the schools,'' Turner said, referring to disappointing scores on the SAT college-entrance exam and the state Literacy Passport Test, which fewer than half of Norfolk's sixth-graders passed last year.
Police Chief Melvin High said he wants officers to be able to work with students in ways that are not threatening or adversarial.
``Our interest is certainly in after-school and weekend programs. That's when kids are left in unmanaged, unstructured situations,'' High said.
``I think there's a value having police officers with kids so they grow up and see they're not the enemy.''
Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. said he's always been an advocate of police involvement in after-school youth programs.
``They see police in a different role - he's `coach,' not someone coming to arrest Dad,'' Nichols said.
Sally R. Reed, director of libraries for the city, said some library employees might volunteer to staff school media centers, keeping them open after regular hours to help kids with homework and find research material.
``These resources are sitting there closed at 3 o'clock and not all kids can easily get to a public library,'' Reed said.
``I'm thrilled to play a role in this.''
White said retirees could prove invaluable, adding that many are civic club members and already work with the schools.
``We've shifted a lot of burden on teachers to socialize students rather than educate them,'' White said. ``We need to help schools socialize the kids and let teachers get back to teaching. We're going to start doing some civic responsibility for our children.''
Expanding before- and after-school opportunities for children appealed to Rebecca Mann, 15, a sophomore at Norview High School. She said such programs could help kids improve their behavior and grades.
``It gives kids something extra to do,'' she said.
``I don't know if it'll keep them out of trouble, but it could give them an incentive to do better, if they see other kids doing well.'' ILLUSTRATION: Norfolk officials hope to turn schools into year-round centers
that enhance community life. How would they do this?
By developing evening ``homework centers'' at schools
By expanding recreation in school gyms and playgrounds
By creating family health and adult job-training program
GETTING GROUPS INVOLVED
At the first meeting to discuss the idea of the community centers
earlier this month, school officials traded ideas with
representatives of civic groups, PTAs and several city agencies,
including recreation, police, libraries, youth services and the city
manager's office.
The effort marks the first time that the school system has tried
to bring these groups together in a systematic way, Ulysses Turner,
chairman of the School Board, said.
KEYWORDS: SCHOOLS EDUCATION REFORM by CNB