THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9604300125
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: Jon Glass
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
For the second time in as many months, the School Board has delayed action on a request by Ghent and Bowling Park elementary schools to include grades six through eight.
The two schools now house grades kindergarten through five, and adding students for their middle school years is ``a far-reaching request,'' board member James Herndon said.
The principals of the two schools - Julia Kidwell at Ghent and Herman D. Clark Jr. at Bowling Park - have proposed adding a grade a year for the next three years. Citing research that shows students often develop academic and social problems in middle school, the two principals said they could provide a more stable and nurturing environment.
But School Board members delayed action, requesting that the schools hold public hearings to gauge community support. The board said the hearings should be scheduled before next month's meeting.
Board members also said there were legal issues to consider, including whether the plan would increase the ``racial isolation'' of black students who attend Bowling Park.
The school is one of 10 majority-black elementary schools created in 1986 when the board stopped busing elementary kids for desegregation. Board chairman Ulysses Turner said the board promised the community that it would not expand the community schools concept to middle schools.
If the board approves the concept, the two schools would be designated as K-8 ``magnet'' schools and students citywide could apply to attend them. Scholarship debated
The School Board plans to rethink how it selects recipients of a prestigious Old Dominion University scholarship after a board member objected to the award going to some private school students.
While the full-tuition scholarships are funded by ODU, the School Board approves the recipients under provisions of a 1930 deed and agreement with ODU.
Board member Anna Dodson said the board was sending the wrong message by making it available to private school students. In recent years, the board has been sensitive to losing students to private schools.
``We have so many worthy students, it just seems that our first obligation is to students who attend Norfolk public schools,'' Dodson said.
Ten of the scholarships are awarded annually, and the only requirement is that recipients live in Norfolk. In the recent past, students chosen have been those with the highest academic records and already accepted by ODU, regardless of where they attend school, Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. said.
This year, two of the 10 students named by Nichols to the list will graduate from private schools - Norfolk Christian and Norfolk Collegiate.
To avoid embarrassment, since the names of the students had been made public, the board agreed to approve the 10 scholarships this year but to review the matter before awarding them next year.
The students had grade-point averages ranging from 4.3 to 3.7, under a scale in which a 4.0 is straight A's. Students earning higher than 4.0 are given extra credit for advanced placement courses.
The students are: Gladys Mangaliag, Granby High; Karen Norton, Michael Phillips, Thomas Smigiel, Jamie Krenek and Tami Langston, Norview High; Louella Cabales and Abigail Lambert, Lake Taylor High; Christine Thomas, Norfolk Christian; and Elisa Gardner, Norfolk Collegiate.
Cable TV firm recognized
The School Board last week presented a resolution of appreciation to Cox Communications for its ``caring, corporate community leadership'' and support of education.
Cox's latest good deed was a $1.3 million donation of 400 computers and high-speed fiber-optic wiring to Ruffner Middle School. Cox designated Ruffner a ``Model Technology School,'' and it is one of the few schools in the country with such advanced technology.
The resolution cited numerous contributions, which include:
Wiring every city school with expanded basic cable television service.
Donating $15,000 worth of cable television and VCR equipment to Jacox Elementary and involving 20 employees as mentors in the school's ``partner-in-education'' program.
Providing the funds and curriculum materials for Jacox students to view a live performance of a Shakespeare play, and offering scholarships for Jacox students to participate in a regional performing arts program called the Summer Shakes' Apprenticeship Program.
Publishing and distributing free to teachers the ``Line to Learning'' newsletter and ``Cable in the Classroom'' magazine.
Offering professional seminars for teachers on how cable TV can be used to enhance instruction. Student earns honor
Vaughn Bell, a senior at Granby High, has become the city school system's only National Merit Scholarship finalist this year. She is the first Norfolk public school student in two years to earn the honor.
Vaughn scored a perfect 800 on the verbal portion of the Scholastic Assessment Test and has made straight A's since ninth-grade, said Pamela Kloeppel, guidance coordinator for the school system.
The Sumitomo Machinery Corp. of America, in Chesapeake, plans to present her with a laptop computer to take to college. She plans to attend Brown University. by CNB