THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200408
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 81 lines
A high school theater program that for some 20 years has nurtured budding young talents faces an uncertain future as private negotiations continue into the summer over the fate of Connie Hindmarsh, who has directed the program for the past decade.
But, with or without Hindmarsh, parents said this week they worry about losing a program that has given children who might not otherwise have an opportunity to develop their abilities in the performing arts. Hindmarsh, a popular drama teacher, was relieved of her duties in March.
``If Connie does not get her job back, which I really hope she does, they need to have someone take it over and not leave these kids hanging out there,'' said Vivian Russell, whose 15-year-old daughter was in the repertory company this past year. ``We don't know what's going to happen to these kids. It puts them on the street.''
Superintendent Roy D. Nichols Jr. suspended Hindmarsh with pay and recommended that she be fired after an investigation into allegations that students under her charge had engaged in sex and used drugs and alcohol.
The allegations against Hindmarsh were made by at least one student after a field trip her Performing Arts Repertory made last winter to Northern Virginia.
In a March 27 letter to Hindmarsh, Nichols wrote that she had ``failed to report in a timely manner the misconduct of staff members and students under your authority'' and also ``failed to provide appropriate supervision to staff members and students for whom you are responsible.''
However, a parallel investigation by the city Division of Social Services' Child Protective Service agency concluded last month that allegations of child neglect against her involving two students were ``unfounded.''
Hindmarsh, a 20-year veteran of the school system, has defended her record, saying she has done nothing wrong.
Parents, students and community members, angered over her treatment, have rallied support, circulating petitions and writing letters. Supporters view the actions against Hindmarsh as extreme, considering her record of service.
``There needs to be some kind of public accounting for what happened,'' said Rabbi Lawrence Arthur Forman, former chairman of the school system's Gifted and Talented Advisory Council and a friend of Hindmarsh's. ``Otherwise, we've ruined the reputation of a person without all the facts.''
School administrators and a deputy city attorney representing the school system have declined to discuss the matter.
In early April, Hindmarsh vowed to fight for her job and clear her name. Since then, attorneys have met privately to try to settle the matter without a hearing.
``I'm sure that if it were tried in a public forum, she would be vindicated,'' Hindmarsh's attorney, Allan D. Zaleski of Norfolk, said Wednesday.
Last month, the school administration created a stir among parents when it sent letters to repertory students to gauge their interest in returning in the fall. The letter opened by stating that ``we are making plans to initiate a search for a new director. . . '' of the theater program.
``I was so mad I was shaking,'' parent Jill Marolla said. ``It really floored me, because from what I heard they were still negotiating with Connie.''
Nichols this week defended the search for a new director as a necessary planning step.
``If the school system didn't advertise, and a decision was made not to rehire Connie, then we would be damned for not having something in place when the year begins,'' Nichols said.
Deborah Holland, senior coordinator for gifted education in Norfolk schools, said she is ``convinced'' a theater program will be offered next year - but perhaps not on the high school level. Holland said one idea being examined is to increase the number of students in the Governor's School for the Arts. Currently, Norfolk has 50 slots for Governor's School students. The school system pays about $2,900 in tuition for each student attending the school for gifted students.
Parents, though, worry that students with raw talent who lack the grades to get into the Governor's School would lose out. Those are the kind of students Hindmarsh had a knack for developing, parents said.
``We want Connie back,'' student Stacey Russell said. ``They don't know the impact she's had on our lives.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Drama teacher Connie Hindmarsh was relieved of her duties in March
as head of the Performing Arts Repertory.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK SCHOOLS TEACHER SUSPENSION by CNB