THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608300804
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 95 lines
FROM ELEMENTARY to high school, the estimated 36,000 Norfolk public school students returning to their classrooms Sept. 3 can expect change.
High school athletes will be required to attend mandatory gambling clinics. Students in kindergarten through third grade will face more stringent literary guidelines, and middle school students will get an opportunity to participate in additional athletic programs.
Granby High School students will face a particularly challenging year as the aging school undergoes the first phase of a $21.5 million renovation. During the construction, the school's 800 ninth- and 10th-graders will attend classes a few blocks away, at the former Norfolk Catholic High School, now being coined ``Granby 2.''
Work on the renovation project began right after classes ended in June and is expected to continue for at least two academic years. This summer the school's cafeteria was closed and the library subdivided into a dining area for the juniors and seniors who will remain at Granby this year.
Although students may suffer some inconveniences at Granby, hundreds of students at four Norfolk public schools will get some much-needed relief this year from any sweltering school days. Throughout the year, classrooms, offices and other areas at Northside Middle School and Sherwood Forest, Mary Calcott and Crossroads elementary schools will be equipped with long-awaited air-conditioning systems.
Perhaps the most noticeable curriculum change for elementary students this year will be the emphasis on literacy initiatives. In fact, the School Board has made literacy one of its mission goals for the year.
For the first time, all students in kindergarten through third grade who are not reading or writing at their appropriate grade level by year's end will have to attend summer school or be retained.
``In the past, we've had some voluntary programs for those who don't meet grade level, but it has never been mandatory,'' said George Raiss, school spokesman. ``As of next June, it will be.''
To help in building literacy skills, elementary teachers now will schedule at least two hours of uninterrupted reading time daily. More ``parent technicians'' and after-school tutoring programs also are being put into place in the 36 elementary schools.
Several classroom reading initiatives for beginning readers also will receive boosts this year. Breakthrough, a computerized reading program for kindergartners, will be introduced into 10 more schools next year. Teachers at three ``at-risk'' elementary schools piloted the $208,000 program last year.
Reading Recovery, a program that aims to get remedial first-graders back on track through intensive daily sessions with specially trained teachers, also will be introduced into five more schools this year. Initiated three years ago, the program already is operating in 11 elementary schools.
For high school athletes, new mandatory training requirements are being initiated with the new academic year. At the beginning of each athletic season, all male and female students, as well as coaches, will have to attend an hourlong clinic on gambling. Some 2,600 students at the city's five high schools are expected to take part in the sessions, Raiss estimated.
The clinic requirement was initiated after allegations surfaced last year that Maury High School athletes were involved in gambling activities. Although no evidence was found to substantiate that, school officials decided to take ``preventative measures'' by offering the clinic, Raiss said.
For students at Norfolk's eight middle schools, the new school year will bring opportunities to participate in three new extracurricular sports. Boys and girls soccer, girls volleyball, and boys wrestling will be introduced for the first time during 1996-97.
``Adding more sports at the middle schools has been a goal of the School Board for some time now,'' Raiss said, ``but it has just been a question of Research shows that attendance, behavior and grades are better when students are actively engaged in athletics.''
If funds become available, plans call for football, field hockey, and boys and girls lacrosse to be added at the middle school level in coming years.
Despite the many changes, the faces who will greet students this year will largely be the same - at least in the main offices.
After a relatively massive shifting of principals the past two school years, the coming year holds few changes. Only three schools will get new principals in 1996-97, and they are all the result of retirements. New principals have been assigned to Sewells Point, Lindenwood and Tidewater Park elementary schools.
As in recent years, security measures will continue to receive a priority during the coming academic year, Raiss said. Security officials will administer random searches with wand-type metal detectors and state police dogs in an effort to uncover guns, drugs and explosives. The heightened security measures have proved successful in recent years, Raiss said. Only one gun was confiscated last year, down from 31 in 1991-92, he said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
NORFOLK SCHOOLS
Students: 36,000
Schools:
36 elementary schools
8 middle schools
5 high schools
16 special centers
Staff: 2,300 teaching professionals
Budget: $200.2 million by CNB