THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611010222
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 86 lines
More than 200 parents sat in class, pushed through crowded halls and stood in line for lunch one day last week, just as their sons and daughters do every school day.
Tuesday was Parent Visitation Day at Indian River and Oscar F. Smith high schools.
``It's an alternative plan to open house,'' said LeeAnn Rikard, the assistant principal for instruction at Indian River. ``Our goal was to offer parents a chance to see what we are all about and to give some insight into what kind of day their child has.''
Last year, Oscar F. Smith had a fall and spring visitation day for the first time. This year, when Rikard made the move from teacher at Oscar Smith to assistant principal at Indian River, she took the visitation idea with her.
All schools, especially high schools, should encourage parents to participate in their child's schedule sometime during the school year, Rikard said. The experience may help parents balance home rules with their children's school schedule, she said.
Parents are encouraged to visit whenever they have the interest or a concern, not just when they are invited or when there is a problem, said James L. Frye, principal at Indian River, and Dr. Janet M. Andrejco, principal at Oscar Smith.
``With all the choices, higher standards, balancing classes, responsibilities and conflict that students face, parents should be involved as much as possible,'' Rikard said. ``Maybe this will help the lines of communications plus help parents understand that their child sometimes puts in an intense day.''
Faculty and staff were asked to go about their business as a routine school day. It was suggested that teachers not give lengthy tests on Tuesday, but other than that, ``we wanted the parents to see the real us,'' Rickard said.
``It's a lot different than when I was in school,'' Michael H. Winters said, as he sat in arts and crafts class with his daughter, Nicole, 16. ``I appreciate the opportunity to see what my daughter does every day.''
Janet L. Lantz, the art teacher, said: ``We are always glad to see parents. The more active the better for us and the student.''
Down the hall, Lynn K. Pierce, 43, who attended drafting class with his son, Jeff K. Pierce, said, ``I came because I am a concerned parent, and it makes me feel more involved.''
Also, the day gives parents a chance to reflect on when they were teen-agers in high school and what things were important at that time in their world, Debra O. Taylor, 45, said as she sat in keyboarding class with her son Phillip R. Jones.
Jones, 16, admitted being embarrassed that his mom was at his side all day because in most of his classes there were only one or two parents.
If more parents came to school, it would be more comfortable, Jones said.
But Amber Dail, 16, said she had looked forward to taking her mother, Carol E. Dail, 41, to Spanish III, Algebra II, trigonometry, U.S. history and keyboarding.
As students saw other parents at school, some decided theirs should be there, too. A line formed at the office telephone by mid-afternoon as students called their parents to see if they could come to school, said Kathy I. Lewallen, secretary at Indian River.
Brenda E. Dowtin, 31, rearranged her work schedule so she could spend time in class with daughters, Dequita, 17, and Nicole, 15. But once at school, she still had to juggle her time. She spent 20 minutes in Latin class with Dequita and then raced down the hall to spend 20 minutes in algebra with Nicole.
From all the ``bad things'' parents often hear about kids, Dowtin said she was impressed at how ``well-behaved and orderly'' classes were.
Charles A. Minnick, 46, accompanied Charles A. Minnick Jr. to class at Oscar Smith because his son said he wanted him there.
``Schools and kids are much more organized and sophisticated than when I was in school,'' Minnick said as he ate lunch in the cafeteria.
Desiree L. Flora, who sat in a marketing class at Oscar Smith with her daughter, Melissa S. Heiser, 18, agreed.
``There are so many more classes and opportunities to help you make decisions and prepare you for the future,'' she said. ``But some things like the hustle and bustle in the halls, lockers slamming and lunch lines have not changed.''
Mark A. Moses, a science teacher at Oscar Smith, said he believes parents, students and the schools' staffs all benefit from the experience.
``Parent Day is an excellent way to establish more involvement as parents get to see the ups and downs of the classroom,'' he said. ``Hopefully, it will give the parents more confidence in what school is doing and establish a bond between faculty, parents and the children.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Nicole Winters works on her papier-mache bowl as her father, Mike,
watches.
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION by CNB