
DATE: Thursday, August 7, 1997              TAG: 9708060217

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Color Story 

SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   90 lines

SERIOUS CHILD'S PLAY COLORFUL NEW PLAYGROUNDS WILL GIVE PRE-SCHOOLERS AN ACADEMIC BOOST AT 17 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS THIS FALL.

Editor's note: This story marks the beginning of a series of back-to-school school articles that will run in each issue during the month of August.

AS PART OF NORFOLK Public School's multi-million-dollar initiative to prepare pre-kindergartners for academic success, 17 new specially designed playgrounds are being installed on school yards throughout the city this summer.

The playgrounds, which will vary in layout, color and design between the various sites, will cost the school system $300,000.

The additional play areas are targeted for use by 3- and 4-year-olds who are part of the system's pre-kindergarten programs. Although Norfolk began pre-K programs in 1978, in the last three years the school system has dramatically increased its offerings as a result of a state mandate to academically prepare 4-year-olds who are at risk of eventually failing and dropping out of school.

In 1994, the Virginia General Assembly appropriated $10.2 million to local school systems to set up programs. The money has continued to come from the state to help support them. For the last three academic years, Norfolk has budgeted $10.4 million in state and local matching funds for its pre-K programs.

The system currently offers 86 pre-K classes at 25 of its 35 elementary schools. An additional three schools will begin programs for 4-year-olds this fall. The school system also has classes for 3-year-olds at a handful of schools through Title 1 funding.

The new playgrounds will be used primarily by these two groups of children.

``This gives smaller children the outdoor piece of a program that helps prepare them to get ready to start school,'' noted Peter O'Halloran, manager of facility maintenance for the Department of Recreation, Parks and General Services. Facility maintenance and the school system are working in partnership on the project.

``The equipment may look like it's just for play . . . but it helps kids develop physically and socially, and allows them to have fun, too,'' he said.

Margaret Taylor, the school system's senior coordinator for special projects, who oversees the pre-K program, notes that the playgrounds will support teachers' efforts to get students prepared academically.

``The playgrounds will definitely be part of the curriculum we have going on inside the classroom,'' she said. ``These are not just jungle gyms. They'll be helping the children develop small-muscle coordination, which helps with writing, as well as large-muscle coordination to do other age-appropriate skills. We must develop them physically as well as academically to get them ready to learn.''

Similar playgrounds already exist at Tidewater and Oceanair elementary schools, and Berkley-Campostella and Stuart early childhood centers.

Although this summer's installation will bring the number of playgrounds to 21, it will not provide all elementary schools with pre-K programs. As more funds become available, noted Taylor and O'Halloran, plans call for all Norfolk elementary schools to get playgrounds aimed at younger children.

``At first we wanted to cover the schools with early education programs for kids at-risk,'' noted O'Halloran. ``But then as we looked at it, we realized that all kids could use this assistance.''

The parks official emphasized that the new playgrounds will not replace the school's existing equipment used by older students.

``Most of the existing playgrounds consist of traditional equipment of climbing apparatus, pull-up bars and other pieces designed for the physical education development of older school children,'' said O'Halloran. ``The P.E. teachers see this equipment as very useful for that purpose.''

Although the new equipment is targeted for use by children in the pre-kindergarten programs, the public will also be able to use the clusters during non-school hours, O'Halloran pointed out.

``It's something all kids in the city will benefit from,'' he said.

O'Halloran said that, if all goes as planned, the 17 playgrounds should be installed by the start of school, Sept. 2. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by TING-LI WANG

Color Cover photo of playground equipment

Rakiyah Stokes, 4, watches Peter O'Halloran, of the Parks and

Recreation Department, check the playground equipment at the Stuart

Early Childhood Center.

Graphic

LUCKY SCHOOLS

These are the 17 lucky elementary schools chosen to receive new

playgrounds geared to pre-schoolers:

Calcott, Chesterfield Academy, Coleman Place, Crossroads,

Fairlawn, Granby, Jacox, Lindenwood, Monroe, Norview, Oakwood, Ocean

View, Poplar Halls, Roberts Park, Sherwood Forest, Tanners Creek and

Tarrallton.