
DATE: Wednesday, October 29, 1997           TAG: 9710280240

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: DECISION '97

PUBLIC LIFE
                                            LENGTH:  290 lines

IMPROVING OUR SCHOOLS

The question

What is your top priority for improving public education and what role would you play in achieving it?

The background

Most Virginians don't think their schools are getting any better. In a poll co-sponsored by The Virginian-Pilot this summer, more than a quarter of those asked thought the state's schools were worse than four years earlier. Another 35 percent said they were only about the same. Only 7 percent of the people asked rated Virginia's schools as excellent.

Both candidates for governor tout education as their top priority, but they approach the subject from fundamentally different routes.

Donald S. Beyer Jr. focuses on boosting the average salary of teachers by about $3,000 a year to reach the national average of $38,000. That, he claims, would allow Virginia to attract and retain the best teachers, the people who can make a difference in a child's education. He opposes any plans to give tax money to parents who chose to send their kids to private schools.

James S. Gilmore III wants to improve public schools by hiring an additional 4,000 elementary teachers - up to five for every school in the state that provides matching funds. His argument is that smaller classes will permit teachers to focus on students who need help, and some research has shown that such a move is most effective in boosting the achievement of low-income and minority students. Gilmore also favors the concept of tax credit vouchers for parents who decide to send their kids to private schools, saying it would give Virginians more choice and force public schools to compete for money and pupils - but only if it doesn't injure public schools.

Ultimately, the General Assembly will have to decide how much to spend on Virginia's schools and how to attack the problem of performance. Spending bills must originate in the House of Delegates, so we asked the candidates in contested races to share their plans for improving public education. 76th District Southern Chesapeake and most of Suffolk

Michelle Degnan (D)

The first step in improving public education is to ensure that the teaching profession attracts and keeps the best and the brightest. To that end, I would work to create a professional standards board composed primarily, but not entirely, of teachers. The focus of this board is to guarantee that teachers are strong in content areas as well as in educational theory. A thorough knowledge of subject area is the only way to provide effective delivery of instruction.

Other professionals, e.g. doctors and lawyers, have professional standards boards composed of people in those professions. It is important that people regulating a profession are those who work within the system and, so, truly understand it.

Teachers, better than anyone except parents, understand the developmental stages of childhood and adolescence. Teachers know what information and teaching strategies are age appropriate. Teachers know that the requirements for effective instruction and learning on the elementary level are different than those on the middle or high school levels. Teachers know that licensure requirements should be specific to the age group as well as to the subject being taught. Teachers, in cooperation with community leaders who would also serve on this board, would establish licensure standards that guarantee that the men and women teaching our children are the most qualified and the best trained.

S. Chris Jones (R)

I have always been a strong supporter of public education, and I'm committed to ensuring that the decisions governing our children's education are made at the local level - by teachers and parents. That is why I have released my five-point plan to give our children the best education we can afford.

1. Virginia schools need stronger academic standards. Students should be required to pass end-of-course exams in English, math, science and history in order to graduate from high school. Let's not just graduate - let's educate.

2. It's no secret that smaller class sizes are critical to providing the one-on-one attention our children need to excel. Our children deserve classrooms where their full potential is realized - not classrooms where they are treated like numbers.

3. Our schools should be a safe place for our children to go every day. A frightened child simply can't learn. We must adopt policies of zero tolerance for drugs, violence and threats of violence in the classroom.

4. We need to make our schools accountable to parents. Every parent should receive a report card showing how their children's school is performing in comparison to other schools.

5. Once our children have received a quality education, they should have the opportunity to attend college or trade school. That is why I support increased scholarships based on merit for every qualified student.

As your delegate I'll be committed to public education and ensuring our children can receive the quality education they deserve. 79th District Northern Portsmouth and adjacent precincts in Chesapeake and Suffolk.

Johnny S. Joannou (D)

There are several things we should do to improve public education in Virginia. What we should ``not do'' is have chartered schools or vouchers. We should insist on higher academic standards and accountability. It's time to end social promotion in Virginia. We need smaller class sizes and we need to ensure that by the end of the first grade every child will know the fundamentals of reading. We need to bring more computers into the classroom. Our schools should be made safe so that our children will have an environment that is conducive to learning. We must ensure that all of Virginia's children start school ready to learn by providing pre-school opportunities for all at-risk 4-year-old children.

We need competitive teacher pay as well as professional standards for teachers. Last but not least, we need to expand family literacy and G.E.D. services so that every Virginian will have the ability to read and write.

D.R. ``Dan'' Evans (R)

The best way to improve public education is for parents to become fully involved with their child's school.

A true public school is a local school run by local parents and teachers for local children, not run by state and federal bureaucrats. In a true public school safety and discipline should not be an issue. Students who do not follow the rules must be removed and sent to an alternative learning center.

The role I would play in achieving better schools is to fight to improve education on the local level and not be concerned what the N.E.A. or other national groups say or do. My wife (a former schoolteacher) and I will also continue to be active in our daughter's school (Western Branch Intermediate). I will also continue to volunteer for Junior Achievement classes that bring real world situations into our classrooms.

Another idea whose time has come is to give parents the choice of where to send their children to school. The plan that has always worked best in our society is competition. If public schools were forced to compete with public charter schools, private schools and other public schools, educational opportunities and standards would increase.

Why should only the rich be able to choose the best schools? Is not the purpose to educate our youth for the future. If that is truly our purpose, we should examine charter schools and vouchers as a way to improve public education. 86th District Northwest corner of Norfolk.

Don Williams (D)

One morning while dropping my two grandchildren off at school, something occurred to me. I saw them standing in line with all the other children, and I thought how some of these children will grow up to be doctors, or carpenters, and maybe one or two of them will run for delegate someday. Then a sad thought occurred to me. I realized that some of these children's futures may not be quite as bright. Making pre-kindergarten programs available to all children is the first crucial step in keeping children on the right track. Currently, pre-kindergarten programs are available on a first-come, first-serve basis to children that meet certain criteria.

Pre-kindergarten programs are the first step in mastering the basics of reading, writing and math. Pre-kindergarten students enter kindergarten with more confidence, better adjusted to being away from home and ahead of their counterparts because they are continuing the learning process, rather than starting from scratch. Furthermore, these programs expose children to other children, so they can learn to interact in a social setting. I have a grandchild currently attending pre-kindergarten class, and I am happy that he is able to have this opportunity. However, I am saddened that some children are denied the same opportunity.

I would work hard to expand pre-kindergarten programs like Virginia Initiative so all of Norfolk's youngsters could take part. Investing this money early in life to provide children with such a valuable opportunity will result in our spending less money later on less attractive measures.

Beverly ``Bev'' Graeber (R)

As a product of Norfolk's public schools, I understand how important quality public education is to our children's future. One of my top priorities as your delegate will be to ensure that our children will receive the high-quality education they will need in order to be prepared for the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead in the 21st Century. I am committed to working as a team with local school administrators, teachers, and parents to develop and implement programs in the pursuit of this goal.

Having served on four different school boards, I have seen firsthand how we must stress high standards in the basics of education, equipping our children with solid foundations in reading, writing and arithmetic. Each child is unique, with his or her own specialized needs. By reducing the size of our classrooms, we will be able to provide our children with the one-on-one attention they need in order to excel.

Through the hiring of more teachers, we can ensure that those students who may fall behind receive the necessary remedial help. Those who aren't college-bound must be provided with the proper vocational training to prepare them for the work force, enabling them to obtain good jobs and decent wages once they graduate from high school.

Children learn best in classes with discipline and structure. By working closely with teachers and administrators, we can ensure that they will receive the support they need to maintain control of their classrooms. 87th District

Northeast corner of Norfolk

Todd M. Fiorella (D)

Too many students are not able to read or write by the time they enter middle school. Too many high school graduates do not have the basic skills necessary to pursue a higher education. Discipline is still a problem. We need to take immediate action.

In the short term, we need to return discipline to the classroom by removing disruptive students. The creation of alternative schools for such students is a starting point. Social promotions must stop.

We then need to focus on the prospect of enhanced attainment within those groups of students who are not currently achieving their potential. The state must adopt standards of learning at every level which emphasize those skills necessary for the work place as well as for pursuing higher education.

In the long term, we should commit to early childhood education so that our children start kindergarten and first grade ready to learn. They need to read by the first and second grades. The state should work with teachers and parents to develop a mandatory curriculum which prepares students for higher education while creating choices for those students who wish to join the work force following high school. The state should also encourage the development of magnet schools at all levels.

Ultimately, we need to eliminate educational disparity across groups and geographical boundaries. This will take a 100 percent commitment to K-12 public education. As your delegate, I will do so. That is why I am endorsed by the Education Association of Norfolk, the Norfolk Federation of Teachers and the Virginia Teachers Association.

Thelma Drake (R)

Safety in our schools and classrooms can only be assured when discipline and respect are restored. Parents and teachers must demand administrators assert their new authority to remove disruptive students. I supported this measure in the General Assembly to create an environment more conducive to effective learning, resulting in higher teacher morale and student attentiveness.

My top priority is ensuring disruptive students are removed from our classrooms and placed into alternative programs. Alternative programs need not be in independent buildings. We can put alternative programs within our current schools, so long as it is physically separated from those students who are there to learn. These programs should feature even stricter discipline and very intensive supervision. As these students learn and display the appropriate behavior and respect, they should be returned for a reasonable probationary period. If problems persist, school counselors or Social Services should assess the family environment, providing intervention counseling.

As a past PTA president, I know we have dedicated teachers anxious to help our children learn. I have been actively involved in public education in Norfolk for over 25 years, graduating both my children from Norfolk public schools. I empathize with the challenges our teachers endure. Imagine feeling embattled in your work environment. 88th District West-central Norfolk, including downtown, Colonial Place and parts of Ghent.

Thomas Warren Moss Jr. (D)

What is your top priority for improving public education and what role would you play in achieving it?

(My top priority is to) continue to support, as I have in the past, a reduction in class sizes, and further, implement the national standards of quality for our teachers, which would include meeting the national average on salaries and benefits.

G.R. ``Bud'' West (R)

My children, Kenneth and Lauren, attended Granby Elementary School, one as recently as last year. I don't believe there are any major areas there that require any improvement at all. It's unfortunate that not all schools are administered as well as Granby. The new, tough academic standards for students and administrative standards for schools are sure to result in significant improvements across the board. However, I believe that if we add 4,000 new public school teachers throughout the Commonwealth, foster a system that provides parents with school choice and pursue the development and use of public charter schools, we can even further enhance our overall Virginia public school system.

Adding 4,000 new teachers will immediately reduce class size and improve classroom interaction. We also need to empower teachers with the ability to remove troublemakers from classrooms without having to worry about civil suits.

Only a limited number of families currently have a choice as to where to send their children to school. With simply tax rebates and incentives, we could give all parents real choices as to where to send their children. This initiative would also provide real competition for other schools, both public and private.

Finally, I am convinced that the initiative to give federal dollars directly to the school districts - with no strings attached - to establish public charter schools could be a valuable step in the right direction, especially to meet the needs of potentially ``at-risk'' students. ILLUSTRATION: [B & W photo]

Photos of Candidates

VOTING INFORMATION:

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Virginians will pick a governor, lieutenant governor and

attorney general. In addition, the entire House of Delegates will be

chosen. In Virginia Beach, voters must pick a commissioner of

revenue and treasurer. Norfolk voters must select a commissioner of

revenue and voters in Portsmouth and Suffolk must chose a sheriff.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the state.

If you are unsure if you are registered or don't know your

polling place, call the registrar in your city, the earlier the

better: