Our

Our

schools

First of three parts

Rappahannock Elementary

have access to needed instructional materials.

And, perhaps alarmingly, exactly one-half of the 26 teachers responding said that there is too little professional advisory support provided. Nearly 85 percent of those elementary school teachers said no appropriate instruction is provided for those students identified as being gifted and talented.

Teachers also complained that they are offered too few in-service, or in-school, training sessions on a variety of topics.

If the 104 parents of elementary school students gave that school a grade of “A,” then high school parents assigned that school a “B” grade.

While a good percentage of the 45 high school parents who responded said that school did a good job of teaching the basic educational skills, there were more who disagreed with that assessment than at the secondary school level.

Parents of high school students were more critical of a lack of individualized education and were adamant about what they considered to be a lack of facilities, although a large majority agreed that the school grounds were “safe for children.”

Additionally, a large percentage of parents of secondary school students said they believe the education being offered their children lacks the emphasis on worldly knowledge, including understanding the free enterprise system and learning to appreciate beauty and the arts.

Sophomores, on the other hand, complained that too few course ^ternatives are offered and that there is a lack of clubs to join and activities in which to participate.

Also, more than three-quarters of those 70 sophomores responding disagreed with the statement that the toilet rooms are kept “clean and usable throughout the day.”

Sophomores were also less enthusiastic about the high school environment than were seniors. Sophomores complained that students generally lacked respect for others and that students were poorly behaved.

More than 80 percent of the 67 responding seniors, however, agreed that students were well-behaved and nearly two-thirds said students show respect for one another.

High school teachers generally gave high ratings to their performances in the classroom, but one-third of the 18 responding said students do not have access to the necessary instructional materials.

Also, a majority of secondary school teachers said they believed the lines of communication to the school board were closed and that too little professional supervisory support is. provided.

Secondary school teachers also agreed that the quantity of instruction provided to gifted and talented students is “inappropriate.”