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received unanimous approval, school board chairman Dr. John Tole pressed the need tc “be very diligent” about evaluating student progress.
Exeter Conference
Tole attended the two-day Exeter conference on “Ethics in Education” at Oxford University, England. Sponsored by Virginia Tech, the conference brought together 40 Virginia educators and representatives of the British secondary school system. Tole was the only school board member to attend. The trip was not at public expense.
Tole noted a “very striking thing,” while touring school facilities — “a significant lack of maintenance.” He added that British schools have “no line items in their budgets for maintenance” or special education needs.
Despite a much higher cost of living, teachers’ salaries are roughly equivalent to that of the U.S. Tole also explained that the Brits are “10 years into a program not unlike the Standards of Accreditation in Virginia. From the educators’ point of view,” he said, “it has been a disaster.”
The government dictates what and how they teach. There are significant morale problems and the better teachers have left the school system. According to Tole, the1 teaching professionals believe that, in time, the country will see the error of its ways.
In Scotland, parents led a citizens' revolt and kept their children out of the national exams. “There is a message for all of us,” Tole observed. “People may have to decide what they will tolerate from governments.”
As a result of this conference, there may be an opportunity for county students to go to Oxford next summer.
Grant Committee
Lois, Manookian reported that the combined team of Headwaters and school personnel expects to have a proposal for the Greve Council bv the end of the month. The group developed a vision statement, “Teaching'for Learning,” with several objectives focusing on staff development and student achievement goals. The proposal will cover three years, with both short- and long-range initiatives.
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