Feature:
.
f*
4 W w
Perquimans woman
fights for unborn
children: Page 7
■ ■'
Sports:
Pirate teams fall
3,' 13
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to Edenton; Lady Tigers
win seven straight: page a
School: |
Lou Holtz gives
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' vf
W t'^r ; T''
middle school athletes.
academic advice: Page e
THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
35 Cents
Volume 62, No. 2
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, January 21, 1993
School
system
rated
average
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor__
Perquimans County Schools
received average grades on Its
once-a-year report card issued
by the North Carolina State
Board of Education earlier this
month.
The system earned an overall
at-par, average rating.
‘‘We’re on the right track,”
said schools superintendent Dr.
Ranall L. Henion. “I’d like to see
us higher, but I’m not disap
pointed.”
The best news on the report
card was an improvement in the
reading/language area. The state
used thirds, sixth and eighth
grade California Achievement
Teat (CAT) scores; sixth and
eighth grade state writing test
scores and English I competency
to arrive at the system’s perfor
mance level.
Third graders did not pertorm
as well in 1992 as In 1991, but
were over 1990 scores. Sixth
graders improved slightly on
reading and lanauge on the CAT,
and almost doubled their writing
test scores. Eighth graders
scored about the same in 1991
and 1992 on the CAT, but also
improved dramatically on the
writing test. English I students
have dropped 10 percentage
points from 1990 to 1992 scores.
Mathematics performance re
mained steady in 1992, although
still below 1990 levels. The sys
tem’s grade was determined by
third, sixth and eighth grade
CAT scores and state algebra I,
algebra II and geometry tests
scores.
Third graders dropped from
the 81st percentile in 1990 to
the 77th in 1991 to the 70th in
1992. Sixth graders continued
an improvement trend, up 19
percentage points from 1990.
Eighth graders remained steady
over three years.
Algebra I scores fell 17 per
centage points in 1992. Algebra
II scores remained level, and ge
ometry showed a slight im
provement.
The bad news came in sci
ence and social studies, where
performance ratings continued
to decline.
Science scores have fallen
from the high side of the state
average to the bottom of the av
erage scale. The system showed
improvement on the third grade
CAT scores, fell down five per
centage points in the sixth grade
and remained steady in the
eighth grade.
Bilogy and chemistry scores
, on the state test continued to
decline, while socres were up 12
points in physical science. Phys
ics scores went up 16 points in
1991. but the course is offered
on alternate years, and was not
offered last year.
In social studies, scores have
remained level over three years
on the elementary and middle
school level. State testing showed
a six-point gain in the economic
legal political category. A 22
point decline in U.S. history test
scores over three years drove the
overall performance rating down.
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Odessa Harrell, Brenda Holley and Chenelle
Moore prepare to decorate the cars partici
pating in die Martin Luther King Jr. motor
cade Monday. Twenty-five cars began at
.
Missing Mill Park and traveled to Poole’s
Grove Church, where 150 gathered for a
worship service honoring King’s work.
(Photo by Susan Harris)
Over 150 people joined In
the Perquimans County
NAACP Martin Luther. King Jr.
Day celebration at Poole's
Grove Baptist Church.
The observance kicked off
with a 25-car motorcade that
travelled from Missing Mill
Park to the church. Cars con
tinued to join in the motor
cade all along the route, said
NAACP, Perquimans Chapter,
president Fred Yates.
The Rev. J.H. London set
the tone for the worship serv
ice with his prayer for unity.
The Young Adult Choir of Pop
lar Run A.M.E. Zion Church,
under the direction of Karen
Moore and Earline Sellers,
provided inspirational music.
NAACP youth Chenelle
Moore welcomed the worehip
pers. Perquimans Middle
School co-principal Henry Fel
ton explained the importance
of Dr. Kings work, both past
I and present
Speaker for the occasion
was Juanita Bailey, a Perqui
mans County native and a
home econimics extension
agent with die Perquimans Co
Colorful posters decorated the vehicles in the Martin Lu
ther King Jr. Day motorcade Monday afternoon, each
bearing examples of King’s teachings. (Photo by Susan
Harris) ’ ■ , ' j. •;
operative Extension Service.
Ms. Bailey spoke on the
topic The Dream, a theme
taken from Dr. King’s memora
ble I Have a Dream speech. Her
message interwove biblical
scripture and the teachings of
Dr. King. Tire audience was
inspired by her words and her
challenge to continue realizing
the dream bom of Dr. King's
dedication to civil rights for all.
Yates said he appreciated
the support for the event, espe
cially the Hertford Police De
partment and the Perquimans
County Sheriff’s Department
for escorting the motorcade.
Schools maintain high accreditation status
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor _■
The North Carolina Depart
ment of Public Instruction pro
vides a lot of Information in its
report card packet Accreditation
status, school system statistics
and community characteristics
are compiled for reference.
According to the report, Per
3uimans County is well above
re level of compliance required
to meet state accreditation stan
dards. The state requires that
school systems meet 75 percent
of the 33 standards at a Level I
or higher rating. Perquimans
County exceeded the Level I rat
ing In 28 of the standards. An
other four standards sit at the
Level I rating. There were no un
met standards, although one
area Is In a warning status.
1 Schools sunerintendent Dr.
very pleased with the high ac
creditation rating earned % the
schools.
Another area that pleased
Henion, he said, was the Im
proved performance in the out
come Indicators of high school
completers.
Thirty-two percent of the
1992 graduates completed North
Carolina Scholars Program
courses, compared to the state’s
22 percent Tne number of grad
uates completing required UNC
admissions courses has in
creased by a percentage point
each year for three years.
Students In grades 9-12
earning five or more units to
wards graduation grew to 92 per
cent In 1992, up from 87 percent
in 1990. The state average is 87
percent
The report card also shows
an Increase in the number of
County Schools. In 1990. the
enrollment was 1830. By 1992.
enrollment stood at 1891.
Teachers are also working fo
more education in the local sys
tem. / The number of teacher!
with graduate degrees is up '
percent over 1990. The average
local supplement for dassroon
teachers has remained the same.
t White students account foi
57 percent of the school popula
tion, blade students, 42.8 per
cent.
■Jl i.
Almost 2 percent of the stu
dents have been identified ai
gifted. 11.6 as handicapped. Fif
teen percent of the student bod;
is enrolled in compensatory edu
Henion said report
card is planning tool
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Schools superintendent Dr.
Randall L. Henion said the
state’s report card will help ad
ministrators and teachers focus
on academic improvement.
“We want to use it as a tool,”
Henion said. "We want to im
prove our academic outcomes.”
Henion pointed to programs
already implemented and/or in
the planning stages as efforts to
improve performance.
The board of education is
preparing to formulate a perfor
mance-based accountability
plan. The board will set measur
able performance goals. Teach
ers, principals and parents will
be involved in the process, He
nion said.
Once the plan is finalized,
personnel at each school will be
gin to develop strategies to im
prove results. Henion said the
plan will intensify programs al
ready in place.
Progress on the pre-kinder
garten through second grade
levels is being made. Henion
said positive outcomes at the el
ementary levels should improve
test scores down the line as the
students move through the sys
tem.
The move toward outcome
based education has forced
school officials to look into per
formance in specific areas, He
nion said. While standardized
tests traditionally have been
Dr. Randall L. Henion
based on national norms for
what students knew at each
grade level, the move is to curric
ulum-based tests which access
what the students are actually
learning. These outcomes allow
administrators to focus on prob
lem areas.
Henion said overall he is
pleased with the school system's
performance and the positive
changes he has seen during his
tenure. He said the commitment
he has seen from administrators,
teachers, parents and community
leaders gives him reason to be
lieve the system will continue to
grow and improve.
Remodeled school will
look better, smell better
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Perquimans Middle School is
getting more than just a facelift
and better work areas in its ren
ovation project.
According to schools superin
tendent Randall L. Henion, a new
septic tank in a different location
will improve the school’s fra
grance.
The present septic tank is lo
cated behind the cafeteria, be
tween two of the school’s three
wings. Odors from the tank drift
through the school, and are es
pecially smelly when rainy
weather sets in.
The new tank will be buried
about 150 feet behind the build
ing near the athletic fields, He
nion said. The present tank will
be removed.
District health officials have
checked the present tank, the
restrooms and the cafeteria, and
sent a letter to Henion stating
that the tank is not a health
hazard.
A new wastewater drainage
distribution field is in place and
working at the middle school,
Henion said. The $100,000 pro
ject was required by the state.
Removing the present septic
tank and installing a new one
accounts for $60,000 of the $2.6
million renovation project under
way at the middle school.
Food Lion to open
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
Walls of boxes are being
emptied as shelves fill at the new
Food Lion in Hertford.
An army of employees is pre
paring for opening day, set for
Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 8 a.m.
On Monday, customer service
representatives attended training
sessions, while managers, even
vice presidents, wiped down re
frigerator cases and stocked
shelves with thousands of boxes,
cans and bottles of grocery
items.
Store manager M.W. Coates
of Hertford said later this week
representatives of national food
companies will travel to Hertford
to set up displays.
Coates’ management team in
cludes assistant store manager
C.D. Forward of Edenton, for
merly with an Elizabeth City
Food Lion store, and customer
service manager Bridget Allen of
Hertford. The store will employ
about 50 people, Coates said.
TJe 29,000 square foot store
is one of Food Lion's 1,012 gro
cery stores spread across 14
states. It is located on U.S. 17
Bypass in Perquimans Centre.
; Museum plans program
on Civil War soldiers
The Museum of the Albe
marle will present a program on
. Black Soldiers In the Civil War
on Saturday. Feb. 6 at 2:00 p.m.
' Thomas Sledge, a social studies
■ teacher at Great Bridge High
School In Chesapeake, va., will
present the program. He will be
attired In a reproduction uni
form of a Union soldier.
Sledge is retired from the
U.S. Navy. His area of expertise
r is military history and he has
- done extensive research into the
role of black soldiers in the Civil
War. and World Wars I and II.
The program is part of a se
ries being held In conjunction
with the exhibit "Civil War
Sketches” currently on display
at the museum. The program is
being funded by the North Caro
lina Museum of History Asso
ciates. It is free and open to the
public but reservations are re
quired. Call the museum at 335
1453 to reserve a place or far
more information.