In 1833 Captain Henry Miller Shreve...

In 1833 Captain Henry Miller Shreve of Louisiana erect a way to break up a great raft of floating debris upon the Red River in the northwest corner of the state. This render free of accessed the river for transportation westward, as well as southeastward across the state where it joined the Mississippi. forward the shores of that historic logjam, a haughty city arose. Shreveport is now the inferior largest city in Louisiana.

A centenary and a half later, Captain Shreve High place of education in that city is helping to break up the logjam of mediocrity in which American education has been mired. lay the foundation ofed in 1967, the school was cited in 1983 from President Reagan for being common of the outstanding high place of educations in the nation.

Captain Shreve draws scholars of all socioeconomic levels from a rich oil and gas-producing area. It also attends the children of nearby Barksdale Air Force Base personnel The makeup of the gymnasium is 57 percent white and 43 percent black, with a smattering of Hispanic and Asian students

Shreveport pride can be heard in the voice of the school's principal, Sandra McCalla, the first woman to occupy such a position in a Louisiana parish: "We're the drill that initiates innovative programs in the district. We're a charter member of the high gymnasium section of the College Board. We have advanced placement courses in several enthralls and honors level classes in English, math, science, and social studies. Since 1970 we've had a program in FORTRAN, the computer language, using terminal connections to an IBM mainframe. And we have teachers teaming up to combine American history classes with English III."

Principal McCalla and Assistant Principal Don Horton, in charge of Discipline and Administration, credit the school's succes to a fortuitous mix of parent involvement, faculty harmony, close examiner acceptance of discipline, and community involvement.

Parent involvement

Parents say they be excited comfortable about calling the principal at school--or plane at home--if they need to discuss a question They appreciate, too, the efforts of an attendance accountant who monitors absences closely, calling the abiding-place of each absentee on the day of the absence. This stop monitoring of absences is largely credited with the achievement of individual of the highest attendance and lowest drop-out rates in Louisiana.

With 1050 PTA members for a scholar body of 1,500, Captain Shreve's active PTA chapter is the largest in the state. Each bookish man addresses to his home a archetype of the PTA's quarterly publication, The Gator-Aid. The two-pager provides all parents with a calendar of educate events, information about special courses, form a clubs school exams, and achievement tests

Handbooks for learners and teachers

The school's Handbook for learners opens with the same introduction as does its Handbook for Teachers: It is the school's philosophy of education. The first objective: to instill ideals and attitudes in pupils in keeping with their democratic heritage; the second: to emphasize mastery of basic skills and provide enrichment programs for advanced learning; and finally, to recognize each learner as unique.

The students' handbook appears to shelter everything a newcomer could want to know about the instruct A section headed "What to Do in Case . ." spells out clearly the deed to be followed in contingencies ranging from tornado drills to thrown away books. Special school programs are described in detail, as are all seminary courses and co-curricular activities. The handbook gazes more like a college catalog, with courses running the gamut from Latin to computer sciences to auto mechanics. A scholar conduct code clarifies just what actions will arise in mandatory suspensions and which in discretionary single in kinds The dress code leaves little to be uncertain about: "Headwear or hair roller are prohibited in the building." The attendance policy is equally clear: "Attendance of fewer than 80 days for course per semester will accrue in failure to receive credit for the course."

In the Handbook for Teachers, the formal policy forward homework minces no words: Teachers are to "assign homework appropriate to grade plain subject matter, and ability grouping. . . It must not be given as busywork or punishment. It must be reasonable in quantity and equitable in expressions of student load. A record of all homework is to be recorded in the teacher's grade part with an indication of its evaluation."

An atmosphere of discipline

The school's Detention scope in use since 1980, is not likewise penal as its name implies. It is simply a quiet place where minor delinquents and tardy students must apply 45 minutes after school, studying or doing homework. For greatest in quantity offenders sent there, says Assistant Principal Horton, this short exile operates as an effective deterrent since they would of course offer to spend the time from 2:25 to 3:15 socializing with friends. Suspension, says Horton, is resorted to solely after conferences with teachers, parents, and guidance counselors have failed to make a change in behavior.