Superintendent hopeful offers priorities

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1999 | 10:52 a.m.

There's nothing else like it.

Quite simply, that's the reason superintendent candidate Henry Marockie gave Monday for his desire to head the Clark County School District.

He made the statement during a public reception at Chaparral High School attended by about 30 people, including school staff, parents and community members.

Marockie said that after tendering his resignation as state superintendent for West Virginia Schools, he decided he would consider becoming superintendent of a large urban district.

Running the Clark County School District is something Marockie feels he could "really get excited about." The issues facing the district present a great challenge, he said.

When an audience member asked Marockie to choose his top three priorities for Clark County, he didn't stop at that number.

Student achievement, diversity, growth, teenage pregnancy and student dropouts are all important, he said.

In responding to a question about his approach to raising student performance, Marockie pointed to two methods that have proven successful in West Virginia.

One approach allows students to review study material more than once. This can be done with teachers breaking students into smaller groups and through the use of computers, he said.

Marockie also said student performance can be improved by making sure all students are receiving the same material.

Answering a question about how to raise student achievement on test scores at low-performing schools, Marockie said it is up to administrators to set the focus for teaching.

In West Virginia the state has even "taken over" low-performing schools, Marockie said.

One audience member asked Marockie what he feels the school district's responsibility is on social issues such as teenage pregnancy.

"Let's not kid ourselves about that issue," he said. "When I spoke before the School Board and the Selection Committee, I suggested changing the graduation requirements in Clark County."

Marockie thinks there should be a full unit of health instead of a half-unit.

"You are never going to solve the problem with abstinence alone," he said. "There also has to be dramatic information given. The community is going to have to come to grips with that."

Marockie's final interview before the School Board was set for today.