European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday july 2, .1990 the stars and stripes Pago 9 i  educator chosen As principal of Bonn is Wiesbaden West Germany a the assist ant principal of Ramstein High school will head her own school this fall. Lavonne k. Tawney has been named principal of Bonn High school for the school year starting in August. She replaces Lowell Jacobson no transferred to Japan. Tawney started teaching in Madrid Spain in 1961. Since then she has served overseas for 17 ears As a teacher or administrator in Bromer Aven Karlsruhe Bamberg Kaiserslautern and osterholz West Germany,., and on Midway Island. Tawney earned her masters degree from Kansas state University in 1971. Bonn High school is in the Bremerhaven school District and serves about 300 students.2 new principals named in the Nurnberg District Wiesbaden West Germany a two new elementary school principals have been named for the Nimberg District of the department of defense dependents schools in West Germany. Germany Region officials selected Susan c. Somani As the principal of Hohenfels elementary school and Robert l. Van Epps or As principal of Bundlach elementary school. Somani currently the assistant principal at Vilseck elementary school replaces David Russel who will be on sabbatical leave for the coming school year. An 11-year Dodds Veteran Somani first taught overseas in 1979 in Baum older. She has served As a teacher and As an administrator in Baum older Hahn and Vilseck. In past years she has been involved in the development of computer education. Somani received her master s degree from the University of Southern California in 1985. She was reared in Barre vt., is married and has two children. Van Epps first Dodds assignment took him in 1987 to Bamberg where he served As an elementary school teacher. In april he was detailed to the elementary school i school in Bundlach As assistant principal. Bundlach has about 180 students. Van Epps earned his masters degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1976. In the states he taught at the elementary and secondary Levels was principal for elementary and intermediate schools and assistant superintendency in Ohio his Home state. Van Epps is not entirely new to overseas teaching experience. He served As the assistant principal of the . School in Berlin in the Early 1970s. Since joining Dodds he has been involved with the Nimberg District Council of teachers and has served As a curriculum alignment Trainer for the District. Van Epps wife Sharyn is a Dodds educator working As Media specialist at Bamberg elementary school. Both Somani and Van Epps Start their new jobs aug. 8.13-year Dodds Veteran to head no Venich school Wiesbaden West Germany a a 13-year Veteran of the department of defense dependents schools will be the top Man at no Venich Ken icentary school next school year officials announced recently. Lawrence d. Hart has been named to head the Small school that serves about 50 students. Hart replaces Joseph Brooks who retired in May. Harts overseas teaching career dates Back to Bremerhaven in 1977. He has served As a teacher and administrator in Bremerhaven Neu Ulm Nimberg and Goppinger. He currently is the principal at Moers elementary school which closed at the end of the school year. Hart earned his masters degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1975. The Baltimore md., native will assume his new position on aug. 8. No Venich elementary school is part of the Bremerhaven District.  sep system helps schools get More by Tamara Henry. A education writer Washington apr Carlos sheriff brought Home a red and White folder every week telling his Mother everything she needed to know about his education. So did nearly 160,000 other students in two states. Those folders have become a trademark of a pro Gram that seeks to assist schools in getting parents involved in the education of their children. School districts in Mississippi and California Are participating in the Quality. Education project and negotiations Are under Way to establish programs in Illinois. Carlos completed the sixth Grade this past Spring in a Jackson miss., school that participates in the project. His Mother Juanita said �?�1 really like that red folder because then i can see what he s doing each week a if he a not doing As Well As i think he should even if he a been a Little talkative. A you can Send Back comments. I Tell them a you have my permission to take him behind the Green boards for a whipping. Or i Tell them to give him some extra work As  Nancy Honig president of the project says increased parental involvement is a key to improving and sustaining academic achievement. A a there a a lot of talk now about parental involvement but no one really knows what that Means a said Honig who developed the program in 1982 As a grass roots movement to improve californians Public school system. A it sounds so simple. I mean its not sexy at All parental involvement. People want to talk about curriculum Reform drug abuse babies a those Are All important issues a but Here is an Issue where we have a window of Opportunity to address and nothing is happening. Everyone a researching not  the project has several objectives a get parents to actively support the school. A encourage school administrators to Institute activities that would keep parents informed about their children a Progress and about what a going on in the school. A train school administrators to work with parents. A train teachers in the specifics of enlisting Parent support at Home for the schools efforts. A train parents in what to do at Home to further the educational process both at Home and at school. A get civic business and religious groups to support the schools and their program of parental involvement. A promote Reading at Home As a key Way for parents to help their children with schoolwork. Seven districts in Mississippi comprising 28 elementary schools with 16,000 children and 32 districts in California with 143,358 students in 230 schools have signed on for the program. The school districts usually take the first step asking sep to assess their needs and come up with solutions. While the goals Are the same the programs Are tailored for the individual school District. Sep will train someone from the area and pay the person to implement the program. A we knew we could t change attitudes through lec Iuis a said Honig we had to find an easily replicated hands on program. Why Wco re successful its not just because we have the tools. Its because we done to Send the wrong person in to do the Job. A we would never hire a non mississippian to work in Mississippi. If we worked in new York City we would hire someone who grew4tip in the project area and became educated. People relate to people with similar  Bettie Mckinley principal of Isabll elementary school in Jackson miss., said the program a serves to intensify the relationship Between the school Home and Community. It seeks to draw the Community into the school to make it feel More involved. It has made my Job easier in some  Mckinley a school joined the program in february. Ivy Lovelady Mississippi program director said gov. Ray Mabus and the state it tit cation super Inton Dent invited sep into the school system. Federal funding was obtained last fall to implement the Parent school partnership program. The needs Are great said Lovelady citing the stalls tics of a representative Mississippi school District 98 percent of the students arc Black 95 percent live in poverty 65 percent drop out of school before finishing High school and 35 percent have parents who arc illiterate. The school system had begun to make substantive changes even before sep entered the state. Students were required to attend school through age 14, begin no in 1985. That was raised to 16 the following year. Kindergartens were introduced in the 1983 school year although attendance is not mandatory. The Mississippi legislature has passed a Bill that would require students to begin attending school at age 5, but still considering a funding measure to implement the taw. In the seven Mississippi districts participating in sep parents teachers and administrators All sign a performance  parents pledge to provide a quiet place for study every night encourage the completion of Homework every Day make sure their children get plenty of rest and get to school on time every Day to attend various school events and Parent tace her conferences and spend at least 15 minutes per Day Reading with their children. In return the principal and teacher pledge to provide a Safe place for students teach ail the necessary concepts for academic achievement and keep parents abreast of the students Progress. Most teachers Send Home with each child each Welt a personal folder with the weeks work enclosed As Well As notes announcements and other messages. Parental participation in Mississippi has grown from 5 per Capoj to about 20 percent since the project was implemented Lovelady said. A we Are Able to get the parents out Quot said Lovelady. A we Are Able to get the parents educated. We Are Able to get staff to communicate with the parents a new superintendents to take Over in the Stuttgart District in August Wiesbaden West Germany a new superintendents will head the Stuttgart District when classes resume in August. Nancy c. Bresell a 14-year Veteran of the overseas school system has been appointed superintendent of the District and a Smith Reeves a 25-year Veteran will be assistant superintendent. Bresell a Post is a gs-14 equivalent and Reeves is a gs-13. Bresell replaces Donald Devona who transferred to Italy in May. The Claremont n.h., native began her overseas teaching career in Mainz in 1976. She has taught in Mainz and served As principal of elementary schools in Gellhausen and Frankfurt. She also worked at the Darmstadt career Center. In the Early 1980s, she transferred to the personnel division at the Germany regional office and from 1983 to 1985 served there As a special education coordinator in the education division. During the past few months she has been extensively involved in the development of an effective framework for Middle level education. She has been working toward the opening of a new Middle school in Wurzburg. The new superintendent who earned her doctorate at the University of Southern California Heads for the Stuttgart area this summer to assume her new duties sometime in August. Reeves is chief of the executives service division at regional Headquarters in Wiesbaden. He began his Dodds teaching in tout France in 1965. His european service includes assignments As a teacher in Nimberg and Fulda and As principal of Patch High school in Stuttgart. Reeves also has served As an administrator in Japan Okinawa and the Philippines. The Atlantic City n.j., native has served on the regional directors staff for three years and has been extensively involved in the development and implementation of regional policies and with the development of school based management programs. Reeves and his wife Ellen will move to Stuttgart this summer in Lime for him to take his new position aug. 8. The Stuttgart District has 19 schools and serves nearly 14,000 students