European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday december 2, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 9educationstudents learning to b All they can be by Jimi Jones education writer just nine weeks after starting a new intensive school improvement plan three fourths of the students at Zaragoza High school in Spain Are earning at least b averages. The Success Endeavor program modelled after one developed by Albert Mamary the superintendent of schools of Johnson City n.y., is an approach to education that focuses on re teaching and retesting. Documented results from Mamary a program and the first marking period of the Zaragoza school year indicate a reverse in the common trend of unsuccessful students being churned out after years of education a a trend that big businesses have blamed on schools for some time now. At the end of the first marking period 73 percent or 81 of 116 students earned a 3.0 Grade print average or better. A a it a mind boggling a said principal Frank Calvano. A grades have increased dramatically and its not a Giveaway program. There Are no gifts in terms of grades. The kids Are earning them. Their self concept and self Confidence Levels have improved tremendously and they re working harder than they Ever have Calvano said the additional time students spend with teachers and the Opportunity to retest a the heart of the program a is making the difference. A before we never did that a he said. A we just taught the material gave a test and moved on. We re ending that by not moving on but re teaching and then retesting students can achieve much better. The whole concept it so simple i say to myself a Why did no to i think of this before a a the Success Endeavor program is based on the concept that a fall students will experience Success in All subjects and that Success is determined to mean 80 percent competency a said Art teacher Steve King. A such competency would be reflected by the student receiving a b or better in All classes a he said. The program the Only one known to exist in department of defense dependents schools was not without problems in its initial phase. A most professional educators have become quite used to the Bell curve of Grade distribution a traditionally yielding a few a a More bus even More cos a tapering Down of Dos and a few Fps King said. A the Success Endeavor has forced a crack in the Bell curve. A we Are saying that All students can make a a and bus. They All done to but our position is that they All can a Calvano said. A the belief and expectations we have relative to that Normal curve has hindered us in    dramatically and it s tort Giveaway program. A principal Frank Calvano in ques students experienced even More of an academic and mental overhaul school officials said. A students accustomed to putting out minimal Effort for mediocre grades were forced to exert themselves More a King said. But a with parents teachers and administrators actively involved in their level of Success even the most recalcitrant students were prodded to  although students accustomed to doing less Felt fatigued teen agers who have traditionally been top students Felt disheartened officials said. A it was a hard Issue for some of them. They did no to like it a Calvaro said. A they Felt they would not Shine As brightly As they did before. They also said it Wasny to fair that you should have a second Opportunity. A you done to get second chances in life they contended. They also argued that if we Are going to re teach and retest students they should not receive a Grade higher than 80 percent even though they might score 95, Calvano said. The staff rejected that idea he said because they Felt the Grade the student earned was indicative of what the student has Learned was entitled to receive. Students continue to Fine tune mixed emotions about the program. Officials noted some common comments. A the Success Endeavor is Good not just because it raises your grades but because it helps you learn the material.,�?� said Junior Marques Harvey. Senior Nova jargon said she found herself studying More and making a a conscious Effort to receive an 80 percent in her schoolwork. A i Only wish this could have come about a lot sooner a she said. A maybe my spa would be higher and i would better understand those classes i barely made it through with a c or a  a sometimes i feel like in a spending my life retaking tests a said Junior Elizabeth Simmons. But after retaking a test four or five times believe me i know what its  not every student has achieved the desired level of Success in All subjects but of the 35 who received less than a 3.0, Only four showed less than a c average. A the primary purpose of the Success Endeavor is not for students to get bus a he said a but to master knowledge and skills necessary for students to function in societal conditions which require literacy of  the business of education since lowering academic standards was not an acceptable option in boosting a students Grade re teaching and retesting has become commonplace at the school he said. Students have six periods of various classes with the seventh for students to return to classes where they May need help. A a teacher might be required to re teach some material to certain students a second and perhaps even a third time a King said. A this is followed by a retesting Over that material using a different test a not merely duplicating the original test. A a it a a tremendous amount of work on the part of the teachers but a majority of them Are doing what they can to teach better More effectively a King said. A the results Are amazing. A a in be been in Dodds for 15 years and in be taught on three continents but in be never seen anything like it. In a real bugged about it. Its More fun to work from this kind of an approach than it is to just kind of drag yourself through the Day a he said. In addition to the profound changes in teaching tech German schools to test . Anti drug program by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau Wurzburg Germany a German school officials in Bavaria have just said yes to an american program designed to teach children to a just say  the drug abuse resistance education test program has been approved for classes in roughly 450 Public schools in Northern Bavaria said Jurgen Ruhling the regional superintendent of schools for bavarian slower Franconia area. A we can begin right away a he said. Known As dare the program was developed in 1983 As a joint Effort Between police and schools in los Angeles to help curb drug use among schoolchildren. Subjects such As self esteem and resisting peer pressure As Well As the dangers of drug abuse Are taught in dare classes. The program was adopted by military Law enforcement and department of defense dependents schools in Europe in 1988. Rohling said bavarian school officials a accepted the program largely because of the efforts of . Army staff sgt. Paul Leenheer the dare coordinator for the 3rd inf div and the Wurzburg military Community. Leenheer outlined the program for Rohling about a year ago and helped sell it to Franz Vogt president of education for lower Franconia schools. Vogt recently approved a Pilot dare program for the schools in his Region. If the program is successful it could be implemented throughout Bavaria Rohling said. The program has been readily accepted by German school administrators he said a because the idea of it is to protect children from  drug use among German Young people increases every year Ruhling said. Bavarian schools started teaching children about drugs two years ago. But that program Falls Short of teaching them what to do when drugs Are introduced through peer pressure he said. A we want to give them the Means to face a situation they have never faced before. A we feel the drug problem is More present in the United states than it is Here Quot he said. Leenheer agreed and said adopting the program is a not an admission of a problem. Its a preventative  that a something the German system needs Rohling said. A for years Germany has focused on therapy for people already addicted to drugs Ruhling said. A it costs a lot of Money and does no to do very much. We need to do something before they Are involved with  Leenheer and Ruhling met recently with 16 school supervisors from the lower Franconia District to explain the dare program. Leenheer told officials How the program is run through the Mili Tail and answered questions posed by the administrators. Dare will be introduced to parents and youngsters starting this month Ruhling said with intensive dare instructor training beginning in january. There a Only one question that Leenheer did no to know will German schoolchildren learn to just say a one in leaving a Mark  spec. Randall Irwin fingerprints Pupil Elena Williams 8, at Mannheim elementary school in Germany last week. Elena and her fellow third graders were among the nearly 750 youngsters who participated in the operation i.d., a program designed to help identify missing children sponsored by the Pat and the Community s Provost marshal