Truckin' on the Western Branch

“There was an unbelievable rivalry between the two schools—even though we did not compete for two to three years,” Brandriff said. “Hell Week pretty much died out after seven to eight years.”

However, some students from later years well up into the 1990s and well versed in the art of toilet paper and raw egg décor, as well as other pranks, might differ with Brandriff.

Churchland Child Opportunity With the annexation of Churchland, many black children were put into ungraded classes to try to catch up with white students, according to Inez Randolph, but the program did not work all that well. As a result, she said volunteers in the community developed Churchland Child Opportunity—a half-day preschool program to prepare children for school. Grove Church offered a facility, and other local churches supported the new program. Doris Lee was the director. GE’s Elfun Society helped build and maintain the playground and gave us any equipment they made like tape recorders. They donated test model TVs for a rummage sale to support CCO. Wives of Elfuns volunteered with the program. I was on the board for 20 years and my sister, Carolyn Taylor, was on for 30 years. Superintendent M. E. Alford also served on the board and gave us curriculum guidelines and materials. The program continued until Portsmouth started a public school 4-year-old program.

Chesapeake Demonstration School In 1967 Dr. Betty Yarborough, a local educator, secured a $1.5 million Title III Federal grant to found an innovative elementary school located on Dock Landing Road in Chesapeake. The “Demonstration School,” which ultimately gained national and international attention, eschewed grade levels or letter grades. Yarborough believed children of all abilities would thrive in a non-graded environment. She handpicked the faculty from the Chesapeake school system—teachers who embraced the philosophy of no report cards, no homework, individualized instruction, multi-age grouping, and team teaching to create a unique elementary program. The school opened with 250 students, five to seven years old, and, in five years, extended to the sixth grade and 575 students. Originally funded by a three-year grant, the Demonstration School lasted 18 years, closing in 1985. The 1,865 students that passed through the Demonstration School developed a sound educational foundation and lasting friendships with the school’s energetic combination of motivated children, teachers, and parents. “I hear and I forget—I see and I remember—I do and I understand” was the underlying theme for hands-on learning activities in the Math-Science and Humanities classes. The Reading-Language Arts groupings were based

The Demonstration School in Chesapeake ran for 18 years and educated 1,865 students.

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