Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

Margaret Beeks Elementary School student Ben Helton performs a magic trick during the school's fifth-grade talent show last week.

A Radford City School Board member says she is in favor of requiring all high school students in the district to apply to college, even if they don't think they want to attend a two- or four-year school.

Board member Vanessa Duncan said she heard about the idea during a Virginia School Boards Association conference. At last week's school board meeting, she suggested Radford High School begin doing the same. No action was taken on the suggestion, but Superintendent Chuck Bishop said he'd pass along the idea.

The idea would be to reach out to high school students who don't think about their life plans past senior year. It's an idea that board Vice Chairman Lynn Burris said in the meeting that he also would support.

Radford already a high college-going rate. The Virginia Department of Education reported that 86 percent of the school's 119 graduating seniors in 2008 planned to attend a two- or four-year college.

Duncan said that the practice would be easy in Radford because of the number of students who already do apply to colleges.

"If there's only eight or 10 [students] left, you should be able to do that," Duncan said.

Denise Goff, a guidance counselor at Radford High School, said she's interested in the idea, but it doesn't take into consideration students with vocational training who will enter the work force after graduation or those who plan to join the military.

"I think that it would be probably helpful, but it would have to have exceptions," she said. "My feeling is that as long as they are making a plan for after high school then we are doing good."

She suggested that 95 percent of Radford's class of 2008 planned to attend college, vocational programs or the military.

Goff also questioned the logistics of such a policy for larger schools. No plans have been made to put the practice into policy, and Goff said no one in administration had mentioned the idea to her.

Martinsville City Schools implemented the practice two years ago, said Superintendent Scott Kizner. It's part of the students' senior portfolios.

"We want to make sure we're not the reason that a child is not going to school," Kizner said Tuesday.

He said administrators started the practice because many high school students in the district become first-generation college students, and navigating applications can be tricky even for parents who hold degrees.

Martinsville also has one full-time guidance counselor dedicated to working with students trying to get into college.

"It's not been as simple as I thought it would be," he said.

Initially, Kizner wanted to attach a tracking number to students to find out if they actually attend the schools to which they apply. Instead, this summer, his staff will have to contact every 2008 graduate to find out what happened after high school.

It's not an unheard of idea. In 2008, legislation in Maine required high school seniors to apply to college as a condition of receiving their diplomas.

Neither Duncan nor Burris is willing to go that far.

Other college-going rates for districts in the New River Valley, according to the state:

Floyd County: 72 percent of 150 seniors going to a two- or four-year college

Montgomery County: 67 percent of 708 seniors

Pulaski County: 67 percent of 356 seniors

Giles County: 62 percent of 194 seniors

Students to hear from motivational speaker

This is Winning Choices Week in Montgomery County's public schools.

It's a time set aside for parents, school staff and community members to "discuss and study the lives of Americans of extraordinary character," according to a resolution the Montgomery County School Board passed two weeks ago.

The week is an annual event sponsored by the school system, Virginia Tech's Corps of Cadets, Virginia Tech athletics and rotary clubs.

Beginning today, every secondary student in the county will hear from motivational speaker Jonathan Sprinkles, who talks about overcoming adversity. The sponsoring organizations help pay Sprinkles' $9,000 speaking fee.

Individual elementary schools also have assemblies designed to highlight character education, during which students reading winning essays about making winning choices.

Winning essays were named at each elementary and secondary school and a countywide winner will be chosen and awarded savings bonds from the rotary clubs.

Organizer Sharon Zuckerwar said she doesn't want any student to miss the message that the programs can provide.

Anna L. Mallory covers events and issues affecting Montgomery County schools and beyond. If you have information you'd like featured, e-mail anna.mallory@roanoke.com. You also can visit Chalk Dust, the New River Valley's education news source, at blogs.roanoke.com/chalkdust.