Volunteers Are Valued At Marvista Elementary,

-- As legislators and teachers braced for a political showdown in Olympia over how to improve education, Times reporters searched for schools already succeeding. Their reports begin below and continue on page B 4.

Normandy Park's Marvista Elementary school has a reputation that has reached as far as the East Coast for being a school where students consistently perform above average academically.

"I've gotten calls from people in Florida who are coming up here and don't want their children to go to school anywhere except Marvista," said Elva Eliason, spokeswoman for the Highline School District.

Located in the heart of a small, affluent waterfront community with half-a-million-dollar homes and private beaches, Marvista students and staff benefit from the well-to-do in many ways.

The Parent Teacher Student Association raises so much more money than other units it's almost "embarrassing," said association co-president Sue Bailey.

So far, the group has raised about $48,000 this year and spent about $43,000. The Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) gave each teacher $50 to spend in the classroom and 18 teachers received $100 each as part of the association's arts-grant program.

The library got $1,250 for new books and $5,000 is in the bank for new playground equipment. The money also pays for speakers at school assemblies, leadership conferences for members, a biweekly newsletter and much more.

The added money is a bonus for a school in a district that spent about $3,866 annually per pupil in the 1989-90 school year, about $230 more than the state average.

Few of the students come from single-family homes. About half come from homes where only one parent is employed. The school has the fewest number of needy children in the district; only 35 pupils are on free- or reduced-price lunch programs.

The community's demographics have given Marvista parents an unfair reputation of being rich snobs, said Terre Salzer, co-president of the PTSA.

True, the community can afford to donate more at fund-raisers, but Marvista's success, say teachers and parents, comes from the unusually high level of parent involvement. About 200 people volunteer a year at the 460-student school.

A few years ago, teacher Ilene Singleton had a record 30 parents volunteer. She was teaching two kindergarten classes at the time with a total of about 50 students. Some parents wanted to come every week, but Singleton limited it to once a month to give all the volunteers a chance.

The staff's belief in parent involvement is why parent Vicki Rinehart plans to move from Des Moines to Normandy Park in September. Rinehart currently can't help out in one of her daughter's classes because the teacher doesn't want parents in the room.

Marvista has little staff turnover. Some of the teachers who do choose to leave do so because they prefer a school with more diversity, Singleton said.

The school has the lowest number of minority students in the district; about 92 percent of the students are Caucasian.

Most of the school volunteers don't work, or are in a profession where they can adjust their schedule, but that doesn't discount the fact that Marvista parents are committed and active, say school officials and local parents.

The Marvista PTSA recently was chosen the state's outstanding local unit of the year at the statewide PTA convention.

In addition to organizing book sales and carnivals, the 400-member unit earlier this year successfully lobbied the school and the Normandy Park City Council to require bicyclists to wear helmets. Local police can't issue tickets for those who don't comply under the city resolution, but they do hand out warnings and reminders. The PTSA also raises money to purchase helmets for those who can't afford one.

"A lot of people can't be at school everyday and I can understand that," but they can get involved by showing more interest in their child's education at home, Salzer said. At Marvista, parents do both.