The evening times., 1899-11-09
PLAN FOR new SCHOOLS
Ten Buildings to Be Erected by the
District Authorities.
The Present Crowded Condition to
Be Overcome-ConEres to BE Ask
ed for an Appropriation OF $437,-
5OO-what the officials Say-Half-
Day Sessions to End shortly.

The District officials will ask Congress
for nearly 100000, when that body meets,
for the schools of Washington and the sub
urbs Ten buildings may be erected.
and many repairs are to be made to other
structures. The actual amount to be asked
is s437, 500, and it will be divided as fol-
lows:
One twelve-room building and site. Eek
ington and vicinity. Second division. $780,
900; one new-building and site, to relieve
Greenleaf School, eightroom, Fourth d.
vision. s52, 500; one eight-room building
and site. Washington Heights, Seventh di-
vision. $56, 900; one four-room building and
site, Petworth, Seventh division, $4,000;
one four-room building and site, Twining
City, Eighth division. $4,000; Manual
Training School, Ninth and Eleventh d.
visions. s1O0, 900; one eight-room building
and site. Tenth division, So, 500; one eight
room building and site, Eleventh division,
s47, 500; one four room building and site,
Kenilworth, Eighth division, $4,000.
At present a large number of pupils in
the lower grades are allowed to attend
only halliday sessions. SO that double the
number may receive daily instruction.
When seen by Times reporter with REL
erence to this condition, Superintendent
William B. Powell, Of the public schools,
said:
IAN earnest effort on the part of the
school authorities has been. and is being.
made. so that full-day schools can be pro-
vided for all the pupils.
Congress has been very generous, but
the city has grown so rapidly that our
buildings have become insufficient for cur
needs.
Some of the room has been devoted to
kindergartens, cooking schools, cutting and
fitting schools, and manual training
schools, so that our resources are more
limited than if these important subjects
had not been introduced, and became part
of our public school system.
AN old rule of the board-probably
twenty years old-restricts the school life
of children of the first grade to halliday
sessions. This has been gradually extend
ed to the second and third grades, and this
year we havesfound II necessary to include
the fourth grade in the southeastern and
northwestern portions of the city.
However," continued Superintendent
Powell, this evil is no more common in
Washington than in other large cities. In
many cities where there are fewer half
day schools, the numbers in attendance
are much larger than here. and SO We find
some compensation for our halliday sys-
TEN. But it is constantly our effort to get
more buildings.
''Our trouble now is largely in the sub
urbs, like Mount Pleasant. Petworth. Dean
wood. and other places, which have been so
rapidly settled up, due to our rapid tran
sit facilities.
ITO do Justice to the children of these
localities, a strong appeal must be made
to Congress at its next sitting for the ap-
preparation outlined.
II wish TO say. however, that no one is
deprived of school privileges. Some parties
prefer to wait while rather than send
their children any distance from home.
There are schools within the city linn
its which can accommodate larger num-
bers OF pupils under our present arrange
ments, but some people do not wish to
send their children farther than three or
four blocks away from home.
But more buildings should be at once
supplied, and every effort will be made
this winter to secure the necessary appro-
priatiOn"