Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-08-29
VACATION Time DRAWS
RAPIDLY TO ITS CLOSE
Schools to Open on Friday, Septem.
Der 10, for Registration
Of Pupils.
SOME CRowDING IS EXPECTED
New Robert Il. Lee School, in West
End, Will Not Be Ready Until
Next Year-Board Feels Shortage
of Men Teachers.

Vacation time for pupils and teachers
in the city public schools is rapidly
drawing to a close. The effect of the
selectivc draft is felt strongly in the
teaching force, particularly where 1t
affects teachers in tho high school and
prevocational school. number Of
these young men are subject to draft
which naturally gives them as UNI
settled feeling in relation to their work
Tor the ensuing session. Several have
resigned. The city schools. however.
Will open as usual with the full COM
plement Of teachers. and where schools
are ovcrcrowded-this is a chronic con-
dition in the West End-tcachers will
be added as the occasion demands. The
Robert Il. Lee School. in the West End
will not be ready for occupancy until
next year.
The nominal opening OF the city
schools will take place September l3
This gives two days to get things to
running smoothly before Monday
There will be a meeting of the prn-
cipals September at 10 O'Clock in
the auditorium of John Marshall High
School, and meeting of all the teach
ers September IL. Both meetings will
be presided over by DIR. j. A. c. Chand-
Ter, superintendent of the city schools Of
Richmond. No uncasincss is antici-
patcd from infantile paralysis this year
There arc fifteen opcn-air schools,
eleven white and four colo-ed. From
technical point of view. the colored
open-air schools are even moro i'm
portant than those maintained for the
white children. though this is not al
ways understood.
INTERESTING WORK OF
PRENOCATlONAL SCHOOL
OF great Importance also is the pre-
vocational school at Twenty-second
and Broad Streets. Here pupils from
the sixth. seventh and eighth grades
are given half-year course, working
onc-half of each day in carpentry
printing, electricity and metal work
The third year is sclectivc. and one Of
shcsc rocations may be selected and in
tensive training given in that special
branch the entire year. w. f. Metcalf
Is principal. II is only In printing that
the boys fail to return for their third
year, for having learned enough to Sc
cure a position in composing room at
iair wage, they arc loath to give
up their jobs and return to the school
room for another year OF training and
study. The schools open with the usual
hummer OF school nurses, but. as with
teachers, where the necessity arises
there will be more nurses added to
the force. Interesting, in view of the
cNiEcncies which have been met by
N'' Su'StiiuNlOIl OF women 1Or the
who have been called into service is the
list of the volunteers from the BUSH
ness womcn's reserve corps. a class OF
women who have had an eight weeks
course OF training during the summer
under the supervision of Miss Matte
w. Haskcr at John Marshall High
school, who volunteered to help out
Edwin l.. Cox. the chairman Of the
District Registration Board in the
stress of work incident to the enor-
nous task of registering hundreds Of
men for service.
1t Is necessary to make ten copies Of
all the papers. MIR. Cox sent out the
; o : call for help. and twelve vol
untcers from the business women's re-
serve corps promptly responded, and
they have been hard at work ever since
in room in the John Marshall High
school. The women who volunteered
for this work are as follows: Misses
Anne Robertson Ba sdalc, Bessie Mel
vile jackson. Martha Webb Purcell
Margaret Waller Freeman Dallas Lee
Maciewski Jean McGraw, MarGie Kim
hrough. Della Waugh, Katherine Cur
It's Rostrup. Florence l.. Chaplin and
Mrs. Lula l.. Baldwin.