The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-09-19
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 AVAILABLE FOR C0MMUNIT CLUBS

While the countrywide attention which Bridgeport has attracted dur ing the last month, and for that mat ter the local attention, has been fo- cussed upon the machinists' strike, there has been worked out here, as result of cooperation between local officials and the United States Bureau ot Education, a practical plan by which for the first time in any city outside of the national capital, the United States government joins with local agencies of administration in making the public school buildings available for the neighborhood-cIub- house and national-service use of all the people; a permanently important measure of constructive organization in comparison with which the noisy contest of the machinists' union ap- pears to be merely a surface disturb ance.
 Under this plan, which has just been officially approved by the Board of Education through it's school com mittee of which President Elmer H. Ravens is chairman and by the unani- nous action of the Board of Recrea- tion, MT. Pierce V. Gahen, who ainoe last December has served Bridgeport as superintendent of recreation, be- comes general secretary of commun- ity organization, deputy of the Board of Education in charge If public school property for it's use outside of regular school hours, directly associat- ed for this work with Superintendent of Schools S. J. Slawson. With the cooperation of Edward J. Ward, specialist in community organization of the United States Bureau of Edu- cation, it became MT. Gahen's duty to render organizing service in the local neighborhoods, the public school dis tricts, throughout Bridgeport in put ting into operation this agreement which provides:
 That the Board of Education or its deputy (Mr. Gahan) shall designate and cause to be published the designa-
 ton of, those public school buildings
 which being physically best adapted for use as community centers, may at
 once be made available for the in-
 auguration of this use; the under standing being that in due time and
 as rapidly as the necessary physical accommodations can be provided, all of the public school buildings through out Bridgeport, without discrimina- tion, are to be put at the service of their respective communities" In accordance with this provision after consultation with Supt. Slawson Secretary Gahan announces that the | following public school buildings are | thus designated as now ready to have | their community and national-service use organized by the citizens of their respective districts:
 The Columbus school building, the Hall school building, the Lincoln | school building, the Maplewood school i building, the Waltersville school build | ing, the Shelton school building the
 Madison school building, the Jackson | school building and the Elias Howe l school building.
 | In spite of it's excellent equipment | the new Central High school building | is not included in this list, the inten- l ton being to reserve this handsome l edifice for general use as the center 1 of centers, the headquarters of the 1 city-wide league of all of the Com
 munity associations as this organiza- | ton comes to be developed.