Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-17
SPECIAL SCHOOLS
AREPLANNED FOR
ALIEN ADULTS
Wide Range of Activities to
"A, Aid in Making Americans
of Foreign-Born

organization of free educationa
GLASSES for foreigners as an Ameri.
canization move and the opening OF
evening recreational centers as pro-
posed in plans by J. III. Buckley, re-
gently named supervisor of special
activities. were approved by the city
school board yesterday afternoon,
Plans for opening the schools for
the foreigners in the city have al
ready been started, Supervisor
rS1ckley and superintendent i. f.
DoWnes ordering a number of large
cards printed in various languages to
be posted in districts in which these
CLASSES reside,
According to Mr.. Bickleys plan
the classes are to be held Monday,
Tuesday and Thursday evenings,
from 7.30 to 9 o'clock with special
sessions for men whose work-shifts
change each week or two weeks and
for adult women and mothers who
cannot attend in the evening. The
school year will be thirty-five weeks
in length, opening Monday, Septem-
ber 30, with three terms of approx
dmately twelve weeks each.
Extensive publicity campaigns will
be arranged and the cooperation of
many organizations and industrial
concerns will be asked to make this
latest educational plan a big success.
Everyone in the city will be asked
to act as IL committee of one" to
persuade non English speaking for
eigners to learn the language. Ser
mons. letters to the homes from
teachers, personal interviews with
Foreigners and employers of them
and numerous other means will be
resorted to to arouse the interest of
these peoples so that they will begin
a systematic study of the English
language.
Cooperation Needed
The cooperation of foreign organ
dZa,ion, industrial plants, the Cham
ber of Commerce and other business
organizations, women's clubs, pa
triotic societies, civic organizations,
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire
Girls and Red Cross, particularly the
foreign brances, will be needed ac-
cording to Mr.. Buckley, who has al
ready planned the work which some
of these could do to help.
Methods for securing regular at
tendance of persons beyond the COM
pulsory attendance age, registration
of the pupils and the curriculum are
details included in Mr.. Bickleys orig
inal plans. 1t is also planned to hold
social meetings for all the pupils on
Friday evening, every two weeks,
with programs including lectures,
music folk dances and motion pic
lures.
Buildings in which schools will
probably be opened are the Penn,
Harris and Technical High.
Supervisor Buckley has included in
his report to the directors speci-
mems of blanks which would be
used in the registrat ton of both chill
6ren of foreigners and also their
parents. He also advanced some
reasons why immigrants should at
tend the evening classes. explaining
that ii will bring them into closer as
SCciation with native born American
people will give them a most pleas
ant. life because of "A knowlege of
the English language, will help them
to IA better job and to live more
useful life.
Just as extensive as the American
IA tion plan in Supervisor Bickley's
outline for evening recreational de-
Vtlopments After advancing nu-
merous reasons for the beginning of
this work he announces that the
plans would permit all persons to at
tend. With the schools in which the
CenterS are organized, open every
evening in the week except Saturday
and Sunday, beginning September 30
and closing June l. The hours will
he $50 to $50 O'Clock, with the first
hour for children from to 10 years
of age: an hour and one-half for
children from II to Is, and from
7.30 to $50 o'clock for all persons
over Is years of age.
To Organize Clubs
The activities will include athletics.
games, such as checkers and chess, Ii
brary and reading rooms, debating;
glee club, orchestra, vocal and in
strumental music, supervised study,
story telling, crocheting, sewing, mil
linery, organization of civic organiza-
tions. special programs for Friday
or Saturday evenings; naturaliZed
foreigners to form nucleus for pur-
pose OF organization of civic clubs
for men and women.
The School Board unanim ously
voted to have the Masonic Order
take charge of the cornerstone lay
ing at the Thomas A. Edison inter-
mediate high school Nineteenth and
Chestnut streets, the date to be fixed
later in order that officials of the
STATE DOuN may Dc pItSthI' L lllo VIII
be the first time in more than twen-
ty-hve years that Il formal Masonic
ceremony will be held as the corner
stone laying program. the last one
being held when the stone was laid
at the Central High school.
The board also reConsidered Il res
olution that all teachers who enter
ed war work should be given leave
OF absence and when they return
should be reinstated. BY unani-
nous vote It was agreed to have
this motion include all district en-
1loycs.
The directors approved the appoint
ment of a number of teachers and
the assignment of others in the va
rious grade schools. A lengthy dis
cussion developed when DIR. Downes
asked for the appointment of G. H.
Gcetz, principal at the Cameron
yxTIIV yITAcTC TIME