The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1919-12-18
Makeshift Schools Here
Menace Health Of Pupils;
Halt Educational Plan
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE
care of the large number OF pupils
which are being crowded into the
Luildings daily. nevertheless enough
portable buildings. a makeshift at the
most. can be furnished with which TO
decrease the size Of the classes and
at least assure the children Of Dis
trict. residents the proper attention
from the teacher to which they are
entitled
Pupils Neglected.
While II cannot be said that the
pupils are not receiving education.
nevertheless they are not receiving
all that il would be possible 10 give
them were the classes smaller in
size.
The present large classes also tend
to keep themselves crowded because
OF this very inability on the teachers
part to give individual attention.
When child who Is a little back
ward cannot have recourse to direct
appeal to the teacher when he runs
againts a difficult problem he passes
It over unsoived. fails in his examlna-
tons. and Is kept back in his grade
year. He thus is compelled to keep
seat in the class room which right
fully belongs 10 the child in the next
lower grade when the promotion
time comes.
This practice saddles the school sys-
TEN with additional expense and
proves that there is no economy In
failing to provide enough funds for
proper sized buildings and fo- addi-
tional teachers at proper salaries.
For the child who fails-in his studies
for year has to have just as much
money spent on him for recovering
the period
DIR. John Van Schaick. president of
the local Board Of Education, pointed
out last night that there was no royal
road ahead OF those charged with the
responsibility of seeing that the young
Americans IN the District Of Colum-
oia received the public school educa-
ton which is rightfuliy theirs.
There must be more portable build
ings Immediately. he said, there must
be provision for more teachers and
with that must come increased
salaries. This must be done, he
pointed out. by having that provi-
sion of the law applying TO the city
government which prohibits the Dis
trict commissioners from submitting
.
amount which can be collected in
taxes. Until this is removed nothing
can be done.
6Che school officials are arming
themselves with statistics and facts
to show the imperative need of the
I school system OF the District OF Co.
lumbia and Will present them to Con-
gress when the school section OF the
District APPROPRIATION bill comes up
for a hearing before the two District
committees of Congress shortly after
the beginning OF the new year
During the past three years the
school system OF the District of Co.
lum5ia has had added to IL in
I permanent construction only one-half
building ana that was only deGr-
Gated several days ago at Chevy
/ Chase.
Provision was made for another
building, this at Petworth. in the
northwest section. When the plans
were drawn for il. il was found that
building material had increased IN
price to such an extent that con-
struction could not be started until
! Congress provided an additional ap-
preparation. This. according to the
plans, is to be a l6-room building
with an assembly hall.
Oppose PortabIe,.
The Petworth School today con-
sists of an eight-room school build
ing. a church which is on school
property and which takes two
classes. a rented house in which
there\are two classes and two por-
tables.
Five squares away is the Park
View School. of sixteen rooms.
which had only 1875 pupils in 1914
and now has a total OF S0l pupils in
attendance divided into twenty-five
classes.
There are seventy-nine portables,
in themselves only n makeshift,
now in use in the public school sys-
tenn here, made necessary by the
constant growth in the pupil popu-
lation. They necessarily have to be
stuck of in corners. where ground
is available, away from the main
building. and have much the ap-
pearance inside of the old-time
country school house with its hot
air fire in the corner OF the room.
The school officials, including Su-
perintendent Thurston. arc bitterly
opposed to the addition of any more