The Washington herald., 1920-01-24
.SPORTABLES
FORM SCHOOL =
When Money Is Available
Woodbridge Will Have
Good Building,
SITE NEEDS DRAINING
Present Conditions Work
Hardship on Seventh and
Eighth Grade Students.

Down in the iowiands east of
Brookland and on the edge Of Ridge
wood, a growing and progressive SUD-
urb Of the District. stands the Wood
ridge cantonment. which the school
oficials Of the District Of coiumnis
dignity IN their records under the
name Of the woodridge School.
The school" in this instance hap
pens to be a collection Of the make
shift portables now forming a great
part of the school building system
Of this city. There are six of them.
all In q row. at what some day will
be Eighteenth and Monroe streets,
northeast.
THESE buildings have been con-
strYcted In the very lowest of the
lowiends In which they. arc located.
They are really a couple OF feet be-
low the grade OF the road running
In front Of them, marked on a lone
lamppost Eighteenth Street, N. E."
ana on the northern side ID an
accumulation Of water which looks
much like swamp. However, this
could De corrected by the digging
OF small drainage ditch to the
stream which runs nearby the school
school Building Needed.
There Is no doubt of the need OF
school In this section, as a walk
through the Woodbridge section
shows long rows of bungalows GO
ing up. and hundreds of children
were out on the streets yesterday
enjoying the slides on the hills, all
OF which lead directly to this col.
lection OF portables. Congress in.
tended shat the children OF this
section should have proper
schoolhouse and appropriated $780,.
900 for an eight-room ~extensi ble'
building. But like a few other
school building projects in the city
| this one has suffered because the
price Of building materials went up
SO high that, no contractor could be
found to bid within the appropria.
tion.
This year the school officials
asked for an additional appropria-
tion of 100000 for the building
However. the District Commission
ers. as the estimates went by them
cut of 100000 from this request.
At the same time they asked Con-
gress for authority to make a con-
tract for $4,000. with s120.c00 to
make the start.
Proposed Plans Adequate.
The ground here is already gov
ernment property. and is another in
stance of where someone has looked
far ahead. With enough children IN
the section already to I'LL up an
eight-room building. and great fields
! to the north and east, with the ex-
pected boom in building in this Sec
| ton evidenced by that already be-
gun, there is soon going TO be need
| for a twelve or sixteen-room build
ing. This. too, has been taken care
Of, as the plans far the proposed
eiSht-room structure provide for an
extension without serious alterations
to the original building. The gov
| ernment owns a piece of property
| here two squares long and one
| square wide. ample for any expan-
sion which may be needed.
Under the present conditions the
| portables can only accommodate
| children up to the sixth grade
Those from the seventh and eight III
\ grades from this section have to &C
many blocks distant to the Brook
| land School or to the school al
Langdon. not q short distance over
/ the hill and to the south.
There are now 22l children attend.
! ing the six grades of the school.
Portabies Only a Makeshift.
Until these portables were erected
/ this territory had no school facili.
ties, all of the children having tc
go several miles. either by a long
car ride or through undeveloped
territory to Brookland and Lang.
don.
But the section has experienced
SUCH growth that some provision
had to be made for the children
without waiting for the completion
of the proposed eight-room build
ing. So the school officials decided
on the portables which. though
temporary and unsatisfactory a.
they are, furnish a much-needed re-
lief for the children and take ava,
the pressure from the schools soutf
and west of it.
Tomorrow The Herald will tell oi
| .AnAgffan~ sHrffoA a