Evening star., 1921-10-31
bA[L0U ADVOCATE
DF SCHOOL CHANGES
WiIl Tell Congressional Com
{ mittee of Plans for Edu-
b catjonaI Betterment.

appointment Of members Of the
board Of education by the Commis-
sioners and several important changes
In the administration of the puDnc
schools will be advocated by Supt.
frank W. Ballou when he appears the
latter part Of this week before the
Congressional committee investigat-
hng the schools. All OF the cnanees
pr Ballou will urge. 1t was sara To-
day. will be designed for the eouca-
tional betterment Of the school sys-
tenn.
.Returnins today from Boston. DR..
Rallou plunged into the preparation
Of a comprehensive statement en-
6odying the changes in the school sys-
tenn he will request before the com
rnittee. The statement VIII nrst oe
Submitted to the school board az us
meeting "Wednesday Tor applothl Va l.
Therefore when it is presented to the
Joint Senate and House school anVeso-
eating committee it will represent
the opinion of the board members as
we'll as the superintendent.
Salient RecOmmendatiOn.
{. Perhaps the salient recommends
ton of DIR. Ballou will be for the aP-
pointment of school board members
b. the Commissioners instead OF pS
the justices of the District supreme
Court, as at present. enc supreme
Court justices already have formally
asked to be relieved of this duty
! A larger administrative staff and
reorganization of the salary scheduie
Of school employees will be among the
other important recommendations 10
be. made by DIR. Ballou. Several mi
nor changes. which include the en-
largement of the boards of examiners,
also will be recommended.
In enlarging the administrative
fprce Dr. Ballou will propose that a
business manager be appointed and
a group of supervising principals or
ganized to act as assistant superin-
tendents- Under this plan the busi-
ness manager also would be rated as
an assistant superintendent and
would be charged with disposing Of
all general routine matters. Thus
the superintendent would be permit
ted to give his entire attention to
educational matters. which is re-
garded as virtually impossible under
the present system of administra-
ton.
BY diverting the stan of supervis-
ing principals into assistant super
intendents their work would be
broadened to a city-wide scope in
stead of small districts, as at present.
Plans Another Change.
Another administrative change
which Supt. Ballou will recommend
Is that a group of administrative
principals be formally organized to
supply resident administrative and
educational direction in various Sec
tions of the city.
There are now thirty-three admin
istrative principals in the school sys-
tenn, but they are not rated as such
under the law. They are described
by school authorities as de facto ad-
miristrative principals.
In recommending a reorganization
of the salary scale OF school en-
ployes it is the intention Of DR..
Ballou to increase the maximum pay
and not the minimum. School off,
cials believe that by providing 3
larger maximum wage efficient and
well qualified teachers will be re-
tanned in the school system because
they will have some incentive to
work for a promotion and increased
pay, The maximum salary now, it is
contended, is so low that it is feared
that some of the best teachers will
seek teaching positions In other cities
where the pay is higher than in
Washington.