Evening star., 1922-12-03
WHY CAPITAL IS In NEED !.
OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
Important Part They Ought to Play in
Educational System Explained by
DIR. BallOu.

| relating to the organization and ad-
ministration of schools.
Situation Here Favorable.
The situation in Washington"
| said Supt. Baliou. "is most favorable
for the organization and development
in the course of several years of a
complete system of junior high
schools. A large amount of school
house construction must take place in
the immediate future. All of the
elementary schools are filled to ca
pacity. and most of them are exceed
| ingly congested. The high schools
are likewise so congested that most
of them have been obliged to adopt
double shift program. From the
standpoint of finance IT will be more
economical to build junior high
| schools than 1t will be to build both
elementary and secondary schools.
moreover system Of junior high
schools will provide better educa-
tional facilities than will additions
to our elementary schools and th-
high schools. By establishing a sye-
, TEN OF junior high schools. congestion
can be most readily relieved in both
the elementary and secondary schools.
1t seems TO have been the policy
over a long period of years to build
elementary schools of eight rooms
The type of elementary school in
Washington is an eight-room build
| ing. with four classrooms on each of
two floors and with good deal OF
! waste space in the middle of the
building. This building was design
ed to accommodate eight classes. ont
class for each Of the eight grades.
Buildings Are Inadequate.
This type Of building is wholly it-
adequate to provide the necessary.
educational facilities Of the moderr
| up-to-date school. Such an eight
| room building provides no manual
! training room. nor domestic science
| room. nor domestic art room. It pro
! vides no kindergarten. 1t permits of
no differentiation OF work amon2
pupils. there being only one class for
each grade. Moreover, the seventh
and eighth grade classes in these
schools are each comparatively small.
and the classes in the first two o.
three grades are usually far above
the standard Of forty pupils per class.
There are in Washington more THAI
seventy-five such buildings. Oh
viously. II the school system is 10
provide the facilities required in a.
up-to-date school system, those facil-
tiles must be installed in these huilG-
inss or provided as additional accom-
modations. Pupils from these eight
room buildings are now sent TO Inal.
uaI training and domestic science
centers FOR their specialized work.
'As a means toward improving 'h!>
system of organization. TWO buildings
in the immediate vicinity of one an
other have been consolidated under
one principal, who has beer freed
from teaching to supervise the work
OF sixteen or more teachers. In SOM
Of these cases Of consolidation add
tional facilities have been provided
In others the accommodations will no;
permit of the organization of kinder
ga-tens or the setting aside of rooms
FOR manual training and domestic
science work.
Complete Educational Units.
, From the standpoint of housii:-.
the public school pupils SO as to pro-
vide appropriatH educational tac"-
! ities for them. three definite steps
are being taken. In the first pla'''
certain Of these eisht-room ele-
! nentary school buildings are sus,
ceptible of enlargement. Several
eieht-roona additions have been made
TO such buildings. with provision III
the addition, as soon as money car
| be secured, of a combination as
sembly hall and gymnasium. Win y
sixteen-room plant OF TINS sort -
! Kindergarten and rooms for special
twork can be provided. A sixteen
room plant thereby becomes com
pleee educational unit. and II is mo-
necessary for pupils TO travel I"
other buildings to receive lhstrue'
| tton in any subject
I'm the second place. some OF thss'
| buildings cannot be EXTENDED. IN.
4 grounds are not sufhcient- some ="
them are not so conslruceeo uli". w
can be added to without great eN
| nense and others are i'll such conu'
zion that they should be aband"n"u
rather than developed. Appropria
fions are not now sufficient TO inahe
nossible any considerable abandon
ment. ,.
| Tho h,,;Iding program is the estab-
iishment Of a Junior high school Inc
esta ahl,shment of such q school means
the taking of pupils from graaH i
seven and eight out OF SeVeraI
mentary schools in the vicinity TINS
,.;,l reiteye an eight-room building
of two classes and makes II possini'
10 reduce the diversified classes IN tn'
early grades. In some cases it WI!
make It possible also to estapils"
kindergarten. - he
oo,ne the center to which the pupii>
| Of grade four. fivA and SIN iron,
these eight-room buildings VIII
| tn YacptSe thelr utdHuVi ~
househoid arts instruction Fur.htr-
the Junior high school VIII relieN'
| some of the Sixteen-room elefnsn-
tary schools of seventh and elshth
| grade classes. thereby reducing lne
| Congestion in such schools.
Lower Building Costs.
! From the standpoint of eNpens''
the building of one junior high
school will bring relief to several
smaller elementary school units At
! less cost than would he necessary n
| the same relief We're to be provided
| nv the erection of additions to StF-
. seraI different buildings.
From an educational point o.
/ view the bringing together OF -
| larger number Of seventh AM
! eighth grade pupils than are now
| found in any of our elementary
schools will mako it possible to bet
ter classify those pupils in accord
ance with their individual capaci-
ties and needs.
by establishing. several Junior
| high schools. relief Will otherwis"
| be provided for our overcrowded
high school. The erection of a single
! Junior high school provides relief.
| therefore. to both the elementary
schools and the secondary schools.