Evening star., 1927-02-08
DENIAL CT FUNDS FOR MORE
TEACHERS HANDICAP TO SCHOOLS
Lack of Instructors Will Be Felt Chiefly In
Sections Where Classrooms
Are Already Crowded.

Passage of the District appropria-
tion bill by the House with the pro
vision of "a additional teachers recon-
mended by the Board Cs Education
omitted does not end the effort to
secure funds for an increased teach
ing force. Yesterday at a hearing on
the District bill before the Senate
District appropriations subcommittee
representatives of The Board of Edu-
cation appeared and presented argu-
ments and statistics to show the
need of the additional force.
In this connection a statement
issued by superintendent Ballou i'm
mediately after the reporting Of the
appropriation bill to the House, and
before his departure from Washington,
occasioned by the death of a relative
in New York State. is of Importance.
After noting that the bill as reported
TO the House provided increases Of
SIS, 600 for supplying school children
with paper towels and $1,000 for jani-
tor service in connection with com
munity center meetings, and decrea ses
of 500, 900 for an addition to the
Crummell school, and $121, 100 for IA
new teachers, superintendent Ballou
says:
THE reduction of the Budget
Bureaus estimates which will have
the most far-reaching effect on the
school system is the elimination of
the appropriation for "a additional
teachers. AS reported by the appro-
priations committee, the bill carried
no provision whatever for additional
teachers.
Larger Classes Will Result.
IF this bill becomes a law without
making any provision for new teach
ers, it means materially increasing
the size of classes in elementary,
junior and senior high schools; the
impoSsibility of organizing small
classes of atypical children, who need
special instruction, and the assign
ment to regular classroom instruction
of all supplementary teachers now
employed in our larger elementary
schools, to give children who need it
the individual instruction necessary
for them to keep up with their re.
spective classes.
while these reassignments of
teachers can and will be made if
necessary, it should be clearly under
stood by the citizens of Washington
that this saving of $121, 900. brought
about as a result of eliminating pro-
v
school year 1927-192S, will mean a re-
duction in the quality Of instruction
and the elimination of special types
of instruction which the school
system has heretofore been able to
provide.
1.-THE strength of any school system
lies in the quality of the teaching,
which in turn depends on classes of
reasonable size and suitable building
facilities. 1t is greatly to the credit
of all parties concerned that up to
this time appropriations for teachers
have been sufficient to keep most
classes in the public schools of Wash.
ington within reasonable size, and to
provide small number of teachers
for the enrichment Of instruction
which it is the right of the children
TO enjoy.
Sections Now C0ngested Most Affected
1.-The lack of additional teachers will
be felt most seriously in those Sec
tions of the city where the schools are
already crowded. If the extra load of
pupils could be distributed tn, oughout
the city, those teachers handling
classes in the more sparsely settled
sections of the city where classes are
smaller might share the burden. This
cannot be done. Children in Petworth
cannot be sent 3 miles to the schools
in Southeast or Southwest Washing
ton. Glasses already heavy must be-
come an even greater burden, there
fore, when extra teachers cannot be
provided.
New buildings to be opened in the
more congested sections where relief
should be afforded for undesirable ac-
commodations and part-time instruc-
ton present the most outstanding need
for additional teachers. The muni-
cipal architect says he will complete
the Burroughs, the Amidon, the
Smothers, the Woodbridge and the
et-Patterson and Gordon Junior
High Schools before July i, 1923.
These schools must be provided with
teachers, some elementary and some
junior high. Moreover, 19 additional
junior high school teachers will be
needed for those pupils who move up
to ninth grade status in the Stuart
and the Francis, the Randle and Hine
additions, which Will be occupied this
year by seventh and eight grade pu-
pills, The full complement of teachers,
however, for these four junior high
schools will not be provided this year,
but will be needed for the ninth grade
classes in 1928.
Special Instructions.
1.-THE school authorities are being
criticized apparently for the lines of
special instructions which have been
introduced in our schools, but which
are recognized as necessary in every
modern school system, as, for in
stance, the small classes in junior and
senior high schools, where nuch cleo
tive specialized training is carried on
in machine shops, mechanical drawing
and other manual and household arts
classes, laboratory classes, typeWrit
ing, etc. AS education becomes more
specialized. it is to be expected that
classes are to become smaller. Like
wise, in the elementary schools special
types of children must be organized in
| small classes, supplementary teachers
assigned to large buildings handling
children with special needs, and save
much TO the taxpayer in the reduction
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