Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-19
PennY.Wise Economy.

The new retrenchment policy affect
ing the city's kindergarten system. as
promulgated by the last Congress, will
go into effect with the opening of the
school term on Monday. There has
already been some confusion in in
terpreting this policy and in deciding
what the harassed conferees on the
District bill, in the closing hours of a
hectic session, had in mind, for the
agreement reached on the kindergarten
item was no very fine example Of either
legislative intent or expression.
But as the matter stands now, the
same number Of kindergarten classes
in operation at the close Of the last
school term will be opened Monday.
with the exception of the underaged
kindergsrtens. Four of these have been
abolished. One of them, at the webster
School, will remain open because Of
its close connection with the Ameri-
canization work Each regular kinder
garten must justify It's continued ex-
istence by showing an average daily
attendance Of twenty-five pupils through
october IA. This probably means that
each kindergarten must have an en-
rollment Of at least thirty-five at the
opening of the school year. An cpl
demic of measles, wfooping cough,
mumps or other ills that beset children
Of the kindergarten age, or even a
spell of bad weather, may so cut down
the attendance that some Of the classes
will fail to show the required average
daily attendance. According to the
understanding now those classes In
which the average falls below the ar
bitrary deadline of twenty-five will
be closed. The children will either
be forced to attend some other school
or remain at home, denied the privileges
for which their parents pay in taxes to
support the school system.
Before class can justify two teach
ers Il must show an average daily at
tendance Of nifty. This will probably
result In some classes that are unduly
large for one teacher to handle, or, II
the classes become unwieldly and still
remain too small for two. teachers. the
excess pupils will be put on q waiting
list, and enrolled in the kindergartens
as regular attendants when others drop
out.
So much for the application Of the
policy. It is dificult now to forecast the
results. But the intent Of the policy
is TO cut down the number Of kinder
garten teachers and to transfer the
excess number to the grades, thereby
saving the salaries that otherwise would
be paid new teachers appointed to the
grades. No one knows how much
money will be saved. At any rate 1t
will be q relatively small amount in q
budget that totals over forty million
dollars. And 1t is yet to be demon
strated that the savings can be ac-
complished without disrupting the kim
dergarten system, causing large and
unwieldy classes, abandoning others
and bringing about individual cases OF
hardship on the part of teachers seeking
employment or denied the opportunity
for employment.
Why was the policy adopted? Be-
cause few members of Congress. who
are neither educational experts nor ex-
perienced school administrators, thought
It might be q good thing and decided
to try 1t out. The taxpayers, who sup
port the schools, we're not consulted and
their protests for the most part were
ignored. The school officials by law
must carry out what they conceive to
be the intent Of the conferees, who are
back home mending their own political
fences. If the policy becomes han
dicep, which will be shown by the first
of November, the Board of Education
should demand its repeal, and do it In
no uncertain terms.