Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-26
SURVEY REVEALS
NEED FOR SCHOOLS
Districts Elementary System
Offers Study in Contrasts.
Congestion Is General.
Ccontinued From First Page.l

lOonIlnued From First Page.)
don and Hilton. have practically no
play space OF any sort, with the excep-
ton OF the streets, shut OF from traffic
during the recess hours.
OvercroYded school conditions In
many communities within the city are
Strikingly revealed by figures obtained
by Star reporters in their survey of ac-
tual conditions in the buildings and
class rooms throughout the city.
Or. Frank w. Ballou, superintendent
OF schools, and other educators of the
city agree that IS is the desirable maxi
mum number of pupils who should be
placed under any one teacher in car
rytng out modern school methods. Yet
there are 721 classes in Washington
that have more than IS pupils each.
For practical purposes, under present
conditions, the school officials have
made 40 pupils the maximum within
which they are striving to keep the
size OF classes in the local school sys-
tenn. Yet there are 323 classes that
have more than 40 pupils each.
There are 10 classes in the Washing
ton schools whose enrollments exceed
so pupils each.
Only about 400 classes, or approxi-
mately one-third of the total number
of classes in the school system, come
within the ideal size of modern ele-
mentary claSS-35 pupils.
These totals include only regular eIe-
mentary school classes, exclusive of
kindergartens. Most of these latter
carry rolls of 48 or so, but such totals
DO not represent the problem which
corresponding numbers of first to
eighth grade pupils would suggest
kindergartenS are generally in charge
OF two teachers and their school-day
work differs in character from the
upper grades. The reporters visited
ditionS viii be reported in subsequent
articles.
Three Excluded in Totals.
Neither do the class totals given here
include those of the Force, the new
Adams or the Morgan school. The
opening Of the new Adams Building.
the resultant abandonment of the old
Adams or the Morgan Schools The
Morgan School to the colored divisions
have resulted in general reorganiza-
ton Affecting the three schools which
remain in service. Glasses are being
set up this week. and an attempt to
compute them during the survey would
nave been idle, since the results would
nave presented q situation which would
nave changed materially even before
Ene 1actS were printed.
In presenting these figures attention
Is called to the fact that as they are
compilations of enrollments found by
the reporters on the suecific davs thev
visited the individual schools, they are
subject to variations and therefore at
pest can be only close approximations.
ram1lleS are moving constantly, and
their children consequently are being
transferred from one school to another,
IN many instances enrollmentS were
altered in this manner before the sur
Veylng reporters completed their visit
70 school.
The details Of these enrolment figures
the conditions which they impose in
class rooms In the various buildings
throughout the city, and the method
resorted to by principals and teachers
20 cope with these situations. win be
described in detail IN the later articles
The schools Of the first division. for in
stance, VIII be considered in tomorrow's
article.
Makeshift Methods Found.
In general, this congestion results in
such measures as the use of portable
school houses; the Establishment of part
Time classes under which q pupil re-
celVes little more than one-half his
deserved day in school; the use of
makeshift class room furniture and
the occupation by classes of rooms or
moor space intended for other uses. All
OF THESE methods OF coping with the
porterS
One hundred and fifty-one part-time
classes, Tor instance, were found. That
means that some rs class rooms were
accommodating two class rooms a dav
every day In the week. Under this plan,
one class occupies its room from Q am.
until 1880 pm, while its "roommate"
uses the facilities from / pm. until
$50 pm The next day, they alternate
ana the afternoon class takes the morn
ing shift. Besides cutting time from
the educational day of these $50 classes.
the part-time method handicaps the
Pupils by limiting the room facilities.
blackboard work, for instance. must be
cleaned from the board at the Terminal
tlon OF each class session instead of
remaining for continuation of work or
. review the following day.
In many cases of large class roll
tnere Is not enough regulation class
room furniture to accommodate all the
pupils assigned to a given room. The
visiting reporters found scores of rooms
IN which kitchen and library tables had
Deel placed in the corners, with odd
chairs grouped about them for the seat
ing OF boys and girls. In one school,
the johnson, at Hiatt place and Lamont
street, two groups of sixth grade pupils
were plying their texts and pens upon
folding card tables, which they them
selves had brought to school This
building, by the way. has a total en-
rollment of 400 pupils, while It Is
equipped with BAT desk and chair sets.
Contrasted with these conditions are
the classes IN some schools whose neigh
borhoods are losing their complement of
residents. In these, classes are found
with only 20 pupils, more or less, but
1t Is fair to point out here that instances