Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-30
MODIFIED POLICY
IN KINDERGARTEN
PLANS ANNOUNCED
School Officials to Consider
Human Elements Instead
of Cold Figures.
DECISION MAY KEEP
ALL CLASSES OPERATING
Or. Ballou to Report to Board Of
Education on Problem at Tomor-
rows Meeting.

REORGANIZATION of the District kinder
gartens will go forward in the future
with definite regard to the human ele-
ments involved, rather than on the sole
basis of cold figures as first intended.
This was indicated In ofnclal scnool
circles today when officers were prepar-
ing for the scheduled meeting OF the
Board of Education tomorrow, at which
time the kindergarten situation Is eX-
pected to occupy considerable Afternoon
Of the board members.
Whereas it was formerly announced
that every kindergarten class in the
city which could not show an average
daily attendance of IS children for the
period between the opening Of school
and october II would be closed, it now
appears that the reasons for low at
tendance will be taken into conSidera-
ton as well as the number OF pupils.
It develops that recent correspondence
has passed between certain conferees OF
Congress and school officers, in which
tt Is denied that the legislators ever
intended the reorganization which the
announced plans of school officers had
implied.
Merits to Be Studied.
1t was explained today that when the
kindergarten system is reorganized, 1t is
entirely possible that one class of %
children would be eliminated, while
another of the same number OF chill
dren would be continued in service. This
situation may arise, it was pointed out,
through the humane" consideration OF
the merits of each class.
For instance, it was said, the class OF
% which is closed might logically be
one with q total enrolment of scarcely
that number of children, which would
indicate a lack of justification for the
continued maintenance IN view of the
standards Of adequacy set up by the
congress conferees. On the other hand,
the class of the same size which would
be continued might be one in which
an epidemic of measles, or other COM
mon child ailments, might have taken
its toll of punctuality.
Similarly, such q continued class OF
small average daily attendance might
be located in building to which road
and sidewalk approaches either were
being repaired or initiaIy constructed,
thus making 1t advisable in the minds
of parents to keep their children home
pending completion Of the work rather
than permit them TO encounter danger
by falling or through the detours they
might have to make.
BaIlOu to Report.
90 Slowly 90 the school OfnclalS In
tend to order the closing of any class
that it was said at the Franklin Ad-
ministration Building today it is not
likely that any of the kindergarten
classes is TO be closed. This suggestion
was not based OH any computation OF
enrollments to date or q study of the
trend Of the class rolls, but was given
merely as an illustration OF what is
apparently q change of heart In the
school circles regarding the kinder
garten.
In its meeting tomorrow, the Board
o. Education will received from DIR.
Frank w Ballou, superintendent state
ment OF the policy he has followed with
regard to the kindergarten classes, and
the kindergarten teachers adiudged
surplus" on the basis of the sizes of
several classes. At its first meeting of
the year, September 10, the board au-
thorized DR.. Ballou to proceed with the
setting up of policy which would en-
able the school year to be launched
without penalty for the kincergartens.
At the same time it approved virtually
every recommendation he made con-
eerning the kindergarten ct that time.