The Washington times., 1931-05-07
SCHOOL BOARD.
AVOIDS GRANT
SCHOOL QUIZ
Officials Are "Too Busy" to
Listen to Parents Protest
on Unhealthy Conditions

The Board of Education is
too busy to listen to the pleas
of parents that children be given
adequate proper space and equip
ment for the preservation of
their health and the advance
ment of their education.
This was revealed by the re-
fusal of DR.. H. Barrett Learned,
president of the board, and DIR.
Frank w. BallOu, superintendent
of schools, to allow the president
of the Grant Parent Teacher As
ISOLATION to appear before the
board to urge additions for the
antiquated and OvercrOwded ele-
mentary school into which are
jammed the children from an
area at least so city squares in
size, directly west of the White
House.
Parent Revolt Looms
Instead of rebuilding the Grant
School, which is in a sad state,
the Board of Education has
stated its intention of ulti.
mately returning to white pupils
Toner School, now used as a
colored consumptive school, or
Weightman School, which the
board considers unfit for cripple
children, who now use it.
Mrs. Belle Cutler Parker, presi-
dent Of Grant PIT. A., said today
that she has been informed by
nurses at Toner that every child
there runs temperature. Open
revolt of parents has been threat
ened if the Board of Education
attempts to house now healthy
children in this school.
In reply to a request to appear
before the Board Of Education to
urge the much-needed additions
to Grant School, Mrs. Parker to-
day received q letter from DIR.
Learned, refusing on the grounds
that the board is "tOO busy"
Permission Is Denied
Jere j. Crane, business manager
of the school system, said all
requests must go to DIR. Ballou.
Mrs. Parker then telephoned
DR.. Ballou, but without gaining
permission to address the board.
DR.. Ballou, she said, declared
Grant School was not in need Of
anything; that the section was
being crowded out, and that
eventually Toner or Weightman
would be returned to the white
pupils, as new colored con-
suumptive school is to be opened
and the Weightman School has
lost it's usefulness.
Grant School houses some 476
pupils. There are IL classrOOms.
In the building there are but two
wash bowls to accommodate the
whole student body.
Section Is Growing
The section around Grant
School-which is the only school
for white pupils south Of Pennsyl-
vania Avenue and west of the
White HouSe-is rapidly growing.
The new Rock Greek and Potomac
Parkway being developed along
the river will increase its growth.
Some of the larger apartments in
the immediate vicinity of Grant
School, most of them erected in
the last few years, are:
The Boulevard, 2121 New York
Ave.; the Riverside, 2145 c ST.;
the Mayfield, 2115 c ST.; Potomac
Park, Twenty-firSt and c streets;
Corcoran Courts, 401 Twenty-third
St.; Guthridge, 2115 F ST.: Twen-
ty.One Hundred and Nine F ST.;
the Clermont, 2106 F. ST.; the
Atherton, 2112 F. ST.; the Truxton,
2O31 F St.; Park Central, 1900 F
St.: the Maury, Nineteenth and G
streets; the Francis Scott Key, 500
Twentieth ST.; the Virginia, 212O
G St.; the Flagler, 1856 Twenty
second St.; the Barclay, Twenty
first and I Streets; the West View
2123 I St., and Twenty-One Twen-
ty-Four I st.
Meeting In Corridor
This does not include apart
ments on and Immediately north
of Pennsylvania Avenue, sucn as
the Park Lane, Marquette and
Plaza.
The Grant Parent Teachers AS
sociation holds it's last meeting
of the school year this after"
noon. The only place in the
school for meeting is in the cor
ridor, where speakers in one end
cannot be heard in the other.
The meeting is scheduled to start
at 2:3O p. m. At p. m. the
meeting will have to be sus.
pended while the 500 pupils ;cave
the building for the day. Then
it will be resumed.
After attending meeting IN
the school at night, two years
ago, DR.. Ballou was quoted as
remarking that he thought the
school had a satisfactory meeting
hall