Evening star., 1936-03-31
Dc. KINDERGARTEN
HEAD WILL RETIRE
Miss Watkins, Director
Since 1893, Due to
Leave Post.

Retirement of Miss Catherine R.
Watkins, director of District kinder
gartens since their creation in 1898
and primarily responsible for their
development, will be announced at to-
morrows meeting of the Board of Edu-
| cation
1t is expected Miss Watkins, who has
passed the retirement age, will give up
her job at the end of April.
When Miss Watkins entered the
school service 40 years ago, kinder
gartens were still in the experimental
stage. and teachers were paid from
$400 to $425 a year. At that time
Congress, with an appropriation Of
$4,000, set up 16 kindergartenS,
for white and for colored children.
Miss Watkins was named director at
salary of $3.50 a year. After she
had served six years in the same posi-
| ton at the same salary, kindergartens
were declared success, and a bill was
passed establishing them as a depart
ment in the public school system and
providing a salary of S1,400 a year
| for a special director.
Headed International Group.
AS a tribute to her ability in kin
dergarten work, Miss Watkins was
elected president of the International
kindergarten Union from 1915 to 1917.
The union now is the Association for
Childhood Education, and Miss Wat
kins is member of the board of edi-
tors of the journal Of the association
The beginning of modern kinder
gartens came in 1917, when Miss Wat
kins designated several schools to ex-
pertinent with the project method of
teaching. This method was extended
gradually, and now the old kinder
garten methods have been virtually
discarded. To accomplish this neces-
STATED special instruction for teachers,
and for years Miss Watkins conducted
after-school classes for the teachers
under her direction.
She also was active in parent-teach-
er activities and helped the teachers
in her department to organize these
associations.
Miss Watkins was born and has
spent virtually her entire life in Wash
ington. She was educated at the In
carnation Episcopal Church School,
the old Froebel Academy and the
Phoebe Hearst kindergarten School.
During her service as kindergarten di-
rector she has taken numerous courses
at the Teachers College, Columbia
University, and studied one Summer
at Oxford University.
Will Conclude Report.
Supt. of Schools Frank w. Ballou
will conclude the thirteenth of his
reports on the proposed f1ve-year
school building program at the board
meeting tomorrow.
This report, in which DR.. Ballou
will outline the general needs of the
elementary schools, then probably will
be turned over to the Finance Com
mittee, to be included in its draft Of
projected new buildings. In previous
reports submitted to the board, the
superintendent has outlined the gen.
eral needs of the various types of
schools and supplied data on future
school population. His suggestions
have embraced the needs of the ad-
ministration Offices, teachers colleges,
| senior high schools, Junior high
schools, vocational schools and part
of the elementary schools.
After the Finance Committee, head
ed by George M. Whitewell, has made
its draft of projected new buildings,
the report will be turned over to the
Legislation Committee, which will
draft the bill. Henry Gilligan is chair
| man of the latter committee.
School Board officials hope to have
the bill drawn in time for action by
the present session of Congress.