Evening star., 1942-10-01
Students Free Men
For Urgent War Duty
By Work Programs
Montgomery Schools
Institute Proerom in
Job Experience

Hundreds of Montgomery County
(Md0 students are making i'm
mediate and material contributions
to the war effort through work expe-
rience programs sponsored by county
high schools.
The work they do ranges from
apple picking and general farm
duties to serving as filling station
attendants and drug store clerks,
and releases men needed for more
urgent war work.
Even before the Government ap-
pealed 10 high school students to
relieve the acute labor shortage,
work experience programs designed
to fit students for almost any con-
ceivable type of job after graduation
had been set up in all of the high
schools in Montgomery County.
At Montgomery Blair High School
at Silver Spring, for~example, where
the program was in full swing last
year, 243 sophomores, juniors and
seniors participated in the program
during 194l-42 and earned during
school time approximately $4,000.
Show Better Grades.
In addition, physical examinations,
increased emphasis on maintaining
health and nutritional information
IN school sas well as regular health
reports from the students, were made
an integral part of the program.
Not only did every student taking
part in the work experience program
receive specific training in a lob
which would enable him or her to
earn a living, but in almost every
case, the student make better grades
than participating students,
despite periodic absence from reg
ular classes, according to E NJ.
Douglass, Montgomery Blair prin-
cipal
Labor union officials co-operated
IN the program by not requiring full
union membership, even on closed
shop jobs, until the student entered
full time employment.
In the Montgomery Blair pro-
gram, which is under the direction
OF w. Day Mullinix, the students
are divided into four groups. The
hrst, the retail selling group. is
open only to seniors.
Members of this group are en-
ployed in the community a half day
and attend school during the other
half. While in school they study
English, techniques of selling and
job problems.
Ihe second group consists of aca-
demlc students, also only from the
senior class, who are permitted to
take partial school program and
are placed in part-time jobs.
Sophomores Do Manual Labor,
The third group consists OF
sophomores. Their work closely re-
sembles that of the Civilian Con-
servation Corps. They build steps
and walls needed on the school
grounds, cut bushes. clean up the
grounds and make play courts.
Unless there is economic need
these students are not placed in
paving jobs, Mr.. Douglass ex-
planned.
The fourth group consists of SEN
iors placed on full-time jobs any
time after February l that school
authorities feel they are qualified to
take a job. Although they do not
attend school after they are en-
ployed on outside jobs, they will
graduate in June with their class.
Despite the effort involved in
setting up> a work experience pro-
gram" Mr.. Douglass declared
such program offers one means
of tapping the great unused reser-
voir of youthful power, energy and
ingenuity now being unused or mis-
used because the youth of our high
schools have not been given
tasks worthy of their abilities