Evening star., 1943-07-19
3Chi|d Care
Centers 0pen;;
Few Enroll
Lack Of Publicity
Blamed for Slow
Registration

The Districts three new child
care centers for school-age children
of working mothers got off to a
slow start today. with total of only
five white and five colored children
having arrived by $50 am.
The centers, three of four open
ing this week under cityWide plan
for the care of children of working
mothers made possible by Lanhan.
Act funds, will operate on a 12-
hour-a-day basis, six days week
and are open to children S to IA.
Directors at the centers believed
the low enrolment on the first day
due mainly to a lack of publicity
of the project because of the un-
certainty of the availability OF
equipment necessary to open it.
The same low enrolment has been
the case In similar projects through
out the country, according to Dor
othey T. Pearse. director of the
Services to Children of Working
Mothers. Although the work is
very much needed, she said, many
parents have to see it In actual op-
Grafton before entering children.
Tuition Fees in Advance.
Another reason for the delay in
getting the children started came
about when mothers who did not
understand that tuition fees were
payable in advance at the office of
the Services to Children of Working
Mothers. 480 Indiana avenue NV,
were obliged to make the payment
before entering their children. Fees.
which are regulated to the ability of
the parents to pay them, will be
payable by check or money order
after the initial payment.
Since the project started fairly
late in the summer. many children
who plan to attend the centers later
are still at camps or are being cared
for by relatives pending final ar
rangements for enrolling.
The centers are located at the
Cooke School, Seventeenth and Eu-
cid streets NV, for white children,
and the Morgan School, Eighteenth
and V streets N.W:, and Smothers
School, Forty-fourtn and Wash
ington place NE, for colored chill
dren. The Knox-Hill Community
Building. 5000 Knox road Sc. for
white children, will open Wednes-
day.
Boys First to Arrive.
Billy Chinitz. 6, 93l Longfellow
street NV and Edward Campana,
9, 1901 Columbia road. were the first
to arrive At the Cooke School Center.
They came at 7:30 am. and were
greeted by Miss katherine Doonan,
educational director of Extended
School Services. Division to 9, and
Mrs. Margaret C. Marsh, teacher in
charge.
They found the downstairs rooms
of the school equipped with minia-
ture furniture and a wide variety of
facilities for study and play. The
day was made for Billy when he
spotted game of Chinese checkers.
A total of five children had enrolled
by $50.
AT 8 am. Gerald Bullock. 7, 1916
T street NV, appeared at the Nor
gan School and was taken in hand
by Jean Jennifer, head teacher.
Shortly later he had two compan-
ions
The smallest number of entrants
was at the Smothers School, where
Mrs. Barbara Tracy is head teacher.
Mrs, Edna Brown. educational di-
rector of extended school services
in divisions 10 to 13. is in charge
of both the colored centers.
Variety of Work and Play.
Programs at all of the centers are
planned to include variety of work
and play activity, including outdoor
and indoor games. stories, music and
rest Special rooms are set aside for
each which contain cots where the
children may rest periodically.
Victory gardens at the Cooke and
Smothers schools will form part of
the programs. The gardens. which
were started during the winter
school term, will provide a part of
the food to be served for the chill
drens lunches. While it is planned
to give the children a cooked lunch
regularly. they were asked to bring
their lunches this week pending in
stallation of refrigerators and
screens.
We are trying to give the chill
dren everything they would have at
home, Miss Doonan declared, but
after the war l am going to start
back to the home for mothers
ramnaion