The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-03-05
Survey Shows Bridge,
 Tennis. Dancing Need in Alaska High Schools

It isn't because of lack of acade- mic preparation or lack of money that so many Alaska high school graduates who go south to colleges drop out before graduation, accord ing to Superintendent Lester l.. Wingard of the Petersburg schools. It is because of their inability to adjust socially to life in the colleges and universities they attend after leaving Alaska.
 This MT. Wingard learned last year while preparing his thesis for his masters degree in education at Washington State College. MT. Wingard, who is in Juneau as coach of the Petersburg basketball team, as well as superintendent of schools. said that his survey of boys and girls who had graduated from Alaska high schools between 1885 and 1945 indicated that the Terri tory is losing about 60 per cent of its children to the states: young sters who go away to school, and dent come back.
 In preparing plan of recreation curriculum to better fit the Alaskan nigh school graduate into schools in the States, MT. Wingard called on and interviewed about 180 Alaskans attending college at Washington State, Idaho, University of Oregon. Linfield, Forest Grove, College of Puget Sound. Pacific College. Pacific Lutheran, and the University of Washington. Asked for their suggestions as to recreational studies that would make adjustment to life in the states easier for them, those inter- viewed agreed upon golf, tennis, bridge and social dancing, in that order, and Mir Wingard's suggestion is that these should be worked into physical education programs in high schools to take the place of the usual setting-u exercises now pr. vided.
 Principally because of inability to adjust socially, over 50 per cent of the Alaskans who enter colleges drop out before graduation.
 If they were happier in their new association, I think many more would remain in college through graduation MT. Wingard said.
 Swimming Pool
 Among the high school graduates still in Alaska, interrogated by MT. Wingard regarding suggestions or criticism of present physical edu-. cation curriculum in schools, 90 per cent criticized the lack of any attempt to teach students how to swim. In this connection, the educator called attention to the fact that an average of 2 persons year meet death by drowning in Alaska. His suggestion is that, though expensive, swimming pools should be provided in any new school plant that is built in the Territory.
 Other changes suggested by the Alaskans who remain here are that file shooting and skiing be made l part of physical education pro- grams.
 With the result of his study in mind, MT. Wingard returned to Petersburg with golf clubs and ten- his rackets and plans gradually to include suggestions of the young sters he interviewed in the Peters burg school program.
 An innovation in school sports this year will be the Ketchikan- Petersburg track meet to be held this spring.
 MT and Mrs. Wingard, who have many friends in Juneau, are staying at the Baranof Hotel during the basketball tournament.
 Beverly Wingard. junior in the Petersburg high school, enjoyed high school in Pullman last year and, after her graduation from Petersburg, intends to return to the eastern Washington town to enter the State College.
 She, and any other Petersburg high school graduates will be able and willing to meet their new friends over bridge tables when they enter schools in the States. The superintendent of the Peters, burg schools says that bridge will be added to the recreational pro- gram come the end of the basket ball season.