Evening star., 1951-06-19
Corning 5 Plan
To Shift Stuart
School Blocked
Report ON Possibility
Of Langley Tronsfer
Asked by Committee

With his plan to transfer Stuart
Junior High School from white tc
colored students rejected, School
Supt. Hobart M. Corning today
began work on q study of the pos
sibility Of transferring Langley
Junior High.
The Board Of Education Build
ings and Grounds Committee yes
terday asked DR.. Corning to bring
in a report on the feasibility OF
transferring Langley, located al
First and 7 streets NE, from
white to colored students.
The committee action came
after more than ITS angry parents
of students at Stuart jammed the
board room at Franklin Admin
istration Building to protest DR.
Corning's plan. In effect, the COM
mittee action rejected the pro-
posal to shift Stuart.
The full board is expected to
confirm the committees action to-
morrow at the Board of Educa-
ton meeting.
To Hasten Report.
DR.. Corning said he would bring
In the report on Langley as soon
as possible. He said he was not
unhappy about the committee,s 4
action and added:
Something has to be done. We
can't justify occupancy of all that
junior high school space while the
colored junior high schools are
overcrowded."
The transfer of Stuart was
recommended by DR.. Corning 10
relieve overcrowding at three COLI
ored junior high schools-Miller
Browne and Randall. The plan
would have dispersed the more
than TOO Stuart pupils to Eliot,
Hine, Langley and jefferson Junior
High Schools.
Langley had an enrolment of
496 this school year in a building
designed to serve 1924 pupils. It
is located not far from Mckinley
High School.
Stuart, on the other hand. had
an enrolment of TOO with a ca
pacity of 935, a point stressed by
the opponents Of the transfer. The
Stuart parents also contended the
enrolment would go up more this
fall.
Most Speakers Protest.
DR.. Corning picked Stuart to be
transferred from the three junior
high schools serving that general
area of Northeast Washington.
Stuart is at Fourth and E streets
NE. Also In the area are Eliot, at
Eighteenth and B streets NE. and
Hine, at Seventh and C streets ST.
After listening to II speakers,
all but four OF whom opposed the
transfer Of Stuart. the board men,
bers debated the general situation
at length before DR.. Phillip r.
Johnson moved that DR.. Corning
report on transfer of Langley
Junior High.
During the discussion, DR.. Gar
net c. Wilkinson. assistant school
superintendent, warned that, un-
less something is done. part time
classes will have to be instituted
IN the colored junior high schools
next fall.
He said that Spingarn High
now under construction
1T Twenty-fourth street and Ben
ming road NE. will be ready next
February. He pointed out that
possibly it could be turned into a
Junior high school but that would
create an impossible situation at
Armstrong High School, now over
crowded to overflowing.
Mrs. James w. Williams, board
member. spoke strongly against
my consideration of this, saying
hat Spingarn is needed for the
thousands Of colored children liv-
ng east of the Anacostia River. i
Action Hailed rs Victory. /
After the committees action,
Mrs. Lloyd Head and Frederick
Knox, Of the Stuart PTA, hailed
t as a victory for the parents.
They pointed out they do not
have good schools. but that it
would solve nothing to take from
,ne group to give to the other.
The four speakers who agreed
With DR.. Corning that Stuart
hould be transferred represented
,olored civic groups. A fifth COL
red group, the Consolidated Parent
Group, said Langley should be
transferred, not Stuart, If the
BOARD was not going to seek the
obvious solution-the abolition Of |
'acial segregation.
Members Of the Buildings and
Grounds Committee are Mrs.
Philip Sidney : Smith, chairman:
Mrs. E. c. Madgebruger and DR..
Johnson.