Evening star., 1953-09-08
Schools Enroll
10000 Pupils
On First Day
Suburban Glasses 1
Begin; About 4,500
On Purt-Time


Public schools in Virginia and
in nearby Prince Georges Coun-
ty. Md. opened today. About
$4,000 children went to classes
in the Metropolitan Area.
The figure includes about $500
in Arlington, Alexandria, Falls
Church and Fairfax County in
Virginia and Prince Georges
County who are on lf-day
schedules because of overcrowd-
ing.
BY next Monday the area en-
rollment will have risen to about
243,000 when schools in the Dis
trict and Montgomery County,
Md, open.
In few instances, notably at
Arlington'S Wakefield Junior
Senior High School, students and
teachers mingled with workmen
trying to rush buildings to COM
pletion. At Wakefield construc-
ton probably will not be fin-
iShed for several weeks.
Opening of Forest Heights and
Kentland Schools in Prince
Georges County was delayed un-
til Monday because contractors
had not completed the buildings.
ParOchial Schools Ready.
Catholic parochial schools will
open in Virginia Wednesday and
in Washington and Maryland
on the following day. a.
In Arlington, where a series
of law suits by Attorney John
Locke Green have had the effect
of holding up school construction
bond issues. double shifts will
eb the order for SO classes in
the Stewart, Nottingham, Madi-
son, Glencarlyn and Glenmont
Schools. r..
Work is nearly completed on
the new Tuckahoe and James,
town schools and when finished,
classes at Nottingham, Madison
and Stewart will go on a full
day schedule.
At Arlington's new $2.5 million
Wakefield, however, the approx
imately $500 students seemed
more impressed with the vast
size Of the building than with
the work remaining to be done.
Al Rooms to Be Used.
Electric wires extended down
the corridors on temporary posts,
some StairwayS are not finished
and even in the classrooms which
have been opened, there is some
work still to be done, such as
hanging of blackboards.
Forty-one rooms were sched.
uled to be used today with the
other Is of Wakef1eld's first units
expected to be finished in the
next few weeks.
BY mid-November, facilities
scheduled to be finished include
the cafeteria, gymnasium, voca-
tional shops, five regular class
rooms and the art, home eco
nomicS and music departments.
In addition, work is proceeding
on a SIS million addition to be
finished later.
The 81 million building in
South Arlington is the county'S
second high school for white
students. Washington-Lee now
serves the northern part of the
county.
Only Alexandria, with it's new
Patrick Henry Elementary
School, entirely escaped double
sessions.
$4,000 in Prince Georges.
Officials in all five areas had
braced themselves for record en-
rollmentS. In Prince Georges
County, an estimated AZ, 900 chill
dren began classes today.
Figures for the other four sys.
TENS were Fairfax. $4,000; Ar
lington, 20,500; Alexandria, TO-
900. and Falls Church, 1,500.
About 800 new claSsrooms are
ready for the pupils, but that
still won't be enough. Some will
be in quonset huts, many will be
in classes with more pupils than
educators like to see in one class
room.
Arlington is ready with three
new elementary schools-Page,
Tyler and Fillmore.
Prince Georges has eight new
elementary schools opening to-
day, which should decrease the
number of pupils on half day
sessions.