Evening star., 1954-10-12
PTACongress
Asked toFind
New Teachers
Elementary Ronks
Short, School Aide
Tells Managers
BY james G. Deone


A District public school officia
today asked the District Con.
greSs of Parents and Teacher.
for help in meeting shortage
Of elementary teachers.
Miss Katherine Scrivener, di.
rector of instruction, said the
school system was having un.
usual difficulty finding teacher,
to I'LL vacancies.
Miss Scrivener said she will
have three vacancies at the END
Of this week and six more next
month, and so far does not have
teachers to fill them.
She told the Board of Man.
ayers of the PTA congress that
mothers trained as teachers and
recent college graduates would
be welcomed. The school system
will train those without previous
experience or specialized educa-
ton, she said.
She urged the PTA leaders to
tell their friends about the need
for teacher applicants.
Substitutes Also Short.
Miss Scrivener said she has
already assigned about 20 sub
stitute teachers to full-time posts
in order to meet the shortage.
This has caused a shortage Of
substitutes, she said.
She said the shortage with
which she is concerned is con-
fined to former white grade
schools, which she supervises.
Former colored schools are still
being administered separately,
although teachers of both races
already have been assigned to
many schools this fall.
There has been no report of
a shortage of teacher applicants
in schools of the old colored di-
vision.
Miss Scrivener said the vacan-
cieS will all be filled on a tenn
porary basis, that is with ap-
pointments for the balance of
the school year, assuming quail
fled persons can be found. The
jobs pay a minimum of $3,440,
with 500 per year more for the
first five years of teaching ex-
perience.
Service Wives Fail to Show.
Usually the school system has
a number of servicemen's wives
applying for teaching jobs in the
fall, but only one such person
has applied in the last two
weeks, Miss Scrivener reported.
There are just no persons to
put into the Schools" she told
the PTA board. calling the situa-
ton very serious"
The PTA board unanimously
approved statement made pub
lie by its Executive Committee
last week regarding racial inte-
grafton in the schools.
The statement declared:
Because of the recent Incl
dents occurring in the area .of
some of our schools, we. the
members of the Executive Com
mittee of the District Of Column.
bia Congress of Parents and
Teachers, wish to reaffirm our
confidence in-and support Of
the Board of Education and DR..
Corning in carrying out the
ruling handed down by the
Supreme Court in May, 1854.
I'VE commend Fundamentally
the preliminary training pro-
gram instituted by the superin-
tendent which has enabled the
administration and faculty men,
bers to meet the present situa-
tion with understanding and
good will.
Deplore Defiance.
1--WE recognize the fine infiu-
ence of parents as they try to
solve problems in an orderly
fashion within the framework of
the laws of our land. While we
deplore the incidents of defiance
Of properly constituted author
tty. we are pround OF the tact
mat the majority of students
remained in school pursuing
their educational response
pilities.
I'VE commend Police Chief
Robert Murray and members of
the department for theft fore
sight in setting up procedures
in case of need.
I'VE ure all adults to furnish
an example of responsible citi-
zenship by cooperating with the
school administration during this
time of change.
LeSG we IorgeC, the President
of the United States has asked
that we set the pattern for the
Nation, by an orderly transition
in our public schools"
AT today's meeting, the PTA
board was informed of the an
pointments Of six committee
chairmen. They are Mrs. Bessie
Kramer, juvenile protection and
citizenship; Mrs. Agnes Arnold,
mental health; Mrs. Helen Ly-
man, parent education; Mrs.
Maud Roby; international rela-
tions; Mrs. John Gilliland, editor
of the Bulletin, and Mrs. William
c. Basinger, Sunday column
editor.