Evening star., 1954-03-28
Courage of Pupils Stands Out
At Schools for Handicapped

after they are graduated.
The reason for all these short
comings, Mr.. Tesone pointed out,
is that the school simply has
no room for expansion. And he
urged that additional classrooms
be built.
The parent-teacher asSocia-
ton. in urging enlargement. has
stressed a cogent argument. Mr..
Tesone and Kenneth M. Gill
leSpie, association president, told
the Commissioners that giving
Health Schools handicapped
children better training could
save the District money by max
ing many self-supporting when
they become adults. instead of
public charges. Mr.. Gillespie
cited the case of Lansing, Mich,
which by adopting a program of
training and employing the
handicapped converted a $216,500
annual outlay for institutional
care into a $546, 900 asset.
Mr.. Gillespie laid particular
stress on the need for starting
early.
The PTA has made some COM
parsons Of Health Schools
facilities with those elsewhere
which don't show Washington
up favorably. Mr.. Gillespie told
the Commissioners that Of so
large cities to which question:
naireS were sent, ~ had fewer
handicapped pupils per class
rom and 36 fewer pupils per
teacher, SO began classes at an
earlier age, 10 continued train
ing to an older age and all but
five had some facilities Health
School lacks-either kindergar-
ten, nursery school, vocational
school. high school, or separate
atypical classes. and in some
cases more than one of these.
School officials take issue with
some Of these comparisons. DR..
Carl F Hansen, associate super
intendent in charge of the Health
School, says the PTA's figures on
some cities lump together some
kinds of classes that ought not
to be included. DR.. Hansen also
takes issue with a contention by
Mr.. Gillespie and other parents
that the District ought to be
enrolling more physically handi-
capped children than 1t has
turned up so far.
No Waiting List.
THE contention that more
children needing this kind Of
education are here has never
been proved" DR.. Hansen told
a reporter. Health School has
no waiting list.
But school officials agree that
more space is needed.
The facilities for colored
crippled youngsters occupy the
ground floor at Anthony Bowen,
which is a regular elementary
school at Delaware avenue and
M street S.W.
There is one academic class
room, one occupational therapy
classroom. a physical therapy
room, a rest room and a COM
bined dining room. Bow
en- also has long corridor, but
no railing because the schools
staff prefers to encourage self
reliance on the part Of the
pupils.
The Bowen staff includes one
academic teacher. one occupa-
tional therapist, one physiother-
apist, part time speech teacher,
a nurse. a cook and a part time
assistant cook. Miss Camille E.
Lewis. Bowen's principal. super
vises both the regular and Grip
pied children's units.
Since colored pupils now out
number white in the District
school system it surprises even
school officials that the number
of colored crippled pupils is not
even half the number Of white.
But like the white Health school,
Bowen has no waiting list.
Supt. Hobart M. Corning told
the Board of Education last
December that Bowen, like the
white Health School, urgently
needs more space. and that both
schools also need bigger staffs.
At the moment. however, plans
for meeting these needs are
somewhat in the air.
The Board of Education has
approved plans for a $3.50, 900
addition to the white Heath
School and for a $975,0O0 ele-
mentary school near Thirteenth
and S streets NV. with it's
ground floor devoted to new ia
ciilties for a colored health
school. Both were included in
budget requests sent to the Com
missioners last summer. but both
were deleted. They have also
been postponed before.
The two projects are now in
the next year of the new public
works program. But in the
meantime the Supreme Court
could order the dual school sys-
tenn integrated. If this happens,
school officials may want to con-
slider building a single new health