Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-08


prove bad conditions in, some
schools and correct luxury" con.
ditions at others. (The luxury
was strictly relative.)
This is what happened:
In September. when school:
were about to open, officials sud.
denly became aware that many
of the city'S grade schools woulc
be short of teachers.
Hastily they looked around
seized on the schools with expec.
tations of smaller classes and or.
dered teachers transferred.
40 Schools Affected
When schools finally did open
pupil and teacher shutting &C.
Cured on a grand scale, witt
some 40 or more schools affected
. Parents naturally protested
because many classes were dou.
bled up, children were shuntec
in with different teachers, and II
many of the schools with theoret.
ical luxury status, new classe!
wound up being as big as somt
of those in other schools tina
were being supposedly rescued.
Parents were still smarting un.
der the impact last week. The!
complained to a congressional
committee about the loss o.
teachers and asked that a repeti,
ton be prevented.
A parent from Hardy Elemen-
tary School, James Rogers, tolo
an earlier congressional hearing
I'VE think it is shameful that
a condition of this kind exists
in the Nations Capital"
School officials were charged
with poor planning. But even Il
the shutting hadn't been left
Ito the last minute. it would have
had to occur, and the classe.
would have ended up much the
same.
May Happen Again
This is because the school,
have a strictly limited number
Iof teachers to 60 around, and
for the first time in their history
they now are distributing then
even-haRdedly.
Parents called the juggling
''robbing Peter to pay Paul
School officials recently warnet
that it may happen again.
The blueprint that might hav,
made such compulsory robbery
IunnecesSary-or at least soft
iened its impact-dates back t,
February %. 1949. 1t is a report
$50 pages thick, on an EXHAUSTIVE,
school survey conducted tn,
year before by a team headed b,
Ia Columbia University professor
DIR. George D. Strayer. 1t wa
ordered by Congress and cost tn,
District 100000.
The report made many recon.
Imendations. Among them wer,
these:
The District should spent
more on the schools, and tn,
Federal Government should pa,
Ia fairer share.
More teachers should be hiret
and class sizes reduced.
Schools should be euualized
to correct serious shortcoming
in those for Negro pupils.
Help should be given slow chill
dren.
Borrowing should replac
l'pay-as-you-go" building financ
ling.
Many More Suggestions
There were many other de
tailed suggestions, includin
some for improving administra
ton, courses and teaching.
In the last seven years, cit,
officials have ben asked to d.
nothing formally with this blue
print as a whole. But some of it
recommendations have beef
adopted, with notifications. b
school authorities. Most propo
sails involving any major finan
cial outlay have been ignored
The chief of these is the schoo
systems desire for more teach
Iers.
AT the time of the survey. tn
majority of the city's elemen
tary pupils were in classes il
the upper 30s or 40s as the,
are now. (But white classe
averaged 80. colored 49,
The report. however, said:
There is no defensible reasol
why classes in the early elemen
ltary school should exceed Is an,
those in the middle grades 81
pupils
The Board of Education. a yea
ago. made its first major NOV,
to give practical application t,
this statement.
The board approved a plan t,
hire enough additional teacher
to reduce elementary class size
to a city-wide average of 81
pupils. (The city average is nov
about 36.)
The arguments presented b,
Supt. Hobart M. Corning for thi
plan, summarized, were these:
/. Both slow and gifted chill
Idren are being neglected il
present classes.
2. Teachers can't teach an,
class effectively if it is too big
3. Educational authorities be
lieve rs is the maximum for tn,
best elementary teaching.
4. Children today have in.
creased emotional and health
problems which are hard to copt
with in big classes.
5. Washington children CONF
from orao tly yo,.x,inn haoL