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

what Stor stoff reporter found in
the eity's cIossrooms.
much social service and welfare
work.
6. Teachers are quitting the
profession because of the frus-
|tration of big classes and over
work.
AS planned. the program would
take three years to achieve
the 30-pupil average.
The estimated number of
teachers needed to reach this
goal currently is $50. an increase
of about a seventh in the city's
total teacher force and an in
crease of slightly over a fourth
in that of the elementary schools.
The added cost would probably
be around So million annually.
(The schools now have about
$500 teachers, and this years
school budget is about 1925 mil
Ilion.)
Would Cut Some Glasses
What would this program &C
Icomplish?
It would not set a 30-pupil
ceiling on all classes because the
Icity's elementary children are
under 125 roofs and can't be
shuffled unremittingly. But it
would cut most classes by half
Ia dozen pupils from the present
level. which is what teachers say
lis the margin between good and
presently inadequate teaching.
It would also give the entire
school system a cushion, so that
when juggling had to come. it
wouldn't hurt so much.
A year ago, the Board of Edu-
cation also approved the. basis
for a new stating program sfor
1.-THE city1s junior and senior high
schools.
In these schools, up to now
administrators have been salts
fled if pupils averaged out to- "a
per teacher in junior highs and
Is per teacher in senior highs
But these averages represent
practically nothing in the way
Iof actual class sizes. which vary
widely according to subject.
The board ditched this method,
providing instead for averaging
only basic academic classes eng
fish, math, etc.. and budgeting
extra teachers for shops and
other special subjects.
DR.. Carl F. Hansen, in charge
of high schools. recently pro-
posed an outright ceiling of 80
on the academic classes. This
hasn't been acted on.
Last summer the Board OF
Education asked the District
Commissioners to approve the
first one-third of the new teach
iers it wants for elementary
schools.
The Commissioners turned
this down fiat.
On junior and senior highs,
the board ignored its new for
mula and volunteered a So
teacher, three year cutback
Later it reversed itself, but the
Commissioners ignored the re-
Iversal and urged making the
cutback immediate.
Yesterday, it was reported
that a congressional subcommit-
tee had decided to grant some
what more teachers than the &C
the Commissioners approved.
1t was also reported that the
subcommittee Endorsed a Junior
senior high cutback, however.
Prospects Ahead
What the final appropriation
will be remains to be seen. The
prospect, meanwhile, is this:
| Elementary schools will need
around 100 teachers next Sep
TENDER simply to meet new en-
rollment. If they get only 40, the
present class average will be
boosted to 81 or 38.
High schools would need, &C
cording to DR.. Hansen, A more
teachers to eliminate classes
over 80 and begin needed reme-
dial work. If they lose teachers,
not only will classes stay big and
the remedial program be threat
ened, but some courses may have
Ito be dropped.
| Junior highs, according to
Asst. Supt. Lawson J. Cantrell,
would need so teachers to meet
the new official standard. If they
lose teachers, it will also jeopar-
die remedial work