Evening star., 1961-06-18

Hansen already has urged the
principals at the other ele-
mentarieS to follow suit, If
possible beginning next fall.
Put simply. Amidon repre-
sents a return to primary con-
Germ for the basic subjects, for
the most part studied in logical.
chronological order" much as
our parents and grandparents
were taught years ago.
A number Of modern tools
are used to do this-such as
phonoviSual charts-but the
Amidon youngsters, once again,
are taught the alphabet be-
fore they tackle words. They
are taught to spell before they
tackle reading. They are
taught reading before they
attempt composition. And
above all, each hour of each
days work is planned ahead.
The student knows what's
coming next, so his schooling
will represent order and Or
ganization. Even his play
periods are planned. He
doesn't just play. he plays tag
or ball or hopscotch.
Integrati0n Pay Off
And for each subject there
is a basic text, a situation
which does not exist as present
in other District schools.
The Amidon plan was not an
overnight notion. Like other
successes of the year it was
listed last September among
the school systems goals for
l96O-6l. In that sense. tht Dis
trict year was not only one Of
general accomplishment but
one of planned achievement.
Among the other academic
matters aimed for last fall and
listed today as completed was
a final tabulation of student
achievement figures. To some,
the results turned out to be a
"Shocker."
Citing the detailed compila-
tions, DR.. Hansen reported that
integration here had not meant
a drop in overall student
achievement. On the contrary.
in many subjects and at many
levels, student achievement
averages had gone higher than
ever before, in some cases high
er than national norms.
This was a significant report
in that it routed many an argu-
ment, mostly from opponents OF
integration. that mixing white
and Negro pupils would mean
the latter would drag down the
achievement levels of the white
students.
There we're other fields, too,
where attempted Improvements
proved successful and added up
to the upgrading Of learning OPP
portunities.
Private Gifts Help
Worried about the status Of
| its school library systems-in
some cases there were none at
all-District school officials au-
thorized and appointed II Ii
brarians at the Junior high
level. Also, they appointed the
first librarian at the elementary
level. And, thanks to a private
gift, they were able for the first
time to appoint an overall
library supervisor.
Another private gift made
possible the setting up OF an
Urban Service Corps-a kind Of
local peace corps-of citizens
who will work with school Of
ficials to counsel troubled stu
dents and their families on
home and school problems. A
Ford Foundation grant made
possible the setting up OF a
language improvement program
for "underprivileged" students.
The gift projects, OF course,
were a type of bonus. because
school officials last September
had no hope of getting public
funds to do such things.
In accordance with plans
made last year, the District this
year approved the offering Of
Russian study course at the
sixth grade level. Not only do
the youngsters learn something
about the language. but they
study the history and geogra-
ply of Russia and the facts
about communism in general"
One Of the first such pro-
grams offered in the Nation at
the sixth grade level, DR.. Han
sen said it has been very well
received" 1t may be offered
next year at other levels. too.
In a general plan to step up
science instruction. the District
held its first elementary school
science seminar. The school
was Hearst Elementary.
Fully Accredited
Organized by a Hearst school
teacher, Mrs. Edna K. Dodge,
the experimental program by
the end of this year produced
some go youngsters who were
remarkably versed in such top
les as biology. chemistry. as
trology, botany and other SCI
entific subjects.
Perhaps as important as
Amidon to the District school
system was the welcome news
some weeks ago that the hid
die States Association of Col
leges and Secondary Schools
had pronounced D. c. Teachers
College fully accredited.
The college had lived under
the threat of withdrawn accre-
dition for two years, but an all
out effort by the school board
DR.. Hansen and DR.. Paul o
Carr, the college president, to
correct the cited ills-first out
lined last summer paid off
Another goal had been reached