Evening star., 1961-09-03
Spuce Available
For Shift of
Negro Pupils

Three predominately white
elementary schools in George
town are expected this week to
enroll "a good number" Of
Negro pupils, School Supt. Carl
F. Hansen reported last night.
Most of the students live in
Southeast Washington where
the schools, among them Gar
field and the Garfield Annex,
are overcrowded.
So far, some % Southeast
youngsters have requisite d
transfers, school officials. o-
Since the Georgetown schools
Fillmore Elementary, Thirty
fifth and S streets NV; Hyde
Elementary, Thirty-second and
o streets, and jackson Elemen-
tary, Thirtieth and R streets
are considerably under their
enrolment capacities, DR.. Han
sen said transfer of the South
east students will be approved
despite the fact that the schools
are outside the pupils regular
school district.
I'VE must make use of all
the facilities we have" he ex-
planned. I'VE encourage such
transfers. We have in the past
and we will continue to do so
if it is a matter of taking stu
dents out of an overcrowded
building and placing them in
under-capacity ones"
No Bus Plan
DR.. Hansen referred to the
Southeast transfers in reply to
reporters questions on Radio
WWDC's Report to the Peo-
pie"
The subject arose when the
superintendent was asked if
the District school system was
planning to provide Garfield
area students with bus service
so they could attend predomi-
nately white schools.
The answer was mo"
DR.. Hansen said a group Of
parents in the Garfield area.
worried about overcrowded
classroomS there, have been
trying to arrange some kind Of
private transportation so their
children can attend less crowd
ed schools, in this case the
three in Georgetown, the least
populated in the District.
The school system has not
supplied transportation to such
transfer students in the past
and does not plan to do so now,
he said. However, If the par
ents can get the youngsters
there, the children will be en-
rolled" he added.
In Line with Policy
Fillmore, Hyde and Jackson
cover kindergarten through the
sixth grade.
The Georgetown plan does
not mean a basic policy change,
DR.. Hansen said, but amounts
to continued exercise Of a
school board feeling that trans
fers across school district lines
should be permitted when they
involve an overcrowded school
and one which is under its
capacity enrolment. Gener-
ally, no other reasons for
transfer are accepted.
DR.. Hansen emphasized that
the Garfield cases, being han
died by Miss Edith A. Lyons,
assistant superintendent for
elementary schools, do not
mean the District is attempt
ing to integrate predominately
white schools purely for the
sake of integration. o.
Points to Failure
He pointed out that such a
plan, based on attempts to
create a socially integrated
atmosphere for school chill
dren," was tried in New York
and failed" The superin-
tendent labeled such an effort
as artificial integration."
The Georgetown schools all
ready have a few Negro pupils,
but far less than many schools
in the District.
Because of school district
boundaries, the District has
about five all-whlte schools and
about II all-Negro schools, DR..
Hansen said. The number of
District schools-including ele-
mentaries, secondaries and spe-
cial-class buildings-total about
1872.
Schools open Wednesday.