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Missouri S IX principals reporting how inte gration looks in their schools aft er a full semester of experience; St. Louis quietly getting ready to inte grate its high schools with the start of the second semester Jan. 31; a St. Louis County town becoming the first in the state to announce plans for full integration of its teaching staff next September. Such is the story for January in Missouri. St. Louis approached an important change in its community life—the largest Missouri integration operation yet in point of numbers—with an extraordinary absence of excitement. No signs of any open opposition to integration of the seven white and two Negro high schools had ap peared. There was little public dis cussion of it. Calling attention to the success with which the two teachers-junior col leges had been consolidated in Sep tember, Supt. of Public Instruction Philip J. Hickey said the board of education “looks forward with con fidence” to the beginning of high school integration. ADVANCE WORK Advance work done by community agencies, principals, students and parent groups has been “a source of assurance to school authorities that this great movement will be carried out normally,” Mr. Hickey told a Ki- wanis club luncheon. One example of such advance work that has received favorable attention is that of Vashon high school, where the human relations program which had been conducted for several years was intensified as the integration date approached. Vashon is a Negro high school with an enrollment of about 2,000. Many of its students, this year or later, will transfer to mixed schools. At an all-school assembly last fall, student leaders discussed the histori cal background of the Supreme Court decision and gave their personal re actions to it. Several weeks later all home rooms held a workshop session in which the pupils themselves ex plored all aspects of the problem, and exchanged views. Each home room drew up a report reflecting the group views and how individuals could best meet the problems arising from in tegration. Finally, three weeks be fore the end of the semester, another all-school assembly was held at which a panel composed of white Pastors, civic leaders and school Principals discussed the problem and answered questions sent up by stu dents. HOUSING INCIDENT The spirit with which some St. j-ouisans are approaching school in- egration was expressed in the 4300 “lock of Westminster Place early in anuary. This neighborhood lies athwart the westward push of Negro residential migration. Public high sc .j°°l students in the neighborhood , ! attend a mixed school expected 0 have 25 to 30 per cent Negro en- r ?,^ en t- It is an area of dignified I npmes, once among the finest in eharm Y an< ^ P ossess f n S distinct Recently the block was rezoned from single family to two-family ellings, and two Negro families “Fo^ * n ^° one °f the homes. Six t ° r Hale” signs promptly went up n and surrounding area. Its board alo "g the street. . r - and Mrs. Samuel H. Marcus, s j_^ ever i Put up a different kind of In front of their 16-room brick Is ^ ome - It read: “This House bei I,?* ^° r ® a f e - We like our fine Sbors. Your race, religion and take 1CS - are not our concern - -AH who Pride in their homes are wel- C0 ^ e on this street.” all s' 61 ^ r ' ^ arcus s sifi 11 went up, °f tlf others came down. Some u, 0v 6 Peighbors undoubtedly will think' 0U *V k u t others are said to be in vit ln Jf H over. One dropped by to the Marcuses to dinner. 0 hClSlON ON TEACHERS town ^rhwood, a St. Louis County dist-: 19.000 population, the school of er , Ct ser ves 5,000 pupils from the r esol U t Cation ° n ^ an " ^ adopted a inn,. _,!° n ending teacher segregation has a j ate ly. Integration of pupils ready begun and is expected to be completed by next September. With a Negro student population of 500, Kirkwood began integration at the elementary school level last Sep tember, absorbing 82 Negroes in four previously white schools. For the current academic year, attendance at mixed schools is optional, with the result that one elementary and jun ior high school continues to be oper ated as an all-Negro school. When it becomes compulsory for students to attend the school nearest their homes, this school is expected to enroll a white minority. High school integra tion is to become effective when a new high school now under con struction is completed. The contractor has promised completion next Sep tember. The teacher integration resolution provides simply that “recommenda tions for the hiring, transfer or dis missal of teachers be based solely upon competency, without respect to race or color.” Hiring, transfer and dismissal are done by the board on recommendation of the superintend ent, who in turn acts on the recom mendation of school principals. Ac cording to Supt. Floyd W. Hendricks, 24 new teachers will be hired next year to keep pace with an expected increase in enrollment of 600 pupils. They will be employed and assigned to schools without respect to race, he said. The school system now has 21 Ne gro teachers, all assigned to the hith erto Negro school, and 221 white teachers in other schools. Supt. Hen dricks says no blanket policy of transferring Negro teachers to white schools or vice versa has been adopt ed; in other words, transfers will not be made simply for the purpose of arbitrarily mixing white and Negro teachers. However, any teacher can request a transfer, and any princi pal can request a teacher’s transfer. Hereafter all transfers and requests for transfer will be considered with out regard to race. OTHER REPORTS Here are the reports of Missouri principals on a full semester’s expe rience with integration: SPRINGFIELD (Pop. 72,000. Ne gro pupils, 342. Total enrollment, 12,800). Principal Homer R. Kesterson of Central senior high school says that the assembly held at Central during pre-school registration week last September seemed to have set the pattern for later experiences. When he announced in that assembly that some of the young people from Lin coln school would be coming to Cen tral this year “The auditorium re sounded with wholehearted applause from the white students.” Of the 34 Negroes who enrolled in a student body of 2,200, three have withdrawn. Two sophomores said they found the school too big for them. They did not, however, return to Lincoln (which remains open on an optional basis) but quit school. The third student, a junior, just “wasn’t interested.” All three were found to have had poor grade and attendance records throughout their educational history. The rest of the Negroes seem to be getting along well and have adjusted adequately, says Mr. Kesterson. Any incidents? A white girl reported that one of the Negroes had called her on the telephone. His conversation was polite, friendly, and in no way out of order, but she was puzzled. After learning that the boy had also annoyed Negro girls with repeated telephone calls, the principal’s office called him in to talk it over. There have been no telephone calls since. No notable difference in learning ability of Negro pupils is visible, and no lowering of academic standards is expected, says Mr. Kesterson. No health or sanitation problems have appeared: “We have been pleased to note that the colored boys and girls, without exception, dress neatly, keep themselves clean and are reasonably well groomed.” All activities at Central, including social events, are open to Negroes. At school dances, both Negro and white students are on the floor. No regulations forbid Negroes to dance with whites, but by common consent no effort has been made by members of eitner group to dance witn a mem ber oi tne otner. in atmetics and gym classes integration is complete, all students snaring tne same snowers, iocxer rooms, piaying neids, etc. Two Negroes played on me loomall team and two are on tne basxetball team. Tne newcomers apparendy feel tree to seen advice from counselors and teachers, and in ail respects seem quite at ease. Mr. Kesterson says an incident which occurred during foot ball season summarizes the bpring- held experience: “Two of our white students and one of our colored students were waiting on the corner by the stadium for a bus to take them to town. They had just completed football practice for the afternoon. Suddenly a con vertible turned the comer. Its occu pants, two high school students, pulled to the curb and yelled, ‘Wanna ride to town?’ The two white boys climbed in. The driver then looked at the colored boy who remained standing at the curb and asked, ‘Aren’t you going to town?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. ‘Well, then, crawl in. There’s plenty of room.’ And away they went.” MEXICO (Pop. 12,000. Negro pupils 320. Total enrollment 2,000). Principal Burnell Lamb, whose high school has 40 Negroes in a total enrollment of 575, says integration has been completely accepted with no incidents and “no indications of any.” No difference in learning abil ity of Negroes has appeared, though differences in educational back ground and a lack of thoroughness of past preparation is noticed in some. Despite these variations, Mr. Lamb observes no possible lowering of academic standards due to inte gration. Neither have any health or sanitation problems showed up: “Ne gro students by and large come to school clean and well groomed.” All activities are open to all on an equal basis. As in Springfield, no rule has been made against mixed dancing at social events, but so far this has not occurred. Says Mr. Lamb: “The way to make integration work is for adults to accept it and say very little about it. The students themselves exhibit very little if any racial prejudice. None at all has been even hinted here at Mexico High. I am very enthusiastic about the suc cess of our program thus far. We started school last fall just the same way it has always started and left the rest to the pupils. I cordially in vite anyone to visit our school and talk with all concerned.” ST. JOSEPH (Pop. 79.000. Negro pupils, 440. Total enrollment 12,000). In Missouri’s third largest city, the three white high schools last Septem ber absorbed the Negro high school students who had formerly attended a segregated school. Here are reports from each of the schools: Principal Marion E. Gibbins of Central High: “All phases of school life are open to any Central student: sports, clubs, dramatics, student govern ment, dances, etc. By common agree ment among student leaders of both races, it was decided that at school dances it would be wise for no mixed couples to dance. All students are welcome to attend and both races have been well represented. As far as I know, this is the only restric tion that has been made, even un officially. There are none for cafe teria use or gym class “There has not been, nor shall there be in the future, any lowering of academic standards. I have the im pression that the particular group of Negro students we received this year tends to skew a little toward the low er end scholastically. This proves nothing about the group which will arrive next year. It is certainly no basis for a generalization. “One white girl reported to the dean of girls that a Negro boy had called her and asked for a date—a fact which she resented. It was diffi cult to determine whether the girl might have dreamed up the incident, whether some other student was playing a hoax on her, or whether there might have been some element of truth in what she said. Nothing further developed. “The only incident of friction I SOUTHERN SCHOOL know of occurred in the ROTC de partment wben tne tempers ot a Ne gro boy and a wmte boy nared up over some trivial nappenmg. 1 nave seen tne same tning nappen between boys regardless oi color, and color had notmng at all to do with causing tne mcident. Atterwards tne two par ticipants may have injected some racial feeling into their trunking. The dean of boys succeeded, I believe, in getting each boy to see tnat he had definite responsibilities for the well being of tfie school as a whole regardless of how much his individ ual feelings might have been ruffled. “My impression is that a large per centage of students, 65 to 70 per cent, favored integration and accepted it gladly. A smaller group, 20 to 25 per cent, were passive in their attitude and voiced no negative feelings. A few, 5 to 10 per cent, were probably pro-segregation, but did not voice their opinions too loudly because they were in the minority. “Among parents the percentage in each group would be different. The third group probably is twice as large, and the first smaller. I have had relatively few direct negative comments from parents. The parents of one girl sent the daughter out of the city to a private girls’ school be cause of integration. One other par ent used integration as a reason for permitting his daughter to drop school. In the latter case there were other contributing factors. “In this community, then, there has been no extensive anti-integra tion feeling. In general such anti integration attitudes as there are seem to be lodged most firmly in two widely divergent groups: first, in a few extremely socially-minded and well-to-do families, and second, in families of meager cultural and educational background, often in the lower income brackets.” Principal W. L. Daffron of Benton high school: “In general, integration has worked out in a very fine way. We have had one or two little flare-ups about discipline among our 27 Negro students, regarding conduct in class, attendance regulations, tardiness and so forth. However, these incidents seem to be no different from what we have with the rest of the student body. We do not restrict the students in any of our activities. We have had no problems of sanitation or health. Our Negro students are not denied attendance at social activities, such as clubs and dances. We have noticed that there is no mixed dancing. All in all, our integration has worked much better than we anticipated.” Principal C. W. Thomas, Lafayette high school: “With a Negro enrollment of 25 among 1,050 students, the adjustment has been easy. The pupils have ac cepted the change without any inci dents of friction or trouble. We have found that the Negro students re ceived at the high school level are behind those who have had all of their work in our school. We have tried to be as considerate as possi ble and have kept failures to a mini mum. We expect no lowering of aca demic standards. We try to section our students on an ability basis. If the colored group tends to fall in the slow sections, this would not create a problem with the other sections. “Our Negro students have a much higher rate of absenteeism than oth ers. Part of this might be a health nroblem, since most excuses blame illness for absence. No sanitation problems have arisen as yet. “We have not had a regular all school dance this semester. We had one small dance after a football game. One colored boy came, but left in a very short time. We have a recrea tion hall where students dance at noon during the lunch period. Some colored students have taken part in this activity. They do not dance with members of the other race. No Negro boys have joined the Hi-Y clubs. One Y-teen girls’ group is being organized with mixed membership.” ST. CHARLES (Pop. 15,000. Negro pupils 130. Total enrollment 1.908). This town reversed the typical Mis souri integration pattern of starting at the high school level. St. Charles integrated grades 1 to 6 this year, will follow with high school pupils in September 1955. From Principal Lucille Stephens of Benton school comes the report that NEWS—Feb. 3. 1955—PAGE 15 integration there has been “quite successful.” A first-grade teacher re ported to Miss Stephens: “I see no one who seems to be unhappy here.” Another reported: “The three Negro pupils in my class have not been in school previously, hence do not have any change to make. They seem to feel at home and sure of their wel come here.” In other grades also the teachers report full acceptance of the situation. Miss Stephens goes on: “We see no notable difference in the learning ability of Negro or white pupils. We do not observe any pos sible lowering of academic standards due to integration. No sanitation or health problems have arisen. Our Ne gro children are very neat and clean. During physical education classes and play periods, the Negro is ac cepted by the group as in the class room. They are chosen as leaders in games, and no one has ever com plained of having a colored boy or girl for a partner in marching. “The Negroes participated in our Christmas program and their enthu siasm was as great as the rest of us. One of our white parents reported recently that her little girl came home talking about Mary along with the others in her class, and it was some time before it developed that Mary was a colored child. We find that children do not differentiate in color. “I am happy that I have had a part in the first step of integration in our community and that it has proved to be successful in every way.” Virginia Papers Continued from Page 11 cision last May 17. . . . The commis sion faces an admittedly difficult task. . . . But this does not preclude constructive thinking about the whole broad problem and how to deal with certain definite difficulties bound to arise no matter how much moderation and gradualism the Su preme Court may allow. . . . “The commission shows a singular dislike for taking the public into its confidence. It has held one public hearing and believes this will be enough on the ground that additional hearings would yield only ‘cumula tive testimony, rather than fresh viewpoints.’ “This policy is too reminiscent of the commission’s organization meet ing when it adopted a rule for closed door sessions and strict censorship of information about its delibera tions. . . . Doesn’t the commission trust the people or has it made up its mind about what it will do?” The Newport News Daily Press: “We do not question the conten tion of state officials . . . that enforced integration of the races in the public schools is opposed by a majority of the people—well, perhaps we should say white people—but nothing would have been lost by waiting for the final ruling from the court before in dicating compliance or non-compli ance. Speaking for Virginia, we hope the precipitant action taken has not been made at the expense of possi ble modification by the Supreme Court of the decision itself.” The Danville Bee: “What we had hoped to read was some sort of plan based on hypothet ical directives by the court. . . . Has the commission a tentative plan whereby the free school system could be abolished and substituted on a continuing segregated basis by a se ries of private schools which the peo ple are willing to support with their tax dollars? . . . The commission is probably wise in saying that no more public meetings are necessary, since majority opinion can now only be cumulative.” The Staunton Evening Leader: “This state’s commission has just issued what amounts to a preliminary report, and its announced intention is to circumvent integration, if there is any legal way to accomplish this end. ... It is evident that the tug- of-war between the court and those states which are not favorable to in tegration may go on for years. The inevitable result will be that public education will suffer immeasurably during this period of uncertainty, even chaos.”