Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 4—Feb. 3, 1955—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS District of Columbia WASHINGTON, D.C. 'J'HE District board of education ap proved mid-year promotions as its last major pupil integration step until next fall and reappointed Supt. Hobart M. Corning to his fourth three-year term. On Jan. 31, 1,018 junior high grad uates entered high schools according to new non-racial boundaries. Of the students promoted, 571 came from schools of the old Negro division and 525 came from formerly white schools. One hundred and twenty-two of the students from former all-Negro schools were promoted to six former all-white high schools. One Negro boy moved from an integrated for mer white junior high into a voca tional high which has retained its Negro enrollment. No white students were promoted to former Negro schools. During the January school board meeting, Mrs. Margaret J. Butcher, Negro member, questioned the fact that no white students were graduat ing into the former Division H schools. “It is thoroughly incredible that no white students reside in these school zones,” she said. “Integration in Washington is a one-way proposition,” Mrs. Butcher charged. Earlier this month, she told an assembly at Morgan State College in Baltimore that the Washington school system is still more than 98 per cent segregated. Quoting figures released by the American Friends Committee, Mrs. Butcher said desegregation in the na tion’s capital has proceeded “only slightly” since the Supreme Court de cision. “We have not accomplished the degree of integration in our pub lic schools for which we’re given credit outside Washington,” Dr. Butcher said in her address to the college students. QUOTES SCHOOL STUDY She said the American Friends’ study shows that in the District only 40 per cent of the public schools have a student body that is 2 per cent in tegrated. The other 60 per cent of the schools are either more than 98 per cent Negro or more than 98 per cent white, she said. Dr. Butcher, a paid employe of the National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People while on leave from her teaching post at Howard University, blamed the “fail ure of complete integration” on the fact that “our plan for integrating schools has been permissive rather than mandatory.” This month, Mrs. Butcher told the school board she believed there had been racial discrimination in some pupil assignments. Her charges are being investigated by school officials. Mrs. Butcher said it was her un derstanding that both Eastern and Anacostia high schools had refused to enroll new Negro students since Oc tober—thus violating a policy that all new students be enrolled accord ing to new non-racial boundaries. Both former white high schools were involved in the brief fall student demonstrations against integration. TWO AGAINST CORNING When the board of education on Jan. 19 voted on Coming’s reappoint ment as superintendent, Mrs. Butch er and two other members opposed it. The vote was 6 to 2. Mrs. Frank S. Phillips, board vice-president, and Mrs. Butcher voted “no.” Member Robert R. Faulkner did not mark his ballot. Both Mrs. Phillips and Faulkner have believed Corning moved too fast on integration. Mrs. Butcher be lieved he didn’t move fast enough. Explaining her negative vote, Mrs. Butcher gave the press this statement: “I wish it to be fully understood that my inability to vote for Supt. Coming carries with it no connotation of per sonal animosity or recrimination. In view of the critical statements I have issued during the past year and a half—and the facts that supported them—I could not possibly support the reappointment of the administra tor who built such a record. My state ments speak for themselves. “I have been told that a unanimous vote would strengthen the morale of the community. I have never con ceded that there is any virtue in una nimity. I would not choose to make such a concession at the expense of my most profound inner convictions.” In an editorial urging Coming’s re appointment, The Washington Post & Times Herald said: “. . . Dr. Corning has faced up to and dealt resolutely with, the tough job of transforming a dual school system into an inte grated school system. That this change has been accomplished so far with very little disorder or friction is certainly due in large measure to his planning and administration. He is certainly the man to see the inte gration job through to completion.” Currently, Corning and his staff are preparing a full-scale reorganization of top school officers, many of whom hold parallel jobs demanded under segregation. This report will be given to the school board at its February meeting. PROBLEM STUDENTS Coming is also looking for a solu tion to teen-age problem students whose behavior has come to light in integrated school situations. School officials are considering seeking a special appropriation from Congress to hire additional teachers to set up separate classes for these young peo ple. Most of the students assigned to such classes, Corning said, would be Negroes newly integrated into former white schools. Requests for the special “social ad justment” classes have come from principals of white junior and senior high schools integrated last fall by the transfer of large numbers of Ne gro students out of overcrowded schools. Mrs. Butcher publicly has declared that some Negro school principals “dumped” undesirable Negro stu dents into the former white schools last September. She said “real inte gration” instead of “mechanical transfers” of students would have prevented this. Corning said the number of prob lem cases are sufficient enough to be of “very serious concern.” He said “one child of that kind can make more trouble in a school than hundreds of other children, in taking the time of teachers away from their attention of the other children.” Race integration has had the effect of bringing the long-time problem of bad-behaving and emotionally mal adjusted students to a head, Corning said. “Integration has brought to the light of day many of these cases,” he added. “A lot of children have been trans ferred into an entirely new atmos phere,” Coming said, adding: “Quite naturally, the adjustment of some of those children to new conditions would be slower than that of others, particularly if they were behavior problems before.” Part of the problem, Coming said, stemmed from the fact the white schools exercised less strict discipline than the Negro schools. Now, he added, with Negro students in a “freer situation” the effect has been that they let off steam. Coming said he doesn’t believe the grade schools have many problem cases at this time. He pointed out there now are only two or three classes for emotionally maladjusted junior and senior high students in the entire school system. These, he said, are for boys only. Principals have told Corning that a large num ber of their present “problem chil dren” are girls. One principal of an integrated for mer white high school told Corning he felt more like a “warden than an educator.” This man, an ex-marine officer, said the language of some of the transferred Negro girls “would blister the skin off your back.” TEACHERS’ COLLEGES Meanwhile, officers of the public school system’s two teachers’ colleges are planning the merger of the pro grams of the institutions—which will take place before the summer session. Eventually, the colleges will be united in a large high school to be renovated for that purpose. This summer, the school will operate in one of the two present small college buildings. Presidents and department chair men of the two colleges now are working out the combining of curric ula which will result in new course offerings and requirements. Said one college president: “We are coming up with a stronger pro gram than either school had sep arately.” The college presidents have been told by Coming to include grad uate work offerings in the summer program. A fifth year of instruction leading to a master’s degree was au thorized last year by the school board which set no deadline for start of this expansion. At present, Wilson Teachers Col lege, a former all-white institution, has an integrated student body. Miner College continues to have a predominantly Negro enrollment. College officials said that new re quirements for degrees, when ap proved, will not be mandatory for students who already have started their college program. Most freshmen and sophomores are expected to fit into the new requirements by the time they begin work on their majors in the junior year, officials said MERGER ADVANTAGES These examples of how a merged teachers’ college will benefit students were cited by officials of both schools: 1. A stronger field of speech edu cation. Wilson for years has had no dramatics course, but a good speech improvement course. The reverse is true at Miner. 2. A better foreign language offer ing. Wilson has never had a major in Spanish while Miner had the only Spanish professor and “miserably small” classes in this course. 3. Business education will be of fered all students. Such a course has been offered at Wilson, but not at Miner because of lack of funds. 4. An improved student teaching program for all students. Wilson has offered a full semester of practice teaching in the secondary schools while Miner offered only a half se mester on this level. The curriculum merger is moving along without difficulty, except that a few professors want to “hang onto a pet course” that others would like to drop from the elective list, officials said. RULING ON BOYS CLUBS The board of education this month notified the directors of the Metro politan Police Boys Clubs that they could not continue to use District school space after hours unless they dropped their present bar against Negro membership. At present a club is operating in the Brookland school. The club has an enrollment of 1,700 boys, all white. The club uses showers, lockers, and a small recreation space in the school. The school board by letter told club officers that their policy of race segregation violates the public school system’s new non-discrimina tion rules. Its action followed receipt of a letter protesting the club’s racial barriers from the Washington Chap ter of the American Veterans’ Com mittee. The letter was sent on behalf of 29 community organizations. The Boys’ Club directors recently stood pat on their present segregation policies after another all-white club was forced to abandon quarters at All Souls’ Unitarian Church because of notice by church officials that con tinued segregation would not be tol erated. The church has since organ ized its own nonsegregated club. On Jan. 10, the Supreme Court de nied a request by the Federation of Citizens Associations of the District to file arguments in the current school desegregation cases. The Fed eration lost out in Federal District Court last November when it sought an injunction against the school board’s integration plans. It said the board was acting precipitously. Of the Supreme Court denial, at torney for the Federation, D. C. Col- laday said: “I think that’s going to end it. Now with this denial by the Supreme Court I’d say we’re through.” Southern School News Southern School News is the official publication of the Southern Education Reporting Service, an objective, fact-finding agency established by southern newspaper editors and educators with the aim of providing accurate, unbiased information to school administrators, public officials and interested lay citizens on developments in education arising from the U. S. Supreme Court opinion of May 17, 1954 declaring segregation in the public schools unconstitutional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation, but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state by state. OFFICERS Virginius Dabney Chairman Thomas R. Waring Vice-Chairman C. A. McKnight Executive Director BOARD OF DIRECTORS Frank Ahlgren, Editor, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. Gordon Blackwell, Director, Institute for Research in Social Science, University of N. C. Harvie Branscomb, Chancellor, Van derbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. Virginius Dabney, Editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Va. Coleman A. Harwell, Editor, Nash ville Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn. Henry H. Hill, President, George Peabody College, Nashville, Tenn. Charles S. Johnson, President, Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. C. A. McKnight, Editor (On Leave) Charlotte News, Charlotte, N. C. Charles Moss, Executive Editor, Nashville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. Thomas R. Waring, Editor, Charles ton News & Courier, Charleston, S. C. Henry I. Willett, Superintendent of Schools, Richmond, Va. P. B. Young Sr., Editor, Norfolk Journal & Guide, Norfolk, Va. CORRESPONDENTS ALABAMA William H. McDonald, Editorial Writer, Montgomery Advertiser ARKANSAS Thomas D. Davis, Asst. City Editor, Arkansas Gazette DELAWARE William P. Frank, Staff Writer, Wilmington News DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Jeanne Rogers, Education Writer, Washington Post & Times Herald FLORIDA Bert Collier, Staff Writer, Miami Herald GEORGIA Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The Macon News KENTUCKY Weldon James, Editorial Writer, Louisville Courier-Journal LOUISIANA Mario Fellom, Political Reporter, New Orleans Item MARYLAND Edgar L Jones, Editorial Writer, Baltimore Evening Sun MISSISSIPPI Kenneth Toler, Mississippi Bureau, Memphis Commercial-Appeal MISSOURI Robert Lasch, Editorial Writer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch NORTH CAROLINA Jay Jenkins, Staff Writer, Raleigh News 4 Observer OKLAHOMA Mary Goddard, Staff Writer, Ok lahoma City Oklahoman-Times SOUTH CAROLINA W. D. Workman Jr., Special Cor respondent, Columbia, S. C. TENNESSEE James Elliott, Staff Writer, Nash ville Banner Wallace Westfeldt, Staff Writer, Nashville Tennessean TEXAS Richard M. Morehead, Austin Bu reau, Dallas News VIRGINIA Overton Jones, Editorial Writer, Richmond Times-Dispatch WEST VIRGINIA Frank A. Knight, Editor, Charles ton Gazette MAIL ADDRESS P. O. Box 6156, Aclden Station, Nashville 5, Tenn. The high court gave no reason for its action. The Federation’s petition was only one of a long list of other requests for court action which were denied similarly. In his argument for filing an ami cus curiae (friend of the court) brief, Colladay said: “The Federation does not oppose desegregation but holds that the plan which the board of education has adopted involves unnecessary speed of action and many hardships upon the school children.” The board’s action of “mandatory and compulsory” integration was called “most unreasonable.” The Fed eration said the anticipated imple mentary decrees by the Supreme Court “should adequately protect the rights of all children of school age.” Delaware Continued From Page 3 sembly. The Milford story is a part of the Delaware pattern. But it is by no means typical or representative of the present situation of the Negro. There is abundant evidence to show that Delawareans in growing num bers are helping Negroes break out from the ‘traditional barriers’ par ticularly in employment.” Another example of racial thinking in some Catholic circles in Delaware was the decision of the Knights of Columbus in Wilmington to accept Negroes as members. This was con sidered unprecedented among K of C areas in the state. And also during the month, a bas ketball game between Salesianu® Catholic high school and Rehobott Beach high school was cancelled ten 1 ' porarily because it was discovered b! the Rehoboth Beach school peopb that a young Negro was playing ° r the Catholic high school team. There was no outward opposite 1 on the part of the Rehoboth Bead- school against playing Salesianun but it was thought wise not to pj® the game in Rehoboth Beach wbi? is in Sussex County. The game is be played perhaps in the WilmingWj" area. The Salesianum Catholic hi? school, conducted by the Obi? 1 Fathers, was literally the first hi? school of any group in Wilming 401 to break down the racial barrio* That happened two years ago. However, all these events in ware are regarded as “marking tb"* events or fillers since the big stoO^ yet to come, perhaps next moB That is what the State SuprO^ Court will say about the legality 10 Negro students attending the ford school. The admission of th students to the Milford white h» school in September of 1954, p reCJ j^, tated what has come to be k®° . everywhere as the “Milford ^ dent.”