About Southern school news. (Nashville, Tenn.) 1954-1965 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1955)
* PAGE 4—March 3, 1955—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS District of Columbia WASHINGTON, D.C. HE board of education decided last month to hear the views of District citizens before it reorgan izes jobs of the twin set of top school officers. March 4 was set as forum date. To be heard are spokesmen for the Federation of Citizens Associations, a white group, and its counterpart in the Negro community, the Federa tion of Civic Associations; and the District Congress of Parents and Teachers (predominantly white) and the Negro Federation of Parent- Teacher Associations. School Supt. Hobart M. Corning on Feb. 16 gave the board members his plan for realigning the duties of the present dual administrative staff. COMPLEX PROBLEM The District school system is per haps unmatched in its complexity. The scanty beginning of staff in tegration was six system-wide jobs, all held by white officers: the super intendent, the business administra tor, the directors of food services, program, and attendance, and asso ciate superintendents of personnel and buildings and grounds. In the past, there were two first assistant superintendents, one in charge of the white senior highs and teachers’ colleges, the other in charge of similar Negro institutions. Two associate superintendents used to ad minister separately the double sets of junior and vocational highs and grade schools. There are two teach ers’ colleges and even two experts in charge of white and Negro edu cational research. The double image picture also in cludes two parallel staffs of school directors, supervisors, department heads and attendance officers. Corning told the school board how he planned the meshing of these jobs. He said: “The problem of the reorganization of the administrative framework of the public schools has been under direct study by the superintendent and his staff for more than a year. Until the release of the Supreme Court’s opinion in May, 1954, this study had . been largely academic. A great amount of time was spent dur ing the 1954 spring and early summer months in surveying organizational plans in many other cities and in constructing possible plans for Wash ington. FUNCTIONAL’ PLAN Much consideration, Corning said, was given to a purely “functional” type of organization. It seemed impossible, he added, to avoid overlapping and duplications and at the same time to accomplish a “clear progression educationally” from the kindergarten on up. Study was made also, Corning said, of plans that segmented cities geo graphically—each segment under a different set of school officers. “Under this plan the tendency is to develop several systems,” Coming warned, “with consequent different admin istrative practices and procedures.” Coming said this was true in Washington when it had two large racial school divisions. In general local needs and conditions seem to be governing factors in organiza tional plans, Corning said, adding: “There are no set patterns.” All his staff officers were invited to devise and submit organizational plans of their own, Corning said, and these were examined and studied by the whole group. Parts of these plans now are embodied in his final recom mendation, Coming explained. Last March, Coming said he asked his officers to give him a confidential analysis of their own qualifications and a statement of the jobs each felt himself best able to do. Coming said he then developed a master plan. He held conferences with each staff member to explain his plan and to bring out questions and comments. This is Coming’s proposed sched ule of new assignments for staff members. Its approval by the school board will mark the last major in tegration step this semester. Wash ington integration will be complete next September. There would be three deputy su perintendents responsible for school operation. Nominated for these key posts are Norman J. Nelson, Dr. Harold A. Haynes and Charles N. Zellers. Nelson, former assistant su perintendent of white high schools and Wilson Teachers College, would be deputy in charge of school man agement and supervision. Nelson would oversee all the schools, grade through college. Haynes, who formerly served as assistant superintendent of Negro highs and Miner Teachers College, would become deputy in charge of coordinated educational services. This is a new job. Haynes and Nel son are now Coming’s first assist ants. They have administered the city high schools as a team since integration. Zellers, business administration as sistant to Corning, would become deputy superintendent in charge of business affairs. Coming told the school board that the title changes are not promotions and will not re sult in salary adjustment. Serving under Haynes would be three assistant superintendents who are now called associates. They are Thomas J. Holmes, personnel, Rich ard R. Foster, general research and statistics, and Dr. Irene C. Hypps, pupil appraisal, study and attend ance. Dr. Hypps’ job is new. She formerly was in charge of research for Negro schools. Haynes, in addition, would direct the following activities: curriculum department, department of visual and auditory aids, special services department, library services depart ment and reading clinics. Only the library department is new. Reporting to Nelson would be four assistant superintendents. They are Miss Edith A. Lyons, elementary schools, Lawson J. Cantrell, junior highs, Francis A. Gregory, vocational highs, and Dr. Carl F. Hansen, sen ior highs and educational television. Miss Lyons formerly directed the Negro grade schools and Hansen the white elementary schools. Can trell formerly was over the white junior highs and vocationals with Gregory holding identical rein over the Negro institutions. Under Zellers would be John M. Riecks, assistant superintendent in charge of buildings and grounds. This job previously was not under the business office. OTHER STEPS LATER Corning has yet to submit his reorganization of supervisors, direc tors and department heads. He did nominate Miss Katherine Scrivener, a director of elementary education, to serve as Miss Lyons’ assistant because of the large number of grade schools to oversee. Corning told board members that each officer had told him he or she was pleased with the new assign ment and that they considered the plan a sound one. “I was primarily concerned with developing a plan which was educa tionally sound and which would function in a city of Washington’s size and complexity,” Corning said. He said he manned the organization on the basis of the interests, talent, experience and training of his offi cers. He said he tried to make sure that workloads of responsibilities of officers are as similar as possible. Said Corning: “Inasmuch as the Washington schools have been administered on a dual system for so many years, it is quite natural that differences in practices have developed—in inter pretations of basic philosophy, in methods of control, in methods of teaching, in measuring pupil achievement and in record keeping. The unification of the administration and supervision of the schools is es sential to a unified system. For that reason the direction of the schools at all levels is placed in one line of authority.” It is just as essential, Corning said, that the “very vital” educational services supporting classroom in struction be similarly coordinated and unified. Thirdly, he said, the financial administration, the serv ices of supply, the school housing and school housekeeping must oper ate together as a unified whole to give the most “efficient support” to the instructional program. Corning said the plan of reorgan ization, once approved, should not be considered “inflexible to further alteration as we proceed with the work and learn from our experi ence.” Corning said he thought it “very desirable” that the new plan be put into effect as soon as possible. Five of the nine members of the school board expressed general ap proval of the plan but delayed a vote to give the public an oppor tunity to express reaction to it. Before the February meeting, school board members got into a hassle about how the plan should be presented. Some wanted a straight organization chart—without the offi cers’ names attached. These mem bers felt use of names might hamper straight-forward discussion during an open meeting. They were over ruled. MIDYEAR STEP SMOOTH During a press conference, Corn ing told reporters that the midyear shift of 1,000 students from junior to senior highs according to new non-racial boundaries had gone without a hitch. He expressed surprise at the small amount of “mixing of the races” resulting from the effect of these new boundaries. The small number of students becoming integrated, Corn ing said, reflects the moving that has occurred within the past few months in the District. Officials currently are conducting followups on students who have dropped out of specific school registers to see if families moved elsewhere in Washington or into nearby Maryland and Virginia counties which maintain segregated schools. Corning gave these statistics on the placement of the junior high graduates. Three of the 454 graduates from formerly all-white junior highs entered senior highs that formerly had all-Negro students. Of the 581 graduates from former all-Negro schools, only 132 entered former white schools. The superintendent attributed the low number going to school where the opposite race predominated to the fact that many students could not get the course wanted at the school in their home zone and were allowed to transfer to a more dis tant school. Some students, he said, were allowed to transfer to another Nominated For High District School Posts ZELLERS HAYNES NELSON Slated to Become Deputy District Superintendents 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 & 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, Acklen Station, Nashville 5, Tenn. school because of “hardship” rea sons, such as health. During the midyear graduation exercises, board of education mem ber Dr. Margaret Just Butcher re fused to speak at ceremonies at two predominantly Negro schools. She contended that Corning had assigned board members to such exercises on racial lines. Mrs. Butcher is one of three Negro members on the school board. Because of her refusal and be cause she now serves as a temporary paid employee for the National As sociation for the Advancement of Colored People, several white citi zens associations in Washington have called for Mrs. Butcher’s ouster from the board. Latest group to thus petition the school board was the Brightwood Citizens’ Association, Inc. This group contended Mrs. Butcher has dis qualified herself from board mem bership by taking a year’s leave of absence from Howard University, where she is an associate professor, to work for the NAACP. The citi zens’ group said Mrs. Butcher is a “mouthpiece” for the NAACP and that this is improper. They said Mrs. Butcher doesn’t “serve an impar tial need” on the school board. RUMORS SCOTCHED The rumor mill worked overtime in Washington during the next to last week in February. Opponents of integration passed the word around that gang fights were occurring in ^ Sousa junior high neighborly# Sousa’s students last October V s1 ' ticipated in a brief class-cutP™ demonstration against racially-®'*' 1 classes. .1 District newspapers were called anonymous persons advising ™ “there are bad things happening Sousa,” “a white boy was shot bS: Negro boy. . . . maybe won’t 1"* The Washington police heard same reports and doubled the m 1 ® ber of men in this Southeast c0<! ' munity. A A check by the Washington P° s . Times Herald showed this sli® ^ for the reports. Juvenile squad *. thorities on Feb. 11 repriman seven boys in the presence of ®. parents for taking part in a sq u ^ ble which grew out of a figW tween two of the youths a week fore. , Following a hearing at police h quarters, an officer said the ^ understanding” between two o*^ teenage boys (one white, one 1 gro) resulted when they bu®ff each other in avoiding a mud V • die. The officer said the inci occurred near a bus stop near junior high. y Police said the dispute did involve any specific schools and ^ not in any way concerned tegration. They said the boy 5 ^,. tend three different schools ^ sa, Phelps and Chamberlain ' tional high schools.
