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PAGE 4—JANUARY, 1964—SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS
KENTUCKY
Big Increase in Biracial School
Attendance Rated ‘Unbelievable’
LOUISVILLE
rpHE department of Education’s
annual school desegregation
report, showing substantial in
creases in biracial school attend
ance, described as “unbelievable”
the desegregation progress made
since the Supreme Court decision
of 1954.
The report listed a total of 204
districts and said that of 165 with stu
dents of both races, 153 operate deseg
regated schools. Another 10 districts
have desegregation plans or policies
leaving only one district—Graves
County—without a plan. Shelby County
plans to desegregate next school year.
Last year 22 districts lacked any
desegregation plan or policy and only
126 actually operated biracial schools,
and the Department of Education had
worked throughout the year to bring
more compliance with the Supreme
Court ruling.
The 44-page report, packed with
statistics, was made public Dec. 17
at a meeting of the State Board of
Education at
Frankfort. It was
prepared under
the supervision of
Sam B. Taylor,
assistant director
o f instructional
services.
Commenting on
the report, the
state’s largest
daily newspaper,
The Courier-
Journal at Louis- taylor
ville, commended
desegregation progress but said that the
job was far from complete when 12
districts with biracial enrollments still
operate only segregated schools.
District Breakdown
The report gave the following break
down on the 12 districts:
• Graves County, the only com
plete holdout, has been considering
adoption of a plan.
• Cloverport, East Bemstadt, and
Ferguson independent district, and
Creenup County have “open plans”
based on choice, but also permit pupils
on request of their parents to attend
schools in other districts, a practice
carried over from previous years. Ne
gro pupils from Cloverport and Creen
up County attend desegregated schools
in Breckinridge County and in the
Creenup Independent District.
• Garrard County, Earlington and
Jenkins have plans to start desegreg-
tion in 1964-5 when new school
buildings are to be completed.
• Montgomery County, Glasgow and
Mt. Sterling have “open plans” based
on choice by pupils.
• Shelby County has adopted a plan
under which an “open policy” based on
choice will go into effect in 1964-5.
Here are some other highlights from
the report:
• Of 54,352 Negro pupils, 29,855 or
54.9 percent attend biracial schools, up
from 24,346 last year.
• The number of white pupils at
tending desegregated schools increased
from 221,402 last year to 288,360.
• Since 1955, 219 all-Negro schools
have been closed or merged with white
schools. Remaining in the state are 129
all-Negro schools, 102 of which are
elementary and 27 secondary.
• Of 1,956 schools in desegregated
districts, 620 have biracial student
bodies, up from 467 last year.
On teacher desegregation, the report
said that although desegregation in the
teaching staffs had been slow to
develop, there are this year 507 teachers
of the Negro race serving in the
desegregated schools. This is an in
crease of 74 teachers over last year
when the number was 433.
There are at present 1,502 Negro
teachers serving in all schools, those
desegregated schools and schools with
an all-Negro enrollment. This is an in
crease of 80 teachers since 1955-56
when the number was 1,440.
The report also pointed out that the
increase in employment of Negro
teachers has not been as great as the
increase in Negro enrollment.
★ ★ ★
The State Board of Education decided
to appoint a committee to study the
question of including Negro history in
courses taught in public schools and
Kentucky
Statistics
Total Enrolled
School
In Deseg.
In Deseg. Schls.
Year*
Districts
White Negro
1955-56
97,903
16,688 313
1956-57
325,478
120,307 8,017
1957-58
362,269
133,182 10,897
1958-59
402,000
149,392 11,492
1959-60
477,089
165,645 16,329
1961-62
466,996
200,581 22,021
1962-63
482,382
221,402 24,348
1963-64
547,575
288,360 29,855
Total Teachers
School
In Deseg.
In Deseg. Schls.
Year*
Districts
White Negro
1955-56
3,496
639 2
1956-57
11,889
4,708 113
1957-58
13,384
5,475 172
1958-59
13,400
5,915 138
1959-60
14,406
6,808 287
1961-62
16,283
7,917 382
1962-63
18,950
9,154 433
1963-64
22,999
12,045 507
School
Total W/Negro Biracial Plan
Year*
districts & White Enrlmt. Only
1955-56
224
184 30 8
1956-57
221
177 91 17
1957-58
216
170 94 19
1958-59
215
175 105 18
1959-60
212
173 106 23
1961-62
211
173 119 22
1962-63
206
169 126 21
1963-64
204
165 153 10
School
Schools In Biracial
Year*
Deseg. Dists. Schools
1955-56
826
41
1956-57
1,742
233
1957-58
1,736
262
1958-59
1,730
331
1959-60
1,658
377
1961-62
1,980
405
1962-63
1,837
467
1963-64
1,956
625
* Report not issued for 1960-61
to write textbook publishers advising
them of the board’s interest in the
matter.
The actions were taken after the
board heard a letter on the matter from
Mrs. Alicia McAlpin, chairman of the
Kentucky Council on Human Rela
tions (SSN Dec.)
Mrs. McAlpin’s husband, Harry Mc
Alpin, a member of the State Board
of Education, said that a recent study
of American history textbooks by a
Negro disclosed that his race was
depicted in a menial capacity.
“The problem seems to be primarily
the exclusion of documentary facts
about the Negro and what few facts
are presented create an improper
image,” McAlpin said at the Dec. 18
meeting of the board at Frankfort.
Legislative Action
Several Proposals
In Legislature
To Involve Race
Several legislative proposals in
volving racial matters, some pertaining
to schools, were expected to come be
fore the State General Assembly con
vening this month in regular biennial
session.
Bills likely to claim the legislators’
attention were those aimed at removing
such phrases as “colored children”
from the education sections of the
statute books. Several such bills have
died in committee in previous sessions
of the General Assembly.
W hat They Say
New UK President
Reiterates Policy
The new president of the University
of Kentucky, John W. Oswald, reiter
ated the school’s policy of desegrega
tion of athletics on Dec. 7, when
Southeastern Conference football re
cruiting started.
“In the process of recruiting, there
should be no discrimination,” Dr.
Oswald said. “Race should not be
considered. There are only two factors
in recruiting athletes; a boy’s athletic
potential and his academic potential.
“That’s the spirit of the integration
policy, as I understand it, adopted by
the university last spring. I wasn’t
president then and had no part in the
adoption of the policy, but I am in
agreement with it.”
Dr. Oswald said that the university’s
coaches “are quite clear” about his
understanding of the desegregation
policy, which broke precedent in the
Southeastern Conference when adopted
last May (SSN, June and previous).
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 compulsory segregation in the public schools unconstitu
tional. SERS is not an advocate, is neither pro-segregation nor anti-segregation,
but simply reports the facts as it finds them, state-by-state.
Published monthly by Southern Education Reporting Service at 1109 19th Ave.,
S., Nashville, Tennessee.
Second class postage paid at Nashville, Tennessee.
OFFICERS
Bert Struby Chairman
Thomas R. Waring Vice-Chairman
Reed Sarratt Executive Director
Tom Flake, Director of Publications
Jim Leeson, Director of Information and Research
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Frank R. Ahlgren, Editor, The Commer- Reed Sarratt, Executive Director, South-
cial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn. ern Education Reporting Service
Luther H. Foster, President, Tuskegee Nashville, Tenn.
Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Ala. Jo ^ n Se.genthaler, Ed.tor, Nashv.lle
Tennessean, Nashville, Tenn.
Alexander Heard, Chancellor, Vander- Don Shoemaker, Editor, Miami Herald,
bilt University, Nashville, Tenn. Miami, Fla.
^ a ki i/ • Li rji Berf Strub V' General Manager, Macon
C. A. Me Knight, Ed.tor Charlotte Ob- Telegraph and News, Macon, Ga.
server, Charlotte, N.C. Thomas R Warin g ( Editor, The News
Charles Moss, Executive Editor, u and C l OU :‘i r 1 ' I Char J eston - Se
ville Banner, Nashville, Tenn. He "7 ■ ^Nett, Superintendent of
Schools, Richmond, Va.
Felix C. Robb, President, George Pea- Stephen J. Wright, President, Fisk Uni
body College, Nashville, Tenn. versity, Nashville, Tenn.
CORRESPONDENTS
ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI
William H. McDonald, Chief Editor- Kenneth Toler, Jackson Bureau,
ial Writer, Alabama Journal, Mont- Memphis Commercial Appeal
gomery MISSOURI
ARKANSAS William K. Wyant Jr., Staff Writer,
William T. Shelton, City Editor, Ar- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
kansas Gazette, Little Rock NORTH CAROLINA
DELAWARE Luix Overbea, Staff Writer, The
James E. Miller, Managing Editor, Journal-Sentinel, Winston-Salem
Delaware State News, Dover OKLAHOMA
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Leonard Jackson, Staff Writer, Okla-
Erwin Knoll, Washington Bureau, homa City Oklahoman-Times
Newhouse Newspapers SOUTH CAROLINA
R + r II- rj.. . I w ., ... . William E. Rone Jr., City Editor, The
Bert Collier, Editorial Writer, Miami State, Columbia 1
Herald
GEORGIA TENNESSEE
Joseph B. Parham, Editor, The Xen Morr eH, Staff Writer, Nashville
Macon News Banner
KENTUCKY TEX AS
James S. Pope, Jr., Sunday Staff, Richard M. Morehead, Austin Bu-
Louisville Courier-Journal reau, Dallas News
LOUISIANA VIRGINIA
Patrick E. McCauley, Editorial Overton Jones, Associate Editor,
Writer, New Orleans Times-Picayune Richmond Times-Dispatch
MARYLAND WEST VIRGINIA
Edgar L. Jones, Editorial Writer, Thomas F. Stafford, Assistant to the
Baltimore Sun Editor, Charleston Gazette
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OKLAHOMA
Increased Faculty Desegregation Reported
OKLAHOMA CITY
A small increase in faculty de
segregation — already started
because of a court order—was re
ported in the Oklahoma City
school system in December.
The disclosure by the superintendent
was accompanied by discussion of the
Oklahoma City board’s thinking on
long-range plans for more extensive
faculty desegregation. These may in
clude, he indicated, use of standar
dized tests to determine qualifications
in employing teachers.
Dr. Jack F. Parker said three ad
ditional Negro teachers have been as
signed to schools with biracial student
bodies since September. One of the
schools has not had Negro teachers
before.
Five Negro teachers had been as
signed to biracial schools at the be
ginning of the fall term, in compliance
with a comprehensive order handed
down July 11 by U. S. District Judge
Luther Bohanon, Oklahoma City.
Directed Board
The order directed the board to stop
transferring pupils on the basis of race
and to begin biracial faculty assign
ments immediately. It was contained
in the court’s opinion in Dowell v.
Board of Education (SSN, July).
A plan filed by the board Aug. 6
in response to the court order called
for assigning two Negro teachers full
time to Lincoln Elementary School and
another full-time at Edison Elementary
School. Both are biracial but have pre
dominantly Negro enrollments.
A fourth Negro was assigned to teach
half a days at Lincoln and Edison.
The fifth Negro teacher was placed on
the Central High School faculty on
a full-time basis.
Supt. Parker said that since those
assignments were made, Lincoln and
Edison have each received one addi
tional Negro teacher. Also, he said, a
Negro teacher has been assigned to
Harmony Elementary School for the
first time. Like the other two schools,
Harmony is located in Oklahoma City’s
northeast section, into which Negro
families have migrated out of their
traditional east-side residential area in
recent years.
Cited Advancements
The superintendent cited what he
called two or three other “advance
ments” not mentioned in the board’s
court-ordered plan. He said a couple
of Negro clerical workers have been
hired at the administration building—
one in the automatic data processing
section of the research and statistics
office and the other in the business
office.
As far as he knows, Parker said,
these are the first Negro clerical per
sonnel employed at the school board
headquarters.
However, the supervisory staff, which
works out of the administration build
ing, has included Negroes for several
years. Previously they worked exclu
sively with the faculties of all-Negro
schools. In the past year or two their
rounds have been scheduled on a sys
tem-wide basis.
Four Negroes are employed as
teacher consultants, or supervisors. The
latest is Prentice Gautt, professional
football player whose employment as
a physical education consultant was
approved by the school board Dec. 2.
Gautt, 25, married and the father of
one child, is remembered as the first
Negro to play varsity football at the
University of Oklahoma. He was at
OU from 1956 through 1960 and now
plays for the St. Louis Cardinals foot
ball team.
Dropout Program
During the fall term Neil Pierce,
former assistant principal at the all-
Negro Moon Junior High School, was
added to the department of educational
research to work on the dropout pro
gram.
Two other Negroes have been on
the supervisory staff for several years
—Mrs. Lelia Love joy at the elementary
level and Otis Lawrence, who teaches
science on educational television and
works with science teachers in the
various high schools.
Dr. Parker said the additional Negro
faculty-level assignments will be men
tioned in a report to be submitted to
the court early in 1964 detailing the
board’s further efforts to advance de
segregation.
The board had told Judge Bohanon
in filing its plan that it would re
examine the racial makeup of the
various student bodies from time to
time and take “appropriate additional
steps” in the further desegregation of
the system’s professional staff.
Beyond this, the superintendent said,
the school board has been studying the
possibilities for even more extensive
faculty desegregation by developing
“some approach for assigning teachers
on the basis of qualifications.” Ap*
parently this may mean, eventually
placing Negro teachers in all-w** 1 e
schools and white teachers in all-N e
gro schools.
New Approach
Parker said the board is
of revising its procedure for hu™
teachers. The new approach, he sai^
may involve the use of a nat ' ori .
teacher’s examination, a standar
test devised by Educational ” es
Service and used in many school s>
terns across the country. ^
“The purpose would be to try
certain we’re approaching the m
of employment (of teachers) 3 s . j
jectively as we can,” Parker eX P a ^ .j
This is a widely accepted test
has never been used here. t
The superintendent disclosed ^ ^
questionnaires have been sent o ^
school administrators in cities of ^ ut
population and more, inquiring ^
employment practices and the _ . n
the national teacher’s examina
This project is still under way- _
“What we’re shooting for, the s eI n-
intendent said, “is an approac a p.
ployment where you can con f 1 fica tions
plicants on the basis of q ua or jgin
alone, race, creed and nation
not being factors. nr* 11
“It’s always a subjective nia but
making judgments about P e °P ^ 0 b-
we’re trying to introduce as can t
jective factors as possible, v e * b°*
eliminate all judgment ac aS a
we’re trying to eliminate r
(See OKLAHOMA. Page
5)