The four-track program in the senior high schools, after 2 years of successful experiment, has been extended into the 12th grade. This puts all 3 years of high school education on a four-track basis. The percentages of senior high school students in the various tracks as of December 1958 are as follows: Honors__ College preparatory.. Percent 6. 7 29. 0 41. 7 22. 6 The honors curriculum provides special educational opportunities for the gifted students; the college preparatory curriculum is for students who expect to attend college; the general curriculum is for students who do not plan to attend college; and the basic curriculum is designed for the retarded or slow-learning students who enter high school unprepared for the traditional high school level work. The development of the honors program in the junior high schools, now in its first year in the seventh grade, will include the eighth grade next year and the ninth grade the year beyond that. Consideration is being given at the present time to an extension of ability grouping techniques to the elementary schools. Beginning of the program for instruction in foreign languages in the elementary schools is considered essential. The plan provides for the addition of teachers of a modern foreign language to begin the work in the third grade for students capable of adding this feature to their programs. The plan will provide for continuation of the offering of the foreign language to the students through the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO Another factor of great significance in the need for additional school construction is the necessity for an upgrading of standards by means of a reduction to 30 to 1 of present pupil-teacher ratio in the elementary schools. The trend in pupil-teacher ratio, both nationally and in the District, has been toward a reduction in the number of pupils per teacher. The much discussed ratio of 30 to 1 is not ideal but represents a realistic goal which, with adequate financial Continuing efforts are being made to resolve the problems in these areas and in other lagging programs. Other sections of this report discuss more fully the financial, physical, and legislative resources required to support programs in the area of health, welfare, and recreation. Despite the many needs which are still unmet, real progress has been made in the past few years on health, welfare, recreational, and delinquency matters. A continuation of the dedicated attitudes of the Congress and the Commissioners with regard to these matters will insure future progress in these vital areas. SECTION 5. EDUCATION The District of Columbia, through its school administration, is charged with the task of maintaining standards of educational achievement for the children of Washington commensurate with the status of the city as the National Capital. To accomplish this goal, there are many needs that continue unmet in the complex and rapidly changing situation the District has been experiencing. Among these are further ability grouping in order to make it possible for the gifted as well as the slow to learn at maximum levels, strengthening teacher techniques to include better use of teacher time and materials, stabilizing the teacher staff by reducing the number of temporary appointments and increasing the number of probationary and permanent appointments, providing adequate classroom space with special attention to the elimination of part-time instruction, and improving existing school facilities where they are deficient. In addition to the normal public school services, which in the District include kindergarten through the fourth year of the Teachers' College, the community must, in order to provide well-rounded educational opportunities, furnish library services; offer adults the chance of continuing their education; establish special programs for atypical children, such as the crippled, the deaf, and the defective; and, in general, supply the basic services which enable the individual citizen to enlarge his opportunities in constructive ways. Consequently, considerable financial support is needed if the District is to meet its educational obligations. The primary items, and the most costly, are new and improved physical facilities and additional teaching staff. If adequate levels of improvement can be reached in these two major areas, the District will be able to meet its greatest educational need, that is, the reduction of average class sizes, particularly in the elementary schools, so that teachers can deal effectively with the learning problems of individual children. Such strengthening of the school system will also have the desirable effect of reducing the number of part-time classes. Another important but less expensive need is for the extension and improvement of both public and school library facilities. The importance to students of accessible and sufficient learning materials is self-evident. SCHOOL POPULATION The trend in school population has been steadily upward in the District during a period in which the total population has remained fairly static. (See chart 5-A.) Since 1950, the total pupil population for all grade levels has increased by 19,527. The upward trend in the school population shows little indication of leveling off as the estimate for the 1964-65 school year is an enrollment of 140,709, an increase of 26,490 over 1958. (See app. 5-1.) The disproportionate growth in the child population contrasted with that of the adult population has many implications for the District. These implications are discussed further in sections 2 and 9 of this report. Their meaning for the District school system is plain. In the public elementary schools of this community, teachers are attempting to give instruction to 75,382 children in classrooms which should contain no more than 63,790 children. Many pupils are attending classes in substandard and temporary rooms and many are receiving part-time instruction in split class sessions. For obvious reasons, such expedients are not to the best interests of these children in terms of an adequate learning environment. Such conditions add a further note of urgency to the already extreme need for an extensive school building program. Section 8 of this report contains additional data on the proposed school construction program. The four-track program in the senior high schools, after 2 years of successful experiment, has been extended into the 12th grade. This puts all 3 years of high school education on a four-track basis. The percentages of senior high school students in the various tracks as of December 1958 are as follows: Honors. College preparatory- Percent 6.7 29.0 41. 7 22. 6 The honors curriculum provides special educational opportunities for the gifted students; the college preparatory curriculum is for students who expect to attend college; the general curriculum is for students who do not plan to attend college; and the basic curriculum is designed for the retarded or slow-learning students who enter high school unprepared for the traditional high school level work. The development of the honors program in the junior high schools, now in its first year in the seventh grade, will include the eighth grade next year and the ninth grade the year beyond that. Consideration is being given at the present time to an extension of ability grouping techniques to the elementary schools. Beginning of the program for instruction in foreign languages in the elementary schools is considered essential. The plan provides for the addition of teachers of a modern foreign language to begin the work in the third grade for students capable of adding this feature to their programs. The plan will provide for continuation of the offering of the foreign language to the students through the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO Another factor of great significance in the need for additional school construction is the necessity for an upgrading of standards by means of a reduction to 30 to 1 of present pupil-teacher ratio in the elementary schools. The trend in pupil-teacher ratio, both nationally and in the District, has been toward a reduction in the number of pupils per teacher. The much discussed ratio of 30 to 1 is not ideal but represents a realistic goal which, with adequate financial Continuing efforts are being made to resolve the problems in these areas and in other lagging programs. Other sections of this report discuss more fully the financial, physical, and legislative resources required to support programs in the area of health, welfare, and recreation. Despite the many needs which are still unmet, real progress has been made in the past few years on health, welfare, recreational, and delinquency matters. A continuation of the dedicated attitudes of the Congress and the Commissioners with regard to these matters will insure future progress in these vital areas. SECTION 5. EDUCATION The District of Columbia, through its school administration, is charged with the task of maintaining standards of educational achievement for the children of Washington commensurate with the status of the city as the National Capital. To accomplish this goal, there are many needs that continue unmet in the complex and rapidly changing situation the District has been experiencing. Among these are further ability grouping in order to make it possible for the gifted as well as the slow to learn at maximum levels, strengthening teacher techniques to include better use of teacher time and materials, stabilizing the teacher staff by reducing the number of temporary appointments and increasing the number of probationary and permanent appointments, providing adequate classroom space with special attention to the elimination of part-time instruction, and improving existing school facilities where they are deficient. In addition to the normal public school services, which in the District include kindergarten through the fourth year of the Teachers' College, the community must, in order to provide well-rounded educational opportunities, furnish library services; offer adults the chance of continuing their education; establish special programs for atypical children, such as the crippled, the deaf, and the defective; and, in general, supply the basic services which enable the individual citizen to enlarge his opportunities in constructive ways. Consequently, considerable financial support is needed if the District is to meet its educational obligations. The primary items, and the most costly, are new and improved physical facilities and additional teaching staff. If adequate levels of improvement can be reached in these two major areas, the District will be able to meet its greatest educational need, that is, the reduction of average class sizes, particularly in the elementary schools, so that teachers can deal effectively with the learning problems of individual children. Such strengthening of the school system will also have the desirable effect of reducing the number of part-time classes. Another important but less expensive need is for the extension and improvement of both public and school library facilities. The importance to students of accessible and sufficient learning materials is self-evident. SCHOOL POPULATION The trend in school population has been steadily upward in the District during a period in which the total population has remained fairly static. (See chart 5-A.) Since 1950, the total pupil population for all grade levels has increased by 19,527. The upward trend in the school population shows little indication of leveling off as the estimate for the 1964-65 school year is an enrollment of 140,709, an increase of 26,490 over 1958. (See app. 5-1.) The disproportionate growth in the child population contrasted with that of the adult population has many implications for the District. These implications are discussed further in sections 2 and 9 of this report. Their meaning for the District school system is plain. In the public elementary schools of this community, teachers are attempting to give instruction to 75,382 children in classrooms which should contain no more than 63,790 children. Many pupils are attending classes in substandard and temporary rooms and many are receiving part-time instruction in split class sessions. For obvious reasons, such expedients are not to the best interests of these children in terms of an adequate learning environment. Such conditions add a further note of urgency to the already extreme need for an extensive school building program. Section 8 of this report contains additional data on the proposed school construction program. The four-track program in the senior high schools, after 2 years of successful experiment, has been extended into the 12th grade. This puts all 3 years of high school education on a four-track basis. The percentages of senior high school students in the various tracks as of December 1958 are as follows: Percent 6. 7 29.0 41. 7 22. 6 The honors curriculum provides special educational opportunities for the gifted students; the college preparatory curriculum is for students who expect to attend college; the general curriculum is for students who do not plan to attend college; and the basic curriculum is designed for the retarded or slow-learning students who enter high school unprepared for the traditional high school level work. The development of the honors program in the junior high schools, now in its first year in the seventh grade, will include the eighth grade next year and the ninth grade the year beyond that. Consideration is being given at the present time to an extension of ability grouping techniques to the elementary schools. Beginning of the program for instruction in foreign languages in the elementary schools is considered essential. The plan provides for the addition of teachers of a modern foreign language to begin the work in the third grade for students capable of adding this feature to their programs. The plan will provide for continuation of the offering of the foreign language to the students through the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO Another factor of great significance in the need for additional school construction is the necessity for an upgrading of standards by means of a reduction to 30 to 1 of present pupil-teacher ratio in the elementary schools. The trend in pupil-teacher ratio, both nationally and in the District, has been toward a reduction in the number of pupils per teacher. The much discussed ratio of 30 to 1 is not ideal but represents a realistic goal which, with adequate financial |