problems would be solved. The middle school would occupy the elementary school, the elementary school children would use the old high school, and the high school students would use their new high school. Eleven years is a long wait, and I trust that we won't have to wait any longer for some positive action.

I wish to welcome Mrs. Patt Moore and Mrs. Georgia Hudak, whose children attend the Antilles Middle school, and who have literally paced the halls of Congress seeking support for their cause. They are here thanks to the numerous donations of parents who are equally concerned about the quality of education being offered to their children.

I also wish to welcome Mr. Linn Wallace, who is representing the Antilles Consolidated Education Association, at Fort Buchanan, and Mrs. Gail Bramblett from the National Education Association, who is accompanying him. I hope that with the benefit of their testimony we can initiate those efforts aimed at ending years of inaction, and come to better understand the importance of a well administered and effective impact aid program.

I would also like to recognize the presence here of Colonel Peters of Fort Buchanan.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

STATEMENTS OF MRS. PATT MOORE, PARENTS ORGANIZATION FOR QUALITY EDUCATION, FORT BUCHANAN, PUERTO RICO, ACCOMPANIED BY MRS. GEORGIA HUDAK, PARENTS ORGANIZATION FOR QUALITY EDUCATION; LINN WALLACE, PAST PRESIDENT, ANTILLES CONSOLIDATED EDUCATION ASSOCIATION ACCOMPANIED BY MS. GAIL BRAMBLETT, OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION; DR. DAVID L SMITH, ASSISTANT FOR GRADUATE EDUCATION/DEPENDENTS EDUCATION AND YOUTH PROGRAMS, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF NAVAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY; WILLIAM L. STORMER, U. S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION, ACCOMPANIED BY MRS. ZULLA TONEY, CHIEF, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS BRANCH, AND COLONEL ROBERT PETERS, BASE COMMANDER, FORT BUCHANAN, PUERTO RICO.

Chairman PERKINS. Mrs. Moore, you may proceed. [Mrs. Moore read the following statement:]

TESTIMONY OF MRS. PATT MOORE

AND MRS. GEORGIA HUDAK

FOR THE

ANTILLES CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS AT FORT BUCHANAN, PUERTO RICO
PARENTS ORGANIZATION FOR QUALITY EDUCATION

1

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Subcommittee on Elementary,

Secondary and Vocational Education, we represent the recently formed
Parents Organization for Quality Education at Buchanan Schools, and
appreciate deeply this opportunity to appear before you. These schools
are part of the Antilles Consolidated School System (ACSS) in Puerto
Rico operated by the Office of Education in the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare (HEW). The Antilles Consolidated Schools (ACS)
at Fort Buchanan are unique in many respects and differ from other
PL 81-874 Section 6 schools. Our uniqueness and differences have
created and contributed to some of the problems and frustrations the
school, the teachers, and the parents have experienced. Along with
our analysis of the problems, we will offer constructive criticism
and suggestions of how we can all help so the school system can
be improved and our children can benefit from the high quality edu-
cation to which they are entitled.

In the Summer and Fall of 1976, many individual parents
realized that the ACS administration and teachers had a very serious
building problem facing the Middle School for grades 5 through 8.
In April 1977, the Parents Organization for Quality Education was
formed for the express purpose of working positively and constructively
together with the teachers and the administration on our mutual prɔ-

blems affecting our children's education at ACS.

Function of ACS The ACS fill a definite education need for Federal dependents in Puerto Rico. The ACS at Fort Buchanan make it possible for Federal families to live and work in Puerto Rico. The ACS is located on a U.S. Army Base (Fort Buchanan) in metropolitan San Juan. Funds are provided to the HEW Office of Education under Section 6 of PL 81-874. These funds are administered by Rear Admiral William R. Flanagan, Commander, Naval Forces Caribbean, Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Puerto Rico. Most (62%) of the total ACS enrollment are Federal, non-military agency dependents. A detailed breakdown of enrollment is shown in Table 1. There are 52 Federal agencies in the San Juan area. Of the 38% military dependent enrollment, half are Army dependents that live in the 361 family quarters located on Fort Buchanan.

Alternatives to ACS The Federal dependents need ACS. What would be the alternatives if there were no ACS?

1. Public Schools - The Puerto Rico public school system is underfunded and overcrowded. The Puerto Rico public schools receive $400/student compared to the $2,060/student ACS receives. One-quarter of the Puerto Rican high school age students do not attend school, and there is no classroom space to accomodate them

if they desired to attend.1 The Puerto Rico public schools teach

Figures on public schools were provided by The Honorable Carlos E. Chardón, Secretary of Education, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, in a speech before the Federal Executives Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 19, 1977.

in Spanish and are unable to provide English language education to prepare students for transfer or eventual return to stateside schools. Puerto Rico has some pilot experimental programs to aid the returning Neorican to reenter Puerto Rico. These These programs are not geared to aid the transient Federal dependent.

2. Private Schools - The San Juan area has many excellent private Spanish and English parochial and nonsectarian schools. If Section 6 schools should be phased out and if tuition reimbursement or vouchers could be issued, these schools could probably be used by the Federal agencies in Puerto Rico, if given sufficient lead time. Attending Spanish language schools would require major adjustment by some newly arrived children. Many of the private schools have long waiting lists and limit their student body to those of the same religious faith. At this time the public and private schools in the San Juan area are unequipped and unprepared to enroll 1,200 additional students.

Advantages of ACS - Federal employees Federal employees have lived all over the world. Many who come to Puerto Rico have a Spanish cultural background. There is a grand mixture at ACS --so mixed that everyone is a minority. Multicultural pride and understanding can grow in this type of situation. Seventy-five percent of the ACS students live in a home with at least one Spanish-speaking parent; for half of these students, Spanish is their first language. The ACS has provided and continues to provide a good all-around English education for these students.

Beginning

in the third grade, Spanish is part of the curriculum; most of the

ACS students are bilingual.

ACS has long enjoyed the reputation of offering a varied

and challenging curriculum tempered with electives and extracurricular activities that provide quality education for our children. Many parents of ACS students have college degrees; many are professional people. Our children may elect not to enter college, but we want them prepared for and equipped to succeed in a university program should they wish to do so.

ACS offers an exciting summer school program that students eagerly await. This program consists of remedial and make-up courses, exploratory and enrichment courses, and health, safety, and recreation courses. Students are stimulated and encouraged to

broaden their horizons and interests.

There are many innovative teachers who enrich their classes

and activities. Possibly, Puerto Rico's geographic location and image as an exotic island in the Caribbean attract an adventuresome faculty. The teacher salary scale is comparable to that in the District of Columbia. This scale is higher than either public or private Puerto Rican schools. ACS can therefore afford to be selective and to hire the best qualified teachers. In Puerto Rico the specialized programs are very important --libraries, music, art,

physical education, industrial arts, drama, nursing services, special reading, speech therapy, counseling, and multilevel courses.