Page images
PDF
EPUB

Chalk

know that their kindergarten children were not at the Elementary School. The kindergarten children were almost never included in Elementary School programs, science or art fairs, or field day activities. boards and American flags were not installed in the classrooms until late October 1976. At one site, playground equipment was not installed until March 1977.

In previous years the bussed kindergarten students arrived at the Elementary School and immediately went to the upper playground for grades K through 2. This year they waited on the roadside by the main bus entrance to the Elementary School. Here they were exposed to the exhaust fumes of the 34 passing busses while an aide kept them grouped together. When bus traffic permitted, they were

allowed to play on the lower playground, competing with third- and fourth-grade students for swings. If at the beginning of the school year these problems and decisions had been explained to parents, we possibly could have assisted in helping the children adjust to the situation. Informed parents are cooperative parents.

Another example of poor communication is the HEW Office of Eucation's response to every parental inquiry. Many of us have received identical form letters that neither answer our specific questions nor acknowledge our unique problems. The need for a new school was not created by additional construction of on-base family quarters on Fort Buchanan, as stated in Mr. William Stormer's letter in the Appendix. There are 361 family quarters; of these, 23 are presently vacant and 25 are occuped by civilian personnel (i.e., school teachers). The last section of housing was completed in 1964. There

are no plans for future construction of family quarters.

[blocks in formation]

Under PL 81-874 and PL 81-815, the HEW Office of Education has the

responsibility for our children's education.

For 11 years parents have

been told by the Office of Education to make do with rat- and bat-infested, termite-riddled buildings for grades 5 through 8. The only alternative

offered by the Office of Education is to go on double sessions. At present, 1,494 (79%) of the students are bussed. These children live in the greater San Juan area; many board busses as early as 6:15 a.m. to meet 8 a.m. classes and return home as late as 3:35 p.m. after 2:15 p.m. school closing. The distances involved and the traffic patterns in the San Juan area make it impractical, if not impossible, to bus 79% of the students for double sessions (see bus map in the Appendix).

Problems with the Administration of ACSS

1. The School Board - The ACSS school board consists solely of Rear Admiral Flanagan. This arrangement is unsatisfactory for two reasons. First, the present incumbent is not an educator; second, even if he were, there is no representation on the school board of any other shade of opinion, specifically civilian opinion. Most of the children in ACS are dependents of civilian, not military, personnel. Civilian personnel do not have the same unquestioning attitude toward orders as military personnel. To properly reflect the composition of the students and balance the situation, the school board should consist of, at the minimum, two civilians besides the military representative. These civilians would most appropriately be the heads of those Federal agencies with the largest numbers of employees having dependents in ACS. These are the Veterans Administration, and either the Federal Aviation Agency or the FBI.

The existing one-man school board is not responsive to the advice of the school council (which is composed of military and civilian agency representatives) and has prevented the expansion of the school council to include an additional civilian member. One Federal agency that has asked for representation and has been denied is the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Nor does the School Board appear to understand the importance of the hearings of this Subcommittee to the future of the ACSS. As far as we are aware, the Board has not submitted any written testimony, nor has it requested time for oral

presentations.

2. The School Council The school council advises the school board and at present consists of representatives of nine military and four civilian agencies. For the same reason as given above, this ratio or representation on the school council should be made consistent with the make-up of agencies served by the schools in the

system.

3. The Superintendent - Under the present circumstances, the Superintendent of ACSS knows that he is accountable directly to the school board, that is, the Admiral, and that he need not take account of the views of either the school council, the teachers, or the parents. This has led to unilateral decisions on the educational program offerings and vital ancillary services. To name only three recent unilateral decisions:

a. The dropping of the industrial arts program at the

Antilles Middle School.

b. The reduction of the nursing force from three nurses (one for each of the Antilles Schools) to two nurses only, one of

whom also serves as Head Nurse and who regularly visits the Roosevelt Roads, Fort Allen, and Ramey Base schools. (Refer to the Appendix for

communication and directive concerning the nursing changes.)

c. The dispersal of the Middle School media center (library

and audiovisual aids) with the transfer of the librarian to other

duties.

All these decisions were made without any consultation of the school council, the teachers, or the parents. Even if such decisions are inevitable in the light of budgetary and other considerations, the school council, the teachers, and the parents are entitled to be consulted in advance and given reasons for such decisions, so that the best possible alternative arrangements for the good of the students can be made. We do not appreciate being faced with a fait accompli. We would like to place on record the fact that the ACSS Administration has been associated with a significant improvement in the quality of educational program offerings in recent years, and has made the best of the deplorable physical plant conditions in the Middle School at Fort Buchanan. However, the parents would welcome much greater efforts on the part of the ACSS Adminsitration to inform and consult us on the changes in the school curriculum and the services before final decisions are made.

4. The Parents Parents have been discouraged to unite in an organization to actively work for a better Middle School building. The Privacy Act has prevented us from obtaining names, addresses, and telephone numbers from either the school offices or the classroom

teachers. In March 1977, we were told that all notices sent home with

children on school busses had to be approved by the school board

(Admiral Flanagan); only salaried personnel of ACSS could submit notices for approval. Many parents have been hesitant to actively exercise their democratic right to help work for improved school conditions. Frequently, rumors flourish that by engaging in such activity, we may be placing our positions or our husbands' positions in jeopardy.

There is a marked contrast between the responsiveness of the administrations of public schools in the continental United States to the advice and desires of the parents of their students, and the total lack of responsiveness of the administration and school board of the Antilles Consolidated School System. We have indicated above some ways in which this situation could be remedied.

Conclusions - In conclusion, our children's well-being and education are vital concerns. The ACS makes it possible for us to live and work in Puerto Rico. Our children are receiving a good English language education and preparation for transfer or eventual return to stateside schools.

We have described several of the problems experienced by students, parents, and teachers at ACS. For ACS to continue to be a recruitment incentive for Federal personnel coming to Puerto Rico, these

conditions require improvement and immediate action. For 11 years ACS has been unable to obtain a desperately needed new school. Our children are the potential leaders of American and deserve better school facilities than they have been forced to accept. As parents we are not interested in additional fact-finding teams to assess and

« PreviousContinue »