The services coordinator has responsibility for relating services of International Education, State and Local School Systems, Vocational Education, and Higher Education. The grants coordinator at present supervises grants appropriated by Congress for construction, maintenance, and operation of schools in federally affected areas. It is expected that this overall reorganization of the Office about these three major areas will greatly increase the effectiveness of its assistance to educators and the public. WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE On July 26, 1954, President Eisenhower signed P. L. 530 which provided for the establishment of the White House Conference on Education. The Office of Education has been privileged to assist the Presidential Committee and the staff of the White House Conference in inaugurating this historic effort, which culminated with the national conference on November 28-December 1, 1955. The Presidential Committee for the White House Conference met for the first time on December 2, 1954, holding four additional meetings during the fiscal year. The Committee, consistent with the expressions of the President and the intent of Congress, defined its responsibilities in the following terms: (1) to assist, when invited, in planning conferences in the States and Territories; (2) to organize a White House Conference on Education; and (3) to make a report to the President on the "significant and pressing problems in the field of education." It was agreed that the program of the Committee would be directed at the following purposes: 1. Bringing about a more widespread knowledge and appreciation of, and interest in, education. 2. Helping to create a continuing concern on the part of great numbers of citizens to face their responsibilities toward education. 3. Serving to bring about an analysis of the current condition of our educational system. 4. Providing examples of solution to educational problems and inspiration for an accelerated effort in planning more action programs of school improvement. 5. Providing the basis for a report to the President of the significant and pressing problems in the field of education and making recommendations, insofar as possible, for their solution. The Committee decided that the scope of the White House Conference program should be limited to consideration of the problems of elementary and secondary education, but that these problems should be considered in the light of our total system of education. With these purposes clearly set forth, the Committee's program developed rapidly. Throughout the Nation attention was directed toward developing answers to six questions which would form the agenda for the White House Conference. 1. What should our schools accomplish? 2. In what ways can we organize our school systems more efficiently and economically? 3. What are our school building needs? 4. How can we get enough good teachers-and keep them? 5. How can we finance our schools-build and operate them? 6. How can we obtain a continuing public interest in education? It was felt that the Committee, as a part of its reporting function, had an obligation to develop its own facts and conclusions regarding the six key questions. Six subcommittees were formed, each assisted by highly qualified educational consultants, to make independent studies of these questions and to prepare helpful discussion materials for distribution to the persons who would participate in the White House Conference. The central purpose of citizen conferences was to bring about a greatly increased awareness of educational problems on the part of a broad cross section of the American people-the kind of awareness which would result in continuing astute and determined citizen action on every level of government. To this end, the Committee worked closely with 24 national organizations broadly representative of the American people and of the education profession. In addition, several hundred smaller organizations were contacted to interest them in the program. National organizations, through their publications and by direct contact with State and local affiliates, were instrumental in informing the Nation of the nature of the program and enlisting the active interest and participation of as many citizens as possible. Every State in the Union, the Territories of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia made plans to participate in the program. During the past year, all 52 States and Territories and the District of Columbia voluntarily held conferences on education prior to the White House Conference. Some of the States which held early conferences scheduled a second one prior to the White House Conference. During the year 29 States went beyond holding a single State conference and conducted community, county, and regional conferences as a part of their State programs. While the accomplishments of the President's White House Conference on Education are properly within the scope of the fiscal 1956 report, it is not too early to report that, in terms of citizen interest. and enthusiasm, this Conference is a milestone in American educational history. INCREASED ENROLLMENTS AND RELATED PROBLEMS In the past few years much concern has been voiced over the increased enrollments in the schools and the problems created by this increase. The total school enrollment at all levels, in both public and nonpublic schools, has been estimated at 38,113,500 for the 1954–55 school year, an increase of almost 2 million over the previous year. These pupils represent 23 percent of the estimated total population of 162,187,000 on June 1, 1954. It is estimated that by 1959-60 the total school enrollment at all levels will reach 46 million. The estimated increase of 1,692,000 pupils in elementary and secondary enrollments in 1954-55 over 1953-54 is the largest single year increase recorded. The 1,473,000 increase in elementary pupils is 5.6 percent above last year, and the 219,000 increase in secondary pupils is 3.0 percent above last year. Enrollment in institutions of higher education increased 12.1 percent during this period. School enrollments in the continental United States, 1953-54 and 1954–551 Elementary schools (including kindergartens): 1954-55 24, 091,500 1953-54 22,801, 400 Approximately 60,000 public elementary and secondary classrooms and related facilities were constructed in the United States during the 1954-55 school year. It is estimated that the capital outlay investment for these facilities was in excess of $2 billion. In spite of this all-time high in school construction, the country still faces a large school building program because of increasing enrollments, population mobility, school district reorganization, and wide demands for an extended and enriched program of education and community services. The nationwide School Facilities Survey conducted by the Office of Education revealed that States have projected their plans for meeting school plant needs to the extent of 476,000 classrooms during a period of five school years (1954-55 to 1958-59, inclusive), at an estimated aggregate capital outlay cost of more than $16 billion, exclusive of planned rehabilitation. The primary source of school construction funds has been school district bonds supported by local property taxes. There are trends, however, toward school district reorganization and State aid for capital outlay which will broaden the fiscal base and improve methods of financing school construction. Planning school plants is becoming more and more a cooperative procedure. School architects, administrators, supervisors, teachers, pupils, furniture manufacturers, and lay citizens cooperate in planning school facilities. School buildings and equipment are thus becoming more functional and better adapted to educational requirements. Specialists in curriculum, school buildings, and furniture and equipment, in Federal and State governments and in colleges and universities, are assisting local school officials and architects in the initial planning for the space required for different courses and learning activities, the equipment needed for effective instruction, proper lighting for a variety of seeing tasks, and suitable heating, ventilating, sanitation, and sound control. Final decisions on these matters, however, are made by local school officials, subject to State regulations. School programs today include a variety of learning situations which entail many activities and instructional materials. Such programs demand classrooms designed for multiple purposes. The trend in elementary school planning is toward a self-contained classroom of 900 or more square feet with work counter, sink, toilet, storage compartments, chalk and tack boards, display cases, and movable furniture and equipment. Such rooms are readily adapted to accommodate a variety of activities. Secondary school plants are usually designed with special classrooms for science, art, music, homemaking, business education, crafts, and various types of vocational and prevocational shops. The trend in secondary school planning, however, is toward some multi-use classrooms which will serve more than one specialized subject area. The shortage of teachers continued during 1954-55, and elementary and secondary schools will need a total of 229,700 new teachers when the schools open this fall. These teachers will be required (1) to replace 91,200 emergency teachers; (2) to replace 83,300 qualified teachers who will leave the profession; and (3) to provide the 55,200 teachers needed for the increase in enrollment. It is estimated that 25,000 of the emergency teachers will become qualified by the time school opens. In addition, 95,186 teachers completed certification requirements in 1955, but only 63,400 of these are expected to accept teaching positions. With only 88,400 new qualified teachers entering the profession, there will be a deficit of 141,300 teachers when schools open in the fall. The 141,300 shortage will have to be made up by more emergency teachers, by teachers returning to the profession who did not teach during the last year, and by more overcrowding. The figures given above do not include any teachers to reduce present overcrowding nor to enrich the curriculum. The annual estimates submitted to the National Education Association by the State departments of education showed an average annual salary per member of instructional staff in 1954-55 of $3,932. The average elementary school classroom teacher's salary was $3,615; among secondary school teachers the average was $4,194. Supply and demand for elementary and secondary public and nonpublic school teachers, 1955–56 Supply: Item Total teachers, 1954-551 Less emergency teachers, 1954-55 Total qualified teachers, 1954–55. Less 7.5 percent turnover. Qualified teachers returning for 1955-56 Emergency teachers qualifying for 1955-56- New supply of qualified teachers (79 percent of elementary and 56 percent of high school teachers trained in 1954-55). Total qualified supply, 1955–56. Elementary and secondary 1, 201, 800 91, 200 1, 110, 600 83, 300 1,027, 300 25,000 63, 400 1, 115, 700 Demand: Total teachers, 1954-55--‒‒‒ Teachers needed to meet increase in enrollment in 1955-56'--- 1, 201, 800 55, 200 1,257, 000 Total demand, 1955-56--. Shortage of qualified supply--. 1 See footnote 1, on following page. 141, 300 SOURCE: Office of Education Circular No. 417, Revised, and estimates for 1955-56; and The 1955 Teacher Supply and Demand Report of the National Education Association. |