THE LIBRARIES THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIAAS6 2p i A Georgia School Communities Plan for Action Program of Educational Development for Georgia CENERAL LIBRARY MAY t i54d UNIVERSITY F pmoqW ISSUED BY EDUCATION PANEL Agricultural and Industrial Development Board of Georgia Athens GeorgiaAGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF GEORGIA Blanton Fortson Chairman L Vaughan Howard Executive Director Name of Member Address Ivan AllenAtlanta T F Abercrombie Atlanta Charles L BowenMacon W N BanksGrantville Cason J CallawayHamilton M D CollinsAtlanta Ryburn G ClayAtlanta Mrs Frank C DavidColumbus Blanton FortsonAthens Charles B GramlingAtlanta Robert W Groves Savannah Alfred W JonesSea Island TomLinder Atlanta Wiley L MooreAtlanta Walter R McDonaldAtlanta Henry McIntoshAlbany W H McNaughtonCartersville J L PilcherMeigs Robert StricklandAtlanta M King TuckerWaynesboro Wilson WilliamsAtlanta EDUCATION BULLETIN No 2 JANUARY 1945 e EDUCATION PANEL M D Collins ChairmanAtlanta Mrs Frank C DavidColumbus Wilson WilliamsAtlanta O C Aderhold DirectorAthens c 6 c o e k 3 U k O o in E o u u u a E o a c o o u a ui O z CO Z O Z Written in Collaboration by O C Aderhold Paul Carroll Johnnye V Cox Charles F Hudgins R D PULLIAM T E Smith R H Tolbert Nell Winn CO a z o CO Material appearing in this bulletin may with the usual acknowledgments be reproduced for the ad vancement of Education r PROGRESS REPORT ON EDUCATIONAL PLANNING IN TWELVE SPOT COUNTIES The Education Panel of the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board has selected on the basis of carefully chosen criteria twelve counties for concentrated work in educational planning The Panel has assigned six staff members experi enced in educational planning to work with the school people and laymen in the various communities of the twelve counties The selected counties are Floyd Heard Rabun Hart Walton Morgan Atkinson Jones Pulaski Bulloch Calhoun and De catur This report covers a period of fourmonthsSeptember through December 1944 Planning centers have been set up in 102 school communities During these first four months of the school year 2573 teachers and 3825 laymen in the aggregate have attended and participated in 292 community meetings for the purpose of planning school programs that will meet the needs of the people In each community steps have been taken to put the plans into action Work in the twelve selected counties has been based upon the following principles of educational planning 1 All of the people that are affected by the school program should have a part in its planning Educational planning should be based on problems discovered through a study of factual data and a program should be agreed upon only after best practices have been explored and applied to local conditions The leader should stimulate members of the planning group to work in terms of longrange objectives At the same time he should encourage group action on those parts of the program that demand immediate attention 4 Provision should be made for the development of local leader ship so that educational planning may be continuous The abovementioned principles are based upon the belief that the ideals of democracy are attained in a society to the extent that the masses of the people think intelligently and 3 2 3plan cooperatively in the solution of their problems The educational program of the State contributes to the ideals of democracy to the extent that it stimulates and gives guidance to the development of individuals to become reflective and skillful in the tasks with which they are confronted and to the extent to which it stimulates individuals to work together in the promotion of the common interests of the community state nation and world Furthermore these principles are based on the belief that in an everchanging world it is essential that the programs of the schools at all levels be intelligently adjusted to meet new conditions Changes in the schools will be made These changes may be haphazard and unsystematized or they may be thoughtfully planned to meet the needs of all who will come under the sphere of influence of the schools Only by serious and constructive planning can the schools be expected to meet the needs of the people they should serve Organization for Educational Planning Several groups and individuals have assisted the Panel staff in developing an organization for educational planning The State Department of Education the University of Georgia and county educational officials aided in setting up the fol lowing organizations i The Panel staff and members of the State Department of Edu cation met with the county boards of education for the pur pose of selecting the counties and of mapping out the planning program 2 Selected principals and teachers from the twelve spot counties attended a special workshop for school leaders in educational planning during the summer of 1944 at trie University of Georgia 3 The school personnel in the selected counties in cooperation with the State Department of Education and the Panel staff gathered census data regarding each family in the respective counties 4 The Panel staff held conferences with local boards of trustees and with principals and teachers to discuss the need for edu cational planning and the ways of organizing and leading local planning groups 5 The staff members held community meetings consisting of lay people and teachers to discuss school problems and planned definite schedules for future meetings of the community plan ning groups 6 The county superintendents of schools set up countywide or ganizations for studying and working on countywide prob lems Planning the School Program At the first community meeting in each county teachers students and laymen organized themselves for the purpose of planning the school program Agreeing that the purpose of the school is to help individuals to recognize their prob lems and to think them through intelligently each community planning group accepted as its first task that of listing the problems with which individuals are faced in their everyday living Though the problems in each community varied in detail in general all of the problems suggested in the twelve counties may be classified as follows 1 Problems in health and recreation The problem of acquiring the basic tools of learning such as reading writing number relations etc The problem of appropriate media for creative expression The problem of choosing a vocation Problems in home and family living Problems in neighborhood living Problems in school living Problems arising between individuals organized groups and government The problem of earning a living The problem of utilizing money and other resources The problem of the age groups to be reached In order for the school to work effectively with the above listed problems there are problems of administration trans portation buildings and teachereducation that are being studied by committees set up by the county superintendent 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11of schools The committees that have been established have organized themselves into permanent planning groups and have invited experts in the various fields to assist in studying the problems and in forming plans of action for the solution of the problems Problems That Have Been Attacked An exhaustive and comprehensive report of all the signifi cant activities that are resulting from community school plan ning in the twelve counties will not be made until the end of the school year Thus far groups in most of the counties have given careful study to the problems of health and recrea tion acquiring the tools of learning creative expression choos ing a vocation earning a living and what age groups the school should serve Many other problems listed by the planning groups will be considered during the next few months In the pages that follow an effort is made to give a cross section picture of the planning groups as they function It is not the purpose to show a total school program planned by a group or even to point out the total number of problems dealt with by a specific group On the other hand typical examples have been selected of group planning and school development in one or more communities in each of the spot counties to show the desirable outcomes of intelligent plan ning Problems of health and recreation Many communities chose problems in health and recreation for immediate study Such a choice was made because of some existing danger to the physical welfare of the people of the vicinity and because of the great need for desirable recreation for all age groups of the community Among the health problems listed at a community meeting in Atkinson County was the prevention and control of disease The county nurse present at the meeting told of a threeyear study being conducted in the county by the State Health Department and stated that examinations of school childrenrevealed that more than 50 percent were infected by hook worm Since hookworm was apparently the major menace in the county it was singled out for study and action by the group A countywide committee was set up Census data were examined to discover the kind of sanitation in the homes It was discovered that of a total of 1659 dwelling units in the county approximately 80 percent had outside toilets 10 per cent had no toilets and 10 percent had flush toilets The committee recommended the following attack on the problem Planning for the study of the hookworm problem by the county supervisor and teachers at each school com munity adult meetings at each school following the comple tion of the study of the hookworm problem at which meet ings the health officer should present pictures and slides and information regarding the source and the possible elimina tion of hookworm the preparation of a questionnaire to de termine the type of outside toilets in the 1317 homes in the county and an ultimate effort to improve sanitary conditions where needed These recommendations were approved and carried out 1 he questionnaires are being tabulated and studied by classes and community groups and already home owners are sensitive to the source of hookworm and are making plans to remove the source A community in Morgan County has planned for the addi tion of sanitary toilets to the school building and is looking forward to the development of a waterworks system for the forty or fifty homes in the village Statistics from the Health Department show a very high incidence of typhus in Calhoun County At the health plan ning meeting in Arlington this matter was selected for special emphasis The county nurse and the chairman of the County Health Board were present and offered guidance in setting up a plan to deal with the problem The PT A the Lions Club the city officials and the school faculty were all eninterest was that of providing a suitable place and program of recreation for the teenage people of the community A survey was made to determine the types of recreaZ u young people now engage TkroZZI zzirrforms of fcreadon n nsTtethete ssryoung person of official organization 1 formulate an acceptable recreation program TfP was a twofold plan One providing fSeTmmel eem and another aspect looking to the eventual establishment of a panned community recreation center with appropriate fac li ties for all age groups under adequate supervLn For d present a youth center has been established th school Lm Tztr7is7uhom the schL as a teen club and will be open to all residents in the district meeting the age requirements Its management is LS clntrJlT Cmmkte7f y People L adults Central Community of Pulaski County is making plans for ssr frat hrfor sJi gA tor teaching food values and encouraging good food habit nUtnT daSSS fr aLtS 2 in many of the counties have repaired roofs painted school buildings and improved drinking water facilities The problem of acquiring the basic tools of learning Groups of people in every school community in Heard County agreed that one of the problems with whkh each must acquire in order to solve his problcToTt mg the school must assume the responsibility foTSaSL ways of helping him with this problem covering Accepting the challenge the teachers in Heard County met in an allday session to study the problems and to plan a pro gram for helping individuals acquire the tools of learning Experts from the State Department of Education and nearby teacher institutions were called in as consultants and they helped plan a program that would serve all age groups Longtime objectives set up for the schools in Heard County include the following i More adequate regional library facilities 2 In each school a library serving the entire community 3 Organization of reading writing and arithmetic around prob lemsolving situations 4 Adjusting materials to the ability of each individual 5 A testing program to discover difficulties encountered by each individual in his efforts to read write manipulate numbers speak and listen 6 The use of firsthand experiences in developing a readiness to acquire the tools of learning Work has begun on the following projects 1 Raising funds for purchasing more materials for the regional library 2 Preparing in each school a room to serve as a community library 3 Working with the instructional supervisor in adjusting ma terial to the abilities of the pupils 4 Using firsthand experiences as a basis for preparing material for beginning readers 5 Securing the services of a reading and language consultant to work with groups of teachers in improving their teaching techniques One of the major problems in acquiring the ability to read as stated by a group in Jones County was that of adequate reading material Data were presented to show that of the total white school enrollment 72 percent were enrolled in the elementary schools and only 28 percent were in high school An inventory of reading material in the school libraries re vealed that 75 percent was on the highschool level and only 25 percent was suitable for elementary pupils One of theoutcomes or a study of this problem has been the organiza tion of elementary libraries in all the schools In the East Juliette School the group is planning ultimately to develop a library not only for the pupils in school but also for the community as a whole The problem of creative expression All planning groups have recognized the need for providing opportunities for indiviudals to satisfy the inherent urge to express themselves creatively A few schools have already made plans to provide opportunities for creative expression for the school age group and committees are working on plans for preschool and outofschool groups In Pulaski County a threeteacher elementary school has made provision for art activities of the pupils The planning group recommended a program that would provide time place materials and guidance in creative art experiences The teach ers found that time could be provided in the school program without interfering with other activities that the classrooms vacant rooms and lunchroom tables could be used for art work that art materials supplied by the county could be sup plemented with many types of waste materials which could be collected by teachers parents and pupils that guidance should be such as to inspire and to encourage pupils and that little emphasis should be placed on established standards One community meeting at Alto Park School in Floyd County was devoted to the planning of a program of creative expression Since lack of time prevented the group from work ing out the details of such a program the following commit tees were set up to continue working on the problem i Committee to set up ways for providing necessary materials 2 committee to make provision for adequate space 3 committee to study and make recommendations concerning guidance m the field of creative expression and 4 commit tee to arrange for observation in schools where outstanding programs in creative expression have been planned and put into action The four committees are working and there are 10many evidences of changes A brief explanation of some of these changes is given below More art media are being used These include paint clay ctdbord boxes scrap lumber cloth apple boxes pmc straw 2 teachers are more sensitive to the creative urge in individuals There are more evidences of creativeness in pamtmg modeling interior decorating and woodwork Teacher groups have begun observing in other schools and 3 modify nf then own program in terms of what they drover 4 Tgoup of adults andhighschool boys is construing op 4 bulding which will serve both the school and the commumty The problem of choosing a vocation Planning groups have recognized the need for the schools to Providegagprogram that will help individuals to make wise vocational diLL Bulloch County responsibility for providing occupational guidance and m each school definite steps are being taken to provide this service A teacher is to be named as guidance counselor in each junior and nlr high school The counselors will receive inservice aning from the State Supervisor of Occupational Informa t on and Guidance Time will be provided m the school pro gram for the counselor to have occasional interviews with al h ghschool students Plans have been made in each school fo securing filing and using many types of occupational in formation The counselors will make a study of individual Xwhich will be desirable for Bulloch County This tudy will result in the planning of a file for each individual It was recommended that the elementary teachers give guid ance service to the pupils of the elementary school The programs alsorecommend other services 1 b provided as soon as personnel and materials are secured These services include Providing information about training oP ZZLies providing assistance to individuals m securing em ploymentand planning ways of keeping in contact with stu dents after they leave school 11The problems of vocational education ugn percentage of the people now employed in the com munity are m three categories Mill operations72T tnbunon of goods and services and 3 hlei Ihe planning group examined the present school nrom and discovered that few opportunities are prodeS cupariot t0 taS A teacher committee began work immediately to develop an educational program to provide instruction for the hth choo students in distributive occupations At a meeting with 2 merchants in Rome a plan A formulated fSnta number of students to assist with the holiday 72 The temporary program was heartily approved by the merchants hafScom a 01 striLtive edutS Annr Pefmanent feature f e school curriculum Another school as a result of a study of its occupational Tdu nZSUo hTaUgUmed e ingL trades and ndustries Shops large quantities of equipment and instruc tional personnel have been provided hJ Sk 7ff1 Pl3nnin SrouPs in Morgan County W demanded that their schools assume responsibility for c tional training They have asked that opportunitiel be pro vided for education in agriculture in homemaking and Tn distributive occupations These groups have also Luested the use of industrial arts facilities to provide opportunitie or creative expression making things and to develop Sin the use of occupational tools P The problem of the age groups to be reached Prafoinfll8IOUPS haV entAhfiasticalI7 endorsed a school thatgrh V3ge grOUpS Ma haVe exPresse a belief that the school has a responsibility for individuals from the 12cradle to the grave The small towns with industries as well as the larger cities have begun making plans for nursery schools With but few exceptions the communities are making plans for their school program to include definite provisions for kindergartens and for youth between the ages of 18 and 25 years All communities are planning through the addition of at least one year for the program of the school to serve more effectively the young men in the armed forces who will return Several of the communities are providing for three additional years in vocational training Planning groups in all of the spot counties are deeply concerned and are making plans for the school to meet more adequately the educational demands of adults For example when a study was made of population trends at Learv in Calhoun County it was discovered that the junior highschool population of the present and the immediate fu ture will not support economically a junior high school of the type new being conducted It was decided to negotiate with a neighboring district having a high school to transfer all pupils above the sixth grade at Leary in return for a num ber of elementary pupils living at the extremity of the dis trict and at present being transported through Leary I his arrangement was amicably made with the neighboring dis trict The question then became a matter of determining what program would be best suited to pupils of preschool and elementary age to outofschool youth and to adults At a succeeding meeting plans were developed for organizing a kindergarten to become effective next year Another meet ing was devoted to consideration of an educational program for the youth and the adult groups not in school A program involving cooperative experiences in doing types of work such as canning a program in the cooperative use of repair shop grist mill feed mill and freezerlocker a community recreation program calling for a recreation center with provision for permanent continuous supervision with a crafts and hobby shop and with swimming and an educational programme eluding movies library lectures and short comselmy LIBRARIESdeveloped in broad outline Committees were selected to study the numerous problems involved in getting this total program in operation and an investigation was made to determine the cost and to provide for meeting it Concluding Statement As the school year develops it is hoped that a pattern of thinking and working together by local groups of teachers and lay Cltizens Wlll resut in a J P ultimate purpose will be to meet the needs of all ag groups Zr V Tr effrt has been devoted he white schools of the twelve counties but consideration is also bein given to the Negro schools Members of the staff and county officials have made plans with the Jeans Supervisors and stimu tSoT8 t0 initkte PIannin FS r the 14UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA UBRAHIES 3 SlDfi D54E4 4143