It is generally agreed that the two principal requirements of a quality educational program are adequate teaching facilities and well trained teaching personnel. I shall deal here principally with the latter factor although I shall also touch briefly on the factor of facilities.
Historically speaking, there is a very direct and specific parallel in American public education with the ultimate quality of the professional staff and the salary program and the level of salaries of that staff. Speaking frankly and openly, those in public education and the American people must realize soon that the educational returns of our school system will 'be in direct proportion to the professionally quality and attractiveness of the salaries we pay school teachers.
MATURE ATTITUDE
In Atlanta our professional staff has for several years developed an increasingly
mature attitude toward salary increases. However, the Atlanta School Board,
because of a lack of financial means, and to a lesser degree a lack of vision
by past boards, has been forced into a salary program totally dictated by
the State with no real program geared to the exact needs and requirements
of Atlanta.
At the present time we are on tile threshold of a new and highly professional approach to this vital problem. It all began in October of 1961, when the Atlanta Board of Education, under the guidance of the Superintendent, Dr. John Letson, authorized a long range study of the entire salary program of our professional staff and a parallel study of the salary program of the non-professional staff. The chief goal of the Committee was to construct a salary program for the youth of our City. Through months of research and examination of statistics and related data, the salary study committee completed a comprehensive source book and presented its findings and recommendations to the Superintendent in mid 1962.
HIGHLIGHTS
For purposes of clarity and simplicity, let me mention several highlights
of this report and its significance to the citizens of Atlanta.
Atlanta's school population is growing at a rate of approximately three per cent or approximately 4,000 new students each school term. The need for approximately two hundred new teachers each year in Atlanta will continue through 1970 according to this enrollment trend.
To simply stand still, that is to accommodate this growing school population, the school system must have in excess of one million new operational dollars each year.
The sources of income to the Atlanta School System are basically two:
1. State funds and
2. Local ad valorem or property taxes.
The gross taxable digest of Atlanta has grown each year but the proportionate
growth for the 1960's is not as great as in the late 1950's. The result
of this means less local dollars are available to a growing school system
than in previous years.
PROPERTY TAX
With no appreciable change in State income, the school system can then by
law look only to the other major source of income-the property tax of our
local citizens.
The salary study program has shown clearly that there must be a completely new program in Atlanta and we must face the absolute requirement of our own citizens paying this cost until we can effectively increase the proportion of state funds to our city.
Then here clearly rests the responsibility of the Board of Education. Charged by law with the total responsibility of conducting the financial affairs of the City School System, controlled by law as to source of income, and bound further by law as to budgeting procedures, the Atlanta Board of Education must take the steps necessary to acquaint the public with its responsibility for a quality program of Education in Atlanta. The final result is clear--taxes must be increased--the first such increase in the City since 1958--the burden, great though it may be, becomes greater--we must pay the price if we are to have a sound, professional educational program in our city.
After all, the product of our efforts cannot be measured in dollars and cents the product of our efforts can be measured only in the values of the human mind and its contribution to our way of life.
New Hobby: Twist Watchers
Of course, the twist has been around for simply ages, but something new
has recently grown out of the old American sport. To wit, twistwatching.
It's so fascinating that many people have given up bird-watching dominoes to become avid twistwatchers. This being the case it seems necessary to print an amateur's guide to twistwatching.
Twisters come in three major classes (1) slinkers, (2) jerkers, (3) jumpers.
Tie first of these may be found in several forms. Here is he who from either lack of nerve or severe back trouble, fails to throw himself into his work. He stands there, slowly and occasionally moving to the music.
More romantically, we find tile couple who does the same thing--standing one-sixteenth of an inch apart and gazing seductively into one another's eyes.
Ahem! Then there is the jerker who does precisely that. Ile jerks back and forth like something out of a Punch and Judy show with little or no regard for the music. This one usually sends his partner to the nut house out of sheer frustration.
Last and most prominent is the jumper (also known as leaper, runner, skipper, and roller). He really concentrates on what he's doing. This is the one Chucky Checkers really loves, and twistwatchers have been known to grow cross-eyed while studying this particular speciman. He works better alone, and he usually is, because his partners have a way of being lost in the dust. (Hi-o, Silver! and all that!)
We realize that there are hundreds of variations oil these main themes. Write us and tell us how YOU twist.