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Show FREE SCHOOLS Public School Aid in U.S. Rising. Report ST. LOUIS, Mo. To a great extent, ex-tent, "dishonest" attacks on the public pub-lic schools that have Increased recently re-cently are responsible for the phenomenal phe-nomenal "grass roots" Interest In American education. This was the general belief oi about 7S0 delegates to the citizens assembly on education, called recently re-cently in St. Louis by the National Citizens Commission for the Public Schools., The delegates Included community leaders, board of education members mem-bers and civic-minded citizens. The commission, headed by Roy E. Lar-sen, Lar-sen, was formed three years ago to Improve public schools. Since then it has grown until today there are an estimated 10,000 citizens' school groups throughout the country. These groups have done much to strengthen and gain support for their home town schools. Watch Drastlo Steps Larsen told the delegates to watch for the tendency in some communities commu-nities to be "stampeded" by minority, minor-ity, critics of the schools. And he cautioned that the home towners should not allow one or two extremists ex-tremists to stampede either the school administrators or the community com-munity into any drastic steps that will harm the free public schools. He also warned the home towns not to let their schools deteriorate as a result of the war mobilization program. By bringing school conditions condi-tions out in the open, citizens generally gen-erally will rally to support their free public schools. Leo Perils, national director of the Community Services Committee of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, Organiza-tions, told the delegates that this country still had not arrived at its democratic goal of equal educational education-al opportunities for all youths. Education Pnt First "The goal of education for all will not be attained unless all of us, laymen lay-men and teachers, parents and taxpayers, tax-payers, labor and. .management, all citizens join forces to look at the problems, to face the questions, to try to find the answers," he said. "If we have to pay more to get the kind of education for all we want, then let us pay more. There isn't anything that is more important." impor-tant." About 100 citizens' school groups are being founded weekly in the home town of America, commission officials reported. And their work is beginning to reflect In the public school by better facilities and teachers. |