N e w York School1
By LAWRENCE R. WERNER
Umied Preu International
Pittsburgh - JUPD - Dr. Cal
vin E. Gross, who this week
left the superintendence of
the Pittsburgh schools to take
charge of the vast, troubled
New York City school system,
sees opportunity in his new
Job where a lesser man might
despair.
Gross acknowledges the na
tion's largest school system
has many and serious ills.
As he put it: "Every big city
school system has many sim
ilar problems, but they all
seem to come home to roost
In New York."
But with its troubles, the
youthful, energetic school ad
ministrator sees in the New
York system the potential for
it to become the "nerve cen
ter" for education in America.
"What we do In New York
may affect the rest of the
country and future genera
tions," said Dr. Gross in a
less than modest appraisal of
the responsibilities he is
shouldering. "I hope New
York will become a model for
others to follow."
Too Many Critics
Too many critics of the
New York schools fail to take
into account the tremendous
educational and cultural re
sources at hand available in
New York but nowhere else,
Gross believes.
; "It Is the artistic and liter
ary center of the continent,'
he said in an interview with
United Press International.
Dr. Gross, 43, thrives on
solving big problems. He
comes to New York recom
mended highly by U. S. Com
missioner of Education Fran
cis Keppel, his dean at Har
vard. . : Gross had only recently
signed a new six-year contract
in Pittsburgh but the board
of education was unwilling to
tand in the way of a man
who had done so much in such
a short time. They bid him
farewell reluctantly.
The magnitude of the man
agment job which Gross has
undertaken would stagger
many a corporation executive.
Hug Budget
New York City's public
ichool budget exceeds $763,
million. The system has 42,000
men and women teaching
more than one million stu
dents In the city's 800-plus
schools.
Gross has some definite
Ideas about what New York
needs.
"One of the pressing prob
lems is getting a bigger sup
ply of good teachers," Gross
said. "Along with that, you
have financial problems.
Teachers salaries should be
increased generally and in
New York."
To achieve this end. Gross
believes he will have to con
vince the state legislators to
allocate more than the antici
I a ted $1.6 million in addition-
al school aid for New York
city in the next fiscal year.
The state now provides more
than $271 million a year for
the city's schools - 35.4 per
cent of their total budget.
Gross has demonstrated
ability for impressing law
makers about school needs.
Raiiti Salaries
Raising teachers' salaries
was one of his first moves
when he took over in Pitts
burgh in 19S8. He also pre
sented the legislature with a
master plan which resulted in
implementation of a recruit
ment program and wide
spread improvements in facil
ities. "We are now getting annu
ally better people to choose
from than we were two years
ago," he said, referring to
EIROfW i MENTAL A
m 4
CARRYING CHIHUAHUA - Actress Jayne Mansfield, who
riivorreri her strongman husband, Mickey Hargitay In five
minutes at Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, arrives In Los Angeles
the same day, carrying her pet chihuahua, "Galina." Nelson
Sardelli, left, a singer-actor of Italian extraction, arrived
with her. He told newsmen they loved each other and
Pittsburgh. "Raising salaries
has helped attract better
teachers.
, "Communicating with peo
ple is going to be a compli
cated thing in New York," he
continued. "It's . - important
that I have a chance to know
what my teachers think and
say. It is a problem of an in
terlocking system of getting
things done."
Need Facilities
An innovator who institut
ed unique programs such as
team teaching at Pittsburgh,
Dr. Gross also is aware of the
crying need for the improve
ment of facilities in the New
York system."
Although he Is known as
an experimenter, Gross is con
cerned that all students be af
forded a "good fundimental
education."
"Reading is number one,"
he said. "Mathematics is next
and is more important than
science. Students also need
instruction in the arts."
Referring to the current
high unemployment rate and
predicted jobless rate of 20
per cent in the 15-25 year age
bracket by 1970, Gross said
"flexibility of skills is im
portant" for the future of the
students.
You can't teach a man
new skills if he doesn't have
good basic education,
Gross said.
Dropouts View
Dovetailed with the prob
lem of assuring a basic educa
tion, Gross believes, is the
startling number of dropouts
in the New York City public
schools.
"I believe we could elimi
nate many dropouts by start
ing in the primary grades
and getting the children gen
uinely interested in their
work."
Gross outlined other pro
cedures now in progress
which he expects to continue
to combat the dropout dilem
ma. They included:
-Combination work - study
programs which enable stu
dents to work while attend
ing school.
-Counseling programs, en
couraging potential dropouts
to remain in school.
-Contacting programs, at
tempting to persuade those
who already have left school
to return to their studies.
Team Teaching
Dr. Gross believes that
team teaching may help re
lieve the problem of over-
large classes in New York.
Team teaching, a technique
saining popularity among ed
ucators, makes teachers
more flexible and able to
spend more time with both
gifted and slow students. It
incorporates a variety of the
latest available teaching aids.
Other obstacles confronting
Gross include ethnic distribu
tion and culturally deprived
pupils, outdating of texts be
fore they even get to the
schools - and a possible strike
by the teachers.
Charles Cogen, head of the
United Federation of Teach
ers, believes $50 million
should be added to the budg
et for teachers' salaries.
Gross agrees that teachers
should get a wage increase
but says he has no firm plans
on the size of the raise he will
propose. .
Hill Asiiits
The contract for the teach
ers expires June 30. The
Teachers Federation staged
one day walkouts the past
two years to achieve their
goals and Cogen has Indicated
the group will take similar
action again if necessary.
Gross' right hand man on
financial affairs will be Dr.
Frederick W. Hill, until re
cently assistant superinten
dent of schools in Minneapo
lis, Minn., who was named
deputy superintendent for
business in the New York
system about the time Gross
won his appointment.
Four Aims
Hill, a personable, enthu
siastic man who is president
elect of the American Asso
ciation of School Business Of
ficials in the United States
and Canada, visited with Dr.
Gross during the UPI inter
view before leaving for New
York. Hill outlined tour aims
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MEDFORD
Challenge
in distributing the $700 Mil
lion plus budget.
-Make the business admin
istration of schools serve the
educational personnel. In this
area, Dr. Gross agreed with
Hill on an item for which the
New York system has been
roundly criticized admin
istrative bureaucracy.
-Sheer mechanics of gel
ting enough money to support
needed services.
-Getting the board of edu
cation's role as an autono
mous body implemented in
terms of business procedures.
(He believes the ichool
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eliminate overlapping duties.
another bureaucratic prob
lem.) -Getting citizen involve
ment and understanding to
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buildings and getting people
concerned about the school
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Impress Public , .
Dr. Gross also is anxious
to impress th; public with the
importance of basic education
for children.
"The public hears about the
glaring deficiencies of the
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off Utfet s me,
schools," he said. ."We want
to show them the good side."
Gross added that the proc
ess may not be to institute so
many new programs in New
York, but investigate the pilot
programs now being carried
out and see that they are ad
ministered correctly.
"There are many fine
things being done in New
York," he said, adding that
some aspects of team teaching
already have been started in
the city school system.
. The New York city school
board, which scoured the
country for its new superin
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tendent, signed Gross to
six-year contract at $40,000
annually.
The father of three chil
dren, Gigi, 9, Garry, 4 and
Glenn, 1 V4. Gross is an ac
complished violinist who was
director of the Pittsburgh
Chamber Music society dur
ing his stay in the Steel city.
Army Officer
He received his bachelor's
degree in math from the Uni
versity of California in 1940
and became a graduate assist
ant in mathematics at Oregon
State college. ,
Gross entered the Army in
op to
'TSr ;
i
Froo, accurate sttmatos by
' Word homo consultants.
VJOOL-BLEND
THURSDAY. MAY 2,
Soys
1941, served as commanding
officer of an anti-aircraft bat
tery, was discharged In 1945
and returned to his native Los
angcles where he married
Bernice Hayman.
The University of Southern
California rave Grow his mas
ter's degree In 1947 and in
1955 he received his doctorate
from Harvard, where present
educational commissioner
Keppel was dean of the grad
uate school of education.
During his career in educa
tion Gross held several admin
istrative positions in Los An
geles schools, was superin
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1963
Gross
tendent of schools In Weston,
Mass;, from 1951 through 1956
and superintendent of the Nis
kayuna central school district
near Schenectady, N. Y., be
fore coming to Pittsburgh.
Gross leaves his Pittsburgh
duties with many regrets.
"There is enough work to
keep me here for a long, long
time," he said. "But the situ
ation In New York is urgent,
more urgent than when I
came to Pittsburgh."
"It's the challenge of a life
time," said Dr. Gross in what
may be a classic understatement.
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