September 29, 1969

Dr. Paul Mitchell

Superintendent of Schools

 Board of Education

138 South Broadway Yonkers, New York

Dear Dr. Mitchell:

During the meeting held at the Lincoln High School on Tuesday, September 23, 1969, you referred to a course in which 60 staff members participated. I gather from the tenor of your comments that the participants and you were moat favorably impressed with the material presented. In fact you were so impressed you expressed the willingness to dismiss all pupils at noon on a number of Wednesdays so that all teachers would have the opportunity to profit from the course. Mention was made that your plan would conflict seriously with the released time programs in operation throughout the city. As I view the situation no administrative steps should be taken that would make more difficult the operation- of the released time classes. If the material offered in the course to which you referred is of such great value that it warrants closing the schools for a series of half days,may I suggest that the closings be distributed over Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

By scheduling the lectures in this fashion there would be no conflict with the released time programs.

The two programs would then reinforce each other and needless wrangling would be avoided. And if it should happen that the discord did not erupt should you institute your plan of displacing the released time classes, we are in a worse state morally and religiously than I realized,