Donald M. Cleland A History of the Santa Monica Schools 1876-1951, Santa Monica Unified School District, February 1952 (Copied for the Santa Monica Library, July 22, 1963). 140 pp., 1915
Five years later the program [Evening Adult School] was expanded to include classes in English for non-English speaking adults. These were initiated through the efforts of Nettie B. Rice, then principal of Garfield School, who for some time had been concerned about the acute attendance problems and migratory enrollments of children of Mexican laborers. Upon investigation, she determined that the fathers of such children enrolled in her school had difficulty in securing and holding jobs because of their inability to speak English. She immediately brought her findings to the attention of Superintendent Rebok, and persuaded him to ask the Board's permission for her to establish classes in English for the Mexican laborers. The board approved the plan, and the evening classes then established have become a firmly entrenched part of the adult education program. [55. Personal interview with Elmer M. Krehbiel, director of the division of adult education, Santa Monica City College, May 28, 1951; Santa Monica, California.] Although now retired from her regular teaching duties, after forty-eight years of service to day pupils, Miss Rice still continues in the evening school program the English classes for the foreign speaking which she initiated over thirty-six years ago. Besides these, she has also taught Americanization classes for those desiring to obtain their citizenship papers.
" . . .
Special Services
Many special services have been introduced in the Santa Monica schools during the years, some of the earlier ones being these: [46: Martin, op. cit., p. 60.]
1915 After-school playgrounds instituted.
" . . .