SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010
KLMNO
School clings to tieswith Japan Great Falls garden
fortifies threatened link to immersion program
BY KEVIN SIEFF Few elementary schools can
casually invite a handful ofworld leaders,dignitaries andcongress- men to the opening of a commu- nity garden and count on the high-powered invitees to show up. But atGreat Falls Elementary School, one of the first Japanese immersion programs in the American public school system, those relationships have been forged over many years, even as the internationally recognized program was nearly shut down last year due to budget cuts. Former PrimeMinister Shinzo
Abe welcomed guests to the new “friendship garden,” greeting a crowd of children that respond- ed, inunison,withapitch-perfect “ohayo gozaimasu,” or good morning. Students at Great Falls have
been learning science, math and other basic subjects in Japanese since 1989, when Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) urged the county to deepen its tieswith Japan,whose economy was booming at the time. “We looked at why some American companies were suc- ceedingwhile others failed—the one common denominator was language ability,” Wolf said. “These kids can literally fly to Japan, get out of a cab andmake a deal.” As Japan’s prominence faded
slightly in the eyes ofWashington and Wall Street, Great Falls Ele- mentary only strengthened its relationship with the Japanese political elite. The country’s em- peror and empress visited in 1996. A series of ambassadors have visited. And PrimeMinister Abe and his wife, Akie Abe, have long maintained a connection to the program. “This immersion programwas
a starting point for deeper en- gagement with Japan and its culture,” Abe said Friday. Every year, the program’s sixth-graders spend a week in
EZ RE
Prince George’s Country Club and District Grocery Stores: ‘Those were the days!’
Japan, where they are greeted by some of the country’s top leaders and considered a symbol of ongo- ing binational friendship. But for much of last year, it
looked like the programmight be eliminated due to budget cuts alongwith the rest of elementary foreign language education in the county. Even as they wel- comed dignitaries on Friday, teachers, students and parents were still crossing their fingers that the programwill survive. They raved about their accom-
plishments, including a recent grant from the United States-Ja- pan Foundation, which funded the new garden. “We don’t just learn the lan-
guage, we learn the culture, the traditions and the folktales. It’s a lot of fun,” said Aya White, a sixth-grade student. “Everyone is talking aboutChi-
na andIndia, but this is a remind- er that our relationship with Ja- pan is still our most important,” Wolf said, as students clad in traditional Japanese garb made their way back to class.
sieffk@washpost.com
Percentage taking Pr.George’s AP tests up
Compared with the Class of ’09, seniors’ pass rate is higher, too
BY MICHAEL BIRNBAUM The percentage of Prince
George’s County high school se- niors taking at least one Ad- vanced Placement examis rising, as is the percentage of those achieving passing grades. For the Class of 2010, the
percentage taking anAP test rose to 35 percent, up from27 percent for the Class of 2009, according to data released by the school system. Of the tests they took, 26.3 percent received passing grades of 3, 4 or 5 in 2010, up from24.6 percent in 2009. “We have worked hard to en-
sure equity in access to AP cours- es for all students throughout our county, and this year’s data
reflects that effort,” Prince George’s Superintendent Wil- liam R. Hite Jr. said in a state- ment. The data also reflect lingering
gaps in achievement among dif- ferent groups, something Prince George’s and other school sys- tems continue to try to combat. African American students re-
ceived passing marks on 17.5 percent of the exams they took, and Hispanic students received passingmarks on 30.3 percent of
the exams. White students, meanwhile, received passing marks on 59.3 percent of exams. AP classes are intended to be
college-level classes that stu- dents take in high school. In recent years, some educa-
tors, including in Prince George’s, have pushed to expand access to the classes, saying that the rigorous offerings benefit students even if they do not pass the year-end exams.
birnbaumm@washpost.com
ANIMALWATCH
For rat owner, too much of a good thing ArlingtonMillDr., 2600 block,
Oct. 3. Aman surrendered 12 pet rats to the animal shelter be- cause he could no longer care for them. The man said he had bought what he had thought were three male rats from a pet store in April, but one was a
female and had babies. Two of the rats were made available for adoption, and the rest were tak- en to a rescue group that special- izes in small-animal adoptions.
Among cases handled by the Animal Welfare League of Arlington County.
L
astweek’s column about the PrinceGeorge’sCountry Club (neeBeaverDam)
promptedDennisRegan to write. From1961 to 1963, he lived in Forestvillewhile his fatherwas stationed atAndrewsAir Force Base. “He always insisted thatwe kids needed towork for anymon- ey,”Denniswrote.Being just 13 at the time, doing chores around the housewas typically the only op- tion.But thenDennis discovered the PrinceGeorge’sCountryClub, where golf proAlHoughton al- lowed any capable kid towork as a caddie. “Therewas a ‘class’ systemof
caddies based on abilities, but the moneywas fantastic for someone my age,”Denniswrote. “We had caddies from13 years old up to 50 years old,maybe older. Itwas a great life hauling double-bags around the course, 18 to 36 holes a day during the summer and on weekends during school.You had regular clientele, bothmen and women, andwere always treated kindly.Themost fun dayswere when theWashington Senators or Redskins came out to play.They could knock the ball amile, thoughmost usually had no clue where itwas going.” MichaelWalsh lives inBetha-
nyBeach,Del., now, but as a teen in 1957, heworked at the country club’s snack bar,whichwas be- tween the ninth green and the swimming pool so golfers and swimmers could be served.Mi- chael said two of the pool’s life- guardswent on to become fa- mous onTV: correspondentWal- terRodgers onCNNand college football commentator LeeCorso onESPN.WroteMichael: “Those were the days!” Formany people, “the days” in-
cludedDistrictGrocery Stores, the homegrown cooperative known asDGS, featured in this space twoweeks ago. RonNessen,NBCjournalist
and Ford administration press secretary, lived at 19th andCNE until hewas 10.ADGS storewas about three blocks away.Wrote Ron: “On Saturdays, Iwould hang around outside theDGS,waiting to haul the groceries home inmy little redwagon for neighborhood ladies. I earned 25 cents for each wagon-load of groceries I pulled home for the ladies.” EllicottCity’sSallyDaniel
C3
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Readers reminisce about District Grocery Stores extending credit.
JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON
grewup in theDistrict and shopped atDGS. “Itwas the only store in each neighborhoodwe lived in,” shewrote. “And 55 years later I still remember [the own- ers’] names, theCoopers and the Schoenfelds.Another added benefitwas that they gavemy parents creditwhenwewere short on cash (whichwas often). As I child I didmost of the gro- cery shopping formy family and I still remember the Sunbeam screened door and the sound of the fans during the summer.Oh, and penny candywas a penny.” Alexandria’sRockySemmes
remembers the name of his “affa- ble and garrulous”DGS grocer, too:Mr. Ludwig,who ranwhat is nowtheBrookvilleMarket in ChevyChase.His family also ap- preciated being able to shopwith- out cash. “In the days before the credit card, thiswaswhatmade you come back to your neighbor- hoodDGS. Itwas a big deal.You could shop for your groceries without cash or check, and then once amonth youwere billed in themail for your purchases of the previousmonth.” DianaKohn ofHistoricTako-
ma offered a correction: “Your DGS storymentions thatGiant opened its first self-service store
in 1936.While researchingTako- ma Park history, I found a 1920s PigglyWiggly ad ‘bragging’ about its self-service. I believe Piggly Wigglywas the first national chain to offer this.” TheWashington area used to
have several PigglyWigglies, but they’ve since goneweeweewee all theway home. Finally,BarryCrickmer of
Winchesterwrites: “Your Sept. 26 column leftme a little confused: If ‘Colors’ iswhat theArmy plays at the end of the day, thenwhat are taps andwhen are they sounded?” “To theColors” is playedwhen
the flag is lowered,which in the Army is at 5 p.m. “If you go back to themovie ‘Patton’ in 1970, when he stands before the flag, they’re playing ‘To theColors,’ ” saidKimHolien, historian at JointBaseMyer-HendersonHall inArlington. “The phrase ‘To the Colors’means you’re honoring the flag.” Taps is played at 11 p.m. and
signals lights out, good-bye to the day. It’s also played atmilitary fu- nerals, saying good-bye to the de- ceased veteran.
Have a question?Write
answerman@washpost.com.
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