The purpose of this letter is to set the record straight regarding Danny King's article about travel training in public schools ["For H.S. students, curriculum includes reading, writing, airline reservations," Sept. 12].
I'd like to remind him that the Echols International Travel and Hotel School, which I established in 1962, contributed 100 scholarships every year to students from the public schools of Chicago. These students were recommended to us by the superintendent of public schools.
I'm also pleased to tell you that during those years, the State of Illinois records show that we placed 98% of our students and maintained a 2% dropout rate. I attribute this success to the fact that students at Echols were being taught by middle management from American and United, major hotels including Hilton and Palmer House, and American Express and several cruise lines.
Incidentally, after I closed the schools, Paul Vallas, who was then superintendent of schools, called and asked if I would conduct courses for high school seniors so that the graduates of this course would be prepared for entry-level positions in airlines, travel agencies or hotels. We conducted these courses in the evening at the Palmer House Hotel for a two-year period, until Vallas left for his new assignment in Philadelphia.
At 96 years of age, I just thought it was a nice idea if people around the country were asked not to forget that Echols graduated 12,000 students in Chicago and approximately the same numbers in San Francisco and Washington.
Thank you, and may Travel Weekly continue to be the success it has always been during my 40-plus years in this industry.
Evelyn Echols
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