Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1855-02-16
0bt ltwisburg Gbtonifle.
..1n.Y. FEBRUARY I6, 1855.
pennsylvania Common Schools.

Pennsylvania Voinino" SS"OVA''
". are indebted to the Deputy Secret
~, Mr. H1cKoK, for an carly copy of the
Re-, Report Of Hon. CHARLES A. BIAcr' late
Superintendent Of the Common Schools OF
psnn.vlvania. We say "carly," for al'ho'
~. school Year ended 9th June last, and
,he Report was communicated to the Gov.
.-u,- s,b Jan. last, it has but just issued
t.om The rress. The new Superiutendents
Iof Public Schools and Public Printing!
We hope will regulate these matters here
after in better time. Reports like THIS
c,n be and should be printed and dls'rio-
u..d before the General Assembly meets,
in order that Legislators and the People
may have time carefully to examine them ',
and be prepared to take action wnen Inc
Rsnre,eutative. of the People have met
The Report proper embraces ~ pages
with an Appendix of l6O pages containing
more or less extended Reports from Coun-
~ superinteudents, &c. The counties OF
Allegheny, Luzerne, Somerset, and tn'on
haze no, been heard from through their
Superiniendents.
From cursory examinaticn,we believe
.be Report should be widely circulated ,and
would have good influence upon the pub
lie mind.
The present universal School System
was commenced in this State, now twenty
years ago, under the administration of
Gov. WOLF, but was efficiently advanced
under Gov. RIrNER*, whose right hand
men we're and still are those champions of
Common School Observation-Disclosures
Stevens and Thomas II. Burowes. The
succeeding Governors have also all been
firm friend, of the system, which may now
be considered as the established policy of
the State, only to be changed by being
more strengthened and consolidated.
Although it is twenty years since the
system was established, our Report is fu!i
for II years only. We give comparison
of two years-the acst and last-to show
the change wrought in II years:
1886 1853
No. Of Districts 9o1 l,33l
No. Of Schoals 1884 9,507
Time Schools were open 4 IN. Sd. s IN.
No. of Teachers 1884 H,23o
Average monthly Salary
of Male Teachers SlS,34 Sl9,25
Do. Female Teachers ll,96 l2,os
No. of Scholar: lo9,6O4 4'4,ooo
Aver. No. per School Al AZ
Aver. cost Teaching per
Scholar per Month sl,O6 l,29
State Appropriation $3.50 ls4,See
Tax levied 2O7, ,lO5 1,02l ,337
EXP. for School Houses ,S05 1856
Other annual expenses 1892 sl5,9Ol
These are visible results The influence
Of this increased means Of knowledge in
harmonizing disccrdant elements, quicke-
ming the dormant in.eliecls, and sowing
the seeds of good morals and truth, can
never be folly estimated, but certainly has
but begun to be developed.
We believe it will also be found, that
during the past twenty years, the number
Of Private Schools, Seminaries, Academies
and Colleges has increased in correspon-
ding ratio with Public Schools. If SO, we
doubt whether any State in the Union
deserves the credit of making more sacrif-
ce. for the great cause of Education, than
the staid old Keystone.
From the Report Of the Superintendent
af Cumberland county it appears that Ex-
Gov. Ritner, although now over 10 years
Of age, retains an undiminished interest in
the cause, aui cheers the heart Of the tea
cher of his district by visiting him once
week. [Query-Will the Directors visit
the schools once a month II