The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-02-16
PIT 8LiC INSTITUTION.
REPORT OF STATE SUPERINTENDENT.
WISCONSIN SCHOOLS IN 1870.

eomewhat larger than ever before. 1t is
lnll of matter interesting to the friend, ,
OF education. We give the greatest part
If the Report proper:
Gen. SAMUEL FELLOWS, the newly
elected incum ,ent, says:
On the death of my lalnented pred
ecessor, Hon. A. j. Craig, July Sd, 1870,
entered, by appointment OF CIV. Fair
child, upon the duties OF this office on the
sixth day of the same month. As the
school year had almost ended with the
close Of Mr.. Craig's lie, my report can
not be expected To contain many of the
results or my own official oversight and
work.
most cheerfully bear testimony to the
judlcious and untlriug efforts put ,nrth
ny Mr.. Craig to advance the common
school lnferests Of our State. To his
fidelity and z al the system owes much
OF its present efficiency He died like u
true soldier, At his post. Wei done
good an't faithful servant" is the rpitaph
W lsConeln ,rltco upon his tomb.
The law makes 1t the duty of the Super
lnteodent, as far as practlcabIe, to visit
every county N the State Tor the purpose
OF inspecting the schools, awaklng an
interest favorable TO the cause OF educa
ton, ami dltfusIng as widely as, possible,
by public addresses amt personal cpmmu-
nicatlon with school officers, teachers and
parents, a knowledge OF existing defects,
and OF desirable Improvements in the
government amt instruction OF schools"
have endeayored, as faithfully as
possible, to carry out the above wise and
just requisltion While studying
thoroughly the features of our State
system vi education, aud making myself
acquainted with the business of the office
have been able to visit, up to the pres
emf date, wonty two counties, VIZ:
Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane,
Dodge, Dunn, Gre Lake, Jackson,
Jefferson, Ken Sha. La Crosse. La Fayette,
Manltcwoc, Milwaukee, Oconto, Oztukee,
Racine Rlcbiand, Sheboygan, Waukesha,
Wanpaca and Wlnnebago l have attend
ed Institutes in al of these counties save
one. l have delivered public lectures
aud addresses on educational topics In
each, and in many have examined and
addressed the schools. have travelled
nearly SIX thousand five hundred miles o
meet nay engagements. Providence per-
uniting, intend to visit every county i'll
the State before the coming year closes
My assistant, the Rev. j. 3. Pradt, has
| been of valuable service to me in the
| office, rom his long familiarity with its
multiplied and absorbing details.
'hOuld not have been able III do 1.-THE
of .the outside work" performed, had
my Assistant been mere novice
The educai lonal out look IN our State
is very encouraging. am informed, 10y
those competent To Judge, that there
never was deeper interest taken in the
welfare Of our schools, than at he present
time. The Institutes have been more
| largely attended than before. higher
standard of qualification is demanded of
teachers. a more liberal spirit prevails
among school officers. New and commod
lOus school houses are constantly bund
ing, furnished with better apparatus tol
the work ol instruction. Much has been
1 done, much more remains to be done
While We have every reason to be en-
couraged, lmpertecIlors enough in every
direction remain, to stimulate us all tC
unremittlng efforts in tho great cause o.
common school education.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
The number OF school districts is re
ported at 4,8O2, which is an actual in
crease of AZ. The report remarks in this
connection:
The large and increasing number Of
districts-noW almost ,000-indicates K
some extent the magnitude of the school
interest. But the school system is rem.
dered too cumbersome and complicated
with such multitude of parts, requiring
as it does the services of sixteen OF
seventeen thousand officers and the
evil is one which can be remedied only
by reducing the number Of school dis
tricts proper to the number of towns and
cities in other words, by the general
adoption OF the i" town SYSTEM" which
will be spoken of more at length in a
subsequent part of this report.
! SCHOOL CHILDREN.
| The number Of legal school children
that, is, persons over four and under
twenty years Of age, is 412,4S1, which is
an increase of 1879. The number OF
persons attending schools Of all kinds is
given as follows:
Reported attending private........
! schools. ............ 15.6lS
Reported attending academies and
colleges. ....................... 2727
Reported attending puzzle schools. 267 .S9l
Estimal ed Tor benevolent lnstitu-
..................... 11OC
Total. ...................... 2S7 1896
1t is estimated that 1000 pupils are in
attendance upon private schools and
various institutions not reported max NJ
an aggregate of nearly 10000 in atten
uance upt schools OF all kinds, which is
an increase of 5000 over the number
returned and estimated for last year.
But the whole number is more than ill.,
! 0An Leg than the mum her If nnrn.,nr ON