The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-12-13
PUDLnC INSTRUCTION..
Report OF she President
Of the City School Board.

Interesting Report OF the President
OF the City School Board.
Tho following IS the report CT the presi.
dent Of the City School Board. twill he
found Of interest, giving as it does an ac.
count Of the operations of the Board during
the past scholastic year:
Coffee OF TIE SCHOOL BOARD r.,
''oF THE CRY OF RfcHMoSD,}
November 1. 1871.
"5o The City Council: sa3E. !
Gsntlemtn,-The ninth section of the
ordinance providing for the public free
schools Of this CITY IN Ikes it the duty of
the School Board TO report to the Council
as soon after the close Of each scholastic
| year as practicable the condition of public
education In the city, with such recon-.
f, mendatons regarding the same as 10 IL may
seem proper. .e...a. :.
| "This duty was. under previous oTdi-
, nauces, discharged in Felrllnry ct the eur
! rent year, and little remains row but 10
| repori the progress OF what was hen un-
flushed and review the recommendations
then made. The accomDaDyingIep eportS OF
I the City Superintendent, Tue committee
, on School Buildings and Eurnlt ure, ana
the Secretary of the Board, Contain COM
pletc and satisfactory exhibit II Tic cnnGi-
| Iion and prospects of our school system !;
! and an epitomc of those documents would
! seem TO be at once the most useiul aud NEST
, convenient report Oh bchuI oi Tie Board.
/ 'eDuring the scholastic year ending July
Stat. 1871, there were iustrLctrd III the cl'y
schools a daily average c. tIhisa+ Thousand
one hundled anu lilty-siX (o,iOtl scholars,
of which sixteen hunartd "hu nineteen
Q,6l9) were willie, ald 1ttccn hundred
~ g. I ,l-t .,i 4 st q tot III
expenditure Of forty. ono lLOu>auu seven
hundred and siXty-tiyc dollars aIj seventy
four cents (s4l,TCJ.7i), Lcin! Ill: average
annual cost per scholar of tliiiteli dollars
and twentv-threc cents t4l5 25j.
| 1.-The Board feels autho; iZci 20 claim
that the history Of teT nuIlic saiiool sys-
tens in the cities oi the Union "i,l exhibit
so economical Ill expenditure oi he pusllc
money. .....,
"These children have been taught by se-
yenty-tfree teacHerS, Of whom sXty.GDe
We're white and twelve colorei; there re.
ing forty (4N white schools ana tLirty:three
(33) colored. ... ..s.
"sCH0oL BUILDINGS.
"Among the most serious difficulties The
Board had to encounter vas tnc lack OF
| suitable accommodations tor tie children,
there being in fact not one suitable school.
room in the city available for our purposes
Apprecialing this difficulty. the Council
on the 10Th Of September, 1870 appropri
ated 500, 900 in eight per ceut. bonds to
the construction Of proper scho2l-houses,
and The Board proceeded TO selSct the sites
land make arrangements fnraibG construc.
ton of these buildings. The Board pur.
chased of the city the building at the
corner Of Twelfth and <lay known
as the Dlvis Mansion for. $l4,0Ot
in bonds. and bought large and we'll located
lots on the corner Of Broad ana Twenty.
second, First and Leigh, ard hHkar and
streets, on which they have constructed
three commodious and han nle"1nc cdjficcs
They have renIirf nnd improved the Ian.
ca>teIian Scho2l and the Bethel Church
property, and in the course OF 4 lew weeks
Will be ready to move their dettched >chonl.
into these six buildings in nuinb2rs Sufli
! cicnt to accommodate twenty. eight hundred
q S0O) pupils. The Board hricrc> that
Incse schools will prove 81 arar.intv for the
perpetual support by tue city Cf bcf SchAoI
system and the nucleus Of iGtt'lcr cxpan-
sion in The wise direction in which the city
has begun. Many Of our sister ciies in the
Union dcplore now, when it is too late, the
short-siehted policy which impcdri the DE-.
velopment and impaired the hi..ieNcy ol
the public school system by . rarSmnny III
the matter of school Offices winch proved
as wanting in tue economy u i Was Getti-
mental to eGllcatinnal progress. ichm"nd,
on the contrary, has at one step placed her
self by the side of the Most advanced com.
munilies i'll the Iiberaii>y OF her cxnendi-
ture in support Of educstion, a,!d must reap
| the reward Of her wise forecast.
| Before the present session is half past
these buildings will all be filed n thorough
, Of e,h,rls ,t-,lI la tn- tba fin vt
time possible. higher course Of studies
will be prescribed, our teachers will be
more experienced. and Our ctizcuS will
more generally avail themselves OF the ad-
yantaoes which the system iiibrdS. We
have already some OF the best ct the pri-
yate teachers in our employment, snd their
efficacy is not likely to he impaired ny the
constant supervision wticl oiir system en-
| forces, and the general independence of
| both parent aud pupils which i;i3 public
school insures.
"a NORMAL SCHOOL.
| Recognizing the High AID Normal
| School as q necessity Of every wc!l.Orde: ed
school system, the Courcil authorized the
Board 10 arrange with the trustees Of the
| first Normal School for the Incorporation Of
that school into our system, and accordingly
the Board appointed committee to pro-
vide the terms oi transfer on basis mu-
tualy agreeable. The trustees Of the n or.
mal School were advised of this action by a
note addressed to Mr.. Andrew Washburne,
| the president, in Muy, and a committee ar-
/ pointed on their pant. After the inter-
| change Of few notes we were advised by
Mr.. Washburne, The principal OF the school,
that bis trustees declined 10 consider our
proposition 4; and having Received support
from the Peabody fund, they conduct their
school independently Of The city system.
| This makes it necessary for your Board
to renew its recommendation that the
| Council make an appropriation for the
establishment o! g Normal aud iiigti School.
A certain propoi tion, ranging from three
to six per cent, OF the puplIl' who attend
free SCHOOLS advance annually 10 q grade
for which we have no# no adequate ac-
commodatiou. They have a capacity and
| n thirst lnr ligter culture which no com.