The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-04
THE SCHOOL BOARD.
REGULAR MEETING LAST NIGHT-CETY
sUPERINTENDENT's REPOKT.

| The board met last evening at their hall, No.
80 Burgundy street. President Thos. J. Semmes
| in the chair: twelve members and quorum
present
Superintendent Rogers read the following re-
port, which was received by the board:
OFFICE CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT !
of Public Schools, |
New Orleans July 3, 1878,
To the President and Directors of Public
Schools, City of New Orleans:
Gentlemen The schools were closed for the
| summer vacation Friday. June %.
Twenty six thousand ana ai niinety-foqr pupils
the past annual session. The average roll for
several consecutive months was 2O495. Boys,
The school accommodations in the more
pOpulous parts of the city have been INSULT
Client for these large numbers Tor months past
the lower departments In nearly all OF our large
schools have been Overor0Wded aud many chill
dren have been refused admission.
The schools located In remote districts show
GENTLY and Cutoff scarcely justify the ex-
Denses Of their continued support.
The st Mary. 10 the ,Foulth Municipal Dis
trict has also declined, due In part to the I'M
favorable location and the condition of the
building.
now being erected as substitute for the LIE
Breton will necessarily overlap the district of
the Fillmore School and withdraw the pupils
whose residence Is beyoAd Claiborne street..
The Fillmore will probably be found sufficient
to Include the Beauregard, with reduced ex-
pense TO the board and advantage 10 the school.
The written and oral examinations which
marked the close Of the annual session in the
grammar and primary grades were carefully
considered ana placed under the I'm immediate late
work performed by these pupils and tho re-
suits of the examination of the candidates who
we're recommended for promotion to the aca-
demic departments show improvement as COM
pared with the corresponding work of last year.
Progress has been made. The past session.
however, has been one Of reorganization and
trial The entire machinery Of the schools, in
classification, in relative work OF teacher and
pupil. has been readjusted. The introduction
of more extended course of ttudy has in
creased the labor OF the principal teachers, and
Tor the present session has reduced the number
OF candidates seeking ad mission to the high
schools. Inc long vacation OF last summer
three and q half months. was detrimental to the
interest of the schools in department. attend
ance and scholarship. To most of the princi-
pals the work OF the session has been very
heavy, and the results accomplished by them
are greatly to their credit.
II our schools can carry tUto the next session
the impetus acquired during the latter half of
the year just closed. they will present results
which can be still more exactly tested and of a
satisfactory character.
Much in the way of improvement requires
earnest attention, The methods of instruction
of the primary departments are still defective.
The written exercises through all grades of the
schools show the ne d of more careful drilling
in spelling, punctuation and the use of words.
There has been a marked improvement dur
Ing inc S6SSlOu III lH6 regular hDu puuCludi db-
tendance of the pupils. In many of the schools
the average absence has been reduced to the
minimum Of excusable causes There are hum
dfeds of pupils in our schools who for six
months past have neither been absent nor
tardy. And there are hundreds of others whose
absence has bsen limited to occasional sickness
or other unavoidable causes. So much in this
particular depends upon the efforts Of the
teacher that the average daily attendance of
pupils In any room, unless some eXtI aOrdinary
causes should Intervene, may be regarded as q
fair lest of the teachers energy and zeal.
/ have very generally met with cheerful CO.
operation from the great body Of teachers and
my official relations with them have been of an
agreeable nature. Many of the newly elected
teachers have evinced much skill and have
gained entire control over the large classes
under their charge. Others have labOred un-
der grea er difficulty and have encountered
more painful exp rtence.
The positions in our public schools held by
teachers of the same grade and possessing the
same qualifications are far from beirg equally
desirable. and think the fact should be taken
into consideration in filling vacancies, so that
those who have been assigned to the more diff
cult and laborious positions may Do transferred
to the more agreeable places when vacancies
occur in them. There are also other teachers
q ling positions which are not best assigned to
their characteristics and their comfort and the
efficiency of the schools would BIZ promoted by
a change.
The board will doubtless consider what
changes. If any. are desirable in the present
CORPS of teachers.
ReSD6ctfullV submitted