The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-10
THE WARD O
The Facilities Provided for the Ciry's Thir-
teen Thousand Pupils.

teen Ihousdnu EuplIs'
The public schools touch our city life at many
points, aud reflect fully its growth and progress.
Thirty years ago there were but eight weeks of
public school. In 1883 and 1859 the schools
were closed. From 1,l6O pupils enrolled in 1854,
under nineteen teachers, the schools have grown
TO 1900 pupils, under about $50 teachers and
supervisors. The half-dozen two-room buildings
of that time have increased to twenty-nine
buildings of eight to twelve rooms each. These
are, with three or four exceptions, of the latest
models of school architecture, and are capable
of supplying Is. 800 sittings. Only single seats
are used, and the $50 rooms average about fifty
seats each, of which from thirty five to forty
five are occupied daily. The northeast and north
west portions OF the city are abundantly supplied
with school-rooms. The south ana west portions
of the city need more rooms, although at pres
emit no rooms are rented. OF the Is, 900 pupils
enrolled about 800 are Ove- siXteen-the re-
malnder are between six and sixteen. One
thousand five hundred pupils are in private
schools. The real estate is worth 100000, the
buildings S550,00O, the furniture $50, 900. The
expense of instruction for tuition is about SIG a
year, based on the average daily attendance.
Incidentals amount to about So more, so
that the annual cost of each school young child
is to the city about S24 a year. The tuition
fund amounts to over $3.50. 900 yearly; janitors
cost about $1,000; fuel, sc, 500; repairs and ex-
penses in building s vary from 50, 900 to Sc, 900
annually.
AS to repairs, it may be said that by the
method adopted ny the board of doing their
own repairs through the agency of "A skilled
architect md building agent-Mr. Il. C. Hendrick-
son-this item is reduced to an astonishingly
low figure. Not only can the school board erect
buildings irrespective of architects and costly
plans, but its own plans and specifications are
sought by the boards and architects of other
cities, and the model eight-room school building
of indianapolis is being copied throughout the
West.
SUPERVISION AND TEACHING.
The method of supervision of the city schools
is unique, as compared with sister cities, and
has been the subject OF earnest consideration by
the teachers, the supervision, and the board.
The policy of the board has been to educate it's
own teachers by means of its high aud normal
schools. The high-schoOl has graduated about
$50 girls and about 14O bows in the nineteen
years of Its existence. OF the young ladies,
probably nearly $50 have also graduated in the
city normal school, and are now most of them
city teachers.
Many OF these have taught in all the grades.
from primary to high school, and according TO
their various merits and capabilities have pro-
crossed in rank and nay. These constitute, and
will in the future even more so, the essential
rank and file of our city teachers, and will be
the stable and reliable educational element for
years to come. This class, sorted by the natural
process of the survival of the fttest, under the
keen eyes of the supervision, are added to from
time to time from among the ranks of outside
normal schools and colleges, so as to bring into
play other thoughts and methods. While the
per cent. of broadly educated and college cul-
tured lady teachers may not be SO great as in