New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-09-10
OPENING PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THE SUMMER VACATION OVER
NEW MEASURES PROPOSED By THE BOARD o.
EDrCATION

NEW MEASURES PROPOSED By THE BOARD OF
EDUCATION.
Teachers and children have been pouring into the
city from all parts Of the country all last week. 10 DC
present at the opening Of the public schoois w
day. The long vacation Of the school term Is o'c',
and the schools have all been ceansed ana repaired
for the 100 900 children who are expected 10 assem-
bio In them for their fall and winter studies uls
month. Moro than 10000 boys and girls were grad
uated, or were obliged to leave the schools In The
spring to begin work. but their places will be flied
nv new scholars and 1t is estimated from previous
years that tho Increase will be about 5000 new pupils
II this estimate proves correct addition Of 100
new teachers will be required during the fall and
winter swelling the of teachers in the public
schools to nearly 1000 Superintendent Jasper has been
busy with his staff Of assist superintendent, re-
ceiving information from the 800 schools between the
Battery and Fordham, and arranging for their opening
Clerk McMullin and his assistants arc occupied with
tho preparation OF the business Of the board for the
commissioners and the trustees In the several wards
The first meeting Of the Board Of Education IS not
until Wednesday but several OF the committees Will
have sessions before the board meeting to prepare TO
ports which to be presented at that meeting
PLENTY TO DO IN VACATION.
Tho busiest in the school system during the va
cation was Superintendent Debevoise, who has charge
of all tho repairs aud new buildings. Vacation time
is the only period in which he can enter the schools
without interruptng the studies, and in two months
his force Of carpenters and plumbers are re-
quired TO repair all the wear and tear which loVoVo
boys and girls have made during the year No new
school buildings will be opened this month, but the
addition to the Grove-st school. No. g. in the
Ninth Ward, has been finished and will give room
for several hundred new scholars in that ward.
-Four new buildings rapidly approaching com
pleion, one in RivingiOn-s. two in the neghborhood
Of Central Park, and in the annexed district
The plans for five buildings ready and the
Board at its first meeting will arrange to advertise
for these 10 get the work on them under way this
fall, so that they may be ready next year Several
new sites for school buildings also to be purchased
this fall The four new buildings now under way are
to be finished during the fall or in the coming winter,
and all of them will be opened before spring.
One Of the subjects which will be presented 10 the
Board Of Education at its first second meeting
will be ne report OF the Committee on Studies as TO
the manual training experiment which has been tried
in several schools during the present year. The
action Of the Board will determine whether the
methods adopted have been successful and whether
they will DO extended throughout the system.
special committee will report the system OF ex
animation in the schools which IS condemned by many
persons, and present, If practicable, scheme.
Mrs Agnew and Miss Dodge members of this
committee. They have been busy during the summer
investigating the examination methods practsed IN
the public schools of other cities, to ascertain If any
Of these be applied to the New York schools 1t
Is not known whether method has been de-
termined on to report TO the Board.
NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS TOO LARGE.
Another measure is radical change in the present
method Of building schools. Commissioner William
Lumms, who is Of the strongest opponents Of
the present plan Of school buildings, maintains that
the new schools are almost invariably too large and
expensive. Their cost is from $4,000 TO 100000
FIR u Wh vi frOm IN
more than 5000 children. Mr.. Lummis insists that
the policy of tho Board should be 10 erect buildings
for / 900 1900 children, and not TO exceed that
number. The large schools are " show schools he
says There is greater damage IN cases of accident,
and in army of 1900 children the individual child
has not good chance of being well taught. The
schools, he argues should be built largely for the
small Children of the primary schools, who form
nearly seventy five per cent OF the school population.
Their overcrowded all the city,
who tho higher classes in many Of the larger
mar schools arc only partly filled, aud the school
money Is thus wasted.
Commissioners Frederick ". Devoe and Jacob
vermlye largely sympathize with these views Of Mr.
Lumms. Mr.. Devoe is of the best Informed
members on this subject in the Board, and for many
years chairman of the Committee Buildings,
Of which he is member Commissioner Cole,
the present chairman of that committee, is not In
accord with thse views, and does not consider the
large buildings extravagant. President j. Edward
Simmons, of the Board of Education, who returned
the city last week, said that be beloved reflection
that the building Of smaller schools the better
policy.
They Will prove in the aggregate slightly
expensive, perhaps, than the larger schools said Mr.
Simmons, but l think small buildings will accomplish
better results There is too great tendency the
city TO crowd people together In great numbers
Anything which prevents This IS more heal hul and
certainly better where little children are concerned
And the BOaTt Of Education, IL TO me is most
concerned with the primary schools and the small
children o,"er children and the higher studies fall into
their natuT2 places aferward. Mr.. Cole IS not re-
sponsible. however. for the building of the largo
schools any extravaganza in them. The build
ings are believe well constructed throughout and Of
the best material and workmanship. 1t IS one OF the
evil tendencies OF the cltys growth put up big
structures and mass people together. ! hope II VIII
be fully discussed by the Board and the evil correc ted
80 far as schools concerned"