The Portland daily press., 1896-05-23

|
school buildings, $123, ST.. ss
SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS.
| The Monument street school house is
in bad condition. 1t is without venti-
iation. The sanitary arrangements are
in tho basement and are inadequate.
| Two of the eight rooms are only 17x20
feet and are consequently too small for
school rooms. There are no dressing
rooms except the halls and they are dark
and narrow. There is but one exit from
the second floor SO that in case of fire
the lives of many pupils would be en-
dangered. Either this building should
be remodelled and enlarged or new
schoolhouss should be buils this year.
| Three years ago the West school house
was enlarged so as to make of it eight
commodious rooms. 1t seemed to the
city government at the time that accom-
modations had been provided for some
time to come. But the new streets which
We're laid out in this vicinity have been
rapidly built up and the schoo popula-
ton has greatly increased so that the
lower grade rooms are already over
crowded, and the grammar grade rooms
will be in year or two.
After the May vacation of this year it
will be necessary to employ another
teacher in this school who, owing to the
lack of a school room, will be obligedSto
conduct her ROTATIONS in the corridor.
An addition of two rooms should be built
| g.
| The Park street school house is old and
devoid of ventilation. Its seating capaci-
ty appears to be ample for the present
and for some time to come. The SAM,
taries are in the basement and the ap
proaohes to them are narrow and INSULT
cient to the degree that in event of q
panic at recess time, positive danger
| would ensue. 1t Is recommended that
instead of expanding any money in try
| ing to remedy this state of affairs, new
sanitaries be built entirely outside of the
school house, where all sanitaries should
be. They should be SO constructed that
when the Park street school shall be put
in such condition as it ought to be put
they will need no alteration in order to
meet the wants Of the new conditions.
Brackett street school house is not u
credit to the city. 1t is uDyentilated,
badly lighted and insuff1ciently Heated.
| 1t were waste Of words to say more.
| In September the two lower graues
| in the Vaughan street school had only
about so pupils. A vacancy occurring
in the fifth grade in the Smaller school,
Miss Moulton was transferred to that
school, and the two grades combined in
the Vaughan street school. Later tho
numbers increased so as to somewhat
overerowd the Vaughan street rooms
The ward room vacated by Miss Moul-
ton was taken for the manual training
room.
| There are two unoccupied rooms in the
Mcclellan school, which may be used to
accommodate the overflow from Vaughan
street.
| SCHOOL WORK.
The changes in the school work dur
| ing the year have been few and unim-
portant, the aim being to do we'll what
We attempt to do rather than to attempt
to do many things. In the grammar
school the rank has been so changed that
in order to be promoted pupil must
| obtain rank of rs in every study ex-
cept arithmetic. and In that study Co.
This will raise the standard Of promo
ton to q considerable degree The
changes in regard to the study of history.
recommended in previous reports, have
been carried into effect and new life has
been infused into this subject.
In the primary schools more and better
work has been done in nature study, es-
pecially in elementary botany. One new
kindergarten. making four in all, was
opened in the Bracket street school
house. These schools are expensive ow-
| ing to the fact that teacher can handle