Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-16


The annual report of the board of school
trustees was subnltted to the Commits
sioners today. The report pays tribute to
Superintendent Powell saying:
1.-The methods discussed and explained by
| Superintendent Powell involve, we believe
| the true theory OF teaching, and while
| those methods are not now new in the
District schools, or In the country hut
have been well tested and found good and
are approved by the highest authorities,
they are radically different from those used
| in the schools In which those Of us OF
mature. years were instructed We fear
that very few Of the people of the District
have taken pains to examine the schools,
or the methods of training used therein.
We are SO accustomed to consider the
duties Of citizenship as beginning and end
ing in the payment of taxes, that we are
inclined to leave to the exclusive care
Of the generakaEeYsrnment the education
of our children q advance in the matter
of education of schffdren has kept pace of
late years with material progress, and
the stillful teacher of today reaps no
longer in his field with the rude sickle of
his FOREIGNER,
Some Recommendations.
The report deals. with old and new meth
DDS of instruction and training, appeals for
| broadening of the manual training idea,
I'VE do not omit the recommendation
heretofore so often made for an increase in
| the salary. of teachers. How little they re-
ceive is well Known, scarcely averaging
| more than the pay Of messengers in the
departments, although to their ability and
| efforts are intrusted the whole result in
| volved in all the expenditure for schools
and buildings and equipments. And they
are the cutting edge. of the whole machine,
! and more than any other class determine
| the direction and force intellectually, at
least, of the coming generation.
We repeat the Recommendation made
ent Powell, believing this would be wise
economy.
I'VE beg also to remind the Commission
ers that the growth of the CITY in nonula
ton and extent requires also more school
room and new buildings. This need is en-
phaslzed and made acute by the unusual
growth of some localities and the need is
also chronic AS well increasing
1T hardly needs to, be suggested that the
wise economy also requires that the build
| 1ngs shall be kept in proper repair and the
appropriations recommended for this mr.
| pose are none too great.
While we do not recommend compulsory
attendance; we thinkait would be wise to
nave some official whose duty it should be
10 ascertain the, naxaci amount of non-at-
tendance.
1.-The increase In attendance during the
past year In the day schools was 81, total
number of scholars In the wear ending 1sl7
was 1895, and the number in night schools
also increased s3fehtl@tto over 1900. Rut
these numbers ddrQH ID, any means include
school age. -
> 'NFlie sanitary condition of +ho .oLl.,
buildings during & he sbast year has been
good. *Fhe boardodesffes to acknowledge in
this connection thervaluabie aid rendered
py Dg. Wqodwara1 # thes health office who
and to whose 14se 9eoafsel the board is in
debteds The buildings I'm the hurnbiest as
rf,ry. az
nave peer. ;ws11ta sHaJpeG well ventilated;
| cieaned ana in good Condition. and We 1be-
l'lieve that the sshools, have been well CON
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS expenditures made for
/ them. So . = Iii
The board desire to express their appre-
cation OF the interest taken in the schools
by the Commissioners Of the District of
reagH nnd the kindly attention and
render ed"
go. Superintendent Powell.
In Superintendent Powelrs report it is
| shown that the number of pupils enrolled
| during the year was 1895, of which num-
| her 27;797 were white and 15,19S colored,
| This is the number for all the schools. In
the city proper 1906 children attended
| school, while $3.50 attended the schools in
| the county. From the total enrolment it
| is pointed out there is an increase of 533
pcpiis over the previous year. The average
numher of pupils in daily attendance was
1888. There were Fol teachers employ
| ed The total enrolment in the night
| schools was 1,t15 white and 1865 colored
| persons requiring the services of fifty-nlne
teachers, OF whom twenty-seven were white
and thirty-two celored. The day schools
| were in session 1873 days: the night schools
were open fifty-six nights in the first eight
| divisions and forty-five nights in the ninth,
tenth and eleventh divisions.
The report contains a rumber of Special
reports from the different professors of
| music, literature, ORA wing cooking. Eng
| lish and. other special branches belonging
to the regular school branch. =