The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-12-30
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION



Mr., James 4. Moran Chairman Of the
Committee on Schools:
Dear Sir: In reply to your request
for statement as to how the school
expenses could be reduced at this time
without sacrificing the interests of the
children, and with the least possible in
frlngement upon the work Of the
schools, / beg to say that after consid-
ering the whole field Of our public
school work, kindergarten, primary,
grammar and high schools, which our
city carries on, in common with other
New England cities, I am Of the opinion
first, that the places in our schools late
~ made vacant by designations, leaves
OF absence, ETC., may be filled by the
best teachers on our present substitute
list, young women of limited expert
ence, 1t is true, but who have already
shown special aptitude for teaching.
BY this means considerable saving in
expense would be made, inasmuch as
such persons receive about one-half the
salary Of teachers who have been in the
service for much longer period, whose
places they take.
Again, last year when teachers were
appointed, it was announced that the
Of certain schools be dispense with, in
asmuch as I believed then and believe
now that such rooms could be carried
on without an assistant. Such schools
were chosen where the attendance in
the highest room was forty or less.
failed to see why a room of forty or
less pupils or even forty-five or fifty re-
quired the entire services Of two teach
oCc Jtrha O 4NI,iroarV with a6na1
number Of pupils was taught by a sin
gle teacher, and the room just below
the eighth grade, the seventh grade,
Is carried on generally by one teacher
with an equal number OF pupils. 1t
should be said that in some instances
or schools the assistant teacher has as
sisted part Of the time in the seventh
grade room, but the greater part of her
work was in the higher room. do not
wish to be understood as making any
reflection upon the eighth grade teach
ers; they are giving the best part Of
themselves to their work, are faithful
and conscientious, and 1 do not care to
be in any way unappreciative of their
work. 1t should be said that in the
eighth grade, the highest grade in the
grammar schools, that the studies are
more advanced and there is a feeling on
the part of the teachers of RESPONSE
bility in preparing pupils for the next
stage in their school progress, namely
the high school. This sentiment arises
from the entirely natural but erroneous
feeling that the high school is an in
stitution apart and different from the
other schools. The high schools with
four years or grades should be con-
sidered an integral part of the school
system. 1t is an interesting fact that
in some places where the high school is
found on the top floor of a grammar
school there is no feeling on the part
of anybody that the high school is a
different institution from the grammar
school.
The teachers in our highest grade are
paid the largest salaries anywhere paid
in our grammar schools. They are paid
$3.50, and in the grade below teachers
are paid $500. This high salary COM
mands or should command higher or
der of teaching talent and therefore
greater results than in the lower grades,
where lower salaries prevail.
1t was from such considerations as
the foregoing and from a desire to be
able to have teachers enough to reduce
forty-two, a result which the committee
and the board have been striving to
reach, that the recommendation before
mentioned was made to take away the
assistant where the number of pupils
did not exceed forty. This change was
made in the Wooster, Washington, Day,
WEIGH and Hamilton schools, and this
change was made not because economy
TN, Two of a tiron l.
though the saving of taxpayers money
should be consideration of every
school official, but it was felt that the
change could be made without impair
ing the efficiency Of those schools, and
the $1,000 expended elsewhere to better
advantage, chiefly upon other grammar
and primary schools.
Upon the opening of the schools in
September, it was found that in the
Hamilton and WEIGH schools the num-
Der had increased over last year and
permission was therefore granted to use
the extra teacher part of the time as
an assistant in one school, and in the
other an assistant was placed the first
Of December because it was felt that
all the schools having more than forty
pupils In the highest room should be
and Wooster schools the average num-
Der registered in the highest room dur
ing the fall term was thirty-three, thir-
ty-two and thirty-fve and one-half re-
spectively. 1t may be said that when
the assistants were taken away in these
schools no objection was made so far
as / know by anybody I do not believe
the efficiency of the work of those rooms
has been impaired by the lack of an
assistant. These facts are familiar to
the committee on schools, but may not
be to the other members of the board
and the public who pay for the schools
have recited them at some length that
all may be perfectly clear to the par
ents, the taxpayers and all concerned.
I can see no season why the plan be-
gun in certain schools last September
cannot be extended at this time in other
schools. In view of the larger number
of pupils in, the highest rooms of the
other schools, some assistance should
be rendered those teachers part of each
day, by the assistance Of teachers a
part of the day, by teaching on the part
of supervising principals or by both
&C. M q N A Il "a