Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-11-10
ANOTHER SC HOOL.
Plans Ordered Drawn for Build
ing For the First
Ward.
ACTION OF THE BOARD LAST NIGHT.

X.
Contain Twelve Rooms and Modern in
All Respects Supt. Young's Monthly
Report
Plans and specifications for new
building to supplant the Hawthorne
school in the First ward were ordered
its regular meeting last night. The
necessity for larger building for the
west end of the city has long been
realized by the directors. and the
matter would have received attention
earlier. but for the fact shat the board
did not feel equal to the financial re-
sponsibility.
Architect F. Rorgolte has been en-
gagged to draw the plans of the build
ing. 1t will be of brick, contain y
rooms, and will be modern in all re-
spects, and will cost in the neighhor-
borhood of $4,000. 1t will be con-
structed next season.
The board accepted the improve
ments made on the High school by
n. Juhl.
Supt. r. G. Young says in his
monthly report:
The enrolment for September was
3, 147, while the enrolment for Sep
TENDER, 1897, was 3,017. showing an
increase for the present year of $50
pupils. To provide for this increase
a new room, consisting of Fourth and
Fifth grade pupils, was opened in the
kemble school and 4 new teacher add
ed to the High school corps, besides
the librarian, who serves as an assist
ant to the teacher of English. While
the increased enrolment as given
above was $50, the real growth in the
schools must be found in the average
daily attendance, which was greater
for the past month by 165 than for
September of last year.
There was experienced during the
month the same difficulty in accom-
modating pupils in their proper dis
tricts that confronted us during the
first weeks of last year, and the diff
Guilty was met in the same way by
sending quite Il considerable mum Der
into the adjoining districts. While
some protests to this arrangement
were made, the people quite generally
submitted to the Inconvenience.
There is a noticeable Improvement
in the matter of attendance from wear
to year that cannot but be gratifying
to those who are interested in the
growing efficiency of the school sys-
tenn. In September 1896, the absence
to 1882 days, in 1897 to
1 ,707 days and in 1898 Oast month)
to l $50 days. This decrease in the
DAYS of absence becomes n matter of
consequence when we
take into consideration the fact that
the average daily attendance has in
creased during the same time from
2,702 to 2,974, being a total increase
of 272.
Home Reading Department.
The home reading department has
been geadually put into operation,
and with the following results: The
of pupils who have taken
up the reading course is now 104.
This number is certain to increase
from month to month. This reading
cannot but be a strong factor in Civ
ing general culture and fostering a
taste for better class of literature
among the children. One difficulty
that has been met in developing this
of our work is the inabil-
ity of the public library to furnish |
books TO meet the demands of the |
children, especially is this the case
with the children of the lower grades |
who need class of books different |
from those usually kept in the city |
library"
There were ~ cases of hardness |
Turing the month, and p cases of |
ruancy. The highest percent of at
endance (9S.9S) was made by Miss |
school, and the next high
st (9S.94) by the High school.
The board allowed the following |
bills: