The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-03-03

were also placed at this time In the
Stroudwater, Sauadsas Street. and North
Deering schools.
During the summer vacation much
cleaning and many minor repairs we're
done upon all the ol-houses, and at
kast Deering story was added TO the
building and nm extra room lifted up
10 accommodate the fourth and NTH
Rrades The new room was placed In
charge Of Miss Isabel Jordan. formerly
Of Lunts Corner 90 hool.
In the fall it was found necessary TO re-
lieve the crowded oondision Of Ocesn
street school. Accordingly. the council
charnbsr In the new Odd Fellows' Block.
of which the city held lease for ten
years, was lifted up for . school room.
and tbs fourth grade, with Miss johnson
for . teacher, vas transferred TO it, An
additional teacher was employed for the
Oosan Street school. where thers were
four teachers and i've grades remaining.
With this ARA n cement the work has been
progressing more satisfactorily.
AT Lunts Corner, although one room
of pupils had been transferred to East
DeerinR, IL was nscessary TO seek for
still more relief. There wers l4o scholars
In nine Grades and only three teachers.
Az additional teacher was employed, but
even now the principal, Mis- Eiwell, and
ons Of tAe assistants Rrs Obliged TO work
In tHe came room hearing recitations at
tuc bAfTt JlA4ts Lug ~
vises that q remedy be provided for this
as sJon as possible.
IN the Oakdale school there was q lsrge
room on each floor y i'm small reoii afion
Z, ON adjoining. The plan OF conducting
the school was for one teacher to take
charge of = lsrse room with all the schoi-
ars in II excepting those who were rsnit-
ing TO the other teacher In the small
room. This divided the responsibility In
such q way as to make it difficult to &C.
eompIIsb good work. During she
I hank sgivinR vacation the large room
on the lover floor WAS divided BY partt-
ton. Ihs Improvement was at enoe
manifest. In addition, room has been
fitted up on the second floor for the
school i1rsry
Fairly In September Miss Curtis, the
priu cipal of this school, resigned and
MissssAda l.. Davis, Of the Butler school,
was elected to the position. Miss Davis
the primsry and grammar grades OF the
city admirably adapted her to the work.
The effects of her enthusiastic Efforts are
already apperent 10 the school.
At the time of annexotion there were
In the Libby's Corner School nine grades
with four Teachers, two of them teaohiuR
In the entry ways or halls. In Septsmb Der
it YVES found tnat the fo1r upper or
grammar grades could tie transferred to
the West school without increasing the
teaching force there. IL was accordingly
done, leaving the Libby's Corner school
with two ts8ohers and the i've primary
grades.
AS thu fall term progressed the Deer
Ing Center Grammar school again became
overcrowded. and IL was fond necessary
to III AXE another change. This time the
seventh. eighth and ninth graGes were
transferred to the new High school build
ing where they have for TIE present
o tel. haa "a Nd
ventilation. 10 the old high school build
ing the fourth. fifth and sixth grades re-
main.
Ihs pr oalem OF school accommodation
Is by o means solved. The super intend.
emit reports that tie sanitary coalition OF
ost Of the school houfes In the Deering
wards Is bad. The ventilation Is tn,per-
fect or there Ia none at all. The Ocean
street, Saunders street and Lunt's Corner
school bous are overcrowded and ill-ar-
ranged for present demands.
There 10 imperative need of remodelinp
and anlarging the Lunt's Corner school
house.
1t would be advisable also for the city
to secure a lot In the neighbcrhood Of
NoodfoIGs on which to build an eight
rom eraminar school building in the
neag future.
Another problem which had to ba
solved was how to make uniform the text
In many respects from those In Portlap d
schools. The large call for looks for the
Deering schools was In great measure
owing to the desire to make them uni
form throughout the city, and to supply
supplementary reading to these schools In
order to give them equal advantages. The
necessarily Of finishing this work must be
borne in mind when estimates are made
this spring for text books and supplies.
mn .ruERS, GALA pIEG
With the annexation OF the Desring
wards 1t was found that the minimum Ia
the scale Of salaries Of the teachers In the
new district was lower than what has
teen paid for similar work in the Port
land schools. Measures were immediately
taken to raise the scale Of salaries that
there might seem to be no discrimination
among the several wards Of the larger
city. In many instances, the raising of
these salaries vas recognition Of ser
Vices which merttsd especial reward. but.
aside from this consideration, the COM
mitteet wss unanimously of the opinion
that the minimum rate OF salary. 800,
paid TO the regular traohers OF our
primary grades was the lowest consistent
with the duties II quired Of them.
That this rate is DeIow tnb STANFORD SET
by many other cities of less wealth than
our on n cannot he denied. The fact that
some OF our best teachers seek positions In
other parts OF New England is not credit
able to our methods. During the last few
years the committee has lab0red with this
problem from time TO time, but that IL
has not been met effectually is apparent
when 1t 10 observed that the salaries
which have been raised have been those
principally OF teachers whose special
work In some department has made IL
easy TO CO nsider them apart from the
large class of those who teach In the
grades. Under the present system, the
young teacher without experience .snters
the primary grades with q salary of $500
because 1t Is admitted that II she is fitted
to teach at all her services are worth as
much as that to the oity. She may then
devote her life TO her profession and be-
come expert In the instruction Of the
youngest pupils, SO that PARENTS seek for
an opportunity to place their children In
her care, and still there 10 no prospect
ahead beyond the salary OF $500 She
m uss be content with that unless she
abandons the primary work and seeks a
position in the grammar grades. Here