The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-15
/ ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW FIRST
| GRADES WILL CLEAR 1T.
EVERY CHILD IN THE CITY
WHO HAS APPLIED, WILL HAVE A
PLACE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

ed by Seventy-five Pupils When
the New Grades Are Opened-Supt.
AshmOre's Cheering Report of
school Conditions and School
Work.
| Tomorrow morning there will be no
waiting list for admission to the public
schools of Savannah. The Board of
Education decided last night to estab-
| lish two additional first grades in the
Henry street school and Chatham
Academy respectively, and these will
provide for every applicant for admis-
sion to the schools.
There were present at the meeting
last night Capt. Henry Blum, Mr.. Lee
Roy Myers, Mr. Pleasant Stovall, DR..
NJ. F. Dunn and Mr.. Samuel B. Ad-
ans, with Supt. Otis Ashmore. In the
absence of the president, vice-president
and chairman of the board, Capt. Hen
ry Blum presided.
The superintendent submitted a
cheerful and encouraging report of the
condition of the schools, which was as
follows:
1T is with much satisfaction that
am able to report to you that the
schools under your charge are in most
excellent condition. The enthusiasm
and good feeling with which the teach
ers and pupils have entered upon the
work of the year are most gratifying,
and the appropriation shown by the
| public in the real worth of our schools
should be encouraging to us all. The
enrolment to date is larger than at
any time in the history of the schools.
In the city alone we have 6,21S chill
dren now in school, being 81 more
| than the enrolment at the correspond
| ing period of last year. Notwithstand-
| ing the enlargement of Chatham
Academy and the building of the
| hirty-eighth Street School nearly all
| the available room is now occupied.
The extension of our school facili-
| ties and the necessary redstricting of
the city, the easy transfer of children
from the old districts to the new with
| out annoyance or friction, the estimate
| to be made of the city's natural in
| crease in school population, and the
| geographical trend of this growth and
the projection and organization of just
| the right number of classes ana
grades in each school to meet the prob
| able demand in October without the
embarrassment of Encouragement of
| teachers and pupils, were some of the
! elements of the complex problems pre-.
| scented for solution during the summer
vacation. The best solution of this
problem required a thorough knowl-
edge of our school affairs, much
| thoughtful study, and no little tact
in adjusting tremendously the hun
dreds of little circumstances thai
might prove troublesome.
That my calculations and estimates
of the conditions that would confront
us on Oct. were well made is attest
! ed by the fact that the projected plans
| for the district lines, and the distribu-
| ton OF teachers, classes, and pupils al
| most exactly meet the conditions as
they have developed, so that no rear
rangement of teachers or classes is
necessary. This is as gratifying as IL
| is fortunate, for good school admins
| tration and management demand that
the best solution possible be reached in
| problems of this kind.
| During the summer months the
necessary repairs were made to the
schools, and 1 believe the physical con-
! ditions of our schools were never so
good as they are at the present time.
| By an unavoidable delay on the part
|
lures for the Cathedral School have not
yet been placed in position, but letter
| from Chicago informs me that they
were shipped last Wednesday, and I
| hope they will be in place in very
| few days.
For a few days a number of pupils
had to be placed upon the waiting list
pending the final adjustment of those
| pupils who had seats reserved for
them. All these. however, have now
| been admitted to the proper grades
except a few first grade pupils in the
vicinity of Henry Street School and
Chatham Academy. In the Henry
Street School neighborhood there are
twenty-eight pupils waiting for admis-
sion to the First Grade, and near
| Chatham Academy there are forty-sev-
en- pupils for the same grade. OF these
forty-seven, sixteen are on the Cattle
dray and five on the st. Patricks wait
ing list
THE remedy is clear and easy If the
| board sees fit to adopt it, and that Is
to establish an additional First Grade
at Henry and one at Chatham Acad-
envy. The establishment of these two
grades would entirely clear the wait
ing list. and by Wednesday morning
every white child in the city of Savan-
nah who has made application could
be accommodated in our schools. For
| tunately there is one room left at Chat
| ham Academy, and one at Henry,
which may be used for this purpose.
| This possible condition was foreseen,
though not indicated with sufficient
! clearness to warrant me in providing
! the necessary teachers in the uncer>
| tainty, for economy must be consider
! ed. but the rooms which have no sal
| aries attached were left in my provi-
sional arrangements to meet just such
a contingency, which is not altogether
unexpected.
1T was also planned that the demand
for one or more new classes, should 1t
occur at all, would fall upon the first
! grades, in order that no rearrange-
ment Of teachers would be necessary.
SHOULD the board see fit TO establish
| these two grades, the regular work Of
the classes could begin at once, as
everything is in readiness now"
The board decided to adopt the rec
| concentrations made in the report Of
the superintendent. and to establish the
two new grades in the Henry Street
School and Chatham Academy. The
two first grades will be opened to-mor-
! row morning.
Some arrangements and appoint
ments of teachers. necessitated by the
establishment of the new grades at
Chatham Academy and Henry Street
School. were made. Miss Anna Smith,
assistant at the Henry Street School,
was promoted to the First grade 10 be
established there. while Mrs Marie
Grower takes Miss Smiths place as
assistant. Miss Frances Janow. assist
ant at Barnard School. will take charge
Of the new grade az Chatham Academy
D 4