Milford chronicle., 1903-01-16
To REVOLUTIONIZE
THE SCHOOLS.
A NEW SYSTEM TO BE SUBMITTED TO
THE LEGISLATURE.
To Do Away With Small County School
and To Establish Large Central
Institutes of Learning.

= Institutes Of Learning.
A system that will revolutionizt
/, the present school condition:
throughout the State has beer
planned by the State Board Of Edu
E cation to be submitted to the House
of Representatives during the pres
] ent session. 1t will come in thus
early because it will occupy many
of the legislators throughout the
entire session. It calls for the clos
ing of many of the little country
school houses throughout the State,
and establishing from place to place
larger graded schools in which a
pupil may get complete education,
and to which the children will be
brought in cOnveyances supplied
by the schools.
The board first memorializes the
Legislature thus:
"There are employed in New
Castle county outside of the city of
Wilmington 1870 white and 20 colo
red teachers; in Kent county, I48
white and 81 colored; in Sussex,
235 white and IS colored; making
in all, OIL. If we add to this no
teachers allowed to the city of Viii
mington, we shall have 72I, the
number as the present basis Of dis
tribution. The dividend for each
teacher in 1902 was S232.2O. An
increase of $4,000 would give a
dividend of $3.50 to each teacher.
Making some allowances for de-
crease in annual income and for
increase ofteachers, we recommend
that the annual appropriation be
increased $4,000, thus making it
SI35,ooo.
In relation to the new system of
rural graded schools, the board
says to the Legislature:
"The isolated, uugraded school
is the chief defect i'll our system
that must be remedied. Competent
and enthusiastic teachers cannot
be retained. The idea is that Of
Capitalization, establishing a cen
tral school with as many depart
ments as the conditions might re-
quire and providing for the trans
portation of the pupils at the public
expense. Some of the advantages
are
"(I) Small and consequently un-
interesting schools disappear.
"(2) Rural pupils have the ad-
Of a graded school, each
department. of which is taught by
'ne who has made special prepara-
ion for that grade.
"(3) The transportation plan
Increases attendance.
"(4) Close supervision by a prin-
ipal whose business it is to visit
he departments.
"(5) Improved sanitary condi-
ions, better heated and ventilated
and children less exposed
o weather"
The board adds this excerpt from
he Pennsylvania reports on the
uccess of this new school system:
At few places the experiment
as been tried with marked success.
rom the province of Victoria in
australia, comes the report that
5S schools were closed by this
Ian and that after deducting the
ost of conveyance, the saving
to $4,000 per annum.
he minister of education says the
'stem is a marked success, and if
lere is one feature of it that stands
ut more prominently than another,
is the remarkable regularity of
le attendance of the children con
eyed. In several of the New
ngland districts which have tried
lie experiment the land in remote
strcts has risen in value instead
depreciating in the market, as it
as predicted by those opposed to
e closing of the schools near
eir own farms.