The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-06-05


b4st. There arc no Fairgrounds. during y
tie recess the bpys arc not pernit.eu ~
play. for fear thn ma. .hey "a ~ A. item
hodIly harm Thc high walls OF surround,
ynr buildings that cranip the school
within narrow space keep out the nir
ana light. Alphabetically, with It's pat .,,i
work, the building is mcnstrosity. ins
lsite is too small to allow any lu uI. ~
enlargement. Tho let measures DO by 10y yv
feat There are Twenty-Five class rooms
N Inc building. What Is needed anu
s1yhat must be had Is o. new buildlng
on new and larger silica build.hg;,
large and airy and comfortable ana wen
3 Ventilated surrounded by wide play
grounds. where the inuch-neeuea re s,,srt
lion may be enjoyed In safetS4-n snort.
a building that will be n credit instead OF
IA disgrace to the city, This need IS
clearly and distinctly pointed OUT pS
those who ARE giving careful STUDY W
K the subject. One of the most intereste g.
or these gentlemen IS Professor q ~;
Mitchell, Of Richmond College, president
Of the Cooperative Education Commis-
sion of Virginia. and a member of the
school board of Richmond. With several
others he is working increasingly for q
new High School for Richmond.
Views of DR.. Mitchell.
an speaking or the Richmond High
School says DR.. Mitchell, "one must
be careful TO keep separate the teaching
and the building. Jt has beeh my privi-
leee recently to spend a while in visit
ing the EIigh School. going into the
classes, hearing the instruction, and talk
+ Ing with the various teachers there /
WAS delighted with their work and with
the earnest spirit shown by the pupils.
The teaching is thorough, up-to-date. en-
X thusastic and broad.
1Now, when you turn to look at the
building, the picture Is reversed. The
building Is old, being built when the High
School was started more than thrty
years ago, though additions have since
been made to It. The rooms In many In.
stances are dark, small, approached IN a
difficult way, and without proper adapt.
alton to the modern needs Of school work
The lot upon which the building. stands
lis far too small. The boys and girls have
no suitable place for recreation. But
argument Is not lacking to prove that
Richmond oadly needs new and con1fno-
dIous High School building If any tax
payer doubts the necessity of an ex-
+ lpendlture for this purpose, he has only
Y to make a Visit for himself to the present
bulldng. ~
$"Superintendent FOX and Principal
Julian Thomas have only recently brought
forward many suggestions as to improN-
ing the course In our High School. But
little can be attempted In the way OF
manual training AL and other modern
branches in education. unless more room
Is given them, The children being taught
there deserve more sanitary and modern
accommodations; our present corps of
teachers can render much ampler service
with suitable equtpm emit; while the rela-
ton Of the Hfgh School is such to the
whole city system as to demand the peSt
facilities. sf& s. S5i5
81 cannot close without expressing the
belief that when this vital matter is
brought to the attention Of our people in
a proper way they will generously re-
spond to the need of a new and oommo-
dious building for the children In our
High School. who in real sense are
the hope Of the city as regards culture
and intellectual leadership. My conf
dence in this is based on what I have
seen our patriotic citizenship do in other
things"
IA What Mrs. Valentine Thinks.
At its annual meeting, held recently,
the Richmond Education Association had
this matter brought forcibly to it's at
tention in the address Of the president
Mrs, B. B. Valentine. When seen few
days ago, Mrs. Valentine expressed her
Z; great, interest in the movement. and re-.
Z iterated her remarks before the associa-
tion, declaring that it was unnecessary
for her to say more What Mrs. Valen-
" Vie seiiu III lleI tiIlIludI aQuTeSS was LnlS:
"our n lsh School building, constructed
years ago, when Richmond was but a
small town, Is a disgrace TO the city and
entirely unfit to accommodate the eight
( hundred students who are slowed away
If IN Its shabby rooms, dark, narrow halls
and absurdly small playground, so call
ed. The boys are packed like sardInes
In the little yard behind the school and
are forbidden to play their games for fear
of injury to the closely hudded mass.
These thlnas ought not to be.
We have built a new and commodions
jail for our criminals; we are making
large additions to the penitentiary Cloth
We're sadly needed. it is true); but is 1t
not high time we should give our children
airy, beautiful buildings and spacious
fairgrounds in which they can be health
fully and adequately trained for life2"
Opinion of Superintendent Fox.
No one is more thoroughly alive to
the need for new High School than Mr..
w. r. Fox. superintendent of the Rich
nond schools. Mr. Fox expressed the
greatest tTterAst in the movement He
thought the situation had been a little
oyerdrawn, perhaps, but did not hesitate
to say that the present building is very
inadequate. He gave out the figures
used above,
THE greatest trouble" said Mr.. Fox,
lis the overcrowding. The classes are too
large for high school classes. and some
of the rooms are yery much crowded,
The building Is certainly not a fire-trap.
There are three stairways and two fire.
escapes. The crowded condition Of
things might not make it SO easy for the
children to get out in case of fire. Again.
the crowd prevents proper ventilation.
which Is very important matter in a
school There is practically no play
ground.
What we need Is new and larger
building on a new and larger site. There
should be large. airy rooms. With proper
ventilation, We must have Fairgrounds
by all means. The building should be
intellectually In keeping with the size
and pretenslons of the city am not I'M
favor OF manual training school In con-
neetlon With the High School, They
should have separate buildings"
'According to Mr.. Fox. the Ideal high
school class room has not more than
twenty-five pupils, though thirty can be
crowded in. He gave out the following
figures representing the attendance in
the classes OF the Richmond High School
IN "a inn 1 Iva ,,au