The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1905-07-08
cOMPUL sorry
EDUCATION
Superintendent Snyder Re-
views the Successful Work
ing Of the Truanoy Law.
PUPILS RETURNED TO SCHOOL
Many Features Of the Attend-
ance Department Are Still
In the Experimental
Stage.
PUPILS RETURNED TO SCHOOL

In his annual report, recently submit
ted by Superintendent Henry Snyder. of
the Jersey City Public Schools. to the
Board Of Education. he embedies the
following interesting chapter on Com
pulsory Education III which he reviews
the successful working of the eruancy
Law:
The action taken by your Board last
February looking toward the enforce
ment of the provisions of the School Law
requiring the attendance at school of all
children between the ages Of seven and
fourteen must be commended in the high
est terms. BY appropriate resolutions you
requested the Board of Finance to make
an appropriation for the salary of
chief attendance officer, and the Board of
Police Commissioners to detail four POI
lice officers to act as assistant attenl-
anee officers. The Board of Finance SUBJ
sequently made the necessary appropria-
tions and in March Mr.. Charles Stel
was appointed chief attendance officer.
After a conference with committee of
Your Board, the Police Commissione $
detailed two officers to assist Mr.. Sten.
For the period from March to the end of
June the work of the Attendance De-
partment was performed by Mr. Stell
and the two officers mentioned. In the
following September the Board Of Po-
lice Commissioners felt that they ne dad
the services of all their officers and that
they could not detail officers. all of whose
time should be given to the Attendance
Department At the suggestion of Chief
of Police Murphy it was arranged that
he should assign seven roundsmen. who
in connection with their ordinary duties,
should also assist Mr.. Stell in the investi-
cation of cases of absenteeism in their
respective precincts. This plan is in oper-
alton at the present time.
3 AS was expected. the work Of the
Attendance Department has been re-
markably successful The attendance Of
ficers have investigated the many cases
reported to them by the schools, and have
returned to school pupils who otherwise
would have continued to be absent
Hundreds of pupils have been placed in
school who under ordinary circumstances
would not have attended at all The
work of the officers has, besides, been
influential in impressing upon pupils and
their parents the necessity Of. regular
attendance. The law is rigidly enforced
as it is expected to be, and all cases of
absence not satisfactorily explained to
the principals, or to the Chief Attend
ance Officer, are investigated in the most
eareful and painstaking manner. The
attendance of pupils, who have been re-
ported, is carefully watched. even after
they have been returned to school. in
order to prevent a relapse into the hab
of absence, if such has existed. am
confident that the influence of the denart-
nent has conferred much benefit upon
pupils, parents and the schools The
reasons for truancy or negligence re-
garding school attendance are SO nuraer-
ous, and are so intimately connected, in
many cases. with the domestic life and
habits Of thought of the people that it
cannot be expected that injurious tenden-
eies viii be eradicated at once. We may
hope that by an mnrclenting enforcement
Of the law and bv the persistent person
al efforts Of the attendance officers, good
habits Of attendance may be secured in
nearly all cases The good work of the
department will become more evident the
longerit IS continued. It is certain that
the gain in percentage Of attendance. to
which reference has been made in this
report, has some connection with the
industry Of the attendance officers. Ex-
actly how much of the gain is due to
their work cannot, Of course, be stated
accurately
As the Attendance Department has