St. Tammany farmer., 1907-12-21
sUPT. EVANS REPORT
To State Superintendent of Edu-
cation. Baton Rouge.

Covington, La, Dec. 6, 1907.
The forward movement in the schools
of this Parish begun several years ago
has continued with increased force
during the year just drawing to a
close In various parts of the parish
comfortable school houses have been
built and furnished with modern equip
ment, and salaries of teachers have
been supplemented and terms length
ened by the patrons from funds raised
by them for such purposes. :,
There have been six new rural
school houses built at a cost of about.
$1,000, and there are now in course of
construction two rural buildings, with
a third being arranged for. Work
has been begun on modern twelve
room building in the town of Covington
to cost when completed about SAC, 900,
and the contract has been let for an
up-to-date ten-room building, with
large auditorium for the school, at
Slidell, to cost about $22, 900.
The Fourth Ward is now in a cam
paign for special taxes with which to
build frst-class school house to take
care of the growing school in the town
of Vaudeville, and a special tax move
ment is on foot in the Second Ward to
raise funds torput the school buildings
of that ward in tip top condition and
equip them.
New desks have been purchased for
nineteen new schools during the year,
and, with a liberal amount Of black
board added, these schools are in a
better condition than they were a year
ago to afford facilities to first-class
teachers to do acceptable work.
Of the sixty teachers employed,
forty hold first grade certificates and
twenty second grade the increase in
the number of second grade teachers
being due to plan to employ such as
assistant teachers in the smaller
graded and rural schools to economic
their funds and thus lengthen their
school term.
The average salary of men in the
parish is $83 81; the average salary Of
women is SAG 38; and the average
paid to white teachers is $53 Is. This
is liberal increase over the salaries
paid last year; and, when taken in
connection with the term being given
this year, marks great advance step
taken. The average salary of colored
teachers is $50 35.
The attendance upon the monthly
teachers Institutes this year has been
remarkably good, due, no doubt, to the
fact that the School Board has been
liberal in procuring the very best
possible instructors along lines OF
work most needed by the teachers,
and has also paid the railroad fares OF
the teachers to and from the meet
ings. The programs for the year
include regular instructions in music
and drawing. and addresses on school
room sanitation and laws of health tc
be observed by the teachers and
pupils.
There qave been two great hin
drances to getting and keeping good
teachers in some of the rural schools
of the parish, the first and most
serious being the difficulty of getting
a convenient and comfortable boarding
place for the teacher, and board at 9
reasonable price; the second being the
very uncomfortable condition of many
of the school buildings. The schools
we have not been able to open this
session are, with but single excep.
tion, in one class or the other.
| The enrolment of children this
term is the largest in the history Of
the public school work in the parish,
| being 1926 whites and 873 colored,
against 2197 whites and 720 colorec
enrolled last year, or total of 319S
for 1907-8 against 2917 the year be.
fore; and these figures are taken al
the end of the third school month this
lyear, whereas the figures for the last
year are at the end Of the schoo
| term. These figures seem to indicate
| a total enrolment of from $500 tt
$500 this year, on census enrolment
of 1858, which, when the scattered
condition of children in some sections
| of the parish is considered, is not {
bad showing, if it is also considered
that there are between $50 and 300 resi-
dent white children attending privats
schools in the parish.
| Altogether the outlook seems to b.
very propitsous, there being strong
sentiment and in both rural and tow
schools demand for the best trained
teachers and willingness to meet al
reasonable demands for increased re
muneration or. better equipment o:
school buildings.