The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1907-03-29
PROGRESSOF
OUR SCHOOLS
Some Figures From Report OF
the State Superintendent.
ST.LUCIE COUNTYLEADS
Stands Well up in Front Row on White
Enrolment, Average Attendance
and Length OF School.

EDITOR TRIBUNE:
| received few days since, from
Holloway, IA copy of the last Biennial
Report of the School System of Flor
ida. There is 80 much in it that is of
deep interest to me, that feel sure !
can impart from it information that
will be vastly interesting to our people
at large; and as there is no provision
made by the State by which the infor-
nation can be generally disseminated,
take pleasure in using the columns
of The TRIBUNE for this laudable pur-
pose, and thank you in advance for the
courtesy to myself and the public
For the benefit of those VINO may
not be familiar with these reports, it
is needful to say they are issued every
second year, and contain the statistics
of two terms. each in separate tables;
and each set of tables covers year 8
work from the LIST of July in one year,
to the 30th of the next June,
While everything in these statistics
is of interest, in this compilation |
think it might be trespassing too much
on your space to advert to other than
those things that must be of interest
to all. ! shall take pleasure in this
work, in showing the comparative
condition of st. Lucie with the other
counties, because the comparison shows
to our credit.
By the State census of 1905 st.
Lucie has 2, AL white people and 5S3
negroes; and white school population
of 1913, with 1872 negroes. Our enroll
ment is COS white and 62 negro and our
per cent. of enrolment is "a for the
white and AZ for the black. feel
proud for st. Lucie, because on this
question of white enrolment we lead
AZ other counties and tie one Her
nando); and we lead the white average
for the State ~ per cent. The negro
enrolment is ~ per cent, IN which we
lead only IL counties and fall below
their average for that race in the
State.
In average attendance we are for
whites, 70 per cent, in which we lead
33 other counties and tie one (Lake);
and lead the average for the State only
three. On the other hand, our, small
negro enrolment with an average at
tendance of 81, leads every county in
the State except one (Franklin), and
leads the State average Is,
In average days Of school TOR the
entire school census, including those
not enrolled and both races, we lead ~
counties and lead the State average %!
Our average being Is, while for the
State il is 4S.
In average salaries paid teachers,
that for the State is S39.66; ours Is
SASS; and in this We lead 80 other
counties. Perhaps there are some
persons who will think that this last
item is not one upon which to plume
ourselves--there are, In every walk OF
life, lust such but ! believe firmly
that a great majority of people will
think that it is best for our children to
secure for them the very best teaching
talent, and this can only be commanded
by paying good wages.
While our people are to be congrat-
ulated on this fine showing, yet IN
every neighborhood in the county
there are parents who are not doing
their duty to themselves, their children
or the State in failing to send then
children to school; and many others
who on various frivolous preteXts allow
their children to remain absent; ano
many who take otfense for no adequate
cause, and thus have in these items
above quoted kept our county from
occupying first place in all these re-
spects, and at the same time making a
FAR better showing in other things that
| have not the time to refer to; not to
mention the most important matter OF
all--that their unfortunate children are
being deprived of their education.
There are other points of interest in
the report, which may take occasion
to refer to in future communication
B. F. HARDEsTY.
Sebastian, Fla, March 25, 1907.