Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-09-10
WOMAN MADE PRINCIPAL
Miss Josephine Riordan APP
pointed Head OF Grammar
And Primary School
TWO MADE ASSISTANTS
Miss Grace Armstrong, Trustees Daugh.
ter And Miss Grady To Fill The
Vacancies

At last nights meeting of the
Board of Trustees of the Annapolis
public school, Miss Josephine Riordan
was appointed principal of the Gram
mar and Primary Departments of the
city public school.
Miss Riordan has the honor and dis
tinction of being the first female prin-
cipal OF sthe school for fifteen
years, when in 1895, Mr.. William f.
Smith was made principal of the
consolidated male and female schools
here, succeeding Mr.. John G. Ray,
p rincipal of the male department,
and Mrs. Elizabeth Dorsey, principal
of the female department.
At that time it was the opinion of
the trustees that only a man was cap
able of filling the position of princi-
pal, but time has wrought many
changes in the Board of Trustees and
in the opinion that honored body
maintains of male principals. Miss
Riordan, the new principal, takes
with her many years of experience in
teaching, having taught in the city
public school for the past twenty
three years. succeeding Mrs. Gage,
(then Miss Emma) Abbott, as teacher
of the First Grade, when she was
appointed principal of the female pub
lie school in 1887.
Miss Riordan, who was educated at
st. Mary's Parochial School, this
city, has made teaching her life work,
and has kept up with her line of
work by constant study. A year ago
she went to Europe, visiting public
schools in England to gain points in
her work, and during the past sum-
mer she took four or five weeks
course in the summer school at Co.
lumbia University, New York.
The trustees also appointed two
assistant teachers, one Miss Grace
Armstrong, daughter of one of the
trustees, to fill the vacancy created
by the illness of Miss Fannie DuvaIl,
now patient at the tuberculosis
sanitarium in Western Maryland, and
the cher assistant, Miss Marie Grady,
to fill the vacancy created by Miss
Luhn, teacher of the kindergarten
class, who was not granted a years
leave of absence from the school, as
per request.
Both Miss Armstrong and Miss
Grady are graduates of the Annapolis
High School. The former holds a
certificate to teach, but not a teach
ers' certificate, as she has not taken
the Teachers Examination. The
Capital is requested by DR.. Garner,
County Superintendent of Schools, to
make this statement. Miss Grady
holds teachers certificate.
But little other business than the
appointment of principal and two as
sistants for the Grammar School, was
transacted by the trustees last night.
The trustees are Mr.. William H.
Feldmeyer, Joseph W. Armstrong,
William F. Williams, Mrs. Richard
G. Elliott, Mrs. Ernest Duvall, Mrs.
Thomas j. Linthicum. The schools
open Monday.
It is understood that there were
only two applicants for the position
of principal of the Grammar School,
one Miss Riordan, who was appointed
at salary of 5000, the other Mr.. A.
Knox Stallings, who declined to ac-
cept for less than $500 salary. AS
the board is limited to 5000 salary for
the principal, Mr.. Stallings appli-
cation could not be considered. The
principal of the High School receives
salary of $1,000.
The trustees declined to grant Miss
Luhn, the kindergarten teacher, a
years leave, which they regretted,
as the precedent had been establish
ed, but the position was declared va
cant and Miss Marie Grady, daug hter
of DR.. Richard Grady, the Naval
Academy dentist, was appointed to fill
the vacancy.