The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1911-06-30
REPORT ON SCHOOLS
BY SUPT.W.T. DUMAS.
: Interesting Statement of the
Work Done, with I'M
portant Suggestions.


inroads of mumps and measles, our
average attendance has been good.
We have enrolled 786 in the white
schools (our seating capacity being
1861, the greatest number ever ad.
mitted in one year About sixty chill
dren have failed to get seats. We
have enrolled 81 in the high school,
$40 in the grammar grades and 369 in
the primary grades. The number be.
longing at the close of school was 500,
with an average attendance of $50
and per cent Of attendance of 93.5.
The colored school has not in.
creased in numbers. Altogether il
has enrolled 1913. 81 being in the gram.
mar grades and BAT in the primary
grades. The number belonging at
the close was 240, and the average at
tendance PIG.
8Our most pressing problem now is
to provide for all the children of
school age in Marietta Like the "old
woman who lived in shoe" we are
beset with more children than we can
entertain. In fact, we need another
shoe at least for our ever-increasing
family
Last September we moved the High
School to the "old academy" hoping
Tor temporary relief. The High School
nlled its four rooms so completely
tnat only twenty vacant seats were
left In the building. We carried back
TO the main school building the two
grades that had been at the cold
academy and created another fifth
grade. These grades filled all tho
space vacated by the High School
Our sixteen rooms are all full The
limit OF expansion has been reached
ana yet there is an immediate need
OF another sixth grade, more than
sixty having been promoted to that
grade, and also of another first grade
Although our two first grades have
enrolled 154, sixty seats in one grade
and nfty-hve in another being occu.
pleu the whole year, more than half a
hundred have been turned away for
lack OF room. The history of last Sep
TENDER will repeat itself next Sen.
TENDER. There will be a great thrush
or hrst grade children and we shall
De unable to accommodate more than
two-thirds of them. Meanwhile the
quarters of our High School are unfit
In every particular for the comfort
8 and convenience of that body of stu
dents.
The problem is squareIy before us
we must have an additional school
building or the educational interests
OF Marietta will be bound to suffer
Where there is not progress there
must be retrogression or stagnation
No town can keep it's reputation for
discharging its civic duties or scarce
~ Tor enlightenment at the present
day If it says to one or two hundred
children, We have no room for you in
our public schools" The bill that YOU
Will have introduced at the coming
session of the Legislature providing
for the building of an additional, up-
to-date school will solve the problem
for several years to come if the peo-
pie will vote for the bonds. Our peo.
pie are SO thoroughly convinced Of the
necessity of this step that we may
look forward, l think, with confidence
to favorable result.
AS l predicted in my last years re-
port to you, the separation of the
High School from the grades has been
to their mutual advantage. The in
fractions of good order have been rare
and corporal punishment very infre-
quent. During my absences from the
main building, / have felt sure that
all was going on as it should and on
my return have invariably found it So.
In word, the general order of the
schools has been unprecedented.
The addition of another year to our
High School course, at first opposed
by some, has, at length, received the
endorsement of the people, The supe-
rior preparation of our recent gradu-
ating class is sufficient proof of the
wisdom Of the extension. We now
rank in the first group of accredited
schools and make 81 units. Only nine
other high schools in the State ex.
coed us in this particular, most Of
these being private preparatory
schools or those in large cities offer
ing special courses. The Carnegie
unit system "a unit being recitation
of forty or forty-five minutes five times
week for nine months) is now vir.
tually adopted by all the high schools
in the United States, and is the ap.
proved method of rating a school The
colleges all base their entrance re-
quirements on these units, so that the
high schools are compelled to meas
ure their work by this scale.
Most of our larger high schools are
now offering several courses, such as
the classical, scientific, commercial
general, also elective studies, so that
pupils may take only such studies as
may suit their individual preferences
or needs. / should be glad if we could
broaden our course of study and rem