The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-12-09
STANDING OF HIGH
SCHOOL AT STAKE
Additional Equipment Must Be In
stalled to Meet Requirements
for Affiliation with State
University
By WILLIAM F. RAMEY.

1ltJ Vi OtuOOlS.
The board of education of the city Of
Chickasha calls for an election on a
bond issue for $4,000 with which to
erect new school building and repair
and equip the present high school
building. The reasons for this are
plain when we consider the conditions
now prevailing at our ward schools
and the high school,
For the present the first primary or
beginners rooms, must be taught on
halliday sessions, allowing these chill
dren only half time. Each of the three
primary teachers are caring for 20 to
so pupils. The rooms above are full
and there is no way to avoid this con-
gestion as conditions now stand.
There will be a large number of be-
ginners pressing for entrance the sec
ond term with no available room to
care for them.
In order to relieve the pressure at
the ward schools it has been necessary
to send the eighth grades and a part
Of the seventh to the high school build
ing. Five rooms are now occupied by
the grades in the high school. The
attendance at the high school has in
creased to such an extent this year
that the high school proper is very
much handicapped. With the increase
that will come to the high school next
year from the grades to be promoted,
it will not be practicable to care for
the higher grades, the seventh and
eighth in the high school building.
Unless these grades can be taken from
the ward schools it will not be possible
to make room for the beginners that
enter at the beginning of each year
and at the beginning of the second
term.
There will be las pupils or more
who will be promoted from eighth
grade to high school in May. There
are now in the high school in daily
attendance 265 pupils After 43 Of
them graduate in next May there viii
be left due to attend next year 222
pupils, add 10 these the 145 due to
enter and we have 367 pupils due to
be in high school proper next year.
Some of these doubtless will not re-
turn, but there will be other new ones
to take their places. 1t can be seen
that the capacity of the high school
building will be taxed to care for
strictly high school pupils. AS the
grades are now arranging there will
be about 125 eighth grade pupils and
the same number of the grades at the
ward schools at the end of the present
school year. These must move to make
room for the $50 beginners. AS there
will not be room at the high school the
only solution is an extra building.
The school census taken in Feb
ruary showed 2,61O children of school
age, there are now enrolled 2,436. This
shows the school attendance larger
than it has ever been before. 1t will
be larger next year than it is this year.
The call is for money to repair and
equip the high school. 1t is impera-
tive upon us if we would retain our
high school standing as an affiliated
school of our state university and the
North Central association Of Second
airy Schools and College that we ar
range laboratory rooms and put in a
first-class equipment for complete and
satisfactory laboratory work in
physics, chemistry, biology and agri-
culture, as well as enlarged library "a.
cilities.
During the past few years IL has not
been possible to add the needed equip
ment to our high school on the limited
amount of the school budget. Our
teachers have done well under the cir
cumstances, but with the proper equip
ment they can do much better, and the
best is none too good for the children
who are to constitute the citi
zenship of the future. This city can
| not afford to let its high school be