The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-11-30
new HIGH RECORD

/ XIV High RtCURU
4 Continued from First Page)
and rural communities which have
provided ample and sanitary school
| facilities for their children that we
I believe 1t entirely possible to provide
for every community In the State a
type OF school building that will
recommend itself favorably to our
modern conception of a good school
| house"
Enrolment and Attendance.
| The speaker commented upon the
generosity of school patrons in sup
plementing public funds from their
private resources. In this connection
he alluded to the worthy example set
| by the negroes who are giving gem
erously in support of school leagues
and are helping In every way possible
to improve the education of their chill
dren.
The State superintendent called at
tention to the fact that attractive
! country school buildings have proven
an especial appeal to, boys and girls.
Considering the record of the en-
tire State, we may say that the en-
rollment WAS 4Ss.000 as against 474,
2l0 during the preceding session. and
the average attendance $500 as
against 317.140 during the former
year. This is an increase of $4,000
in enrolment and $4,000 In average
attendance. The enrolment shows an
! increae of three per cent, while the
! attendance shows on Increase of six
( per cent
Compared With Other States.
These results are the logical out
! come Of our main lines or effort dur
| ing recent years. Virginia, although
! for the most part without any sort
| of compulsory attendance. Is now
surpassed by not more than ten or
twelve States of the Union in the per-
centage of total population enrolled
in the schools.
The average attendance OF children
in Virginia Is not by any means what
1t should be. but 1t is highly encour-
aging to reflect that the percentage
| OF increase in average attendance last
year was twice as great as the per-
centage of increase in enrolment.
| Eighty thousand children, or one-sixth
of the entire enrolment of the pub
lie schools of the State, Is the fruit
Of the missionary efforts of school Of
tlcials and teachers during the past
four years and Of the public gather
ings which have became a feature Of
the dolly life Of the State"
uiliteracy.
superintendent Stearnes, as has
been his custom In his speeches for
several years past. once more directed
aslehuon 10 the states urgent need
u an aoeauate compulsory eduS~Hoh
law ne oeclared thal IN many sec
llotls oi ,,rs,hia ING schoois nave
leacHeu an the chi'ufeh save moss
whose parents persist in withholding
from them the advantages of an edu-
ca'ion' In TINS com ecton the state
SuPerlh'enaeht aaaea' RELATED 10 the
suoJect OK enrolment ana compulsory
attendance is the bIrnlnB question OF
lihteFacy me session or l9la-lsl b
may seem 10 nave marked the Gull
niihauoh OF our eHors 10 eliminate
lihteraeY out such was not the case.
~ is true that we reduced juvenile
iihteracy IRON z4'oEl 10 s,l93 among
'he WHITES ana from Sl,19a TO l4'Zoe
among NEGROES. ana one might nave
tNpec'ed that laSl year the succeed
ing session. would snow the effects or
: reacuon. hut we round the super
ihtehuehts sun making references 10
our s'russie win liilteFacy as war
OF eAternlhation' ana IN some or the
cities ana couhues they are beginning
10 attack me problem OF adult INT
efaCF as We'll one division superin-
'ehdent teis us mat forty per cent
} OF me small number or illiterate white
chloreh Ielt IN mis- county were
pIoushl last year INTO the schoois,
Where they mace good progress.
An Appealing Story.
, very quaint and appealing story
from another county shows how youth
and age have appreciated these mis-
sionary efforts of our teachers Two
small. illiterate children were brought
xxrtfp tyn ~. %tr ~ ~ i,1g