Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-05-03
STATE INSPECTOR
MAKES HIS REPORT
OF MANCHESTER
SCHOOLS ARE SET FORTH IN
CLEAR MANNER.
CROWDED CONDITION CHIFF TROUBLE
District To Vote Bonds To Add Nee
essary Facilities To Meet Needs
OF School Children.


OF School Children.
A. G, Fuller jr., an inspector in
tie state department Of education
recently made an inspection of the
conditions of the city school, and last
week submitted to the Child Con
servaticn League of this city his
findings of the conditions, as they
exist in the schools. It has been an
established fact for some time that
the Central building was not ade.
quate for the present needs, and the
West Side school building was also
far from meeting the required stand
ard. At the request Of the Child
Conservation League the state depalt
ment Of education sent Mr.. Fuller
to make the annual inspection carrier
this year than is customary, in order
that the voters Of the district may
Lave the benefit o. the states find
ings as to the conditions CT Cur
schools.
t. After giving Mr.. F'uller's letter
careful consideration everyone inter
ested in the city schools will readily
see the need for more rCom to take
care of the grade pupils, and bring
about improved conditions in the
West Side and North Manchester
buildings.
Man chester is face to face wit
very serious situation in oul
schools and one that we are com
PEELED to relieve The school at
tendance has increased so rapidly
that the present school equipmenr
is inadequate and insufficient tC
properly accommodate the school chill
dren. We should have a separate
Kindergarten. AS it is the kinder
garten and all the grades including
| the eighth are crowded together il
one building under poorly arranged
and insanitary conditions. The re
port of the state inspector reveals tn
fact that our schools are not ever
up to the average" of the schools
of the state. This is indeed deplor
able. Manchester has always pridet
itself on having excellent schools ant
now we are told that the Mancheste
institution will be taken from I'll,
accredited list If conditions remain
/ unchanged.
4 Inspector Fuller's report Totiows:
Mrs. A. c. Philip,
Secretary Child Conservation League
Manchester, Iowa. ~
Dear Mrs. Philip:
The personal inspection of ever!
room Of the Manchester schools re
veals the following unsatisfactor.
conditions:
/. Crowded Rooms in Grade
Schools-The practice in good school
large and small, is to keep the mum
Der of pupils from exceeding thirt!
pcr teacher. The maximum limi
allowed in normal training schools
and also approved schools is thirty
pupils per teacher. Your school hat
four rooms exceeding forty pupil:
per teacher, and seven additiona
rooms where attendance is in exces!
Of thirty pupils per teacher
Believing, therefore, that the char
acter of work possible under sucf
conditions is not in keeping with the
standards desired in normal training
high schools, the Department of Pub
dc instruction on March 30th served
notice that 'The retention Cf the nor
NAL course with state aid beyond thi:
school year will be conditioned upor
the action taken by the beard in re
! lieving congested conditions in the
grades"
/ 2. Unsuitable Rooms Being Used
(a) We note that one additiona
teacher has recently been employed
taking children from two rooms. This
still leaves nine rooms with a very
large attendance. This new teache1
and the children are housed in darl
musty and poorly ventilated base
ment. The inspector visited this
room at 1870 on clear day. Arti
ficial lights were necessary. Suc|
conditions and surroundings for chill
dren should not be tolerated a day
longer than is absolutely necessary.
(b) Two rooms are found on the
third floor of the Central building
These rooms have poor liS't, bad
stairs, and are poorly equipped with
fire escapes.
(c) The rooms in the North Man
chester and West Side schools are
not properly lighted. These in the
North Manchester building have in
sufficient light, and those in the
West building have the bad cross
lights. The West Side building ir
general is in poor state Of repair
and offers no incentive or encour
agement to children. The children ir
these two buildings are continually
suffering from eye strain and its at
tendant evils.
3. Lack of Facilities to Conduct
a Modern SchOol.-(a No kinder
garten is available en- the West Side.
! (b) The crowded conditions in the
Central building make it impossible
to conduct work either upon the ode
partmental" or "SiX-six plan" One
the other of these plans is follow
ol In nraotioa11y oil schools f11ly