Newark post., 1917-11-14
CONDITION OF NEWARK
SCHOOL BUILDINGS
CONTINUED from Page y

should be replaced with buff ones.
The floors are badly in need of
proper oiling. The desks should be
changed in two rooms so that the
pupils bodies do no tshut off the
light from their desks. Several
radiators are leaking and in need
of repair. A stationary wash stand
of some sort should replace the
open tap which pupils and teachers
now use. Many wet feet and
numerous colds result from wash
ing at this faucet from which
water falls to the floor. The build
ing should have thorough clean
ing, and the accumulation of rub
bish and ashes in the basement
should be taken away. If possible
the class room doors should be re-
hung to open outward in order to
make quick exit possible in case of
fire. The blackboards in all of the
rooms should be lowered to within
reach of primary children.
The second building visited by
the Survey Committee was the
Grammar School on Delaware Ave-
nue.. This is the latest of the
school buildings, and is, in gen.
eral, in good repair. The lighting
is particularly good. Each room
has more than the required light
area. All of the rooms, too, meet
the minimum requirement of 200
Gu. #. of air space for each pupil.
Most of the rooms have numerous
attractive pictures on the walls,
and growing plants on the window
lodges. The grounds are bordered
by a number of attractive shade
trees.
In regard to this building, the
committee desires to make two
major recommendations. If pos
sible, the approaches to the two
entrances should be concreted, or
else cinder paths should be made.
There are no walks leading to
either entrance, and the present
paths have become so followed out
that water stands in places several
inches deep on wet days. A great
deal of mud is, of course, tracked
into the school from this source.
The second recommendation con-
Germs the basement. This part of
the building was apparently left
unfinished, probably due to the
fact that it was not used at first.
Since the basement has had to be
used for toilet rooms and the
pupils have to pass clear across it,
the floor should be covered in some
way, possibly with cement, to pre-
vent the carrying of mud up into
the building.
AS to minor repairs; here also,
floors should be oiled; the sinks
and drinking fountains should be
cleaned and repaired, and the
toilets should be given a thorough
cleaning and disinfecting. Like the
seats in the two rooms in the
Primary Building, the seats in
rooms 4, 5, and 6 should be chang
ed to face in different direction.
Wherever possible, doors should be
made to open outward. Their
mometers ought to be provided for
the rooms that do not have them.
Some of the shades should be re-
placed and others repaired. The
plastering should be repaired in
the 4th Grade room.
There are several general sug-
gestions that the Committee de-
sires to make, some of which they
hope may be acted upon this year
and the others held in mind by the
Board of Education for action as
soon as funds will permit. All Of
the eight grades are badly in neeo
of supplementary reading. Many
schools are provided with from
four to twelve sets of readers fo,
each grade. In only two grades IN
the Newark Schools do the pupils
have more than one set of readers
A number of sets for each grade
ought gradually to be accumulat
ed, and the Committee hopes thai
a start may be made this year. The
Committee strongly recommends
that toilet fixtures-paper, liquit
soap, and paper towels-be made
available in the toilet rooms
Scrapers on the steps and coco;
mats placed at the entrance
would assist in teaching children
habits of cleanliness and in keep
ing floors and halls free of mud.
The Committee also found tha
a single set of The Book of Know
ledge was the only reference ma
telial available in the schools. Tw
fnr h