Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-06
City SCHOOLS 100
YEARS OLD TODAY
anniversary to Be Cele:
hrated at Great Mass
Meeting
srRIpEs OF A CENTURY
r.on Humble Beginnings Sys-
,om Has Grown to Model
Proportions

-.s.y marks the Tooth anniversary of
,onnding of the public school system
philadelphia, and will be observed by
an,,er mass-moeting at the Mctio-
..,l,an opera House this evening
Tho prlncipal addresses at this meet
nm he made by Nicholas Murray
~ ~. president of Columbia Cniver-
y. and Nathan c, schaeffef' State
.,,,ondent of schools. Simon Gratz,
~ n-ssdent Of the Board Of Educa-
tool will preside. Tickets may be OBJ
ssod from Secretary Dick, Keystone
-ns,og Nineteenth street above Chest
nut 49,. -, ,. ..,.
G,rs held its first meeting ana
,ul',nshed the school system that has since
a.san ms place among the foremost IN
,ss ,gorld The beginnings were humble,
-, ~ onc is forced to ask If educational
Du. ds S% and buildings will change as
M NJ in the next as they have In the
% T,o one remaining token of this
...d,nv of our second line of defense,
r,osident Wilson has designated the
ss,ole is a small onc-story white
.shed stone building at Sevcntieth
,,roe, and woodland avenue. one hun-
srod years ago this tiny building was
-s,dIcated TO the children of the city
In appropriate ceremonies. il Is still
-, used as part Of the school sys-
TEN. ,,.,,.,-,.,-..
,cboois was originally known as the
p.nniker School II was built in 1878
and taken into the city school system
!. ts75 1, is o stone base building Of
rood construction and has ahinglc roof.
M ward Is Of sod. In 1890 it was
abandoned as Il schoolhOuse, and used
a. ,oolhouse. Since then, however,
/, has once again been made part Of the
ssbool system It Is now used for q
Nndergartcu class as an annex to the
paschallville School.
City's First school
The first school house on record as
b,lnq erected in Philadelphia was the
Mlestown School at Oak Lane This
vas very similar TO the Banniker School.
n was built in l745 and was razed some
years ago.
In contrast to these ouc-room school
houses, the Tsggart School, at Fourth
and Porter streets. which was completed
in 1915 and is the last building erected
by the Board Of Education, contains
bNy-three school rooms and houses @5JS
puplls. This is almost the entire NUM-
ber of students in the SChUU. system in
1878
The Taggart School is Of the most
4 modern freproot brick and steel con-
!. ,ruction with a concrete roof. IT is
four stories IN height 40 wood was
. used in II, and all the rules OF santa
ton lighting. heating and ventilation,
Is evolved by present-day educationai
methods, are present.
On April 6, 1918, the first meeting of
The Board Of Controllers was held. The
. city was divided into four districts by
an act Of the Legislature. Each district
elscted Board Of Commissioners They
. N turn elected the Board of Controllers.
4 The first Board of Controllers Was com
. posed of Robert VauS, president, Thomas
n Stevenson, Joseph Reed. William Fry.
4 George Boyd, Peter Kcyser, EbencZcr
. Ferguson, James donaldson and David
. woepper. William Birnic was secre-
hy Of the board and had his office in
he City Hall His office hours were
nom a, m. TO noon each day.
The schools taken over by the Board
n q Controllers, according 70 their annual
nport for 1918 were as follows: