The Donaldsonville chief., 1918-04-20
OAK GROVE SCHOOL A MODEL.
Splendid Work Being Done at East
Ascension Institution.
G. E. NEsoM in New Orleans Item.


Louisiana now has 50 high schools
n which agriculture is taught Forty
Of them are Of the Type A class in
connection with which a farm is op.
Grated under the supervision of a
teacher having college or university
training in agriculture, and twenty
nine are the Tyne B class, having
only ga rden orssmail farm, and less
equipment than the regular agricul-
tural high schools. Drse to the heavy
drafts made on the teachers to fill
positions as demonstration agents and
in the military service, several of
the secondary schools are now using
:sormal school graduates as teachers
nf agriculture.
In Type A schools the instruction
in agriculture begins in the eighth
and runs through the eleventh grade.
1t includes classroom, field and labor
atory work, and is fine preparatory
course for entrance into the agricul-
tural course at the State University.
In Type B schools the instruction be-
gins in the seventh grade and con-
tinues as long as the students remain
in these schools. Many Of them never
go to any er=school or college, and
the work is SO conducted as to give
them complete elementary course
that will help them to an understand
ing of agricultural questions in future
life.
It is a revelation to any one who
is not familiar with this new system
of education to visit one of the well |
organized and fully equipped agricul-
tural high schools and study the work |
they are doing. Take Oak Grove for
example. It was organized some years
ago and the buildings erected on what
is now the Jackson Highway, two
miles south OF Hope Villa in Ascen-
sion parish The original tract was
ten acres, out of which the building
sites and the Fairgrounds had to be
taken, and that left only six or seven
acres for the farm. Practical opera
ton has shown that this is too small a
unit to be runson an economical basis
the year round, and many of the
schools have acquired additional land.
Oak Grove has Just bought 20 acres
more at $100 per acre, and the 80
acre tract is divided by the jackson
Highway, from which it will make a
fine showing when the improvements
now under way are completed. The
model road from Baton Rouge to
Hope Villa is one of the finest in the
state, the Bayou Manehac bridge is
now in process Sof construction, and
the Ascension section Of the road
passing through the school grounds
was being surfaced with gravel when
the writer visited there q few days
ago.
Prof feasor rise, principal and
seaelle ofs sat heza
hind his desk, but was found out IN
front of the barn treating fence posts
with "a preserver preparatory to re-
building the fence around the new
tract recently added to the school
farm. He had q great assortment of
crops growing, among which were
corn, cotton, oats, wheat, vetch, les
pedeza, sweet and Irish potatoes, to-
matoes, cabbage, beans, onions and
several other vegetables. The boys +
of this school are cultivating five
acres of cotton on rented land, and 1t
is planned to use the money secured
for the crop IN purchasing materials |
for the erection Of manual training
shop, which these boys expect to
build for nse next session. The
school has d good barn, two horses,
farming implements, two scWs ana
Duroe-Jersey boar, a flock Of so white
and brown Leghorn chickens and l2O
eggs now in the incubator. The boar
is used for community breeding pur-
poses and the soWs for supplying pigs
ko the club boys and nearby farm
ars. most OF whom now have we'll
bred hogs.
The enrolment at this high school
IS 140, Of which Is boys are taking
the course i'll agriculture, nine girls
The course in gardening, and AZ girls
are enrolled in the poultry club work.
Each of these club girls agrees to set
! hen this spring, raise the CHICKS
Matched and donate the money they
bring when sold to fund for the
purchase of a school piano,
Professor Wise is assisted by five
adv teachers, and the faculty will be
enlarged this fall when new buildings
are to be erected for the domestic
science, manual training and agricul-
7ural departments. The Johnson
school will be consolidated with Oak
Grove and new auto van is to pc
purchased for use in transporting the
children to and from the consolidated
school.
WOMEN GIVE OUT.