The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-12-04
Adequate Buildings Not Only for the
Present But for the Future as
Well Must be Pro
vided.
EEcKUK HIGH GROWS
1here viii be 700 Pupils in School in
Ten Years Time if Present Rate
of Increase Keeps
Up.

Adequate school building equipment
tufers equipment sufficient not only
for the present but also large enough
tn allow for future expansion. A
ssudy of comparative figures for
number of years shows clearly the
in adeuuacy of the present keokuk
high school building TO meet the I'M
mediate needs, not to mention the
nrobIems which are being created by
the increasing number OF young
neopIe in the community who are
Taking advantage Of the opportunity
for high school education
For the seven year period over
which a comparison on number OF
items was possibl the school census
shows an actual decrease in the num-
Der of young people of school age IN
the community In other words, for
zach one hundred persons OF five to
txenty-one years of age IN 1914
there were only ninety-one such per
sons enumerated IN the school census
of June 1920. For the same period We
find that for each one hundred pupils
enrolled IN the elementary grades IN
Ig14-I5 there are but ninety-seven On
the basis of the 1920 enrollments 10
date. The added enrolment during
the rest of the year would put the
elementary school enrolment for the
year fully up 10 the figures for 1914,
but not much in excess While the
figures show considerable fiuctuauon,
ia the long run, the number OF chill
dren enrolled in the elementary
schools has tended TO remain fairly
constant.
In the matter Of the high school
very different situation is shown
The total high school enrolment II
1914 was 500 pupils For eacn one
hundred pupils enrolled in high
school in 1914 we find 11S in 1915,
1874 in 1916, 143 in 1917. In 1920 We
find the proportion increased to 1e1-
Restated. this indicates an increase
in high school enrolment of sixty-one
percent in the seven year period Ii
this same rate of increase holds for
the next ten year period, the total
enrolment in high school in 1880
will be approximately 100.
Some Further Increase.
Parallel with this increase in high
school enrolment we find total In
crease of siIty-eignt percent in the
number of nonresident grade pupils
for the same period Of seven years
from 1914 That is, where ten chill
dren from rural sch DOL districts
entered the elementary grades Of
Keokuk schools in 1914, approximate
" seventeen are doing so this year.
This is not so unusual However,
the increase in the number of tuition
pupils in high school during this
seven year period is very unusual
For each group of ten tuition pupils
enrolled in the four high school
grades in 1914, there are in 1920,
twenty-eight tuition pupils. When it
is remembered that sixty-flye out OF
the 472 pupils enrolled in the high
school to date are tuition pupils this
situation takes on a new importance.
If the present rate Of increase in the
number Of tuition pupils keeps up
until 1880 it is likely that this mum
Der will be doubled.
Internationally and commercially
there are good reasons why the city
of Keoi1uk can not afford TO diScour-
age this increasing. tendency for non
resident pupils to attend the local
high school Internationally tie chill
dren OF the rural communities sur
rounding keokuk must be given their
opportunity. Commercially Keokk
must maintain herself as the center
of large and growing farming dis
trict on either side Of the Mississippi
river, and no force does more TO cen
tralize the interests Of the people
living in any community than the OPP
portunity for the better education Of
their children Every child coming
TO Keokuk schools from 4 rural dis
trict brings not only his own com-
merciaI contributions but those Of
his entire family as well.