The Connecticut labor press., 1920-07-31
SCHOOL CRISIS
 IN CONNECTICUT
Lower Efficiency and Unopened Schools Expected Result of :
 Lack of 600 Teachers.
LOW SALARY CHIEF CAUSE.
State Teachers Seeking improvement in Educational Conditions, Promote "Save Our Schools" Campaign and Urge Cooperation in Behalf of Our Future Citizens-the
 Children.

Hartford schools, espe. cially in the smaller towns, are facing crisis. The situation last year was diseouraging and future prospects indi- cate that Connecticut must remedy this situation or submit to constantly de creasing educational standards and the closing of schools in some districts.
 One teacher out of every four in the state last year was untrained,-had attended neither college nor normal school In 1916, the total enrolment in our normal schools was 900 stu dents; last year it was 465,-a de- crease of about 50 per cent. These schools graduated only 1S2 prospec- tive teachers this June. Rural schools will suffer from this decrease more than city schools as the normal school principals state that the rural districts are failing to supply their quota of students and are thus receiving fewer trained teachers.
 Serious Teacher Shortage.
 Connecticut faces a shortage of about 600 teachers this fall. The de- mand will be for about 1000 new teachers; the supply will consist of 182 graduates from normal schools and about 200 from the colleges. Ex- perienced teachers are leaving the work. In 1917, only 800 new teachers were employed in the state; in 1919, the number had increased to 1,035.
 President Hadley of Yale recently stated that Tow salaries are the cause of five-sixths of the teacher shortage" Last year 107 Connecticut towns were paying their teachers an average sal ary of $500 or less, while only Al towns were paying $1,0O0 or better. Thirty five towns paid $500 or less and one town paid only $4O0 Of course this is made possible by the loyalty of local men and women who live at home, thus keeping their living expenses at a mini mum, but such salaries do not allow, professional training and cannot meet the ever increasing competition caused by the teacher shortage.
 The State Board of Education re- gently received complete returns from S2 towns regarding next years sala- r1es Tor rural teachers. The average salary to be paid in those towns is $959. The average minimum salary is $654. The lowest minimum salary re- ported is $5S3; the highest $1,2OO. In ten of the 82 towns the average salary for rural teachers will be below $500. and In P more it is between $500 and $500. Such are the causes of the edu- cational crisis.
 Teachers Plan Campaign.
 The people are beginning to recog nize these conditions. In some places the town officials have given increases such as would have incurred serious criticism in past years. The teachers. through the Connecticut State Teach CTS Association, have taken steps to provide remedies As recently stated by Superintendent Stanley H. Holmes of New Britain, president of the asso- ciation. the teachers have taken LID the problem not because they are teachers. but because they are good citizens and understand the problems.
 The campaign is in charge of a gen. eral committee composed of Stanley h. Holmes, chairman and campaign director; Fred S: Camp of Stamford Grover c. Bowman of Thompson- vile; Miss Carolyn Merchant of New Haven; Mrs. Bertha G. Daley of Stamford; Miss B. Mae Keefe of Wa terbury; Clement c. Hyde of Hart ford; John R. Perkins of Danbury Levi T. Garrison of WiIlimantic: Thomas H. Patterson of Bristol; Miss Mary Stapleton of Bridgeport; GiI- bert W. Miller of New Haven; Miss Harriet D. Condon of South Manches- ter; Edward B. Sellew of Middletown. There are also committees on finance, legislation and publicity. The mem bers of these committees represent cities and towns in ali parts of the state, and all groups of educators from superintendents to classroom teachers.
 In order to make more permanency in the teaching force and to attracA suitable persons to the teaching pro- fession, the teachers association be- lieves that higher salaries and better tenure for teachers, more state aid for education and certain changes in the Connecticut Teacher Retirement law are necessary, and these have been made the objects of the campaign. The efforts center exclusively on the improvement of conditions in our own state, and the campaign headquarters have been established in Hartford.
 The movement has already received hearty endorsement from organiza- tions, such as the Connecticut Con- gross of Mothers and from such in- dividuals as President HadIey of Yale, Wilbur F. Gerdy of Hartford, Mrs. John Laidlaw Buel of Litchfield, Jo- seph W. Alsop of Avon, and Mrs Ed win G. Butler of Rockville.
 President Holmes has emphasized the fact that the campaign is for the benefit of the children who suffer when untrained teachers are put in charge of the classes. It is a cam paign for the people and the associa- ton expects, and is receiving, the CO., onera finn and aSSiStappe of tha DaoDIe