The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-09-20
'65 PC. OF PUPILS ON PART TIME
 IN STRATFORD
School Population Grows But No New Buildings To Take Care of Increase.

All high school pupils and 65 per cent of elementary school pupils in Stratford are on part time sessions according to C. c. Thompson, super school population of Stratford has
 jumped 35 per cent, from 2,64l III
 1918 to 3,585 this year, there has been
 no addition of school buildings, with
 a consequently greater congestion each year.,
 The town has a larger proportion of children between the ages of to 16, than any other town in the coun- 920 census credits Stratford with population of 12,000, nearly four thousand of these being children of that there have been no additional school buildings erected in four years, | this condition has resulted in a con gested school system. High school pupils are receiving four hours of instruction daily with | a number of pupils receiving one period of 40 minutes extra. The greater portion of the children in school, 65 per cent. of them, are on platoon system which gives them four hours of instruction, which is main- taining the requirements of the state. The other 35 per cent. are receiving five hours.
 l The high school pupils have morn l ing session of four periods of one hour 1 each from 7:45 to 11:45. The after noon session IS rom 1Z:S0 10 4.45. 1 The taking of five subjects by some pupils extends their day from 7:45 to l 12:25 in the morning session and from l 11:25 to 4:45 for the pupils of the l afternoon session.
 Whenever the necessary funds may become available, it is the plan of the
 school authorities to erect a new high
 school building which will provide as l and study
 | In the elementary schools, 35 per | cent. of the pupils have what is known as the standard' school day of five | 1:3o to 3:30 p. m. This includes a I recess period in the morning session 1 The majority. or 65 per cent of the pupils, are on the platoon system.
 two groups, each of whom receive four hours of instruction and makes necessary the use of the school build ings from o'clock in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. | Platoon number one reports at 8 o'clock and is in session until 10:O0 o'clock. Ten minutes are allowed for | the passing out of the platoon num-
 Der one and the passing in of pla-
 toon number two so that the second l group is in session between 1O:1O and l 12:l0. Ten minutes are again al- lowed for the passing out of platoon
 number two and the return of platoon | number one. which Is again in ses- | sion from 12:20 to 2:20. Ten more | minutes are then allowed to reverse | the process so that platoon number two may again be in the rooms be- | tween 2:30 and 4:3O. The pIatoons
 are shifted every ten weeks so that the children are morning pupils for | ten weeks and p. m. for ten weeks. l This system is not satisfactory be- cause it is rather hard for a tot to l begin the school day so early and be-
 cause 1t will be hard for the other group to close the school day in the l winter at 4:30. Many of the pupils
 live considerable distance from l school so that it will be dark before many of them reach home, especially
 during the winter months. | The platoon system has been used for the smaller children so that the | children who are nearing the time when they must leave school might
 have the longer hours and because the younger children will not feel SC
 much the loss of the extra hour. The l smaller children have been defined 1 by the school auth critics as those attending the grades from first to | fourth
 There are a total of 106 teachers | including principals, under the Strat- lord school system. Of this total S7 are serving in the elementary schools
 and 19 in the high school
 l Teachers in the high school are re-
 quired to work at least five hours
 They operate under a Staggered sys- tenn So that the work of teaching may be distributed over any part oi the school day.
 Teachers in the elementary schools are required to put In four hours ot teaching.
 The scale of pay for teachers is as
 rolioWs, depending on experience:
 1 V<ar~r -%<N