Ottawa County news. (Port Clinton, Ohio) 1931-1956, 1952-11-14
Yankee Finds Southern Schools
Compare Favorably With Those Of North

mentary about education in the
deep south was written by Mrs.
Leonard Fulkert, of Sarasota,
who is related to the Harry Full
kerts of Elmore. We thought it
would be of general interest to
our readers.
-O-O-O-
II was astounded at the statisti
cal report of Mr.. Carl Strobe,
principal of Sarasota High School,
gave at the P. T. A. meeting con-
corning the l. @. of our Sarasota
school in comparison to the rest
of the nation. This should have
been rated front page news!
Sometimes l wonder if newspa-
pers would be more interested in
the GOOD things accomplished by
youth-and print it-instead of
| all the bad things, no doubt some
of us gripey adults could see
better future.
I'm one of those yankees" and
had heard and also know lot
about the standards of these
southern" schools So / was more
than happy to learn through Mr..
Strode's report that our three chill
dren are being educated. Now /
would like the North" to know
| about it too.
I'm trusting many of you Yam
KEGS will send this article home
preferably to your school board
or newspaper, with notation to
please publish it, as it has been
very discouraging to always hear
that the Florida schools place
about 45th on the list.
| This is the comparison report:
In the Iowa silent reading test,
Sarasota 18th grade students rated
lib as compared with the nation
al average of III. For the 10th
grade, Sarasota pupils were rated
at 116; the national average is
hos.
Eight highest have been in Sar-
asota High School since 1945 and
three of these have been in the
Sarasota County system since the
first grade.
In the Iowa test of educational
development, understanding OF
contemporary affairs, the Sarasota
: rating was 50 while the national
average was 46.
In cooperative development
! tests, Sarasota High School stu
dents were rated at 61.3 with the
national average 62.1; algebra
Sarasota 51.O, national $40; chem
stry, Sarasota $50, national $40
physics, Sarasota So, national 81.
Ninth grade Stanford Achieve
ment Test was above average ir
reading, science and language, anC
average in literature, arithmetic
and spelling.
Last spring there were 29e
graduates. Ninety-nine, or 43 pei
cent, are now attending college
National figures are under 80 pei
cent. Thirteen of these Sarasots
students won scholarships on {
competitive basis Many of then
are attending colleges in Other
states, and many have made the
Deans list. Remember, too, thai
number of the local college pre-
paratory students are in the
armed forces, and many of these
have high rank in their classes
In one year, three students OF one
Sarasota graduation class were
qualified for admission to Annap
, oils through fleet-wide examina
ton.
This is our third year here, ano
our three very normal, middle
class) children have been happily
adjusted from the first day. II
conversation with many more
I Northerners, they report theil
children were finding themselves
not only in studies, but in then
social standards.
Certainly there will always be
criticism in some departments
but with the influx of approx
mately $50 students during the
semesters, it is amazing that the
school system can expand and
cope with the situation, since only
three per cent of monies is spent
on education today compared tc
five per cent during the depres
sion.
Which brings us to OUR DUTY
On Nov concerning Amendment
number l on which every observ
ng citizen should vote YES. This
would mean about $1,117,000 oul
county receives from car license
'ags would be designated for
school building purposes for the
next 30 years instead of on a
Yearly basis. That would give d
definite program to start on the
needed S169 million construction
md repair budget in the state.
Will you please give thought
% the spending comparisons list
ed here:
About Sc billion on schools and
| education as cOmpared with