Superintendent's Report.

To the Board of Education :

GENTLEMEN: I have the honor herewith to sumbit this, my second annual report of the Public Schools of this City, together with the reports of the principals and special teachers, for the year ending September 30, 1902.

Throughout nearly the whole year there has been an unusual number of cases of scarlet fever and diphtheria in the City, which have to quite an extent reduced our attendance.

While these diseases have not been confined to any particular locality, they have been especially numerous in the vicinity of West street and Liberty street schools. During the month of February the attendance at the West street school was reduced about one half from this cause.

In our judgment the prevalence of these diseases cannot be traced to the unsanitary condition of our school buildings, nor to the lack of proper care and diligence on the part of the health officer and the school authorities, as they have co-operated in all available means to control and eradicate them.

A large proportion of the cases reported were of persons not attending school, and quite a number were members of families who had no children in school.

There has also been an usual amount of illness in our corps of teachers, six of whom have been so seriously afflicted as to necessitate their absence from duty for protracted periods, in some cases for several months in succession.

We have in most cases been fortunate in securing competent substitute teachers for their places, but changes of this kind must to some extent impair the effectiveness of the work. It would seem that the best interests of the children would be served, when vacancies occur from indefinitely prolonged absences of teachers from any cause, if the places were filled by permanent appointments.

NET ENROLLMENT.

REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE.

Notwithstanding these serious drawbacks, the registration and
average attendance has been slightly in advance of that of the pre-

ceding year.

The schools have been in session 192 days, one day more than

last year.

The total registration for the year ending June 30, 1901 was

4,094; and the average attendance, 2,976; while that of the year

ending June 30, 1902, was 4,111; with an average attendance of
3,112.5.

The following exhibits of registration and attendance for the

year may be of interest :

SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS.

The crowded condition in the primary department, especially in the first two or three grades still continues and we have been obliged to divide six of the first year classes into two half day sections each.

Other primary classes have too many pupils to a teacher but we cannot better this condition the coming year. The twelve room addition to South Street School when completed will, we trust, give needed relief for several years unless there comes an unusual increase in the population of the city.

Among the numerous criticisms which are being launched against the school system of this country in these later years, the practice of assigning too many pupils to a teacher for economical reasons, is strongly censured both on sanitarry and educational grounds.

The overcrowding of children in class rooms causes inconvenience, vitiates the air and precludes the teacher from giving that individual attention which is indispensible to many pupils.

President Elliot in a recent address to the State Teachers' Association of Connecticut says, in effect, that the results of American education have hitherto fallen far short of the hopes and exepctations of its founders because of the persistence of the American people in the present low school expenditure per pupil.

All agree that the best educational advantages possible should be provided for our children, a great majority of whom cannot remain in school many years.

years.

Time lost in the lower grades cannot be made up in later

Spacious, well-lighted, properly heated and ventilated classrooms with seating accommodation limited to forty, with an average attendance of from thirty to thirty-five pupils would be a marked improvement in our school buildings.

These conditions have been fully met in the plan for the addition to the South Street School and as far as possible for the changes in the present building.

REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

Necessary repairs and improvements have been made during

the summer to the school buildings, including the Manual Training School and the Library. An office and book-room has been provided in the West Street School, new windows have been put in the center rooms of Washington Street School, and a much needed increase in light has been secured by enlarging the windows in the center rooms of Grand Street School. The insufficient heating in the more exposed rooms in this building, which has been a source of discomfort for a long time, has been remedied by making a hot water attachment to the furnaces and connecting it with radiators in these rooms. The roof of the Library has been repaired, the gallery on the east side of the main room extended and an addition of nine new book cases with a capacity of nearly 5,000 volumns has been made.

All the school property has been carefully looked after and put into thoroughly good condition.

COMPULSORY EDUCATION.

Earnest, and in the main, successful efforts have been made to enforce the compulsory education law. Cases are rare in which parents voluntarily persist in neglecting or refusing to comply with the law. Lack of parental control and destitution are the great obstacles that stand in the way.

The first can be met by removing the children to a truant school.

How to compel children, without proper food and clothing, to attend school is a serious question. As the Board is not a charitable institution it cannot provide for them. The voluntary thanksgiving contributions made by the pupils of our schools have been a great aid and blessing to these destitute children, but all cases cannot be reached in this way. The State provides for free education. If it would extend financial aid by furnishing a suitable institution. or institutions conveniently located for the care of this unfortunate class of children, it would materially aid in the enforcement of this beneficient law.

Our school census last year gives the number of children in the city between the ages of eight and fourteen (the compulsory attendance period) as 2,665. The average attendance of these in the public schools was 1,899, and in other schools 643, a total of 2,542.

These figures would indicate that the law has been effectively enforced in our city during the last year. During the year twelve boys have been sent to the truant school, five to the Westchester Temporary Home and seven to the New York Catholic Protectory.

RESIGNATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS.

Many changes have occurred in our corps of teachers during

the year.

The following have resigned their positions: Washington Street School, Sybel H. Coxson, Katherine R. Pink, Elizabeth R. Hall; Grand Street School, Helen C. Scofield; South Street School, Diana S. Friend, Francis A. Beach, Elizabeth W, Courtney; West Street School, Milly W. Hunter; Liberty Street School, Ella Eckerle-nine in all.

Four of the number have obtained positions in the Schools of Greater New York, and one has entered the Jamaica Normal School as a student.

These teachers have done faithful and efficient service in our Schools for a number of years. We wish them success in the new fields of labor and usefulness upon which they have entered.

The following appointments have been made: Mary B. McCullough, Martha G. Henderson, Josephine Jansen, Anna P. Hasbrouck, Jennie M. Wells, Eva G. Penney, Gertrude VanCleft, Elberta Ames, Ada Meginn, Maber T. Leeper, Jessie Holland and Edith I. Grimley.

All these appointees are graduates of the Newburgh Free Academy and have received Normal School training.

The general condition of the Schools in respect to discipline and the progress of the pupils has been very satisfactory. Sympathy with children, combined with fairness, and common sense in dealing with them, seldom fails to secure prompt and cheerful compliance with school duties.

TEACHERS.

The usual interest in the work has been shown both by the teachers and pupils. It can be justly claimed that the standard of former years in all lines of work has been fully maintained and that in some departments real progress has been made.

In the important matter of written and oral expression pupils