development of many important educational enterprises, and by a general elevation of the academic and professional standards of the school. Jesse F. Millspaugh assumed the presidency January 1, 1899.

Number of graduates for the last two years..
Total number of graduates since 1880....

PLAN OF THE SCHOOL.

289 1,334

The school is organized into two departments: First, the normal department or place of academic and professional instruction; second, the training department or place of application and practice. The latter comprises five model schools, whose courses of study correspond to those of a well ordered graded school. These model schools are under the charge of skillful critic teachers, who carefully direct the work of the pupil teachers belonging to the normal department.

There is, moreover, a kindergarten thoroughly equipped and conducted upon scientific principles. It serves to supplement fully the work of the training department proper by furnishing ample opportunities for the study of the earliest phases of primary instruction.

The normal department embraces the following courses of study:

(a) An Elementary Course of Three Years, designed to fit teachers for work in common and lower grade schools.

(b) An Advanced Course of Five Years, which gives the preparation needed by teachers of higher grades.

(c) A Professional Course of One or Two Years, for students who have already completed the required academic work of the above named courses.

In the last named course students devote nearly or quite their entire time to professional work and graduate in one or two years, receiving the diploma of the elementary or the advanced course, according to the extent of entrance preparation and the time spent in the school.

In 1897 the legislature made provision for holding continuous sessions at the school. Under this plan, which became operative in July, 1897, the academic year is divided into four quarters of twelve weeks each. Classes are so arranged that a student may enter at the beginning of any quarter and continue his work one or more quarters; then, if necessary, he may discontinue his course for one or more terms of teaching; after that he may again take up his work in the school at the point where the interruption occurred and pursue it to completion. Continuous sessions also make it possible, first, for teachers whose schools are discontinued through the summer months to avail themselves of the opportunities offered in the special vacation term of six weeks; and, second, for graduates of the elementary course under the same circumstances to complete the studies of the advanced course without loss of time from their school work.

The success of the innovation is highly satisfactory, and seems fully to have justified the hope of its promoters that it would result in greatly enlarging the usefulness of the school at small relative cost.