LB I ■ :,- y> ■lf;!..c..; fjj^V s<-. :^si.i ':^ V^^.-'ilVifc'.^^J ^^- ass _L2i-^ii ;^!: v:;''\-^','- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN. 1920, No. 9 THE FEASIBILITY OF CONSOLIDATING THE SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP ADAMS COUNTY, PA. By KATHERINE M. COOK and W. S. DEFFENBAUGH SPECIALISTS IN RURAL EDUCATION BUREAU OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1920 Wono^pt^ DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR I BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN. 1920. No. 9 THE FEASIBILITY OF CONSOLIDATING THE SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP ADAMS COUNTY, PA. By KATHERINE M. COOK and W. S. DEFFENBAUGH SPECIALISTS IN RURAL EDUCATION BUREAU OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1920 .C4 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OP DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE ■WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 5 CENTS PER COPY V f). Of ^. SEP 1@ 1920 SCALE Pupils Names of schools. enrolled. 1. Wliite Run 28 2. Two Taverns 48 3. Fair View 24 4. Oak Grove 28 5. Pleasant Grove 34 6. Edge Grove 24 7. Homer's 60 Transportation routes indicated by arrows. Families with children of school age by dots. Roads by black lines. Turnpikes by heavy black lines. Mile circles by black lines. THE FEASIBILITY OF CONSOLIDATING THE SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, ADAMS COUNTY, PA. Contents. — General and educational conditions in Mount Joy Township — Some de- ficiencies of the school system — Consolidation the obvious remedy — Some results which may be expected if consolidation is adopted — Consolidation in other States — Summary of recommendations. I. GENERAL AND EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS IN THE TOWNSfflP. Mount Joy Township is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, in Adams County. It is immediately adjacent to the historic battle- field and town of Gettysburg. Though irregular in shape, it averages about 5 miles from north to south and 4§ miles from east to west, and contains approximately 36 square miles. The population of the township in 1910 was 1,178. For the school year 1918-19 the number of families having children enrolled is 126; the census enimier- ation of children of school age, 280; and the total enrollment, 240, The population is practically all native white, of German and Dutch descent. The soil is productive, the surface level. It is a farming community exclusively, the people being engaged in general farming, dairying, and stock raising — especially cattle and hogs. One good macadamized road runs through the northern part of the township. (See map.) There is a rural mail route by which, in addition to regular local delivery, the community is in direct connection with community center trading points in Washington. A heavy truck makes the round trip between Washington and Gettysbm"g three times a week, bringing farm products directly to Washington con- sumers. Cooperative buying is done on a small scale by the farmers' organization. There is no town or village in the township, but there are several stores. At one of these, located near Two Tav- erns, formerly a stage station, is the post office. The community shows every evidence of comfort and i3rosperity. Farmhouses are large and weU kept, barns are commodious, with room for cattle and horses and storage places where grain and hay are kept in large quantities for consumption on the farmstead rather than for transport and sale. The majority of the farms are well equipped with machine sheds, chicken coops, hog houses and pens, 3 4 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. and the like. The houses and barns are, generally speaking, well painted and in good condition. General cleanliness, good upkeep, attractive grounds characterize the homes in the community. A large percentage are equipped with modern conveniences, such as electric light and power, hot and cold water piped throughout the house or in the kitchen and bathroom. Tractors and various kinds of modern farm machinery are seen at work on the farms as one- drives along the roads of the township. The educational interests of the children of the commimity are served by seven schoolhouses of the one-room, one-teacher type. None of these is modern; the newest is 21 years old. Some of them served the parents and the grandparents of the children now attend- ing them. They are rectangular in shape, of the typical box-car variety, with windows on two sides and one end. The buildings are not of exactly the same size, but they are nearly so, and are all built on the same plan. Each has about 24 by 32 feet of floor space; three windows about 3 feet wide by 6 feet high, placed at approximately equal intervals along each side, and a door at one end of the building with a window at each side of it. The schools, with the exception of two, are fitted with jacketed stoves, providing comfortable heating and good ventilation. The desks, however, are of the old-fashioned double type, neither comfortable nor hygienic, and cross lights come from three directions from windows placed without regard to proper spacing. Physical education, either in the sense of imparting knowledge concerning it or of providing surroundings which instill this knowl- edge by example as well as by precept, is entirely neglected. None of the schools has grounds either ample for or adapted to play and games. There is no playground equipment in an}^ of the school plants. Water is in aU cases brought from the neighboring farms. Toilets are in good condition. The whole school plant is in no sense a credit to the community and is inferior in every way to the best farmhouses. The organization of schoolroom activities is no more in harmony with modern ideas of educational practice and method. In the matter of qualifications of teachers, grading of classes, division of time, content of the curriculum, and general community service, the facilities furnished are imequal to the demands of the new* education for rural life and unadapted to the social and economic or the intel- lectual needs of the community. In fact, no one-room, one-teacher sf'hool can fill the place which the people have a right to expect for their own and their children's educational welfare in communities in which conditions are such as to make better organization possible. The one-room schools oi Mount Joy Township belong to the pioneer era of that township when farmers reaped wheat ^ith a sickle, SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. O threshed it with a flail, cut grass with a scythe and raked it with a hand rake; when it took all day for a farmer to go to Gettysburg and return home, when he had to go to the post office for his mail, when he ate his breakfast and his evening meal by the light of a tallow candle. All the pioneer conditions in Mount Joy Township have passed away except the seven little schoolhouses which stand out as solitary landmarks of former days. n. SOME DEFICIENCIES OF THE PRESENT SCHOOL SYSTEM. The present organization ineffective. — The standard of school organization in Pennsylvania is eight elementary and four high- school grades, in which the pupils spend one year to each grade or 12 years for the course. The course of study in a modern consolidated school in the country embraces the common branches taught in their relation to the experiences of country children, and in addition agriculture, nature study, domestic science and art, physical educa- tion, hygiene, citizenship, hand work, and industrial and fine arts. For the best results this eight-grade organization of the elementary schools demands a teacher to a grade where possible, or not less than one teacher to two grades if the enrollment does not justify more. It requires teachers who spend the school day in close contact with the children under their charge, who have not more than 10 recita- tions each, and who have opportimity for supervising work and study and for giving attention and help to individual pupils. The schools in Mount Joy Township follow this organization of eight grades nominally but without the possibility of making it effective. The result is that the teachers divide their time among eight grades with from two to eight subjects in each grade, and the total number of recitations in each school varies from 23 to 26 (Table 1) ; the teachers have no time for individual work, for super- vising study, nor for the newer subjects in the educational program. The children spend several hours a day on their own resources at an early age before they know how to study or to employ them- selves in any useful occupation. Without the supervision of the teacher, they are idle much of the time and form bad habits of study which are difficult to eradicate during the remainder of school life. Few teachers are qualified by nature, education, and training to teach all the grades. A teacher may succeed with children in the primary grades but fail in the upper grades; and a successful gram- mar grade teacher may be a poor primary teacher. SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. Table 1. — Number of daily recitations. School. Daily recita- tions. Two Taverns... Pleasant Grove. White Run Edge Grove Horner's Fair View Oak Grove Data gathered from the teachers' reports in the township show that 52 per cent of the recitations (see Table 7) are 10 minutes or less in length, 41 per cent 15 minutes, and 7 per cent 20 minutes or more. In practice the recitation periods are not so long as indicated on the programs, since several minutes are consumed after each period for changing classes and other necessary purposes. Of the total number of recitations reported in the seven schools, there is but one of 30 minutes' duration. All recitations from the sixth grade up, at least, especially in such subjects as literature and history, should have 30 minutes or more. In the lower grades, recitation periods of from 15 to 25 minutes are probably long enough, but the programs of the Mount Joy schools show there are in these grades too few periods even of the 10 or 15 minute kind. The primary children have the attention of the teacher only about 60 minutes a day. They are in school 5 hours, or 300 minutes. This leaves 240 minutes, theoretically for study, reaUy for idleness, since primary children do not know how to study. Even the older children have much idle time. Pupils in the upper grades having the follow- ing subjects, reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, grammar, geog- raphy, history and music, are occupied in recitations only 120 minutes a day. They have 180 minutes to use in study or in some other way. A few of the ambitious ones may make the most of their opportunity to study, but there are usually few who do so, and even these attack their lessons in a haphazard way because the teacher has not had time to make lesson assignments, to call the attention of the pupils to the difficulties and important points in the lessons assigned, or to supervise the study periods. The excessive number of recitations a day shown in the programs makes it impossible for the teacher to prepare her lessons. Modem school teaching demands daily preparation on the part of the teacher, no matter how many ;^ears she has taught or how well prepared she may be. The number of pupils in a class does not diminish the amount of preparation necessary. A class of 5 demands as much as a class of 15. The teacher in the one-room school is too apt to call classes one after another, ask a few questions to see whether SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 7 the pupils have studied the lesson, and then assign a few problems in arithmetic, a page or two of history, or the next selection in the reader for the next recitation. Supplementing the text or introduc- ing illustrative material is omitted because of lack of time and equip- ment and the necessity to hurry from one recitation to another. The term is too short to enable pupils, even if under expert instruc- tion, to complete the work of a grade as mapped out in a city or consolidated school. Nine months is the shortest time in which the work of any grade can be accomplished, even under advantageous circumstances. To aim to cover in seven months the work planned for nine, means superficial teaching, neglect of important topics, an incomplete program, and a smattering of information rather than sound training of judgment and initiative through school instruction. If the seven months' term must continue, the course should be so organized as to outline work corresponding with the length of the term, but a progressive community should provide for a nine months' term at the earliest possible date. Training and salary of teachers entirely inadequate. — Low salaries usually result in the employment of teachers with little or no pro- fessional training. This fact is exemplified in Mount Joy Township. The best preparation shown by the teachers (Table 2) appears to be graduation from high school, with three spring terms at a normal school. None of the teachers has the equivalent of full normal school training, and none has attended at any time a college or university. One has had only elementary schoohng. The normal schoo^ training of two was apparently given without any previous high-school work. Five of the seven teachers hold the lowest grade of certificate granted in the State (see Table 2). The condition is easily explained by reference to the column which shows salaries paid. The term is seven months. The annual salaries, $310 paid to four teachers, $385 to two, and $420 to one, offer no incentive to spend time and . money in securing professional preparation. It is axiomatic that only better salaries wiU secure and keep properly trained and ex- perienced teachers. It is an unfortunate fact that the one-teacher school usually appeals only to uneducated, imtrained, and inexperienced teachers. In the majority of cities and even in small towns and progressive rural communities throughout the country the accepted minimum of education and professional training required of reachers is graduation from a standard normal school which gives two years of professional work based on a four-year high-school com'se. Teaching is tending to become a profession as important as that of medicine and law. The physical, mental, and spiritual welfare of children throughout their formative years should be intrusted only to those qualified by ex- perience and training for so important a responsibility. 168873°— 20 2 8 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWXSHIP, PA. Table 2. — Teachers' salaries and qualifications. Salary per month. Annual salary. Experience, in school terms. Kind of certificate. Education. School. Years in high school. Normal school. Pine Grove Edge Grove S55 45 65 45 60 45 45 S385 315 385 315 420 315 315 4 1 7 3 1 Professional... Provisional . . . None . do. ... 2 terms. One year. Three spring terms. Do. Homer's do do Graduate.. ...do Two Taverns White Run Fair View. . . Permanent Provisional do None 1 One year.. Graduate . None. Two spring terms. Oak View 1 This teacher has attended elementary school only. Attendance an important J actor. — No factor in a school system is of greater importance than regularity of attendance, since that measm'es the extent to which the system is utihzed by the pnbhc. A system well organized and carefully administered and supervised will enroll and keep in regular attendance a large percentage of the school popu- lation. Indifferent organization, poor management, and inadequate supervision are reflected immediately in school attendance. Good management and efficient teaching results not alone in increased re- spect for the school on the part of the children and the community, but in added interest, because larger numbers and practical school work appeal to the children. Poor attendance is remedied best by good teaching and good management. The latter includes a careful method of checking up nonattending pupils and giving substantial assistance in action leading to the enforcement of the compulsory school attendance law when necessary. Table 3.^ — Attendance. Pupils. Boys. Age in 1912-13. Days attended. 1912-13 1913-14 1914-15 1915-16 1916-1 44 24 140 70.5 100 98 88 132.5 113.5 63.5 127 42 116 87 129 111 114 140 82 85 79.5 130 70 124 69 95 63.5 114 119 82 68.5 110 101 135 92 93 90 92 115 68 85 82 108 71 74.5 69 99 54.5 106 84 60 35 77.5 1917-18 1918-19 89 88.5 99 62.5 81 72 98 73 14.5 38 70.5 Average of all boys . Oirls. 7 138 128 133 102 126 20 7 130.5 140 125.5 139 130 85 8 140 124 132 130 68.5 75 9 140 140 140 140 140 105 10 92 124 129 117 107 86.5 11 132 116.5 97.5 91 85 44 Average of all girls Average of all boys and girls. 9.5 71 105 60 52 117 107 100 25 40 40 Total days. 703 467.5 793.5 515 674 549 700 717 434 381 536.5 587.3 764 860 769. 5 830 695.5 606 754 646.2 Attendance is equivalent to years of— 140 days each. Years. 5.0 3.3 5.7 3.7 4.8 3.9 5.0 .5.1 3.1 2.7 3.8 4.2 5.4 6.1 6.4 5.9 4.9 4.3 5.4 180 days each Years, 3.4 2.6 4.4 2.9 3.7 3.0 3.9 3.9 2.4 2.1 2.9 3.3 4.3 4.8 4.3 4.6 3.9 3.4 4.3 3.6 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. The Mount Joy schools succeeded in enrollmg a fairly good per- centage of the school population, but attendance of those enrolled is poor. Since the school term is only seven months long, it is particularly desirable and necessary that children should attend regularly during the full term of 140 days. Barring illness of the individual or in the family, there is seldom any good reason why children should not be in school during every day for the full seven months. Table 4 shows attendance in all of the seven schools in some detail. More than half of the children enrolled (57 per cent) attend onl}^ about five of the seven months school is in ses- sion, and a little more than one-fourth of those enrolled (25.6 per cent) attend only about three and one-half months, or half the school term. Table 3 shows the number of days attended by 17 pupils in one school for seven years. Based on 140 and on 180 days to the year the average number of years attended was equivalent to 4.5 and 3.6 respectively. A class register of one of the schools for the year 1917-18 is shown on page 10. From this it is evident that attendance is poor. An examination of the teachers' registers in all the schools of the town- ship shows that 28 per cent of the children enrolled did not comply with the provisions of the State compulsory attendance law. Table 4.- —Attendance, Mount Joy Township. Days attended. Number of pupils. 1-5 2 4 2 1 8 1 2 4 3 4 10 5 4 9 9 11 10 5 11 1 16 1 14 20 14 11 17 21 9 11 8.7 per cent attended less than 35 days, one-fourth of school term. 25.6 per cent attended less than 70 days, one-half of school term. 57.1 per cent attended less than 105 days, three-fourths of school term. 6-10 11-15 16-20 which is 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-t5 46-50 51-55 which is 56-60 61-65 66-70 71-75 76-80 81-85 86-90 which is 91-95 96-100 101-105 106-110 111-115 116-120 121-125 126-130 *■ 131-135 136-140 - Total. 240 10 SCHOOLS OF MOUITT JOY TOWISTSHIP, PA. Curnculum not organized to 'prejpare for life. — The most disastrous result of the one-teacher school, perhaps, comes from its utter in- ability to meet the demands of modem school curricula as to con- tent. Located in the midst of a prosperous agricultural community, the schools of Mount Joy Township fail to teach any modern subjects or to adjust the adopted city curriculum to the needs of country life or to preparation for modern country living in any adequate sense. The reports of the teachers show that their programs do not provide for music, art, physical education, citizenship, hygiene, or II iiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiii II III Hill nil iiiiiii iiiiiiiiiuiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiHiiinHi I I I nil III I i 1,1 H mill ill I iiiiiiii HI iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iii'jiiii I -, iiii I iiiiiiiiiii III II ^ HI IIIIIII I Hi I II I mm iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiHiii uini uii'jiHui ill mm Class Register— black show absences. others of the newer subjects. The curriculum is necessarily confine to the three R's. Authorities in education are agreed that the de- mands of modern life can not be met by such training. Preparation for hving includes a far wider range in both vocational and cultural subjects. The nature of the resourSes of the township calls for a wider range of intelligence for the people of the commimity, better social and cooperative arrangements, and a well devised, liberal, and well-supported school system for practical, cultural, and vocational education. Not only does such education bring rich reward, but lack of it leads to unfortunate results. While effective methods of agri- culture are carried on in the community, it is largely because of tradi- SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 11 tion and because the people are by nature capable, resourceful, and progressive. Certainly they are not awake to the real place of modern education in the economic advancement of the community, nor its influence in promoting the richness and beauty and fullness of rural life. Such observations as the committee were able to make, and such information as they gleaned from the authorities and residents of the community, point to a serious condition in regard to the young people of the community. The one- teacher schools which they have attended offer no vocational or prevocational courses designated to give spe- cific help to boys and girls in making a living either in the country or the city. The barren curriculum, and the ineffective attempt of one teacher to accomplish for eight grades what eight teachers are needed to accomplish in city schools, magnify in the minds of country children the value of city efforts of all kinds as com- pared with those of the country. Even in the limited field covered, little training of the practical sort is possible. The young people who drop out of school at the close of the elementary course given in one- teacher schools are therefore left at the threshold of a career without systematic preparation for farming as a vocation and with an ex- aggerated idea of the advantages of city life for which they are equally unprepared. Few remain on the farms; here as elsewhere in like cir- cumstances they seek positions which demand no special training and skill in the factories of the near-by towns. Such positions, while lucrative in the beginning, offer little opportunity for the future. High-school facilities inadequate. — No high-school instruction is given in the township schools. During the school year just closed 10 pupils from the community were enrolled in the high schools of towns in other townships. For these the district pays tuition, for each pupil S5 a month or $45 for the term, while individuals furnish their own transportation or living expenses as necessity or convenience demands. This is probably the wisest provision possible under the circumstances. No doubt, however, it results in depriving many of the advantages of secondary education. Not many parents will as- sume the expense of boarding their children away from home. Not many boys and girls will drive in their own private conveyances long distances to schools. Besides the injustice done to those who are deprived of high-school advantages, obviously those who attend the town and city high schools do not receive the kind of education which fits them to follow farming as a life work. They, therefore, drift into a variety of vocations. Relatively few, especially among the best educated and most capable, return to the farms. It is even possible that the welfare of the township is jeopardized by failure to retain the best and most progressive of its population. 12 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. The inappropriate courses of study in the grades, and the fact that education for many ceases when the grades are completed, con- spire to drive into towns and cities many who by inchnation and ability would find a more wholesome and satisfying life in the country. TJie schools Tiot adequately fivxinced. — ^Mount Joy is not unique among rural districts in spending far too little money on education. A com- parison of township and borough taxes in Adams County, Pa., shows that a higher tax rate is exacted in all the boroughs of the county except one. It is a common condition throughout the country to find cities and towns paying a far higher rate of taxation for school purposes than country communities. Mount Joy is prosperous and progressive in matters other than educational. Yet the rate for school support is only 5 mills. On a tax valuation of approximately $500,000 the township itself raised from local taxes last year $2,696 for the support of its schools. This represents for the year 1918-19 $9.63 per census child, $11.24 per pupil enrolled, and $17.95 per pupil in average daily attendance. If the total amount raised by township taxation for school purposes were divided equally among the 372 taxpayers, it would amount to less than $7.25 per capita. Many, of course, pay far less than this amount. However, only 17, or 4.5 per cent of the total number of taxpayers, pay taxes on valua- tion of $5,000 or more, or $25 or more property school tax; 13 per cent pay between $5 and $25, on a property valuation between $1,000 and $5,000; and 24 per cent pay less than $5 on property valuation of less than $1,000. The remaining 58 per cent pay tax on occupa- tion and stock. The State of Pennsylvania contributed in the same year $1,208, or 30 per cent of the total expenditure for school purposes. The total amount spent for schools in the township from State appropriations and local taxation is $4,229, or $15 per capita on school census, $17 on enrollment, and $28 on average daily attendance. The State of Pennsylvania expends $34 per school census child, $42 for each child enrolled, and $46 for each child in average daily attendance. It is obvious that the community is not burdened with excessive school taxation and that the people are not paying enough to justify the expectation of supplying good school facilities. It is also certain that the community can well afford a more liberal tax rate for a matter so vital as public education. The coromunity shows every sign of prosperity and thrift, and has the ability to do far more in education than it does; splendid homes, commodious barns, modern farm machinery, abundant crops, thoroughbred cattle and hogs, and lands worth $100 per acre and more, all indicate that the com- munity can well afford to give the children educational advantages above, rather than below the average. SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 13 m. CONSOLIDATION THE OBVIOUS REMEDY. The population of Mount Joy is relatively compact, and considered from the standpoint of possible consolidation the township itself is small in area and regular in shape. There are no impassable hills or streams. One school located in the vicinity of Two Taverns would accommodate all the children and be far more advantageous than consolidation on any smaller scale. The most important questions which present themselves in con- sidering a plan to unite the seven schools are: 1. Are the physical conditions in the township such as permit trans- porting children who live beyond easy walking distance ? 2. Can the township meet the financial obligations involved ? 1. Transjyortation of children. — In considering the first question one may keep in mind that experience throughout the country justifies the expectation that children within 2 miles of a schoolhouse may be considered in walking distance and those within 9 miles in transporta- tion distance. By referring to the frontispiece map, it will be seen that a turnpike runs through the northern part of the township and that four of the seven schools are on or near the turnpike. Two Taverns, the place proposed for the school, is near the halfway point. The problem of consolidating the four schools on this road is easy of solution, since no children attending the schools on the pike would have to be trans- ported more than 3 miles. Many are within walking distance. The three remaining schools are situated in the southern part of the township, none more than 5 miles from Two Taverns, where the roads from all the schools converge. These roads, while not the best, are passable for wagons the entire year. It would be necessary to improve them somewhat for transportation by automobile during the months when the roads are muddy. The transportation routes will all be short. If the auto bus were to go a mile beyond the most dis- tant schoolhouse, the route would be only about 5 miles in length. This distance for an auto bus is very short and could be covered in from 30 to 40 minutes. The number of auto busses necessary to transport the children to school at Two Taverns can be definitely decided only by experiment. The total enrollment for the township is 246. Of these, 48 attend the school at Two Taverns and 24 at Fairview, a mile away; none of these children would have to be transported. Probably some of those attending the Pleasant Grove school could walk to the consolidated school. This would leave a total of 170 children that should be transported. In the three schools in the southern part of the town- ship, 112 children are enrolled. To transport these and those living on or near the turnpike, three auto busses each hauling from 25 to 14 SCHOOLS OF MOTJNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 30 children would be necessary. Since the hauls are short, each bus could make two trips both morning and evening. If the three trucks were to start in the southern part of the township, taking those farthest away from Two Taverns first, they could bring in all but 25 or 30 children on one trip. One truck could then return for the remaining 25 or 30 children. In the meantime the two other trucks could coUect the children living along the turnpike. All this could be done in about an hour. In the afternoon aU the children could be at home at 5 o'clock if school were dismissed at 3,30 or 4 o'clock? The wagons or trucks should run on regular schedule, waiting not more than five minutes at any meeting point. It would not be necessary or desirable to call at each home. If trucks carrying 40 to 50 children were used, two would be suffi- cient. Trucks of this size are in use in Ontelaunee Township, Berks County, Pa., where one truck carrying 48 children transports from 90 to 100 children a day, the longest route being 10 miles. This truck makes two trips, morning and evenmg. If two such trucks were purchased for Mount Joy Township two trips would be necessary morning and evening. They could start in the southern part of the township and carry about 80 children to Two Taverns, one truck could return for the remaining 40, The other truck during this time could coUect the children living along the turnpike. These two plans are suggested on the supposition that the town- ship will transport the children. It may be that parents wiU prefer to provide private transportation for their children. No doubt many would do so, thus reducing the number to be transported at pubUc expense. Possible transportation routes are indicated on the map. Before permanent routes can be determined, actual trials must be made to see which are the most feasible, 2. Two financial obligations involved. — The plan of consolidation will be dejDendent for its success on the willingness of the citizens to assume increased expenditure for schools. The initial outlay would be in the neighborhood of $55,000, divided approximately as fol- lows: Buildings and grounds (10 acres), $50,000; two motor trucks, $5,000. This amount shoidd be raised by a bond issue. If the com- munity is satisfied with the present term of seven months, and if it continues to pay teachers the minimum salary required by the State law, the annual expenditure under consolidation would be approxi- mately as estimated below. vSuch a plan is not recommended. It is merely given here to show the minimum possible cost for the consolidated school. Higher salaries should be paid in order to secure better prepared teachers and a principal, and the term should SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 16 be extended to at least nine months. For children under 12 years of age, it might well be 44 or 48 weeks. Office of Bchool board $175 Salary of principal 900 Salary of three teachers holding professional or normal school certificates, for seven months' term (same term as at present) 1 1, 470 Salary of three teachers holding noi-mal school or college diplomas ^ 1, 680 Janitor 300 Fuel, etc 2 373 Books and supplies 2 ]^3q Repairs 60 Upkeep and auto buses l, 200 Pay of two drivers 800 Interest on bonds at 5 per cent 2, 750 Sinking fund 1, 000 Total 10, 843 From the above should be deducted $400, one-half cost of trans- portation, which the State pays; $682, the State's share of teachers' salaries^; and the usual State appropriation, which last year was $1,208; or a total of $2,290, leaving $8,553 to be raised by taxation, which will require a levy of 14.4 mills, say 15, on the present valuation of $592,595. If the children were to provide their own transpor- tation, which may be possible, the cost of running the schools would be reduced about $2,000 a year. But to require this would be very- unwise. The total cost would then be much greater, for many it w^ould be a great hardship, and for some practically impossible. If the school tax in Mount Joy were increased to 14 mills, property as- sessed at $5,000 would be taxed $70 for school purposes, an increase of $45 over the amount paid at the present 5-mill rate. If valuations continue to run as at present, only 17 taxpayers whose properties are assessed at $5,000 or more would have to meet this or a larger increase. On the present low valuation a tax rate of 15 mills for schools is not excessive. Many districts in Pennsylvania have a levy of 15 or more mills for school purposes. IV. SOME RESULTS WHICH MAY BE EXPECTED FROM CONSOLIDATION. The school plant. — Consolidation of the seven schoolhouses of the township would make possible the erection of a modern schoolhouse, built according to the best available plans for sanitation, comfort, and convenience, and embodying modern ideals for artistic effect. It should be good of its kind, but an expensive building is not necessary. 1 Estimate made on basis of Pennsylvania new TninimnTn salary law. 2 Same as for 1918. 16 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. If built on the community plan, future needs of the district may be met as they arise and full high-school facOities provided when needed. A school population of 280 children should give in time a high-school enrollment of 50 or more. The building should have an auditorium suitable not alone for school use but for community use as well. AU the recreational activities of the township might well center in the school building. All community organizations, such as the enlarge- ment of the cooperative buying and selling plan now carried on, public lectures, moving-picture shows, concerts, and other entertain- ments, public discussions of school questions, and all other questions of common interest might well take place here. If there were a consolidated school, a township library would be possible where books would be available for both children and adults. Lecture courses on popular subjects, political questions, agricultural topics, health problems, and other things in which the people have a common interest could be maintained. These activities, with a strong community organization, could be made of great power in promoting common enlightenment and enjoyment of the people of the community. The grounds provided should be carefully selected and should rival in upkeep the best farmyards in the township. At least 10 acres, preferably more, are necessary to provide space for garden plats and farm demonstration plats, ample playgrounds for the smaller children, and space for games for the older children and adults. If all the children of the township attend the same school, it will be possible to form football, basketball, and baseball teams. The physical educa- tion and play of the school should be supervised by one of the teachers selected because of special fitness for this kind of work. Children who learn to cooperate in school through games continue the habit in after life and are more apt to become cooperative farmers. Their social life and outlook broaden with the widening of the community. Leaders are developed because larger contacts are possible, and opportunity is given each to measure himself against his peers and to develop his own ability. The schoolroom activities. — The evils resulting from the excessive number of recitations previously referred to are remedied best by a consolidated school. If the seven schools of the township were combined and graded, there would be one or two grades in a room. The number of recitations a day for each teacher would be reduced to approximately 10, the average time for each more than doubled in the upper grades, and the opportunity for more and longer recitations given in the primary grades. The teachers would have more time to make thorough preparation and to plan the work for each grade and each recitation. In order better to contrast conditions in regard to distribution of time under consolidation and under the one- SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 17 teacher organization, the programs used in Mount Joy schools during the school year just closed are all shown here, and a program in actual use in a consolidated school. Examination of these shows a marked contrast in the distribution of the teacher's time among recitation periods. It is noticeable also that in the program of the consolidated school much time is devoted to the newer subjects referred to elsewhere. While it is not possible nor desirable to outlme a working program or a definite scheme for time distribution for Mount Joy until the consolidated school is organized, the following is suggested as an indication of what may be expected: Primary grades — reading and spelling, 80 minutes; number and construction, 50 minutes; history and nature study, 50 minutes; general exercise, including drawing, writing, and music, 60 minutes; play and physical training, not including noon period, 60 minutes. Intermediate and grammar grades — arithmetic and constructive geometry, 70 minutes; reading, spelling, and language, 60 minutes; elementary science, history, and geography, 60 minutes; physical training, 30 minutes; special work (music, agriculture, drawing, home economics), 80 minutes. Table 6. — Seventh and eighth grade program in a consolidated school. Length of recitation. Hour of day. Days and suhjects. « Minutes. 90 a. m. 9.00-10.30 Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday — Reading and arithme- 70 10.50-12.00 tic, 'fhiu'sday— Music, drawing. Friday — Sewing and manual training. 55 10.50-11.45 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday , and Thursday— Civics and history. Monday and Wednesday — Physical exercises. Tuesday, Wednes- 15 11.45-12.00 90 p. m. 1.00-2.30 day, and Thin-sday— Physiology. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday — Reading, language, 90 2.30-4.00 writing. Tuesday— Sewing arid manual training. Intermission, agriculture, cooking, sewing, shop work, and free time. Table 7. — Daily programs of the schools of Mount Joy Toivnship. TWO TAVERNS. Subjects. Hour. Length Of recita- tion, in minutes. Opening exercises 8. 30- 8. 40 8. 40- 8. 55 8. .5.5- 9. 15 9. 15- 9. 30 9. 30- 9. 40 9. 40- 9. 50 9. 50-10. 00 10. 00-10. 15 10. 15-10. 25 10. 25-10. 35 10. 35-10. 45 10. 45-1 L 10 11.10-11.30 11.30-12.30 12. 30-12. 50 12. 50- 1. 05 10 Primary reading 15 A Arithmetic 20 B Arithmetic 15 C Arithmetic 10 Second reader 10 Writing. 10 Recess 15 Third reader 10 10 Fourth reader 10 A Grammar 25 B Grammar 20 Noon 60 A Geography ... 20 B Geography 15 18 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. Table 7. — Daily programs of the schools of Mount Joy Township — Continued. TWO TAVERNS— Continued. Subjects. I-ength of recita- tion in minutes. Primary reading Third reader Second reader A History B Physiology ( Monday and Tuesday) — History (Wednesday, Thiu-sday, Friday) Recess Fifth reader Primary A Physiology C Spelling B Spelling A Spelling 1.05- 1.15- 1.30- 1.45- 1.15 1.30 1.45 2.05 2. 05- 2. 20 2.20- 2.35- 2.45- 2.50- 3.00- 3.10- 3.20- 2.35 2.45 2.50 3.00 3.10 3.20 3.30 PLEASANT GROVE. 8. 30- 8. 35 8. 35- 9. 15 9. 15- 9. 25 9. 25- 9. 35 9. 35- 9. 45 9. 45-10. 00 10. 00-10. 15 10.15-10.25 10. 25-10. 35 10. 3&-10. 45 10.45-10.55 10.55-11.10 11.10-11.15 11.15-11.22 11.22-11.30 11. 30-12. 30 12. 30-12. 40 12.40- 1.15 1.15- 1.25 1.25- 1.35 1. 3.5- 1. 50 1. 50- 2. 00 2.00- 2.15 2. 15- 2. 30 2. .30- 2. 45 2. 45- 3. 00 3. 00- 3. 15 3.15- 3.30 5 40 Fifth reader 10 Third reader 10 10 15 15 10 10 10 10 15 C Spelling 5 B Spelling . . 7 8 60 10 35 10 10 15 10 15 15 First reader 15 15 15 15 WHITE RUN. Opening exercises Fu-st-year reader Second-year reader Third-year reader Fourth-year reader Sixth and seventh year readers Fifth-year history and physiology, alternate Recess Number work Sixth and seventh year history and physiology, alternate Second and third year arithmetic Fifth-year arithmetic , Sixth-year arithmetic Seventh-year arithmetic Noon Music First-year reading Second-year reading , Third-year reading Fifth-year language Seventh-year grammar Penmanship , Recess First-year reading Second-year reading , Fifth-year geography Sixth !ind seventh j'car geography Three classes in spelling 8. 30- 8. 40 8. 40- 8. 55 S. 55- 9. 10 9. 10- 9. 20 9.20- 9.35 9. 3.5- 9. 50 9. 50-10. 00 10. 00-10. 10 10. 10-10. 20 10. 20-10. 30 10. ,30-10. 45 10. 4.5-11. 00 11.00-11.15 11.1,5-11.30 11.30-12.30 12. 31V12. 40 12. 4a-12. 55 12. r>5- 1. 10 1.10- 1.20 1.20- 1.30 1.30- 1.45 1.4,5- 2.00 2.00- 2.10 2. 10- 2. 20 2. 20- 2. 35 2. 3.5- 2. 50 2. .50- 3. 05 3. 05- 3. 30 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 19 Table 7. — Daily programs of the schools of Mount Joy Township — Continued. EDGE GROVE. Subjects. Length of recita- tion, in minutes. Opening exercises Number worlc B Arithmetic A Arithmetic C Arithmetic A History Recess Primary class First Reader A Grammar B Grammar Noon Singing Primary class Second "Reader Fifth Reader Fourth Reader Third Reader A Physiology and civics, alternate . . B History and physiology, alternate Writing Recess Primary class First reader A Geography B Geography C Spelling B Spening A Spelling 9. 00- 9. 10 9. 10- 9. 25 9. 25- 9. 40 9. 40-10. GO 10.00-10.15 10. 15-10. 30 10.30-10.45 10.45-11.00 11.00-11.10 11.10-11.30 11.30-12.00 12.00- 1.00 1.00- 1.10 1.10- 1.20 1.20- 1.30 1.30- 1.40 1.40- 1.50 1. 50- 2. 00 2. 00- 2. 10 2. 10- 2. 20 2. 20- 2. 30 2. 30- 2. 45 2. 4.5- 3. 00 3. 00- 3. 10 3. 10- 3. 20 3. 20- 3. 30 3. 30- 3. 40 3. 40- 3. 50 3. 50- 4. 00 HORNER'S. Opening exercises Number work D Arithmetic C Arithmetic B Arithmetic A Arithmetic Recess First reader Second reader, language, 1 day Third reader, language, 1 day B Physiology A History B History Noon First and second readers Third reader, 2 days, physiology, 3 days Fourth reader A and B Grammar Writing Recess First reader D and C Spelling A Physiology or civics B Geography A Geography B SpelUng A Spelling 9. 00- 9. 15 15 9. 15- 9. 30 15 9. 30- 9. 45 15 9. 45-10. 00 15 10.00-10.15 15 10. 15-10. 30 15 10.30-10.45 15 10.45-11.00 15 11.00-11.10 10 11.10-11.20 10 11.20-11.30 10 11.30-11.45 15 11.45-12.00 15 12.00- 1.00 60 1.00- 1.25 25 1. 25- 1. 35 10 1.35- 1.45 10 1.45- 2.15 30 2.15- 2.30 15 2. 30- 2. 45 15 2. 45- 2. 50 5 2. 50- 3. 00 10 3.00- 3.15 15 3. 15- 3. 30 15 3.30- 3.45 15 .3.45- 4.00 15 OAK GROVE. Opening exercises Primer, first and second readers Third reader A History B History Fifth reader Fourth reader Recess Number class D Arithmetic C Arithmetic 8.30-8.40 10 8. 40- 9. 05 25 9.05- 9.20 15 9. 20- 9. 30 10 9. 30- 9. 40 10 9. 40- 9. 50 10 9. 50-10. 00 10 10.00-10.15 16 10. 15-10. 30 15 10.30-10.40 10 10. 40-10. 50 10 20 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. Table 7. — Daily programs of the schools of Mount Joy Township — Continued. OAK GROVE— Continued. Subjects. B Arithmetic A Aritlinietic "Writing Noon Primer and first reader Second reader C Grammar B Grammar Third reader A Geography B Geography Recess Primer First reader Third reader B Physiology ... A Physiology Spelling 50-11. 00 00-11.15 15-11.30 30-12.30 30-12. 50 50- 1. 00 00- 1.10 10- 1. 20 20- 1.35 35- 1. 45 45- 2. 00 00- 2. 15 1.5- 2. 30 30- 2. 40 40- 3.00 00- 3. 10 10- 3. 20 20- 3. 30 Length. of recita- tion, in minutes. 10 15 15 60 20 10 10 10 15 10 15 15 15 10 20 10 10 10 FAIR VIEW. Opening exercises . Primer. Second reader . A History E History Third reader Fourth reader Fifth reader Recess Number work — A Grammar E Grammar A, E, B Spelling. B Arithmetic Noon. Intermediate arithmetic. Advanced arithmetic — Primer. Second reader. A Geography.. Penmanship . . Recess . B Geography 2. A Physiology , 3, Third reader 3 B Physiology A Supplementary work. 00- 9. 10 10- 9. 20 20- 9. 30 30- 9. 45 45-10.00 00-10. 10 10-10. 20 20-10. 30 30-10. 45 45-10. 55 55-11. 10 10-11. 25 25-11. 45 45-12.00 00- 1.00 00- 1.15 15- 1. 30 30- 1. 40 40- 1.50 50- 2. 10 10- 2. 30 30- 2. 45 45- 3.00 00- 3. 15 15- 3. 30 30- 3. 45 45- 4.00 10 10 10 15 15 10 10 10 15 10 15 15 20 15 60 15 15 10 10 20 20 15 15 15 15 15 15 A new iitlan for organization and curriculum. — The township is not yet ready to establish a four-year high school. Only 5 pupils finished the eighth grade during the school year just ended. These, with 10 pupils now enrolled in the neighboring high schools and a few addi- tional ones who probably have fulfilled entrance requirements but remain out of school because they are unable to assume the expense necessary under present conditions, would bring the attendance not above 20. This number is too small to insure school interest or to justify the expensive equipment and the number of special teachers necessary for an efficient high school. The educational welfare of the children will probably be best served by organizing on the 6-3-3 plan, and for the present paying tuition outside the township for those enrolled in the last three years SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 21 of secondary schools. With this arrangement, it would be possible to offer far better advantages to those enrolled in the elementary course as well as to those who complete a four-year high-school course; the number who fail to complete high school would be better served and would have a far more practical education. As soon as the num- ber of pupils of high-school age justifies it, the full 12-year course should be provided by the establishment of a senior high school. This plan will necessitate a new and quite different course of study. The first six grades will, as now, be concerned chiefly with fundamentals. Topics for teaching should be organized in relation to and from the point of view of the experience and environment of the children of the township. The course should include the distinctly modern phases of education, such as music, literature, the fine and industrial arts, with emphasis on appreciation. Nature study, elementary agriculture, school gardening, play and recreation, sanitation and hygiene, some form of industrial work or sewing, dramatization and story telling should have generous provision. Properly taught, this kind of a course should take the emphasis from memorization of the textbook and place it upon proper training. The junior high-school course should include some electives, but the list of required subjects should be comparatively long, and that of electives short, increasing during the second and third years. The required subjects in the junior high school should include three years of English and literature ; two of mathematics ; three years of his- tory — mostly American — and civics, including civil government; three years of geography and elementary science; three years of physical education; one year of hygiene and sanitation; two years of home economics; two years of agriculture, and three years each of music, art, and current events — each of the last three once or twice a week. Industrial arts, bookkeepmg and farm accounting, Latin and a m.odern language might be offered as electives. School attendance. — Such a course of study would be so practical in its appeal as to be sufficient incentive for most children to attend school regularly during the full term. The people should expect no less. However, the new school organization should be equipped to enforce the compulsory attendance law. The fullest use of the school plant by the childi-en of the community is by no means the least important effect of school consolidation, as shown by experience throughout the coimtry. The daily attendance in the township should show an increase of at least 20 per cent on enrollment and 30 per cent on census enumeration. Supervision and instruction. — The effectiveness of the scheme for reorganizing and making practical the content of the subject matter taught will be dependent upon the selection of a competent corps of teachers and a principal with qualities of leadership, administrative 22 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. power, and organizing ability. The Pennsylvania school system does not provide for adequate professional supervision of rural schools. The county superintendent and his assistants are not able to visit each school more than once or twice a year. These visits have some value, but chiefly in giving these officers knowledge of school condi- tions. They are too short and infrequent to be of more than transitory help to the teachers in meeting the constantly recurring problems in discipline, organization, and methods. It is necessary, therefore, for the township to engage a principal who is qualified by training and experience to supervise teaching in the schools, as well as to organize and manage. The employment of a group of trained teachers will be necessary to complete the plan for an effective school system. After all, the results of the schools must depend finally and wholly upon the teachers. Not to provide the best that can be had is social, civic, and economic folly. Though a consolidated school will cost much more than the one- room schools, it would be more economical in the sense of giving a larger return on the investment and greater dividends for the boys and girls on the same principle. No farmer in Mount Joy Township cuts his wheat with a sickle, though one can be purchased for $1. He uses a self-binder which costs S200 because he knows that he gets a larger return on the $200 invested in the self-binder than on the $1 invested in a sickle. V. CONSOLIDATION IN OTHER STATES. School consolidation has passed the stage of experiment, and the movement is accepted everywhere as good educational policy. The consolidation of schools is now considered so necessary for improving rural schools that State legislatures generally are appropriating funds to aid districts to consolidate their schools. Only recently the legisla- ture of Pennsylvania made an appropriation for this purpose. From data submitted to the Bureau of Education it appears that the num- ber of consolidated schools in the United States greatly exceeds 10,000, and it is increasing rapidly. Effect on school attendance. — Wherever schools have been consoli- dated the enrollment has increased and attendance has become more regular. Several illustrations may be given: At Fivepoints, Ala., three or four schools were consolidated. The total enrollment in all these schools before consolidation was 113. A year later the enroll- ment in the consolidated school was 190, an increase of 78. Under the old plan there were only 13 pupils attending high school. Now, four years later, there is a four-year high-school department with an enrollment of 52. The increase in enrollment in the elementary grades is 68 per cent, and in the high school 300 per cent. SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 23 The State superintendent of public instruction in Tennessee com- piled the following data regarding school attendance in 34 consoli- dated schools in that State: Number of pupils enrolled in schools abandoned 3, 101 Number of pupils enrolled in consolidated schools 4, 014 Per cent of increase 29. 4 Average daily attendance in abandoned schools 2, 291 Average daily attendance in consolidated schools 3, 271 Per cent of increase 42.8 The State superintendent of public instruction of Oklahoma, in his report for 1916, says: Ninety-nine per cent of the enumeration was enrolled in the consolidated school last year, •while only 86 per cent of the enumeration was enrolled in the common- school districts the year before they were consolidated. The average daily attend- ance, based on the enumeration, was 62 per cent in the consolidated districts, as compared with 55 per cent in the original districts. Many other examples could be given to show that the consolidation of schools has increased the enrollment and made attendance more regular. In fact every report on consolidation shows that school attendance is better in consolidated than in one-room schools. The trans'portation of pupils. — It has been found that the success of consolidation depends more largely upon efficient transportation than any other factor. This difficulty has, however, been overcome in practically every instance. Dr. Thomas E. Finnegan, when deputy commissioner of education of New York, asked the following question of State superintendents and others:* "Have you been able to establish a system of transportation for the children which is satisfactory to the people generally and which does not operate hardship upon the children?" The answers may be summarized as follows: A satisfactory system of transportation is the most difficult problem to solve; it has been solved most satisfactorily when the children are not on the road more than an hour. A businesslike management and district ownership of wagons have met most of the objections. A few typical replies are given herewith: Hon. C. P. Gary, State superintendent of public instruction, Wis- consin, says: The transportation problem seems to solve itself whenever the people decide to adopt the new plan. This is a business undertaking and can be settled in a satis- factory way. In fact, transportation on a reasonably large scale is likely to prove more satisfactory than transportation on a small scale. 1 New York State Report, vol. 2, 1917. 24 SCHOOLS OF MOUISTT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. Hon. H. A. Davee, State superintendent of public instruction Montana, writes: Except on some of the very long roads (some of them 8 miles), the people are well satisfied with transportation. In some cases children have to start early and get home late, but in all cases during the cold weather the children who come in the wagons, no matter how far, arrive at school in better condition than those who travel thi'ough the cold and snow. Hon. H. Lugg, State superintendent of public instruction, South Dakota, says: We have not found a system of transportation that is perfect, but district owner- ship of school wagons with bonded drivers is as satisfactory as any we have tried. We find that a route should not be longer than can be driven in one hour, even when the roads are bad. Our routes average about 5 miles and we have little complaint, except from people who are not inclined to accept any inconvenience personally for the good of their community, and we feel that such selfishness should be ignored. The following is a detailed statement of consolidation and trans- portation in one of the most progressive counties in Ohio: SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 25 05 O O O S* Mv 3 s> ^ fi 08 03 < &| s a fta . a 5 ° >. (S ^Sg O-o 5-S ^■S^ P!3 3 03 v5 s rr? cd o) o ^ !3 != i « S o a S t» o ii o IOCOOOOt2SS!S S2222S°'="='<=>oooo ^OOqo^-i'iO-*Tf O • O 26 SCHOOLS OF MOUN'T JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. C C MS a c3 ooo — — ceo E 5 c c oo C o o c o (N t^ -^ C*4 ^ Oo CO coo o o o O O O C p o o K c3T- c3 r! . > o >-. o O p,g -< C -; o-c OS"" .Si -r o T- ^ ftg ■ O o o o oo o o oooo O T-i »0 (N CO © o o fe o ■O O-c OtJ o-o o • o * o « men ocoo> o o o £ fo c4 CO ic d -^ ooco OOOINO ci woicq d .-< C^ T-H i-H 1-1 W5COO O coco I- ci ^ OC CO CO O-hO d CO ^ O O CN OC CO CO r~^ l^ oi w o S &c3x: O CO (M O O IN -f C-. C-l CO QC CO OCOtH i-Ht^(MCRCO lO iC CO Oi »H t^ i-H -"^i oi o r^ CO CO r^ '-'O CO O C-) o CO C^ »-l NCO CO « to T.H o o .-H —I CC uo -* ■* (N —I T-1 IN Eg s -•§ 11? |§^ ill II ^H-t OSOWH IpHW4^7 CS,_^. ;^L«. SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. 27 Effect on land value. — One objection heard in communities that have not consolidated their schools is that, if the one-room schools near the homes of the children should be abandoned, farm values would decrease in the outlying territory and increase near the consolidated school. Experience, however, proves that land values always increase, not only near the consolidated school but through- out the entire consolidated district. Another question Dr. Thomas E. Finnegan asked of a number of State superintendents and others was: ''What effect has the estab- lishment of consolidated schools had upon the value of farm property within the territory where such schools have been consolidated?" All replied that such property had increased in value. A few re- plies are quoted: Hon. F. B. Pearson, State Commissioner of Education of Ohio: The consolidation of schools has had a marked effect upon the value of farm property where the system exists. Farmers who reside in such communities are confident that the value of their farms has been increased from $5 to $20 an acre. As farms are advertised for sale it is noticeable that there is an increased number of advertise- ments that contain as a desirable point of information that these fanns are located in school districts which have the advantage of centralized schools. It is easy to imderstand why centralization does raise farm values. Persons who are interested in the education of their children, and these persons are always the most desirat)le citizens for any community, prefer residences in communities where the schools are centralized. Hon. C. P. Gary, State Superintendent of Instruction of Wisconsin: The establishment of a good school in any community always increases the valua- tion of farm territory. People who are looking for places to make their homes always take the school into account when they buy property. If there is a good school in the community they will pay more for a piece of land than if their children had to attend a poor school. Otlier effects. — Among other advantages that have accrued from the consolidation of schools may be mentioned: 1. Greater pride and interest in country life. 2. Better school buildings and equipment. 3. Enrichment of the civic and social life of the community. 4. Improved agricultural conditions including improved roads. 5. Increased number of pupils in the eighth grade. 6. Tendency to check the drift of young people to the larger towns and cities. The advantages of consolidation may be summarized in the words of a farmer writing in regard to the consolidation of schools in his district: ^ ■ I will try to write you a few lines about our consolidated school. When they com- menced to get the school I was against it. I did not think it would do, but there was enough for it to get it. I have been sending to school there thi-ee years, and the more > New York State report, vol. 2, 1917. 28 SCHOOLS OF MOUNT JOY TOWNSHIP, PA. I send the better I like it. I ■will say to people in your community if they want a new school this is the best for them. It takes some more money to run it, but like you do ■with your horse ■when he is just about ■worn out, trade it off and give the difference and say you made a good trade. Put your little schools together and you -^vill make another good trade. I can tell you all, it is just like running your farm with plenty of tools and ■without much team you can not do much. When you get your little schools all together it is just like taking a handful of little sticks, one of them is easily broken, but put them all together and they are hard to break. By doing this you can get good teachers, and I find out that is the life of the school. Before the schools here ■were consolidated there ■was al-ways confusion in the schools. Since ■we have tried it I can say for myself I -Would not take any kind of a price for it and do without it. When the school started the children didn't think they could go to such a school, but now they laugh about the little old schoolhouse and they say now they would not go back to it for anything. You have been feeding your pigs for a long time and I guess they are fine. Now let us give our children a better chance and see how they will do. When we train our horses we can get better prices for them and put more confidence in them; try your children the same way. VI. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. The outstanding needs of the people of Mount Joy Township from an educational standpoint may be summarized under two heads, as follows : I. A bond issue of at least $55,000. This money should finance the following: 1. A modern school building, preferably on the unit plan, in which to consolidate or centralize the seven small schools. 2. At least 10 acres of ground for school site at some central location, preferably near Two Taverns. 3. A teachers' cottage on the grounds or near the schoolhouse. The principal at least should live here and be employed for 12 months of the year. 4. A satisfactory method for transporting children to the school- house. The purchase of two large motor trucks is recommended. II. An increased rate of school taxation, probably 20 mills. The annual income would then be sufficient to support an effective school systemi involving at least the following: 1. The employment of a competent and professionally trained principal and corps of six teachers. Two or three of the teachers should be selected because of special fitness to teach one or more of the following subjects: Agriculture, home economics, and indus- trial arts and fine arts, and to direct recreational activities and physical education. 2. A modernized curriculum adapted to the needs of the rural community. 3. A school and community library. 4. Arrangements which facilitate centering at the schoolhouse the activities of a community organization. o LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 490 554 1