fl 371 W5 D3 Jopy 1 University of Texas Bulletin No. 2238: October 8, 1922 A STUDY OF RURAL SCHOOLS IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY BY E. B. DAVIS Specialist in Rural Education Bureau of Extention PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AUSTIN Publications of the University of Texas Publications Committee : Frederic Duncalf J. L. Henderson KiLLis Campbell E. J. Mathews F. W. Graff H. J. Muller C. G. Haines F. A. C. Perrin Hal C. Weaver The University publishes bulletins four times a month, so numbered that the first two digits of the number show the year of issue, the last two the position in the yearly series. (For example, No. 2201 is the first bulletin of the year 1922.) These comprise the official publications of the University, publications on humanistic and scientific sub- jects, bulletins prepared by the Bureau of Extension, by the Bureau of Economic Geology and Technology, and other bul- letins of general educational interest. With the exception of special numbers, any bulletin will be sent to a citizen of Texas free on request. All communications about Univer- sity publications should be addressed to University Publica- tions, University of Texas, Austin. University of Texas Bulletin No. 2238: October 8, 1922 A STUDY OF RURAL SCHOOLS IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY BY E. E. DAVIS Specialist in Rural Education Bureau of Extension PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY FOUR TIMES A MONTH. AND ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE POSTOFFICE AT AUSTIN. TEXAS, UNDER THE ACT OF AUGUST 24, 1912 FOREWORD During- the school year of 1921-22 the Bureau of Exten- sion of the University conducted rural school surveys in Wichita, Karnes, and Williamson counties. During the school year of 1922-23 it is the purpose of the Bureau of Extension to conduct similar research investigations in other Texas counties. In this series of surveys will be found a county with millions of oil wealth in it; a county from the timber lands of East Texas ; one from the Blackland Belt with its educational and sociological com- plications arising from high-priced land, the one-crop sys- tem, farm tenants and absentee landlords ; one from the Western Cross Timbers where loss of rural population has brought about a large amount of social stagnation ; one from middle west Texas with its thrifty, homogeneous, home- o\\Tiing English-speaking populations ; one from the high plains where there is much room for expansion and where there is a wholesome breadth of vision on the part of most of the people ; and one from Southwest Texas, with its cos- mopolitan population of Mexicans and other non-English- speaking whites. Thus the rural educational conditions ob- taining throughout the state will be covered in a fairly representative way. The object of these studies is twofold: (1) to enable the counties in which they are conducted to see where they stand educationally, and to assist them in the work of educational self-improvement; (2) To obtain a fund of definite, reliable, comprehensive information on the rural-life situation in Texas to be placed at the disposal of the students and teachers of education in this big State. It is hoped that these studies may be of material value in enriching the con- tent of the courses in rural education now being offered in the normal schools and the colleges of Texas. The information gathered in the course of these surveys has been obtained through personal interviews with teach- ers, school patrons, and school trustees ; observation of the character of the instruction being done by the teachers in 6 University of Texas Bulletin the classrooms; standardized tests given in silent reading and; arithmetic; inspection of school furniture and school property; the sending of questionnaires to teachers and trustees; the use of such statistical data as could be ob- tained from the county departments of education, the offices of the county tax assessors and the tax collectors, the State Department of Education at Austin, and the reports of the U. S. Bureau of the Census, In each county where these studies have been made a representative of the Bureau of Extension has spent approximately thirty days, in co-opera- tion with the County Superintendent of Schools, collecting the necessary information. The blanks and forms used in the course of these surveys may be found in the appendix of this publication. T. H. Shelby, Director of the Bureau of Extension, University of Texas. POPULATION AND GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SCHOOLS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY Williamson County is located in Central Texas and lies, for the most part, in the famous Black Land Belt. The soil is very fertile. The principal occupation, of the people is agriculture. Cotton is the leading field crop, though corn and small grains are raised to some extent. The county contains no large cities. Georgetown, Gran- ger, Jarrell, Taylor, Liberty Hill, Florence, Hutto, and Round Rock are the principal towns. The population is essentially a rural population. The county contains 1,129 square miles and has a total population of 42,934 persons, or 38 people to the square mile. Composition of the Population. There are 11,170 males twenty-one years of age and over with ancestral charac- teristics as follows : native white parentage, 49.3 per cent ; foreign-born white parentage, 18.7 per cent; foreign or mixed white parentage. 16.3 per cent; negro, 15.5 per cent. Of the total male population twenty-one years of age and over, 35 per cent have white parents one or both of whom were born in a foreign land. This gives a mixture of languages, customs, traditions, and ideals that greatly complicate the rural social problems in many communities. The nationalities of the foreign-born population of Wil- liamson County are as follows : Austrian, 4.6 per cent ; Ca- nadian, .4 per cent; Czechoslovakian, 18.5 per cent; Danish, 1 per cent; English, .9 per cent; French, .3 per cent; Ger- man, 15 per cent; Greek, .2 per cent; Hungarian, .2 per cent; Irish, .5 per cent; Mexican, 39 per cent; Polish, .5 per cent; Russian, .6 per cent; Scotch, .8 per cent; Swedish, 14.2 per cent; Swiss, 2.4 per cent. The Problem of the Foreigner. The two preceding par- agraphs indicate the presence of a very considerable for- eign population in Williamson County. If these persons of foreign birth and their immediate descendants were uni- formly distributed throughout the county, it would be no 8 University of Texas Bulletin difficult matter for them to learn the English language and adopt American customs. Many of them, however, are con- centrated in small colonies. In some of these colonies you may find the mother tongue and foreign customs almost as strongly entrenched as in the very heart of the Fatherland. Free education at general public expense has never been very successful in a great many of these foreign communi- ties. Some of them have supported the parochial schools rather than the free public schools. There are three rural parochial schools in the county at present. Clannishness, intolerance, exclusiveness, and group 'de- marcations are distinctly contrary to Americanism. Amer- NATIVE-BORN WHITE PARENTAGE ^^^atamita^^^K^mmmam^^^a^^mtmmmmmm^m 49.5% FOREIGN-BORN WHITE PARENTAGE I^HHl^iHHHHBMHiH 18.7% FOREIGN OR MIXED WHITE PARENTAGE wmmm^^ma^mm i6.3% NEGRO ^^^^^^^^^ 15.5% DIAGRAM NO. 1: Nativity of the Male Population of Williamson County Twenty-one Years of Age and Over. NOTE : Slightly less than one-half of the male population of Williamson County twenty-one years of age and over are of native- born white parentage. can ideals stand for homogeneity of language and customs, and for freedom from social stratifications. There are some secluded foreign communities in Williamson County and elsewhere in Texas that are not American in language, in customs, or in social attitudes. They never will be so long as their practices of exclusiveness and social inbreeding are continued. The ideas of "our kind of people" and "one of our home girls will make us a good cheap teacher" are further perpetuating the state of social, cultural, and educa- tional retardation into which some of these foreign com- munities have fallen. There is little hope for the quicken- A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County AUSTRIAN ■^H 4.6% CANADIAN I .4% CZECHO-SLOVAKIAN DANISH ■ 1% ENGLISH ■ .9% FRENCH ■ .3% GERMAN GREEK ■ .2% IRISH ■ .5% MEXICAN B 15% 39% POLISH ■ .5% RUSSIAN ■ .6% SCOTCH ■ .8% SWEDISH SWISS ^« 2.4% 14.4% DIAGRAM NO. 2: Nationalities of the Foreign-born Population of Willaimson County. ing light of Americanism to shine into the lives of some of these communities through the public schools so long as the present system of district school control obtains. It would be infinitely better for American ideals and for the dis- 10 University of Texas Bulletin semination of American culture if the selection and place- ment of the teachers were put entirely into the hands of the County Superintendent and the County Board of Education. That would help immensely in preventing the employment of many "cheap," poorly educated home girls. It is not the intention of the writer to bring the indict- ment of narrowness, intolerance, and practical devotion to foreign traditions against all of the teachers who are the immediate descendants of foreign-born parentage in Wil- liamson County. Some of them, indeed, are well trained, even college bred, and are among the best teachers of the county. They are in thorough accord with the statements of the previous paragraphs. Some of them see even more clearly than the average teacher of American-born parent- age that the great work of the free public school in some of these foreign communities is that of extricating them from the ruts of group narrowness and social intolerance into which they have fallen. All hail to these teachers! There is a wonderful work for them to perform. They can do this work as few others can, and some of them, it must be said, are doing their work extraordinarily well. There are many Swedes in Williamson County. In fact 14.2 per cent of the total foreign-born population of the county came from Sweden. These people and their imme- diate descendants constitute approximately 10 per cent of total population of the county. But the Swedes have not herded together in small clannish colonies to the extent that some of the other foreign groups have done. They have adopted American customs and are rapidly becoming as- similated as real Americans and are numbered among the country's best farmers, home-builders, and citizens. As a rule, the young Swede is a young American. It will be recalled that the Mexicans constitute 39 per cent of Williamson County's foreign-born population. To go into a full discussion of their social, economic, and educa- tional status would be a mere repetition of the study made in Karnes County and reported in Extension Bulletin No. 2246 of the University of Texas. They are as a rule A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 11 poor, ill-clad, and ignorant. They are found in greatest numbers, as a rule, in those localities with the highest per- centages of farm tenancy. Farm tenancy, Mexicans, and poor schools seem to have a sort of mutual affinity for each other. Farm Tenancy. According to the report of the U. S. Bureau of the Census for 1920, 59.5 per cent of the farmers of Williamson County are classed as farm tenants. With the heavy percentage of non-home-owning and non-English- speaking population that Williamson County has, it is ex- ceedingly difficult to build a first-class system of rural schools. Farm tenancy and foreign-born white people who are indifferent toward American culture are the chief handicaps of public education in that county. Some of the landlords with large holdings operated by farm tenants are liberal in their attitude toward public education and have encouraged their tenants to vote taxes for school maintenance. Unfortunately, however, many do not belong to this group. A great many large owners are opposed to the payment of taxes for the education of other people's children. This is almost universally true in the districts where negro and Mexican tenants are most nu- merous. When a school tax election is pending in a district, the conduct of an opposing landlord is always quite amusing to the disinterested bystander. He seldom makes a bold, in- timidating, direct fight. His methods are those of indirec- tion. "I am for a good school but we had better put it off 'til next year," said one. "Just wait 'til times get easier and I am with you in this matter," said another ; and "Let's make it a big consolidated school that's worth while," said still another, when he knew full well that the very consoli- FARM HOME OWNERS mK^^^mmmmmmmmamm^ 40.5% FARM TENANTS wmammmmmmMm^^mK^a^mmmmmi^m^^ 59.5% DIAGRAM NO. 3: Home Ownership in Williamson County. 12 University of Texas Bulletin dation he proposed and advocated was a physical im- possibility. These self-styled apostles of education are ar- tists at muddying issues and confusing the minds of un- sophisticated voters. They readily acknowledge the need for better schools, but they hide behind all sorts of subter- fuges and resort to all manner of hypocrisy in order to avoid paying their proportionate shares of the cost. In many farm-tenant communities in the Black Land Belt of Texas the absentee landlords are depriving the children of this generation of the rights of a standard free-school educa- tion. The same fate remains for the children of the next generation. Our imperfect school system should be amended so as to remove these districts from the handi- caps of farm tenancy and proprietary greed. A county- wide school tax would possibly be a statesman-like step in that direction. Number and General Character of the Public Schools in Williamson County. There are eight independent school districts and 67 common school districts in Williamson County. The independent districts include the towns of Taylor, Granger, Georgetown, Round Rock, Jarrell, Flor- ence, Hutto, and Liberty Hill. The 67 common school districts contain 76 white schools, 13 colored schools and 3 Mexican schools. The 76 white schools employ 141 teachers; the 13 colored schools, 15 teachers ; and the 3 Mexican schools, 3 teachers. The whites and Mexicans have 34 one-teacher schools ; 34 two-teacher schools ; 6 three-teacher schools ; 2 four-teacher schools ; 2 five-teacher schools ; and 1 six-teacher school. The negroes have 11 one-teacher schools and 2 two-teacher schools. There are.3 one-teacher Mexican schools. Most of the Mexican children who attend school all go to school with the white American children. This investigation includes tjie white rural schools only. However, it is deemed admissible to call attention to the fact that the rural negro . scholastic population numbering 788 children in the county is being taught by only 15 teachers. A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 13 which is an average of 51 pupils per teacher. This causes very bad over-crowding in some of the negro school rooms. There are 43 rural schools for whites that are attempting to give some high-school work. However, as only 12 of these schools have more than two teachers, the amount and the kind of high-school work done can not be very satis- factory. It is impossible to give a good high-school course in a two-teacher school. Most of the rural population of the county are quite inadequately supplied with high-school opportunities. The remedies for this condition are better roads, the consolidation of schools, the transportation of pupils for high-school purposes, and the raising of school tax rates. The consolidation of schools for high-school pur- poses, the transportation of pupils to and from school, and the raising of tax rates for school purposes in Williamson County are discussed elsewhere in this bulletin. EMPLOYING ONE TEACHER EACH ■ 34 Schools ■ 34 Schools EMPLOYING TWO TEACHERS EACH EMPLOYING THREE TEACHERS EACH ^^■^M 6 Schools EMPLOYING FOUR TEACHERS EACH ^ 2 Schools EMPLOYING FIVE TEACHERS EACH ^2 Schools EMPLOYING SIX TEACHERS EACH ■ 1 School DIAGRAM NO. 4: Types of Schools as to Number of Teachers Em- ployed in the 79 White and Mexican Rural Schools of Williamson County. The Country Roads. In the month of September, 1921, Williamson County was visited by a very disastrous cloudburst. It extended over the entire county. The high water in the creeks and rivers broke all previous records. There was a very heavy loss of human life, live stock, field 14 University of Texas Bulletin crops, and other farm property. Most of the culverts and bridges were swept away. The roads were damaged be- yond description. Unusually high water since that time has caused them further damage. As a result, the country roads in Williamson County at the time the survey was made (late spring of 1922) were in the worst condition they have been in for many years. This is silently operating, no doubt, in retarding the possibilities of school consolidation and the transportation of pupils at public expense in a great many localities. Rebuilding the roads and bridges will be a long, expensive process. But already the work is well under way. Some bond issues have been voted and others will doubtless follow. Better roads are one of the antecedents of better schools. As the roads improve, an interest in school consolidation will naturally follow. THE SMALL TOWN AND THE VILLAGE AS INFLU- ENCES IN RURAL EDUCATION We are beginning to get some very definite glimpses of the part that the small town and the village are, no doubt, destined to play in the role of rural education in the more populous agricultural areas throughout the South and the Middle West. When the history of present-day rural edu- cation in America is written one hundred years hence, the rise of the village and the part that it played during the first three-quarters of the Twentieth Century will make one of its most interesting chapters. The radius of the village's educational influence is being very perceptibly extended. There are several causes for this: (1) Automobiles and better roads ; (2) The more rapid development of the high school in the village than in the adjacent rural districts; (3) The constantly increasing ten- dency among country people to look to the nearest town or village for religious, cultural, and recreational advantages. The results are as follows: (1) In some instances so many country children are being sent to the village school that the village people are coming to feel that they are being imposed upon and are demanding that the adjacent country districts consolidate with them and bear their relative por- tions of the cost of maintaining the village school they patronize. (2) The wealthier and more progressive farmers are usually among the first ones to withdraw their children from the country school and send them to the village. Then, they not uncommonly lose interest in the small country schools they have ceased patronizing and become antag- onistic to all increases in local taxes for their support. This tends to leave a strangled circle of country schools around the village patronized by few others than those un- able to provide transportation for their children to the vil- lage center. Indeed, it is no uncommon thing at many places in the Black Land Belt of Texas to find that the country schools fifteen miles from town are much better than those four or five miles from town. Consequently, it 16 University of Texas Bulletin is quite natural that some of the people who are unable to send their children to the nearby town or village school should join the village and town people in demanding con- solidation with transportation. The time has come when some of the rural districts ad- jacent to Taylor, Georgetown, and Granger with the ram- shackle school equipment of a quarter of a century ago must either build and maintain better schools or be taken into those towns by the process of consolidation. The wealthy farmer who will wear out two or three automobiles sending his children to town to school and at the same time use all his power and influence for the financial strangulation of the country school in the district where he resides has just about had his day. Public sentiment is resenting the fact that he has not been paying his full and proportionate share of the cost of maintaining the free schools of the land. The situation at Granger at its present stage is quite in- teresting. Last year the schools of the small town of Granger took care of 75 children from the surrounding country outside of the Granger School District. At the time this survey was made the citizenship of this town and some of the voters of the adjoining rural districts had a petition with 250 signatures to be presented to the next Legislature praying that the boundary lines of the Granger Independent School District be extended by special enact- merit so as to include some of the adjoining common-school districts. A few of the reluctant taxpayers in some of the common-school districts with deplorably poor school equip- ment, adjacent to the town of Taylor, are now suffering considerable mental anxiety and fear lest the boundary lines of the Taylor Independent School District be extended in like manner and they be taken into it. There is no doubt that the towns and villages are des- tined to play an important part in the future of rural education in Texas. In most instances they are the logical high school centers for the rural districts surrounding them. It is uneconomical for a rural district to try to maintain a high school when a high school with more teachers, better A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 17 equipment, and the inspiration that a larger number of pupils always has to give can be reached by a community- owned automobile bus at a distance of from three to eight or nine miles. Duplications of high school equipment with- in such a radius is a social waste. But the chief economy of the central high school in the village is the economy of efficiency in the character of the service rendered. A better high school can be maintained in the village than it is ordi- narily possible to maintain in the rural district immediately adjacent to the town or village. Most of these village high school centers now in the mak- ing will develop by the slow process of accretion. The de- velopment of some of them will extend over periods of two or three decades. But their ultimate maturity is sure and inevitable. The rural people are coming to understand bet- ter the working of improved educational machinery. Coun- try people with children to educate are more and more in- clined to look to the superior educational facilities of the nearby village and small town and say, "We want to get in on that." In the end the village and all the Common-school districts bordering it will be brought into a single system and all will be benefited thereby. Small, well-equipped schools will be maintained in the country for the children of the lower elementary grades while those in the upper ele- mentary and the high-school grades will be transported in publicly owned, motor-driven conveyances to the central village school. ENROLLMENT, ATTENDANCE, AND CON- SOLIDATION Enrollment and Attendance. Of the 5,985 white scholas- tics enumerated in the rural districts 4,738, or 79.1 per cent were enrolled in the rural free schools during the school year 1921-22. Those not enrolled in the rural free schools fall into three groups: (1) Those enrolled in the rural parochial schools; (2) Those transferred to the town schools; (3) Those not enrolled in any school. The num- ber of scholastics in each of these three groups not enrolled in the rural free schools was not definitely ascertained. However, the last mentioned group, those not enrolled in any school, constitute approximately 600 white scholastics or 10 per cent of the white scholastic population of the rural districts. For the most part the white rural scholastics not enrolled in any school fall into two classes: (1) Children of Mexican parentage; (2) Children beyond the compulsory school age and used by their parents to work in the fields. Many fathers take their children out of school and put them to work immediately after the birthday removing them from the compulsory school age. Some of them are evident- ly more interested in the making and harvesting of another crop than they are in the educational and cultural uplift of their children. The attitude was very well expressed by a father in speaking of the compulsory school attendance law when he said : "What sort of country is this that wants to take a man's children away from him just at the time he needs them most !" For the school year 1921-22 the average length of school term for the elementary grades of the rural schools was 131 days, and for the towns of Taylor, Granger, and George- town it was 166 days, 169, and 159 days respectively. The 4,416 children enrolled in the elementary grades of the rural schools show an average school attendance of 93.8 days each. The children enrolled in the elementary grades of the schools at Taylor, Granger, and Georgetown show an average attendance of 129.5 days, 131.1 days and 138 days, A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 19 ALL THE RURAL SC HOOL S OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY mi^mmm^Km^^i^^^B 95 Days GRANGER ^^^^^^^gmam^m^Brnm^Km^KOBis 131.1 Days TAYLOR 129.5 Days ROUND ROCK ^ 141.8 Days LIBERTY HILL ^_ ^^^^^^^g^i^^^^imi^^mmim^i^^Bmmm 149.3 Days GEORGETOWN ^^__^^_ ^^g^m^j^^^^g^^HB^B^B^i^HHl^^BWBH 144 Days DIAGRAM NO. 5: Average Daily Attendance of Each White Child Enrolled in the Rural Schools Compared With the Average Daily At- tendance of Each White Child Enrolled in the Town Schools for the School year of 1921-22. respectively. The students enrolled in the high school grades of the rural schools attended school an average of 111.5 days each while those of the high school grades in the town of Taylor attended an average of 145.5 days and those of Granger 149.5 days. Consolidation. In 1920 the Gravis and the Smith schools in Williamson County were consolidated. Their union formed the new Hudson Consolidated School. Both the Gravis and the Smith schools had been running with one teacher each. The new Hudson Consolidated School em- ploys three teachers. During the school year of 1920-21, before consolidation, the Gravis school enrolled 52 pupils and the Smith school enrolled 22 pupils. The total aggregate attendance of the 74 pupils enrolled in these two schools was 5,895 days. The very next year the new Hudson Consolidated school enrolled 77 pupils with a total aggregate attendance of 8,455 days. The aggregate attendance increased 2,560 days, or 43.4 per cent, after consolidation. This gain in total attendance was made in the face of the fact that the school term of the new 20 University of Texas Bulletin THE RURAL DISTRICTS mmi^a^^^K^Km^mmmmm^^m isi Days GRANGER mma^ma^mi^a^i^m^m^mmm^^mi^^mm i69 Days T AYLOR _^_^^_ ■■^■■■^■■^^■■I^HHHHlHBHHiHHB 166 Days ROUND ROCK ^^ tmm^mmm^mH^^mm^^mm^^maim^mtmm iso Days LIBERTY HILL wm^mmm^mam^^mtm^mm^m^^^^mm^ 173 Days GEORGETOWN w^mm^m^a^a^a^mmi^mmmi^^^^mm 159 Days DIAGRAM NO. 6. Average Length of Term for the Elementary Schools of the Rural Districts Compared With the Length of Term for the Eelementary Schools of the Towns of Williamson County for the School Year of 1921-22. Hudson school was three days shorter than the terms of the Gravis and Smith schools the year before consolidation. The stock argument against consolidation is that it will remove the school so far from some homes that the children can not attend. This argument looks as if it were perfectly true and legitimate. However, it will not stand the test of demonstration. It falls down in practice. In many in- stances the author has examined the records of school at- tendance before and after consolidation and he has never found a case where attendance was not increased by consoli- dation. Under consolidation, school attendance is influenced a great deal more by the improved quality and character of the school than by the increased length of the road from pupils' homes to the schoolhouse. When there is a real school at the other end of the road, both parents and pupils will make greater efforts and sacrifices to reach it than they will a poor school within a stone's throw of home. As a rule, the small, inefficiently taught rural schools of one and two teachers show the poorest average daily attendance of any free schools in Texas. During the school year of 1921-22 there were 1206 chil- dren enrolled in the 34 one-teacher schools of Williamson A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 21 IN THE ONE-TEACHER S CHOO LS ^mmam^Kmtmm^^^^^i^^^ 93.8 Days IN THE TWO-TEACHER SC HOOL S PH^^HIH^iBHi^B^B^B*^^ 93.4 Days IN THE THREE-TEACHER S CHOOL S l^iBIHiHif^H^l^l^^l^ii^^H^II^H 105.4 Days IN THE FOUR-TEACHER SCHOOLS 109.4 Days IN THE FIVE-TEACHER SCHO OLS ^m^^mm^m^mKmam^Kmmmmmi^ 110.4 Days IN THE SIX-TEACHER SCHOOLS fi^^^g^/^^^^i^^^amm^mmmB^^mma^m 132.6 Days DIAGRAM NO. 7: Average Number of Days School Was Attended by Each White Child Enrolled During the School Year of 1921-22. NOTE: The poorest school attendance in the county is found in the rural schools with one and two teachers. County attending school an average of 93.8 days each ; 2140 enrolled in the 34 two-teacher schools attending school an average of 93.4 days each; 542 enrolled in the 6 three- teacher schools attending an average of 105.4 days each; 140 enrolled in 1 four-teacher school attending an average of 109.4 days each;* 321 enrolled in the 2 five-teacher schools attending an average of 110.4 days each; and 224 enrolled in the one six-teacher school attending an average of 132.6 days each. The larger rural schools show the best average daily attendance. This is clearly set forth in Diagram No. 7. There is no school map of Williamson County nor any other convenient and practicable means whereby the areas of the several common school districts could be readily as- certained. There is a total of 75 independent and common school districts in the county with an average area of 15 *There are 2 four-teacher schools in Williamson County, but be- cause of an error in the reports, one of them is not included in this study. 22 University of Texas Bulletin square miles each. Some are much smaller than the av- erage and quite irregular in shape. That consolidation would be practicable and helpful in a great many instances, there can be no doubt. It might be well for the school patrons to think over the possibilities of consolidation in the following instances: (1) Fairview joins the Georgetown Independent School District. There are many transfers to Georgetown. Con- solidation with transportation to Georgetown is a possibility that might be well worth considering. (2) Berry's Creek, Strickland Grove, and Mt. Prospect are contiguous districts having a total of 193 children of free school age. They have three one-teacher free schools. Some of the wealthier people residing in these districts send their children to Georgetown to school. But there are many other children in this locality who will never be properly educated unless the school is brought to them. A centrally located school with five or six teachers would be of incal- culable educational value to this trio of districts. (3) Prairie Lea is a small district with no tax. It does not contain enough wealth to support a standard school. Its only hope is consolidation. (4) Theon and Walburg could sustain one of the best consolidated schools of four teachers in Williamson County. (5) If a bridge were built across the creek and the Law- ler and Gravel Hill schools consolidated, the children of these two districts could be provided with much better educa- tional opportunities than will ever be possible under the present conditions. (6) Eckman, Beaukiss, and Larence Chapel could come together and have a school with six or seven teachers, mak- ing it possible to do a good quality of high school work. Good high school work can not be done in a two-teacher school. The roads are not bad in this part of the county. Consolidation would be practicable. (7) Barker, Polanka, and Tennill could benefit by con- solidation. (8) Friendship has the school equipment of a quarter A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 23 of a century ago. By joining with Enterprise for better things in education both districts would be benefited. (9) Jonah is to have a new $18,000 building. The little district of Monodale adjacent to the Jonah district would do well to get in on this proposition by the process of con- solidation. (10) Tanglewood and Conaway by consolidating would have about $180,000 of wealth and could maintain a much better school than it is possible for either of them to have working separately. (11) Yarborough employs one teacher and has a very old and unsatisfactory building. It would be helpful to consolidate with Jim Hogg. Yarborough needs Jim Hogg and Jim Hogg needs Yarborough. (12) Cedar Valley is the smallest district in the county. It contains only $24,420 of wealth. That is insufficient to support even a one-teacher school. This district would do well to consider putting on transportation to the village of Round Rock. Gattis might also improve its educational lot by transportation to Round Rock. (13) Walnut Springs and Rice's Crossing working to- gether could have a much better school than either can working individually. (14) Sandoval has a poor building and almost no equip- ment. The white children would have much better educa- tional opportunities if this district were consolidated with Hare. There should be a new negro school building in the Sandoval district. (15) Type and Pear Valley would be fortunate if a con- solidation could be effected with Coupland maintaining a good two-teacher school for the lower elementary grades for these two places and transportation to the Coupland school for the children of higher classification. (16) The Helwig district has three old, poorly-equipped schools employing one teacher each. There are 189 children of school age in the district. Most of them stop school at the age of fourteen. The school terms are short and the teachers change nearly every year. Would it not be much better if this district had one good school with five teachers? FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE RURAL DISTRICTS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY The Local Schosl Tax Rates. The school tax rates among the 67 common school districts of Williamson County run as follows : one district has 60c ; twenty-four have 50c ; five have 40c; one has 30c; nine have 25c; one has 21c; four have 20c; four have 15c; eight have 10c; one has 5c; and nine have no tax at all. The average rate of school tax among the rural districts of Williamson County is 29.2 cents. This is very low. In some counties of Texas the rural school district tax rates range from the minimum of 50 cents to the maximum of 100 cents. Public education in Williamson County can never come into its own until better financial support is given to the schools in the rural districts. This county is far behind in the financial support of its schools, but it is encouraging to note the progress that has been made during the past two and one-half years. During this time fifteen school bond issues have been voted upon and fourteen of them successfully passed. Out of a total of twenty-two school maintenance tax elections eighteen have met with success. This is a good showing. If like progress can be made for each period of two and one-half years for the next decade the rural schools of this county will com- pare favorably with the best rural schools of the state. For the school year of 1921-22 the average length of the rural elementary schools of Williamson County was 131 days. The school term should be extended to 180 days. In many instances better school equipment and stronger teachers are needed. But these improvements can not come and a "square deal" for the country children of this county can not be had without an adequate increase in the school tax rates in most of the rural school districts. Public Education Is Supported More Liberally in the Town Districts Than in the Country Districts. For next year local A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 25 School tax rates per $100 of wealth 70 cents 60 cents 55 cents 50 cents 45 cents 40 cents 35 cents 30 cents 25 cents 20 cents 15 cents 10 cents 5 cents cents I I X < O Number 1 of Districts voting school taxes 24 DIAGRAM NO. 8: Local School Tax Rates Among the Common School Districts of Williamson County. 26 University of Texas Bulletin THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY ^■■■■^^^^^^ $21 TAYLOR wmm^^^^^mmm^^^mi^mm^K^mm^^m $44.38 GRANGER ^^^^mmm^m^mm^^^^ $30.33 ROUND ROCK LIBERTY HILL ^^^K^^m^^^^^^^^^mt $31.50 GEORGETOWN mammmmm^B^^^^^^^mi^^m^^^ $37.00 DIAGRAM NO. 9. Average Annual Cost of Instruction for Each Child in Average Daily Attendance. school tax rates in the town districts run as follows : George- town, 98c ; Taylor, 100c ; Granger, 50c ; Jarrell, 50c ; Liberty- Hill, 85c; Round Rock, 50c. This is considerably above the average for the school tax rates in the country districts, which is 29.2 cents. It must also be remembered that in some of the town independent districts property is assessed at a much higher rate of valuation for school tax purposes than it is in the common-school districts of the county. For example, the school tax rate of 50 cents in the Granger Independent School District is levied against 65 per cent of the true value of the wealth of the district, while in the com- mon school districts the school tax rates are levied against approximately 50 per cent of the true value of the taxable wealth they contain. If the school taxes paid in George- town, Granger, and Taylor for the school year of 1921-22 had been assessed against only 50 per cent of the value of the wealth in those places, as is practiced in the common school districts, their tax rates would have been 196c, 61.5c, and 70c, respectively, or an average of 109.3 cents. The reduction of the wealth of the independent districts and the common school districts to the same basis of valuation and assessment shows that the people of Georgetown, Granger, A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 27 and Taylor are 3.7 times as liberal as the country people are in the financial support of their free schools.* Where the farmers are spending 29.2c per $100 of wealth the town people are spending 109.5c per $100. That the town chil- dren are much better educated than the country children of Williamson County is a fact readily admitted by all. This difference in education is brought about, to a very large degree, by the more liberal financial support given to edu- cation in the town places. The Financial Ability of the Rural Districts in Wil- liamson County. The rural school districts of Williamson County vary considerably in their amounts of wealth. The Wilson Springs district is the wealthiest rural district in the county. It has a property valuation of $736,580 which amounts to $3,701 of wealth per school child. This is 38.1 per cent more than the average amount of wealth per school child in Texas, the average amount of wealth per school child in Texas being $2,663. But this wealthy district has the school equipment of a quarter of a century ago. Its schoolhouse is old and dilapidated. The school tax rate is 10c per $100 of wealth and produces $3.69 for each of the 199 children of free school age. Some of the poorest school- houses in the county are to be found in very wealthy dis- tricts. There are some districts that are small and contain very little wealth. For instance, the Cedar Valley district has a property valuation of only $24,420. To equip and maintain a one-teacher school for 180 days in this district, with standards on a par with those found in the elementary grades of the average town school, would require an annual budget of approximately $1,000. If it were possible to se- cure $200 in special state aid and a per capita state appor- tionment of $13.50 for each of the nine scholastics in the district, or a total of $121.50, there would still be a deficit of $678.50 to be raised in local school taxes. This would call for a school tax rate of $2.78 per $100 of wealth. That 'See Diagram No. 11. Wealth Wealth per Tax of district school child rate $2,393,000.00 $2,562.00 $ .50 1,880,769.00 2,293.00 .98 4,500,000.00 2,619.00 1.00 28 University of Texas Bulletin makes the cost of a standard school for 180 days in that community almost prohibitive. The more practical thing is to consolidate with some nearby school, thus bringing together a larger amount of wealth and making it possible to maintain a standard school at a lower rate of taxation. TABLE NO. 2 FINANCIAL STATUS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN THE THREE LARGEST INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY Children enumerated Georgetown 934 Granger 820 Taylor 1718 Note. The wealth of each of the three independent school districts appearing in Table No. 2 is based upon 50 per cent of true value which is the same as the basis of valuation for the wealth of the common school districts of the rural communities in Table No. 1. By comparing these two tables it may be seen that the wealth per school child in these three independent districts is less than the wealth per school child in some of the rural districts. The school tax rates appearing in Table No. 2 are the rates for the school year of 1921-22. The children in the rural districts of Williamson County are entitled to educational facilities as good as those en- joyed by the children in the towns of Georgetown, Taylor, and Granger. If standard school equipment, a school term of nine months, and teachers professionally trained in nor- mal schools and universities be good for the town children, would they not be equally desirable for the country chil- dren? After having carefully examined the amount of wealth and the number of children to be educated in each school district of this county, the writer does not believe it will ever be financially practicable, under our present sys- tem of school support, for any district in Williamson County with less than $100,000 of wealth to maintain a standard free school for nine months each year. The only hope for the small districts is that of consolidation. The following A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 29 THE RURAL DISTRICTS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY ^^^^^^^m^^^^^^m^^^m^m^^m $2,458 THE TOWN DISTRICTS ^^^^^^^^■^^■^^^^■^^^^iHHBHi $2,527 DIAGRAM NO. 10: Wealth Per School Child in the Rural Districts Compared with the Wealth Per School Child in the Town Districts. NOTE: Figure No. 10 includes the three largest towns of Wil- liamson County: Georgetown, Granger, and Taylor. The charge has often been made that the towns are wealthier than the county dis- trict and financially better able to support their schools. But the truth is that the average amount of wealth per child to be educated in the country in Williamson County is practically the same as the average amount of wealth per child to be educated in the towns. districts with small valuation would do well to make the necessary sacrifices and compromises in pooling their re- sources with neighboring districts for greater things in edu- cation: Hopewell, $76,000; Lawler, $59,000; Eckman, $62,- 000; Tanglewood, 79,770; Cedar Valley, $24,420; Yarbo- rough, $75,262; Jim Hogg, $72,520; Beaukiss, $78,155; Strickland Grove, $88,240; Type, $42,540. Now let us look at the combined wealth of the rural dis- tricts of Williamson County. The 58 common school dis- tricts voting local school taxes contain $14,391,590 of taxable wealth and 5,854 children of school age : that is, $2,458 of wealth per child to be educated. As derived from Table No. 2, the average wealth per school child in the three inde- pendent school districts of Georgetown, Granger, and Taylor is $2,527 per child. The wealth per school child in the rural districts of Wil- liamson County is much greater than the wealth per school child in the rural districts of most of the agricultural coun- ties of Texas. For example. Van Zandt County is a typical East Texas agricultural county. This county has 80 common school districts containing $7,511,330 of taxable wealth and 7,293 children of free school age : that is, $1,028 of wealth per school child, or just 41.8 per cent of the amount of wealth per school child in the rural districts of Williamson 30 University of Texas Bulletin IN THE RURAL DISTRICTS ■^^■■■^^ 29.2c IN THE TOWN DISTRICTS ■■i^^aHHl^^^^HB^^^H^^^MHi^^ 109. 5c DIAGRAM NO. 11: Amount Contributed to Education Per $100 of Wealth. NOTE: Figure No. 10 shows that the rural districts have practi- cally the same amount of wealth per school child as the town dis- tricts. But Diagram No. '11 shows that the town people are more than three times as liberal as the country people in the support of public education. In making the above comparisons the wealth of the town districts (Georgetown, Granger, and Taylor) is estim.ated upon the same basis of rendition, about 50 per cent of the true value, as that used by the county tax assessor in ascertaining the amount of wealth in each of the rural districts. County. Yet, the author feels safe in saying after visiting the schools in both counties that the rural schools of Van Zandt County have better buildings and equipment than the rural schools of Williamson County. Williamson County has sufficient rural wealth adequately to support the rural schools. It is not suffering from the handicap of poverty. Some of the rural districts have more wealth per school child than the towns of the county have. The chief financial difficulties in the way of rural education in this county are: (1) Too many small districts; (2) too many districts with school tax rates ranging from very low (thirty or forty cents) down to nothing at all. A pooling of the wealth of the county through a county tax, together with some needed consolidations, would solve many of the school problems of the county. THE TEACHERS There are 144 white teachers employed in the 76 white American rural schools and the three Mexican rural schools of Williamson County. Information was gathered from 113 of these teachers. Of this number 106 are women and 7 are men. The median age of the women teachers was 22.6 years and of the men teachers 32 years. The women teachers began teaching at the median age of 18.2 years and the men at 20 years. The men had a median teaching experience of 13 years and the women 3 years. Of the 113 teachers reporting, 32, or 28.3 per cent, had less than one year of experience and 74, or 64.4 per cent, were teaching their first year in their present positions. There were 20, or 17.7 per cent, who were teaching their second year in their present positions ; 12, or 10.6 per cent, their third year; 3, or 2.6 per cent their fourth year; 3 their fifth year, and 1 the seventh year. Five of the seven men teachers had graduated from high schools. Three of those graduating from high school had later graduated from normal schools and two from the Uni- versity of Texas. Two of the men teachers had never graduated from high school. Of the 97 women teachers reporting, 69, or 71.1 per cent, had graduated from high school and 28, or 28.9 per cent, had not graduated from high school. There were 7, or 7.2 per cent, who were normal school graduates and 3, or 3.1 per cent, who were university graduates. The women teachers had attended institutions of higher learning an average of 1.1 years each and the men teachers 3.1 years each. Of the 113 teachers replying to the ques- tionnaires, 8.4 per cent of the women and 57.1 per cent of the men held permanent certificates ; 49.5 per cent of the women and 42.9 per cent of the men held first grade certificates ; and 42 per cent of the women and none of the men held sec- ond grade certificates. The average monthly salary for the women teachers was $97.23 and for the men teachers $136.43, the average length 32 University of Texas Bulletin of school term being 7.4 months for the women and 9.3 months for the men. This gives an average annual salary of $719.50 for the women teachers and $1,268.80 for the men teachers. The average monthly expenses for board, clothes, laundry, and transportation were $33.60 for the women and $59.42 for the men. This difference in the cost of living is due to the fact that 57.1 per cent of the men are married and have homes to maintain while only 16.8 per cent of the women are married, and to the further fact that the men teachers have an average of four persons each either totally or partially dependent upon them for support while the women teachers have an average of only .5 such de- pendent persons. With the prospect of an average annual salary of $1,268.80 for men teachers there is little inducement for the young man to spend four years of his life in college preparing for teachmg as a career. He knows that he can not marry, rear a family, and maintain satisfactory stand- ards of living on so small an income. As a result but few men of good ability are going into teaching as their life's work. Most of the young men in the teaching profession look upon it as temporary employment until they can get into something that pays better. Who can blame them? The fields of law, medicine, the mechanical trades and industries, business, etc., are more attractive because they promise greater emoluments and unlimited opportunities for pro- motion. The rural school surveys in Wichita, Karnes, and William- son counties show that the women teachers are younger, not as well qualified, have had less actual teaching ex- perience, and are not as well paid as the men teachers. However, the comparative pay for men and women teachers is a question for debate, for there are some who contend that the women teachers are better paid than the men teachers when considered in the light of their age, exper- ience, and professional preparation. In this discussion of the rural teachers of Williamson County we must not fail to give a few moments of observa- A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 33 tion to their living conditions. There were 13 per cent of teachers living with their parents, 72 per cent boarding, and 15 per cent keeping house. There were 28.9 per cent of the teachers who did not have rooms to themselves at their boarding places and 30.1 per cent whose rooms were with- out heat during the winter months. The median distance from boarding place to schoolhouse was approximately one- half mile. While 27.4 per cent of the teachers lived less MEDIAN AGE Men: B^Hl^HHH^BHHil^^^^BHHBHI^^^BBaiHHi 32 Years Women: ■■■^■■^■■■■i^^HHHHHHi^lH 22.6 Years MEDIAN AGE WHEN THEY BEGAN TEACHING Men: l^^^lHH^i^HHHII^^^HHHHI 20 Years Women: ^^■^^^■■^■■■^^■■■i 18.2 Years MEDIAN TEACHING EXPERIENCE Men: ■Bi^^^^^iMl^BMB 13 Years Women: IMBBBB^MI 3 Years AVERAGE ATTENDANCE UPON INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING Men: I^H 3.1 Years Women: ■ 1.1 Years AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARIES Men: ^■■■■■HHHHHH^^^^^^HHl^BHHI^ $1,268.80 Women: HBaa^OBBH^^^^^i^ $719.50 DIAGRAM NO. 12: The Teachers in the Rural Schools of William- son County. than one-fourth mile from the schools in which they taught, there were, on the other hand, 19.6 per cent living from one- half to one mile away, 11.7 per cent from one to two miles away, 5.8 per cent from two to three miles away, and 7.8 per cent more than three miles away. From the information at hand it does not appear that the living conditions of the rural teachers in this county are any better or any worse than the living conditions for rural teachers in general in Texas. But it should be remembered that the usual objections so many capable women have to 34 University of Texas Bulletin teaching in the country are : isolation, uncomfortable board- ing places, and long stretches of muddy road between boarding place and schoolhouse. The efficient teacher must be a happy teacher. It is hard for happiness and content- ment, to exist if one is in an uncomfortable boarding place. The teacher with a warm room all to herself at her board- ing place where she can read, think, and make her daily les- son plans undisturbed will, as a rule, enter the schoolroom each morning in a better mental and spiritual attitude and with more definite and decisive objectives in view than the teacher not having such home comforts. In the rural community of pioneer days it was looked upon as a sort of honor to board the school teacher. But times have changed. Today, in most rural communities, most people prefer not to board the teacher. This is an unfortunate situation. It is a matter that country parents with children to educate and patrons and trustees with schools to support and direct should not pass by with thoughtless disregard. The boarding place involves the teacher's efficiency and the community's educational wel- fare to a much greater degree than most people realize. The trustee or the school patron who thoughtfully sees to it that board and room are provided for the teacher in a good home near the school huose renders a philanthropic and patriotic service for education in the community. In answering the question, "What, in your judgment, could the normal school in which you studied have done in its training to better prepare you for your present work?" the following are some of the most significant and impres- sive answers given : "Specialized more in elementary school subjects" ; "Given more careful attention to practice teach- ing for rural teachers" ; "Specialized more in teaching and less in certificate getting"; "Given a course in teaching country foreigners"; "Practice teaching should have been done with average children instead of brilliant ones" ; "We forget all about actual existing rural conditions in the ideal atmosphere of our normal training school." THE PUPILS In Texas the fiscal school year begins on the first day of September. Al^ children who reach their seventh birthday before the first of September are entitled to free school privileges the following school year. Children usually enter the first grade some time between their seventh and eighth birthdays. But before the school year ends a great many of the children of the first grade will have passed their eighth birthdays, for the birthdays of many of them will come during the school year. For that reason, during the last half of the school year the normal first grad^ pu- TABLE NO. Ill AGES, GRADES AND SEXES OF PUPILS Sex Age 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 and over 1 Boys Girls 1 8 6 54 57 172 139 133 122 55 44 36 27 7 12 14 9 10 3 5 3 1 1 495 424 2 Boys Girls 2 1 9 18 53 56 68 69 35 33 26 21 14 9 4 5 5 3 1 217 215 3 Boys Girls 7 15 42 56 58 75 34 39 32 21 13 10 11 3 6 203 219 4 Boys Girls 16 18 36 51 68 64 56 43 39 15 18 6 11 1 244 198 5 Boys Girls 3 2 9 14 25 32 57 36 54 41 31 24 13 5 2 2 1 2 195 158 6 Boys Girls 10 22 44 42 47 44 39 30 19 12 7 5 3 169 155 7 Boys Girls 3 8 8 26 40 39 33 29 32 18 12 13 10 1 3 3 2 134 146 8 Boys Girls 1 8 8 9 19 15 25 17 13 12 13 5 1 1 1 69 79 9 Boys Girls 2 1 7 11 12 2 9 3 4 1 3 20 35 10 Boys Girls 2 1 3 4 3 1 2 3 2 1 3 1 10 16 11 Boys Girls 12 Boys Girls Total- - Boys Girls 1 8 6 56 58 181 157 193 193 184 189 174 200 170 193 226 168 203 166 158 130 106 91 50 45 33 31 10 8 2 6 1 3 1 1756 1645 pils may be said to be seven and eight years old. In like manner, the normal second grade pupils may be said to be eight and nine years old; the normal third grade pupils nine and ten years old, etc. Table No. Ill shows the ages 36 University of Texas Bulletin UNDER-AGE PUPILS i^i^^ 9.2% PUPILS OF NORMAL AGE ^K^^Ki^im^a^HmmmK^mma^^^mammmmmm 54.1% OVER-AGE PUPILS i^^"l"""^^«"""^i^B^« 36.6% DIAGRAM NO. 13: Age-grade Distribution of the Pupils in the Rural Schools of Williamson County. NOTE. The "under-age" pupils are those who are younger than the average age for the pupils in the grades in which they appear. They are sometimes spoken of as being "ahead of their classes." The "over-age" pupils are those who are older than the average age for the pupils in the grades in which they appear. They are some- times spoken of as being "behind their classes." There are 36.6 per cent of the pupils in the rural schools of Williamson County behind the grades in which you would normally expect to find them in. This is due to short school terms, irregular attendance, over-crowded schools, etc. and the grades of 3401 pupils in the rural schools of Wil- liamson County at the time this investigation was made during the months of April and May, 1922. The num- bers representing the pupils of normal age in each grade are enclosed between the two zigzag lines running from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner of the table. The numbers to the right of these zigzag lines represent those pupils who are "over age" or behind the grades and classes they should be in, and the numbers to the left of the two zizzag lines represent the pupils who are "under age" or younger than the normal age for the pupils of the grades in which they appear. An examination of Table No. Ill shows that out of the 3401 pupils included in it there are 314, or 9.2 per cent, who are "under age"; 1839, or 54.1 per cent, who are of normal age; and 1248, or 36.6 per cent who are "over age" and behind the grades and classes you would expect to find them in. Of 1248 "over age" pupils, 606 were one grade behind ;: 376 two grades behind; 148 three grades behind; 70 four A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 37 grades behind; 34 five grades behind; and 12 six grades behind. The large number of pupils, 36.6 per cent, behind the grades they should be in is quite significant. It shows that slightly more than one-third of the country children are dragging along from one year to four years behind the grades they should be in. It suggests a lack of efficiency on the part of the schools they attend. Among the causes for this evident ineflficiency might be mentioned irregular attendance, short school terms, and overcrov^ded schools. The fourth column of Table No. IV show^s the percentage of "over age" pupils in each grade. TABLE NO. IV PERCENTAGE OF PUPILS IN EACH GRADE THAT ARE UNDER AGE, OVER AGE, AND OF NORMAL AGE Number Per cent Per cent Per cent jrade of of under of pupils of over pupils age pupils normal age age pupils 1 919 13.9 61.4 24.7 2 432 6.9 56.9 38.4 3 422 5.2 54.7 40.0 4 442 7.7 49.5 42.7 5 353 7.9 42.6 49.0 6 324 10.0 54.5 35.5 7 270 6.9 49.1 44.0 8 148 11.6 45.9 42.5 9 55 18.2 61.8 20.0 10 26 23.1 38.4 38.4 There are two things of special interest in Table IV. They are : (1) The large number of pupils in the first grade ; (2) The large per cent of under age pupils in the eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. The first grade has more than twice as many pupils as the second grade. Indeed, 27 per cent, almost one-third, of the 3401 pupils accounted for in this age-grade report are in the first grade. Table No. Ill shows that many of the pupils in the first grade are over age. Some of them, it appears, have possibly been in the 38 University of Texas Bulletin first grade for three or four years. There are several rea- sons for the unfortunate condition into which the first grade has fallen: (1) Children of foreign descent who have diffi- culty with the English language ; (2) during muddy weather the small children attend school less regularly than the larger ones; (3) the need foi? more teachers in some of the overcrowded schools. In a crowded school, needing an ad- ditional teacher or two, the beginning pupils are at a greater disadvantage than the pupils in the grades above. The beginning pupils are among the ones most in need of special personal help from the teacher. The teacher can not give these pupils all of the special personal attention they need when her room is filled with forty or more chil- dren scattered through three or four grades. No other one thing could contribute more to the relief of the retarded condition of the first grade in the rural schools in William- son County than the employment of more teachers in some of the overcrowded schools. Table No. IV shows that out of the 3401 pupils only 55 have survived to the ninth grade and 26 to the tenth grade. It is interesting to notice in column two of this table that there is an increase in the percentage of under age students in the ninth and tenth grades. Some of these students have made advances, gained a grade or two, and moved on ahead of their classes, as it were. They have done this in spite of the handicaps of short school terms, poor libraries, no^ labo- ratories, short class periods, and the other shortcomings so characteristic of rural schools. Most of the under age stu- dents found in the upper high school grades of these rural schools are, in all probability, unusual students. They are the so-called "bright" boys and girls. They may represent one per cent or so of the student body. THE COURSE OF STUDY There were 93 per cent of the reporting teachers who said that their daily programs of study were based upon the state course of study. Seven per cent failed to answer. Just how effectively the state course of study was being TABLE NO. V NUMBER OF PUPILS STUDYING EACH OF THE SUBJECTS INCLUDED IN THE COURSE OF STUDY OF THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY Elementary Grades Reading 4,044 Spelling 3,869 Writing 3,798 Arithmetic 3,763 Language lessons 2,218 Descriptive Geography . . 2,109 English Grammar 869 Physiology and Hygiene. 1,344 U. S. History 534 Texas History 441 Nature Study 429 Civil Government 294 Manual Training 33 Agriculture 276 High School Grades Algebra 259 American History 75 Ancient and Medieval His. 155 English Composition. . . . 319 Physical Geography .... 139 Spanish 83 Latin 39 Public Speaking 44 American Literature .... 27 English Literature 18 Modern History 35 Physics 8 adapted to local needs and conditions, the author of this survey would not venture to say. The many heavy rains and the impassable condition of many of the country roads at the time this study was conducted made it impossible to observe in a satisfactory manner the nature and char- acter of the instruction being given in all of the rural schools of the county. Table No J V shows the subjects of study and the number of pupils studying each subject in the rural schools of Wil- liamson County during the school year of 1921-22. This table is based upon the county superintendent's annual re- port accounting for the 4,738 white children enrolled in the 40 University of Texas Bulletin rural schools during the year. Of the 4,738 children en- rolled, 322 were in the high school grades and 4,416 in the elementary grades. There were 4,044 children, or 85.3 per cent of the total number enrolled, studying reading; 81.2 per cent studying spelling; 80 per cent studying writing; and 79.4 per cent studying arithmetic. Since the great bulk of the pupils are studying the subjects of the elementary grades, it emphasizes the importance of a corps of well trained elementary teachers for the rural schools. The small number of students pursuing each of the high school subjects indicates that high schools are not yet well devel- oped in the rural districts. HYGIENE AND SANITATION There were 19 per cent of the teachers reporting who stated that they had had their pupils examined this year by competent physicians for such ailments as decayed teeth, diseased tonsils, adenoids, defective eyesight, and defective hearing. This is a good beginning. The work of health inspection and supervision should be continued and extended to all the schools of the^ county. Some of the counties of Texas have public health nurses who put in most of their time making physical examinations and otherwise caring for the health of school children. It would be a good thing if Williamson County had a public health nurse working full time among the rural schools. There are many parents, no doubt, who wonder why this child or that child does so poorly in its school subjects when the real cause is nothing other than a decayed tooth, a diseased tonsil, adenoids, or some other simple ailment that could be easily discovered and corrected by a competent health supervisor. Contrary to populai* belief, experience has shown that country chil- dren are less healthy than city children. Most of the schoolrooms inspected during the course of this survey showed exceptionally good housekeeping. This is, in all probability, due to the fact that 93; per cent of the teachers did their own janitor work. It was especially in- teresting to note that the character of the housekeeping in the new modern buildings was better than in the old anti- quated shacks. In the modern buildings the floors, base- boards and wainscoting, the chalk rails, and the window panes were usually clean, and, in general, schoolrooms were neat and tidy. Some of the old run-down buildings were in a deplorable state of repair and there is little to inspire good housekeeping or any other form of community pride. Reports indicate that less than 10 per cent of the schools were adequately supplied with towels, lavatories, and wash basins. Approximately 20 per cent of the toilets were fly-proof and sanitary. Thirty-four of the 79 schools re- ported that their drinking water came from wells, 10 from 42 University of Texas Bulletin cisterns, 5 from springs, and 26 failed to reply. Some of the school wells were open at the top, and the water was obtained by rope and bucket. This is a thoroughly un- sanitary method of procuring water. In approximately 50 per cent of the schools the drinking water was distributed in an approved manner by means of sanitary drinking fountains and hydrants and individual drinking cups. There were 22 schools using common water buckets with individual drinking cups and 7 using common buckets and common cups. The health inspection of school children, the installation of fly-proof sanitary school toilets, the equipping of all the open wells and cisterns with pumps, the providing of towels, wash basins and lavatories, and of better means for distrib- uting the drinking water constitute a small list of sugges- tions whereby the health of a great many school children might be more securely protected. These are questions that should call for thought and action from the parent-teacher associations. GROUNDS, BUILDINGS, AND EQUIPMENT The amount of land owned by each school varied from one-half acre to 10 acres, the median amount being 2.1 acres per school. On the playgrounds of the 79 rural schools of the county there are 2 tennis courts, 30 basketball courts, 39 baseball courts, 11 swings, 5 horizontal bars, 33 flag poles, and 6 sand piles. The grounds of nineteen of the schools are neatly fenced, thirty-five have shade trees, and seven have places for eating lunches. Seven of the schools have walks mad eof brick, stone, or cement and the rest of the schools, have no walks at all. Thirty-eight per cent of the school buildings have one classroom each ; 48 per cent two classrooms each ; and the remaining 14 per cent have from three to seven classrooms each. Six of the buildings have auditoriums and 15 have folding doors opening two or more classrooms together for auditorium purposes. According to the reports from the principals of the schools, five of the school auditoriums are lighted with gas, two with electricity, three with gasoline lamps, and five with kerosene lamps. These reports indi- cate that a majority of the school buildings have no means at all for artificial lighting. The windows are grouped for unilateral lighting in 71 per cent of the schools and 70 per cent have adjustable window shades, 44 per cent of which are adjustable from the top. Forty-two per cent of the schools were seated with single desks of more than one size arranged so that all of the desks in each row were of the! same size. Thirty-four schools reported that they had no pupils improperly seated ; two reported 50 per cent improperly seated ; twenty reported "a few" ; and four reported that all of the pupils were im- properly seated. The four schools reporting 100 per cent of the pupils improperly seated are: Prairie Lea, Tyler, Sandoval, and Polanka. Throughout the rural schools of the county there were 544 or 11.4 per cent of the 4738 white 44 University of Texas Bulletin pupils enrolled that were uncomfortably and improperly seated. There were 82 per cent of the schools equipped with desks and chairs for the teachers and 18 per cent not having such equipment. Other interior schoolroom equipment were as follows : adequate supply of wall maps, 78 per cent ; globes, 60 per cent ; charts, 47 per cent ; twenty-five or more linear feet of slate or hyloplate blackboard per classroom, 53 per cent; cabinet for library books, 66 per cent. There were 27 schools that reported a total of 3383 books in their school libraries. The rest of the schools left this question unanswered, and it is presumed that they have no libraries at all. The number of books reported amounts to less than one book per child to be educated in the common schools of the county. This is a fact that should have the prompt and serious consideration of every teacher and school patron in the county. A first class system of rural schools must have better library facilities than those found in Williamson County. Only one school in the county reported any laboratory equipment at all. That is the Thrall school. The Thrau school is a Smith-Hughes vocational aid school and has $250 worth of agricultural laboratory equipment. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS As to Teachers. Forty-two per cent of the teachers are the holders of second grade certificates ; 28.3 per cent of the teachers had had less than one year of teaching experience ; and 64.4 per cent were teaching their first year in their present positions. Would it not be better, on the average, to employ fewer teachers with second-grade certificates? Also, would it not be better for the schools if the teachers did not move about from place to place so much? When a community procures the services of a good and capable teacher it should retain that teacher for as many years as possible. As to the Health of the Pupils. Supervision and in- spection of the health of the pupils should be systematically and uniformly extended to all of the rural schools of the county. There is little doubt that there are many pupils falling behind in their school work because of adenoids, decayed teeth, bad tonsils, defective eyes, and other physical ailments that could be easily detected and corrected by a competent public health nurse. The women's clubs in the towns and rural centers would render a valuable social service if they would devise ways and means whereby a capable public health nurse could be employed for all the schools of the county. As to the Lower Grades of the Elementary Schools. There are more than twice as many pupils in the first grade as there are in the second grade. Some of these pupils have been in the first grade two or three years. In some schools the lower elementary grades are badly crowded. The teach- ers are overworked and some of the children are suffering from neglect. In several instances this condition could be greatly relieved by the employment of an additional teacher. As to Supervision of Instruction. The clerical and ad- ministrative duties of the office of county superintendent are so numerous that it is impossible for the county super- intendent to do justice to the work of supervision of instruc- tion. This is as true in dozens of other Texas counties as it 46 University of Texas Bulletin is in Williamson County. In a well-regulated system of city schools, capable supervisors of instruction for the pri- mary and elementary grades are regarded as among the most valuable of all the school employees. A capable su- pervisor of instruction for the elementary grades would be one of the very best investments that could be made for rural education in Williamson County. As to the Financial Support of the Rural Schools. The average rate for the school taxes among the rural dis- tricts of Williamson County is 29.2 cents. There are 13.4 per cent of the common school districts that have no school taxes at all. Of the 59 districts that have voted local school taxes 34 have rates of less than 50 cents. The rural schools of this county can never come into their own until they are given more liberal financial support. As to Consolidation. There are many small rural schools in Williamson County. Facts and figures presented else- where in this bulletin show that, on the average, the poorest school attendance is in the small schools of one and two teachers ; and that there are some small school districts con- taining so little wealth that they can never hope to maintain schools meeting standard requirements as to equipment, teachers, and length of school term. Would it not be well for some of the small districts to unite with each othei^ and with larger neighboring districts for greater things in edu- cation ? As to School Buildings. All new school buildings should be constructed in compliance with the latest and most ap- proved standards of schoolhouse architecture. The light- ing, ventilation, arrangement of seats, blackboards, etc., should be scientifically correct. The new two-room school- house at Union Chapel does not meet these requirements. It is built after the idea of the old-time "shoe box" type of schoolhouse. For that reason the Union Chapel school is barred from legitimate participation in the special state aid for rural schools. In the construction of new school- houses it is well for the school trustees to see that they are architecturally modern and correct in every respect. APPENDIX The following forms were used in securing information regarding the schools of the County. In addition, data were secured from the office of the county superintendent, the ofiice of the county tax As- sessor and the federal census for 1920. Personal visitation by a representative of the Bureau of Extension was made to practically all of the schools in the County. QUESTIONNAIRE TO SCHOOL PRINCIPALS Educational Survey of the Rural Schools of County Please fill in the information called for by these questionnaires and Teturn to the County Superintendent's office as promptly as possible. In doing so you will be rendering a valuable service for the betterment of the rural and village schools of this county. Will you please give this matter your prompt attention? County Superintendent of Schools. Name of school Number of district :N'ame of principal Postoffice COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS 1. How many teachers in your school? 2. How many children of free-school age were enumerated for your school district by the last scholastic census? 3. How many have actually been enrolled in school this year? 4. How many families do the children come from? 5. A social center is a place where people meet for recreation or merely to' pass the time away. The place of meeting may be a club, a barbershop, drugstore, postoffice, or some other place. Name the congregating places of your community in the order of their popularity 6. What per cent of the young people of your community go to town for their recreation? Why? 7. What per cent of your students above fifteen years of age intend to remain in the country and on the farm to live? Why? What per cent intend to go to the cities and towns to live? Why? 8. Do you have organized athletics in your school? Basketball? Baseball? Tennis? Other athletic sports? 9. Does your community have any of the following activities for social and cultural betterment: Choral club? Male or mixed quartette? Orchestra? Literary society? 48 University of Texas Bulletin Reading circle? Story-tellers' league? Victrola concerts? Other activities? 10. Check the following conveniences for public meetings at your schoolhouse: Auditorium? Classrooms with folding or slid- ing doors? Movable seats? Victrola? Piano? Stereopticon? Motion picture machine? Other conveniences? 11. How many churches in your community? How many church services per month? What per cent of the people attend? How many church societies such as Epworth League, etc.? How often do they meet? How many Sunday-school services per month? 12. Does your community have any of the following business or- ganizations: Farm bureau? Breeders' association? Farmers' union? Sweet potato curing plant? Other farm or business organizations? 13. Do you co-operate with Farm and Home Demonstration Agents? Does your school have the services of a county health nurse? 14. Have you an organized Parent-Teacher Association? Is it active? If not, why not? 15. Has your school held a community fair? Has it taken any interest in the county fair? ^ GROUNDS, BUILDINGS, AND EQUIPMENT A, Grounds: 1. Playground: Area in acres? Neatly fenced? Fence in good repair? Shade trees? Places for eating lunches? Provisions for play: Tennis courts? Basketball court? Baseball diamond? Swings? Horizontal bars? Flag pole? . — Sand pile? Other play equipment? Drainage: Good? Fair? Poor? Walks: Material? When built? 2. Out Houses: Boys' and girls' toilets at least 50 yards apart? Fly-proof and sanitary? How often cleaned? Marked and defaced? Shed for driving-stock used by pupils coming to school? 3. Water Supply: Well? ____Cistem? Spring? Pump in well? Method of distributing water: Bubbling fountains? Fountains in good working order? Hydrants and individual cups? Individual cups and common bucket? Common cups and common bucket? A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 49 B Buildings : 1. Material: Brick?, Stone? Stucco? Wood ? Number of rooms ? 2. Condition: Good? Fair? Poor? When last painted? Window panes missing? Clean? Number of classrooms? Halls? Storeroom? Condition? Auditorium: Size? Folding doors opening classrooms together ? How seated ? How lighted? Piano? 3. Heating: Unjacketed stove? Jacketed stove? Jacketed stove properly installed and in perfect working condition? Stove polished? No disfiguring marks? 4. Lighting: Windows properly grouped and seats arranged so light does not come directly into pupils' eyes? Window space equal to one-sixth of floor space? No cross lighting? Adjustable, window shades? From top 5. Ventilation: Jacketed stove with outside air intake? Ventilation by windows and doors only? 6. Cleanliness and General Order: Clean floors? Sweeping compound? Floors oiled? Scrubbed how often? Swept how often? , When? By whom? Rough and splintery? Clean walls and clean furniture? Dustless chalk? Oiled dust cloth? Erasers and chalk-rail clean? Lavatory? Liquid soap in glass bulb? Wash basin? Individual towels? Mirror? Clean sanitary shelves for lunch baskets? Equipment for serving hot lunches? Scales, charts, and other necessary equipment for weighing and measuring children? Shoe scrapers or mats at door? 7. Interior Decorations : Pleasing interior? Clean paper on walls or wallsi properly tinted? _ Pictures? Pot plants or window boxes? C. Equipment: 1. General: Single desks of three sizes and all desks in each row of the same size? Adjustable? How often adjusted? Number of pupils improperly seated? Teacher's desk and chair? Desk? Neatly kept? Maps? Globe? Charts? Twenty-five linear feet of slate or hyloplate blackboard with chalk rail in each room? .: Proper distance from floor to s,uit pupils? 50 University of Texas Bulletin 2. Library: Cabinet for books? Number of books in library? Are they read? By pupils? By patrons? Adaptation of books for use in school? Number of books read last year? Value of books? Percentage of useless books? Condition of books: Good? Fair? Poor? Collection of bulletins? Well filed? Dictionary? 3. Laboratories : Case for keeping apparatus? Value of apparatus for physics? Agriculture? Physiology? Chemistry? Physical geography? Domestic science? Manual training? What per cent purchased from agents? Is apparatus well adapted to work in general science? What per cent of apparatus has been improvised by teacher and pupils? Thermometer? Good clock? Textbooks well cared for? Victrola and records? Good condition? AGES, GRADES, AND SEXES OF PUPILS (For all children in school) (Please fill out and return to County Superintendent the same day this sheet is received) Principal of school Postoffice Name of school County Cia.Aa. .„ ToUls * 6 6 -■ 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16, 17 18 19 20 21 and J Boys GirlE ^ Boys Girls -3 Boys Girls ^ Boys Girls Boys Girls ( Boys Girls 7 Boys Girls Boys Girls S Boys Girls 10 Boys Girls n Boys Girl --- --•■• 12 Boy. Girl Total Boy Girl A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 51 Number of boys who entered school for the first time this year: Five years old? Six? Seven? Eight? Nine? Number of girls who entered school for the first time this year: Five years old? Six? Seven? Eight? Nine? Instructions : Starting at the top of the table, after you have found out the ages of all the boys in the first grade, put the proper numbers in the blocks along the horizontal line marked "Boys." For instance, if there are two boys five years old, put the figure 2 in the block directly under 5. If there are four boys six years of age in the first grade, put the figure 4 directly under 6, and so on. Do the same thing for the girls. Please put the correct totals, both at the bottom and to the right, and see that they balance. OBSERVATIONS OF SURVEYOR 1. General orderliriess and neatness of room: Floors? Pupils' desks? Teacher's desk? Blackboards? Cloakrooms? Adjustment of window shades? Condition of stove? 2. Heating and ventilation: Impression as to temperature of room? Air fresh and cool, or stuffy and hot? How is ventilation effected? 3. General appearance of teacher: Neat and orderly? Careless and slovenly? 4. Pupils: General bearing? Neat? Slovenly and unclean? Per cent giving attention effectively to business? Attitude towards teacher and school? Attitude towards visitors? 5. Class Work: Number of classes per day? Was teacher skillful in getting work out of pupils? Were the recitations bookish and formal or did they exhibiti initiative and independence of thought? Evidence of teacher's preparation for the lesson? Evidence of use of library books or other outside reading material? ____Questions confined to textbook? Did teacher show evidence of wide reading and rich experience? Were examples and illustrations taken from the daily life and experiences of thci pupils? Does teacher live in the community? Spend week-ends in community? Leader in community affairs? QUESTIONNAIRE CALLING FOR INFORMATION FROM TRUSTEES Educational Survey of the Rural Schools of County. Please fill in the information called for by these questions, and 52 University of Texas Bulletin return to the County Superintendent's office as promptly as possible. In doing so you will be rendering a valuable service for the betterment of the rural and village schools of this county. Will you please give this matter your prompt attention? County Superintendent of Schools. Name of school Name of trustee Postoffice 1. How many years have you resided in the district? 2. How many years have you served as school trustee? 3. How long have you served as trustee of this school? 4. Were you appointed by the county superintendent, or were you duly elected at the last regular election for school trustees? 5. Do you require the teachers to give you an inventory of the school property, library books, globes, charts, etc., at the end of each school year? 6. Do you always ask the advice of the county superintendent before making school improvements or purchasing school supplies? 7. Do you ever purchase school supplies from agents without first consulting the county superintendent as to prices, quality, etc.? 8. Do you confer with the county superintendent before employ- ing a new teacher? 9. If in need of a new teacher, how do you go about finding one? 10. Does your school offer instruction in the high-school subects? If not, what provision is made for high-school advantages for the children of your district? 11. Has school consolidation been considered in your district? If so, what was, the outcome of it? 12. Name in the order of their importance, as you see them, three of the greatest needs of your school: (1) (2) (3) . QUESTIONNAIRE CALLING FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM TEACHERS Educational Survey of the Rural Schools of County Please fill in the information called for by these questionnaires and return to the County Superintendent's office as promptly as possible. A Study of Rural Schools in Williamsoii County 53 In doing so you will be rendering a valuable service for the betterment of the rural and village schools of this county. Will you please give this matter your prompt attention? County Superintendent of Schools. Name of school Name of teacher Postoffice TEACHERS Biographical Facts: 1. Sex Date of birth Place of birth 2. Were you brought up in city, village, or open country? 3. Occupation of your father (or guardian) during your school days 4. Are you married or single? Economic Status: 1. Give your present monthly salary for teaching? 2. For how many months in the year are you employed? 3. How did you spend the major portion of your last summer vacation? 4. State the approximate amount of money earned outside of your teaching salary the past year? 5. Total amount saved or invested during the year? 6. Number of persons entirely dependent upon you for support? 7. Number of persons partially dependent upon you for support? Social and Living Conditions : 1. Do you live with your parents while teaching? 2. Do you board? Live in teacher's home? Or maintain an independent household? 3. Approximate average living expenses per month (including board, room, laundry, transportation, etc.)? 4. How far is your boarding place from school? 5. Have you a room to yourself at your boarding place? 6. Is your room heated in winter? 7. Are you free to entertain callers or guests in the family living room or parlor? 8. What facilities have you for getting to town to shop, etc.? V 9. To what extent do you stay at your boarding place over the week-ends? Education and Professional Preparation: 54 University of Texas Bulletin 1. How many years did you attend the elementary schools? 2. How many years did you attend high school? 3. How many years did you attend normal school? 4. How many years did you attend college? 5. Are you a graduate of a high school? 6. Are you a graduate of a normal school? 7. Do you hold a university degree? From where? 8. What grade of teacher's certificate do you hold? 9. Have you ever taken any special courses in rural-school man- agement, rural sociology, or other subjects designed to prepare you specially for country school teaching? 10. Name the teachers' magazines or educational journals you are reading this year 11. Name the professional books you have read the past year? 12. What, in your judgment, could the normal school in which you studied have done in its training to better prepare you for your present work? Teaching Experience : 1. At what age did you begin teaching? 2. How many years have you taught in all? 3. How long have you taught in your present position? _ 4. Give number of years you have taught in each of the following positions: One-teacher rural school? Two-teacher rural school? Graded village or city school? High school? Village principal? Village or city superintendent? Other educational experience School Management and Organization: 1. Do you do your own janitor work? If not, how is it provided for? Salary of janitor? 2. How often is your schoolroom swept? Scrubbed? Desks scrubbed? 3. Is it your practice to be with your pupils on the playground at recess andl at noon intermission? To what extent do you join in the sports and games? 4. How often do you have meetings with teachers and trustees? COURSE OF STUDY (Teachers in the elementary grades fill in data for the elementary grades only. Teachers of the high-school grades fill in data for the high-school subjects only.) Have you a daily program of study? A Study of Rural Schools in Williamson County 55 Is it based upon the State Course of Study? 1. EleTnentary Grades: How many pupils in the elementary grades studying each of the following subjects: Reading Writing? ^Arithmetic? Spelling? English grammar? Oral and written English composition? Texas History? U. S. History? Civics? Physiology and hygiene? Physical geog- raphy? Descriptive geography? Nature study? General Science? Agriculture? Other subjects: 2. The High-School Grades: How many students in the high- school grades are studying each of the following subjects: Algebra? Plane geometry? American history? Civics and Government? English history? Other history courses? English composition and rhetoric? Latin? Foreign languages? Physics? Chemistry? - Agriculture? Farm accounting? Animal husbandry? Domestic science and art? Other subjects? Total number of hours per week devoted to the teaching of high- school subjects by all the teachers in your school? Total number hours per week devoted to the teaching of the ele- mentary subjects by all the teachers in your school? THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS Bureau of Extension 1. Rural School Service. Lectures and rural school specialists are available for county school surveys, for lectures on school im- provement, £jid for general assistance in directing and organizing community meetings. 2. Tha Division of Extension Teaching. Courses equivalent to those offered in residence at the University are taught by mail, by members of the University faculty. Extension classes are offered in those centers in the State where there is a demand for them. Group Study Courses are available for study clubs. 3. The Division of Home Economics. Conferences and clinics are held relative to the health and nutrition of children of pre-school age, as well as for children of school age. Budget making and budgetary spending are taught to groups where such service is de- sired. 4. Division of Government Research. Information relative to the problems of municipal, county, state, and national government may be had from this division. 5. The Division of Package Loan Library. This division collects material on all important present-day subjects and loans it, free of charge, to schools, women's clubs, libraries, community and civic organizations, and individuals. When demand for them arises, special libraries are often made up on subjects on which libraries are not already prepared. 6. The Photographic Laboratory. ..This laboratory is prepared to make lantern slides, produce negatives, and do technical pho- tography. The laboratory is also prepared to make motion picture films. 7. The Division of Trades and Industries. Courses in trade, analysis, lesson planning, methods of teaching, practical teaching, related subject work, and history of industrial education are given in industrial centers, by members of the division working in co- operation with the State Board for Vocational Education. 8. ^ The Division of Visual Instruction. Lantern slide sets are distributed for educational and recreational purposes. Motion pic- ture films are distributed through the division, and information rel- ative to Extension service has been prepared and will be mailed free upon application. 9. The University Interscholastic League. Educational contests are promoted among the public schools of Texas in public speaking, essay-writing, and spelling. It is the purpose of the League also to assist in organizing, standardizing and controlling athletics. A bul- letin for use in the spelling contests is iseupd, also one briefing the subject for debate and giving selected arguments, one giving sixty prose declamations, and one containing the Constitution and Rules including a thorough description of all the contests undertaken. "THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION CAMPUS IS THE STATE OF TEXAS." AddresH general inquiries to T. H. SHELBY,' Director, Bureau of Extension, University of Texas,