Cbc Clnivcr^Uv ofCbicaijo ICibrarics GIFT OF lAtin^Q^UKla^m, Tho Unlveraity of OhloaGO Poundod "by Jolin D. nockotC oiler History of Pul)lio Scliool Education in Arkansas, 1900 - 1918. A disaortation submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Llteratare In Candidacy for the desroe of Itoster of Arts (Departmont of Education) William Oscar lYilson August 50 1916. U ,1^° ^'y rv \i; \ 22 -55^09 — Bibliography 1 to IV. Chapter I Goner nl tondcncics of Public School Bducation in /j-kanscis trom 1819-1900 1 to >7 Chapter II Mministrationo : J. J.DOJTIO John H. Hineraon George B. Cook J .L .i3ond ^8 to 9S Chapter III The ilrkansas Education Coramiscion 99 to 112 Chapter IV General .Educational Acencios 112 to 147 Chapter V rdsccllanoouG i:!ducational Agcnciesj 14S to lb2 Chapter VI Legislation from 19OO-1918 165 to 1?^^ Chapter VII Summary. 177 to 180 142593 BIBLIOCiUPHY. History of Publio Education in Arkanaas, 1900-191O. A. Primary oourcoo. Acta of the General Assorably: 1901 to date. Arkansaa 3chool Journal, Littlo Hook. Piles fairly oomplote from 1904 to 1912. Arkansaa State Census Reports. ( A fev/ of tho oldor ones) Arkansas State Teachers' Association, Prooeedinss of 1901 to date, Arkansas Teacher, Conway. Files Corapleto. Arkansas Teachers' Reading Circle; Various Reports. Comparative Study of the Public School Sjrotoms in the Forty-Eight States. 1912, pp. 32. price 25c' Division of F^ucation, Russell Sage Foundation. Digest of Arkcmsas State Laws: Sandels & Hill; Eirby. Educational Evangelism, 1909. PP»8 An Address before the Arkanaas State Teachers' Aasociation by Henry S. Hartzob, 1909. Financial Report of tho Educational Campaign for Amendment no. 12. Educational Campaign Goramitteo, Granville Cubage, Chai rman . Governors' Inaugural Tlessagos to General Assembly: 1901 to date. Journals of the General Assembly, House and Senate: 18G0-O4; 1901 to date. Manual on Boys' and Girls' Agri natural Club r/orl: pp. 192. Issued by College of Agriciilturo, Univorsit:i'- of Arkansas. U. S. Department of Agriculture Cooperating. II. School >ajnd As'rlculturcil Club Pairs, pro{rraras of: Faiaiaior County, 191^ and 1917; IHllor County 1916. State Auditor's Reports 1868. State Treaauror'g Reports: 1900 td date. Superintendent of Public Instruction, Biennial Reports: I9OO to date. Thorpe, Francis Newton. American Charters, Constitutions and Organic Lav;s, 1492-1908. Vol. I. United States Census Reports: 1900 t4 date. United States Cornraissioner of i:iduoation Reports: 1900 to date. Various Bulletins Issud by the state Department of Education, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Argument for Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Committees, Bvaietin Ho. 1^, p:o. 16 Arkansas School Improvement Association, Year Book, 1909. PP»96. Various other Reports on V/orlc of S. I. A. Bulletin to the School Directors of the State of Arkansas, 1908, pp.12 . Consolidation of Rural Schools, Bulletin ;', Serial No. 20, pp.11. Consolidation of Rural Schools, Bulletin ^-A pp.11. County Supervision of Schools, 1917-1 918. pp.4. Course of Study for High Schools of Arkansas, 1915 pp.222. Education for negroes: Various Reports. Educational Hews Bulletin: Vol. 1, No. 2, 1917; Vol.1, No. 6, 1918. Halbrook's Personal Letters and Communications. High School Bulletin, 1908, pp.8. High School Bulletin, I9l7-I9l8, pp. 10. High School Reports and Tables, Bulletin D 2^, 191I-12, pp. 25 III. Industrial Education, Bulletin iTo . 12 pp. 8 list of Adopted Text Books for use in Arkansas public Grade Schools, 1917. pp. 5 Manuals for County Institutes, 1909 to 1914, 1917- Outline of Study for Arkansas public Grade Schooln, 1917, PP» 52. Outline Course of Study in Practical Agriculture and Shop Work, 1917, pp. 3- Preliriinary Koport of Arkansas iUducational Comroission, 1910, pp.8 Rejuvenation of the IJural Comraujiity, 1912, pp. 8. Report of the Arkansas Rural School Oominlttee, 1904, PP. 20. Rural School Buildings in Arkansas, Bulletin, llo . 10, pp .IjJ Rural School Efficiency, Bulletin, llo. 11, pp. 9. Rural School Work in Ark.rmsas, Bulletin D 24, 1912, pp. 36. School Buildings, 1911, pp. 64. Secondary Schools of Agriculture and Domestic Economy in Rural Comnunitios, Bulletin lie. 14, pp. 4 Some Facts Concerning the Teachers' Preparation and Work pp. 14 Standard High School Course, Bulletin Ho. 9, pp. 4. State Aid to High Schools, 19I]), pp. 4. State Aid to High Schools, Bulletin Ilo . 2, Serial Ho. 19, pp. 11. State Board of Education, Bulletin Ho. 17, pp. 24. State Common School Cource--Elomentary Schools, 19l5-1914,pp. 188. IChis includes the manuals for County Institutes for 191^-14. Suggestions and P.ecommendatlons on the Arrangement and Care of School Houses ?iid School, Grounds , 1903-1904, pp. 40. To the School Directors and Friends of Our Educational Interests an address by Superintendent J. J. Doyne, dealing primarily with buildings and grounds . IV. B. Secondary Sourcoo Shlnn, Josiah H. Hictory of Education In Arkansas, Uaahincton, 1900, pp. 121. Slilnn, Josiali H . Ploneora and Makers of Arkansas. Weeks, Stephen B. History of Public School r.duoation In Arkansas . mil ted States Bureau of Eduoatlon, Bulletin, 1912: Ho. 27. Hlstoiy of Public ;>ohool Education in Arkansas, 1900-1918. Chaptor I General Tendencies of Public School Education in Arkansas, 1819-190O. Ihe .\ntebellxun Poriod, 1819-1861, Introduction. ITho territory now forming the State of Arkansas is a part of the original Territory of Louisiana. It was created as the District of Arkansas by act of the Louisiana Torri- "I torial legislature on June 27, 1806. The District of Arkansas was organized as the Territory of Arkansas by act of Congress on Ilarch 2, 2 1819. Seventeen years later (October 18, 18^6), the Territory of Arkansas was admitted into the Union as a State. During the Terri- torial period the population of Arkansas increased from a little 3 less than 14,000 in number to a little more than 70,000 in number. At the outbreak of the Civil V/ar in 1861, according to the United States census, its population was 455,^35 • T^ie area of Arkansas is 55*555 scLuare miles; hence the infant State began its history with a population that averaged only about 1.1 persons to the square mile, and had increased to only about 8.2 by i860. nativity. A large per cent of the 14,000 people in Arkansas at the time of its organization as a Territory was made up 1. Weeks; Hist, of pub. Sch.Ed. in Ark. p .7 2. Thorpe: Amer. Charters, Constitutions and Organic Laws, 1492-1908. Vol. I, p. 261. 5- The State Census, P.eport for l8";54-^5 gave Arkansas a population of 67,764. 2. of inmiereuits who wore largely cosmopolitan in character. A large part of the incroaBO in population of approximately 56,000 people during the Territorial period was due to immigration from Kentuo]cy, Ltisaouri, Ohio, and Indiana. Iiowevor, many immigrants to Arkansas during this period were from the older southern States . During the period from 1856 to i860, the immigration was very largely from the Old South. Prom the data in Table I we find that in 1850, about '^b per cent of the population of Arkans'^p were na- tives of the other ton southern States; during the next ton years this proportion increased to about 38 per cent. 2 Table I J'-Ativity of Irmigrants to Arkansas . Natives of 1850 i860 X. ,]outh Carolina 2. llississippi 'j . Florida 4. Alabama 5. Georgia D . Louisiana 7. Texas 8. Virginia 9. North Carolina 10. Tennessee 11 . Ilissouri 12 .Kentucky 13. Illinois 14- Indiana 15. Ohio Id. Massachusettd 17. New York 18. Pennsylvania 4.587 11,250 6.567 1.096 356 C.757 8,772 5.328 7,428 3,276 2,128 1.051 174 537 70;: 10.704 16.351 175 24,433 16.031 2.313 1.565 61484 17.747 66,609 8.6-^g 11.085 3.899 2.554 1.513 217 697 890 In addition, about 10 per cent of the population in 1850 were na- tives of the following states; I.lisaouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana Ohio, Massaohusstts, Hew York and Pennsylvania; during the next ten years this proportion decreased to 7 V^^ cent. It might be 1. Shinn: Pioneers and Hrkors of Ark. pp. IO4-IO5 2. Statistics from the Ui,a. Census Report. added that the settlers from these eichteon Statea v/ere parents of a large per cent of the remaining population of the State. This was especially true in the oase of the settlers from the South as the immigration from this section was so large. Private or Academic Schools; Towhship system. It is but natural for iminlgrants to carry to their new homes the ideals of education, as well as the ideals of every other phase of life, which they have acfuired in their old homes. From the ahovo out- 1 line of the sources of Arkansas population up to the time of the Civil War, we note that it was distinctively eouthem. I!ow, the greajrer portion of the inhabitants of these southern States came directly from England or from the English colonies along the North Atlantic. Purthermoro, a large per cent of the population of the other States mentioned above also camo from the Hew England States. Hence we find two prominent characteristics in their educational ideals. The first and foremost was the system of private or aca- demic schools, which was brought over from the Mother Country, and of course not supported by public taxation. The second was the township system, transplanted from Hew England. Those two charac- teristics would accordingly be transferred to Arkansas, and would predominate because they represented the educational ideals of so large a T)art of the pomilation. It is not surprising, therefore, 2 to find the township system operating very early in Arkansas; nor is it any less surprising to find that, during the entire antebellum 1. Statistics from the U. 3. Census l^eport . 2. On Ilovomber 21, l82y, the Territorial legislature of Arkansas passed a law (the firnt cononming public education) making provision for the establisliraont and support of a school in any township or subdivision of six miles square. Shinn: Hist, of Sd . in Ark . p . 11 . 4. period, no attorapt was mado to plaoo education upon a "basis of pub- 1 lie taxation. Public Education aupportod by Inoomo on Public Lan3s, and not by Public Taxation; the Inadwquaoy of this support. To bo sure there was, in addition to the private or academic schools, a system of public od-acati on in .Vrkansas, during this period, but its support came entirely from the income on public lands (seiTdnary, saline, and sixteenth-section) granted to the State by the Federal Government. This fund, hov/ever, was totally inadeauate for the raain- tenancc of an effective public school system. In his message to the General Assembly, roveraber 1854, Governor Elias IT. Conway said: "We have a comrion-school law intended as a system of establishing conmon schools in all parts of the State; but for v/ant of adequate means there are very few in operation under this law." I!ttoh of the income of the public schools was squandered by luiv^-ise management and by unscrupulous comnl ssl oners . In his report for 1856, David b/ Greer, secretary of state and ex-officio "State " Commissioner of Conmon Schools", said: ''I repeat, thore is no cuGction that the school limds are daily being sacrificed. It seems that the coralssioners in many instances are eager for a wholesale disposal of the lands. The lands are converted into money, but no schools are established. 1. In Article IX of the Constitution of 1868, we find the first provision for levying a tax upon personal property in Arkansas for the support of public schools. Thorpe: Amcr. Charters, ConstJWnfction and Organic Laws, 1492-1208, Gol.l, pp. yi2-yi'^ . 2. The whole Teri-itorial revenue from October 1, 1827, to October 1, 1829, was but .^15,056.91. The total property valuation in 1842 T/as y22,502,990.00 and the total tax collected for all purposes was •j;30,492.00. Shlnn: Hist, of Ed. in Ark. pp .12-16. 3. In this report, "r. Greer estimates that there were about 25 common schools in the State, or^^^anizod and sustained out of the comr.-.on -school fund. House Journal, i860, p. 102. By a oombination of intoreotod persons, iiho Icuid may be frequently 1 aaorificod. The Hew and Sparsely settlod Conditions accentuate the Educational Indifferenoo of the People. Added to this lack of financial support was the new ojid sparoely settled condition of the State. The difficulties and dan^^^jera of frontier life were rrreat, the people were intensely preoccupied v/ith tho task of providing the imperative needs of eicistonce, and the opportunities for organ- isation v;ore few. As a result the peorle were little concerned with educational matters. Only about 25 per cent of the children in 1854 were enrolled in the public schools. Hov/ever, it is fair to say tiiat about 25 per cent were enrolled in the private or aca- 2 deoio schools of the State and in schools of other States. But when v.-e ra'Tieniber that this small per cont attended school only two or three rionths in the year, the condition of the common-schools in tho state presents a painful and gloomcr picture. Ija. indifferent attitude of public mind on the subject of education is a greater hindrance to the organisation of aji efficient public school system than a deficiency in the financial support. Indifference on the part of the people inculcates indifference on the part of officials. Tho report of the State School Commissioner for 18^4-5^ makes no attempt to give the statistics of sohoola, booauso only about ono- 1- In the HoizRe Journal 1864, p. 88 v;e find a severed indictment of the antcbellun management of these lands, by tho chairman of the committee on education, in connection witli the report of tr.o comnlttee to the lloune. He gays "They have mismanaged and squandered to a ,^eat extent the appropriations or donations made by the United States to this State for school pur>oso3v>; . . V/e have had over 1,000 acres of land appropriated in thia state to pitrposes ox education, but under the manajonont of our public functionaries it has amounted to almost nothins." 2. Shinn: Hist, of Ed. in Ark. p. 20. 6. half of the coiintios reported and thoea reports for the moat part were vagao. Indifferent and xmnatlsfaotory. Governor Henry M. Hector in his noasage to the General Assembly reports that out of 55 county common-school commissioners only ^ made reports to the State school cominissioner, jmd only one of these gave the required information. Cert- .inly such conditions coiad obtain only under a spirit of general indifference to the Ciuestion of public education. An idea of the sparsely settled condition can be had from Table II. 1 TABIiE II • POPULATION . Year V,-hite Coloi'ed Total :;' of Increase since last c onsus . popula- tion . l|2^ lg^9 1840 1850 i8bo 12.579 25.671 77,174 162,189 1,67b 4.717 20,400 47.708 111.259 14.255 50,-:)88 97.574 209,897 4/^.502 113.1 221.1 115.1 107.5 0.26 Here it is seen that the population averaged O.26 per square mile in 1820, 0.3 in 1850, 1.8 in 1840, 4 in 1850, and 8.2 in i860. In 1854, the number of children bct^voen the ages of b and 21 averaged 2 loss than one child to the square mile; in i860, the niambor was 5 only about three and one-third children to the square mile. Adult Illiteracy. Table llighows the deplorable condition of illiteracy a;:iong the white adult population of Arkansas during the antebellum period: 1. Statistics from the U. S. Census Koport. 2. The Arkansas State census report for 1854 f-lros the number of children in the State under 21 years of age as 6l,;)82. This would moan somcthinj: like 40,000 between the a^es of b and 21. 3. The United States census report for l8b0 gives the number of children in Arkrjisas bet-ween the ages of 5 and 20 as 178,174 • 7. TABLE III . iliit.':racy. 1840 1850 i860 Number of TJhltos over 20 years of ago . ;io.555 ^5.595 1:^^.785 " of Illiterate '.Tiltes over 20 years of age 6.567 16.809 23.642 Per Cent of Illiteracy 21.5 25.7 17.6 !Dhla largo per cent of white adults over 20 years of age who oould not read and write accounts in large measure for the abnormal indifference of the people to education, especially public education supported by general taxation. Education and Heligion. Historically speaking, educa- tion and religion v/ere regarded as inseparable. And even after imperative conditions had forced a separation, there still obtained the old idea that education, like religion, was a matter of individ- ual and parental concern. Hence the State had no right to inter- fere with education and no obligation to support it. Educational Kosources. Table IV shov/s the educational resources of the State, including the colleges and acadoraios as well as the public nchools. V.'e find from this Table that the average annual income for each public school, in 1850, was approx- imately VI24.OO; while, in i860, it was approximately ,,1^6.00. Prom the returns it Is i ipossiblo to distinguish definitely between the various sources of income, for it is not certain but what somo "public funds" are included in what is otilled "other sources." Con- 1. Statistics from U. S. Census Report. 1 TABLE IV. KDUCATIONAI. STATISTICS. 8, 1820 l8i)0 1840 1850 l8bO, 3 4 14 9 150 0^.100 225: 5.585 8 90 109 126 168 500 2.407 4,415 $g.937 14t) 115 ;55 727 355 757 2.614 8,49^ 1 ^45,763 19.242 120.61^ sequontly, it is irapoosiblo to distinguish definitely between what are called "puhlic schools" and what are called "academies." Certain- ly, it is known that not all of the 727 public schools used public funds. According to the report of S.M. V/oaver. secretary of state and ox-officio State school conrnlssionor. for 1859-60, there were only 25 corar-.on schools organised and kept up in the state from the comnon-school fund. Retrospection. Prom the above brief survey, one is necessarily convinced tff the utter woalcnoss of the public school system of Arkansas dui-ing the entire antebellum period. The people still believed that eduaitlon was an advantage or lusury to be paid for by those who enjoyed it. Those who did not feel inclined to participate in the luxury of education, of course, were under no 5 obligation to support it. 1. From U.S. Census Report 2. House journcJ. . i860, p . 102 5. The recommendation of Gov. Ellas H. Conway, in hie message to the General Assembly, lie. 1854. thot "the coujity court be author- ized, when the county so desired, to appropriate the poll tax for primary education" shows, however, that the modern idea of public taxation for the support of schools was boginjiins to be considered. 'y -r H t ^ t 9. Thoy did not realise that it was an imperative necessity and, therefore, should be demanded from th© state as a right. They did not realise that public oducation supported hy general taxation contributes to the highest v;ell -being of all, and that a liberal democracy reouires all to share in the support of public institu- tions whether they arc directly or indirectly benefitted thereby. LIT. Weeks, in commenting izpon this period, says that the people of Arkansas, under the influence of tradition and the spirit of the age, had not diagnosed the fatal \7ea3mess of their system and were trying to work out their educational problems by means of 1 2 empirical methods. Again, he says, "The State still regarded the business of education as private, personal, optional, patri- archal, aristocratic and religious. The consciousness of social solidarity had not dawnod, and the State felt under little educa- tional obligation to the rising generation." The Period fron l86l to 1874. The Civil "/ar Period. \1 though the system of public school education in Arkansas during the antebellum period was em- c harassed by several serious factors, any one of which was calcu- lated to prevent an ultimate developmont of oven mediocre efficiency, we find from the preoeeding section that some gratifying progress had been made. The Act of 1853 together with subsequent amendments affected some degree of organisction and showed that the people were being aroused from their long lethargy of educational indif- ference. The principles of public taxation and of centralized 1. oeks: Hist, of Pub. Sch. Ed. in Ark. p. 24 2. Ibid. p. 46 10 supervision vrore dawning; and, although the experience of the entire period was frought at every stage with costly mistakes, novertheleso the people v/ore slowly working out their educational prohloma and gradually approaching the goal of imiversal educa- tion. With the Act of Secession all interest in educaation bocaine ahsorbod in the crim realities of war. Ulie children were kept at home and -Qie schools disbandod. ITie Federal Government 3002 gained control of practically all of the State and retained it throughout the war. ^e school system, including both the aca- demies and the public schools, was v/iped out of existence. leader a proclamation of President Lincoln, December 8, I865, the con- quered districts wore given authority to renew their allegiance to the Union and form a new state government. Accordingly, a con- vention of the old citizens met at Little Rook, January 4-23, 1864, and drew up a constitution for the reconstructed State. The new constitution made no attempt to revise the educational laws, but simply reproduced the educational sections of the constitution of 1856. Isaac Mirrphy was chosen provisional ~o vomer by the convention and inaugurated January 20, 1864. He was then elected for a term of four years by popular vote of the people and again inaugurated April 18, 1864. In his message to this Union legisla- ture, Governor Murphy recommended that it be made the duty of the State to support such a school system that every child mi£-ht have 1 an opportuoiity of acquiring a good education. 1. House Journal, l8b4, p. 21. 11 On May 28, 1864, a bill waa introduood in the Senate to axaond the constitution so that one riill on ovary dollar's worth of taxihle property should be sot aside as a oorornon -school fimd to bo used 1 for lands fond buildings. The Houso committee on education re- oomnended tho appointment of a State supcrintendont and the creation of a comraon-sohool fund from an ad valorem tartation of all proper- 2 ty. Hov/ovcr, nothing definite v;as done by this losislature in the vray of school legislation, and the school system of the State passed another two years of painful existence. The COOTflon-School Law. of 1867 . The assembly of 1866-67 waa derisively styled the "rebel" legislaturG, because it waa made up almost wholly of old Confederates. These old soldiers had tried the ontebellura system and had seen its Ignominious fail- ure. They now clearly reallaed that public taxation was absolutely necessary for public education. Accordingly, an Act, entitled "An Act to establish a conEaon-school system in the State", v/as passed March 18, 1867, providing a tax of two mills on the dollar upon the property valuation of the State, This law is memorable not only for the fact that it established public education upon a basis of public taxation for the first time in the history of the State, but also for the fact that it "has since become in many respects the organic basis of public education in Arkansas." Ajaong other things, this law extended its privileges to white children only, provided for the election of a auiJerintendont of public instruction and a coimty school coinnissloner in each county beginning with the general election in 1868, constituted each Congressional township 1. Senate Journal, 1864, pp. 180-182 2. House Journal, 1864, pp. 87-96. 12 a aohool distriot, enabled any incorporated town to booome a aohool distriot, and provided for the elGotion of three trustees in each school distriot . Under the provisions of this law, the people at onoe oet about establishing a public school system on a firm financial basiB* !Ehe school tax revenue from April 2^, 1867, to July 1^, 1868, 1 amounted to Q^,&J^,j2 . Mr. Shina says, "School commissioners and trustees were elected and tiany schools were opened under the new "2 law, but the operation of the law v/as short-lived because of the "Reconsti-uotion Act", passed by Congress on !.!aroh 2, 1867. !l?his Act declared that no legal government existed in Arlransas and cer- tain other "rebel" States. Accordingly, the civil authority of Arkansas was set aside, and the State v/as made a subnilitary dis- trict under the command of General Alvan C. Gillem, The troubles growing out of martial law necessarily nullified the operation of wise provision of the new school law. Ihe Reconstruction Period, l868-i874. Under author- ity of the Federal P.econstniction Act of 1867, an eloction was held for a constitutional convention and, as the Confederates wore disfranchised, the convention was made up of men who had moved into the State from Union States c.fter the war. The Reconstruction con- vention met in Little Rock in January, 1868, and adopted a new constlt-ution which went into effect on April 1, 1868. It incorpor- ated a prolix and detailed article of nine sections on education. A little later, July 2;;, 1868, the first Reconstruction legislature passed a common-school law, containing 107 sections. On the whole, 1. atate AMitor's Report, l868,pp.41-4:? . This was the first general school tax ever levied in the State of Arkansas. 2. shlnn: Hist, of Ed. in Ark. p. :)8 1;) tho eduoational provisions of the Ilooonstruotion regime were broad and ooraprohensivo, and had thoy gone into operation imdor V, free vote of the citizens of the State instead of xmder martial law of the Reoonstructlon regime, they doubtless would have aooom- plished good resiilts. They were not necessarily evolved out of the thought and exi-jerionce of their frunors, but were moiolled upon the legislation oharacteristio of that generation. They were also of very similar to the educational provisions^ the common-school law passed by the "rebel" legislature of 1867. A oomparison of these two systems is given as follov/s: Common-Bohool Law of 1867 (Enacted by the "Rebel" Legis- lature.) I . Sstended to white children only, botv;een the figes of 6 and 21, II. In addition to the perma- nent school fund derived from public lands, etc. the law provided a tax of 2 mills on the dollar upon the property valuations of the State. Common-School Law of 1868. (Enacted by the Reconstruction legislature) I . Extended to all (both white and black) children, between the ages of 5 aiid 21. a?hore v/ore separate schools, however, for the races. II. In addition to the perma- nent oojiool fund derived from public lands, etc., the law provided three sources of revenue: 1. A 2 mill tax as in the lew of 18671 2. A poll tax of vl.OO 5. A i^rinciple of local (county, tov,iislii:n or dis- trict) taxation^ to supplement the r^eneral fund, and also for build- i±g ejid furnishing school houses . III. a) Provided for the office of superintendent of public in- struction, b) Provided for a county schdol commissioner in each county. 1. This was made a law March 25, 1871. 2. The law of 1871 provided a local or district ootlonal taz of a maximum of 5 mills on the dollar for country" districts and It mills for city districts. u. lY. a) Er-oh congressional town- ship was a school die- tilct . h) Incorporated towns could bocomo a school district. V. There v/ore throo trustoea in each nohoul district, cl3cted by the oualifiod vot- tors of tho district. III. a) Continued the office of oaperlntendeut of public instruction. b) Provided for a board of coramon school oonmission- erD . c) Provided for a circuit 1 suporintcndont of schools for each of the ten Ju- dici^a circuits of the State, to be appointed by the Governor. IV. a) Any toirritorlal uiiit could become a district, b) Incoi'porated tov.ias could become a school district. K V. fshero, were three directors in each school district elected by tho cualifiod vot- ers of tho district . VI . Proscribed the qualifications and duties of teachers. VII. Provided a teachers' insti- tute, the expense of which up to .^50 ^-is t^o ^<3 paid out of the common school fund of the county Educational Kesourcos. Table V shows the educational resources of the State during the period of Reconstruction; TABLE V. SCHOOL RESOURCES No. of Value * Total Enumor- Sohool School Salary of atlon Year Houses Houses Teachers Enroll ment f' of Enumer- llnrold . Total /imual Income 1867 l86fe 1869 1870 1871 1872 1874 *TT 1.036 llo data vG5,522.(>( $354,764 40,444.56 for IIo . of teachers 176,910 180.274 196,237 194,314 148,128 67.412 107,908 69,927 32,863 59,587 a. Currency 61.0 38.8 16.6 30.7 $64,875.32 a 300, 669. 6> b 536,896.21 b 488.783.70 b 41;>.150.17 h 210,176.64 b 435.:^49.70 b fsorlp . l-The office of tho circuit suporintondent v/as abolished by the law of April 29,1873, and the office of county supt. substituted. 2. Compiled from Reports of 3tate Supt. of Pub. Instr. sffor years indicated 15 At first clanoe it might aeon that the reoeipte as whown in this tablo v/ere aufflciont to x^rovide qulto saiisfaotory school facilities. But wo nust roraoraber that .300,000.00 was roquirod to pay the sjilary of the ton circuit super in tend or ts alone. In addi- tion there was the salary of the State Superintendent, the expenses incident to his office, and many incidental expenses connected with the administration of the echool system. Again the largo receipts after the first year were in scrip, which had dec eased to 55 cents 1 on the dollar by the end of the period . Hetrospeotio^. As has already been indicated in the first part of this section, the school system of Arkansas, including both toe private or academic and the public schools, was wiped out by the Civil V.'ar. i iTge number of the school houses had been destroy- ed and the school lUiids largely ixsurpod. Only part-payments had been made on much of the school lands sold prior to the war. During the war all records '^vere lost; hence it was impossible to know how much remained unpaid or to decide in whom the titles were vested. Homes had been ruined and the State made banJcrupt. Suoh were the condi- tions confronting the people of Arkansas at the close of the Civil War, out of which a school system was to bo built. In a vory short time conditions had changed entirely, and it was necessary for the people to divest themselves of their old ideas in order to meet the new conditions . !I!he people wont about this task as bravely as they had imdergone the hardships of the war, but the adaptation was ex- tremely slow. To be sure, there wore great men among them, who had diagnosed the weaknesses of their school system and saw clearly their 1. Hoport of Supt. of ?ab. Ins. 1874, p. 5$ j^lTote on Table V, oolpmn 4 — These sums wore for the school years beginning in 1873 a^nd 1874 respectively. 16. educational needs. Even boforc the war there were suoh men as Governor Conway, Governor Rector, Secretary Greer, and Secretary Weaver, who stood out in the forefront as great educational leaders. Realizing that education is the foundation of democr;icy, tlioy used their influence to a" ouse the people fro-i their indifference and to impress upon them the need of more elf ioient oohools. After the war there V7ere £;Teat educational leaders euoh as Governor 'Tarphy, Representative Earle, and Superintendent 3mitli, who realised that the schools of the past had been a flallure, that social oolidarity rested upon an enlightened people, thr.t uiiivorsal education was iisporativo, and that the State r.ust assume the recponsibillty of 1 training its citiaensliip . Mr. Weeks speaks of the General Asseribly which nrssod the famous school law of 1867, as being coraposed of men who v/cre able to realize the immense changes tliat had come into southern life as a result of the war, ....to divest themselves of the ideas under which they had been reared,... and to adapt them- selves and the organization of their government to tliece now condi- tions . But for the most part the people v:ere indifferent and non- progressive. "Ehe prevalence of illiteracy stood at 17 .6 per cent In i860, ond since there had been practically no schools from 1861 to 1866 the illiteracy, especially anong the childron must have 2 been Increased during this period. Superintendent Smith Be.je that the common-school system vrca hankered by the "palpablo difficulty of getting properly educated and procTToaslve persons to :^ct as school t-rustces.'' Again, in speal^ing of tho school laws and means for 1. weeks: Hist, of Pub. Sch. Ed. in Ark. p. 49. 2. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1868, p. 49 17 educational devolopment in tho State, Mr. Sniith says - "for the Want of a proper co-operation on the part of tho poorilo, the whole enterprise proved a lamontable failure." Tho small per cent of en- rollment as compared with the enumeration shows that there was 2 great indifference to education on the part of the pconln Not only was there indifference and laol: of co-operation, "but in some instances there was bitter opposition. In some cases the county court refused to authorize the levy voted "by the people, while in other oases the people refused to allow the levy made by tho county court. The general feeling of hostility toward the Reconstruction Government throughout the South, was evidently manifest in Arkansas, and tended to accentuate the indifference of the peoyle to the ed- ucational system inaugurated by tho Heconstruotion regime in 1868. Of course, any failure on the part of the people to take advantage of the educational opportunities provided by the Reconstruct ion law, was detrimental to their intellectual development, but the sting of defeat and the odium of the Reconstruction rule could not be set aside. The operation of the Reconstruction Government was eztrava- gant in the extreme . The feature of the school law providing for ten district superintendents of schools, whose salary alone consximed nearly half the first year's revenue, was especially obnoxious to the people. Another thing particularly objectionallo was tho fact 1. Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. 1868, p. 49 2. See Table V. 5. A fund of v20;>,92>,95, left in the treasury by the Ilurphy regime in 1868, was aeon exhausted; scrip was issued in such large quan- tities that its value fell to y^ cents on the dollar; and in 1874 the State debt amounted to ^17. 000, 000. Shinn: Hist, of Ed. in Ark. pp. 42-45* 18, that taxes were paid to the oolleotors in creenbaoke hut the col- leotors depoaitod the sorip of the State in the traaanry at huge 1 profits to themselves and infinite damage to the aoliools. inhere was also great dissatisfaction among the teachers, who were embar- rassed by the extremely lov7 value of the scrip in which their sal- aries were paid. Suofea condition not only falls to attract good teachers to the profession, either within or without the State, but actually drives good teachers into other fields of labor. The lack of good teachers, of course, materially weakeoas the efficiency of the schools, and the children suffer sorely thereby. Thus the depreciated revenue due to the speculation of the unscrupulous col- lectors, and the loss of many of the better teachers because of poor salaries was a double burden upon the schools . Finally, there was no little objection to the practice of trustees in many school districts of issuing warrants, during one term of office, in such great amounts that the revenue of several years was required to liquidate them. Althou^ the peo-rle looked upon the Reconstruction regime with disfavor, and, to some extent, refused to avail themselves of its educational advantages because of their ill-fe»ling, yet the student of this period Is led to the inevitable opinion that the greatest drawback to the whole situation is the ri'evalenco of illit- eraoj- and indifference to educational needs. There is an occasional bit of cheering news, as when Superintendent Smith speaks of "the 1. The report of the Supt. of Pub. Ins. for 1871 , ^avo only 20 comities out of 61 as roooiving an;; U. S. currency in their apportionment of school funds. This, however, was only a very small psirt. 19 hearty manner in whioh old citizens of the state ore giving their influonoo in support of free eohools," or when Superintendent Corlsin asserts that "opposition is dying out, ' but on the whole the educational system of the new regime had not quickened the life and thought of the people. A period of one and a half decades (the school life of a child) had not brought the masses visibly nearer the goal . Among a few of the educational leaders, however, there were many reasons for encouragement. Among them the Reconstruction period was fruitfiil in results. They were committed to the princi- ple of public taxation, in the form of a general State property tax, a general poll tax, and local taxes, and advocated a provision for the inviolability of this fund; they say the need of educating the whole people, both white and black. j\mone the teachers as a whole there was an awakened prof essi enable consoiousnoso as manifest in their institutes and associations. The beginnings of an eduoa- 1 tional press was another onooiuraging sign of improvement. The Period from 1874 to 1900. The Restoration of Home RuJe. As stated in the pre- ceding section the Eeconstructi'on government was ojctravagant . fund of s:i205,925.95, loft in the treasury by the ITurphy regime in 1868, was soon eachausted; scrip was issued in such large quantities that its value finally fell to y. cents on the dollar; and in 1874 2. the State debt amounted to vl7tOOO,000.00 . The county indebtedness also swelled to enormous proportions. In addition to extravagance, 1. Superintendent Thomas Smith, foiinded and edited "The Arkansas Journal of Education" for at least three yeara, 1870-72. 2. Shinn: Hist, of Ed. in Ark. pp. 42-43* 20 there were praotices of fraud and embesaCLomont, at least on a small scale, admitted by the loaders of the day. This grew to be intol- erable, and oulmlnatod in the Brooks-'Baxtor 7/ar of 1874. On May 14, 1874, President Grant issued a proclamation rooocnizing the claims of the Conservatives under the leadership of Elisha Baxter, and at the same time ordering the Radicals or Reconstructionists under the leadership of Brooks to disperse. [Hhus Reconstruct ion in Arkansas was overthrown and Home ]^le restored. (The question of calling a constitutional convention was submitted to the people, by the legis- lature. An overwhelming vote wa3 oast in favor of a convention, and accordingly the convention met in Little Rock, July 14, 1874. A consttitution was adopted, and subraitted to the people on the 15th of the following October. Having been accepted by an almost unani- mous vote, the new constitution was officially adopted on October 30, 1874 • ^e characteristic feature of this constitution, from a political standpoint, was the absence of all clauses pertaining to disfranchisement. Hence all citizens, both old and nev/, black and white, were privileged to meet u-non the same platform of political 1 equality. Chis constitution is still the organic law of the State. The Educational Provisions of the Constitution of l874- The sections on education as foimd in article XIV of this constitu- tion are as follows: Section I . Intelligonco and virtue being the safe- guards of liberty and the bulv/ark of a free and good govciToracnt , the State shall ever maintain a general, 1. Weeks. Hist, of Pub, Bch. Ed. in Ark. p. 58 2. A convention for the adoption of a new constitution ie in session nov;. 3- Thorpe: Amer . Charters, Constitutions Jind Organic laws, 1492-1908. Vol. 1, p. ^58. 21 suitable, and efflolont aystein of free sohoola whereby all persons in the State betv;een the ages of 6 and 21 years may roooivo gratutious instruction. Section II. llo money or property belongint^ to public Bohool fund, or to thia State for the benefit of BOhools or unlversitioG, shall over be used for any other than for the respootivo purpoaea to which it belongs. Section III . The general assembly shall provide by general laws for the support of conmon schools by taxes, which shall never exceed in any one year, 2 mills on the collar on the taxible pro- perty of the State, and by an annual per capita tax of v-l, to be assessed on every male inhabi- tant of this State over the ago of 21 years: Provided, The general assembly may by general law authorize school districts to levy by a vote of the qualified electors of ouch district a tax not to exceed 5 mills on the dollar in any one year for school purposes: Provided further, That no such tax shall be appropriated to any other purpose nor to any other district than that for which it was levied. Section IV. GJhe supervision of public schools and the execution of the laws regulating the same shall be vested in and confided to such officers as may bo provided for by the general assembly. Thus it will be seen that the organic law of the consti- tution embodied the principles of education, mentioned in the preceding section ( ) , as being those which had become fixed in the minds of the educational leaders during the Reconstruction regime; viz: the support of common schools by public taxation in the form of a general State property tax, an annual poll tax, and local taxes; the inviolability of all school funds; and the educa- tion of all the children of the State. The Interim from May 14, 1874, to December 7, 1875. The activities of the department of educational administration immediately preceding the overthrow of the Reconstruction rule were 22. at a low o"b"b . The reports of the circuit super intend otto for 1871-72 were oxtreraely meagre and imperfect . These men no douht 1 saw "the hand writing upon the wall" jmd wore content with as littlo labor as possible. The last report of Superintendent Cor- bin, Mai'oh 5. 1^74 , covering the period for the two school years 1871-75 » contained little inforiaation of oon^arative value bocauoe of the iraqperfoctions of the subsidiary reports iipon v/hich it was based. Jill the administrative offices of the Reconstruction rule were abolished by the proclamation oi the president. May 14, 1874, restoring the power of the Conservatives , The new constitution of October 30, 1874, left the creation of the office of superintendent of schools to the discretion of the General Asseribly. No school laws were passed until the meeting of the second Assembly in De- cember, 1875. Eenoo there was no head of the school system, during this interval of eighteen months. Tliere was no formal superinten- dent's report for the two school years 1875-74 and 1874-75, and what little knowledge we have of this period comes from other sources. Itr. Weeks, in speaking of this period, says, "It seemed best to those in power to let the old system practically die and $hen build anew on the basis of home rule, honest money, conserva- tism in esqoenditures, and honesty in administration. Ho school law was passed by the first general assembly imder the new consti- tution. Perhaps sufficient time had not elapsed for the conserva^f tive element to orient itself to the new conditions of life, so unliko the patriarchal ways of the antebellum period." The School Law of 1875. On December 7, 187I;, the 1. See note 1, p. 14 2. Weeks: Hist, of Pub. Sch. Kd . in Ark. p. 60 2$. aooond f;oneral assembly passed the first school law, under the restored Home Rule regime. !I?his school law of 1875 Is noted for the fact that it was tlie last general school law passed by the State and for the fact that it has served as the "basis of all sub- sequent educational legislation. !I!ho first and greatest item in this law pertained to re- venue, The other adnini strati vo items, as collated by Josiah H. Shinn, Superintendent of public Instruction 1890-1894, and embodied in the digest of school laws for the 'Vorld's Fair Association, -re as follows: 1. Common school districts have three directors. 2, Separate solool districts in Ineori:) orated towns have six directors . 5. !rhe people elect all directors. 4. The directors (a) select raid contract with teach- ers; (b) make all contracts; (c) erect houses; (d) visit schools; (e) take the enumeration; (f) make reports; (g) soloct text-books; (h) have general managonoiit of the schools; (i) re- ceive no salary. 5. Kie county Judge appoints an ex.aminer for each county, (a) The exEuniner must hold a first-olaas license; (b) this lice^ise is grrjated upon an ex- amination conducted by the State superintendent; (c) his salary is paid by fee ;"ald by teachers; (d) he must have a high moral character. 6. 2ho county judge alters school district linos, transfers pupils, and apportions the county tajces. 7. She teacher riust hold a certificate before ho can make a legal contract. These certificates are of two ?-:inds: (a) State cei-tifioates; (b) county certificates. 8. State cortificatee iiro granted only after an exam- ination conducted by the State superintendent. 9. The branches upon which the e^zaraination is based are: (a) The common school branches; (b) Latin; (c) algnbra; (d) geometry; (e) physics; (f) rhe- toric; (g) natural history; (h) general history; (i) constitution of the United States; (j) consti- tution of Arkansas; (k) method of United States land survey; (1) theory and v>ractioc of teaching. 10. iTo fee is charged for a State certificate. 11. A State certificate lasts for life, but may be re- voked for cause. 12. A State certificate is good in any ooujity in the 24 Stato. 1^. County certificates aro ;^rintod only aftor an exaraination conduoted oy the comity examinor. 14. The queotlona for those examinations aro uniform, and are furiilohod to oacli oxaniiier on printed slips in sufficient 'iiantitlou by the State Supor- intondont . 15. IThe examinations are public ktic" "rterly. 16. The branches arc roc-cIi2i{3, ortl .^iy, penmanship, aritliraotic, vrritten and mental, history of the Uiiited States, English graramiir, geography, and the methods of Unitod States survey. 17. County cortificatos are of three grades: (a) First grade, good for tvro years; (b) Second grade, good for one year; (o) Third grade, good for six nonths . 18. The requirements for a first grade are 85/^' in each of the studios, arit? ;etic, ^ar, and ortho- graphy, and an average of ot the rest. 19 • The recxiirements for a second grade are 75/- in the three reouired branches, and an average of 75/^ in the rest. 20. County certificates ore li;^ited to the county £pom v.-'iich they issue, and can not be endorsed or re- newed without examination. 21. The fee for every county certificate ia ^'2.00, to be paid to the county treasurer before examination. 22. lie certificate can be granted to any person — (a) Who is given to profanity, drunlceness, gamblins, licentiousness, or other demoralissing vices; (b) who does not bellove in the existence of a su- preme being . 25. County certificates may bo reisnnrked by the county examiner for cause . 24. Revocation of a certificate terminate all existing contracts of a teacher. 25. Teachers are required to attend the coimty insti- tutes and the quarterly examination. 26. Teachers are allowed their time wlille attending those meetings, not exceeding" ten days per annum. 27. Directors must close the school during the regiilar sessions of the institute. 28. In 1892 there wore 112 county institutes; the number of teachers attending was 510 j> . 29. The State Superintendent (a) has a general suoor- vislon of all the schools; (b) prepares blojiks of all descriptions for use in the school; (c) appro- priate the State tax; (d) grunts Stato licenses; (e) examines county examiners; (f) interprets the school laws; (g) holds district normal institutes; (h) selects all apparatus purchased with State funds; (i) organi'^os eight district normal schools; (i) re- commends text-books; (k) is a member of a board, with the governor and secretary of State, to invest the permanent school fxind . 25 fund . 50. The State sup or intend ont is oleoted biennially by the people . 51. Ihe directors select the text-books for their respective districts, under a penalty of non- performance of duty. 52. Books L:electod tjid adopted may not bo cliangod within three years imless a majority of the electors petition a change. 55. ;:^ohools for the races are separate but of equal lenght . j)4« In negro districts the directors are usually of the negro race and control the nchools. With the above educational provisions, Arkansas starts out anew to develop a system of comnon schools. Prom this time down to the present time there has been no break in the historical continuity of the form of central administration In a Superinten- dent of Public Instruction, nor has there been any radical change in the administration of any Superintendent from that of his pre- decessor. Each has taken as a foundation r-z-on which to biilld, the conditions obtaining at the close of the preceding administration. To bo sure, we find in the progress of natmzal development, some administrations introducing and developing new lines of sictlvity and placing special emphasis upon certain ruestionK which had been more or less indifferently agitated in the past; but, in the main, the history of the educational policy in Arkansas, beginning vrith the enactment of the common school law of 1875, has been more or less uniform and continous . Conditions imitating Against the Successful Operation of the Law. Although Home rule had been restored, and the people had initiated a school system of their own, there were many things militating against its successful operation. First of all was the evil of depreciated currency. This evil was accompanied by a second one, the general proneness of the 26. peoplo to go in dobt. Both these evils had been fastened upon the State by tlao Reconstruction regime, !,lr. G.W. Hill, the first Superintendent of Public Instruction imdor the law of 1875, in 1 speakine of this situation, says, in part, "A very pov/erful force — the depreciation of the v.slue of Sto.to scrip — has been militating against the common school interest for several years, and has almost destroyed it. In tho vake of a doi^reclatod currency, in which teach- ers were paid and by which schools v:ero attempted to be maintained, followed numerous attendant evils. 'B\o disooxiragement of school officers, complaint of the enemies to free schools, a somewhat reok- loss Incurring of dolrt, a loss of confidence in the minds of the people, and a partial abandonment of free schools by good teachers were all in its nmltitudlnous train. Under the circumsttmces most school districts had either to suspend their schools or become in- volved in debt, some did the former, others the latter." Added to the embarrassment of a depreciated currency was the general tendency of the people, under the optional local dis- trict taJrinr; clause, to refuse to vote all or any part of the 5 niill tax. Besides the financial troubles, there was the perplexing problem of tho county esarainer. An stipulated in the law, ho must hold a first-class license granted upon an examination conducted by the State Superintendent, examine teachers and certify to their qualifications, hold county institutes, visit schools, and make re- ports to the State Superintendent. His salary was practically neg- ligible, as it depended upon fees paid by the teachers. This high roquiroment with practically no reriuneration made it difficult to 1. Report of Supt. of }>ub. Ins. 1 87 5-76, p. 5 27 find conpetont mon to aocopt the position. A fourth difficulty was the small district unit of admini strati on. This principle, of course, was a resultant of tho idea of democracy. Throe trustees for each of a multitudinous number of districts renders a system unwieldy. At this particular time the great numher of small units of administration wt'-s extremely unfortunate because of the fact that very few trustees had enou^ interest in educational matters to attend the annual school-district meetings or make the required reports to the coimty examiners . This condition made it possible for a few designing men to control the whole question of school management and school taxes,. Not only was it difficult to secure competent county ex- aminers, interested and intelligent trustees, and other capable school officers, but it was also difficult to secure teachers who had smy special preparation or interest in the profession. This lack of professional interest on the part of the teachers was re- sponsible in large measure for the unpopularity and inefficient character of the county institutes conducted by the county oxsminors and of the district normal institutes conducted by the State Super- intendent. No little opposition to the public school system came from tho private school interests. Those operating private schools protested against the public schools on financial grounds, but hid this reason under the guise of a strong declaration of the sujierior- ity of the private schools to' the public schools. The supporters of the private schools, who would have themselves styled the "better class", opposed the public schools on the ground that they furnished occasion for an undesirable mixture of the various classes of society. 28, Finally, we oeo from the 'icoompanyins outline of statistics, taken from Ltr . Hill^s report for the year ending Jiino 30, 1865, that the r.chool soaeions v/ero short, the attendance was small and irregular, the revenue per child was totally Inadequate, and the average salary of teachers was so low that a majority of them must have "been very inefficient. This is a sad and painful commentary, for it reflects vividly the prevalence of ignorance and the general tone of indifforenco to education on the part of the inhabitants of a State which had now hoen in the Union for four decades. School population: YJhlte 106,352 Colored 27,574 Total (not differentiated in many counties) l89,l$0 School attendance (many counties not reported) 15.890 Teachers, total reported 4^1 Salaries: Male sp28,783.01 Female 4, d52 .20 Total (not differentiated In many counties) 75,399.67 Schoolhouaes: lirected during year 25 Cost 3,957.12 Erected before 1».>74 cost (not value) 361,358.37 Difficulties Peoiaiar to Mr. Hill's AdministtiiAlon, Deoomber 18, 1875 to October 13, 1878. Superintendent Hill's administration was the first tmdor a new demo- cratic regime which had suddenly evolved itself ^ifter the overthrow of a more or loss autocratic government, ind, in the nature of things, his administration was enciunbered by some difficulties ?Silch did not obtain later. First of all, of coiirse, was the organ- isation of a new system and its operation under the direction of 29 Inexperienced officero . In the second place, there was the pro- blem of aeouring the cooperation of an indifferent people in the execution or operation of the lav/; and the still more :,:)erplexing problem of enforcing the law under such conditions. V/hile we think of The Common School Law of 1875, as being the "law of the people" issued under Home rule, we mast remember that this law owes its existence not so jiiaoh to the demands of the masses as to the efforts of a few leaders in the absence of opposition due to in- difference. Passinf:' laws under such conditions is quite different from enforcing them and securing cooperation in carrying out their provisions. In the third place, four general school laws had been 1 in operation during the last nine years, and three revolutions had 2 upset the government in the same tine. Naturally, there would not be the same tendency and disposition to obey and respect the law that would be found later when the people felt and realized "that the government which had issued the laws 'had come to stay'." Signs of Progress. With the close of Mr. Hill*s terra of office, we find the difficiilties mentioned above as peculiar to his administration largely roraovod. Purthernore, those men- tioned above as militating against the operation of the law, in general, were perceptibly diminished. Ur . Hill spent much of his time among the people doing personal work in the way of private discussions, public addresses, and conducting teachers' institutes, lluch good was also accomplished by his v.ritings upon educational 1. She law of 1855, the law of 1867, the law of 1868, and the law of lf75. 2. The Civil War of 1861, the in bion of the Reconstruction Governnont in 1868, and the Bii -Baxter v/ar of 1874. ^0 subjects, which can be found in the nowapapero of the day. In 1 his last annual report, l.lr. Hill reviews the prOtP:-oss made during his administration, from Deo. l8, 1875 to Oct. 1>, k878, and gives us an insiclit into the educational situation as it obtained after three yesirs of operation under the new law. Considering the con- ditions, the general pro{p:ess is more or less encouraging. He aays: "It is gratifying in presenting this, my third an- nual report, to record marked educational progress. There are many ovidenoes of this progress, some of whicli, in addition to the statistics v;lilcli accoi^pany this report, I give in detail: 1 . There has been '_uite an increase in the nujaber of districts v;hich have voted the 5 rail! tax. 2 . There is a more general demand for better teachers^ ^. There is a disposition to agitate, to say the least, the matter of popular education. Our peojile are talicing about, writing about, thinlring about, the sxib- ^eot. It is discoursed upon by our political leaders and speakers. It is diconssed ty our conventions called together to consider measures for the public good. It is e:xposed to public view in our nov/spapers. It is a frequent topic of conversation around the hearthstone. 4. 'lore interest has been shown in the district annual school meetings. There has been a larger attend- ance of the electors at these meetings. A smaller number of districts have failed to hold these meetings tmd do the annual work of the district. A closer conformity to law has marked the conduct of thene annual meetings. Electors have been more interested in the character of these district officers. 5. Electors in school districts*****have been more watchful in regard to the acts of their educational of- ficers. ITogloct of official duty has had lees chance to sleep undisturbed. Iftiwise exnonditures of school fu^ds have been less freruent. 6. In addition to grer-ter faitlifulness of educa- tional officers secured by the watchful eye of public sentiment there has been increased efficiency in office, from the fact that educational officers have perceived more clearly the responsibilities of their position. They have felt more sensibly the weight of the obliga- tions resting tipon them**** 7. The reports from directors and county examiners have been not only fuller, but more promptly made. Some few reports from county exaninora were received even be- fore the time prescribed by law. These facts evince a healthful condition of affairs and auger better tilings for the future. 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1878, pp.l8-19 8. More relianoo is plaood u]ion our free sohools for tlie eduoation of the youth of the State, irhore haa not been so much nood of subscription schools as here- tofore. Crur free soji.ooIs aro noro .^onorally patronJ.zed by the so-called "hotter class" of citisens. Prejudice on the groui;d that the free soliool is socially too demo- cratic, fel%* that it occasions too promiscuous a mixture of the various classes of society is "vvaidng. Our free schools are being recognized as the peers in efficiency of private schools, maintained by an e' ual oxpendltTzre of means. Indeed, in many cases — as in Little Hock, Pine _ Bluff, Helena, and other placoc — they are greatly superior." During the next four years (Administration of James L. Denton and Dunbar IT. Pope, 1878-1882) gratifying signs of progress are seen in the organization of city school systems in the larger towns, under the Act of February 4i 1869, authorizing "any incor- porated city or town" to organize as a single school district, with certain privileges and advantages. The problem of ungraded schools is officially taken up for the first time, and local school boards began to adopt the uniform series of text-books recommended by the State Superintendent in looO. Administration of Woodville E. (Dhompson, l882-l8§0. There was no constructive legislation of any significance during this administration. Prom a study of the reports covering these eight years, however, one is Iraprossed with the favorable tone of reaction of the peonle toward edacation. There was a general feel- ing that the educational system was too decentralized, the people had come to realize the need of more efficient officers and teachers, longer and better sohools, and were steadily increasing the re- venue by gradually availing themceSlres of the o-tlonal 5 mills local district tax. They were also Insisting upon a more general 1. Report of State Supt. of T\iV. Inst. l877-l878,pp.5-7 2. Little Rook was the first city to take advantage of this law, 3. Weeks: Hist, of pub. soh. Ed. in Ark, p. 67. 52. oolleotion of the poll tax. There was rnuoh agitation for the con- solidation of district schoolg and the furnishing of froo text-books. A few had cfvon raised tho cuostion of oompulsoiy attendance by ar- guing that it vTOiad cost no more to roaintain the fjohoola for ref^iQar attendance than for irregular attendance. By oompariGon with other states the people saw thoir backwardness cjid were discussing the advisability of a revision of the existing school lav/ to better their conditions. In the conclusion of his last report for the period, }5X, Thonrr:>son declares that "while the public school system is being improved from year to year there is an urgent demand for some 1 radical changes . " He attacks the district system and charges rauch of the weakness of the schools to the failure of the directors to perform their duties. The Administration of Joslah H. Shinn, 189O-I894. This quadrenium is the high water-mark of the period from 1875 "to 1900. I!r. Shinn made a masterful plea to the legislature of 1O91, showing the need of better elementary schools. As a result of this plea and the general agitation for better schools at this time, the legislature appropriated $2,000.00 per annum for t"wo years, for the support of normal schools. The next legislature in iSg;^ raised the amount to v$,000,00. With this ,,10,000.00 together with other money , two State normal schools v;ere established and maintained for three years, and a third one for a year. In addition, six three-months district normal schools were operated each year. The State normal schools carried a three years' course of study for nine months each year; while the district normal schools made gen- 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins., I88-90, p. 60 2. This money came from the Peabody trustees, and from private individunls. era! reviews of tho aubjeots requirod in tho exaininationa for county lioonso. Tho attendance at these normals started with over 800 tho first year and increased to 142^ in ''894. This ntunber represented a little over 29 per cent of the white teachers in 1894 • Clie interest in oounty institute work under the supervision of the coimty examiners ahowc o marked inoreasedfor the same period. In 1891, there were 7^ 0^ these institutes held, while there wore 165 held in 1894. The attendanco for 1894 was 4,254. Mr. Shinn initiated the nractioo of holding regular Quarterly wxaminations 1 for teachers, and although tho practice v;as very unpopular for a while, at least, it had a wholosorao effect upon the profession. In 1891, a conrnittee was appointed from the State Teachers* Asso- ciation to devise a uniform mini um course of studies for the high schools of the State; this course fotmd favor with the high schools and was generally adopted. In his last 'bi-Oiiiiial report, Mr. Shinn 2 says of the school system; "It has won friends everywhere, and is today more deeply grotindod in the nffeotion of the whole peo-ole than any other departmont of government. It has £:TOwn hecause it met a demand for the widest dissemination of the prinoiples that underlie virtue and foster intelligence in order that citizens may be the "better prepared to understand and maintain the rights, duties, and obligations of s^ftfrage government." The Period from 1895-I9OO. The outstandinr: featnire of this period \7as the maintenance of a normal scho.l in each county for one month every year. 1. This was the law of 1875, ^ut it had fallen into disuse. 2. Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. 189^-94, p. 9 5. These normals took the place of those mentioned above in connection with Ilr. rJiinn's administration. 34. 1 The total expense of these normals was ylO.OOO.OO per year. In 1899, a law applying to 4i) counties was passed permitting them to adopt tmiform textbooks. Illie efforts at uniform grading were pro- gressing. The queotions of oonsolidation and transportation and of countj-' sup or in tendency were gaining groiind. The period, as a whole, is characterized t)y the tfnitod efforts of educational leaders to enlighten the people upon iiie advantages of education. Tendencies Shown by Some Statistical Tables. From a survey of the above conditions, we ;;et a general idea of the educa- tional tendencies in Arkansas during the period from 1875-19OO. This general tendency is made more vivid and specific by a study of the following tables. lb was shown in Table I that the sources of Arkansas* ■opulation due to migration from other states up to i860, were chiefly southern. That the chief source of migration from other states continues to oe chiefly southern is shown by Table VI. This condition evidently affected tho school system, very materially, for the reasons mentioned, with the dlacussion of the facts revealed by Table I. Table VII shows, from the small average attendance and the small amount of revenue, that the school conditions wore far from satisfactory. 1. In 1899, these county normals vyero discontinued because of the failure of the legislature to provide an appro vriati on for their maintenance. The argument against them, as advanced by political demagogues, was class legislation. 35 TABIE VI. nativity of Immigxanta to Arkansas. Natives of 1870 1880 1890 1900 1. South Carolina 13.805 15.107„ 21, 125 17.230 2 . Mississippi 22.086 35. 248 51. 510 54. 986 3 . Florida 536 445 523 589 4. Ala'bama 28,317 39,015 43.265 39.938 5. Georgia 25.232 3b, 715 9.649 10,860 37,726 32,902 D. loulsana 7. Toxaa 0. Yirginia 4.909 6.617 12.416 14,622 19,844 19.496 18,480 13.272 11,950 8.745 9. north Carolina 19.727 24,^41 20,037 10. Tennessee 66,561 87.595 95.941 84,644 OJotals Total Population of Arkansas 484.284 602,197 1,127.869 1.311,436 natives of Other Southern States 198.189 267,629 313.719 298,411 natives of JQ.1 Other States 246,539 355,491 431.800 442,560 Per cent of pop. Natives of Other Sou13iem States 40.9 33.3 27.8 22.7 Per cent of Poii . Hat. of All Other States. 51.1 44.3 38.1 33.7 1. From U. S. Census Report 3b. TABLE TEI. PUBLIC SCHOOL STATISTICS. Total School foar Popula- tion Total SctLOol Enrollment Avorace Soliool Attendance / Number l87 l87 l87 l87 l8' 16 l88i l882 L883 im 1885 188G 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1895 1894 1895 1696 1898 1899 1900 168,929 189, IbO 20^,557 21b. 475 2^6,600 247.457 272,841 289.617 ^^04,962 52-^.945 $58,506 ^8,006 """.756 29 404.379 405.5^ 418.56 422,252 425.549 456.555 448,041 456.756 463.565 465.56^ 472.508 484. 619 588I1; 15.890 33.570 3;'.74o 55,049 70.973 98.744 117,^96 112,233 153.216 164.757 175.955 185.095 202.754 216.152 205.252 242.117 251,452 264.576 285,159 292.505 296.575 519,05! -^03,8oB 301.387 314,^62 Per cent Total Sch. pop. lliunber 8.4 16.^ 15-5 28.3 36.1 40.6 36.4 48 ib 49.1 48.4 52.2 53.4 50.6 57.8 59.5 62.1 65.3 65.1 in 67.4 65.7 64.9 56.291 123,625 140.445 145.855 166,544 170,410 171.948 197,510 191.447 177.307 195.401 To7 -rf- oT-^ Enrol. Sch. in av.. Pop. At ten--' In dance Av. Attena 48.0 51.0 55.8 55.1 58.3 58.2 58.1 61.9 65.0 58. 8 62.1 19.4 29.5 :,5.2 34.5 38.1 37.8 37.6 42.6 41.1 57.5 40.3 Total School Hovenue 40.444 302,670 269,621 276, 6A7 271,1^4 2fc.471 710.401 722.371 740. 2A4 963 , 660 1.199.005 1.327.710 1.533.147 1.383.209 1.433.^65 1,622,510 1.679.666 1.739.586 1.685.744 1.700,734 1.599.257 1.675,991 1,779,695 "61,820 I-} '61,19 2,005,241 Revenue per Child ^0.24 1.60 1.32 1.27 1.15 145 2.60 2.49 2.42 2.97 ^25 3.71 3.53 3-54 3.54 4.00 4.01 4.12 3.94 ;>.66 i.s. 3.7 3-51 4.13 1. Prom Reports of Supt. of Pub. Ins. for the years Indicated 37. Eetrospection. \7hon we take into aocount the faot that raaoh of the population of Arkansas was born of parents from other States, and therefore imhlhed more or less of their educational ideals, Table VI shov/s us at once how largely the educational deve- lopment of Arkansas has been affected by the ideals of the Old South. The typo of education found in the older southern States during the last quarter of the nineteenth century would natarally be found in Arkansas. The same difficulties facing the development of education and the same signs of projf^ress found in the older southern States would also be found in Arkansas. It is not surprising, therefore, to find the educational development of Arkansas far behind that of the United States talren as a vrhole. Table VII is solf-exi;)lanatory . It shovTS clearly and foroeably the real basio difficulties standing in the way of educa- tional progress in Arkansas. These difficulties may be summed up in three statements: (1) The total school enrollment has not averaged higher than practically 65 per cent of the total school population. (2) The attendance of those enrolled has not aver- aged higher than practically 62 per cent; this megjis that only about 40 per cent of the total school population is in average attendance. (3) The revenue of practically si'4.00 per child, an- nually, is totally insufficient to maintain ade- quate educational facilities. Hence, it is easy to see that moro interest in education and more revenue for the support of schools are iniporative. 58. Cliapter II . Admlnlotratlons . The public schools of the State of Arkansas axe in the hands of an official known as Superintendent of Public Instruction. 1 He is elected hy popular vote and his term of office covore a period of two yetirs . (The nine administrations covering the period from 1900 to 1918 were in charge of four Superintendents of public Instruction. Their names and dates of administration were as follows: Doyne, J.J. October ^0,1900 to October pO,1902; Hineraon, John H October ^0,1901^ to October j;0,1906; Doyne, J.J October >0,1906 to July 1, 1908; 2 Cook, Geo. B July 1, 1908 to October ^0,191^: Bond, J.l October >0,l9l6,to Administration of J.J. Doyne, 1 900-1 902. LJr. Doyne began this administration as his second term, having served during the preceding biennial period from 1898 to 1900. The school system during his administration was "auickened 5 and advanced upon all lines which characterize a healthy growth". Aot-ual Oonditione. This administration bogand under depressing conditions. The county normal schools, which had teen 4 established in lo95 and held for a month each year in nearly 1. The tern of office of the Superintendent of pub. Ins. is the same as that of other State officials . It begins on the thirtieth of October of even years. 2. J.J. Doyne resigned before the ospiration of his term to assume the duties as President of the newly established state normal School. 5. RetDort of Committee on Resolutions, State Teachers Association, 1902. 4. The sxun of ...10,000.00 per year waa appropriated for these county normcls. 59. oTory county of the atato, wore diDoontinued after four yeara of good work, by failure of the legialat-ure of 1899 to moke the neocssary appropriation. The main arcrument advanced by tho legia- lators for the discontinuance of this appropriation was that the maintenance of normal schools was class legislation. The Peabody Institutes held during Mr. Doyne's first administaration, 1898-190O, had also been discontinued, ffliey had been established by the Pea- body Board for the purpose of covering: the work of the discontinued normal schools, just mentioned, furthermore, the Board had v/aived its policy of aiding only those States which wore willing to help 1 themselves, and donated the sum of i^'^.OOO to establish these in- stitutes without any help on the part of the State of Arkansas. Those institutes were poorly attended; the average attendance the first year Vv-as only l802 while for the next year it was only 1532, Realizing that the attendance was not great enough nor sufficiently distributed over tho State to justify a continuance of the donation, and in as much as the State had failod to supplement the funds, the Peabody trustees withdrew their support from the Institutes after two years . In addition to the lack of interest in the training of teachers and an appreciation of the need and value of efficient teachers, as manifest in the two cai^os cited above, we find other things of a depressing nature. The attendance at the state and 1 county educational meetings was poor. Less than one in twenty-five white teaoliors attended the State Teachers' Association at Pino Bluff in June, 1900. Twenty-nine counties hold no Teachers' Iii- 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1699-1900, p.l9 2. Proceedings of tho Ark. State Teachers' Assoc . 19OO. 59a stitutos at all. In the remalnlnc forty-aiz counties where auoh Institutes were held the poroentace of attondance was only 6j. The reason for this low attendance at the State and cotmty insti- 1 tutcs is attributed by Hr. Doyne to two things: (1) tho indif- ference cind even objection on the part of directors to tho teachers leaTins their schools to attend these gatherings; (2) the feeling on the part of toaohors that the noetinjijs were not helpful and there- fore inota-rod needless Gxpeneo. From a study of the reports of the county exaniners contained in the Superintendent's Report for 1899- 1900, wo find jTUch complaint that the teachers lacked professional training and were leaving the profession for laore lucrative work to be foujid in other fields. In other vTords tho teaching profession with its low reiiuirements was being made a stepping stone to otiicr professions. Purthermore , the complaint was constantly mrtdo by the ezarainers that the reports of the directors were very inaccur- ate and often delayed. Oooasionally, there was an indictment of the people as a whole for their lack of interest in educational affairs . A further proof of tho unsatisfactory condition of ed- ucational affairs is found, implied or ezplicitjy stated, in tho Superintendent's Report for 1899-1900 (pp.7-10), notice the im- plication in the following quotation: "The progress of our school systan is in the hands of our lawmakers, but as long as the question of policy is to govern, we cnist not hope for ratioh advancement. lEhat our school law needs a tliorough revision he (the legislator) will readily decide when once he endeavors to interpret its various 1. Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. 1899-190O. p. 2?. 40 provisions. The stunbling block in the way of noro ef footivo legislation has all alone boon a lacJ. of information ox the jiropor sort, and a dependence upon opinions formed without matrire st-udy of the question in hand. In other v/ords, tho dread cruostion of G^qjonce conironts tho othorwiao willing lecislator, and he sees only the present, nor can his eyes ho lifted to the inmdrod-fold harvest that in tho future shall bless the efforts put forth in his day." Ihis some criticism of the legislators is very forcibly stated in tho next biennial report, 1901-1902, p. 29, as follOT/s: "That they (the legislators) are sincere in their actions and patriotic in their efforts, no one will deny. It does seera, how- ever, that the pleas end. inportunlttes of the best educators of the State, which havo come before our logislaturo from time to time, shoiild deserve some recognition. Ilfhese men havo mr.de a study of the school system in the light of their own experience and the knowledge obtained by a study of the system of other States. They have reached certain conclusion, and it is their firm belief that our school system can be best advanced by the adoption of laws lookin>'7 to effective county supervision and the establishment of normal schools in the State." The unsatisfactory conditions are explicitly stated in the following: "Uhtil provision has been made for ceouring to every child mentally and physically capable of receiving the same, irrespective of color or condition, the opportunity to secure a fair English education, the public schools ore not doing the whole work exnoctod of then. The gro\7th of the city school has been marked, and the demands of its patronage are being steadily met 41 "by means of the Incroaaed facllltiGS for "botterinfj its condition. On tho othor liand, the progroBB in the rural aohoolo has been slow and l)y no means steady. Yet above every other oonslderntlons its claims should receive attention at the hands of the peonlo. The rural school, it is evident, must continue to supijly the education to be received by a majority of our population. Of ri«^t then should they be placed on equal footing with the city schools, IThls can never be done, however, under existing conditions, llfiny causes prevent." Among the causes eniuncratod were: the lack of revenue, the formation of nanj?- small districts without regard to ability of the districts affected to maintain schools, the trans- fer of taxes to wealtiiy districts leaving those from ■nhioh the transfer was made in a deplorable condition, look of legiiSlation requiring ?.n equable ad;)ustinGnt of funds whereby the strong should help the weak, lacl; of prading where one teacher does all grades 1 of work lack of high schools, otc . Again, I!r. Doyne says: " A comparison of our nchool system with those of other States forces us to the conclusion that, as long as tho children of other States are granted longer terms of school, oompotent county supervision, normal schools for tho training of teachers, and other advantages that are at present denied to our pupils, the struggle will be un- unequal, and the highest measure of success can not be espected for those whose advantages are more limited." Evidences of Growth and Progress. Although IJJ- . Doyne, during his first administration, had very forcibly outlined the conditions and needs of the rural schools and had urged as a 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. I899-OO. p. 29. 42. means of their Improvonant tho adoption of county supervision, compulsory education, tho logislaturo of 19OI passed no conatBuo- tivc school laws. There v/as, hov.'ever, sonie pro;>ro80 made during this administration. l!h.e attendance at the State and oou-.ity educa- tional meetings s:io..od c ansiderahle im^^rovojaent . Tho ratio of attendance at the State Teaclaers ' Association to the number of teachers In the "tate had increased fror. 1:25 in 1900 to 1:122 in 1902. Prom the biennical reports, v;e find that the number of Teachers' Institutes held to the various counties had increased fron 77 to 1900 to 94 in 1902, while the per cent of attendance at these institutes had increased from 63 in 190O to 75 in 1902, There v/as also a steadily gror/in,'' demand for efficient teachers and the directors rere seeking teachers v^ho had training in normal 1 schools or institute work. There was an increasing interest In the organisation of special school districts in tho towns and cities, as tho special school district jave certain advantages which could not well be secured in common school districts. The law providing for the organiaation of special school districts had been in existence a number of years bud it did not seera to have been considered seriously until the present time, llo men- tion is made of 3peci--;l school districts in the report for tho 2 biennial period from 1697 to 1898. /imong the previsions of tho law creating special districts may be mentioned the follovd.ng: 1. The nimber of directors is increased to six. 2. Full power is given to the board as to ijurchase. 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1901-02. p. 14. 2. Ibid. p. 17 43 3. Provision io made for hlsh achool v/ork. 4 . The "board adopts text-books . 5. Non-rosidont pupils mo^ he admittod. 6. A board of visitors Is to bo ohoson. 7. A graded course of study is to be adopted. 8. iChe board is roqiilred to liald a raeotlng each month. While it can be seen from tho above that the special school district possessed distinct advantages over the corarion school districts, the form of the report to the state Superin- tendent by the comit-y examiners did not embody any definite in- formation as to these special districts and hence we have no official data from this source conccrnlns the fjdvantagos and benefits aotucally derived therefrom. From letters sent to the presidents and secretaries of the boards of the special school 1 districts by the State Superintendent, certain data was obtained as follows: 1. number of special oohool districts formed 112 2. Niunber of buildings in spooial school districts 212 3. Value of buildings in special school districts §937 , 212 .00 4. Value of furniture in those buildings 272,295.00 5. Humber of white teachers employed.... 669 6. Number of colored teachers " 202 7. Number of white pupils enrolled 37t424 8. Number of colored pupils enrolled... 13t^3S 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1901-02, pp. 88-94 44 IThe rcaults v,-ere oven tettor than shown by the above statlsticB because some of the dietrlcts made no reports at all while others made only partial reports. Sohool Reforms Utged. Still recognising the very in- adequate conditions end imperative needs of the rural (common) schools, the administration, imdauntcd by the f'^.il-are of the legislature of 1901 to make any provisions for improvcmGnt , con- tinued to advocate and to luge the adoption of county supervision, the establishment of a State normal Echool, .?Jid the creation of compulsory attendance. The consolidation ox school districts and the transportation of pupils v/as also strongly advocated. (The importance and need of school libraries iras discussed. P.eooiamen- dations were made for an improvement ±n the countj^ uniformity text-book act of 1899 and in the certification of teachers. Administrations of John P. Hinemon, 1902-1906. ?.!r. Hinemon 's tenure of office covered two terms, Oct. 50, 1902 to Oct. 50, 1906, In this connection, Llajor R.H. Parham, 1 the honored nestor of Arkansas education, says: "An intelligent and well directed energy and activity has characterized the admini- stration during the term of offico of !.Ir. Hinemon." Ilr. T/eeks, of of 2 " the Uiiited States Bureau of Education, says Mr. Hinemon: He was aggressive, profressive, and virile; he v/as not awed by opposition, did not truckle to popular prejudice, and assumed that the public 1. Parham; Thirty- three Years of Zd. 'Vork in Ark. p .6 2. ^'eeks: Hist, of Pub. 3ch . Ed. in Ark. p.7o. 45. school system was a necessity and that Its presence was already assured, an aasiimptlon that had not alv/ays "been ovidont in former reports." Actual Conditions. Thougii some inrprovements in educa- tional affairs were gradually beinf^ aoconplishod, tlio conditions were still very imsatisfactory. Prom the roports of the county ezziminers for the two teritffl ending respectively on June 50,1904, 1 and June jO, 190b, Mr. Hinemon macio the following compilation. _ "^~ ' 190A 1506 (1) Schools with lOGB tlian 7 pupils in daily atten dance 104 tf7 (2) n n " 11 ti II n m ;T5 (5) «t n " i6 n n n 954 (4) ir n " 21 II n 1650 1617 (5) (6) tr n " 26 IT tt 2549 2527 !t R " 51 II n 5144 5706 2924 5426 ^V n n " 56 n n ih 11 11 " 41 n TI IT 4054 5707 Since thei'e vv-ere approximately 700O schools in the State at taiat tine, it is easily seen what a large proportion of schools had aji extremely small average daily attendance, i'he very'harmful effects of such a multiplication of ornall school districts upon the entire edudational system of the i3tate la apparent to every one at all conversant with the disadvantaj^o of such districts. !i?he ahove outline ahowo that our people still clung to the absurd notion of having a school house v^ithin a stone's tlirov; of evory men's door. Appropos of tliis data Lir. Hinemon says: 2 "The con- tinued Increase in the number of small districts is sapping the 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Inn. 1905-O6. p. 29. 2. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1905-04, pp. 12-1^ 47 the legislaturo and the more favored looalitloB for a higher rate of school taxation, a norc enuitahle distribution of taxes and the enactment of oompuloory attendance laws, }!\T, Hinemon ve?y forcibly interpreted the general school conditions in the following iiuo tat ions: "We are greatly in need of increased rovonue for school purp030S, and it is imperative that -oronpt and decisive steps bo token to secure a more economical, judicious and "beneficial use of the funds at our comnand. Ltuch of our money is being practically wasted because of small schools, poorly paid and incompetent teachers, short terms, nepotism, favoritism and other influences which should not be allowed to invade the sacred portals of the 1 public schools and injure the most vital interest of the State." "Che attempt to put a school at ovory man's door has resulted in a large number of small schools, many of them taught by young persons who ore not fitted by ego, eccporience, scholastic attainments or otherwise for the delicate and difficult work of training the young I am persuaded that one of the ills affecting our public schools is dividing the counties into too many small school districts. Dividing the districts, and thereby 2 diminishing the fund to each school, may quadruple inefficiency." "In private biisiness of every l!:ind and in the operation of any sort of industry, men readily reooijaize the need and value of skilled direction and training to labor.... Yet there are thou- sands of untrained and inexperienced teach ors in our State who have no direction or ^niidanco whatever. To these persons is comr.itted 1. Report of 3upt. of Pub. Ins. 190^-04, p. 5 2. Report of Supt, of Pub. Ins. 1903-04, p.l^ 48. training of the youth of tho State, and upon their ability o-iid success depends, in a large moaaure, the future of the coramon- 1 weal th . " "During; tbe cainpaign for the adoption for iUnendnent Ho .8 I visited a certain county Jail, Just completed at a coat of about $20,000.00. In an address to the people of that coiijj'ty I coiamendod the humane spirit which had induced them to make such careful pre- paration for the health joid coinfort of forty or fifty persons vrho, "by misconduct, had forfeited their right to freedom. How can I express niy disappointment and sadness, vrhen, on examination of the reports of the school directors of that county, I found that for the accomodation and comfort of nearly j,^00 school childron the same county had expended less than three times the cost of the 2 county jail I" "To ray mind, one of the most distressing features of our educational situation is the fact that continually men onA. women of unusual ability are abandoning the work they love so V7ell and to "Which they are so \.-ell adapted in order to enter other ofillings wh&^he Where their services are more liberally re^rded." The same unsatisfacdiory conditions in the educational development of the State were very forcibly stated in an address ■fay Hon. w/n/Amold, President of tho Texarkana School Board. In 4 part ?.!r. Arnold says: "Some of our special school districts have not yet 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. l90,>-04, p. 21-22 2. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1905-06, p. 10. 5. Ibid, p. 28 4. Tills address is euotod in full by Superintendent Hinomon in his biennial report for 190>-04, pp. 6-12. 49. loarnod the nccoasity of procurlnc the beet talent in tholr teaohing force, or clce by false economy refuse to employ th.e beat teachers, on account of the salary required. But seven- eights of our school population live in the rural districts, where the school tern averages ore not more than three months in the year, and inhere salaries run from v25«00 to ^;40.00 per month. Good teach- ers cannot be employed for such pay, **"^'*' it surely cannot be ex- pected of a teacher on such a salary to accomplish anything toward self-inprovemont. ITo or oho has no money with which to pay the eaijjonses of attending teachers' normals, institutes or associations. '^"" '■ A toacher earning such wages for tliree months in the year finds is necessary to follow some othor occupation for a livelihood until the suramor school begins again. He is a non-professional and teaches a few months in the year for pastime.**** "Arkansas must reclaim itself from the stigma upon its good name, iijid follov; the lead of those who have turned on the light. We have tried the cheap, ujitrainod teacher and have placed our State at the foot of the class of States. In the caui^e of education we stand at the bottom or dangerously near, no matter how the states are grouped or classified in roapoct to the length of school terms, the amount expended per pupil, aV':':rage daily attendance, in salaries paid and in providing the moans of training teachers.***"'"' "It is most singular that the subject of education is not receiving from public officials of the State and candidates for office that consideration its importance deraojids. On the otlier hand, it seems to have been a favorite diversion to boast of our free school system, to advise the masses that re are in the lead, that the public fund for school piirpooes now being collected is 50, aniplQ, and that ani,^ono whu would ad vino to the contrary is a public enemy. Such boasts can bo actuated only by the purest demagogy or ignorance. The facts are to the contrary v V/e have nothing to boast of, but the op-^ortunlty for the greatest development and educational prosperity is with us.***** "V/e must not depend upon philanthropists to educate us. Millions are being donated year by year by those who have it to give away, but nothing is glvBn to the indigent or slothful, "o really do not need help, except from our own people, who are orosperous and amply able to give it. Let the facts be Imown and the honest, in- dustrious people of this State will revolationiso our school system, and it is astonishing how few know our educational poverty. The greatest trouble has been the want of publicity, "'** While other subjects of loss importance have been worn threadbare with constant and monotonous discussion, the great cuostion of education has been overlooked. '' '"^ "^.•fev/ant the best class of immigrants, bat certainly we can- not ezipect it unless .ve present good educational advantages. The primai*y inquiry of those moving from other states is in regard to schools. The Western division of states are our strong competitors for first class new settlers. "^*"' What can we expect for our state in comparison wilSa the Western States, v/hon they spend more than four dollars to our one dollar on each pupil? "To secure an efficient school system v/e aist have addi- tional educated and trained teachers, longer school terms, bettor school houses and apparatus, and got rid of the cheap teacher, but this roquiros more -loney. Kow is it to be obtained? !Uhe subject of school salaries is usually discui^sed as though the 51 directors of nchool distrlci-n havo Tdooii hon.rdlnr im tho no>ool fundc. lut, alac, whcii vhc i'acoc i^xo ..Tiov/ii, v.-o iiavo, ac a i-ule, no means of adding to stolaries, or to the oxtenolon of nchool torma, or bulldinc nooosaary Jiousoo.**"^ TTanv of our dlatrlr-ta -iro living one year in advance, and when It comes to t>iilldin^7 a houac it Is often t}iou€ht ear edient to suspend school for at learnt one yoar. The logs to pupil hy oucT; suspension oamiot bo measured "by any known etsuidard . * *" Our Conotitution ought to bo ohangod ao ao to levy a State school tax of five mills instead of two, and the electors should be allowed to lovy at their annual school meetings a masdraum of ten instead of five mills, now permitted.. '"" Wo must more than double our revenue to reach tho avorjige (of other States) , ns to salaries paid, length of school torin, rjid f^mds paid out ' oor cap- ita' for each child attending ochool." Many more quotations coTild bo f^ven from various sources to bJtow tho educational baclcwardnocLi of the State at tho oponing of LIT. Hinaraon'o adrainistratlon (and evon throughout his entire tenure of office of tp^o torms), but tho above v/ill suffice, not- withstanding this glooeaiy picturo, however, thoro woro many oi^ns and evidoncos of development and to theso \7o shall now turn our attontlon. Evldoncea of Crovrth and Procress . In tho opening para- graphs of his two biennial reports, Ilr. Hlnonon mado oovGrol state- ments rolatlvo to the grov/th and progroos of tho odiioatlonal oyritom of .^rlranoas during his tenure of office, from v/hloh we may make tho 1 following compilation: 1902 to rl904to 1906 (1) Inci-easo in Scholastic population /22,o65\ i;^,l3B (2) Huiabcr of now buildings ereotod y^ 470 \ 602 (3) toount expended for now buildings /297,211 .26 \766,68j> .59 (4) Increase in oxpendituro for tuition per child enrolled y^ v3»82 to Ti;405 \v4.3$ "^04 .95 m n r 1 52. Note from preceding page. (5) ITncrease in amoimt paid for teaohers* salaries $605,049.62 The above otatistios v7ero indeed gratifying, considering the prevailing conditions. The amount -paid for new "buildincs during 2 the auadronium was yl, 06^,894. 65 , a sum practically equal to ono- third the entire value of ochool houses in the State at that time. Although there was no general legislation pertaining to the consolidation of school districts, the continued agitation for 4 consolidation was beginning to bring recults . A special Act of the legislature in 1903 ancL tv;o special Acts in 1905 provided for the consolidatftdn of certain districts. Three cases of consolida- tion wore mentioned by the Superintendent in his biennial report for 1903-04 )pp .19-20), in all of which the patrons were highly pleased with the results . The advantages of the special school district wore being more and more appreciated. Daring the quddrenlum there was an in- crease of forty-nine new districts, making one hundred sixty-one in 7 all. The following comparative outline shows the status of special 1. Reports of Supt. of pub. Ins. 190^-04, p. 5; 1905-06, pp .5-6. 2. This large aniount of money spent for school houses, however, reacted upon the average length of school terra and decreased it from 93 "fco 81 days, .^nd thus was furnished another striking example of the utter inadequacy of the school rovonue. 3. The total value of all school housos in the State according to the bieniilal report for 1905-06 (p. 237) was ;)3,l6o,12>97. 4. Act. Ho. 149 of the Acts of 1903. 5. Acts lies. 100 and 141 of the Acts of 1905* 6. In one case, the patrons donated ,1,500.00 for the schools. 7. In this tablo the" statistics for 1902 wore compiled from the data on special school districts found in the Report of the Superintendont of Public Ins. for 190I-O2, pp. 89-94; the sta- tistics for 1906 were compiled from the data on special ochool districts found in the Report of the Superintendent of public Instruction for li)05-06, pp. 248-55. 53. soliool dlstriota very oloarly: (1) (2) (5) (4) {^! (9) (10) 1902 Ilurabor named " making no report " naJrlng reT)ort " of buildings Volue of buildings Value of furniture ITiunber of white teachors N^unber of colored toaohors IlTirabor of v'hito pupils enrolled Number of colored pupils " 112 5 107 212 v937.212 272, 2q5 6b9 202 15.^36 1906 mr 38 123 245 0l,912.;;OO 144,955 906 221 47,74t> 14.957 The oonparison of the above data would show a nnzch more favorable advantage but for the large number of districts not re- porting. In the report from which the data for 1906 was compiled, we note that many of the thirty-eight schools not reporting were conrparativoly large and more or less prof-rrcssive. The "value of furniture" for 1906 was oven less than that for 1902, which evident- ly WEB not the true condition of the ease. The other items for 1906, esoept for the first three, were accoringly less than they would have been had more complete returns been made. The county examiners, conorally, reported increased in- terest in the county institutes for teachers. The following out- 1 lino shows tho progress in the number of institutes held as well as the increased in attendance during the quadronium: (1) number institutes held) ) (2) " teachers attending (3) " teachers not attend. (4) Percentage of attendance 1903 3180 1366 70 1904 3600 1290 74 1905 101 '^ 783 1517 79 1906 104 6747 58 In his second biennial report , Mr. Hinonon says; "In ace or-' dance with tho provisions of tho Vaughter Bill (Senate Bill ITo . 285, session 1905) teachers' Institutes of one v/eek's duration were held 1. Statistics for this table ojre found in the Reports of tho Supt. of Pub. Ins. for 190;-04, (pp .166-167,198-199) and for 1905-06,p .212-1^ . 234t245) 2. Report of 3upt. of pub. Ins., 1905-O6, p. 14. 54. in cill parts of tho atato. For the noBt part theso InstltTitGa were conducted by the county exaninors. It is very probable tliat not exocodinc four per cent of tho entire teaching force of the State failed to attend some institute. Many went to summer schools in other States, and otJiears v/ho had licenses to teach in more than one county were sonotimes reported as not attending, when, in fact, they had attended an institute elsewhere." 1 As the Vaughtor Bill provided lor the extension of a teacher's license "from the time of its expiration for the time for which it was orignially issued " upon attendance at the county in- etit; tos, the law no doubt accounts in part for the increased per- centage of attendance in 1905 and in 1906, The percentage of attend- ance, however, before the operation of the law was significant. When it is taljion into consideration that the institutes for 190^ and for 1904 were maintained by voluntary contribution out of tho meagre ealarics of tho teachers, the percentage of attendance was a very gratifying sign of progress . 2 She Peabody Instituteo were established again in the Stumer of 19OJ:), after being discontinued for two years, ive are xmable to toll how much or under what conditions the funds for the renoT/al of these institutea w9r.-> r.ade. In his report for 190^-04 (p»35) -Cr« ninenon sinply says: "Peabody Institutes have been held for the past two suraners at several places in the state . These v/ero supported out of tho funds given by the Peabody Board and were well attended." In his next report (p. 15) , however, the statement is 1- Act lie. ^11 of the Acts of 1905. 2. A definitely organized and clearly outlined manual for these Institutes is xoujid in the Heport of the supt. of pub. Inst. 1905-06, pp. 108-150. 5- For probable additional inforrnatlon on this point see Senate Concurrent Resolution lie .6, Acts of Arkansas, 190^- 55. 1 made that a 31,000.00 a yoar was appropriated for Poabody Insti- tutes in 1905 and in 1906. ijo statiGtlos for those institutes are given for 1905 or for 1904- . In 1905, there T7ere thirteen Peabody Institutes held for whites :.'jid throe for negroes, with an attendance of 1257 at the former nnd 207 a* '^"he latter. In 1906, there wore seventeen for whites and four for negroes, with an attendance of 1331 at the former and 259 at the latter. In addition to the liberal donations for the Peabody Instl- 2 tutcs mentioned o.bovo, the Peabody Board donated .)3000»00 for the purpose of aiding the rural districts of Arkansas in building model school houses. Later, by authority of the general agent. Dr. J.I .IT. Curry, "a part of this fxmd. was used in orlntlng and distributing literature on ruestlons of general education, and partletilarly on the need of increased revenue, better schools, longer school terms and trained teachers." (The donation was conditioned on the rural district raising a stipulated sum for building -mirposos. Four 4 districts mot the conditions of the offer and each received the siim of j^ 250. 00 Dr. Curry, throu^ whom the Peabody funds were secured, was greatly intorosted in the oducj^.tlonal development of Arkansas, and the people of the State are roalising more and more the good results which have come through his influence in securing such a largo share of these funds for the training of otir teachers and the dovolo oment of our schools. 1. per provable additional information on this point see Senate Concurrent Resolution II0.6, Acts of Arkansas, I90j/ . 2. no statement is made as to whether the donation was conditional. 3. Report Ox Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1905-O6, p.34-» 4-. This amount was evidently ylOOO.OO as only ylOOO.OO appears to have been used in building schools. Ibid. p. 34. 56. Another favorable si^n of the crowth and development in the school intoroeta of Arkanaag was manifest .In the educational exhibit of the State at tho St .Louis V/orld's Pair. Siiporlntondent Doyne had called attention to tho value and need of such an exhi- bit. An article prepared by Prof. C .3 . Barnett, of Eureka Springa, at tho request of !lr. Poyne, sugcosting outlines of work that might bo followed by the riunilo, was cjont to the county examiners for dis- 1 tribution. The main work of organising tho exhibit however, waa done by Super intondent Hinemon. Tho exhibit was dosigned to "givo a clear and definite insight to tho workings and character of the schools from tho I'indergarten to the University." The material for the ox3iibit was arranged in five groups, as follows: Elo^-nentary Education, Sooondary Sduoation, Higher Education, Special Education, 2 and Education of Defectives. Sixty- three different schools and colleges were represented in the exhibit; of these, fifty-six wore white and seven colored. Concerning the exhibit '!r. Hinemon sajrs: "It is proper to say that the superior excellence of the work pre- sented reflected great credit upon the teaching force of our State and clicitod words of commendation and prasie from ed-acators throughout tho Union, ITedals of special merit were awarded the exhibits from tho cities of Hot Springs, Port Smith and ].:uroka 1. [There was no appropriation for this GKliibit made by the legis- lature, but tho Arkansr.c Board of Commissioners of the lauisana Purchase Supposition Placed at the disposal of the Supt. of pub. Ins. the sun of 'p^t^OO.OO for this purpose. 2. A complete list of tho schools and colleges represented in tho exhibit is found in tho Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. 190;j-04, pp. 89-90. 3. Eoport of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 190^-04, p. 88. 57. Springs, and alao from the Colored ludUQtrlol Institute of pine Bluff." LoGialatlon Jiiaoted. The General Assembly of 19OJ) passed an Act requiring the Superintendent of public Instruction to prepare "A course of study for the oonanon schools of the State of Arkansas." Frora the reports of the county oxaininers and of the Superintendents of Public Instruction and from other sourdes v;e find no special agitation, strange to say, concerning a graded course of study. Tho fact, however, that so naiay leading educators were vd-lling to assist tho Superintendent of Public Instruction in the preparation of -tJie course and the fact thj.it it wag so favorably re- ceived by the teachers and ooimty examiners everywhere furnish abundant evidence that a graded course of study for the coraron schools of the State was felt by all interested In education to be of paramount need and value. Concerning the preparation of this graded course of study and its favorable reoeption, Itt". ninomon 2 says: "The course of study is not tho work of aiiy one nan. It is the result of elaborate corres:--ondence, free discussion and large experience . College presidents, Tznivorsity profe'r'sors, city super- intendents, tOTOi principals, and teachers of the iniral schools v;ere asked for sug -estions and the department is greatly indebted to all of them for vOdvioe given freely and for criticisms made with candor earnestness. The course has been cordially rocoived and stands as its own best defender, if defense is needed, llcny county examiners, whose interest in the schools of their counties goes far beyond the 1. Act. lie. 95 o£ the Acts of 1903. 2. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1905-04, po4 58. formal and perfimotory ozamination and licensing of toaohora, have given abundant tostirnony of their high appreciation of the good it will neoossarlly accomplish." 1 The graded Course of Study for Rural Schools, was issued July 1, 19OJJ. Its preparation shov/ed considorahle care and effort. lEhere wore five distinctive parte to the course of study, as fOllOTTS: (a) A ous:Tostlve program, giving suhjoots, time and length of each recitation. (T)) A clear -cut outline of v;hat should bo included and taught in each grade. (c) Detailed suggestions to toaohers as to hov; to teach the subject matter outlined for each of the grades , (d) A list of some thirty "General Directions to Teachers. " (e) Blank forms for classifying pupils and shoirving their advojioenient in the various subjects during the session. Altogether, this graded course of study was oalctilated to do much good (1) in furnishing a working guide to the hundreds of untrained teachers who annually entered the ranges, (2) in stimu- lating the teachers to do a better grade of work and the pupils to complete a certain amount of work in a given tine, and O) in giv- ing symmetry and continuity of work thus preventing so much repe- tition of work by suooensive teachers. The law providing for the ezanining and licensing of teachers v/as decidedly improved by Act Ho .52 of the Acts of 190^. IThe weaknesses of the old law had been ■lointed out many tines by both Superintendent Doyne and Superintendent Minemon and by other 2 leading educators of the State. [Three new subjects (history of 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1905-O6, pp. 1^1 -45. 2. See page 59- 59 Arkansas, Civil Govornnont and elementary algebra) noro. added for cotuity lioonaea and a rcarrangomont of the sutijoota was made for tho -Uiree gradoG. According to the old law all ai^plioants were examined u-oii tho same subjects. Those mal:ing a general average of 85/t rocoivcd a first rade lloonso valid for two jeara; those making a generjil average of 75/^ received a second ^rado license valid for one year; and those making a general average of "Jofo received a third 1 grade license valid for six months. The law of 1903 made provision for ooTinty licenses as follows: "There shall he throe grades of certificates graded on the follOT^ring conditions: Applicants re- ceiving a third grade license, which shall be valid for six months, must pass an approved examination in spelling, reading, penmanship, English granmiar, arithmetic, geography, and United States History; receiving a second grade license, valid for one year, an approved exardnation in tho aubjccts recuired for a third crade license, and also in history of Arkansas, physiology, and theory and art of teaching; receiving a first grade license, valid for two years, an approved examination in tho suhjects required for a second grade IT license, and also in civil government and elementary algebra. Tho 2 reauirements for the State license, valid for life, remained un- changed . Two new kinds of licenses nere added by this Act llo'.52 of the Acts of 190J3. The first was called a special license. It note from page ^^.Tho suhjocts for county license as required by the old law were; orthography, reading, p — -^hip, nental and written arith. English grammar, modern gcc^ ly, history of the Un.S. thoory and practice of teaching, and physiology and hygieno. See. Section 7010', Sandels and Hill. »s Digest, 1. Act. ITo. 52 of the Act;: of 190$, Section 2. 2. The subjoots for a State license as recuired by the old law v;ere: All those branches rcuired for county t" ; and, also, algebra, geometry, r.hysics, rhetoric, r: _ :.ilosophy, history 6o. was valid for two years and was granted as evldenoo of qualifica- tions to teaoh aubjocta not mentionod anong those requirod for countj' lioonsos. 'She gecond was called a profooaional license. It was valid in any county of the State for a period of nix years and was granted upon satisfactory examination on "algebra, piano goomo- try, general history, I'hetoric and civil government," in addition to the siibjocts required for a fttst grade license. The special licen G, intend od to assist school hoards in selecting teachers especially prepared to teaoh subjects not enumerated among those for county llconso, at)-Darently did not interest the toaohoro. Iio of record is found in either ISr , Hinoraon's biennial reports of a special license being granted to any one. The professional license, howovor, was quite a favorite, from the beginning. During the / first year after its authorization, 1903 f twenty-four professional licenses v/ere granted, while twenty-two vrere granted the nest year. In referring to the list of persons receiving a professional 1 license, Ilr. Hinemon says: "The list represents about seventy per cent of the candidates examined; the others 7/ere denied license, having failed to meet the requirements (^tablished for this grade 2 of certificate." Thirty-nine more professional licenses vrere X — issued during ICr . Hinemon 's s goo nd tern, maldng eighty-five for tlie Hoto cent, from page 6o. Latin, the Constitutions of the U.S. and of the State of Arkansas, natural history, and theory and art of teaching. See Section 6974, Sondels and Hill's Digest. 1. Keport of Supt. of Pub. Inn. 190>0/i., p.36. 2. A list of those securing those licennes is foiind in the Report of the Superintendent of Pub. Ins. 1905-06, pp. 37 and 38. 6l. auadreimiitm. The profeeaional license euablod conpotont teachers to relieve tJioms elves of froquont examinations and served ag a stinulus to th03c uho were ablo baroly to secure a first grade county lioenao. 1 2 The r>aasa£re of a ohild labor law by the legislature of 190i> evidently had a beneficial of foot upon oohool attendance, but no data or statistics are available to show the oztent of the in- creased attendance . Another act of this legislature, which evident- ly had a bonoflcial effect upon the educational tone of the State was Act. no. 157 authorising cities of the first and second class 2 to "levy a tax" for the support of public libraries. The General Assembly of 1905. 'by Act Ho. 215, created the Arkansas History Corrmission and arjpropriated s, 250 '00 to enable the CoDmlssion to carry out its duties. Tliia Act also appropriated ijplOOO.OO to aid the Oomraission in printing the first volurao of the Arkansas rlistorical Aasooiation. Dr. J. E . Reyliolds, then Head of the Department of History, University of Arkansas, drafted this bill and managed the canipaign resulting in the passage of the bill. The only other educational Act of this legislature, of a constr:zctivo natiire, was Act, Ho ,$11, already referred to on page 54 as the Vaughter 3111 for oxaiaining mid licensing teachers. Without dotibt the nost favorable legislation of this quadronniun rrao the Resolution of tho General Assembly , Iiaroh 2, 1905, subinittinc a constitutional amendment to the poo-^le on tho 1. Act. No. 127 of the Acts of 190$. 2. Act. 110.24 of the Acta of 19OI authorised cities of the first , and second class to "receive gifts, donations, and endoTOiments for the support of the public libraries. 62. qnostion of raising the limit of taxation for the Stat© from 2 to 3 mills and for the distriots from 5 to 7 mills. !i?he tinie was ripo for siiQh an oAendment, A rGalisr.tion of an -arsent need for more school revenue had grov-n rapidly anong the masses of the people dur- ing the last five years. Superintendent Doyne had agitated the question of moro revenue for the schools; Superintendent Hinemon argued aggressively for a change in the constitutional taxing limits 1 for educational purposes; educational leaders through the press -:m4 public addresses were pleading with the people for a higlier rate of taxation for so?iool pumosos; awdone of the recommendations by the 2 Committee of Ten (Arkansas Rural Schools Gonmitteo) appointed by the Arkansas State Teachers' Acsociation in 1904 was for an exten- sion of the constitutional limit on the right of taxation; county examiners, in their reports, v.'ere very generally contending for funds to carry on the vrork of education; and the olctors in nearly all the districts wore voting the mi^xinuIn rate of 5 mills. The amondnont was votod on by the people in Septcnbor 1906, and was carried by the overwhelming majority of 92,9^9 to 47. 3^^, practically 2 to 1. In some counties the majority in favor of the amendment was 8 to 1; in nine counties only was there a majority against the amendment. Accordingly, the legislattiro of 1907 1 on 1. He contended that the liiait of to-xation for the state should be raised from 2 mills to 5 "-ills, and for the districts from the maxinujn optional tax of 5 mills to a moximun optional tax of 10 mills. 2. For outline of this report see pp. 151-152 5. Tills was amendment IT0.8. It was the first change in the taxing clauses for public school education as ±i:n:ed by the Constitution of 1874. 63 April 17, fixoa the Unit of taxation for the State at ^ mills and the naxlmum optional limit for the districts at 7 nilln . School RcfOTOS Urged. In addition to thoa nchool reforne sooured through the above nentionod lecislation, the followinc: may be mentioned ao those acgroDSivoly urcod by the administration and coujity o::a.ininers in particiilar and by the educational leaders in generfi].; (1) county suporvision (2) a State noriial school as ^rrall as county nornial schools; (])) Inoreasod salaries for teachers; (4) school libraries; (5) "tlio study of olcmentary fTcricultnre in the common schools; (6) more care in the constiixotion and location of 1 school houses; and (7) a distribution of the school funds "on a basis of the number enrolled rather than the niunber of persons of school a^je." A bulletin, which vrar, very valuable to school directors, was issued by CuperlntendGnt Hinonon, imder the title "Suggestions and Reconriendatlons on the Arranr^ement and Caro of School Ilousos and School Cro^mds." The biaiotin conto.lned a discussion of the follOT^ing: location, outhouses, water suj-iply, the school house, -jhysical conditions, lic'^' ' , aoors, doors, black- boards, intcriot, cloakrooms, v " iatlon, riid boolrs aiid book- cases. It also contained some twenty mges of cuts and diagrams, 64. ADHIITISTlLVriON OP J. J. DOTJT.^ I906-O8. Aftor four yeju'D of private life, J. J. DOiTio xiae o^alzi retumod to tiio office of Sxiperintondont of ITiblic Instruction. Ho lac^rod four nontha of comploting tho term, roaigninc July 1, 1908, to aasume the duties as rroeident of the ilrkansas State normal School. The romainder of the torn was filled by Geol B. Cook and the report for the biennial period V7as prepared by him. Actual Conditions. Mr. Doyne fo^rnd the educational out- look of the State far more 7->roTrdaing at the beginning of this term than at the beginning of his second term in 19OO. The following compilation of data shows at a glanoe the iraprovoraent that had been nade along several linos: (1900) (1906)^ 1900 1906 1. Scholastic population (enumeration) 484,619 530,571 2. number of pupils enrolled 514,652 545.146 5. number of pupils in daily attendance 195.401 214, 281 4. Per cent enrollment Is of enumeration o4.95 65. 05 5. Per cent attendance is of enrollment 62,10 62. Oo o. Per cent attendance is of oiiumeration 40.52 ^^'?^ 7. Average length of school tor^; in daya 77.48 06.64 8. Total salary of teachers omr^loyed 0l.2O9,|O5.1O vl, 769*092 .19 9. Total number of teachers employed 6,959 7»58l 10. Average annual salary of teachers vl75 .70 'i^255»56 11. Average monthly sal:-ry of teachers 44.84 55.87 12 . Revenue raised for support of common schools :i;i.454,646.54 $5,546,091.14 15 . P.evenue exroonded for suiaport of common schools ^' i?l,569,809.75 ^2,2^0.948.98 14. /jnount expended per pupil emimeratod i32v827 V4'»205 15. Amount ejcpended per pupil enrolled ?4f055 1^6,4 Id. Amount espondod per pupil in daily attondcjico 7.10 ;tflO .411 17. Common school fund apportioned per child onumoratod 1 .01 18. Total value of school property $2,616,556.55 05.6o7.78:j.O8 19. Average vp.lue of school property per child enumerated 20. Average vr^luo of school property per pupil enrolled 21 . Average value of school property per pupil in daily attendojicc 1 22. number of pupils cnrollfed in H.S. 25. Per cent H.3. enrollment is of common school enrollment 2.62 4.16 ^5.599 ;ij6 .800 8.515 10 .455 15.591 8,254 16.857 14.561 65 i\lon{; the lino of "per cont of Attondanoe" , It v/ill "bo observed from the ahovo outline, there had boon no material ir,Tprovo- la ncnt; in fact, there had Tjeen a oliglit docrcano in one phase of the attendonoe as indicated in item Uoa.5. Hovvever, the increase in the average nontlily salary of teachern, the incicaco in the averacc annual esrpenditnre per child, and the inoroaoe in feigh school attondanco were all outstanding foalTiros vfliich made the outlook prom- is inc. Again, the school system ao a T^ole evidently had 'ooon more systomatically organised by use of the "Graded Course of StTidy for Rural Schools", v;liich went into operation July 1, 1903. Especially, waa the fincjiciol outlook promising because of the pro- visions of araendnent llo, 8 raising the State taz from 2 mills to 5 mills c-nd the district optional tax from a mazlmura of 5 mills to a maslnun of 7 mills. Evidences of growth and pro-^TCss. In mailing a brief 2 summary for the biennial period, !,Ir . Coolr points ont, among other things, that the per capita opportlonmcnt was v3il4; that the total school expenditure per capita (those of school age) was C>9«l6. and that the number of new school houses built was 574. at a cost of $1,202,816.00. file Acts of the legislature for 1907 show forty special Acts authorizing various schools to borrow money for build- ing purposes. This legislature wn.s especially liberal in its appro- priations "or the Stvito schools -and institutions. That special school districts wore gaining increased favor was evidenced by the note from page 64. The data indicating those enrolled in high schools is ro'^.lly data for tho- ■ ■'-"' ' high school branches. Ilany pu: ils, no doubt, T/ere really ^ T/ork in common scliool branches than in high school branches. la. This v/ould soem to indicate that the child labor law enacted in I90j:j had not affected tho scjiool attendance. 2. r^eport of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1907 -08 p. 5. 66, passace of forty-eight speoial Acts croatins torritory into apooial ohhool distriots . Spooial ovidenoe of rrowth and progroso was tho develoijraent of tho Arkansas Toaohers ' Reading Circle and of the State School Inprovemont Aosociation, Both of those novenenta wore devGloping rapidly and wore calculated to produce very wholesome effects upon tho educational welfare of the State, legislation Enacted. !i?lie General Assembly of 1907 dis- tinguished itsolf "by its constructive educational legislation. Spurred, no doubt, by the ovcarwhelrning vote oast in Septoraber 1906, for Constitutional amendment II0.8, this Assembly enacted laws es- tablisMng a State llorracl School, creating the office of county su- perintendent, and authorising the teaching of elementary agriculture in the public schools . Arkansas was almost the last in the galaacy of states to 1 establish a normal school for the systenative training of her teach- ers, but some years of persistent discussion at last brought reward. Act llo. ^17 of the Acts of 1907, approved May 14, provided "for the establishment and maintenance of a State !Torm.-il School for the State of Arkansas." The Act provided that tho school should be managed by a Board composed of "State Superintendent of public Instruction, the State Auditor, the State Treasurer and four other com^petent persons to bo appointed by the Govornor of the State, subject to the approval of the Senate." The State Superintendent was made chair- man of the Board and the term of office of tho appointive members fixed at four years. Among the first acts of the Board was the election of J. J. Doyne as President of the School. Tliis selootion 1. AB early as 19OO every State in the Uiiion except Arkansas, ITevada and lYyoming had established one or more State normal Schools. See Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1901-2, v-p. 15-14. 67. met Tdth tho hearty approval of the teaohinc profcasion of the State and was a fitting tribute to the one rxho hod perhaps been more earnest said influential than any other in promoting the move- ment for a normal school in Arkansas . The Board was to prescribe the course of study and esta- blish a model school for practice in connection therewith. Tuition was to be free to citizens of the State only. The conditions of admission were as follows: "No pupil shall bo admitted to the n ormal school vrho is not at least sixteen yearn of age, in good herlth, of good moral character, who shall have completed a course of study equivalent to that prescribed for the common schools of the State and who does not give a written pledge to the President of said school to teach ip. the common schools of the State of Arkansas for a period of two years after his graduation of the same." Graduates of the school were to receive "diplomas equivalent to a professional license, authorizing the holder of the same to teach in any public school of the State of Arkansas for a period of six years from and after the date of issue, and after the axpiratlon of that time said diploma may be converted into a life certificate provided the character of work done by thn holder thereof and his moral character meet the approval of the normal school board." The initial appropriation cjirried only .jl5,000.00, but, under the condition that the Board should receive propositions for tho location of the school, an r>dditional su of -.^51.75^ •00 "^^^ i'g- 1 received from tho town of Conway, where the school was located, making altogether the sum of 66,75jj,00 for the establishment of the 2 school and its maintenance for one year. 1. In addition to this cash donation of v5lf75>'00 tho town of Conway donated an 8o acre tract of lond for building site end 68. A four years' coiiroe w;i.3 outlined covering the following sub Joe ts: Agriculture, Drawing and Penmanship, English, History, Latin, Mathematics, Pedagogy, Science and Voice Training. One teacher was elected for each subjoot ercopt Pedagogy, which was taught by the President, The first session opend September 21,1908, with an enrollment of 105 the first tern. The next year the Peabody Board donated vlO,000.00 to irrprove the department of Agriculture and to establish a model farm for the benefit of the school, Anotaior inrportant educational ilct of the legislature of 1907 was the law providing for a county superintendent. This office was not new for Arkansas, AXi- Act of 1855 provided that the County "Common School Commissioner" should be es-officion county school superintendent with general supervision of the common schools. 1 Among his duties were: assisting the tovmship trustees in the per- formance of their duties by giving them advice on the best manner of conducting common schools, constmcting schoolhousos, and procur- ing competent teachers; recommending suitable tostbooks, maps, charts, and apparatus and urging uniformity in the use of the same; esamin- teachers and granting certificates; and raalclng reports to the State 2 school j^commissioner . The common-school law of 1867, enacted by the Cent, from page 67. agricultural demonstration work, and also pro- vided "for the use of the school such water supply as night bo necessary, a septic tank, electric light connections with the town, concrete sidewalk from the town to the normal buildings, and a strip of land on the north side of the grounds fifty feet wide and about ono-elghth of a mile in length for street purposes." See Report of supt. of Pub. Ins. 1907-8, p. 59. 2. The original contracts for tho building amounted to ^^^^l. 864 .08. In addition to this amount tho sum of .2574 •51 was expended for furni- ture and laboratory fixturo? . "loo Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. 1907-08, pp. 60-61. 1. page 60. Weeks, History of pub. sch. Ed. in Arl:. pp. jj8-59. 2. The Secretary of state was cic-officio Sto e School Comrniasioner . 69. *B#bel* loglslaturo, retained the county oohool ooramiss loner or OTiporintendcnt with duties almilar to those provided for by the act of 1855. !?he oomrnon-sohool law enacted "by the first session of the Reconatvuotion leglelataro, July 25, 1868 provided for the appoint- ment by the Governor of c. 'olrouit super in tondont of schools' for each of the ten judicial circuita of the State. The salary of these olrouit suporintondents, at v5»000«00 ^ yoar, amounted to fully one- half of the State fund in 1868 and 1869. so vehemently did the p.eople object to this feature of the law, as an unnecessary expense, that the Keconstructionista, in 1871 repealed it and substituted 1 county superlntcndenoy for circuit suporintendency . County super- Intondcncy prevailed throughout the reoonsti-aotion period, but after the restoration of Home Rule and the adoption of the Consti- tution of 1874 the office of county examiner was substituted for that of county superintendent, as there was still a fooling that the expense of the county superintendents was not Justified by the services of these officers. Although the office of county oxarainor has continued ever since its first creation, its provisions were never satisfactory. Ihe law prescribed iniportant duties for the office of coxmty exam- iner, in the way of visiting and supor vising schools, but tho small cocrpensation of the office made It impossible to seouro men v/ho could or would do much more than hold examinations, grant licenses, and compile the school statistics collected from tho district. So, after thirty years, county supervision of schools '.■> was again established in Arkansas. Tho new law was elective and 1. Shinn: Hist, of Ed. in Ark. p. 4-0 2. Act. no. ;>9S of the Acts of 190?, approved May 27, 1907 • 70. and eaoh county docidod for itnelf, by popular voto, whothor oounty supervision shoizld be adopted. After the adoption of ooimty euper- vision, a oounty superintendent waa to bo elected by popular vote at each biennial election for state and county officials. In regard to the qualifications of the county superintendent, the law provid- ed that "he shall have attained the age of t'.venty-five years, shall liave taught at least trrenty-four raonthn in the county, within five years preceding hia candidacy and shall at the time of his candidacy hold a first grade teacher »s license to bo approved by the state superintendent, professional teacher's lioenGe, or a State teacher's license, and he shall be eligible to re-election without further esamlnation." His duties were as follows: hold quarterly examina- tions of teachers for the purpose of fpirantin;^ licenses; keep an account with each district showing all receipts and disbursemento; Icoep a record of all contracts made with teachers a.nd all contracts made with dealers for supplies; approve all charts, maps, globes or other school su-oplies ■^uxohased by the directors and furnish plans 1 and specifications for the erection of nev; school houses; keep a record of all amounts voted for various purposes at the usual May meetings of the electors and approve no warranto except as ordered at these meetings; receive detailed monthly reports from the teach- ers; urge the adoption of uniformity of text books; have an office at the county seat and devote all his time to official duties; prepare annual tabulated statements of the conditions of the aiiools; hold annual county Institutes of a week's duration, one day dis- trict institutes at oultfible times and places, and a "normal instl- 1. Tlieso plands and specifications, however, v;ere to bo approved by the directors. 71. tuto from the flrat Llonday In April to the rofjular qtiartorly eaam- ination In Juno"; etc. The salary of the county superintendent was 1 to bo the same as that of the coimty judge; except that in no cace should it he less than .,.600.00 a year or cioro than -.si, 200. 00 a year, and was to be paid out of the oonnon school fuiid. '•) u The legislature of 1907 also pacscd a law authorising the teaching of elementary a[^rlculturo in tho publlo schools. This law was calculated to havo n more vital influonco upon the school system of Arkansas than most educators of the State realised. Although most of the population of the State lived in iniral districts where agriculture was the loading occupation, the teaching profession up to this time, apparently, had not conceived the idea of adapting the education of the country child to the real needs of his agricul- tural life. TTo rocomr.endations along this line are found in tho bi- ennial reports of tho Superintendents of Public Instruction, nor did the programs of the State Teacher's Association contain any numbers on agricultural education. The lar: was the result of agitation on part of the Farm or s ' Unions, which were prominent at that time, and also the initiative of the legislature itaelf , Tho la\7 was not man- datory; it simply authorized nnd empowered the school directors "to cause to be used and taught, when in their judgment thoy saw fit, an elementary text book on tho subject of r.gri culture." However, the legislature of 1907 is to be conmonded for mal^dng a beginning along this lino. It showed a tendency toward adaptation of education to tho real objectives of life. School Reforms Utgod. The recommendations made by the Superintendent in his biennial report for 1907-1908 were as follows: 1. Act. No. 455 of the Acts of 1907, approved May 29, I907 . 2. Act ITo. 455 of the Acts of 1907, Approved Kay 29, 1907. 72. the estal)lishroont of ae;ri cultural hlgli schools in the rural distrlcto to Give the oouiitry hoys and girls the laiOTrlodce and training that woiad fit then for their life work; consolidation of aohool districts; a revision of the rooorda of the school district boundary lines; com- ptasorji' education; the repeal of section 1$ of Act. Ilo. 399 '^^ 'tlio Acts of 1907 requiring the county superintendent to hold"a normal institute from the first Monday in April to the regular qu^artorly examination in Jane:" State aid to high schools and their adoption of a one or trro years training course for teachers; nedical inspection of the schools; a State Board of Education" with broad and olaatid powers and comprehensive duties" to assist the Sup or intend on t in sys- tematically organising and directing the educational forces of the State; an increase in the office force of the Department of Education and larger appropriations for the work of the office; a proper rendi- tion of taxes; and a coniplete digest of the School Laws of the state compiled by competent legal authority. !Bie above rcoorar.iendations show some interesting innovations. Tet they were all practicable and calculated to be helpful to tlie schools of Arlransao . GSiey vvere not theories but features v7hich had proven of inestimable value in oliier State school systems. Administrations of Geo, 3. Cook, 1908-19lb. In addition to filling our the unexpired term of j. J. Doyne, ICr. Cook*s tenure of office covered four suooeosivo terms, making altogether a period of eight years and four nontho. Only one other man approached this length of service as State Superintendent of 1 73. Arkanoas. That was W.E. Thonrpoon, who oervoa eight years from, Oct. 50,1882 to Oct. ijO, 1890. 'Ihis long tenuro of office cave la*. Cook time to organize eztenslvo plana .nnd carry tho-n to a successful oulninati on . The rosulto of his eight smars nnd foxiT months of con- oeoutivo service furnish strong argument for the need of oxtGnding the short hionnial tcnn of office of J^uperintcndOTit of Public In- struction. Actual conditions. The condition of the puhlic schools at the "beginning of "r. Cook^s first term war. Indedd gratifying. The favorable legislation of the lart tv/o sessions of the General Assembly was already clearly manifest. The agitation on the port of the state Superintendents in their addrossoa and published articles, the efforts of aggressive loaders of the State among the press, the ministry and the bar, and the devotion of teachers, local school officers cmd on- ligMtoned citisens had produced a leaven which had permeated the masses, and they v/ere coming to realise more clearly the school situ- ation and to discuss its prohlcmn . Mr. Cook characterized the situ- 1 ation thus: "ITo longer are the public schools looked upon as merely the supply houses for stored book Imowlodgo but these schools arc eccpeoted to tmin the youth for citizenship and life work, practical training, the aip3.ioation of knowledge suited to the environment and to the individual, a system that will develop moral and physical, as well as intellectual, manhood and womanhood is the ideal toward ^ioh the schools are striving." llr. Woek»s describes the schools 2 at this time as follows: "At last the schools v;oro beginning to naJrc good; they were beginning to Justify their right to exist; they 1. Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. iy07-08, p. 6. 2. TTeelcs: Ilict. of Pub. Sch. Ed. in .^jr:.:. p. 81 74 wero trainlne ^or cltizonoliip and life; ojid the peonle, v/ho arc miiok to realise aucli thin{ja, were coning more fiilly and more ohoor- fiilly to their support." Hov/evor flattering the above condltiono nay appear, it iiiiist "be remembered that they appear such only in comparison v;ith jire- vious school conditions in Arkansas, V/hen we compare them with those of other States of the 'inion we find the situation far from ideal and far helov/ the average. Tills was clearly shown by nine graphs 1 prepared by Mr. Cook. IThese graphs, based on the Report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1906-07 showed that .Ar- kansas ranked as follows: Rank 1. In school population 2 24 2. In value of all property 51 ^ . In length of school year 47 4. In amount raised per capita school population 42 5. In number of teachers 2^ D. In teachers' average monthly wages 3 2| 7. In number of r.^^iito, adult, native male literates 5^ o. In amountoof E5ohool pro^ierty 5° 9. In school expenditures 29 This data shows that the State hp,d an average rani: of 52.56. In other vrords 67,8^. of the States of the Uhlon outranked Arkansas in an average of the nine features above nontioncd. It is trae the above data represents the rank of Arkansas for the soholas- 4 tic ye^.r, 1905-06 and that conciderablo improvement had been made since that time. But the other States had gone forr/ard also, and the relative rani: of Arkansas at the beginning of '.ir . Cook's first term of office was pratloally the some as it waa in I905-O6. 1. These granhs are found in the Report of State Stipt. Pub. Ins. 07-08 Inserted opposite, pp. 32, 64, 96, 128, 160,192, 224, 256 and 288. 2. Data for 1904. 5. Data for 190O. 4. The report of the u/s/ Com. of Ed. for 1906-07 was made from school statistics covering the year 1905-O6. 75 Thus, Gonsoioua of the rapidly improvlnc condition of the public school system of the State but eyon noro consoloua of ita oxtromoly 1ot7 oomparativo ranJc V7ith the other State syetena, Mr. Cook entered boldly upon the duties of his office with a deternlnation to make clo.ar to the people the exact status of their nohools and to advocate auch chanses and improvements In thooo aohools ars would rapidly raise their standards to a creditable level and enable the people to receive a vitalised trainin{^ in economic efficiency, social perspective and profjreasive citizenship. This policy was man- ifest from the beginning, B.n is evidoncod by the set of j^a-ohs just 1 mentioned and by the reoorrrriendntions for needed le^'i'lsiation found on page 72 and wo shall find that !.lr . Cook's activities throughout his entire tenure of office wore in harnony with this policy. "vidonoes ^qv of Growth and Proriress. The biennial period for 1909-1910 WIT especially remarkable for public school rjrogress, 2 In spealring of this period in his first report Mr. Cook says: "In 1910 there were 5»7^7»970 more days of school attondanoo than in 1909' This gain in actual school for the past year is onuivalont to seven years' schooling for 5,054 pupils ... .The total value of school pro- perty has lnc-"ea3sa "2,000,000 and two and one-half wooers added to the length of the school tern." The following brief sijinmary shows in a very definite way the status of the schools for the biennial period from 1911-12 In oonparison with that for 1910. 1. Although these reooiiinendations are contained in the l^.eport for Ilr. Do; Tie's last term, they v;ere made by I'r. Cook who filled out the last four nonths of the unes5)irod term. 2. Report of Supt. of pub . Ins. 1909-10, pp. 6-7 5. Report of Supt. of pub. Ins. 1911-1^, p 5- I 76. 1 1910 1911 1912 1. School population 57$.S42 585,749 603.226 2, Enrollment 595.078 404,760 409,746 3 . Average daily attendanoo 255,155 255.405 261,747 4 • AvoraGo 1 oaiGth of cohool yoar 105,5 dayo 6.182 115.9 days 117.9 days 6.558 5 . Total nuraber of school houseo 6.506 6. Biiildlng erootod durinc year ife7 rr 502 282 7. Value of now buildings 0. Total valuo of school property ^^H5l.l88 07.872.856 ^i.ou.ioq $6,959,520 vl0,l3l.828 9. Number toaohors onployed n9.522 9.854 10,175 10. roqjQnditures 5.187.083 5.510.152 5.857.549 I AgT-in, in opeahing of hio second biennial period. Itr. Cook 1 says: "The wicdom of the various progressive educational Acts passsod by the General Assembly of Arkansas at its biennial sessions is apparent in the growth and advancement of our public school system, and especially, in the increased efficiency of the schools and the awakened interest of its oitisens generally in popular education." Tlie biennial period for 1915-1914 showed a substantial in- 2 crease along important lines as follows: Increase durio: 191:)-14 1. School population ^2.256 2. Enrollment 29,878 5. Average daily attendance 36.550 4. Total number school houses 9^0 5. Average length of sciiool year in days 11.8 6. Buildings erected during period 687 I: Valuo of nor; buildings $1,792, 2A2 l.Bl8,4§7 186 Total value of school -or on or ty 9. number of toachors employed 10. Receipts 557.556 11. E25)enditures 523.456 5 In speaking of his third biennial period Ili'. Cook says: "As shovm throughout this syllabus of the twenty- third biennial report of this dep-ortraont the growth and development of popular ed- 1. Heport of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1911-12, p. 23 2. Syllabus of the Koport of Supt. of pub. Ins. 1913-14, p.3' 5. " " " " " " " " " 1915-U, pp. 23-24. 77. dation in thla State durln{^ the last nevoral years has "boen vory gratifying. It ia evident that tho citizens of the State are almost of one accord in aupportinc an adequate nnd efficient ayotom of schools, whereby every boy and .'?lrl in tho State nay receive, in fact as well as th 00177, the benefits of the constitutional provision, Intelligence and virtue being the safeguards of llbortj'-, and the bul- wark of a free and good govemniont, tho State shr-ll ever maintain a general, suitable and efficient system of freo schools, whereby all persons in the State between the ages of six ond twenty-one yoars, may receive gratuitous instruction." 1ST, Cook»s fourth biennial period, 1915-1915, WQS also oharacteriaed by a substantial dojp^oe of growth and progress, /ji idea of the material dcvelo-.>ment of this period may be obtained from 1 .June 30 1915 . Increase in one year . 1. School population 2. Enrollment 5 . Avcrajc daily attendance 4. Jlxpendi tares ^. Vcvluo of scliool i-roperty D. Average length of school term 7. i'eachors omx^loyed 649,689 447,726 304.401 $4,454,737 12,600,849 1:>4 ,9days 10,662 • 14.227 : S.102 6.104 ;v93.752 .710,6^4 5 • 2 days 301 In addition to the statistics iust given showing tho ma- terial growth and progress for each of the four biennial periods of Superintendent Cook's tenure of office, there were many other evi- dences of satisfactory improvoment and dcvclopEent in our public school system. 1. Statistics in tliia column aro contained in an address, "progress of Ediication in Arkansas", delivered by Supt. Cook before tho Ar- kansas State Toachors' Assn. at its r.iooting in April, 1916, see Proceed, of Ark. State Teachers' Association, 191 6-, p. 54 2. 2ho statistics for lilriis colunm rere calculated from the parallel column, the column on p90 and the column headed 1912 on p. 89. iTo statistics for 1916 are ..vailablo in the absence of a biennial rep 76. The inoreasod interost in manual training, domeotlc scionco, "boolckoepinc ajid commercial coursoa in 1:119 high QOhoola , and the introduction of elemontary agii.culture and home oconomios into the public echool course chow that our people wore beginning not only to undorstcnd the value of an education but also to realize the essential things in education that raalce for economy in life. The sane idea manifests itself in the very favorable attitude of the people toward the four agricultural schools. Likewise v/e see it in the co-operation of the boys' and girls' club work and coiuaty dcBson- stration work. During the eight year period, anti-child labor laws and oonrpulsory attendance began to be reoo^iaed as escential elements in an effective school system; county superintondency gradually grev; in favor as it was adopted in various comities; consolidation of small, weak school dist-riots into strong special school districts made re- markable -rogress; and school improvement association work spread rapldijr over the State . There was an increased tendency of the people to vote the masiraum local school tax, and there was a widely spread interest in better school buildings and better equipment. ^Ml these movements point strikingly to the fact that our people were making substantial efforts to improve their public school system. That the teachers during this period were no loos earnest in their efforts to increase the efficiency ond raise the standards of the schools is shown by their faithf-Lil work in the large nunibor of reading circles, their interoct each year in the county insti- tutes, their large attendance at the State Teachers' Association and their enthusiasm in the work of the Sectional Meetings; their v.'illing- ness to put into operation the plans and policies of the state 79 Dopartmonl; of Ediioation; and their hoarty oooporatlon in all com- imitLty movements connocted VTith tho schoolo. Even moro slcoifioant was tho largo number of teaoherg talrins couraea in univorsity Hummer eaoh schoolo and the flattering attendance year at tho Arkansas State normal , Among other evidences of p-rowth and progress we note the work of the Department of Education in huilding up sound, practical educational policies, in unifying the school interests of the people, in standardising the courses of study, and in disseminating the gospel of education "o-j freraient distribution of "bulletins upon edu- cational matters. Finally, we would mention the raagnificcnt campaign of the Arkansas Education Commission, the efficient work of the State Board of Education, and the untiring labors of the Supervisors ftn their respective fields of Secondary Education, Ruircl Schools and negro Industrial Education. 'Jithout doubt, they were the strongest forces in the general growth and development of our educational system, the most potent factors in shaping the policies of our pub- lic schools, and the most effective agencies in arousing the people to a sense of the need and importance of education and a realisation of their rorjponDibility .?jid obligations in connection with its sup- port^ Legislation Enacted. Tlio n;ood work of enacting construc- tive and progrossivo educational lav/s, started by the legislature of 1 1907, was continued by tho next legislature, 1909. "eeks says "Olie student of the future may yet pronounce the Arkansas Assembly of 1909 moro enlightened and statesmanliLo than any of its prodooeesors ." Five laws of far-reac3iing significance were enacted: two in regard to 8o. asrlculturo, tno in rogoxd to oompulnory attondanoo, ;ind one in regard to rxiral opooial school distrlcta, 1 One of the ae;rloultural Acts required "the teaching of Elementary Agprioiilturo and Horticulture in the public schools of the state." A penalty of ,,25.00 was iraposod upon coujity osanlner, county superintendent or school director for the non- enf ore omen t of this law. The a{p:*i cultural Act of the legislature of 190? simply authorised the directors to reoiiire the toaohing of elementary agr- oiilture in their schools where in their ;3udsment they deemed it erpedlent. The now law, of course, with its ,;25.00 penalty, was calculated to go into effective operation all over the state. 2 She other agricultural Act provided for the establishment of four public schools of ac*iculture in the State, in which should be taught "agriculture, horticulture, and the art of textile manu- facturing." !Ehe districts were fisod for each of the schools; each school was to be managed by a Board of Trustees composed of intelli- gent farmers of the respective districts, v;ho \7er0 to be appointed by the Governor, with the concurrence of the seantc, for a terra of ten years; the course of study was to be fiznd by the trustees of each school and tuition was to be free; the faculty of each school was to "consist of a principal, who shall be a graduate of some re- putable school of agriculture, one instructor in stock raising and dairying, a complete textile inst: actor and assistants as may be necessary;" the sum of ..a ^0,000.00 (040,000.00 for each school) 1. Act-. No. ^15 of the Acts of I909, approved Jiay 51, 1909' 2. Act. no. 100 of the Acts of 1909, approved april 12. 1909. 5. The trustees could combine the duties of any members of the faculty when practicable. 81 was appropriated for the ptirpose of tho Aot; tho four solioole wero to cooperate by roportinr; to oaoh other the rosiilto of tJieir sevoral eccperinents DJid were to mutually o.£jroo upon the publioation of such bulletins for free distribution as thoy deernod best for those encaged 1 in agricultural pursuits. Tne first comTTiilsory attendance Act , 2 effective in thirty-one counties, provided that all cliildxen between the agca of eight and siztoon years should attend rogiilarly some school (public, private, parochial or pairsh) at least ono-half of tiie entire time the school attended V7as in soosion, during any one year, or rooeive re^rular daily hone instruction substantially equiv- alent to what thoy vrould reoeivo in the roc^ilar schools. Children betv/oan tho ages of oisteen and t^venty years v/ere subject to the same rertdromonts unless "actively and regiilarly and lavrfitlly en- gaged in some useful eraployment or service." /oiy child whoso parents wero financially unable to provide with proper clothing or whose mental or physical condition incapacitated it to attend the whole or any part of the period required, or whose residence was moro than two and one-half miles from any school (by tho nearest traveled road) , or whoso labor was absolutely necessary for the STipport of its family, or whose oortification covorod a coraraon school course of at least seven grades might be cKempt from the rccuiromentc of the law, by a court of competent jurisdiction or by the school board of the district in which said child lived. Any child not able to pro- cure books wan to be provided with same out of the general school fund of the district in which tho child lived, u:ion action of the 1. Section 9 exempted 44 coimties. 2. Act. no. 254 of the Acts of I909, approved 'Icy 12, 1909. 82 school board of that district. For tho enforooment of the Act, one or more attendance officers with coitrpotont authority v'ero to be appointed by tho school board. In cities or diatricte having 10,000 or more po ^ulation by the laet consus truant schools might bo eatablished. Parents and guardians of children violating any of the provisions of the Act were subject to a fine of not less than ten nor more than tv^enty-fiwe dollars. IIo business or other concern was allowed, upon penal^ of fine in any sum not loss than >)10.00 nor more than ^^O'OOi "to employ a child within the prescribed ago limits without first procuring a certificate from the superintendent or teacher of tho school attended by the child stating that said child had fiilfilled all the rec-ulremcnts of the law. 1 !Eho second compulsory attendance Act, effective in nine 2 counties, was essentially tho stario as the first, Tho chief dif- ferences wore as follov/s: 1. 'J^he age limit was fisred at 8 to 14 years iilstoad of 8 to 1 6 years. 2. Children from 14 to l6, instead of l6 to 20, must be sent to school unless "actively and rogulpjly and lawfully engaged in some useful employment or service." 3. Children from l6 to 20 years of age are not mentioned. 4. Certificates mast cover a common school course of eight grades instead of seven. 5. Attendance officers were to bo appointed by school boards only in oitio3 or districts of ^,000 or more population instead of for all schools us in the first act. 1. Act No. ^47 of tho Acts of 1909, approved !Iay 31, 1909. 2. Eiese coTinties were Pranldin, Indepe:idence, ''ndison, Scott, Sobc.stion, T^ri^ter, Clebxirne, pol]^ and Yell, iliose last four were included in the list of counties exempt from the first lav;. 8^. 6. The minlntun fine for paronta nnd guardians of clilld- ron violating tho law was fixed at C^.OO instead of >^10.00; while the fine for omployeae of children violctine tho law v/aa fixed in any amn not Iggo than s?5»00 nor more than ^.'10 .00, including costo, instead of :)10.00 ond ij; 50.00 respectively ao before. 1 Tlio fifth ::enoral, constructive legislative Act of tho Assembly of 1909 authorized the people of any given territory in any oo"'inty in the State, other than incor^ioratod citieo and tov.Ti3, act- ing upon the order of tlie co-.mty judj-o, to hold an election for the organisation of a special or single school district having all the rights and •nrlviloges tireviously allov.'s ■ only to schools in In- 2 corporatcd cities and towns. It was provided that these rural special districts could borrow mone:^7 upon a majority vote of the legal oleotors at any annual school mooting. \^atev6r good may bo said of the wholesomo legislation en- acted by the General Assembly of Arkansas at its sessions of 190? and 1909i perhaps more may be said commonding the sension of 191I. Super- intendent Cook regarded it as "tho great educational legislature." Altogether the legislature of 1911 passed one hundred, tv;elvc general and special" acts on education, of vfliich ninety vrere "special" and t?'enty-two vrere "general"/ Of the tvrenty-two "general acts, eleven were especially progressive and constructive in nature. These eleven were as follovra: 1. Act lie, 45. authorizing the quorum courts to appro- priate money to assist in carrying on "Pannorc ' Cooperative DononstratiSTi v^orl:.'' 2. Act Kg ,116, providing for tho consolidation of adjacent school dict-icts. 5. Aot. ifo. 169, prescribing tho manner of holding elections in rural special or single districts. 1. Aot no. )21 of the Acts of 1909. approved IJay ^1, 1909 . 84. 4. Aot IIo. 206, amending Section 7615 of jarby'o Digeet in r A to school directoro contract- ing with tu ..A-. --3. 5. Act l!o. 2;jl, regulating and enforcing attendance at school. 6. Act llo. 275, amending Act Ho. 599 of the Acts of 1907. creating Covjit:;- Superintendency. 7. Act ITo. 328, creating a State High School Board and Providing State Aid to High Schools 8. \ot No. 575» providing for the incorporation of inntitutlons of learning .'.md the regulation of their pov/ers . 9. Act Ho. 423. appropriating three-fourths of the revenue from I'-'orest Reserves for the use of the public schools. 10. Act Ho. 451. creating a State Board of Education. 11. Act Ho. 444. regulating the supervision of schools in cities with acre than 5.0'-^0 scholastic popu- lation . Act Ho 45 f as indicated above, authoriaed the quorum courts of the respective counties of the Stale to annually appropriate such an arcunt aa was deemed expedient to be used in co-operation with the United States Dopartnont of Agriculture in carrying on Parners ' Co-operative Demonstration work in said counties. 5)he law also made valid and legal all similar appropriations previously made. Act Ho. 116, providing for the consolidation of adjacent school districts, was a law which had been earnestly sought for a nucbcr of years. The idea of having a school ''at each man's door" by means of the small district was deet: -rooted in the minds of the people. Years of agitation, however, were beginning to have effect. Hotes from preceding page. 2. See enumeration of thece privileges on p. 42-4j> • 3 . The legislature of I907 enacted eighty-eight "general and special" acts, while the legislature of 1909 oiiacted one )' and rod, one. 85 Consolidation was one of tho tlireo forms of scliool betterment eraphaslsod by the ArlransaB Sduoation Commission in its oaopalgn 1 of 1910. Act no. 321 of the Acts of 1909, aa already indicated on p. 98, was really a consolidation law, though its primary purpose was to enable schools to obtain the benefits of special or single districts. IDhis law of 19ll» though only permissive, was a step in the right direction. It provided that upon a majority vote at an election for consolidation, the consolidated district was endowed with the powers belonging to special school districts as far as they vrere applicable. The directorc could borrow money for school pur-poses vfh&n. authorized by a majority vote of the electors, and could provide transportation for the pupils if deemed advisable. Act lie. 169 provided for the manner of holding elections in the special or single districts organized under Act Ho, j)2l of the Acts of 1909, recognized them as Rural Special school Dis- tricts, and authorised them to borrow money for building purposes upon a majority vote of the people. Act. lie. 206 amended Section 7^15 of Kirby's Digest, in regard to directors contracting with teachers, by requiring the written contract to be made out in triplicate fern, instead of dup- licate form as formerly; the e^itra written contract was to be filed with the County Treasurer, who v/ao not to pay warrants of any dis- trict until this law was complied with. The law v;as an attempt, to prevent irregularities in handling the district school funds. Act lie. 2^1 was a compulsory attendance law, e.feotive in in thirty-seven counties, re-enacting Act. No. il;)4 of the Acts of 1909, with the following modifications: 1. Books v.'ero not to be bought for destitute children er^cept in the first four c^ados, and then only in a sum not to exceed in the 86, iajrecate fifteen dollars :^or yoar for any one school in a district; furthermore, the books were to remain tho property of the school dis- trict in v/hich they wore bought and were to be safely kept by some person named by the board until needed for some future term. 2. Tho seotion relating to children between sixteen and twenty years of age was omitted. 3. The sections rociLLating the enployment of children of school age by business concerns v/ere oraittod. The counties affected by the three compulsory attendance laws are indicated by under line, as follovrs: Act II0.234 At* 10. 347 Act Ilo. 2^1 Acts Of 1909 Acts of 1909 Acts Of 1911 Arkansas Ashley Arkansas Ashley Arkansas Ashley Baxter Baxter Baxter "Benton Benton Benton Boone Boone Boone Bradley Bradley Bradley Calhoun Calhoun Calhoun Carroll Carroll Carroll Chicot Chicot chicot Clark Clark Clark Clay Cl Gbumo Clay Clay Cl obume 01 obume Cleveland Cleveland Cleveland ColumbiG Colnnbia Colnmhia Conway Conway Conway Craighead Craighead Craighead Crawford Crawford Crawford Crittenden Crlttonden Crittenden Cross Cross Cross Delias Dallas D.allas Desha Dosha Desha Drew Drew Drew Faulkner FaWkner Faulknr Projildin Franklin FranlcH Fulton Fulton F>ilto Gr-'.rlcnd Garland Gar: Grant Gratn tro 6reene Greone W Hlempstead Her.Tp stead H Hot Springs Hot Springs T Howard Howard Independence Independence 87 Aot. HO. 254 Acts Of 1909 Izord Jaok3on Jofforson Jolmson Lafayette Lawreiic e Eee Lincoln Little Plvor Logan Lonohe Madison ttarion riller mssioDippl Llonroo Montgomery Hevada Newton Ouaohi ta Perry Phillips Pike Poinsett Polk pope Prairie i^ulaski Raiidolph Saline Scott 3 oarcy Sebastian Sevier Sharp' St. PronciG Ston o Union Van yuron t'ashing^n 7,1x1 to V/oodruff Yell Aot NO. 547 Acts of 1909 Izard Jackson Jefferson Johns on Lafayette Lawrence Lee Lincoln Little River Logon Lonohe Lladi son iliar'i'on Miller lUssiosippi Moneo Kontgomery Ilevada Newton Ouachita Perry Phillips Pike Poinsett Polk Ip'ope Prairie Piilaslri. Randolph Saline Scott S earcy Sehastian Sevier Sharp St . Francis Stone Union Van Btiron Washington White T/oodriiff Yell Aot llo. Z'jfl Aots of 1911 Izard Jackson Jefferson Johnson Lafayette la\7renoo Lee Lincoln Little Mver Logan Lonohe Madi son Marion mier Mississipp i I'onroe Montgoiaory Nevada &'ewton " Ouachita Per ips Pike Poinsett PoIE Pope Prairie Pulaski Randolph saline Scott So^^rcy Sehastian Sevier ShaiTp st . Francis Stone Union Van Buron Washington White Woodruff Yell Act Ho. 275 amended Act No. >99 of the Acts of 1907, creating coujity superintendence, so that the county superintendent should conduct a five days' institute during the month of June under 88. the same dirootions and reqiilrements oa provided in the Vcughter law (Act Fo. 511 of the Aota of 1905) for county InQtitiitos hold by co^^nty eocaininers, Instead of the longer institute from the firat Ilondtiy In April to the reciHar Quarterly examination in June. The salary waa also increased by the addition of all foes paid for ex- aminations for license to toaohern . Act JTo, 528, creating a State High School Board and pro- viding State aid to high schools, was a result of special efforts on the part of tho Arkansas Education Gomnission. Realizing the extremely poor condition of the high school fadllities of the State and tho very great need of efficient high school training, the Com- mission, ftom the heginning of its organization in J^ily, 1910, ada tod as one of its three main lines of activity the problem of aiding and evoloping high schools. IHae main provisions of the law, v;;hich went into effect on the thirtieth of May 1911 were as follows: 1 1. A State High School Board , consisting of the Superin- tonflent of Public Instruction, the President of the University of iVrkansas, snd a city superin- tendent of schools or a high school principal to be appointed by the Governor for a torm of four years . 2. The duties of ttie board were to classify the high schools, establish normal training departments in four year high schools under the conditions of the Act, prescribe the rogTTlar courses of study to be adopted and taught in the high schools, and also the courses of study to be adopted and taught in the training departments in connection with the regular high school courses, determine 1. Upon the creation of a State Board of Education, the aTithority and diities of the High School Board, together wit]i all of its records and other property, wore to bo transferred to tho new bo oTd . 89 by examination the rualifioationa of all teachers employed in the normal training dopartmonta and approve their selection, supervise the distribution of all f\md3 derived in aid of high schools, require annual reports from all hich schools receiving State aid, provide for the inspection of ;ill high schools, and withdraw at its discretion aid fron any and all schools failing to comply with the conditions and terms of the acts. 5- Normal training departments were to be ostahlished only in high schools wliich provided at their own expense a professional library approved by the State aupor- intendent and T.hich maintained a full four-Jroar course taught by at leaut three teachera devoting tlieir en- tire time to instruction in this fou-ryoar course. Only one high school in each county was to receive aid for a normal training department. 4. State Aid was not to be granted to high schools in cities and tovms having over >,500 population, esicept til at tMs restriction vjv.c not to "pply to aid for normal training departments, nor was State aid to be granted to schools with less than twenty- five high school pupils, except in the case of rural high schould with at least fifteen high school pupils, uhere State aid night be granted at the discretion of the Board for a period not to exceed two years. 5. For high schools without normal training departments, the maximuia amount to be recoivod was OoOO.OO for those maintaining a three-year courno, and ,ui400.00 for those maintaining a tT;o-year course. The maximum amount to be received by the schools of any one county v;as 5/^ of the total fujids provided by the Act tfor aid to liigh schools. 6. The naxinum amount to be received by high schools main- taining normal training departments was OlOOO.OO all or any part of which night bo applied to the nonaal training department as designated by the f;.tatc High School Board. As normal training departments were to bo established in only one high school of each county, ^1000 .00 v/as the maximum amount to be received by each county in aid of the normal training departments. 7. 2ho funds for State aid to hi^ schools v;erc to be e2i)endcd only in payment of the salaries of high school teachers; furthermore, all State aid was conditioned upon the expendi- ture of an eQual amount by the district upon the high school department of the school aided. 8. An annual appropriation of ^50,000,00 was made from the coranen ifchool fund of the State for the purposes of the Act 90. $10,000.00 of v;]iioh was to be used In aiding nornuxl 1 training dopartnonts and v40»000. 00 for aiding in de- veloping hich school departnonts in hich achoolo vril th- ou t normal trainlne dopartmenta . 9. All graduatec i^om tho normal training department of any high school inust have also conrpletcd the full four- year high £3chool course proscribed by the State High school Board, before receiving a certificate of grad- uation from said normal trainin • department. 10. A oertificate of graduation from a High School normal training Department lloensGd the Holder to teach in any of the oomnon schojls in tho State for a period of two years . After twelve rronths of successful teaching and upon oor.raletion of a profeasional oourae of reading proscrihod by the Suioerlntondent of public Instruction, holders of oortifioateG of graduation from High School IJorrKil Training Departments vrero licensed to teach in rm-y of tho common schools in tho State for a period of six years . 11, All pupils of school age v;ho had finished the elementary course of study as proscribed by the superintendent of Public Instruction and all licensed teachers regardless of age could teJ<:o advanta{!:e of tho couroos ofTorod by tho high schools with State aid in their own coxmty with- out cost. All pupils from counties contalninc" no high schools with State aid could liave these aAvattages upon payment of vl.50 tuition per month. [iJhis amount was to be paid out of tho connon scJ^.ool fund of the district to which tho pupil belonged, provided srid district was able to maintain its school or schools at least six months in the year. Act No. 575 » as already indicated, provided for the incor- porattdn of institutions of learning and the regulation of their pov/ers. 'jjhis law £*iowod a tendency not only to standardlzso tlie colleges and institution's of learning, but also to correlate the entire school system of tho State. 1. So much as was necessary to defray the traveling expenses of the members of the State High School Board (not incli^ding the Super- intondont of Public InstructiDn) and the necessary expenses of said Board incident to tho performance of their dutios in carrying out the terms of the Act were to be taken from thie 40,000 appropriation 2. Later when the State Board of Ediication wan created it v/as re- quired to carry out the iTrovlcion s of this Act. 91. 1 Act No. 42^ appropriatQd three-fourths of tho rovcnuo on Forest Eesex'vos, received by tho State from the Federal Govern- nont, to the common school ftmd of tho rospoctivo ooimtloo from i»hich the revenue wao colleotna . Act Ho. 451 created a State Board of Education. This was another one of tho tlireo rriain lines of activity stroasod by the Arkansas Education Coranission. The jMtics of tho office of Super- intendent of Public Instruction had become so largo complex and so much needed to be done in the way of aystoraatioaLly organizing tho State school systen, that a State Board of Education with clearly dofinea duties and povvefs was felt to be needed to ascis in tliis important work. The main provisions of tho law, which v/ent into effect on June 1, 1911, were as follows: 1. Tho Board was composed of tho State Superintendent of Public Instruction, irfho was to bo ox-officion chairman, and one member from each congressional district, a-npointcd erintendont of public Instruction In oxaid.ning candidates v;ith a view to ncJcing firrit {jrade oountjr certificates state wide; advi ^e with the Super- intendent of Public Instruction upon the cuostion of issuing State or porfosoional licenses based upon State Toaohora ' certilioatos granted in other States or based upon norr.al school diplorias and dc£*ress fron educational institutiono; to have general supervision of ttao public schools of the State; to prepare and distribute plans and Eipec if i cations for the construction and eruipraent of achool buildings, vrhen called upon to do so; to provide courses of study for rural, elementary, graded and high schools; to prescribe plans for tho organisation raid con- duct of teachers' institutes; to proscribe riilos and re- gulations for the sanitary inspection of all school build- ings and tho nodical exanination of all school childron; to calssify and standardise tho public nchools; to prescribe the requireiaonts for accrediting graded and high schools; to provide for new forns of edticational efforts; and to take such miction as may be necessary to pronote tbo organization and increasfi the efficiency of the educational system of the State. 2 The Board v/as recuired to keep a record of all its pro- ceedings and flic this record in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; also a biennial report to be incorporated in the biennial report of the Superintendent of Public Insti'uction- The duties and powers of the State Board of Education as outlined above v/ero of such a character as to enable the Bo .rd to do much constructive vrork and greatly improve the educatioiial standards. That our State Board has been a potent factor in shaping the policieo, raising the standards and incre«ioing the efficiency 1. This duty formerly devolved upon the Governor, the Secretary of Sta^o, and tho Superintendent of Public l7istruction . 2. [TliO State Board of Education was not given control of textbooks. of tho oduocitlonal oyetom of the Stato is apparent to any one who is familiar v/ith its Ac-Livitios, However, the coinpooition of the Board and its rolation to tho Stato Departnent of Education is siioh tlmt either ono of ix-o olenonts nay at any time impair its uaefulnens. In tho first place, the personnel of the oard, be- ing made up almost esclusively of Guhernatoriol appointees from political territorial \mits, might easily bo ropronentod by men who Imow practically nothing of the potential clemcaats and factors under Ijring a public school system and who arc incapable, therefore, of broad perspective ,'md sound ludgment in educational matters. In tho second place, the rolation of the Board to tho State Depart- ment of Education is such as to oreat a tondonoy on the part of the Superintendent of public Instruction to proceed with the duties of his office without calling upon the Board for advice {.ind counsel . Act llo . 444 provided that school systems in cities with more than 5»0^0 scholastic population should be exempt from the provisions of Act Bo\ p99 of the Acts of 190? t creating coimty super in tendency, that the school boards of such cities shall detor- nine the oource of study for the scho 'Is under their rospectivo charges, fix tho and 1915 . In addition to a number of special Acts authorizing certain territory to consolidate or form 94. a Dpoclal ocliool dlatrlot or 'borrow nonoy, only a few jTonernl ed- ucational bills \7Gro passed; mid of those not ono was of such a nature as to affoct tihe sohool system in emy appreciable material way. T7ith the passage of laws directed tor/ard toachBr-training, acricTiltnral education, county superlntondency, consolidation, compulsory attendance, State aid to hi{^ schools, rmd the creation of a State Board of Education, the intense agitation for educational reforms had somewhat subsided; but there wore a number of movements and reforms still needing legislation; viz. an organized plan of dealing with adult illiteracy in the State; uniformity of toxt- boolrs; support of the ITormal SohoTl, the A{T:icultural schools, the Iftiiversity and other State scho .^Is b" neans of a millagc tax; ■Dromotion of vocational education nnd esrtonsion work; amendments to 1 im^-^rove the wealmessos of lav;s recently enacted, etc. School Reforms Urged. The General Assembly enacted leg- islation covering most of the school reforms urged by Superintendent Cook — for Qzample, a State Board of Education, state aid to High Schools, consolidation, agricultural education and amendments to the laws providing for county institutes and compulsory attendance. Other reforms urged included improvements in the State Department of Education, Commission to study adul illiteracy in the State v/ith a view to malcing recommendations for its elimination, uniformity of text books, nillage basis for maintaining the State schools, and imi^rovenonts in the system of licenses for teachers. Administration of J.L. Bond, 19lG-igi8. Upon taking charge of the State Departnent of Education 1. The laws fTOVoming county institutes, county superintendencv compulsory education, licensing teachers .and teachers' licenses m ..eneral-all had material weaknesses which needed strengthening. 95 1 ilr. Bond was assuralnc duties with v/hioli ho was porfoctly familiar. Ho had served a c Doputy sup or in tend on t from 1908 to 1912, and his work as Supervisor of Rural Schools from 191^ to 1916 had Irept hira in oloae touch with all the policios onS. aotivitios of tho office. Indeed, rir. Bond's e3q)orienoc was such as to nako him peculiarly ?;cll oualifiod to direct the rapidly dovclopinc oduoational system of Arkfinsiis. Actual Conditions. On the whole this adr!r3.ni strati on began under very proinislng conditions. Many new oohool huildinss had been recently orectod, tlie course of study had been {greatly improved and partially standardized, tho teaching profession had incrcr.ned vroAder fully in efficiency, and the people cia a vftiole were loyally supporting tho schools. Consolidation r^idi cottnty sup- orintonden*y had eaoh gained a considerable hold upon tho people, while compulsory attendance and anti -child labor lavrs were gaining in ftivor . notwithstanding theco fc.vorn.ble conditions, it was apparent everyv/hero that the acriOols v-Gre in urgent need of more revenue. It was true that the State goneroJ. tax had boon increased from 2 mills to 3 nills and tho optional naxlraini district tax had been increased from 5 nllls to 7 mills, but the school population and tho school system hfid recently grovm so rapidly that tho in- CJ eased revonuo ras scracely any larger proportionally than before tho inorcacc In taxation. iSigain, the small territorial units of taxation, in spito of the large number of consolidated districts, made the revenue very uneq.ual?.y distribiited. Th::s, ^vhile many dis- 1. Ho biennial report for this adninl strati on has feoon published. 96 triots v/ero not seriouoly hampcrod by a laok of fundo, there was a very large proportion of then unable to maintain more than throe or four months of school annually. Kvidencos of Grov/th and Profress. Tho most marked evi- dence of iTTOwth and prof-ross was to be foijnd in the rapid increase of such natters or school enrollment, school attendance, averaco length of school, annual expenditTires, high school enrol laant, et. The increased interest maAifoatcd in schools by the parents, and tho zeal with which the children uore undertaking agricultural club work in connection with their school v/ork were strllcing evi- dences of an educational uplift, (Eho work undertaken at the be- ginning of this administration by tho General Education Board of H«w York City in placing a Supervisor in charge of the mountain schools of thirteen northern counties of the State ranks among the biggest movements for the betterment of our schools, another grat- ifying sign of progress was the adoption of a Constitutional amend- ment raising the mEaciraum optional local district tax from 7 mills to 12 mills. 1 Legislation Enacted. Constructive Educational laws enact- ed by the General Assembly of 1917 were as followsj 1. Act !lo. 59. creating a Commission to study and report on the conditions of adult illiteracy in the State, 2. Act. no. 112, establishing a Commission to adopt a uniform system of tosctbooks for the com-aon schools . 3. Act Ho. 118, nutting tho maintenance of the state schools on a millagc basis. note 1. For a more complete outline of those laws, together with an outline of others less important see p. 206-210. 97 4. Act No. 457. appropriating ,,'!30,000.00 to encourace the teaching of clernontary :;;.^~riciilttiro, home eoonondoa j.ind r.ianual traininc in rural and village high Dchoola and the training of toichera for tho rural and olemontary f^choolo. logislation Urged- Uo special legislation is particularly urgod hy the admins trati on. The efforts along the line of legis- lation have boon directed toward forr.inlating an educational policy to be incorporated in the nov Conoitution "being worked out by the Constitutional Convention now in session. Ihe recommendatione as -orcsented by the Department of Education to the Conuaittee on Education from the Sonstitutional Bonvontion am^ adopted by the Conciittee are as follows: "Section 1. IntolligcnoG and virtue being the safe- guards of libcrtj?^ and tho bulwarks of a gree and good ■jovernmont , the State shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a general, suitable and efficient system of public instruction, wherein tuition shall be free for all per ons over gIs years of age; provided, that the Geaoral Assembly may authorise local districts to establish kindergartens. Section 2. There shall be tlijsee administrative and tak- ing imits for school lourpoces: TTamoly, ftate, County and District, Section J* There shall bo a State Board of Education composed of seven '_ualified electors appointed by tho governor, and" a comjiisr-ioner of clucation, v;ho nhall bo cx-officio neraber and executive officer of tho State Board of Eduoatioh. Tho term of office, duties, pov/ers and corroonsatlon of the monbers of tho State Board of Education and the terra of office, manner of selec- tion, salary, duties, po\7ers rjnd lualifi cations of the State ooramissionar of education shall be fixed by law. Section A- There shall be a Coanty Board of t'ducauion, composed of five members elected by tho fiualified electors of fthe County in such manner as the Generril Assembly may prescribe and a county superintendent of schools for each Cou: ty. Tho County Board of Education shall elect tind fix the compensation of the county super in tondont v;ho shall be tho e::ocutive officer of said board. Tho terra of office, ciuaific tion, duticr, -jid pouors of the County Board of Education, tho county superintendent of 98. sohoola rmd. of tho Motrict C-chool Boards ahall be fixed by- law. Section 5* 'iT^o General Asooinbly sliall provide for the naintonance ;jQd support of the public echoolo cff the [jtate for a period of at loaso six nionthrj aiiiiuril^.y in each acliool diatriot, ojid the revenue for thio purpose ohall be derived from the ;:tato nnd Coioity ta:cation, from tho inooino, from the permanent oohool fund, and from an annual por cnplta tas of not Iciin tlu:.n vl to bo ascor.ijcd on ovory \i.,liriod elector in the State. The General Asoembly ohall authorize the electors of each district to levy rjuoh tax as the electors themselvoa may deem necessary to provido suitable buildinrrs, equiprncnt:3 pjid ad.lltional school tern. The General Asaenbly may authorize tho County Board of Education to provido for Coimty high solioolc or hlc:h school -rivilosoo upon a r.iajority vote of tho electors affected. Section 6. no money or property bolonging to the public GcliOJl fund, or to this State for the benefit of schools or ujilvorsitios, ohall ever be used for any other than for the respective purposes to which it belongs.' Chapter III . Tlio Arkansas Education Comraission. The Arkansas F.diioation Comnilsnlon was created in lieu of a State Board of Education. The increasing volume of business attendiint upon the nuiintonance of the Department of public Instrac- tion, the magnitude of the rapidly developing public school system, and tho urgent need of capable advisory council In the intelligent direction and ooraprehensive development of this system in its varied and manifold Interests led Superintendent Cook, as early as 1 1908, to recoinmend the creation of a State Board of Education "to advise the Superintendent of Public Instruction and to assist him in the care and promotion of these (the school) interests." Un- daunted by the failure of the legislature of 1909 t4 create such a Board, ]Tr. Cook succeeded in enlisting the Southern liduoation Board, acting through its representative. Dr. Wyoliffe Rose, of 2 Tennessee, to finance an Arkansas Education Commission v/hose func- tion shoiild be to study tho school conditions and advise with the Superintendent on all questions pertaining to the educational ad- vancement Ox the State. Tho Commission was composed of twent'jr-two members , appointed by Governor George \! . Donagh^, in Hay 1910. The first meeting waa held in little Rock, July 28, 1910, and Dr. Henry S. 1. Report of 3upt . of ?ubl Ins. 1907-O8. p. 18. 2. The amount oontributed was .■;;3 '0»00f and was given without limitations or restrictions or even ciiggcstions as to policies to be adopted by the Commission. 3. (Is to be found on following' pago.) 100). HRTtHoc, of Ouachita CoIIqgo, Arkadelphiao , Arkansas, was ijolectod 1 as Sfioretary. At the first raoeting of tho ConMisoion tho follow- c ing resolutions wore unanimously adopted: 1. "Resolved that our proli' •'.inaiy report should recite the hiotorj'^ of the creation of. this Commission ejid state its puriioses. 2. "Recite tho lack of unity in organization and GUGgost tho creation of a ;3tatG Board in Edu- cation to work in harmony with the State Super- intend ont, and to study educational conditions and mal:e recommendations to the legislat-ire . 3t "Recite condition of rural schools and suggoot tho need of consolidation of schools wherever advisable . 4. "Recite the inadequate supply of teachers and suggest State aid to high gcjiooIg, roijuirlng that such sohools rX^Q fi'oo tuition to all pupil B in the county, and that they provide for training teachers . " Tho ComraiSBion, of course, had no authority to enact laws; hence, its functions v/ere purely advisory. Its purioosc, as stated In its Preliminary Report, issued in September 1910, was "to in- vestigate the school sjrsteiii of Arkansas and the laws under which it organized and operated; to make a comparative study of other school systems, to awalcon oontimont and inform the public, ojid to formulate Note ;> from page 119. Cook, Hon. Geo. B., ojc-officlo chairman. Hartzog, Dr. Henry ,'3. .Vrkadelphia, Secretary. Bernhardt, Jack — Dumas Knox, J.C .-Llonticello Brickliouse, B. D.— Little Rock Kuyhondall, J.v;.— Port Smith Cowling, J.T. — Ashdown McOollum, J.H. — ^Hope Dickinson, LLP. — Jonesboro lilllar, A.C. — Little Hock Doync, J.J. — Conway IToore, lErs . Jolin I. — Helena Eaton, J.C— Belief onto Reynolds, II .Il.-Payetovillo Fletcher, B.A. — Augusta Stoecher, A. — Spielorville Garrett, R.II.— ElDorado Triober, Jacob — Little Rock Harper, Clio— Little Rock Womble, V/.E.— V.'omble Heiskell, J.I!.— Little Rook Murrey, lErs . T.P.— Little Rock 1. Later the Coc. was provided for a time with on office in the dopt. of i']d. at Little Rock. 2. Preliminary i?oport of Ark. Ed. Cora. pp. 4-5. 101 retfommondatlon for the Gonorul AQsombly, onbraolng auoli susgestiono, roviBlons, and omondmonto as may seen wise and oicpodient in order to make the Arkansas sohool system conprohenslve, efficient, and better 1 ctdapted to the needs of our people." The Arkansas Education Commission at once entered upon the duties for which it had been created. As indicated in the set of resoliitions just quoted, the first activities of the Commission were directed toward a State Board of Education, Consolidation of Schools, and State Aid to High Schools, In limiting its activities 2 at first to these three lines the Commission says: "We have not been unmindfal of other needed reformsk nor havo we forgotten the fact that an Education Commission which does its fu].l duty to the public must present a symmetrical plan for the improvement of the entiro school system. As we proceed v/ith our investigations ond studies .. .reports embracing a system for the general improvement of the public schools will beaatimitted." Accordingly, committees v/ere appointed to study the three problems determined upon by the Commission as its first line of activities . The result of the studies of thh Committee on a State Board of i'duoation was incorporated in a report of twenty-six pages, published by authority of the Department of Education. This report contained a sarvey of the State Boards of Education (or equivalent organizations) in thirty-nine of the States and Terri- tories of the Union; the six States at that time without some such 1. Preliminary Keport of Ark. Ed. Com. p2. 2. Ibid, p. 4 3. Bulletin number 17, A State Board of Ed. 26 pages. 102. educational agency v/ere Alabama, Arkansas, Illinolo, Hn-ino, ITow 1 Hampshire and ponnaylvanla. in a well organized tabic there woh made an anlysis of the Educational Boards of these thirty-nine States showing for each Board in a comparative way the number of members, the term of office, the personnel and how appointed, and their powers and duties. In view of tho many testimonials of offoctivo work ac- oorai^lished by Boards of Education in other States and in view of the educational needs of Arkansas, the Oonmittee, after malcing the above comparative survey, recommended that a State Board of Edu- 2 cation be constituted in accordance with the following plan: "0?he State Board of Education t3hall consist of seven menbors. The Superintendent of public Instruction shall be chairman ex-officio. These members shall be appointed by the Governor, tho Superintendent of public Instruction and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and in their appointment due consideration aliall bo given to the various phases of tho educational interests in the States . "The term of office of the appointive members shall bo seven years. "(The powers and duties of the board shall be as follows: 1. To have general supervision and inspection of the public schools of the State, including the oduca- tionc'jl departments of the State Charitable and Hoforraatory Institutions . 2. To make rules for the distribution of any part of a State school fund set aside to assist and encourage schools . 3. To prepare and distribute plans and specifications for the construction and equipment of schools. 4. To provide suggestive courses of study for rural, elonentary and high schools. 1. Bulletin Number 17, A State Board of Ed. pp. 13-24- 2. Ibid, pp. 2-3. io:> 5. To proporo all ruoationa for teaohors ' oic\m- Inationa, to j^rade all oxanino.tlon papers and to pre- scribe all rules ;md resnlatlons neooGSary to oai'ry into effect tho provisions of tho law in regard to the certification of teaohera . 6. To propose plana for organization of institutes. 7. TO prescribe rulos and regulations for the sani- tary inspection of school buildings, and for the eaamine- tion of pupils in order to detect contactous and in- fectious diseases pnd physical defoots, and to tiilce such other action as may seem necessary and expedient to promote the physical welfare of school children. 8. To classify and stojidardize the public schools end to provide for new forms of educational efforts tmd in general to take such action a,s may be necessary to promote the organization and increase the efficiency of the educational systo-rn of the State." 1 2 5!he report of the Committee appointed to study the pro- blem of State Aid to Iligh Schools was no loss virile and conclusive than that on a State Board of Education. 3 The opening paragraph of the report , showing the legal status of high schools in the State, was as follows: "So far as the law is concerned tho State of Arkansas merely tolerates high sohoola; she has never provided a comprehensive legal basis for them; she has never dealt seriously with the pro- blem. In naming the po'jers of the board of directors of special school districts, the law authorised them 'to establish and maintain a sufficient number of pri lary, graded or high schools to accommodate all the scholars in said district.' Again, the same section, in providing for the election of a superintendent of schools, authorizes him to 'be principal of any graded or high school the said board may catablleh. ' This is the stun total of what Arkansas has to say in a legiil way respecting high schools. Even ±n these provisions it is not at all certain that our law makers had in mind the high school of today, as they uso the torn as synonymoue with graded school. Hence what high schools vie have note 1. State Aid to High Schools. Ark, Ed. Com. Serial Ho .19 Hov. 1910, p-i^. 112. 2. J.H. Reynolds was cliairman of the Committee. 5. State Aid to Higli Schools: Ark. Ed .Com Serial llo . 19, p.^. 104. 0T7C tholr esxlDtonoo ancl. rrviintonanoo ontlroly to loo»^l inltlatlvo; they hrivo novor rooolvod oron legal or moral enooiirafjomont from tho State . " 1 llecct a tabulation was mado oliowlnc tho condition of hl^h aohools in Arkanoas to bo as follov/o: NTunbor 4-yoar high aohooln in otnto :)i II j II II r. II .1 -y^yf- ^-4.8 n E " " " " " — — ^ 531 Total ll6 Niiraber of high oohoola enrfiloylng four or noro toachors IS Nunibor of high sohoolB onrployin^^ fihroo toachera EO I' ti n II Ti -^Q r. ^2 " " " '• " one toaohorw 32 Nmnber of btiidonts enrolled in 4 year high oohoola 5353 n ti II n II 5 IF n ti 1900 II ir II If II 2 " ' -._— o8l Total onrollmont 5914 It was pointed out that 3inoe a largo majority of tho otrong high aohoolG vyero in tho larger tovm3, tho great mass of the rural population wac vdthout tho advantagoa of high oohools. Thla, indeed, rtiowod -tJiat tho high school interests of the State had boon sadly neglected and that thero wia inrjrjorativo need for inrprovomont in this particular. A survey was also raado of the Stato Md to High School movoraont of a few typical States in tho variouo sootiona: Tlx.(l) in ■Gio ,7Gst Washington, Calif omia, Kansas and Nebraska; (2) in the North I3.nno30ta, "'isoonain, and Hew York; (3) in the East — ^l^assa- ohusotts and l^iode Isl;jjid; and (4) in the .}outh — 3outh Garolina, Louisiana, JTorth Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. At that tine most of the Statos in the Onion v-ore ap inlying the rinolple of State 1. State Aid to Iligh Schools- rk. Ed, Com Serial llo. 19, pp. 3- a&ou foorfoa . . r.±v ;)' 'frt ;; i_i ; ,vi , ■ i^j it C 11 9QSei ■t X 1 , ' 1 ^ ' •J .ftrtjsq lo qX -j oa"a?r xiciau Siiu ii, . lo v.- Aid to High Schools, tmt a aurvoy of the fourteen mentioned abovo was deemed "sufflolent to show tlio different forms and amount of state aid, as well ao the cEtent of the movement" for the purposes of the Committee. Tables v;ere given chovTlng the growth of High Schools under the operation of State aid in a few of the States studied . In ooncluoion the Comraittoo pointed out a numhor of oon- 1 struotive principles for the guidance of iVckansaa in her problem of dealing with the high school situation. These were incorporated ujider seven heads as follows: "1. Arkansas' Condition. Arkansas has no sufficient law governing high oclioolo . . . and as a result has but few high schools . 2. The Heed of the High School Iirrperativo, The public high school is essential to the life of the public school system. It is democratic; it is the college of the people; it makes for oconoraie efficiency. It multiplies the pro- ductive power of the people and prepares its students for a better solution of the nost important meat and bread pro- blem. It transforms the community into a center of cultTire and refinement and raises ixltolloctual and moral standards... 3. State Aid. The most powerful force used by the practical American in the dovciapment of high schools is State Aid. The application of this principle has brought into existence thousands of high schools and has made effioient as many more small ones... State Aid is not given to relievo the locality of the burden of supporting its schools; on the contrary, it is oonditJ.onal on local self- help... The most fundamental T^rinciple governing the dis- tribution of state subsidies running through all the laws is to help only such schools n.s help themselves and as have in them the elements of suocess. 4. Unit of High School Organization. Touching the territorial imit used as iihe basis of liigh school organisa- tion, the states vary v/ith the forn of local government dominant in them. The district, township and county are the more common units... The essential principle to safe- guard is that a sufficiently large tcpcing unit should be recjuired before state aid is granted, to guartantee sufficient Note. 1. State Aid to High Schools— Ark. Ed .Com. Serial No .19, PP. 9* 106. funds to make the school cffloient. lUhe elementary grades mast also "bo protected against nofjleot . . .The high sohoolo call not prosper iinleaa thoy are fod by students from efficient ooramon schools.... 5. State Supervision. Another r)rinoiple running throughout state aid Icciolation is state rjupervision of high schools. The State raist talco guarantees that the schools aided are v/orthy and that they apply the money in accordance Trith the termff of the girant... 6. Normal Training. Several states.... give state aid to high schools for the purpose of establishing normal training dopart-ments therein. Raising the standard of toacliing efficiency is the keynote to the rural school problem. It is distressingly low now. Most of our rural teachers havo merely finished the comnon school course in the country and have had no prof ossionsil trBining ... ArJcansas should provide that a snail part of the amount appropriated to aid high schools should be used by the State Boiird In establishing In our strong high schools normal departments. 7. Industrial Training. A few states, in appropriating for high schools, provide that either some of the applied arts and sciences shall be taught, or that the State Board naiy recuiro at Its dlsoi-ction ouch subjects to be taught. Some such provision should bo made (for Arkansas) .... The State Board should bo given discretion; it should lie T7i th- in its power to say when a school shall offer industrial training as a condition of granting State aid." 1 2 Tlie report of the Committee on the Consolidation of Rural Schools was in Treoping with tho two preceding reports as to verllity, thoroughness and comrprehensivoness . To secure information as to the status of consolidation in the county at large the Committee sent a letter of in'^.uiry to the Superintendents of Public Instruction in every State of tho Union. "Their replies," the report states, "show that in a large majority of the states the small community district either docs not exist or is disappearing, and that the larger units 1. ConsolHatlon of imral schools, .'rk.Ed.Com. Serial 110.20, p. 12 Deo. 1910. 2. The Committee v/as as follows: J.Y/. Zuykendall, chairman, rt. Snith; J.T.Dowling, Ashdown; and . .E. rromble, ■.Vomblo . 3. Consolidation of Pural Schools, Ark.Ed. Con. p. 4 107 of school organization are a pronounc^'d mioooss." To substantiate this statement, ercorpta are uuotod £rom replies reoeived from the follovTine States; Connecticut, :'lorlda, Idaho, Indlm.., Iowa, Kansas, louisicna, Maine, Llaasaohusetts, KeTiraska, Hew Jersy, ITew Meaioo, north Dalcota, Pennaylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Y/est Virginia and Virginia. The rural school conditions of Arkansas were then set 1 forth, in part, as follov;s: It is needless to go into detail as to the present unsatisfactory conditions in the typical rural schools of Arkansas. The houses are inadeciuato, unsanitary, un- oonfortable, unattractive. Their surroundings have received little attention either for beauty or healtlifulness . The schools are practically without apparatus for the teaching of any of the special subjects of science of industry. Teachers, however, earnest and capable, are without training in the methods of teaching, because they have no facilities for acquiring teclinlcal loiowlodge of teach- ing, and the number of new trained teachers is not sufficient to supply the annual vacancies in the teaching corps. Salaries are in- adequate, so that many of the best teachers leave the school room each year... This constr-nt change of teachers magnifies the evil of short terms, so that year after year many chJLldron repeat the same line of work without progress and v^lth growing indifference. ...No permanent classification seems possible and there is no systematic course of study governing the progress of the child through school." An addenda to the report (p. 9) by ouperintondent Cook gives the following facts taken from the annual roports of county 1. Consolidation of RurrJL Schools. Ark .Ed. Com. p. 7- 108, oxanlnera, August, 19IO: 1 . 112 ono-room aohools with an onrollmont of ten or less . 2. 179 ono-room schools with an onrollmont of fifteen or less. 3 . 636 ono-room Bchools with an enrollment of tv7onty-fivo or loss . 4. 951 ono-room schools v/-ith an enrollment of thttty-five or less . The usual objections to oonf30lidation wore talron up brief- ly by the Committee and shown to bo fallacious or at least insig- nificant in oomjjariaon v/ith the cdvantages of consolidation. !?he CoraraitteG formulated no definite plan of consolidation that might be embodied in a legislatlvs enactment on consolidation, si ;Tply stating that it was the puroose to ask for legislation along 1 these lines: 1. To enable two or more districts^ so desiring, to unite, thus securing a larger area and a larger revenue. 2. To provide means whereby small schools may be dis- continued and the children brought together into larger schools, whonover conditions maire such centralization feasible. $. To encourage the grading of rural schools, the intro- duction of agriCLiltxxre, manual training, and domestic science into the course of study, and the organisa- tion of Mgh school departments and rural high schools, so that the best obtainable common school education may be nlaced within the reach of every child . During the Summer and Pall of 191O the Arkansas Sducation Coninission held some two hundred or more rallies in various parts of the State to acquaint the public with the educational reforms urged 1. Consolidation of ioiral Schools/ Ark. Ed. Com. p. 9 109. 1 by the tlireo apooial comnlttoeB in their x'oporta Just outlined. Public speokoro ovcrywhero volunteorod their services at these rallies; the club womon manifested an active interest in then; and the teachers worked zealously to make them a success . Generous space for advertising the rallies was contributed by the local news- papers; and a thousand addresses and sermons were delivered in the pulpits of the State by laymen and ministers in the interest of pub- lic school education. Che rallies for the most part were well attended ;md much interest and enthusiasm disiDlayed. In speaking of the results of the movement the Comcitteo says: "Everywhere the friends of educa- tion have been surprised and gratified at the profound interest among the masses in tho cause of educational advancement, Arkansas is in the midst of an educational revival y.'hich is stirrin^^ tho peoi^lo as they have never been stirred before. The public is clamoring for an iccprovoment of the public school system." . Soon after the appointment of tho ;U'kansas Education Cora- mission by the Governor, the Democratic State Convention unanimously adopted tho following resolution: "Realiairif: that consecrated intel- ligence is the foundation stone of Democracy, we heai^ly endorse the recent action of our Governor in appointing an Education Commission to study the school laws of the state with a view of rccomjaondxng to the Legislature revisions and improvements. Ignoranoo is a ireatcrburdon to a State than taxation .'jid v/o call upon al.l good oitif^ons to ex- tend a syripathotic cooperation to the Oomraission in its efforts to 1. One hundred thousand co^ios of the Commission reports v.ore nent out, 2. State Aid to High Schools: Ark. Ed. Com. .serial ijo . I9,pll. 3- Preliminary Rr^ort of Ark. Ed. Cora. p. 2. 110. Bolvo and sinplify our oduoaolonal problems." Tlio Ark-ansas State Toachers ' Association, \vith an enroll- ment of 1140 members, at Its Dec ember moetine in 1910, ur.anlraously 1 adopted a resolution "coranonding the work of the Arkansas Bduoa- tion Commission and endorsing the reforms urged by its special com- mittee." 2 Governor Donaghey, in his inaugural address to the General Assembly of ISll, said concerning the Commission, "A decided ste|) towards a careful roadjustmont of O'or public school system has been talren by the present administration in the appointment of the Arkansas EducationaCormission. [i!his action has heen taken without involving the expenditure of a single dollar of the State's funds, and h:.a brought to bear upon our school problems the careful, thought- ful consideration of a corarnicoion soloctod v/lth special reference to to the fitness of each member for this inrportont service to the Stato. It Is the province of this commission to make a careful study of our present school lairs; to look into the working of the laws of other States that have made the best progress along this tine; to remedy the defects and create a system that will moan better schools and better school lavrs . I, therefore, earnestly recommend that you give special attention to the report and findings of this first Educational Coranisoion of Arkansas." A further indorsement of the work of the Commission was 5 embodied in a resolution of the General Assembly, approved April 7. 1911, as follows: "Be it resolved by the House of Hoprosentatives, the note 1. Proceedings of the Ark. i'oaohers' Association, 1910. p. ^0. 2, Mossago of Gob. George '". Donaghey to the iTembers of the Thirty-Eighth Gen. Assonbly pp. 43*44 3. House Concurrent Kesolution Ho. 12, Act. of 1911. 111. jonate Gonoiirring thoroln; "That wo heartily approve tho work that tho '\rkansa3 r;duoatlon Ooinnission ic doing in its effortG to brins about bettor educational oonditiona in the state; and '•'That tho oomiission be continuou, for faturo invoo'oiea- tions and work, to the end that a full o,nd comjilote report of its findings and recoirBnondations be made by said conmisaion to tho nest Genoral Assembly, and also that the Education Oomnission is en- powered and authorised to <3odify the school lav/a of tho State of Arkansas . " Indeed, the Arkanso^^ ]',duoatlon Commission by its intensive campaign had created an educational revival anong the people; the members of the coming legislature, which convened in Jcnuai'y 1911 » had caught the spirit; and tho efforts of the Coriciission wore crowned by the passage of laws relating to three roforms so urgently stressed in the campaign. Act no.ll6 w«» provided for Consolidation; Act Ho 028 authorized State lid. to High Schools; and Act. Uo.4J5l 1 created a State Board of Education. In o.daition to these three con- structive laws, tho legislature of 1911 further distinguislied itself 2 by the passage of at leant eight other general educational la^Ts of a progrossivo nature all of which, no doubt, follovred as a sequence to tho genoral feeling of a need for educational rofoims , which had been created by the campaign of the Education Oommisaion. 1. For an outline of those laws, see pp. 200-20$. 2. For a list of those eight laws see pp. 199-200. 112. Chapter IV . C-oneral Bduoational A^oncioo. In addition to the work of the .■Department of Kduoatlon tinder the direct supervision of the State Suporintnndont of Public Instruction, there are four lines of educational activity in the State of .'\rkan.:as, rrhich nay he termed "General ?1duoational Agencies; vis. (1) SuperviGion of Secondary Education; (2) Supervision of Rural Schools; (5) Supervision of Special Mountain Schools in Thirteen Counties; and (4) Supervision of llegro Schools. These four lines of educational activity are imder the direct superPvision of their respective Supervisors, and are financed entirely by contri- butions from sources outside the State. The superintendent of Public Instruction exorcises only advisory control over them. Supervision of Secondard lilduoation. Supervision of Sec- ondary Education was the first of these agencies to bo established. A& indicated in Chapter III, in outlining the report of the Committee apointed by the Arkansao Education Commission to study the problem of State Aid to High Schools, there was not legal basis prior to 191I for the existence of high schools. According to the Digest of School Laws, issued in 1909 hy the Department of Public Instruction, only two sections make any reference to high schools. Section 7^84, enam^ other things, authorizes the board of school directors in cities and towns "to employ a superintendent of schools, \7ho may also be principal of -\n^ graded or high school in that said board may establish; to establish and maintain a sufficient nxunber of primary, graded or high schools to accomodate 113 all the Boholaro in said distriot; to detormlne tho 'brpjaohes to be taught and tho text books to bo uoed in tho several sohoolo of the districts; '.'The noxt i^ootion, 7^S5, malces practioally the caino provision. It sayc, in p-'^'t, "It sh.ll be the d^ity of said board, aa soon as the means for that purpose can bo provided, to establish in said distrlot an adequate mxmber of primary schools so located as best to acooinmodato the inhabitants thereof; and it shall be the furtlier duty of said board to establish in said district a stdtable number of other schools of a higher grade or grades, wheroin in- structions shall be given in such studios as may not bo provided for in the primary school; the number of schools, the grados thereof, and the branches to be taught In each rjid all of said schools to be determined hy said board," llieso two sections constitute the body of laws QOTTGrnlns high schools or secondary education prior to 191I. It will bo noted that in Section 7684, tho terms "high School" and "graded school" are used synonymously, .hile in section 7685 only the term "higher grade or grades" is used, Prom this v/e are led to believe that the framei*s of thoso two sections of law did not have in mind the idea of a high school as we understand it today. During tho stormy days of Reconstruction and tho years immediately follo;7ing, high schools v/ero not considered a part of the free (public) school system. '!?is true a revolution in opinion on the subject of secondary or high school education has talcen place since then, but only in coLijaratively recent years havo our idoios on the subject been orystaliaed. Consequently, our laws have been based upon the illogical and anoiJilous policy of making permanent provision for olenentary school education and Uiilversity training, leaving 114 secondary oduoafcion — the connooting link botv/ocn tho Glomontary school and the University — to dshc care of '^oadomioa nnd aiich high ochools RS might ho ost-'.hlishod and maintiPlnGd y the ohanoe initiative of local school authorltlos. Since tho Sts.te "simply permitted hut did not oncourace "high schools," they v;ore not under the supervision of coimty or State officials and consequently wcro not ro'iulred to ms.ke official reports. Tho only statistics relative to secondary education sun- raorised in the reports of tho State nuperintondont are found in the colunn headed "higher education" contained in the Tables fpLving the "number of pupils in the Different Subjects Taught," This data, of course, gives no information at all as to the stai;us of high schools in the State. Though there v;ere nearly one hundred schools claiminc secondary rank in 1909, it was a matter of corimon Imow- ledge that only a very few of these vyere worthy of the rani: of high schools. Furthermore, most of those entitled to high school rank were located in some seven or eight of the largest cities of the State. With rare eTcoeptions there wore no high schools outside the towns and villap^cs; hence, secondary or high school education was denied the great majority of children of hisji school grade and a,r:e. Healizing this lamentable condition, superintendent Cook prevailed upon the General Education Board, of iiew York City, to place a Supervisor of Secondary Education in .\rkansas for the pur- pose of improving and building up the high schools of the state. n J. An initial sum of ;37,000.00 was appropriated for the purpose, and 1. Sopor t of Supt. of Public Ins. 1909-10, p. 7. 115 B. T7. Torreyeon, Superintendent of the Littlo Rook Schools, was choson as Supervisor. The v.'orL: of the i-upervisor was to bo '.indor the Joint direction of the Unlvoroity and tho fjtate Departnont of Education. Mr. Con'oyson entered upon his now duties in the pall of 1 1909, and gave his immediate attention "to the standardization" of existing schools with the respect to couraos of study, teaching force,' leggth of terra, length of recitation periods, reduction of the number of daily classes per teacher and material enuipmont, rather than to the ostahlichment of new schools." This was' a wise policy in view of tho fact that o-ijr high schools, in the absence of a centralized directive and supervisory educational agency, had conformed to no rules of standardisation. Naturally, the first work of the Supervisor of Secondary Education was the organization of an outline course of study for hi^ schools; and, accordingly, the follov/ing "Four-Yoar High School 2 Course" was prepared: First Year 1. English -Gramracr, CoriTposition and Classics. 2. llathcmatios -Elementary ^llgobra through (iuadratics. $. -'istory^ Ancient 4. Latin or German or French or Manual Training or Physical Geography or Domestic ;;cicnce or Elementary Agriculture. 1. Bulletin D 23, Arl:. State Dept . of pub. Ins. (High School Reports and Tables, 1911-12) pp. §-4 2. Bxaietin No. 9. Pub. by Authority of Geo. 3. Cook, State Supt. also fouhd in Report of Supt. Pub. Ins. 1907-O8, pp.88-90. 116. Second Year 1. En^lish-PJietorlc, Corapoaition and Classlco. 2. Piano Geometry. 5. llodem History. 4. Latin or Gorman or French or Biology or J.lanual Training or Domestic ocienco or loraenttiry Aeric^-ilturo. Third Year 1. Encliah-iaietorio, Composition a.nd Claaaics . 2. Kathematios- Advcnced Alcobra. 3. English Hintory. 4. Latin or Oerman or Croek or French or Chemistry or Physics of Bookkeeping. JFourth Year 1. Enclish-Historj'- of Literature, Corriposition and Classics . 2. i:atherrKitics-3olid Geometry -o-, and Trigonometry -y-, or Advanced Arithmetic ij-. 3. American History and GOYemment. 4. Latin or Greek or French or German or Physics or Chemistry or Coranercial Geography or Shorthand. The ahove outline vras accompanied by a statement of the "entrance roquiremonta" of the University of yirkanaao, for ito various degrees. lHadh. tine teas spent by the Supervisor in visiting and in- specting the high schools of the State; rjid, though there was no law compelling thoir cooperation, the high schools gonorally manifested 1 a great interest in the movement to raise tlie standard of sccondo,r^ 1. A^DTO-gOB of the favor V/-ith v;hich this movement was receivod v/e .note from the "Resolutions" of the Arkansas Teachers' Association Pec. 1909, the follordng: "To the General Education Board we esqpress our thanks for thoir having established the cliair of secondary b' 117.) 117. education. In tho oourno of a fow months tho high ochoolQ had been rated, on a "basis of the standard C am egie- entrance imlt; and this rating was furnished the college and UhiYorsity authorities of the State for their gtddance in clasaifyinc: students, who entered tiieir rospoctiye institutions. 37he movement for the development of the high schools of the State was r^reatly facilitated by t\70 general laws enacted by the legislature of 1911. Tho first one created a state High School 2 Board and provided ntate Aid to High Schools; the second created a State Board of Education. A3 stated in Chapter III, these two laws, together with several others, v.-ero tho results of the active cam- paign cirri ed on during the latter part of 19IO by tho /trkansas Education Oonniasion. The main duties of the State High School Board were to class- ify high schools receiving State aid, to establish normal training departments in four-year high scbools, to prescribe tho courses of study to be adopted and taught in tho normal trr Ining departments, and to determine the qualifications of all teachers in s4£d normal department, on the creation of a state Board of Education all the powers and dutien of tho Hi^ School Board were to be transferred to the new organisation. l.(from page lib) education in thia State, V/e believe that this move- ment has ?lroady been of gree.t benefit to the State and under the leadership of B.v/. Torroyson, we expect greater renultc in the future." Proceedings of the Ark. State Teachers' Association, 1909. - . 19. 2. Act llo. ^26 of the Acts of 1911. J, Act No. 451 of the Acts of I9II. Il8. Tho eztonsion of Gtato aid to hich schools had throo specif io purpoooa: 1. To eataMisli high nchoolc in tho riirul dis- tricts so as to extend hi^^h school privilogos to tho children of those diotricta. 2. To strengthen and standejcdize the high school^; and 5 . To provide for the training of teachers for eloraon- tary and riiral ochoolc . For the purposes of the Act» tho sum of 050,000.00 was appropriated out of the coiomon school fund — ^;40,000.00 of v.hioh was to be used for general high school purposes and 310,00.00 for teacher training dopartnonts in high schools . The main duties and povrers of the State Board of Education were to have iSie management and investments of the permanent soliool fund; to recover by process of law all moneys due the common school fond; to control the chartering of all educational institutions; to determine the conditions upon which dogrces should be conferred; to provide coursos of study for rural, elementary, graded and high schools; to clas3ii> and standardize the public schools; to prescribe the reruirements for accrediting graded ond high schools; and to take such action as may be, necessary to promote the organisation ;Tjid increase the efficiency of the educational system of the state. Immediately upon its organisation, July 14, 1911, the State 1 Board of Education , acting in its capacity as State High School 1. The personnel of the board was as follows; Cook, Geo. B. ex-officio chairman Toireyson, B.\Y. Supervisor of seconidry Education, 'Daniels, C.I. Secretary; Kuykendall, J.W. Fort smith; Bradhojn, D.A., "arren; Lee, John P. Clarendon; Hutchinson, Forney, Hot Springs. Resnaolds, J.H., Fayotteville . 119. 1 Board, draftod tho follov;ins rosiilationa covorning high schools reoelving State aid for eronerol purposes: 1 . Each school shall be provided with at least one room to be used for high school purposes only. 2. A two-year high school shall provide at least one teacher who shall give his nhole time to high school work; a three-year high school one and. one-half teachers; a four-year high school tow and one-half teachers; and a normal trr,ining high school throe teachers, in addition to the normal training instructor. 5. The school term shall not bo shorter than eight months. 4. IThe recitation periods shall be at least forty minutes when the term is nine months or flrt-five minutes when the term is eight months. 5. lEhree and your year high schools mast equip a labora- tory for the teaching of at least one natural science and normal training high schools must equip for two. 6. Jill pupils of high school grade and all liconsod teachers may attend any State aided high school located in tho county in which they reside without payment for tuition. 7. All schools must expend annually not less than $25.00 for library, the books select xl to be approved by tho rotate Board of Education . 8. All teachers employed in high schools receiving aid are subject to approval by tho State Board of Education. 9. All schools must enroll at least tv.-anty-five high school pupils; provided, a mral high school with an enrollment of fifteen may receive vid for two years. l.Biilletin, D 2^ Ark. State Dept. of Pub. Ind. 1911-12, p 4. 120 1 In addition to theso rojjulations, the following were drafted for the government of those high sohoola receiving 3tato cdd for teacher training departmontc; 1 . The school must offer a full four-year standard high school couroo. 'I, There must he throe high school toaohers in addition to the normal training instructor . 5 • The normal training instructor must have had special preparation for Ms work and must he approved hy the 'otate Board of Education. 4. The coursB of study must include at least fonrtoon imita of academic work and throo units of professionsl v/ork. 5. On completing the course, graduates may be given liconse to teach in anj^ of the common schools of the State. Shis may ho con- verted into a professional license after two years of successful teaching and the completion of a course of reading prescribed by the State Superintendent . She regulation of the State Board of Education in regard to 2 the qualifications of teachero re .uirod all teachers enrployod in high schools to hold a State, profesaional or first grade liconse. Those holding a first grade liconse must have as additional quali- fications, two years of college gaining, a normal school diploma, OP three years of successful high nohool teaching experience. The above regulations as to the course of study, State aid to high schools and ciualifications of teachers ocrployed in high schools wont into effect in the Pall of 1911. with the 1. Bulletin .D,2; Ark. State Sept of pub. Ins. (nigli School Reports and Tallies, 1911-12, pp 5~6 2. Ibid. j). 5 121. opening of the 1911-12 school terra. In siuinarlzinc the recults 1 after tliroo years of operation. Superintendent Cook says: "Atten- tion is called to the growth of high schools under the State Aid law; espeoiallys as to gain in number of high schools, 126 per cent; total enrollment, 92 per cent; and number of full four year schools, 131 per cont; more significant than this is the enrollment of 2,500 rural boys and girls xrho aro annually givon free instruction in State schools. Without tliis law they coiild not have had this training at all. Its effect on rural schools has been extremely beneficial in that it has eeft* set st^indards for entr^-ince in high schools , v;hich has made necessary more exact and thorough work and completion of the common school course. It has given free instruction annually to more than a thousand rural teachers; and strong professional courses in normal training high schools to an annual averan-o of four hundred young teachers who want a more thorough preparitlon for teaching in the elementary and common schools . Of these one hundred and sixty- three have completed the course, received diplomas and licenses and are ndw teaching . ith success. Besides the schools have been brought to standards In length of term, length of recitation, number of teachers, and laboratory and library equipment. Their efficiency has been greatly promoted in all respects," 2 The following outline shows the progress of the high school development, under State aid and the supervision of the 3tato 1. Syllabus of the Twenty- xhird Biennial Report, State Supt. of Publ Ins. 191^-14. pp .16-17. 2. lEhis outline is taken from the outline in the Syllabus of the Twenty-Third TBienniol Keport, State Dopt. of Pub. Ins. 191:^-14 pp.16 and from the nummary of F.igh School Str.tistica in Bulletin D 2^, Ark. Stat o Dopt. of Pub. Ins. (High School Roports and Tables 1911-12) p 25. Per more coraplote detaila, see these two references. 122 Board of Eduoation together tdth tho Supervisor of Secondary Education, in a little noro detail: »08-»09 1909-10 1910-U 1911-12 1912-15 1915-14 14-15 irollment, Plot. S^ State 4,^25 Ldod high school e 5.655 6.708 9.567 11.701 12,86; icrease in enrollmont 1,008 1.065 2.859 2.85s 1,15^ 3r Cent of inoroase In irollment 21.79 18.96 42.62 22.57 9.87 3hoolG aidod for CQiioral irposes 79 106 119 157 3hools aided for normal raining 14 14 15 14 3tal schools aidod 95 120 152 151 lole nunbcr of high sohools 1 State 89 94 122 215 ipils enrolled in normal rrining classes 524 598 448 jrmal training diplomas rf.nted 41 51 71 Ipils studying agriculture, Bite fiided H.S. 1.652 2,428 2.177 Dtc. About 700 additional pupils were studying /V^riciilture in the district high school, i.e. School not receiving Stato aid. When we take into account the increase in the length of tern, length of recitation, number and efficiency of toachers, and the number of years included in the coizrso, together with the general development of the standards of the high sohools, the above showing for throe years of State aid, 1911-1914, is indeed remarlrxiblo and gratifying. The gap between the oorainon school and the University had boon bridged, f?jid our so-called free school system had become a system 123 in reality, xrith. tree oppirtunitieo for all Arkansas children to make equal advanccmnt in life, whether they happen to live in the city or In the rural commitaity . II otwlth standing tliis TA)nderful ahoTving, there was c^^owing up in many localities a more or Iobg bittor opposition to the prin- ciple of tJtato aid to hi^ Bohools . It was contended by the object- ors and by petty politicians that, since the fund for State aid to high schools wac taken out of the cora^aon school fund, the miral district, regardless of whether it was able to take advantage of the lavr, had to contribute to the support of high schools. IDlio system, they claiine, involved the principle of robbing the vreak to give to the strong. Anticipating unfavorab3se action on the matter by the General 1 Assembly of 191$, the State Board of Education issued a bulletin, January 29, 19l>, defending the law providing State aid to high schools and protesting its repeal. In tliis bulletin the pujrpose of the law was e3:i)lainod and the results accoirrtTlished the first year of its operation stated. In regard to the weak districts having to contribute to the aid of the strong, it was shovra that the average commong school districts, VTith an enumeration of 8o pupils, contri- buted only ^6,40 — "a sum too small to affect either the length of the school term or the salary of the teachers." It was pointed out that in return for this expenditure of v:6.40, the district had the privilege of sending all its toaohors and all its pupils v/ho had 2 finished the common school course to any high school in the coxuity 1. State Aid to High Schools, a bulletin addressed to the Members of the GeneroJ. Assembly, Jan. 20, 191:>. 2. The only coimties at this ':ime viiich were not maintaining State Md od nigh Schools were Deoha, Drew and r idison. see P.cport of Siipt. of Pub. Ins. 1911-12, p. 25. 124 without tnltion charge. It V!-ae further pointed out thc.t, since State aid to high schools hod reoultod in "tho accession to the ranks of the common school teachers of nearly one thousand teachers who have had high school instr-uotlon, and over throe hundred who have had special training; as well," tho rural districts vrould \m- douhtedly ho benefited hy incfoased officlanoy in teaching. The bulletin also stressed $he need of a coiroleto school system, includ- ing elementary, secondary and University training, so that every hoy and girl in the State v/ould have equal op'jortunity in ao^iuiring a necessary finished education. Two bills wore introduced in the legislature of 1913 for the repeal of the law providing State aid to high schools - one in the House Davis of Lafayette, and one in the senate hy Ferguson. Tho 1 Davis hill passed the House hy a jrote of 41 to $9» "but UDon its 2 first reading in the Senate it was tabled by a vote of 2'j) to 9» !i?he Ferguson bill was read trice and referred to the committee on 'J Education , but the Committee did not return the bill. Later the law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Bhe General Bduoation Board still continues its Supervisor of Secondary i::duoation, in Arkansas. !Tr. B.W. Torresyon remained as Supervisor until July 1917, when he resigned to accept the Presidency of the Arkansas State normal School. ICr . A.B. Hill, Principal of the Little i^ock High School, was elected to succeed ''r. Torroyson. Although the high school development was materially affected by the decision of the Supreme Court in regard to the imoonstitutionality 1. House Journal, 191i)-p.424 2. Senate Journal, 191 i^. p. 2$3 3. Senate Houmal, 1913 1 P« 79 125. of the State aid law, yet the work of the Dupervloor of iieoondary Bduoation, aidod by the State Board of 2duoation, has boon of InoalcTilablo value to our hi^ cchoolo. An idea of the work done by Mr. Kill during the year he served as Supervisor of Secondary Education may be gained from 1 the following oiiotfxtion: "Sinoo the first of September, the High School inspector haa visitod schools in forty eoimtieg. In addition to visiting these schools he has attended meetings of teachers in seven counties. On Saturdays, he has held meetings of superintendents and principals at Jonosboro , llev/port, Brinlrlcy, Pine Bluff and Dorraott. At these meetings such topics as "Adjustment of Course of Study to Ileet the IJoeds of the Corai-runity, '= "Professional Heading of Teachers," "School Supervision," and "SuporviD3d Study" have oeen discussed. It has boon our jmrposo at till theso discussions to show the need of practical coiirses of study, especially such subjects as Homo Econoraios, Agriculture, Iianual draining and Allied Sciences. He has tried, at every opportuiiity possiblo, through jirivatc conforonceo cmd public utterances, to get the people interested in some practical subjeota, such as homo economics and agriculture. During the nonth of llovembor, almost the entire tine has been spent in conference vrith the superintendents and school boards, relative to the establishnent of ugric iltural departments in the various high schools under the provisions of the Smith -Hughes Act." Supervision of l^ral Schools . The second line of activity in the group of Genoral Edu- cational Agencies to be taken up in Arkansas was the Supervision of Rural Scliools . In their biennial roporta, the several Superintendents of Public Instruction had called attention to the unsatisfactory con- dition of the rural schools, and for thoir improvement had made 1. Educational Hews Bulletin, Vol. 1, i:o.2 p 1. 125, various roconsraendations in tho vray of consolidation, conitiulcory attendance, cotmty airrjorvision, profeaclonally trained toaohers, better Tyulldinga ojid equipment, increased revenue, etc. 3ome county oxamlners, in thoir reports, h.id laade iiailar reconraenda- tlons . Some special work along tho line of rural Gohool Improvonent had also been done, but no material roatLLts hod been acoomplished beoauEJe of the lack of continued persistonoy In tho efforts. 1 A "Graded Oourre of 3tudy for imral Sohools" hod been prepared by Superintendent Hineraon, and issued by authority of law, jtay 1. 1913. At the mooting of tho /j^kansar; Teachers' Association, 1914 December 28-50, J. n. Reynolds, Head of the Department of History, Iftiiversitj'- of Arkansas, read a paper on "The Consolidation of Rural 2 Schools," which resulted in the appointment of a committee of ten teachers from various sections of the State to roijort on the condi- tion of the rural sohools of tho Stato, at the next annual meeting of the Association. The report of the ooraanittoe was adopted and 4 ordered published by the Association, December 28, 1905 . The re^^ort contained a very extensive collection of data on the condition of the rural schools of the State, and some very pertinent rocomipsnda- 1. For outline of this course, seo Chapter II. 2. Proceedinijs of the Ark. Teachers' Asooclation, 1904, p.? $. The corarnitteo, a ointed by tho President of tho Association v/as cor.iposod of Geo. B. Cook, W.A.Cravrford, J.H. Hinemon, Goo, R. Hoj^ins, J.H.:"'uykondall, D.L.Paisloy, J.II .Ro-Tiolda, C .L .Sampson, B.W.Torreyson ond i' .II. "Jatkino . At the organization of the com- mittee Dec. ^0, 1904, J.H .Reynolds was scleotod Chairman and J .v; .Kuykendall , Sec. A genoral plan of work was laid out, ;jnd the Chairraaji and Secretary agrcod to undortak- tho worlc. The o:q)onse3 of the committee wore defrayed by -m. appropriation of .)2|;.00 by the Association and a gonerous donation of jZ'-'j ,00 by Hon .Lewis Khoton of Little Rock. Seo Report of the Ark.Soh. Com. p 1. 4.1'roceodin2;3 of tho Ark. Teachers' ;j3 'ociation, 1905 1 pp.5©^» 127. tions for tho improvoraent of thoso aohoola. .'^jiong the recoLmonda- tlono ware : (1) Iloro reyonuo by means of an extonolon of tho con- stitutional lir.it on the right of taxation; (2) larger tazing units, as the toTOiship instead of the small district, to remedy the marked differences in length of school term; and (5) oonsolidntion and transportation to obviate the inefficiency through a uselecs multl- plioation of nchool dlstriota. Prior to 1911, very little general legislation had been enacted looking particularly toward the improvement of rural schools. A law providing for county auperlntendency wa passed by the ler'is- lature of 19 7. "but, being elective, it was very slowly put into operation. Two compulsory attendaace laws nere passed by tho legis- lature of 1909, but tho provisions of the laws wore such as to have but little effect upon the improvement of the rural schools. Furthermore, many counties were exempt entirely from these compulsory attendance laws. The legislature of 1909. however, passed a vei^- wholesome law for tho improvement of rural schools by authorising the people of any given territory in any county in the state, other than incorporated cities .md toims, to organize a special school district having all tho rights and privileges previously allowed only to schools in incorporated cities end tOTTns . In effect, this law really provided for consolidation. Y/e find, also, that the special legislation, prior to 1911» had aoooraplished very little in the improvement of the typical rural schools. To be sure, several special Acts had been passed allowing adjacent districts to unite or conoolidate, but most of these cases provided for the onlai^gement of certain city or town special 3c?iOol districts to include contiguous rural dlstricto. 128. The locislatiiro of 1911 f hor/-ovor, onactod oevoral remedial laws for the tjrploal rural chools , Of the oloven "general" od- tioational laws eapoclally progressive and construotivo In nature, passed by this legislature, three v.ero particularly favorable for the inQprovenont of the rural schools, vis: (1) Act Tio. 2l6, providing for the consolidation of adjacent school districtG; (2) Act ITo. 2^1, roenaoting the two compulsory attendance laws passed by the legislatu.ro 1909; and (55) Act lTo,4$l, oBeating a State Board of Bducation. In reviewing the above legislation, created particularly for the betterment of the rural schools, we find that the law pro- viding for county super in t end onory, the law providing for the organ- ization of an.7 territory outside of incor^pora ed cities and towns into special school districts, nnd the law providing for the consolidation of adjacent aistricts xrere all permissive and not mandatory. The compulsory attendance laws were mandatory, but their provision requiring children to be in school only half the entire time the sbhool attended was In session and the great number of con- ditions r-llowlng pupils to be eKcused flrom all attendance, together with the groat number of counties eserrpt entirely, made the laws very ineffective in the great number of small rural districts. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education were calculated to enable the Board to improve the mral districts only in a general way. lEhese laws were all excellent for the more or less progress ive districts, vrhero the poor'lQ of their own accord would taJro the 129. initiative and put tho lr:v7g into active operation; but the backward and nonprogresaivG districts, v;hich contained so larce a proportion of tho population of tho Btato, not being ref^uired to adopt these measuros, had remained indifferent to thera. The reports of the county examiners for IS'IO revealed de- finitely the deplorable condition of tho rural schools of tho State in the following fijjures: (1) 112 schools with an onrollinont of 10 or less pupils; (2) 179 schools with an onrollinont of 15 or less pupils; (3) 656 schools with an enrollment of 25 or loos pupils . (4) 9$1 schools with an enrollment of y^ or less pupils; In oomnontine upon the above statistics, Bu-nerintcndcnt 1 Cook points out "that this grouping inoliidos all 'enrolled pupils,' vftiereas the adtual daily attendance for the entire State is barely 64.4 pel' cont of the enrollment. Therefore, if the schools are con- sidered whoso 'average daily attendance' falls within those liinits — and this vierw of the situation should by all means bo token — then it 2 T/ill bo found that there are nore than 2,500 one-room schools being conducted in .(^kansas where the benefits to pupils and State are reduced to the lowest point." The reports of the county examiners for 1911 shows the following facts on daily attendance: (1) 14-6 one-room schools, daily attendance 10 or less (2) 1827 ono-room schools, drdl^ attendance 25 or less (5) 2853 one-room schools, daily attendance $5 or loss Note 1. Report of Supt . Pub. Ino . 1909-IO, p 18. 2. Consolidation of ..ural ;;cli00ls, T.ulletin, ^A p o. 'j,. Consolidation of RUral Schools, Bulletin 5-A p. b. 1^0. In addition to these facts concex-ning the snail driily attendance in so many schoola, v;e must remember that in moot of these schools, as well an In many others, the terms were extremely short, the houses unfit for oocupanco, and the tcaohors totally un- preparod for efficient teaching. In speaking of the rural school lecislation as permissive, and stating that the "backward and indifferent rural districts had not been improved by theip, the v;riter does not mean to imply that manda- tory laws would have been better. Even mandatory laws with stipulated penalties, in a Democracy like ours, can not be enforced unless they are supported by popular opinion and the will of the masses of the people. Under existing conditions any effort to impose educational laws of a decidedly revolutionary character would have met with such bitter opposition that their purposes v;ould have been thwarted or entirely blocked by a legislative repeal . The only feasible plan was to create a body of opinion with strong enough influence to pre- vail upon the legislature to pass these permissive lav;s. This the Arkansas Education Commission, together with many other agencies, was able to acconiplish. Iho next stop in acquiring nore desirable results involved influencing the people, by persuasion and logical argument, to adopt the measures and put thorn into active operation. It was felt that this second step in the dovlopment of our rural schoola could best be affected by a Supervisor of Rural Schools, Who could go into the field in person; meet vdtii the people in pri- vate groups and public gatherings; advise *ith them as to their public school needs; explain the educational advantages and T;orkings of the various laws pertaining to county superin tendency, consolida- tion and compulsory attendance; and insist upon these laws being put 151. Into opera -fclon, The Southern Education 'BoarcL, wliloh had so generously financed the Arkansas Eduoatlon Coini-dssion, woe o-ppealod to for aid in this iindertalcine. Being pleoned rrith the results already ao- ooimilished by its investment in Arkansas oduoatlon, through the Arkansas Education Commission, and irapresaod with our needs and Iho opportunity to fulfill its own mission, the Board agreed to finance, for an indefinite period of time, a raovonent to improve the condi- tion of our rual scliools . Accordingly, Mr. J.I. Bond, Deputy Superintendent of pub- lic Instruction, was solccted as Sipervisor of Riiral Schools, and Instructed to entor upon his novr duties the first of januai'y, 1912. I/Ir. Bond at first directed his efforts primarily to the consolidation of small and vreak rural schools and incidentally to 1 tho cQuostion of county superlntonddncy. A bulletin on the Consoli- dation of irural Schools was at once prepared and sent out in large numbers to the directors nnd interested patrons of rural districts. In this bulletin wa^ sot forth fourteen reasons for consolidation, ten results of consolidation and ten suggestions as to how to -^^ut it into operation. The bulletin also contained a verbatim copy of tlie consolidation law. ITuoh time was spent in the field with county HxaminerB, ooiuity superintendeiits, school directors, lond interested members of the rural school communities, throughout the State, During the year many rallies and piiblic gatherings rrore hold at which the principles and plans of consolidation together wi-Ha their advantages 1. Consolidation of i^ral Schools, Bulletin ^A pp . 12. 152 wero outlined. Co-lnoidont vdth the oanrpaifpi for the oonaolldation of QchOJla was waged also a oan^aicn for larger tax loviea, a:; a means of providinG not only longer terras of school and more efXioiont teaohors tut also better equipment In the way of laboratory appara- tus, sanitary,?- drinking fountains, librariec, naps, charts, globes, etc. AS the v;ork progressed bulletins wero sent out describing the working plans of districts which had affected consolidation, and also giving programs for the Improvoment of rural schools. School fairs in nomo oases v.ero established in connection with the county fairs. One interesting -niece of ^rork, known as the "Special Eural 1 School plan of ivork" was carried on in ton rural schools of each of tho eight counties vdiich had adopted county superintendencv in 1912. The ten schools of each co^mty were to work together ouch on the same plan as the different schools of a large city system work together. Eogular meetings of the teachers in chfirge of the ten schools were held for conference and discussion of their work. lit- erary societies and debating clubs were organized and special efforts put forth to make each one of tho ten schools a social center. A Union School Graduation Day was arranged in each of the eight counties at vihioh all tho graduates of the ten schools received their certi- ficates. 2 In spea]:ing of the v/ork of consolidation, LIr. Bond says: "Ihis work is being well received and the people are eager to ^now 1. Per complete outline, see Biilletin D.24, Ark. State Dpet. of pub. Ins. "wOrk of the '.ural Schools, 1912, -,ro , 16-19. 2. Bulletin D. 24 state Dept. of Pub. Ins. ork of the a^iral r.ohools, p. 5. la. on page 153 • 135 . of this plan of building up stronger and getter sohools. County concolidation con^jaigns are now "bolng wa^ed in a lar.'re number of counties and more and nore the people are reooiTiiaing that consoli- dation of districts O-fers a safe, sano, and practical plan for establishing stronger and better schools." In summing up the rural school v^ork for the first year, yjc » Bond describes the efforts as being directed -along do finite lines 1 as follows: 1. Field work to find out at first hand the needs and conditions . 2. Consolidation and taz levy campaigns waged. 5. Special rural school plan of work carried on in •ttie superintended coujities of the State. 4. A large number of countier: organized for school in work this year in connection with the county faurs, 5. County Superlntondency canipalgns waged in a number of counties of the State. 6. Better equipment for schools urged - an estimate of the amount spent this year for additional school equipment is placed at vl 50, 000 .00 • 7. Literature being carefully distributed. During the biennial r^criod from 191>-1914» l^r. Bond laid □ore cnrphasis upon county superintendency than during the first year. Iftich attention was also given to special forms of activity for build- ing up the standards and efficiency of the schools and for creating note .la from preceding page. These eight coimties with thetr re- spective superintendents were as follows: Crawford, :?hos .F.V.'asson lliller, John Tlnham Garland, David Crockett Uisslssippi, J.D.Swift Jackson, '^:.:'. Shaver Poinsett, H.B. Thorn Lee, T.H.?utrall Sebastion, J.B. V'illiamson 1. Bulletin D 24, State Dept. of pub. Ins. \Vork of the Hural schools. 134. pride oncL Intorost in looal cornntmltioa and aroTioinc the people to a realisation of the rvdvantacea or odiioation. The prohlon of scouring school and oonrnunity cooperation "by means of parent- teacher mootincs end orcr-nizationD; the question of medical inspection, hygiene, health and sanitation, throuf-ih the cooperation of the state Board of Health and the personal assistance of Dr. C. P. Garrison, in charge of the campaign for the eradication of hookworm in the State; the vrork of organizing school irrprovoment associations through the cooperation of ITiss Eva Roichardt, State organizer of School Iraprovoraent Association — all received special attention. Another form of activity- was the plan of holding school fairs, (school and athletic contests) in connection with the county faiJTS, 3?ho county escarainers and county superintendents vrere asked to appoint comnittees to arrange for these schools and athletic con- tests. Instructions and suggestions sent out to these coimnittees 1 explained the plans . Hjiich stress was laid upon the teaching of agriculture. An aot of the legislature of 190? reciuirod the teaching of elemen- taiy agriculture and horticulturo in the public schools of the State. Ilethods and outlines of courses in Agriciilture v/cro prepar- ed for the teachers "by the D^ar'nent of Education, nnd all aftsis- tanoe possi"ble rendered the teachers in bringing thi" now subject of the conmon school course up to standard. In this connection the teachers wore urged to cooperate with the County Demonstration Work being cairried on among the farmers oy means of donations from 1. For details, seo Bulletin D 24, Ark. State Dopt. of Pub. Ins. :ork of the lairal Sohoji.s 1912, 25-24.. 155. private indlviduala >':aid appropriations from the ruortun courts 1 and wltlh the Eztonsion !:ork being oarriod on hy the College of Agriculture, Dbivergity of Arkojiaas, rs-solsted hy the United ritatos Department of AGriculturo. In this way tho i-choUla v;ero intimately linked up with the "boys' and gi2:'ls' blub v/ork. Another definite line of r/ork emphanised was the problem of attendance at school. As a means of helping teachers to secure more regular attendance of their pupils, a bulletin was prepared by Mr. Bond in wliich he made several valuable suggestions. In brief 2 these suggestions involved the following plans: (1) Use of monthly attendance certificates. (2) Visiting parents of children not in school and using the columns of the local newspapers to intorost tho people in their school and to impress upon them the vcdue of regular attendance of their children. (5) Frequent meetings of dirootprs and patrons at the school house to talke over with them mat! ers pertaining to their school and their children (4) Making the school work such a force in the ' com'-ninlty life as to interest the patrons and attract tho boys nnd girls. (3) Use of monthly honor rolls for all pupils p- rf ect in punctual ty and attendance from month to month . 1. In addition to tho suggestive outline courses in agriculture sent out by the Supervisor of Rural scl^ools, and also the very valuable labora- tory manual for Illementary .■Lgricultui-o i^reparod by J.n.V/ilson, of the Univ. of Arkansas Agrioiilture Extension Department, as a part of the Element -.ry Course of Study issued by tlio State Board of lilducation, two other majiuals on the agricultural movement deserve Lipocial mention. One of these was a 52 page booklet entitled "Let Arkansas Jeed Herself" prepared by the Agriciatural Extension Department of the International Harvester Company of New Jersey, P.CHolden, Director, Ilarve-. tor Building, Chice.no, 111. This little booklet contained some very valuable suggestive studies in agricul- ture and home living, which were made uso of in the schools of tho Sta e. The other was a 192 page manual entitled "A rianual on Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Club Work" coiiipilod by ,'. J.Jernlgan, State Boys' end Gtrls ' Club Agent, Extension Division of the College of Agriciature, Univ. of Arkansas, United States Department of Agriculture, coo sera ting. This Manual was de- signed not only for the purpose of outlining the boys' and girls' agricxilturc club work, but especially for the use of rural school teachers. 13b. Another plan f.uito helpful in toning up tho rural school situation was the use of a soore card containing somo sizty itonia classified under tho followinr; main heads: Points Points Allowed Given. 1. Tho School Plant 25 2. The teacher at work y^ 3. Teacher's Training and S FiXperiGncG, 4. The School and Community 15 V life. 5 . Sanitation and Cleanliness 20 That the work of Kural School Supervision was proving emi- 1 nontly succeGSful was shown "bj tho fact that during tho biennial period from 1915-14 one hundred end fifty- two districts corxsolidated into slzty-four larger ond stronger districts and that twelve addi- 2 tional counties adopted county superlntendonoy, malcing t^venty altogether. A "better evidence of the success of the movement was the general appreciation of the fact that the rural "boys and girls had come to feel and realize that farm llfo was ^ust as attractive and suoceosful as city life, and further that the parents had cone to appreciate the school as a social center of tho community, creating a better and richer and happier life for the farmer and his family. miring the next two years Ilr. Bond continued the same lines of activity in supervising tho rural schools, which he had laid out in the previous years. Tho rosults for this biennial ocriod IToto 2 from page 135. Bulletin D24, Ark. State Dopt. of Publ Ins. Ylor'k of Rural School pp. 29-31, 1. Syllabus of the Twenty- Third Biennial P^oport, State Dept. of Pub. Ins. 1913-14. p. b 2. These tr.-enty countiec, in order of their adoption wewe: llisTirssippi, Garlcjid, Jcckson, Poinsett, Tiller, Leo, Sebastion, Crav/ford, llontromery, Monroe, Polk, V/hlto, Benton, Prairie, Jefferson, Crittenden, Cleburn, Newton, lonoke and Arkansas. 157. were equally siiccosaful and amply ^stifled the Southern Education Board In supportinG the novcnont. After five years of efficient and untirinc efforts in tlie movement for iraproring the condition of the rural sohoolo of Arkansas the people voice their approval of I£r. Bond's v7ork by placing him at the head of thfeir public school systen. ,iccordin^;Ly, llr. Bond resigned as Supervisor of Rural Schools, and assumed the duties of Superinten- dent of Public Instruction, October 30, 191 1>. Ilr. \7.E. Lasseter, Superintendent of the England Public Schools for a number of years, wa- jieldcted as Supervisor of Hural Schools . During the tv76 years Hr. Lasseter has been Supervisor, his attention has been directed especially along three linoc, vis; county supervision, construction of model school buildings, and practical courses in first-year agriculture and shop work. 1 A bulletin was prepared on county supervision setting forth its purpose, how it may be adopted, and what county superintendcncy vTv.e doing at that time in the twenty-four adopted counties. Exten- sive can^jaigns were organised in several countieo, with the results that seven new counties adopted county sU'Torintendency at the annual o school election in May, 1918. In the movement for model school buildings, blue-print designs were made showing in detail plans for one-teacher schools, two-teacher schools, threo-teacher schools and four-teacher schools , These plans with suggestions for construction by the architect, are furnished without charge to school directors contemplating the erec- tion of model school buildings. 1. County supervision of Schools, prepared by 'J.E. lafiseter. 2, Elections for County Superintondenoy may be held every two years at the annual school election in May of oven ye^^s. With the tLow of cottlnc raoro doflnlto and syatomatlo work done by tho olcnontary toaohors in the rxiral schools in first- year aPirionlturo, !.Ir. lagseter prepared an "Outline Oourae of Study in Prr.otiool Asriculturo and Shop \7orI-." In connootion with tho practical acricultural course, each pupil was oKpocted to cultivato an acre of Ground, koepinc bookg on tho project end sharing all the prof i to from tho sale of tho yield. Altogether, '!r, Lassotor reports very gratifying results for his two yoara as Supervisor of Rural Schools. Supervision of Special Ilountain Schools. 1 Tho Supervision of Special "ouiitain Schocls in Thirteen Coxmties of Arlransas is tho most recent of tho four "General jJdu- oational Agencies" to be established in tho state, and bids fair to be of inoalculablo value 60 our raauntain people. 2 She origin of this movcraent datos back about tlireo years, 3 when the Episoopr-l Church addressed a letter to Mr, B.17. Sorroyson, Supervisor of Secondarj^ Education, ask'ng him for information as to the educational and religious problene of tho people in the Arkansas Ozarks and his Judgment as to whether thero was a field in which this church could be of service. After consiatation with Prof. r.E. Hal- brook, who was better acflimtlitod vrith the actual conditions of the 1. These counties aro as follows: Baxter, Boone, Caroll, Franiain, Pulton, Izard, Iladison, I'arlon, Ilewton, Searcy, sharp, Stone and VanBTiron, These all lie in tho arfcrerne northern party of the State among the foot-hills of tho Ozark mountains. 2. The writer is especially indebted to Prof. '■1.2. Italbrook, Super- visor of Special 'loimtain schools, for the infornation contained in this sketch of the movement. 3. The Episcopal Church had already osta'aishod a small though excel- lent industrial school for ci^ls at V.inslow in V/ashington County on the crest of the mountains Just outaido the extreme western boundary of the territory later included in the organised district for Special Iloimtain School Supervision. 139 Ozark moujataln pooplo of ^Irlcansac than any one el::o in the State, ?&", Torryson replied, Giving the church little Gnoonraccincnt . iThis reply wcis based on the Judgment that, 7.11116 any church could "be of Creat acrvico to the people locally, the rea3. oducfitional prohlono of t!ho people could he hest worked out through the public school systen, hy the people thGinsolTon, under wise and sjonpathetic C'^id- anoc. ■The :^pi3copal Church turned the natter over to the Russell Cage Foundation, "but, after nome cor respond once with both T'essrs . Torreyson and Ealhroolc, the Foundation decided that the Ceneral Ed- ucation Board couJ.d more appro^irintely handle the situation. Accordingly, the General Education loard took up the pro- position v.'ith I'll'. J.L.Bond, SuperviGor of Purnl Schools, who was soon to booone State Superintendent of Public Instruction, After ob- taining definite infomation from !1r. Bond and Prof. Hal brook as to the topo;?raphy of the territory, the histor7 and characteristics of the people, and their educational social conditions, together with detailed sugirestiono as to wliat a Supervisor nicht do in developing the oducatiohal, social, economic and religious life of the people. The General Edtioation Board decided to undertake this groat work and put an .\gent in the mountain districts to supervise the educa- tional inte^-ests of tho people in connection with their pbulic school 33^3 tern. Prof. W.E.nalbrook, who had been considered all during the above developcients as the one nan really fitted to take charge of such work was selected by the "".oard and made Supervisor of SDOCial Mountain Schools in Thirteen Goimtios of Arkansas. This 140. was n wise selotion; for 'Tr. Halbrook is a native of the rxjimtalns with synpathies and interoota identified vrl.th motL tain pooplo. He is not only a close stiident of education but a oloso strident of hum nature; and, tlioroforo, understandn fully the oondition of the •UiG people he has been selected to i^uide and direct, and Imows exact- ly their educational, social and oconomio needs. His ability to lo'-'.d in suoli work had already beon demonstrated by his development of "The Halbrook System of Schools" consisting of tv70 scho'-ls — Martinville nnd Damascus- located in Faulkner County and one- Ohoo taw- located in Van Bur on County, Immediately after entering upon his now duties as Super- visor of Special Jloujatain Schools, Llr, Halbrook submitted to the Gen- eral Education Board a tentative plan and outline of the work he proposed to undertalco as follows: Chief Work-Sstablishment of Demonstration Schools. 1 . "Pind strategic locality a. One that is rcproomitauive b. ©no that is so located that its suoceos Yrlll easily influence others. c. One that is ready and willing to cooperate 2. rind the toaohers a. Interested in these people b . Adapted by nature 0. Properly trained for the special woi?c. $. Keep in close and constant touch with the school. a. To supervise, and direct dovoloimonts . b. To enoourac:© the teacher and strengthen his support. 0. To noto results and publish what is worth while. 4. Character of the schools a. Adapted to the needs and interests of the con-.-unity. 1. eoonoclcally. 2. socially 3. religiously 141. b. Aoquaints pupils with the tMnf:i;6 in tiio oommimity and their rGaponaiblllty . 0. Puts tho ooraraunlty In touch with the outaide world . d. Tlrrough instlnotive intoroots leads then to . higher atandaxds ol" life. (c'dLture) Ij; \vc find a good deal of musioal talent and in- terest, select a teacher ^o Ofin tlirough music lead the young to other interests. If religion predominated, select a teacher of like faith who can through Christian activities inspire to better living. If people are alive to progressive agricultiu:o, select a teacher strong in that line who can build a community thereby. Supplcmontsu''y Aotivitiea. 1. f/ork up sentiment araong the electorate to vote for county suporintondencj- in the moimtain oointiGc. 2, Cooperate with farm and canning club demonstrators and University Extension foi'cos. a. Assist thein in outlining their crun.iaigns thrpugli th0!:!0 counties , b. Prevent waste of their activities with 'fellow up ' ror.-. c. Use tiiera wherever practical and as much as possible in the denonotr^-i.tion schools. 5. Cooperate with religious clendrainations who con- tomplatc some cducatioiial agcnoioo in that section. 4. Cooperate with the State Highway Department and State rioalth Dcpr.rt ^.lent in thoir activitioc in that section. 5. Assist the Illiteracy Co'i'dssion recently created b;, tho State in the study of their problems, which is a -Tutual one bct-weon then and v.q . ^Phe results accomplished by !Ir. Ilalbrool: dturing the first year of his service as Supervisor of .Special IlO'-intain Schools is stated briefly in a circular sent out by him, as follows: 1. One demonstration ccliool oi-^tr-blichcd , Results for first term only fair. Could not get just teacher we needed, as work 'oogan late. People thlnlc they had a great school. Public sentiment good. Pros- pects for further i;rogre;3s good. Too little of the industrial feature, however, was obtained. 142. 2. Anotlior domonstration school is provided for and ail Gxoollont te cher selected. It is arrancod ©specially *or visitations by teachers of the CO'- or 'cy . 5. County supervision has lieen eatahliWiod in five inoro Gointlen, ina'-.lng aix tliat I now have, 4. Appropriation niado for agricultural atienta in sovojj Additional ooantios, ma^dne ten of ni^ oo'intioo uith from one to four oaoh. 5. Two highway Iraprovcmen-i; districts have been formed for the construction of tv;o macadam roads through this mountain co-^itry. One Ijoginiiinc at I^usaell- will, via Jasper and Harrison to Eureka Springs. The other n-om Jirrilton via Clinton, Iloiintain View, Melbourne, Salem, to liammoth Spring. 6. Teachoi' training has boon in operation in three counties with firatifying results. 7. The BcTitist people havo put in a good teacher train- ing department in connection with their mountain schOvl . 8. The Methodist are plan;\ing to taJce over their present r.Tjimtain C!,c.idei,\y, rc-].ocate, and roorganize along agricultural and industrial lines to meet any specific needs of this section. 9. lack of information relative to our purpose and •xLuactiun in tliis \7ar has jiocossita.ted ray devoting some time and attention to informing tliese folks on til at natter . 10. Propaganda preliminary to our Constitutional Con- vention and nesrt; Coneral Assembly have "been care- fully nowed throughout my section. 11. L study has been raao.o of locol oJid general education, social and econoniic conditions in eight of my countiotj; I havo -rctty f-.ir information in three of those to begin with. The plans for the coming year, 19l">*1919. are outlined %t. the sane circular as follows: Continuation of work begun, cxcdpt somewliat liiore e>rtonded. The importance of our Constitutional Convention and legislation followin^:; the sane will recuirc a r;ooraent. Of course the edu- cational laws of the State affected alike the schools for negroes and for whites; county insitTites ..ere held annually for tho benefit of the negro teachers; and the Department of Education did all in its 145. powor to promote the Interesta of tho negro schoole • Iloweyor, for a number of years It had been felt that the large siun of money spent annually for the support and raaintenanco of negro schools was not yielding anything like adecuate returns. Much of it was wanter, and little of it gave satisfactory restilts. Realizing that tho intelli- gent training of tho negro was not only a hujnanitarian duty hut also an economic nocossity in the general doveloi^ent of tho State, a movement was inaugurated to put the negro schools ujider intelligent supervioion similar to that of the rural schools for wliites. The work of Supervision of Ilegro Schools is tvro-fold in its nature. In the first place there is the work of "general" super- vision, in which tho schools are graded and standardized as much as possible, courses of study aro outlined and introduced, and teachers are advised as to the best methods of administration and instruction. Tho second and more important phase of the work is directed along the following special lines: (a) county training schools, (b) summer normal schoolr. , (c) industrial training under the direction of county agents, and (d) coiistruotion of buildiri^s. County Training Schools. The purpose of these schools is to give the negro youth of the State practical public school ad- vantages along the lines of industrial training and home making as well as alon^ academic linos. These schools also furnish the found- ation training for those who go into the te?-ching profession . Five of these training schools were in operation last year. They were located at Hope, Hempstead Co. "arianna, Lee Co. Caradon, Ouaohita Co. Edmonson, Crittenden Co., and Pordyce, Dallas Co, Summer normal Schools. — There were eight of these schools conducted for four weeks eadh during the month of June, 1918. Their inirpose of course wxe to better fit the te^ichero for their work In the sohool room. Coorsos were offered in all the aubjeote roriuired for county license, with special enrphasls ]ilaoed upon primary methods. The work In primary methods was in charge of the strongest ayailahle primary teachers vftio brought into the school children from the local oommunity and organized a model class for the teaching of "numbers, language, reading and writing through the first three priioary grades." In addition to the regular academic subjects, instruction t.qs given in (a) rural school pedagogy, (b) lav/s of health, hygiene and sani- tation, (c) household arts, (d) canning and preserving and (e) prac- tical gardening. In the industrial courses, the teachers wore re- quired to do such actual vfork as would be demanded of them in intro- ducing these subjects into their own schools. Industrial Training under the Direction of County Agents. — In 1914-1 SI5 1 these agents were employed in eleven coun.ties, v/hile in 191^-1917 the number had increased to eighteen. 2ach agent tisits the schools of the county and gives demonstration work in various industrial lines of activity, such as canning, preserving, garden- making, cooking, sewing, basket making, implement aud furniture making, •tc. These agents also touch comiriunlty life by holding meetings v/ith parents and teachers, organizing school improvement associations, giving talks at churches on Sundays, and visiting homes. Construction of School Buildings. This work has been car- ried out through the liberality of Lit. Julius Rosenwald of Chicago, IllinolD . The donations made by Ilr. Rosenwald are for small school- houses in rural districts. The sura of v400« -0 for a one-teacher school house or ^5''^0»00 for a two-teacher school house is donated on condition 147 that at least an equal sun be contributed from tlio local district fund or by public subscription, Already several districts have taken advantage of this proposition to erect suitable school build- ings for their children. In speaking of the supervioion of negro schools, Suporln- tendcnt Cook says: "This line of endeavor has already rovealod won- derful possibilities in developing the efiicancy of the negroes in Arkansas in rurpj. communities by training the youth in the schools for service aad right living and placing these schools under ade- 1 quate supervision," Espooially gratifying evidence of growth and progress aaong the negro schools are to bo found in the fact that four sohools- Camden, Chomton, Pordyce and llarlanna- have qualifiod for State aid under the conditions of the Sralth-Hughes agricultural Act of 1917; two more schools - Hope and Edinonson- will oualify the coning year; IJcillraont qualified for State Aid in agrlcultiu'e and domestic science, and the Helena High School qualified for teacher training under the law providing State Aid to Hith Schools enacted in 1911. The Branch L'ormal College (colored) has recently Qualified for aid under the provisions ox the Smith-Lever Act of Congress, 1. Syllabus of Tv/enty- Third Biennial Report, 1913-14, -. 7 148. Chapter V. Hiscellaacotis Eduoational Agencies. A iraml)er of niacellanGOus educational agencleo. In addition to tho four "General Educational Aeoncies," described in tlie pi^ceding chapter, have played a more or less important role in the school life and development of the State, iimong these may "be mentioned: (1) The Arkansas Library Association; (2) The Arkansas State Teachers' Assoc- iation; ($f The Arkansas Teachero' Readins Circle, and the Pupils' Reading Circle; (4) The Educational Press; (5) The School Improvement Association; and (6) The State Board of Education. 1 The Arkansas Library Association. jllthough the adminis- tration of this orgEualsation has in no way been connected with the public school system, yet the Association by cooperating with the schools in library work and, in some cases, supplying suitable col- lections to individual schools, has been a strong factor in promoting interest in public school libraries, and in general reading activities. The organization of tho Arkansas Library Association was the result of the cooperation of the Little Rook Public Library, tho 2 Carnegie Library of Fort Smith and the Arkansas Federation of V/omen's Clubs. At the first meeting of the Association, held January 2b, 1917, in the Little Rock Public Library, Little Rock, Arkansas, six cities represented: Arkadelphia, Conway, Helena, Fort Smith, Little Rook azid Waldren. Dr. Arthur P. BostwicI: of the St, Louis Publti Library, who was present as the official representative of the American Lib- l.Thc material for tliie brief outline wa:: obtained from a Scrapbook on the org:ini3ation, proceedings and actlviticc of the Arkansas Library .issociution, kept by Prof, C .A . Simnona of the Hendrix College Library, Conway, Arl:. 2. These two libraries were the only public llbrai'ies in the State at the time of the orgaoisATIOlI of tho Arkansas Library Association. U9. vary Assoolation, dollvercd the address of tho oooaDion on the Bii"bJeot "The Public Lihrary as a Public Utility." Ilr. Bostwlck, aloo, delivered a ahort address to oaoh house of tho legislature, which was then in sflssion, in whioli he stressed "tho public utility of public libraries and the need of proper legislation to make their organisation possible in .Arkansas." At the business session of the library Association, a legislative cocriittea, conposed of Senator Uoies and Hepresentatives Jones and McGluo, was appointed to take 1 up the matter of securing better library legislation for the State. 2 AS a result anAot was passed amending Act Ho, 1$7 of the Acts of 1903 so as to allow cities of tho first and second class to levy "a tax of not exceeding one-half of one mill on all real and personal property situated in said city; provided, said tax with other taxes assessed by said city shall not exceed five mills." From the reports and programs of the succeeding annual meetings, we note commendable progress being made. At the second annual meeting, held January 24-25, 1912, in the Carnegie Library of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Mrs. Arthur P. Jones road a paper on "An Ideal System of Libraries for Arkansas," in which was discussed, among other things, tho need for reformatory legislation and the necessity of a State Library Commission. 1. At this tine the State had only two laws relative to tho estab- lisliment of public libraries. One was Act, lie. 2b ox tlic Acts of 1901, authoii-sing cities of the first and second class to receive gifts, donations, and endcv«mments for the establishment and raEdntenance of public libraries within their cor:oorato limits, I'he other was Act Ko . 1^7 of tho Acts of 190^, authorizing cities of the first and second class to levy and collect a "tax of one- fourth of one mill on all real and personal property situated in the city, provided sais tax with the other ta-es pssessed by said city sliall not exceed five mills," for tho purpose of establishing and Tiaintaining a library. 2, This was Act IIo. ibO of the Acts of 191I; for Act. llo. 1^7 of the Acts of 1905. see foot-note No. 1 above. 150. Mr, Harry E. Kelly, In apeaking on tho "Value of Librarica to Arkansas" advoccted tlio elimination of the Constltiitlonal limitation oni.looal taxation bo that eaoh comrmmity inay "levy a tax adecuato for schools and libraries." At the haslness session, after discussing some practical plans for pronioting library interests, the President was instructed "to appoint a coramittce to prepare a bill for the next legislatu.re, providing for a Library ConmiBsion with a reasonable appropriation for carrying on its work." In the interim before the meeting of the legislature, the whole Association was to act as a ooraniisaion, and efforts were to be rut forth to secure voluntary Bul) script ions to maintain an organiser in the field "to stir up library sentiment, and to visit and advise straggling; libraries," At tlie third annual meeting, held in the Little Kock Public Library, febmary 21-22, 1913 » A Funds Committee was appointed to undertake to raise $500. 00 for the use of the fiold secretary in carrying on extension work. Immediately after the adjournment of this meeting, a committee from the Association awaited upon Governor Jos. !?. Robinson tmd won his agreement to appoint an honorary State Library CocBnission, whose duty should be "to stirrulato aontiment for libraries and serve as the fore-runner of a permanent State Library Commission, with appropriations for work along the line of library extension, traveling libraries, organisation of librarieu, etc." 1 At the sixth annual meeting of the Association, held in 2 the Port Smith Carnegie Library, December 7-8, 191^ » Governor-elect 1. The fourth annual meeting was hold at Pine Bluff, Aril 2-3,1914; the fifth at Morrillton, April 15-It>, 1915; the seventh annual meeting was to hav3 been held at Conway, but was indefinitely post- poned on account of war conditions. 2. At this time there were public libraries in the following oitieo and townij; Little Hock, Port smith. Hot Springs, Pine Bluff, Morrill ton and Camden. 151. Broixgh dellvoroa an siddreas on Eurril Libraries, in which ho proniaed to rooomnend to the next General .YasGnlily the creation of a state Litrary Coraraiscion "to aid in dovolopinp; ;3entiment and in organizing librarioD." Govornor Brough carried oiit his proniiBc, imd in his "Inaugural Address to the Forty-Flrat General. Assembly, 191?" (.^7) reoonmondod the ^appropriation of 05^^00,00 "bionnieally for the estab- lishment of a permanent Library Commission, having a paid vocretary, Mio shotCLd be paid a salary of approximatoly :)l,200.00 per an:vam." In the recoTimendation, the piirpone, duties ond advantages of such a Conmission wore clearly otitlinod. Ho action, however, was taJcen by the legislature. Q}ho Arkansas state Teacher's Association. During the period of our study, the Arkansas State Teachers' Association has made rapid growth and shovvn our teachers to ^e earnestly seeking be'iter and greater results. It has manifested much interest in the educational DDvenents of the State aiid p-ssisted materially in influencing the passage of needed school legislation. In the annual proceedings, issued in booklet form, are many valuable and soggostive papers, as well as many interesting and inspirational addresses. A notable evolution is shown in the programs — the earlier ones being primarily ooncomed with "what things are being doiie", the later ones with "How tfcings are and ought to be done." One of the moat vital and important features in connection with the progress of the Association has been Hhe development of the Section Meetings, at which separate programs are featured for terxjhcrs interested in particular problems and subjects. In 1901 the only organized section was that for Colleges 1 and High Schoolr:. A Co^mty '^Taminers' Section v/as organised in 1904, 1. This section became the County Superintendents and Examiners Section in 1911. 152. and a Mathematics Sootion in 190b, After this, hov/evor, tho special sections wero organised in rapid snoooaoion, as follows: In 1907 I'he AtlilGtic Loo ^i on Principals' Round Tal)lo2 KLcmentary School Section In 1909 -he English and History Section " 1910 Pricmry Soction Forei{jn Language Section 1 Science and " ' atics Joction School Impro . : . . .section Peace League iiectioii Rural School and Intermediate Section " 1912 The Agricultural oootion " 1915 A Holisious Education .Section Manual Training Teachers' Section Coranercial Teachers' Section " 1917 2he Home Economics Section The Arlransas riayground Association The KoGlt 5 Section Tlie follo\7ing table shov/g very clearly the general dovelop- ment of tlio Arlransas State Teachers' Association: Year Place President Enrolln 1901 Little P.ock DJi .Paisley 170 1902 Hot Springs Goo. B. Coolr 172 1905 Little P.ock V.'.A. Crawford 290 1904 1! B.lV.Torreyson 206 1905 II J.: . nolds 434 190b n F... ..j-ller 547 4S5 1907 1908 n J .\7 .Zuykendall 11 D.J.Hogers 691 1909 not Springs S.Hartsog 901 1910 Little P.ock G.vr.Droke 1140 1911 ft A.C.Miller 152b 191- R J.r .V/onack 15b6 5 1914 n C.IT.Brough 1359 191'j 191b t( J.L .Bond 1795 1820 n Sidney Pickins 1917 191^ n B.C.Hall 2845 II W.E. Lrsseter 28B5 ^ ropria tion iBo .00 180.00 l8[>.00 185.00 465.00 2 375-.00 450.00 500.00 900.00 900.00 l5bC.OO l'">b0.00 1550.00 1680.00 lb85.00 4 7>nr .00 1. The IJath. Section, organized in l90b, was simply enlarged to include the Science Teachers. Tho Section wan dissolved into two sections in 'lb 2. Of this r.mount 500.00 was to be usedfin printing tho PvCport of the Rural Schools Committee. 5. There was no meeting in 1915 1 ^i^-g to the charge in time of meeting from December to April 4. In addition to this sum, the Association voted a surri not to exceed $1000.00 to aid in the c mpaign for Constitutional Aaendraont Uo.12. 155. Closely aasooiated with tho Arkanaao ;-.tabo Teacherc' Association is the Guperintondents and PrlTi-Gipals ' Dtvi3ion of the Arkansas Sta-'jo Teachers' Association, whioli held its first meeting in Hot Springs iriday ojid Saturday follovrini; Thanisclvinf: Day, 1916. J'l.c second mooting" was held a year latr^r at the aane place. At each of these uioetines very voluahle progrjuns were rendered and mch grow- ing interest rmnifeated. !i?horo is also a State Association of the IJegro teachers, Tiihlch holds its annual meetings at the satie time as the iltate Asso- ciation for white teachers , Ihese meetings liavc hoon well attended diu*ing tho last foi^^r or fivo years and their programs show that •yaluafale and holpfiil work Is hoing done. The Arkansas Teachers' Reading Circle. At the annual session of tho Arkansas Stato Teachers' Association, December 27-29, 190[;, Dr. \7.S .Johnson, Head of the Dopartmeiit of Education, Univcrcity of Arkansas, read a paper on the organization and possibilltjcs of a State Teachers' Pleading Circle, which resulted in the api:)Ointmcnt of a 1 committee of t:ireo "to consider ways and means for the establishment of a circle as ourlined." A favorable roiDort by tho ooromittoe the 2 next day was adopted by the Association, onA. Dr. W.S .Johnson, was made President of the Board of Control, .'iach member of the Arkansas Veachers ' Reading Circle was to read two boolcs- one to be selected from a group of "profosnional books" and the other from a group of '•Ciatural books-'- prescribed la^^ the Board of Control. V'hile the read- work required wau very simple, yet the rapid growth of the movement 1. Proceedings of Ark. State Teachers' Association, 190!}, p. 4 2. Ibid, p. 9 154. Bhovred that llio tocolicrs of tlio State were cominc to realize the importance of recnaar aM systomatio atudy in preparation for their work from year to year . In apoakin^; of the work of the A. T. R, C., at the close 1 of its second year. Dr. Jolmson Da;"s: "The teaoho;rs have been dili- gent and enthusiastic over their v;or'-; have given u certain part of each week to the otudy of the books tmd have held meetings reg^ilarly in order to discuss the subjects undci- study. This latter has won many a teaoher to our ranks; and in those counties vshere it has been practiced most assiduously is vjhore the host results have cone. Of courso, it is needless to say, that from these couaties also will oome the best prepared teachers." ITpon leaving for a trip abroad in the Sxtmiuer of 1912, Dr. Johnson turned over the T»ork of the A.T. R. 0. to JCr. J.'J.ruykendall, Superintendent of the Fort Smith Pablio Schools. 3upt. Saykendall was selected as President of the Board of Control at the regular meeting of the State Teachers^ Association the following December, and has since remained as such. An interesting feat-are of the reading circle work is the graoiting' of diplomas to those vrho complete the assigned readings for four consecutive years. Counties onrolllng ^O^^ of their teachers in the circle are put on the "Honor Rule' Both of these plans resalt in craoh enthsiasm. 2 In his report for ISI 0-1^17, iir. i:.uykondall says "Since its organization in 1905 the Teachers' Iceading Circle has done a great v/ork in /jrkansas by stimulating systematic profession reading 1. Proceedings of the Ark. State Teaohers ' Association, 1907, p. 154 2. Procoodiiigs of the Ark. State Teachers' Association, 1917, p. 44 155. by tecoliora, thereby incroasinc: their efficlcnoy and bonefitinc their school 3." 1 The report on tho Headinc Cirlce work for 191b-l7 wao as follows: (1) Total lomberohip 1905-1917 20,592 (2) Cotal diploman granted to date 911 A pupils' reading circle wao orcanized in 1909* Ho raenber- ship fee is reruired of the pu ils and, hence, ti has been impossible to keep statistics as to pupil enrollnent. At tines in certain sections and in certain schools much interest and activity is report- ed among the pupils in their reading circle work. The Educational Press. At the beginning of our study in 1900, one teachers' journal, Jaiovm as the Arkansas School Journal, was being published. It was first issued in 189b, and was edited and published by V7.J. I'cllwain and E.L. Gatov70od. In January, 1901 Mr. Gatewood severed his connection with the firm, and the entire control of editing and publishing the Journal was assiuaed by ?.Ir. Mc- Ilwain. In connection with the Arkansas School Joiirnal, lEr. Ilcllwain 2 organised a school supply business and a teachers' agency. Ilr. Weeks describes this joujiral as "racy of the soil, for it is made up almost entirely of the work of Arkansas teacliers; it contains articles and discussftsns by then; reports meetings; has sug.^ostions of local and practical value, and has oven reached the reflective stage, printing now and then tho remlnisconoes of the men who have grown gray in tho educational service of the 3tato." For a number of years after Mr, I.TcIlwain assumed full control of the Arkansac lichool Journal, it gained a r.iorc or less general circulation among tho teachers of the 1. Proceedings of the Ark. State Teachers' Association, 1917. P»41 2. Weeks: Ilist . of Pub. Sch . Sd. in Ark. p 110. State. "After a tlno, hov/cvcr, tlio ciroiQatlon becan to dwindle, duo to a laolr of cnorcotic canvasslnc for oubscriptlona on the part of the editor and a d03iro on the -nart of the toaohors for an educational Journal that -trould lie more helpful to them in their actual school work. Tho puhllcationG bocaxna irrocular and finally cased to appear in 1912. With the disappearance of the Arkansan school Journal, ■Gie State Kormal ochool undortookrr'.thG publication of an educational journal known as "The Arkansas Toachcr." The first number appeared In January, 191>. Preoldont J.J.Doync wac tho Kditor-ln-Chiof, and Professor Grarvillo Cubc^ge of the Department of latin, Iianacor. The plan of the publication contained a number of interesting and helpful dopartmonts, each in charr-e of a member of the Formal School faculty as follows: A.J.Moadors, Dopt, of "P-nglish Special Articles C .C .Denny, Dcpt . of Xiducation I'othodG J.T .Bucholts , Dept . of Science Ilat^iral Science E .A.Brcnnan, Dovt . of liath School Vova O.W.Stephenson, Dopt. of History. .. .School Activities C.B.Gentry, Dept. of Agricnlturc. .. .Rural Schools R.E.iVonaok, Dopt. of History lliscollancous . Prom the first the Arkansas Teacher was roco^^nizod as a well-edited and helpful journal, and soon gained a rathor large cir- culation . In april 1918, tho manggemcnt changed hands, and was moved from Conway to Little r.ook u:i.der tho control of J .',? .KuykendrJ.1 and D.I .Paisley^ The now owners arc now editing and publishing the Teacher in connection with their school supply business . Tlie policy of tho publication has beon changed somewhat, but under the manage- ment of Messrs. Xuykendall and Paislo-, i.\.'o of our really groat 157 Stato oduoatioiml leaders, tho teaolilng profocolon axpoot tho same high atandarls to "bo malntainod. Another scliool journal is the Arkansas School llowo . This publication was organised Dooomber jil, 1914, "by the Arkansas Stato Colorod Toaclicra* Association and made their official orcan. It is published at Stamps, Arkansas, with A, llltchell Salono as editor. Tho writor has exajilned onL:r one issue. Vol. I, II0.7, Oct, 1913 » "but this nunbor shows the ITcws to bo well edited and reflects credit upon the editor-in-chief. There are a number of valuable contributions by the loading nep^ro teachers of the State as well ae two or three fron tho State Departnont of ducatlon. Tills number also contains interestinG" reports of the industrial tjotIc that is being carried on by tho pupils of the necro schools of the State. 1 The School Iraprovonent ADsociatlon. This moyement was started in January, 1906, by l.Irc . J.D.Matlock of Blinlnclian, Ala- bama, who met with eleven rcprGscntative women of Little Kock at the home of I!1'3. T.P.J.rurrey for that purpose. T'rn. Murrey was elected president, and tentative plans were outlined for tho work among the Little Rock Schools. So satisfactory rnia the success attained and so encouraging was the interest manifested in the initial activities of the organisation, that a State school improve- ment association was soon organized. The State Association was put under the control of an Advisory Board, consisting of twenty ladies representing all parts of the State. Urs . T.P.lTurrey was made chairman of this board, and "to her untiring: efforts and capable direction" was largely due the early progress of the work of the 1. Report of Supt. Pub. Ins. 1907-O8, p. 02. 158 n. I. A. in ArlconsGo. Tlio purpooo of tho Aanociatlon was mani- fold, as Irapliod in tho ccneral nocuainG of tho terra"Sohool Inx^rovo- raent". It oeoured syrapathotic and financirl cooperation on tho part of tho school pr.trono- both nen cmd women and oven cliildren- by way of studying scliool conditions and onriromnont, iinprovlng and ■boantiiyins c^OTionds and huildincs, furnishinc and oPulpping labora- tories and libraries, otc. In general the aim of tho /jssociaticn was to increase the value and iinportanco of the school by malcine the cotununity and tho pupils feol responsible for its irai-'rovoment. During the first two years, thoro wore orgssnisod in the State twenty-two School Iraprovement Associations with some v2000.00 Brponditures to their credit. So favorable was the report from ilr- kansao during this two year period, 130b-07 and 1907-08 made by ISr, Hatlock at LTcnphis in 1908, before the Confer once for r.ducation in the South tliat "OlOOO.OO of tho Campaign Fund was appropriated to Arkansas, with the pronise that the gift would bo continued from 1 year to year if judicAoiicly osgpended." In October 1908, tho S.I. A. work was turned over to the department of Public Instiniction, and with the vlOOO.OO donated by the Conference for Education in the South an active ccrapaign was instituted for tho organization of School Improvement Assooiatione . litiss Eva Reiohardt and .Mrs. Clio IlaiTper wore ongaged as field re- presentatives for tho last quarter of 1908. Muxjh valuable assistance was still rendered by tho ladies of the Advisory Board. Five prises in the form of framed pictures and diplomas for the best oomposi- tions on "School Inprovement" wore offered tho pupils of the public 1. A yoar book of School Improvcnonts in ^Irkansas, pp.5-&« 159. 2 schools ojid a liandBorae lovins Cup wac offcrol as an annual trophy for the local 3. 1. A. reporting; the most aotual work done. In addi- tion ouperintcndont Cool: took up perooncJ. corrcapondonoo with county superlntondonta, county oxaminora md sujorintendonta of schools; also a proas "bureau vms eotablishod TThoro'by no'/rs artislos on school ir.^oi'orcimont work wore fumishod to the State dailioa and to some 300 oaimty papers. During tho first throe months of this yij^orous camoaicn, fifty- four local l5chool Improvenont Associations v.-oro organizod, riaking a tot.nl of SGvnnty-sirn: in thitty-nine of tho soventy-flvo counties of the "tato. The soTonty-slr associations! , 'Jith a Lioinhorshiy:) of 2,167, 2 had 272 da;-r. work and and 02tpendituro of , 9,8l;>,7l to thoir credit. Tho report for the hiennial ^oi-iocl 1900-10 shov/ed one hundred sixty 4 associations v/ith a raemhership of 10, 000; the report for 1911-12, by Hiss Sva Seiohardt, State oreanisor, chows over three hundrc.. active organizations, one or more in every county in the State, and a meober- ship of approslrmtcly 1!;,000; in a report by IUss Relchardt to the School Iiirproveiaent Section of the ^Lrkansas State Teachers' /iScooiation, April lb, 1914» "the statonent is nade tha.t there are "Over 500 S.I. A. b organizations In Arkansas to-d?y, with a nonhership of thousands. " Various "bulletins havs been prepared and sent out by the Dopartncnt of !^duoation from tljne to tine, in the interest of tho School Improvement Associations, stating the purpose of the work; 1. For plctTiro of tliic Loving Cup, see A Year Book of Gchool Improve- nont in Ark. p. 4. 2. Report of State Buptl. of Pub. Inc. I907-08, p.82 3. " " n . r n ,t r. 1909-IO, p.l49 4. " T, r, „ » „ n 10ll_12, p. 170 5. Proceedings of the Ark. State Teachers' Association, 1914, p. 202. b. re fiir'-hcr ct-ti sties as to mc-"^^- of c:,r:f.:;ociations and ncnbership could bo found by the writer. ibO explalnlTiG ■^iJ^nn -^or tho orranization of local annocial;iono; and giving guggcctions .or oohool buildlnss, rrith dctalla for hoatinc, lie:litinG, ventllatlnf;, soworairo, oanltation, etc. A 9b pa-c booklet entitled "A Yoar "HooV of School Inrprovcnont In Arl^ansas" was lasued in 1909. The pronotcrc of the school l.Tiprovonient novomont, from the beginninc, havo cooperated with the promotors and ev^onts of oyory form of educational endeavor , and ag a rostat the State has received an uplift which cannot be raeasiu'ed in dollars and conto. Sha Stato Board of Education. For a nunbor of years prior to 1911, when the State Board of Education was created, the convic- tion had been steadily growing that the organisation of our education- al system was not such as to provide for a steady, continuous policy. [Hie administration of tho entire public school systom of the State rras in the hcndo of a Superintondont of Public Instruction, who had no associate councilor or board of advisors. Furthomoro, Ms term of office covered a period of only two years, and rarely ever v/ae a Superintendent elected for a third terra. The executive function of the Department of Public Ir-Struction wns extremely limited, while the legislative function was nil. Under such conditions there coiild be no permanent administrative policy, very littlo exorcise of the executive function excopt throu'^h advice and coimsol, and no exercise of the legislative function excopt through political influence over the members of the General Assembly. There had been no continuity in the school system; it had "Just "-rovni up", as it were, by the ad.Ution of cross-sections of educational pro^Tess which liappened to be affected at irregular intervals of time. Superintendent Cook pointed 1 out this condition in each of his first two biennial reports, and 1. Reports of the State Supt . of Pub. Ins. 1907-08, 18-19; 1909-IO, pp.l2-i;;i. r.s c Eieana o^ luproTinc "the cdninistrr^tlon :iiid con1;ro3- of tlio publlo school ayston, reoonmencLod, the oroa«lon of a State Board oZ ',duca- tion Tjy lor'-isln.tivo onaotnc^t. '!o crlloc'' n.-:-•^^r■t1m- to t1'^^ n-.nr; tMng 1 in sn address tioforo the Citato Toachera' AscoGia'uion, dooolvjct 1910. The Arkanoas Education Corai-iiSBion roaliz.od the sane condition, and the throo lines of activity eniphasizod by the CommiQ.'^ion in Its 1910 2 campaign. In aocordanco \7ith the prevailing opinion that a Stat© Board of Hduoation "would relievo the situation, the legislature of 1911 ro.39P^ ^n Act creating Buch a aupervisoiy "body consisting' of the Superintendent of Ptihlic InGtniction, ac ez-officio chairman, and one noinher from each congressional district, to "be appointed "by the Governor for a tcnn of sevon years, one coi^ir; out of office each year. Anonc the more important dutioa and powers of the hoard were the following J 1. To nanago and iuveat the permanent school fimd and to collect c.ii rsoneyD due it. 2. To control the oliarterin^ of all educational inatitutions and establish the conditions for conf errins derreoa . 3. To control medic ol coid sanitary inspection 4. To assist the State Superintendent in ezam- ininc candidates with a view to nialdng first Crade ■*-■ ----'-'--•-- -•-'•■ ■^~; •- -'- vise \ cneetion of issuing Stato or profosoional lie '- '--'•-id. upon Ctato teaohers' ocrti- fic -'d in other Statos or haood upon normal scliocl dii^lomas and doerees from educa- tional institutions . 5. To - rovido courses of study for rural clenertary Note 1. Proceodin^r. of the Arlr, State Teochers' Association, '10, p. 57 2. See p. 121 5. Act ho. 4:;1, A«ts of 1911. r^J 152. grodod and higli Bclioola; to cladaify and "" '.rdize tho - -' ^ • sohoolo; and to -"iro- : ■ .. -ulio ro'.ui- u iTor acorQuitinij graded and high schools . b. To Ttrovido for now forma of oduoatlonal effort; jnd to ttilco such action aa may b© neooBoaiy i,o pronoto tlie ov^.v-V.' "~ '' ' ' " '■: '' ^. of- ficioncy of tho c ^ , .. -..u Staoo. Another important function of tiao State Boeird of Education wa;' to aot as tho State High oohool Board in tiio apTDortionment of 1 State aid to high schools . Darin'^ tlio sov m -roars o" il;;^ o:istcncG, tho 3tato Board of Education hao boon iiuito active cind jadicious in tlio excrciao of its duties Knd functions. In its advisory capacity, it has "oeen of mator- ial vrduo and arisistancn to thn State? Suporintondent in the admini- stration of tho duties or liiD, and iu tho detcnaination of now policioD for increasing the efricionoy of the aluoational system of the stato. 1. This funouion was ascribed to the State Board of i:ducation by a provision of the law granting Stato aid to high schools. 165. C]iaptor VI . Tho legislation frop. 1900 to I9l8. In tho Dtudy or tho Ovluoationol lava eiiaotod by the General ADsoribly of Ajr!.-c:nsas during tho poriod froui 1900 to 191'", it will woll first wO cma.].yzo tho followinc table : Yoar of Grand Total f ITo. of ro. of llo. of Lcflsla - Total of all :'du - Gen oral Special lUllG in- tive cai laws ca-.ion£il Ed.uca- troduced, ScDsion or^acted Lcv,'o ......1 tional but failing I^nactod LawG Enacted Lavra Enacted of pacQac'o. 1901 223 20 5 25 21 , 190} 190? 217 11 11 28 50 364 b 60 51 1907 460 88 rr i 81 05 1909 441 101 11 90 bo 1911 472 112 22 90 50 i9i:i 527 54 4 50 49 191:; ^'A^ 7 59 57 1917 M-t>l 91 20 71 43 Total 5350 045 96 549 42b In this tabic we notice that the total nunbor of education- al laws is praotioally 20f' of all l^.wg passed; the n-amber of general educational lav/c ic loss than 15, y^- 'ii -v^ Aiu.Mional laws, making tho special lav/3 over 85/j of the entire mtmbcr; the nuiabor of edu- cational bill;:; introdiicod, but fv.ilin; of pasoaf^o, is a->-':nro:d.nately 66^' of all educwuiuiii^j. jills pa-Lc. . It -.Till u- uo\,^^ -x^j that 1. The data for this -^ -^ - -.; obt-'-*" " * " ■ - "'-i-iso and iJenate Jouniale, J:or the _ Lve s-. . :, to 1517 inoluoive, and from the Acts of General Assembly, covering the same period. 164. for the nine soooions of tho loclalature there were 1071 "blllB introduoGd, making an average of exactly II9 hills per soesion. A largo proportion of tho opociul educational laws woro conoomod with only threo kinds of local lecislation, viz. (1) creat- ing Special Gohool Distrioto, (2) providing for the consolidation of two or rnoro adjaoont districts; and (3) authorizing districts to mortgage their property to boirow raonoy for building ijurposos. The raimber of special laws covering each of these tliree oasee for the 1 suocoBSive sessions of tho legislature is shovm in tho following table: 1901 1903 1905 1907 1909 1911 1913 1915 1917 (1) Special School Districts 5 4 23 48 41 31 26 33 29 (2) Consolidation 2 1 2 4 15 14 10 14 10 (3) BorroTdng money 1 12 24 40 41 30 14 16 19 Total K '^ * * * 8 17 49 92 97 75 55 ^3 58 Among other phases of local legislation covered by the special laws may be mentioned the extension of school tax to certain districts, donations for school purposes by certain cities and towns, authorisation of county judges to appoint ohcool directors under certain conditions, minor amendments to looal legislation, otc. General Laws Enacted in 190I. The general educational laws onaotod by the 1 errislnturc at its session in 1901 were as follows: (1) Act Ho. 26 authorized cities of the first and second class to rocoivo gifts, donations and endowments for the establishment and maintenance of public libraries. 1. Data obtained from indexes of the Acts of the Generiil .iissonbly covering the dates indicatecl . * . That total is Inrgcr tha,n the whole number of special laws for this session is due to tho fact that frocuently a single Act will make provision for more than one phase of local legislation. 165. (2) Act IIo. 55 ancnded coctions 70^2 and 70^2 of ^andels and Hill's Digost in recard to the ncjuier oJ: holdinc; school oloctionc t'jid nodo of dotorinlnins tlio amount of taxes loviod. ($) Act. Ho. 117 i'^iproved tHe law govomine the reports of cou-ity orardnorB and the cumner of inalrinG the State school apportionment. (4) Act No. 194 bettered the condition of transfers from districts in one county to districts iu another county. (5) Act No. 205 prohihited directors of public schools from oriployin:; rcli-tivos oxi teachers, unless "two-thirds of the patrons of :mblic schools shoiild petition them to do 00." 1 Gonoral Laws Enacted in 1905 . Tho general educational laws enacted by^tho legislature at its session in 1905 wero as follows: (1) Act No, 41 rcpo-lGd -\ot . IIo. 115 of the Acts of 1899 recuiring tlio rocistration of school warrants. (2) Act No. 47 authorized officers of special and coraaon school districts to insure the buildings of their district, 2 (5) Act No .52 regulated more perfectly the method of examining and licensing teachers. Two new IcLnds of liconscs YJ-cro provided for. The firs'; was called a special license. It was granted as evidence of oualifications to toach subjects not mentionda among those roruired for county license. The second was called a professional license , It was valid in any county of the State for a period of sis years and was granted upon satis- factory examination on "Algobra, plan geometry, general history, rhetoric, and civil government" in addition to the subjects renilred for a first grade license. (4) Act No. 85 authorized special ftee school dis- tricts to mortgajo their proper^ to borrow noney for building purposes. (5) Act No. 90 regulated the degree oonf erring powere of literary institutions in the State. Note 1 . The penalty for vlftlation of this Act by any member of a school board was fix in an- — not loss than 10 nor more tlian ^^50 aiid in addition c. :i3n fro.i office. Ibb, (6) Act ITo. 95 roculrcfl the Suporintcndont of Public Instruction to pro^-lde a, uniform oourDO of ntudy for tho common schools. (7) Act ITo. 115 Incror.cod the salary of the Superintcn- tendont of Fahllc Instruction and his office force as rollowo: a. Superintendent from ^,*l800 to ^Z'jOO per arai'in. "b . Deputy STiperlntendcnt from i^l200 to vl5^0 per r:nniir . c. Clerk from 0^*00 to ;i>900 per annum. (8) Act IJo. 127 prohihitod the e.rTplo:,Tnent of child labor in any factory or nanufactiu'ing ostahlieh- ment vrithin the State. (9) Act IIo. 132 amended Section 705O of Sandels and Hill^s ."DiGoat in rojrard to tho annual school elections . (10) Act no. 137 authorized cities of the first and second clccc; to lev;,' n tas: of one-fourth of one mill on all real and personal property in the city limits for the purpose of cstahlishlns and maintaining a public library, provided "said ta:^:: vrith tho othor tczos assessed "by said cities shall not ozoeed five mills." (11) Aot !To. 164 apportione"' to-ithe school fund of fifteen courtlen tho siin of ii?200 from tho revenue collected on each license for the sale of licuot in said ooimtioc. General Laws Unacted in 1905. The general educational laws enacted by the lecislature at its session in 190^ Here as follov/s: (1) Aot !!o. 35 rorjUrcd the State Superintendent nnd school officers to enoouracd the study of Arkansas History and tho spirit of pattdiotlan, in the public aohools. (2) Act IIo. 156 authorized county judges of the several counties of the Stato to lease v/lld and imcl oared sixteenth section school lands for a term of years, for the purpose of putting- sane in cultivation. (5) Act ITo. 215 created the Arkansas History Commission and made an appro ^-riati on of vl250.00 to defray tho ' • • - •: to tho first publication of the -I- , -- -.-_oal Association. (4) Aot Ko . 248 pomittod any special school district 167. to mortTa^o its property to "borrovr nonoy for iDuildiiis purpooea. (5) Aot. No. 511 Eiado provlsione for inprovinc; the character of tc -' ' --• in tl^e con^on schools. The moro imr^ortant ; lions of this vlct v/ero: a. Coimty ' ' -d to hold teacher , of at loaot one week duration - "b , State Superintendent wee rocuired to outline the work to he done in the common branchoa . c. ill toaohcrs were reouired to attend upon penalty of revocation of license. (5) Ao4 ITo, 343 licensed the jrraduates of the normal Department of the Univorcity of Arlcanaas to toach in the pirhlio schoola of the state. General Laws Enacted in 190? • 5?he general educational lams enacted hy the loeislature at its seosion in I907 were as follows: (l)Act !To. 189 increased tho senero.l Otatc cchool tax from two mills to three -r^llls on tho dollar, and the optional dietrict tax from a maximum of five mills to a maximum of seven mills on the dollar . (2) Aot No. 317 provided for the egtr.hlisljnent and maintenance of a State ITornal 3chool. 1 ($) Act I'o. 3^7 amended Aot ITo. 31I of the Acts of 1905 hy exenrpting teachers from attendance at the county institutes, i-^rovidod thoy"att0r.d Tos.- hody Institutes or other Institutions or summer Ilormrils . " (4) Act !To. 399 created tho office of oo-^jnty superin- tendent . 2 (3) Act ITo. 430 ap ropriated vl^OO for continuing the work of the Arlmns s ri~' -^-^ "o- -ission rxid for printing and diotrihuti. xid volume of the publication of the Arkaneaa Historical ABS07 elation. (b) Act lie. 453 autl:ijorized the school directors to require tho to-:".'"- ■ -" - '' onor t.?,ry a:ri" " ' • -:'o in the public e , n in thoir juu^^ they deemed it eicpedicnt. 1. For full outline of this Act see ti.' 168. (7) Act llo. 456 ro-onactod tlie cliiia labor law aa providod in Act ::o. 127 of tho Actc of 1903 by jj,^..,.... „^... ... ,,., pj^oV' - ore effcotivo, a . ■ . ; to :■ . ::::oliool "'otcnd- anco . General lavrD iiiactod in 1909. Tlie c^onercl eduoational laws enacted by the lecislatixro at Itc ocas on in 1909 wore as follows: (1) Act llo. 100 providod for tlic Qstabliahment and nain- tcnancc of tlio four a{;;ricxiltaral ooliools. (2) Act rio, 135 aoooptod th' monoy autliorizod by an Act of tho Federal ConGroDa known as tho Adam's Act to provide for an inorocsed tmn-aal appropriation for a(;ricultural expcrir.iont stations, and regulated ■Uio Gsr^ieudituroG of said money. (3) Act ITo, 154 apptroprlatod tho funds acoruin,-^ from tho foos for State and professional oscaminations of teachers to t!ic anoti.it of v^OO for the purpose of paying all oxpensos of sold 02:anlnatlons , and con- stituting an institute caad library fund. (4) Aot lie. 234 re^julatod and onforcod attendance at tho public schools of tho State. 1 (5) Act lie. 271 ar-iondod Cootlon 17 Act ITo. 317 of the Acts of 1907, establishlne the Arkansas State normal School, so as to allov; tho Ilornal School :':oard to grant the docreo of Lloontiato of Instruction in- stead of a nero diploma of Graduation. (6) Act no. 304 inoroased tho po'ivorG and duties of the A:. .'J lliatoT-j Coinnisolon, and provided for a Soojo\.-ry to tho Goiarolssion at n, salary of )l800 per year. (7) Act 1:0. 312 araondcd Section 7^^^- of ::irby'c Dl:::ost so as to re uiro all school districts of cities and townfj to booono a sin^lo school district. (8) .lot !Io . 313 rorulred the toaching of olenent-ary aeric'olture and hortic;ilt;ire in the public schools of the State . (9) Act ITo, 321 autliorlsed tho creation of special or single school districts in - county of the State with tho samo po\7or3 as ;'C j.tI by special school districts in incoiTporatod cities and towns. 1. For an outline of the Act soc p. 169. (10) Aot No, 5^1 nuW'.ori " ^'hool dlDtrio'^'o to oxor- oiDO Gho pov.or of o ,. .... doinuin, and to u "jo and iiso private proiierty for acliool piirponoa. (11) Act Ho. >';7 ro-enaotod Act 234 of tlie Aoto of 1909 in rocard to oompnlBor:/ attondanoo at school, with sli^'ht modifioationo . 1 Genorel Laws l^iiactod in 191I. The {general educational laws enaotod tj tho legiBlaiiire p.t itn oossion in 1911 were ae follows: ili Aot No. 10 amondod Act l}0\ l8^ 01 thr ' •'- of 1905 "by T,rovidinG conditions for per„.j— ..g titlea to Bizteentli eodtion school lands. (2) Aot No. 4!3 authorized tho quorum court of any county in the Stato to appropriate money to bo used in aasiotinc to carry on the "Pnmera' Co-oporativo i)enou3tration V.'or-t." r; (3) Act Uo. 9j a ricidd the i.Jiida accruing from the foes for ^..^.3 and prorescional e::aninationa of teachers to the amount of :/1200 for the pur- pose of paying all oxpensos of said oKiminations, eaid conetitutiiiG an institue and library fund. 2 (4) Aot no. 115 amended Section JbSl of rirhy»g Dicest so as to provldo for a hotter orf^anli^ation of school hoards. (5) Aot Ilo. 116 provided for the oonsolidatlon of adjaoont school districts, and prcsorihod tho powers and duties of such consolidated districts. 3 (6) Aot 1:0. 160 authori25Gd oitiea of the first and second class to lovy a tax of one-half of one mill on all real otid pergonal pro: erty sitnatpd within the oity limits for the piirposc of est:*.'^- lishing and maiutainlng puhlio libraries, pro- vided "said tas with the other taxes assessed by said cities shall not ejvoood fLvo mills.'' 4 (7) Act ITo. 169 ro,riilatod r.iorc dGfinltcly tho manner of holdins elections in special or single school districts in any comity ol' the State other than distriota in inoorporatod cities and tovnis. (8) Aot no. iSO amended Section 3 of Act. ITo. 100 of the Acts of 190 J, wrovidinc for tiie ostablisJ.nent and maiutenanco of the four u^ricultural schools, in regard to tho personnel nnd manner of consti- tuting the board of trustees of said soho Is . Note l.For an outliiio of this Aot see p. " 2,5,4 on pace 170. 170. (9) Aot IIo. 20b amended Section 751^ of Kirby's Digest so as to provide that the written contracts stipulating the agreement between school dirootors and licensed teachers should "be mado out in triplicate form instead of duplicate form, and tliat the extra vrritten contract form should ho filed in the office of the county treasurer of the county in wliich the contracts V7ere to bo enforced; and further, the county treasurer should not pay warrants of any school district until a copy of all such contracts have been filed vriLth him (10) Act no. 231 re-enacted Acts Hos. 234 and $47 of the Acts of 1909 in rogard to compulsory school attendance, raalcing minor modifications, 1 (11) Aot No. 246 amended Section 7539 of Kirby!»;3 Digest in regard to county judges appointing county escaminers in counties containing two districts. (12) Act IIo. 274 dured defects in the sale of six- teenth section lands in Poinsett County. 2 (13) Aot Ho. 275 amended Act ITo. 399 of the Acts of 1907 creating county superintendence so that the county superintendent should conduct a five days' institute during the nonth of June instead of the longer institute from the fiarst Llonday in April to the regular quarterly examination in June. The salary was also increased by the addition of all fees for examination for license to teachers. (14) Aot lo. $28 created a State High School Board and provided State dd to High Schools. 3 (15) Act No. 555 increaaed the powers and duties of the Arkansas History Conmission by enlarging the scone and facilities for collecting data, statistics, relics, documents and informs^tion of all kinds pertaining to the history of the State. (16) Aot Ho. 375 provided for the incorporation of institutions of learning and prescribed the powers of such institutions. Notes ftom precoding page. 2. This Act amended Act No. 154 of the Acts of 1909 by changing the amount from v^^OO to .^51200, 3. For an outline of tdiis Act sec p. 4. This Act amended Act lie. 137 of the Acts of 1903 by raising the tax levy from '. of a mill to -fj- of a mill. 171. (17) Act llo. 57^ araondod Aot No. $51 St the Aoto of 1909. in recard to school distrlctg exercisinc tho powor of ominont domain for Dohool purviosea-^ so As to rQrr;ulate more dorinitoly tho legal pro- ceedings involved in adjiiatinc tho claims of tho property otoqbts. (18) Act IIo. 4.25 appropriated three-fourths of the revenue on Forest Hoservos, rodeivod "by tlie State from the Federal Govomnont, to the comnon school fond of the rospectivo oountios from which the revenue was collected. 1 (19) Aot llo. 431 created a state Board of Education. 2 (20) Act IIo. 444 provided that school systems in cities with more than 5000 sch elan tie population should be exentpted from the provisions of Aot IIo. $99 of the Acts of 1907 creating the office of county superintendent; that the school "boards of such eeaHtie cities shall determine the course of study (for the schools under their rospectivo charges, fix the cualifioations of teachers, and exercise whatever powers were vested in it by law; and that the superintendent of such city schools shall perform the duty of a county examiner in granting licenses to those tee.ching in his own schools. (21) Aot IIo. 450 provided for the consolidation of school districts situated in adjoining counties, and for the administatation of such consolidated districts. (22) Act IIo. 458 provided that Special School Districts should be controlled in all oases by a board of six directors, and also provided for the method of their appointment or election. General Laws Enacted in 191$. The general educational laws enacted by the legislature at itsssession in 1913 vzere as follows: (1) Aot IIO. 20b amended Section 75l6 of Kirby's Digest so as to prohibit boards of trustees of the agricultural schools, as well as directors Botes from preceding page.- 1. For outline of Act llo, 2_^1 sec p. 2. This Act is really a special Act. $. For outline of this Act soo p. Notes for tMs page. l.Soe foot-note Nos. 2 p. 2, For an outline of this Aot see p. 172. of iDuLlic schoola, froa cnploylng rolativoo to toaoh in their Gohoolo, xtJ.osrj "two-thlrdo of tho patrons of aald achoola shall petition them to do 30." 1 (2) Act IIo, 208 appropriated tho fimdo accruing ftrora the foes for State and profoscional oxominationo of teachora to tho amount of ,}'j>500 for tho purriooe of paying all exponoeo of said oxaninati ona , and constituting an institute and library fund. 2 (3) Act no, 258 amended Soctiono b and 7 of Act IT0.376, 5 of tho Acta of 1911 » in regard to sohool districts exorcising tho power of cninent domain for school purposos, by prescribing more definitely the logal details involved in a.d .justing thp claims of tho property ovmers, and giving each side tho right of appeal , (4) Act Ho. 287 amended Section 72b9 of ELrby's Digest siff as to esempt all students in actual attendance ±n any of the schools in the state, as vroll as nil persons unable to per Term labor by reason of physical disabilit^r, from v7or]dLng on any of the public Mghways of tho State. Gonerol Laws jinacted in 1915. ^c general educational laws enacted by tho legislature at its session in 1915 were as follows: (1) Act no, 47 provided that tho oloctoro of Crawford Cou: ty shOTild vote on -the question of ozempting said county from the provisions of Act ITol 599 of tlio Acts of 1907, providing for county superinten- dcncy , (2) Act lie, 48 antoded Act ITo , 25 of tho Acts of 1915 so as to put tho matter of morgaging school pro- perty for tho purpose of borrowing money to erect school building entirely in the hands of the school boards. 4 (3) Act ITo. 92 amended Bection 7 of Act IIo. 251 of tho Acts of 1911 so an to prescribe more definitely the legal proceedings involved in the prosocutiona for violating tT'O provisions of the law providing conipulsory school r.ttendanco. l.See Act IIo. 205 of tho Acts of 1901, p. 2. This Act amonded Act Ho, 55 of the Acts of 1911 by changing the amount from s!a200 to ^^5500. 5. 3oo p. 171. 173 (4) Act iTo. 14^' made an appropriation of v'.7, 260.00 1 out of the c^^nernl rewcamo fond for oartcmcion work in actioultiiro and homo ooononloc, for the Monnial period ending Juno ;>0, 191?, caid fimd to be orpendcd hy tho Collcco of .fpriciatiirc of tho Univcroity of Arlcanoa , tho land grant oollece of tho Litato. (5) Act i:o. 190 amondod Soctions 10 and l^. of Aot.':)99 of tho x\cto of 1907, creatine county cuperintcndency, so an to prescribe additional diitios and fix tho salary of the county superintendent of Poinsett County. (6) Act llo. 217 amended Act IIo, 3 21 of the Acta of 1909 in regard to niinor details in connection with tho fixing of boundary lines of ochool districts. 2 (7) Act lie. 228 re-enacted Act Ho. 92 of the Act:3 of 1915, with siniply a change in the counties in \7hcih the la\7 was to be effective — one county being omitted from the first group and three added in the second > group . General Laws Enacted in 1917 • The r.onerol educational laws enacted by the legislature at its session in 1917 wore as follows: (1) Act no. 59 created the "Arkansas Illiteracy Com- mlG:.iion'' to study the conditions of adult illiteracy in the State and to riake recommendations for its elimination. Page 172. X' This Act applies only to Loo Coimty^ and would therefore bo more properly classified as a special act. 1. The Smith-Lever .igri cultural Extension Act passed by Congress and signed by tho President of the Jnited states on Iiay 8, 1914 appropriated the sum of ,.10,000.00 per year to be oxrpendod by the land grant colleges of the Gtaton for doing extension work in agriciilture toid hone econoiTiic . Tlie Act also provided an aduitionnl sum for tho same purpose provided the States each year made appropriations in sums eciuol to the extra ap- propriations. In order to ta^ce advantage of this extra appropriation, the General Assembly of Arkansas a4 its session in 1915 made the above mentioned appropriation of v47»26o.OO. 2. Act IIo. 217 applied only to Faulkner, Logan, Dallas, Cleburne, and v, 111 to counties. 174. (2) Act No. b'j, amendod Sections 10 and 14 of Act No. 399 of tlio Acta of 1907 00 ao to prescribo additional dtitioc, incroaso authority, fix salary and linlt Gxponsoa of the coTmty aupor- intcndont of schoolo of Monroe Cotmty. (]5) Act ITo. 112 Gsto.hlishod a "Textbook Coranission" to provide a iinifom system of toxtbooks for the oomnon schools of the state. (4) Act Ho. 118 provided for the maintenance of the State Schoolo on a millafro basis as followo: a. Oniv. of .'irkonsan, four-nintl^ of one mill. b. The State IToinal School, ono-ninth of one raill. o. Each of the four Stat' Agriciatural Schooln, ono-ninth of one mill. d. The Branch Ilomr.l (llegro) ono-ninth of one mill . (5) Act ITo. 140 amended Act lie. 112 of the Acts of 1917 Tjy naldng alight clianj^es in Sections 1]) and 25. (6) Act ITO. 144 amended Act ITo. 189 of the Acts of 1907 in regard to the duties and pov/ers of tlie electors to bo exorcisod at the annual scliool elections. (7) Act Ilo. 160 amended Sections 2 and 4 of Actno.248 of the Acts of 1905 in regard to raorteaginc school property and borrowing money for building purposes. (8) Act No. 180 authorised the issuance of school district bonds as ovidonoo of school district indob;tFedneas and providod proper safeguards in connection vxith the procedure. (9) Act ITo. 181 providod for the accdptance of the benefits of an Act passed by Congress entitled "An Act to provide for the promotion of vocational education; to provide for co-operation v;ith the States in the promotion of such education in agricnltiire and the trades and Indus trier.; to provide for the cooperation with the States in •Sie preparation of teachers of vocational subjects; and to appropriate nonoy and rogulato its es;pcndi- ttires," and pledged the State to observe and comply with all the renulroments of such Act. (lOj, Act I;o. 269 aznonded Sections 3 and 4 of Act no . ;)04 of the Acts of 1909 so as to enlarge the usefulness of the Arkansas History Com- mission by increasing the soo-^o of Its \rork and making provision for extra office force. 175. (11) Act ITo. 294 provldod oomindooiy Dcliool attontl- anco bot\rnon certain af'oo, otlpTilatod n jioncilty for non-attondarioo, and nutliori2cd achool boards to j[*iiriilsli fToo toxtbookD jmdGr certain condi- tions. (12) Act Ho. 302 iillowod school diroctors to inouro school buildinco in certain aseociations of ftimorf! who riako mutual plcdc' to Innurc oach other againot Iosg "by fir, tornadoes, oto . (13) Act Ho, ^ib re-enacted Soctiono 2 and 3 0^ Act ITo, 190 of tho Acts of 1915. 1 (14) Act Ho. 3bO oraondod Act Ho, 367 of the Acta of 1907 by pro vi dine that tho rogtilar county insti- tute held aniTually in Juno could bn hold any time botuoon J\mc 1st and October 1st, Joint county institutes wore olloxroC iri case of counties with less than fifteen toachors instead of eight as before . 2 (15) Act IJo, 375 increased tho srJ.ary of the co;Tnty su^orintondent of Jackson County from vl200 to OloOO por annum. (16) Act No. 430 appropriated vl02,8bO,00 for the bi- ennial period from June 50, 1917, to June 30, 1919, to secure an equivalent amount as provided by the Smlth-Iovcr Agricultural l^xfeension Act of Congress, 3 (17) Act ITo, 453 appropriated v4000,00 'out of the funds accrued from the fees for State and professional examinations of toacherSj, in accordrjice with the provisions of Section 75:>0 of Kirby's Digest, to be used by tho State Superintendent for the following purposes: a. To pay salaries ond ozpensos of competent experienced instructors for the normals and institutes to be held in tlio various counties of the State . b. To pay expenses of collecting school ex- hibit v/ork fJrora tho rural, town and city schools and for arranging some as an oKhiblt in the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction. c. To purchase suitable roference and pedacogical books for tho library in tho office of Super- intendent of Public Instruction. d. To iiay tho necessary expenoon of conducting examinations for State and professional licenses in tho State. 1 (18) Act IIo. 457 appropriated 050,000.00 to oncomrage and aid in teaching of olemontary agriculture, home economics and manual training in rural and nb. vllln.cc! Iii';""^ cchoolo and in the tr'\ininf; of toaoiiorG '.loi' nirril and clcmcntn,ry ocho )ln of the states. (19) Act No. 4(54 provided for a rural toaoliors' certlfioato nnd a spociol certificate in Home EconOToica to bo granted to students of the Arkansas State normal .School upon the satis- factory coraplotion of cnrtain proscribed courses . itO) Act no, 469 abolished the office of ooiinty examiner in Scott Goimt:/ codA cu'ostitutcd theroforo the office of co-mty Superinten- dent with certain defined duties and a fixed salary. notes from page 175 • 1. See p. 17?- -17:; 2. This latter provision was made particiaai'ly for negro institutes. 3. See note 1 t5. 175 4. This act covers Act JTo . 208 of the Acts of 1913- 5?he appropriation v^ao increased vi^CX) and the purpoccs of the appropriation wore cnlarcod by the addition of those in- cluded in subdi visions a. and b. in the outline above. Hote for -^ar-o 17^^ • ^^ t -i „^ • 1. Tliis Act is practically the same as the ccneral law providing for coimty ciiperintendonoy. Act lie. ^99 ^f the Acts of 1907. 177. Chapter VII. StLTnnary In rovlewinc tho past olghtoon yoara of oduoatlonal history in ^xkansac, v;o find arron{? the nultitudo of rofrretnble con- ditions many re!a.i"!onr! for encoiiraconiont . Orir various efforts at improvoraent aiad *ovolopmont often were hut little raoro than failures yet each successive endeavor, even though it failed of its purpose, added to our esqoei'ienco and assisted us in our suboeciuent undor- taJclngs . Gradually our resources liavc hoon increar^ed, noT7 lines of TTorl: evolved, and the scope and useftilnoss of tho schools enlarged. Out St."te Superintendents and educational leaders have maintained a constant diagnosis of oiir school system in the light of other school systems, frankly and openly pointed out our weaknesses to the gener- al public, and urged such legislation and modifications as in their judgment nould imp rove our educational facilities and give our children equal advantages v?ith those oi' other States, nr. \'.'eeks says 1 that, xrhatever shortcomings may he apparent in our school conditions and educational policies, "The people of Arkansas are not in the hahit of claiming that their system is better than it is or that it is better than that of other States; they have boldly and honest- ly sought to know the true situation, regardless of their relative rank; they have never comforted themselves with the flattering unction that their system was already the best that could be devised and therefore needed no improvement. On the other hand their educational le:iders have called things by their -ferue iaaraes; they 1. T/eeks: Hist, of Pub. Ed. in Ark. p. 7^^. 178. Imvo rooogiiizod their sliortcomiiiGS, thoir bltmdoro, thoir fail- uro3, their injuatic to thomaolvoa, and with atoadiucsc of purpose, — BomotimeG escooodiiigly slow, it is true, but noiio the loss sure — they have sought to onend the errors of earlier days and to lay broad and deep the foundations of a school oyBtom that shall grow and dovdlop with the increasing strength and Power of the state." Various eduoational oonpalgna have boon carried on vTith •Hie reoult that the people have oone to realii^e that public eduoa- tion is a public utility, and that the dogroe of its officioncy is directly proportional to tho support vj^iich it recoiveo. In 190t), the people cast an overwhelming vote amending the Constitution so as to raise tlie general Stato School i'es: from 2 nills to jj nille and the optional local district taz from a maxinum of 5 mills to a maslmun of 7 mills; in 191^ another araonitmBaxt increased the op- tional local district tax to a maslmura of 12 mills. Legislative appropriations for tho support and maintenance of tho State Educa- tional Institutions in 1901 amounted to approximately 04-00,000.00; while in 1917 it amounted to a little more than ^It^OO.OOO.OO. liberal appropriations ha#e also been mode in the way of aiding Ijarticular educational novcmonts. Administrative policies have been improved and the worldLngs of tho school Gystomati25ed; much has been accomplished In llio way of grading and standai^islng both the elementary and secondary schools; and the scope of the work has been extendod not only by tho introduction of now coiir-jo, but also by the improvement of tho old. Bore significant still is tho rapid tendency of the Bchools to give up the traditional acadenlc and cultural courses 179 and adopt tho more utilitarian and practionl lincD of training, 1 i>uperintondent Cook in his firat bioniiial reports Bays "Indood, the vory purposes and roc onsibilitioo of tlic soho )1 eyston havo "boon greatly enlargocl in rocont yoarc. The accoptod essontiolo of educa- tion liavo undorcone strllcinG chancos. No longer are tho public schools looked upon as merely tho supply houses for stored hook knowlodce, "but these schools are expected to train the youth for citisenship and life work. Practical training, the application of knowledge suited to the environment and to the individucl, a sys- tem that VTill develop moral and physical, as well as intellectual, manhood and womanhood is the ideal toward which Hie schools are striving." Especially, has this he on true in the case of the high schools. Prior to 1911 » when tho high schools wore not supported and regulated hy State legislation, the only outside f&ctor con- trihuting to their supervision and regulation was found in the college and University "entrance reciuirements" wliich wore fixed almost -holly u on academic and cultural suhjocts. Aa a result fif this influence, together with an absence Qf anything more tlian vogue and indeflnlto educational policies on the part of tho local comraanities, tho Mgh schools aspired only to reox;h tho standards of ^entrance reoulroraonts . * i/ith the passage of the law providing State aid to high schools and piitting then imdor the control of the 2 State Board of Ilducatlon, there has boon a marked change in the high school curriculum to those studies characterized by practical 1. Report of Supt. of Pub. Ins. 1907-08, p. 6 2. State /dd has he on rope 'led but tho high scho^ils are still under tlio control of tho State Board of Education. l8o, values . Among the iCTn-ovcmentn In our public ochool syetom trhioh have "beon affectod "by direct loGialative enactment may bo montioncd the introduction of elementary ajjjriculturo and horticulture Into the public school course and the Geta1?lioJuacnt of the foiir acrlcid- tural schools; the establishment of the Arkansas State llomal Schools; the adoption of tho prlnoipleo of consolidation and county super intondency; and the praotioal application of compulsory attend- ance and anti-child lahor laws . Very c'^oat improvcnent has he on ocooTiplished also through the activities of such agencies as the Arltansar. state Teachers! Association, tho Arkansas State Teachers' I^eadlng Circlo ond the Pupils' Reading Circle, cluh women and School Improvoment Associa- tions, and the State Board of Education, More iraportrmt oven than tho work of theso agoncios has heon the -nork of our four special supervisors in tlioir respoctivo lines of Secojjdary l.duoatijn, Rural Schools, Special TTountain Schools, and Ilegro Schools. / ( ■■ n i ^^^H OF L'. ^^^^^^^^^B RE} T7NT ( V- ^^^^B OVi, FAGi ■ n«r '^ nr r 1 022 115 110