DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF EDUCATION BULLETIN, 1923, No 48 SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA (A DIGEST OF THE REPORT) By KATHERINE M. COOK and E. E. WINDES WASHINGTON goveri^ent printing office 1923 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 5 CENTS PER COPY PURCHASER AGREES NOT TO RESELL OR DISTRIBUTE THIS COPY FOR PROFIT.—PUB. RES. 67, APPROVED MAY 11, 1922 V n / a CONTENTS. Page. Some findings of the preliminary study of general and school conditions_ 1 General conditions_ 1 School attendance_ 2 Relation of age to grade in which enrolled_ 3 The teaching staff_ 5 School supervision_ 6 High-school facilities_ 7 Buildings and equipment- 8 Conclusions based on a study of the school system-— 9 Some essentials of an improved school system- 11 The possibilities for a county-wide centralization program- 11 The cost of centralization is not prohibitive- 19 Summary of recommendations- 22 m NCC 3WI „ .Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from University-of North Carolina at Chapel Hill https://archive.org/details/suggestionsforco03cook SUGGESTIONS FOR ORGANIZING THE SCHOOLS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. The following is a digest of the report made orally to the board of education and the superintendent of schools of Beaufort County, N. C. The report is the result of an investigation of the schools of the county made by Mrs. Katherine M. Cook, specialist in rural edu¬ cation, and Mr. E. E. Windes, assistant in rural education, under the direction of the Commissioner of Education, Department of the In¬ terior, at the request of the county board of education, for the pur¬ pose of studying the possibilities for centralizing the schools of the county and of recommending a definite plan of procedure for school consolidation. No complete investigation of the quality of instruc¬ tion given, course of study used, or other factors entering into a complete survey of the system was requested or made. The study contemplates only the desirability and feasibility of consolidating the schools. The committee had in mind in making the study three major ques¬ tions: (1) Aj*e present school conditions satisfactory or are school facilities, attendance, quality of instruction, and the like such that improvement of the kind usually brought about by centralization is desirable? (2) What are the possibilities for consolidation and can a sane county-wide plan be recommended for adoption? (3) Can the county be reasonably expected to finance a program such as agreed upon b}’ the committee without undue financial strain or over- burdensome taxation? SOME FINDINGS OF THE PRELIMINARY STUDY OF GENERAL AND SCHOOL CONDITIONS. The answer to the first question necessitates a brief survey of general and school conditions in the county. General conditions .—Beaufort County is situated near the At¬ lantic coast about midway between the north and south boundaries of the State. It extends approximately 40 miles along both sides of the Pamlico River, running from northwest to southeast; and measures approximately 20 miles from the northern to the southern boundary. The river divides the county into two separate sections approximately equal in size. It varies from 1 to more than 5 miles in width, and*^ is spanned by one bridge only, located at Washington City, the county seat, at the extreme western border. 1 2 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS Besides this natural barrier the county is broken up into sections because of swamps, some large, some small, but found in all sections of the county. Probably not less than one-quarter of the total area of the county is in swamp land. Separating the swamps are ridges, savannas, uncultivated timber tracts, and “ cut-over ” land. These tracts vary from a few feet to 67 feet above sea level. Much of the county is only a few feet above the water table. On the ridges and in the clearings between swamps and uncultivated timber tracts, the people live and the children to be educated are found. It follows from the contour of the county and because of poor roads which have prevailed until very recently, that the people live in small iso¬ lated communities and the children attend school in relatively small school groups. At present, however, good roads are being extended throughout the county. Since agriculture is and will doubtless continue to be the most im¬ portant occupation, and the one which the majority of the people follow, the future of the farm population and the education of farm children are of special importance. Lumbering and fishing are minor occupations, and because of the fine harbors afforded by the river commercial pursuits are followed by a limited number. Better development of water transportation for farm products seems prob¬ able. Cotton, tobacco, and corn are the principal crops; truck gar¬ dening and dairying are also important. School attendance ,—The school population ^ of the county, not in¬ cluding independent districts, is 6,459; the enrollment, 4,445; and the average daily attendance, 3,291. There are 67 school buildings, of which 23 are one-teacher; 20, two-teacher; 8, three-teacher; and 4, four-teacher schools. The remaining 12 have more than four teachers. Of the 23 one-teacher schools, 11 are in Chocowinity Township.^ Besides the county school system there are three inde¬ pendent districts—^Washington City, with a population of 6,314; Belle Haven, with a population of 1,816; and Aurora, with a popula¬ tion of 524. Of the 67 schools in the county, all but 10 have six months’ terms; 3 have eight months and 1 nine months school during the year. About 90 per cent of the children have access to a school term of six months only. The standard term throughout the country, as also in the independent districts in Beaufort County, is nine months. The inefficiency of small schools and the educational handicap of short terms are aggravated by poor attendance. Apparently the schools have so slight a hold on the children and their parents that the meager school facilities now furnished are wasted in large part. This conclusion is the result of an examination of the attendance 1 This report concerns white children only. * See Plate III. 3 OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. record of approximately 700 children for a full school year. The results, summarized in Table 1, show the number of days school was attended by 174 children in one-teacher and 498 children in other rural schools. These data indicate that the median® child enrolled in two or more teacher buildings attends school from 90 to 100 days, or about four and one-half to five months during the year. The lo’vver 25 per cent of the children enrolled attend about three months, the upper 25 per cent a little over five months. In the one-teacher schools the median child attends from four to four and one-half months, the children in the lower 25 per cent group two and one- half months, and those in the upper 25 per cent group five months. Table 1. —Actual number of days attended by 672 children in Beaufort County schools. Days attended. Number attending— Days attended. Number attending— One- teachor schools. Two or more teacher schools. One- teacher schools. Two or more teacher schools. Less than 20. 13 21 80-90. 16 63 20-30. 13 21 90-100. 22 63 30-40... 14 24 100-110. 21 84 40-50. 8 22 110-120. 27 104 .50-00 11 24 60-70. 11 24 Total. 174 498 70-80. 18 48 In considering attendance as a factor in school efficiency our con¬ cern is not only with the amount of schooling secured by the upper 25 per cent of the children, or even that received by the median child. The lower 25 per cent, as well as the upper 25 per cent, must be developed into intelligent citizens and safe neighbors. Chil¬ dren who attend school two or two and one-half months per year will require, estimating on the basis of the standard nine months’ term, four years to do one year’s work. At the end of the usual 12-year school period, or at the age of 18, they will finish the third grade. Relation of age to grade m which enrolled .—Another considera¬ tion supplementing the facts presented in Table 1 of significance as a measure of school efficiency concerns the age of children in con¬ nection with the grade in which they are enrolled. Beaufort County children enter school at 6 years of age. If they make satisfactory progress, at 7 they should be enrolled in the second grade, at 8 in the third grade, at 9 in the fourth grade, and so on. The per¬ centage of children who are enrolled in the proper or normal grade for their age becomes therefore one measure of the effectiveness of 8 This means that as many children fall above as below this child in days attended. 4 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS the schools. Table 2’ shows the number and ages of children en¬ rolled in each of the elementary grades for 745 children of the county. [While full data were not obtainable, they would probably vary very little, if any, from those given.] Table 3, summarizing Table 2, shows that 79 per cent of the children in the schools are re¬ tarded, that is too old for their grade, one or more years; that only 15 per cent of the total number of children in the county are ap¬ parently doing satisfactory work and progressing at the normal rate of one grade a year; that retardation increases from the first to the sixth grade, where it reaches the peak at 93 per cent. Table 2. —Relation of age to grade of 7^5 school children-—Number of children of each age in the different grades. Grades. Years of age. Total. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1. 5 68 89 60 28 10 4 2 4 270 2. .‘ 1 13 17 17 23 11 4 3 2 0 1 1 93 3. 13 21 25 11 10 9 5 4 0. 100 4.. 1 I 4 1 ~8 24 18 17 14 18 2 3 3 113 5.. 1 9 18 12 10 1 7 4 ■ i 71 6. 3 9 11 11 5 7 7 9 1 63 7. l"! 3 3 7 5 9 3 2 .... 2 35 Total. 6 82 109 94 89 71 50 62 55 51 18 27 17 11 .... 3 745 Table 3. —Showing per cent of retardation or acceleration of 7^5 school children. ; Years of retardation. > Number retarded. Per cent retarded. Grade. Per cent retarded. Years of acceleration. Number accelerated. Per cent accelerated. 1... 172 22+ 1 72+ 1. 30 4+ 2. 162 21 + 2 84+ 2. 2 .2+ 3......... 95 12+ 3 85 3. 1 .1+ 4. 62 8+ 4 87+ 5...... 45 5+ 5 85+ 6. 27 3+ 6 93+ 7.:... ' 24 3+ 7 88+ 8. 5 6+ Total. 592 Number of normal age, 113+; per cent of normal age, 5+; per cent re¬ tarded one or more years, 79+. Median child retarded two years according to grade enrollment; actually completes seventh grade at age of 15, with fourth or fifth grade ability, according to tests in an adjoining county where conditions are similar. The appeal to finish the school course .—Another measure of the efficiency of the schools is found in their ability to hold children in school until they complete the full course of 11 years. Table 4, giving the total enrollment by grades, shows that for every 100 children who are enrolled in the first grade in the rural schools of Beaufort County OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. 6 only a fraction of 1 per cent are enrolled in the eleventh. The small high-school enrollment may be accounted for in part by the short term and inefficient instruction in the grades; in part by the general indifference to education that apparently prevails; but it must be accounted for largely by the quality of instruction and the kind of course of study which the schools now furnish. The teaching staff .—The quality of instruction given is admittedly the best measure of the effectiveness of a school system. Since this survey is confined to the provisions made by the administrative board, we can judge the expectancy only by the provisions made for secur¬ ing good instruction. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon the necessity of securing teachers of ability, qualified for their work by general education, professional training, and experience. Such a staff can be secured and retained only by payment of a reasonable compensation. The salary scale in Beaufort County must compare favorably with that paid in the independent districts and by neighboring counties with high-class school systems. Table 4 .—Showing number of children in each grade for every 100 in the first grade. Grade. Enroll¬ ment. Number enrolled in each grade for every 100 enrolled in first grade. Grade. Enroll¬ ment. Number enrolled in each grade for every 100 enrolled in first grade. 1 1 106 100 7. 312 28 0 645 49 8. 146 13 Q 468 42 9.. 63 5.5 A 577 52 10. 21 1.8 K 472 42 11. 7 . 6 433 39 V ____ The salary scale in Beaufort County is the minimum prescribed by the State, and the majority of the teachers have the lowest qualifi¬ cations permitted under State certification regulations, and conse¬ quently the lowest or among the lower grades of certificates. More than half the elementary teachers have not completed a four-year high-school course; about one-fourth of them have one year or less of high-school education, or none. The salaries, paid by the mont*' and based on a six-months’ term, are correspondingly low. The median salary is $70 per month, or $420 per year; that is, half the group receive less and half more than that figure. Some teadiers receive less than $270 per year. (See Table 5.) It might easily be untrue to say that the present staff as a who e is underpaid. Probably as many are overpaid as underpaid, con¬ sidering the quality of the service rendered. Usually when schools are conducted on the plan indicated by the six-months’ term and $270 annual salary for teachers, much of the meager amount siicnt 63185—23-2 6 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS is wasted because there are no real educational results. It is not open to question, however, that salaries must be increased and higher qualifications demanded of teachers employed before good instruc¬ tion can be expected. Table 5 .—Salaries and preparation of 139 teachers. Salary per month. Number receiving. Preparation. Salary per month. Number receiving. Preparation. 12 N 0 high school. 1 year high school. 2 years high school. Do. $85. 14 S50 .... 12 $90. 5 23 $95. 8 $G0. 11 $104.50. 1 $65. $70 . . .. 3 17 4 rears high school. Do. $100. $10.5. 7 3 2 or 3 years of college or 2 years of normal. 175 . 10 1 year college and pro¬ fessional work. $110. 3 $133.33. 1 $so. 7 Do. i $175 (Bath). 1 1 $222.22 (Panto- go). 1 1 The average monthly salary of teachers in graded schools of Washington City, N. C., is $143, approximately $1,270 per school year of nine months. There is apparent also in the examination of the salary scale a common and natural but mistaken tendency to concentrate the lower-paid and underqualified teachers in the one-teacher schools and in the lower elementary grades. It seems necessary to call the attention of the board of education to the necessity of having skilled teachers in the elementary grades, not alone because skill is most needed, but also because satisfactory progress is impossible in the upper grades when early training in the fundamentals has been neglected. Children from rural elementary schools enrolled in the upper elementary and high-school grades often read with third- grade ability. This has been proved in many instances by standard tests. Such children can not satisfactorily do the work of the grades to which they may be promoted, and for which they have the necessary intelligence and ability, because of the deficiencies of their early training; and they fail or leave school in large numbers. In making the salary scale for the county, therefore, the importance of securing qualified and professional!}' trained teachers for the primary and elementary grades, as well as for the upper grades, should not be overlooked. School supervision .—The only supervision which the teachers of the county receive is that given by the county superintendent. He must divide his time as well as possible among the administra¬ tive, supervisory, and clerical duties. Experience proves that when a superintendent is forced to make such a choice, supervision is almost sure to suffer. Administrative and clerical duties are imme¬ diate and present, and even if of less importance in the final efli- OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. 7 ciency of the schools, can not be neglected. Supervisory duties, therefore, are apt to be postponed until other demands are satisfied. Moreover, it is a physical impossibility, considering the number of teachers, the size of the county, the condition of the roads, and the large number of small schools, for one person to get about often enough to do any justice to supervising the schoolroom instruction. Such supervision necessitates far more frequent visits than one per¬ son unassisted can possibly make. Satisfactory school work in organization, management, and in¬ struction in any system is conditioned in large part by the adequacy and quality of the supervision given. It is particularly essential to securing results in a county in which so large a percentage of the staff of teachers are untrained and relatively inexperienced. To place 130 teachers of the kind referred to in 67 schools, scattered over a wide territory, with no professional direction, is tempting fate from the standpoint of school efficiency. Centralization will make close supervision of instruction possible and enable a small administrative and supervisory force to insure a far higher quality of instruction than is otherwise possible.^ High-school facilities .—Outside of the three independent dis¬ tricts, there is but one four-year high school in the county, located at Pantego. It has an enrollment of 82 pupils and four teachers. At Bath three years of high-school work are offered, and at nearly all the schools having two or more teachers some high-school sub¬ jects are taught. In several of the larger centers two or more years of high-school work are offered, but without equipment even of the most meager sort, and by teachers who have neither time nor facili¬ ties for any but book work. The building at Pantego is not fit for school use, considered either from a hygienic or an educational standpoint. At Bath and Pantego laboratory and library facilities are so meager as to be almost worthless. No prevocational nor vocational subjects nor work in the “newer” subjects, as music, art, and recreational athletics, are offered anywhere in the county, either in the elementary or high-school grades. The curriculum otfeied is of the old-time, narrow, academic type, completion of which admits to college, but has little practical value to boys and girls entering other than the professional vocations or planning to make business, farming, or home-making their life work. Except for a small group of young people preparing to enter college, who can be ac¬ commodated at Pantego, the county does not furnish secondary edu¬ cational advantages worthy of the name. p It can not be too strongly emphasized that the practice of per¬ mitting small schools with poorly trained teachers and inadequate that of unsupervisod. 8 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS material equipment to do high-school work is vicious in the out¬ come. Inevitably such work is maintained at the expense of ele¬ mentary work. A disproportionate amount of the teacher’s time is given to a few pupils in the high-school grades at the expense of large numbers of pupils in the elementary grades. The result is general inefficiency. The high-school instruction offered is worth: less or nearly so, as has been demonstrated many times in different States through standard tests, and the elementary instruction suffers materially. The final result is that the people discount the value of education. They are led to condemn education in general, whereas they should condemn the education that is offered them. An enlarged building and an enlarged teaching staff afford possibilities for improved instruction, but do not guarantee improvement unless the teaching is of higher quality, and unless more time for recita¬ tion and supervised study is given, and a program enriched by new courses, such as home economics, music, and health studies, and improved material equipment is provided. Buildings and equipment .—Careful planning by competent men is an essential in initiating a school building and equipment pro¬ gram. Properly planned buildings from the standpoint of the right allotment of floor space per child, window space and placement, pro¬ vision for ventilation and for heating, are essential for health, com¬ fort, and conditions that make good work possible. Children can not work at a high level under physical distractions and may easily suffer permanent impairment of health in improperly constructed school¬ rooms. Good planning and construction are essential also from a financial standpoint to insure adequacy of materials to stand the strains to which they are subjected; and correctness of design and workmanship to insure strength and permanency. The country has wasted too much money in recent years on poorly planned and constructed school buildings. Flimsy structures, which are all too common and must be replaced in a few years are fire hazards and tax the children, and through them their parents, enormous sums through impaired ability to do work, through respiratory diseases and eye defects. The public should, and is coming more and more to do so, condemn short¬ sighted building programs inspired by false economy. The present school plant and equipment .—Of the 67 school build¬ ings in the county, 5 of those completed and 2 in the course of erec¬ tion may be fairly considered reasonably good buildings, appropriate for their purpose, and planned with some regard,to sanitary and hy¬ gienic conditions. The others are quite unadapted to school pur¬ poses, and some are even a menace to the health of the children. Four walls and a roof do not make a schoolhouse. Proper lighting, ven¬ tilating, and heating facilities, water supply, sanitary provision for 9 OF BKAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. drinking and washing, sanitary toilets, cloakrooms, and the like are as necessary to the work of a school as a kitchen stove is to that of a home. Work and rest rooms, an auditorium, playgrounds with some equipment for small children, and athletic games for the older ones are as essential to the modern school as a kitchen sink with running water to a modern home. Nor are buildings the only necessary part of the physical plant es¬ sential for good schools. Suitable equipment is equally necessary; in this the schools of Beaufort County are entirely lacking. Many lack even the most meager necessities. Blackboards in good condition, reference and supplementary books, maps, and teaching materials— tools with which to work—desks which are adjusted to the children’s size and suitable for school work, are among the necessities almost or entirely lacking throughout the rural schools in the county. Good teachers and good buildings are largely wasted when no material equipment in the way of libraries, laboratory devices, wisely selected maps, charts, etc., good blackboards providing sufficient surface and properly placed, and housekeeping devices are not provided. As well put a good plasterer or brick mason to work with a wooden trowel, or a skilled surgeon with a pocket knife. Failure to equip is an inexcusable false economy. Adequate equipment is not expensive when wisely selected by a person who knows sources of supplies and relative values of items of equipment for instruction purposes. The State should be called upon freely to advise in these matters both in available literature and per¬ sonal advice from members of the State department whose duty it is to know and advise in such matters.® Substantial school buildings which are artistic and Avell located and built to meet modern hygienic standards are not necessarily more expensive than poor ones. It is a matter of planning and the exeicise of good taste rather than of money. The grounds can be made beau¬ tiful, especially in so favored an environment as Beaufort County furnishes, by planting grass, native trees, and shrubs, witli no addi¬ tional cost—merely healthful educational work on the part of the teachers and children. Some progressive rural counties are planning to “ feature ” at each school a diflPerent native variety of tree or shrub In attractiveness and upkeep the school building and grounds should compare favorably with the best homes in the community; it should furnish standards and ideals of goood taste, cleanliness, and care in general school housekeeping for the children from less favored ones. Otherwise poor home conditions tend to perpetuate themiselves. Conclusions based on a study of the school .y.^m.-The examina¬ tion of school facilities offered to the children of the county outsic e 5 Much helpful also depnitments wh^ specialists in school buildin.?s and jxrounds arc empIo,ed. 63185—23-3 10 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOHS the independent districts leaves no doubt in the minds of the ob¬ servers as to the desirability of a change in the system such as will offer all the children (not a mere handful as at present) modern educational advantages. The child born or reared in rural Beaufort County, who must receive there all the education he will ever have an opportunity to get, is indeed unfortunate. His chances for be- , coming a creditable and useful citizen, able to participate with intelligence in the activities of life around him, to build up the resources of the county and State, and to understand farm and business management w^ell enough to make a good living are slight., If he has average ability and attends school the average time at¬ tended by children in the county and enters school at 6 years of age,. • he will require 14 years to pass through the grades and will com¬ plete the seventh grade at about the age of 20 years. His chances of entering and completing high school are almost negligible^ probably about 1 in 200. Not only does the average child attend school only a few months in the year, but during that time he is taught by a teacher practically entirely unprepared for her work, in a building with no equipment and so insanitary as to menace his physical welfare. In all probability he will leave school with no education beyond that usually given in the third or fourth grade. Can the substantial citizen interested in the welfare and develop¬ ment of the county expect intelligent, enterprising people rearing families to move into or remain in a county which offers such meager advantages to its children? North Carolina, like several other States of the Union, is now- making an unusual effort to eradicate illiteracy among its adult population; yet Beaufort County is rearing to-day because of its ineffective school system a large number of children who will be illiterate or almost illiterate adults in the future. Mere ability to read sentences or write one’s name does not constitute an educa¬ tion that prepares for life. Farmers having no further education than that equal to the education given in the third grade can not read newspapers, magazines, and farm bulletins intelligently. They can not, therefore, improve in methods of farming or of hygienic living except as they learn these things by word of mouth. They can not carry out health standards well enough to be safe members of the community. Experience with our Army during the war proved that such persons can not even follow directions intelligently. A school system, then, such as exists in Beaufort County not only fails to assist in eradicating illiteracy but perpetuates a condition of near illiteracy which is perhaps equally dangerous. Children now grow¬ ing up with no preparation beyond that given in the third grade may be as helpless to themselves and a worse menace to the world OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. H m which they live 10 years from now as are adult illiterates in the world of to-day. SoTne essentials of an improved school system.~lAit\Q progress can be made toward improved schools without an effective and cen¬ tralized system which will enable the board of education to provide professional administration and supervision, a staff of prepared teachers, a school term of at least nine months, and school buildings and equipment which make it possible to satisfy the demands of modern school practice. The present demand is that the schools train for life in a broad sense, including training in the essential tools of knowledge and in the duties of citizenship, for the success¬ ful^ practice of a vocation and for the development of habits and attitudes which contribute to good living. These demands have produced the present program of studies in modern elementary and high schools. Courses of study must be broad enough to meet the needs of all, not a few, of the children in school, as well as of those who have dropped out of school with insufficient training. The most economical and effective way to provide such advantages in rural communities is through the pooling of resources and group¬ ing of children to be educated which a reasonable degree of cen¬ tralization alone makes possible. THE POSSIBILITIES FOR A COUNTY-WIDE CENTRALIZATION PROGRAM. While Beaufort County offers difficulties in the way of centrali¬ zation, they are by no means insurmountable. Unusual progress is .being made in road improvement, both in hard surfacing the ‘main roads and in building and improving dirt roads. These good roads when completed will make it possible to transport’ children far more quickly, comfortably, and economically than is possible now or has been possible in the past. T\Tiere auto trucks can be used, they are usually more efficient and economical. Wliere roads are not adapted to auto transportation, wagons may be used, especially over short routes leading to the main truck lines. This particular kind of arrangement is now successfully practiced in some southern counties. In many instances it will be cheaper and far more efficient to build short board walks to the road or to repair roads so that wagons can travel through the swampy places than to support a one-teacher school for a small group of children isolated from the main road. In such instances a transportation wagon or bus may take the place of a teacher. This will be true in regard to several of the small one-teacher schools in Chocowinity Township, for ex¬ ample. In other cases no saving of teachers will be possible by cen- 12 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS ti*alization. The tentative estimate outlined below indicates that the number of teachers necessary to carry out the program will be less than are now employed if the average daily attendance remains the same. It contemplates not more than 35 children to each teacher in the elementary grades, not less than 3 teachers devoting full time to high-school grades wherever a junior high school is maintained, and not less than 5 teachers when a senior high school is maintained. However, the better schools, more attractive sur¬ roundings, and more practical school programs which consolida¬ tion will make possible should result in improved school attendance. This has been the effect of consolidation very generally throughout the country. The object to be attained in Beaufort County is not to decrease the amount now spent on schools but to increase and improve school facilities, to get better value for the money expended, and to provide educational advantages for all the children of the countv. Table 6. —A tentative estimate of the number of buildings and teachers re¬ quired under the present and suggested netv plans of organization. Number of buildings. Number of teachers. Average daily Townships. Old plan. New plan. Old plan. New plan. attendance. Tempo¬ rary. Perma¬ nent. Tempo¬ rary. Perma¬ nent, High school. Elemen¬ tary. Richland. 10 6 5 22 20 18 39 517 Chocowinity. 16 4 4 25 18 18 421 Washington. 10 4 3 22 16 12 507 Long Acre. 12 2 2 25 18 18 19 546 Batfi. 11 7 3 19 21 18 93 •515 Pantego. 9 5 5 19 18 18 59 414 Total_•. 68 28 22 132 108 102 210 2,920 Note. —For the permanent plan indicated in Plate II, 22 buildings will accom¬ modate the children now housed in 67 buildings; for the plan indicated in Plate I 28 buildings will be necessary, of which 6 are to remain temporarily only. The accomplishment of the consolidation plan recommended pre¬ supposes the adoption of a building program in harmony with it. A 10-year program financed by a bond issue is recommended. It is important that the educational program and the building program be in harmony; therefore the advice and counsel of specialists in buildings and specialists in school curricula, methods, and practice should be secured by the board before plans are matured. The State department of education furnishes this kind of expert advice. In recommending this plan the possibilities and plans for roads; the present condition of school buildings and equipment; the loca¬ tion of the children’s homes, with possible transportation routes; OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. 13 •economy of expenditure, estimated on the per capita basis; and in particular the general question of school efficiency and the necessity of making high-school instruction accessible to all the children, have all been carefully considered. While grouping children in large numbers is desirable, there is a point beyond which centralization can not go without involving long hauls that keep children too long on the road to and from school. Young children in the elementary grades can not go as far as older ones in the high-school grades. Efficient elementary schools can be conducted if there are children enough to make possible the employment of three teachers, provided they are confined to the first six grades. Several such schools are therefore recommended, usually on or near the present site of a school • and located in a developed community. High-school instruction can well be concentrated at few^er centers. An effective rural junior and senior high school requires a minimum •of six teachers, special laboratory rooms for the sciences, agriculture, and home economics, a good library with reference books, magazines, and periodicals, in addition to the usual equipment for academic work. The board of education of Beaufort County should base their program of development on the State outline of requirements for the best type of high school. Such schools are expensive. '\Yliere many are maintained the cost is exorbitant or the schools are inefficient. The plan recommended, therefore, contemplates centering high- school instruction at a few centers only. The teaching of high-school subjects in the small schools should be discontinued at once. The plan offered contemplates also a centralized administrative and supervisory force. Without this the whole scheme may easily fail to accomplish the desired end. No scheme of organization, however w^ell planned from the point of view of the physical plant and material equipment, will give satisfactory educational results unless administered efficiently and on a professional basis. Beaufort •County schools need a better quality of instruction as much as they need better buildings, longer term, and a centralized system. There should be less book memorization, and a course of study should be worked out based on the life of the people and their peculiai and special needs. Unless these essentials are provided, the people will not have full confidence in their schools nor renew their belief in the value of education. For these reasons a staff of prepared teachers, adequately supervised, and a system administered on a , professional basis, are as necessary as are buildings and equipn.ent. The complete plan for centralization recommended is shown graphically in two steps; the first shown on Plate I for temporap^ adoption leads to the complete plan as indicated on the map ot the •county, Plate II. Full explanation of the plan suggested is also 14 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS submitted. Plate III shows the school buildings as they are now located, with the number of teachers indicated, as well as the loca¬ tion of the principal swamps, the location and condition of the roads and railroad routes within the county. It is not believed possible or advisable that the complete plan be put into operation at once. It should, however, be initiated at once and gradual advance made toward its accomplishment. In this way the county will be building toward a centralized organization which llM bleola - aoboola to ba abaadca»4« Poabla Itaa ble«X> - ajrprovad eautara* Plate I.—Suggested plan, for temporary consolidation of schools of Beaufort County. can be administered on a professional and business basis and which will offer adequate educational facilities to all the children of the county. The board will have the satisfaction of perfecting a defi¬ nite plan arid of knowing that expenditures made in conformity with it are in the nature of a permanent investment. When the plan is fully accomplished there will be 11 elementary, 6 junior high, and 5 senior high school centers, with the possible reduction of the seifior centers to 4 by some cooperative arrangement between Pantego and OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, N. C. 15 Belle Haven. The number of buildings will be reduced from 68 to 22; the estimated number of teachers by about 30. Explanation of Plate I: Schools to be abandoned represented by blocks surrounded by one line. Established centers represented by blocks surrounded by two lines. Arrows indicate centers to which pupils are to be transported". Broken lines indicate a possible choice between two centers. T. indicates temporary centers dnly. J. H. indicate junior high school; i. e., grades 7 and 8. S. H. indicate senior high school; i. e., grades 9, 10, and 11. El. indicates 6 elementary grades. Following is an explanation of Plate I by townships: Richland Toionship .—In Picbland Township Aurora is obviously the natural center for school purposes. All junior and senior high school children should be transported here as soon as arrangements for transportation can be made. Later the elementary children should be taken here also, as suggested below. The district should surrender its charter and become part of the county system. It would thereby be enabled to build up a stronger school and partici¬ pate in other advantages, such as professional supervision under county administration. The school at Spring Creek can be aban¬ doned at once, and the children taken either to South Creek or Campbells Creek. These two schools should remain as elementary schools. They should not teach more than the first six grades. There are children enough to make a good three-teacher elementary school in each of the two centers. The school at Royal should be abandoned, and the children sent to Aurora. There is no justification for maintaining two schools so close together as these now are. Every consideration of economy and efficiency favors their consolidation. The Core Point school should be abandoned, and the children hauled to Edwards or Jewel as soon as the roads will justify this action. Until then it should be limited to the first six grades. The school at Bonnerton should be abandoned—the elementary children taken to Edward and the high-school children to Aurora. The Clay Hill school should be abandoned, and the children taken either to Small or Edward. At Edward a three-teacher school of six grades should continue; at Small a junior high school of not more than eight grades. Senior high school pupils—that is, pupils in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades—should go to Aurora. i -r. i j GhocowiniU} Winfield, Blounts Creek, Redditt, and Jewel should'be consolidated at Jewel. The combined attendance at these schools is approximately 100. An efficient four-teacher school confined to the first six grades can be maintained probably at a decreased cost compared to the present one. Because o i s location, Gilead will have to remain as it is a It should be confined to as few grades as possible. The oldei ch 16 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS can be transported as soon as roads are in condition to Jewel and Chocowinity. The school at Bear Creek should be continued for the present as an elementary school confined to the first six grades. Eventually it should be abandoned. A new school center should be developed in the vicinity of Choc¬ owinity. A first-class elementary and junior high school can be built up here by abandoning the following schools and transporting the children to this center: Williams, Lewis, Buck, and Hodges, on the Yanceboro Road; Haw Branch, Crow Branch, and Taylor, on the Gray Road; and Ecklin and Moore, on the Moore Road. The present average daily attendance of 180 pupils can be taken care of at this center with at least 3 fewer teachers. Eventually a senior high school may be developed here. At present the junior high school grades will provide for all or nearly all the children eligible. Senior high-school pupils should go to Washington. The small schools men¬ tioned above are nearly all poor buildings in bad condition, insani¬ tary, and unfit for schools. It is recommended that a new building be arranged for at Chocowinity, and this plan be put into operation at the earliest possible time. A home for the principal at this center, large enough to house a few high-school pupils, would be an economi¬ cal investment. Natural barriers are such that there will in all probability always be a few high-school pupils living too far from the high-school center for daily transportation. Washington Township .—In Washington Township there are two natural and obvious centers^—^Washington City and Old Ford. Washington City will in all probability remain an independent dis¬ trict so far as administration is concerned. It is recommended that the county board arrange with the Washington City school board for the education of all the senior high school pupils in the township and all the children in the elementary grades living in the immediate vicinity, as suggested in Plate I. The school at Pineville in this township, and Piney Grove and Little schools in Long Acre Town¬ ship, should be abandoned and the children transported to Washing¬ ton, whether in elementary or high-school grades. The high-school pupils above the second year living on or near the Williamston Road should go to the high school at Washington. An elementary and junior high school should be developed at Old Ford. Stallings, Swainsland, and Singleton may be abandoned and the children transported to Old Ford. This will provide an aver¬ age daily attendance of at least 200, and will, with the junior high school pupils from Leggetts and the upper section of the Highland school district, furnish enough pupils to maintain a standard junior high school. The school at Leggetts should be continued but con¬ fined to the first six grades. The building at Highland is quite un¬ fit for school purposes and should be abandoned as soon as possible. OF BEAUFOKT COUNTY, N. C. 17 While it remains the work should be confined to the first six grades. Eventually the children should be transported to W^ashington or Old Ford. Long Acre Township ,—Under existing conditions it is unnecessary and impracticable to establish a senior high school center in this township. Children can attend at Washington, Pantego, or Bath. At Pinetown a junior high school center should be developed. Bowen, Windley, Osborne, Latham, Jordan, Fork, and Boyd may be abandoned and the children transported to Pinetown. The average daily attendance at these schools last year was 319, a group large enough to make possible a strong junior high school. A new elementary school center should be developed at Beaver Dam Cross Koads, in the vicinity of the Douglas residence. The following schools may be abandoned and the children transported to Beaver Dam Cross Roads: Hawkins, Woodards Pond, Magnolia, and Broad Creek. The average daily attendance of the schools named was 227 last year, a large enough number to assure a good elementary school of six grades. Bath Township .—The natural center in this township for junior and senior high school work is at Bath. The high-school pupils from Woodards Pond, Everetts Cross Roads, Hunters Bridge, Webster, and from the homes along the swamp road leading from Huntsville to Bath should be sent to Bath as soon as possible, preferably next school year. Thesa high-school pupils number about 30 and could be cared for by the purchase of one auto transportation bus. As soon as the building can bs enlarged to accommodate the elementary children now attending the schools named, they also should be transported to Bath, and these schools permanently abandoned. Some children from Woodards Pond district in the elementary grades who live nearer Bath than to Beaver Dam Cross Roads school should be sent here also. Yeatesville should also be abandoned, and the children transported either to Bath or Pantego. A junior high school center should be developed at Ransomville. A new building is now in the course of erection which will provide at least six classrooms. Later the children now attending at Wm- steadville and Sidney should be transported here, and these two schools abandoned. ., i ^ ^ At Wades Point a new building is already provided to care tor n-f fViP Pamlico and Upshore schools. This school should 18 CONSOLIDATING THE RURAL SCHOOLS PtNtTO' Cr^%M lertrOam CHQCOWINITYI fZ^ONVIUC 'j^€f AURO; Compbat \ O SMAC. Puiigo, junior and senior high school pupils from Terra Ceia and Wilkinson, and children from all grades at Wrights Savannah should be transported to Pantego. The last-named schools should be abandoned, probably, on completion of the new building at Pan- tego. Lynchville and Haslin may be abandoned and the children trans¬ ported to Belle Haven. At Upper Pungo a junior high school center should be developed, with children from Upper and Lower Pungo. Terra Ceia and Wilkinson are so located that no combination seems practicable. Not more than six grades should be taught at either school. 0 hJi y t o . A PANTECO 1 A IP 0 f BEAUFORT COUNTV S NAME - Jumor-Sirnor Hi ?■' ■ ' ■': ■''': ■ ■ ’ • ^ - 5. ' ; V'' r J '■ ^ *?' .[' •. ■ . '* '* f:.^: ;0 ' : "S.':. ■ . /. ’ : . . ' ' ' •• >5 t . ■ :.' •■ .if' • ; V.' ^ ■'■• -I •' ■ •< ^fr # ' ' f' •■ H • I ’ i' • '); 1. ■ ' ' ‘ .1 ■: ■) ■ ; '■ '■' '4' 1.1' ’ . I Xi '■ ^J ' ' \ %r ' ' * - " ^ r t • r 4PN tj .. • ■ HHUw': :i^': 'If J0tl3^^' f % .