 The Sunday Gazetteer Sunday, June 22, 1894 pg. 4 THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS - SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT To the Hon. School Board: Denison, Texas The Public Schools of Denison were opened on September 10th, '83, and closed on June 13th, '84, with W.M. Kollock as Superintendent, Miss Walker in charge of the 1st and 2nd Grades, Mrs. Venable the 3rd, Mrs. Malcom and Miss Johnston the 4th, Mrs. Brown the 5th, Miss Sibley the 6th, Miss Sims the 7th, Miss Eppstein the 8th and Misses Daffin and Agness Frizzell the 9th. As the 4th grade contained over one hundred pupils, Miss Johnston took one division, using as recitation room what is known as the "music room". The 9th grade, which contained about 150 pupils, was divided between Miss Daffin and Miss Frizzell, the latter using the South M.E. church as school room for the first four months when the school was removed to what is known as the Dotson Hall. Two months later the enrollment of this grade exceeded two hundred and the School Board saw the necessity of another teacher, so Miss Mamy Frizzell was elected to the position and taught in the same room with her sister, Miss Agness. This making nine teachers in the main building and two in the hall. In addition to the common school studies, elementary and higher, Algebra, Rhetoric, Ancient history, Physiology, Natural Philosophy, German and Latin have been taught the past year. Some objected to having these advanced studies taught in the public school, but so soon as the City Council investigated the matter, finding that while it was adding nothing to the expense of running the schools, it was highly beneficial to all advanced pupils, they ordered the studies continued. Members of the present school board have been carefully looking into the question, and while they are disposed to practice economy, they do not propose to allow our schools to stand second to any public schools in the state. ENROLLMENT White Pupils - 927 Colored Pupils - 230 Total - 1157 Average daily attendance - 786 Total daily attendance - 157,200 Giving a daily average of nearly 60 pupils to each teacher. There were several teachers who frequently had over 80 pupils in their rooms. These vast numbers kept your teachers very busy, and let me state right here that as a whole, they responded cheerfully to the demand on their energies, and I seriously question if there is another corps of teachers in the state that has been more earnest and persistent in their efforts to improve the welfare of those under their charge. Three special forms of incentives to study have been practiced by the teachers this past year. First, rewards offered for superior work. Second, retention after school to complete unfinished work when caused by indolence. Third, monthly reports to parents and certificates of promotion. The result of these incentives has been highly satisfactory. Monthly written examinations have been carefully conducted in the advanced grades, thus enabling teachers to keep before them the exact standing of every pupil. To those who think the public school an expensive institution, we offer the following figures: As given by our City Secretary we find the total cost of the school from June 15th, '83 to June 15th, '84 to be $7591. This includes wood, repairs on buildings, etc., etc. Tuition received from pupils - $25 State fund received - $5877-$5902 Actual expense to city - $1689 Dividing this by 786, the average daily attendance, gives $2.14 per year tuition, but dividing by 1158 we find the tuition actually cost the city $1.45 for each pupil for ten months schooling. Again dividing this $1689 by 157200, the number of days of actual attendance, we find the tuition to be 1.7 cts per day or about 34 cts per month. We learn from good authority that Denison will get upwards of $8,000 from the state fund this coming year, giving several hundred dollars more than the entire expense of the schools the past year. With this fact before them, we trust the city council will feel justified in paying their teachers higher salaries. On account of the increasing demand for school privileges, and the addition of a new ward school building, the school board thought it advisable to regrade the whole school. Accordingly the work of regrading has been done as far as can be this term. On account of the absence of many pupils the last two weeks of school, the work cannot be completed until the opening of the school next September. All pupils who attended the final examination received certificates that assigned them to their respective grades. The colored schools have been under the tuition of D.W. Walton, Mrs. Franklin, with Miss Oscar Ragsdale as assistant to Mrs. Franklin. Mr. Walton, who had the advanced classes, enrolled about 80 pupils, while Mrs. Franklin had 150. These teachers worked to great disadvantage, on account of not having desks and suitable seats for their pupils. We suggest it would be well to give the colored people a ward school building, and save the $180 a year, rent paid for use of churches. All of which is respectfully submitted, W.M. Kollock Denison High School History Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |