SIR: The Board of School Trustees of the City of Portland herewith respectfully submit their Annual Report of the Schools under their supervision, for the school year ended December 31st, 1888. Appended to this Report will be found tables Nos. 1 to 10, showing full particulars respecting the Teachers, Pupils, Buildings, and of the financial condition of the Board. The following particulars are likewise inserted here: .... .... .... .... .... .... Whole number of Schools in operation during the year, .... .... .... .... .... .... 47 50 .... 44 .... 2.04 Primary School work: For Spring Term, 30.61 33.1 66.72 64.8 Percentage of Pupils engaged in High School work: For Spring Term, During both terms our schools were visited by almost every contagious disease peculiar to children. In February and March measles and diphtheria were generally prevalent; in October scarlet fever broke out, and, in a few days, from five to six hundred of our most regular pupils were absent from their schools. Fully eighty per cent. of this number were neither afflicted with this disease nor were they members of households so afflicted, but remained from school fearful of contagion. Every precaution was taken to stop the spread of the disease, and at the time the schools were closed for the Christmas holidays, it was pretty nearly stamped out. Not since the organization of the schools in 1872 has the attendance been affected to such an extent by sickness amongst our pupils. Considering, therefore, how general were the effects of disease, and how lengthy was its continuance, it is a matter of surprise that our attendance reached the figures that our tables indicate. Nor has sickness been confined to the pupils. Several of the teachers have likewise been absent from their schools for longer or shorter periods. Among others, I will mention Miss Wetherall, Miss McCluskey and Miss Ward. Indeed Miss Wetherall was not prepared to resume charge of her school at the beginning of January. In April Mr. John Brooks, for nearly forty years a Portland teacher, was compelled, through ill health, to sever his connection with the Madras School, and, towards the end of June, he passed away after a long life of honest usefulness. In December, 1887, Mr. H. Y. Corey, Principal of the Madras School, and Mr. J. Owens, second teacher of the St. Peter's Boys' School, left the staff. Mr. Corey is taking a course in Acadia College, and Mr. Owens left to take a school in Gloucester County. At the end of April Mrs. Wood, an employé of the Board since 1872, and for many years the teacher of the African School, permanently retired from the service. In June Mr. E. R. Machum, for some years Principal of the Bentley School, and during the last term of his service holding a similar position in the Madras building, also retired from service to engage in business. In August Mr. G. R. Devitt, successively Principal of the Millidgeville and Peel Street Schools, was appointed to a position on the staff of the St. John Grammar School. The following teachers were transferred: In January, E. R. Machum from the Principalship of the Bentley to that of the Madras building; M. D. Brown from the Principalship of the Millidgeville to that of the Bentley School; in July, Mr. M. D. Brown from the Principalship of the Bentley to that of the Madras building; in September, Miss L. L. Barlow from the Third Department of the Bentley to the Eleventh Department in the Winter street building. The following appointments were made to the staff of teachers: In January, Miss Maggie H. McCluskey to the Second Department of the St. Peter's Boys' School. Wm. B. DeLong to the Millidgeville School. In July, W. J. S. Myles to the Principalship of the Bentley School. Miss Sarah Gray to the Fourth Department of the Madras School. Mrs. Mary E. Cole to the African School. In September, Miss Jessie Purdy to the Third Department of the Bentley School. Upon the resignation of G. R. Devitt in August, the Peel Street High School was closed, the Tenth Grade pupils being sent to the Winter Street High School, and the Ninth Grade pupils to the school taught by G. W. Dill, of the Indiantown building. For a number of years the lowest Primary boys and girls in the Madras building had been in separate departments. At the beginning of the autumn term Miss Baxter was placed in charge of the youngest boys and girls of the First Grade, while the older pupils of this grade were sent to the next higher school, presided over by Miss S. Gray. Under the former arrangement there were usually three classes of pupils; there should be but two classes in each room under the present system. In September, the number of pupils enrolled in the lowest Primary Department of the Winter Street School reached 100, while the enrolment in the Madras Primary School was abnormally high. To remedy this evil we were forced to open an eleventh school in the former building. This feat was accomplished by utilizing a portion of the Assembly Hall for that purpose. On the 24th of this month a new school was opened. At the beginning of December a Night School was organized in the Indiantown building for the reception of males of fourteen years of age and upwards, who were unable to attend the regular day schools. Mr. John E. Dean was appointed teacher of the school. The school was just organized when it became apparent that one room was altogether inadequate to provide accommodation for the pupils desiring to enrol their names. Accordingly, on the 7th of December, a new school was opened in the same building. When these schools were closed for the holidays there were eighty-two pupils enrolled. It is the intention of the Board to organize additional schools of this character in the new year, and thus enable those who are desirous of securing a better education in the fundamental branches than they now possess to do so. One noticeable feature of our night schools is the excellent behaviour of the pupils. The subjects taught are reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, and in the Advanced School, book-keeping. The schools are open during four nights in the week. With the steady growth of our city and the increased regularity of attendance, the necessity for increased school accommodation become more urgent year by year. Many of our schools are too large too admit of effective work. Especially is this the case in the Winter street building, and should there be no falling off in the attendance, we foresee the need of opening a new school in that building within a few months if we desire that our schools shall maintain their present efficiency. A few years ago our school buildings were comparatively new, and but slight repairs had to be made. To-day this is not the case, and during the past summer our bill for repairs has been no unimportant item in the expenditure. The most extensive and costly repairs and improvements were made in connection with the Indiantown, Peel street, Madras and Winter street buildings. The lighting and ventilation of the Madras School have been much improved by the addition of new windows and transoms to this building. The repairs and improvements in connection with the Bentley and St. Peters's buildings were likewise quite extensive, the cost being borne by the owners of these structures. The grading examinations were held in the months of May and June. According to table No. 7, it will be seen that 1722 pupils were presented for grading, of whom 1454 pupils passed the prescribed tests. The figures for the past year are somewhat lower than those for the previous year. This can easily be accounted for in the decreased attendance owing to the prevalence of contagious disease. With his usual generosity C. H. Livingston, Esq., presented twenty book prizes to our pupils at the midsummer closing of the schools. The following table gives the particulars in connection with the competitive examinations: Competitive Examinations, 1888. GRADE. NAME OF PUPIL. NAME OF TEACHER. NAME OF BUILDING. NATURE OF EXAMINATION. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. VII. VIII. IX. VII. VIII. John McMinneman Miss Smyth...... St. Peter's Hall... Full Grade Work. Mabel Irving..... Mr. Machum. IX. Hermon Peck..... Mr. Dill. IV. V. VI. Maitland Mowry.. Miss Vanwart.... Bentley English Paper. Mathem'cal Paper 11 Lulu Watters..... Miss Sutherland... Indiantown The same number of prizes are offered by Mr. Livingston for competition for 1889. The Board has ordered that in future the examinations for grading shall be held in April and that the pupils shall be promoted to their new grades on the first teaching day of May. This transfer of pupils in the midst of the school term will entail considerable extra work upon the teachers, but as a unit they favored the change, having been consulted prior to the action of the Board. The advantages of this change are many and readily apparent to the most casual observer. Since 1885 we have been compelled to refuse admittance to First Grade pupils at the beginning of May, since we did not promote our schools until August. In future we shall be in a position to allow such pupils to enter school in May-the time, to our minds, when they should be allowed to do so. At the close of the Spring Term, certificates were presented to all the pupils who successfully passed the eighth and any higher grade. During the year the Maritime Educational Convention and the St. John County Teachers' Institute was held in St. John. At both these meetings large numbers of our teachers attended. All of which is respectfully submitted. Office of School Board, City of Portland, WM. KILPATRICK, Secretary. |
