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 GIFT OF 
 
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 REPORT OF THE SURVEY 
 
 ======= OF THE ============== 
 
 GRAFTON CITY SCHOOLS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOLS 
 
 M. P. SHAWKEY, STATE SUPERINTENDENT 
 
 CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA 
 
REPORT OF THE SURVEY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GRAFTON CITY SCHOOLS 
 
 AS MADE BY 
 
 DR. J. X. DEAHL, 
 
 HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, 
 WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY. 
 
 SUPT. JOSEPH ROSIER, 
 FAIRMONT CITY SCHOOLS. 
 
 SUPT. OTIS G. WILSON, 
 
 ELKINS CITY SCHOOLS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOLS 
 
 M. P. SHAWKEY, STATE SUPERINTENDENT, 
 
 CHARLESTON, W. VA. 
 
TRIBUNE PRINTINO CO., CHARLESTON, W. 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The State Department of Schools does not have so frequent oppor- 
 tunity for co-operating with the city schools as it does with the schools 
 of the country. For this reason it is all the more eager to take advan- 
 tage of such opportunities when they arise. In passing along the re- 
 port of the committee which made the survey of school conditions in 
 the city of Grafton a few months since, the Department feels that it 
 is rendering a service of real value to the people of this state. Boards 
 of education in the towns and cities especially should find the re- 
 port an interesting study. The report gives us an excellent discussion 
 of a school system, in the concrete,, and I feel that the educational world 
 at large owes a debt of gratitude to the Board of Education and the 
 people of Grafton for this valuable work. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 State Superintendent. 
 
June 14, 1913. 
 
 To the Honorable Board -of Education, 
 Grafton, W. Va., 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 In accordance with the agreement entered into with your body in 
 April, 1913, to make a survey of the schools under your supervision, we 
 have the honor to submit herewith the results of our investigation 
 covering the educational needs of your community f ro'm an industrial 
 standpoint, the scientific basis of a system of public education such as 
 is demanded in your community, the professional training and equip- 
 ment of the teachers employed, the course of study in use in the 
 schools, the methods of teaching and the plan of the school organiza- 
 tion, methods of administration as related to the assignment of teach- 
 ers, possible consolidations of departments and grades, current ex- 
 penditures, the purchase of supplies, and the need of a more adequate 
 high school equipment, as well as other suggestions dealing in detail 
 with the general management of the schools. 
 
 Industries and Occupations 
 
 The chief industries of Grafton for men are railroading, glass man- 
 ufacturing, metal working, wood working, clay working and office 
 working ; for women, home making, office and clerk work and sewing. 
 Conferences and interviews have been had with those who have charge 
 of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Grafton and who manage and di- 
 rect its operation, with the superintendents of the glass and tile indus- 
 tries, with some of the owners and managers of the metal and wood in- 
 dustries, with many of those who employ office and clerk help, with a 
 number of women who sew for the public. In every instance your com- 
 mittee was most cordially received and willingly assisted in its work. 
 In addition to this community study of industries, many of the business 
 men and professional men of your city were interviewed with reference 
 to the educational needs of your city. 
 
 The purpose of these conferences and interviews was to find the 
 attitude towards education, what the city schools are now doing for 
 the industries and occupations of the people of your city, what addi- 
 
\MfK tke{sJ;h(}(ils t Ui4y k be' reasonably expected to give, what co- 
 operation of the industries and occupations with the public schools in 
 bringing about any change that may seem wise and expedient to the 
 Board of Education may reasonably be expected from the industries 
 and occupations of your city. 
 
 Everywhere a very commendable attitude towards general educa- 
 tion was manifest. Superintendents and those who direct the work 
 of young men and women expressed preference for employing boys and 
 girls who have a high school education. If your committee may judge 
 from the conferences and interviews with many of your citizens as 
 well as with employers, the desire and demand for industrial educa- 
 tion in your schools is strong and urgent. There is also a willingness 
 on the part of employers, where it is practicable, to cooperate with the 
 schools in providing for shop work on the part plan system of school 
 attendance and shop work for which the boys will secure school credit. 
 
 It is true that any school system should contribute to the moral and 
 intellectual welfare of the community that supports the system. It is 
 also equally true that any school system should in a very direct way 
 reflect and contribute to the major industries of the community which 
 supports the system of schools. In fact the -moral and intellectual 
 welfare of any people is contributed to in the largest and most real 
 sense by aiding such people in their occupations. The major part of 
 life is work, either with the head or hands or with both head and 
 hands. The way to enrich life, to say nothing of increased efficiency, 
 is to rationalize the occupation of the individual. Dull and deaden- 
 ing routine and drudgery are raised to the plane of hopeful and life 
 producing work by rationalizing the occupation. In this way educa- 
 tion is life and life in turn reflects education. 
 
 The major industry in your city for men is railroading and the ma- 
 jor occupation for women is home making. Your schools should make 
 a reasonable return to the railroad for the money it contributes to the 
 support of your schools. In doing this your schools will at the same 
 time serve in a direct way many of the boys in your city. The rail- 
 road will, in the judgment of your committee, co-operate in this exten- 
 sion of your schools. The officials at Grafton have expressed to your 
 committee a disposition to do so and a desire for the boys entering the 
 railroad service to have educational opportunities to aid them in learn- 
 ing to become more efficient in its service. Your schools have a rare op- 
 portunity to render good service and in turn be helped by the railroad. 
 
 Home making is the chief occupation of women, yet it is more than 
 passing strange that our schools everywhere offer little or nothing for 
 
the home maker. This strange situation obtains quite as often in 
 colleges as in the grades and high schools. The education of girls 
 in most schools is a waste of time and energy and money if it does not 
 actually impair their capacity for successful home making. Our 
 schools can contribute not only to making happier and better homes 
 by teaching the things which home makers need to know but the 
 schools can, in a very real and effective way, help to solve the problem 
 of the high cost of living a very real and pressing problem. 
 
 Night Glasses 
 
 The Columbia Tile Co. employs 15 to 20 boys and the Tygarts Val- 
 ley Glass Co. employs 35 to 40 boys and girls. These boys and girls 
 will not be able to do part time in regular school owing to the nature of 
 their work. However, many of these girls and boys are now taking 
 correspondence courses. This should not be necessary. The city 
 should in some" way provide for the education of these young people. 
 A night school for these should be provided if, after proper investiga- 
 tion, the demand seems adequate. If this is not practicable, then your 
 schools should provide for some kind of extension work. This may 
 be done in an economical and successful way. 
 
 Sewing 
 
 There is an opportunity and need in your city for girls to learn to 
 sew, for the public. The persons interviewed in regard to the oppor- 
 tunity for sewing pointed out that girls who were able to do satisfactory 
 work could not be secured. For this reason the women who em- 
 ployed help discontinued their shops and are now taking what work 
 they can themselves do. 
 
 Sewing and dressmaking is a more desirable occupation for girls 
 who have capacity for such work and who have to make their way in 
 life than stenography and clerking, besides it fits for home-making 
 which girls look forward to. 
 
 A Go-operative Plan 
 
 It has been suggested elsewhere in this report that your city has an 
 opportunity to bring about a cooperative plan beneficial both to your 
 industries and to your schools. The railroad with its shops is espe- 
 cially well suited for such a plan. Other industries will also furnish 
 opportunity on a smaller scale. It may be the railroad would not 
 
 7 
 
only cooperate with its shops etc., but give financial support in equip- 
 ping your manual training department. 
 
 It could well afford to do so as a business proposition. An instance 
 of such aid to schools is found in Altoona, Pa. The Pennsylvania 
 Railroad in 1905 equipped the Altoona high school manual training 
 department at a total cost of about $30,000. To secure such assist- 
 ance from the railroad you would need first to erect an adequate high 
 school building which you now badly need. 
 
 The cooperative plan is at present organized in many towns and 
 cities. Some of these are Beverly, Mass. ; Fitchburg, Mass. ; Rochester, 
 N, Y. ; Peoria, 111., and many larger cities. The plan is to have the 
 boys attend school part time and work in the shops part time, for 
 which school credit is given. Certain hours per week, or half day time 
 or one week is given alternately to shop and school. Some such co- 
 operative plan is entirely feasible in Grafton. 
 
 In your present school system a manual training plant could be in- 
 stalled. The cost need not be considerable. Much of the equipment 
 could be made in Grafton. The plant once started, the boys could 
 make much of the equipment while being taught to work in wood and 
 metal. Some estimates of cost of equipment in manual training and 
 home economics have been secured. 
 
 The minimum cost for furnishing a domestic science department 
 "ir 16 to 24 girls would be about $332 to $540. This would not in- 
 
 ude plumbing and some storage shelves, the cost of which would de- 
 
 2nd upon the building, present plumbing, etc. 
 
 An estimated cost for an economical outfit for wood-working for 24 
 pupils would be $535 to $1080. 
 
 A forge shop independent of the railroad shops could be equipped 
 for $1378 for general tools and $1390 for individual tools, for 20 pu- 
 pils. A blacksmith shop for 20 pupils would cost probably not less 
 than $138. 
 
 The High School 
 
 The high school was inspected and studied with reference to the 
 plant and equipment, the program of studies, the organization, the 
 teaching and the needs of its pupils. The plant and equipment and 
 the organization are considered in another part of this report. It 
 should be said here, however, that your high school is not adequately 
 housed. The rooms now in use are quite insufficient. Xext year with 
 probably an increase of sixty or more pupils it will be very difficult to 
 
 8 
 
care for them in a proper manner. The high school is very much in' 
 need of an assembly room sufficient in size to accommodate the in- 
 creasing numbers of pupils and public meetings of a school or educa- 
 tional character. 
 
 The lighting in most of the high school rooms is very poor and 
 the ventilation unsatisfactory. The blackboards and equipment are 
 such as to render teaching and learning very much less effective than 
 it otherwise would be. The school is in need of additional maps, mod- 
 els, charts, apparatus, books, etc. 
 
 The spirit and attitude of the high school pupils is good. The pu- 
 pils manifest a very earnest desire to learn and they show by their 
 class work reasonable industry in their studies. A considerable num- 
 ber of boys and girls in your school are pursuing studies for which 
 neither nature has fitted them nor the demands of our present civili- 
 zation require of them. Many of the failures in studies are due nei- 
 ther to failure of application on the part of pupils nor to earnest en- 
 deavor on the part of instructors to teach but rather to lack of capac- 
 ity for some studies and the remoteness of other studies from the 
 life interests of the pupils. 
 
 Your high school teachers will compare quite favorably with those 
 of other towns and cities of the state. Their desire to help their pupils 
 is evident. Their academic preparation is satisfactory; the profes- 
 sional knowledge of some of them is adequate ; in some cases it is not 
 sufficient. High school teachers should have professional training com- 
 mensurate with their academic training. A reasonable knowledge of 
 youth, their instincts and capacities, of the nature and aim of edu- 
 cation, of the education values of studies, of the learning process, etc.. 
 is necessary to do good school work. 
 
 The program of studies in your school has been improved very much 
 in recent years. It needs further revision in the direction of present 
 needs of the boys and girls and of the community. It could with a 
 few changes be made a very effective program. The present organiza- 
 tion into four curricula should be made less restrictive. If the boys 
 and girls are to receive the benefits of a high school education, |here 
 should be more frequent and closer supervision in the selection of 
 studies. It should be easier for a pupil to readjust his studies when 
 they are found not to be educative to him, that is, when he is not get- 
 ting the proper amount of knowledge and the kind he will use in his 
 life. A pupil cannot get the education values of studies unless he 
 can do the subject well and with satisfaction to himself. High school 
 teachers should be able to judge with accuracy whether pu- 
 
pils are doing as well in their studies as reasonable application 
 would enable them to do their studies. To form such a correct judg- 
 ment, the pupils must do a part of their lesson preparation under the 
 immediate supervision of the teacher ; class work alone will not reveal 
 whether the pupil is making proper application. When it is found 
 that a pupil with reasonable time and energy given a subject is not get- 
 ting the educative value of the study, the program should be flexible 
 enough to permit the pupil to change his study. . 
 
 The following recommendations are made with reference to studies in 
 your High School: 
 
 1. Of the 16 units necessary for graduation, English should be required. 
 The only other requirement should be a resaonable grouping of studies 
 as follows: two majors of not fewer than three units each and three 
 minors of not fewer than two units each. It may be not less than a 
 unit of home economics should be required of all girls. This requirement 
 would depend upon the facilities of the school to give the subject. If the 
 equipment is adequate, the requirement should be made. 
 
 2. In English the amount of technical grammar and language study 
 should be reduced. The history of literature should be omitted, except 
 what is necessary to a reasonable understanding of the literary selections 
 studied in school by the pupils. 
 
 3. In mathematics, a more modern text should be used in algebra and 
 a briefer text in geometry. Plane trigonometry should doubtless be 
 offered in your high school for those who desire it. In the eighth grade 
 the elements of algebra should be taught in connection with the arith- 
 metic. This may be done in such a way as to improve the arithmetic and 
 serve as a guide and basis for further study of mathematics in the High 
 School. The pupils should not be required to have a text in algebra in 
 the grades. 
 
 4. The commercial studies should be bookkeeping, shorthand and 
 typewriting. A minimum speed test should be fixed in stenography for 
 those who take it. Sophomore standing should be required for admission 
 to the commercial studies. 
 
 The writing, spelling and English necessary for commercial studies 
 should be taught in connection with other subjects and in other classes. 
 A pupil deficient in these subjects should not be permitted to enter 
 commercial studies. You are now paying for the teaching of writing in 
 the grades. Spelling is more economically taught in connection with 
 other studies in the High School. This is also true of language forms. 
 There is abundant opportunity for writing, spelling and grammar forms 
 in high school studies. Correct form should be insisted on in all written 
 work done by pupils. 
 
 5. The High School should offer mechanical drawing, for which 
 preparation should be made in the grades with free-hand drawing. 
 
 6. Home economics for girls and manual training for boys should be 
 provided for in the High School. The former subject should consist of 
 
 10 
 
domestic science and sewing. It may be that you could with your present 
 plant offer the sewing in the eighth grade to better advantage than in the 
 High School. 
 
 The manual training should consist of wood and metal work. The metal 
 work should include at least forging, filing and chipping. 
 
 7. Your city has an opportunity to do co-operative work of shop and 
 school. 
 
 The co-operative plan will enable many of your boys who now receive 
 little or no advantage of your High School to secure a secondary education. 
 
 The plan will be economical for the city and contribute directly to your 
 major industries. The plan will also contribute to your High School in 
 bringing it closer to the people and thereby secure for it larger confidence 
 and support from your people. 
 
 8. There are both educational advantages and economy in furnishing 
 free text books. It seems the Board could well afford to begin the 
 introduction of free text books by securing a few of the books most 
 generally used. At any rate, the library books should be very consider- 
 ably increased in number. 
 
 Moral Education 
 
 We are living in an age of transition industrial, political, social, 
 moral change. The school is the institution to which the public may 
 rightfully look for guidance in such a time when either development 
 or decay may result. We should recognize that the old social and 
 moral standards will not return. The old social order is quite as im- 
 possible and undesirable today as the old industrial and political 
 standards. The school must not only readjust itself but it must con- 
 tribute to the development of moral and social efficiency of a rationally 
 conscientious kind. Boys and girls must be taught to see the need and 
 worth of correct moral conduct and character. Success and happiness 
 depend upon right moral standards in both the occupation and the 
 avocation of a people. 
 
 The school in its organization and in its studies has an opportunity 
 to teach correct moral standards and right moral practice. In doing 
 this the emphasis must be in teaching moral ideas, not ideas about 
 morality. Effective teaching will be indirect. The concrete situ- 
 ations will be clearly presented and pupils left to draw their own con- 
 clusions. Error on the part of pupils will be corrected not by teach- 
 ing the right conclusion but by more suitable situations more clearly 
 presented. In moral education the pupil must do his own thinking 
 and accept responsibility if character is to be developed. The govern- 
 ment of the school, lesson preparation, pupil activities, opening exer- 
 cises, history, literature, the daily and weekly press, biography, stories, 
 
 11 
 
etc., furnish abundant occasion and opportunity for moral teaching 
 of a very effective kind. 
 
 To assist the schools in the moral development of its pupils your 
 committee recommends that the Board of Education require that in 
 each school the opening, exercises be directed to moral teaching, that 
 this teaching be as well planned and supervised as the remaining teach- 
 ing of the day, and that a reading suitable to the grade of pupils and 
 well rendered be provided by the teacher. It is further recommended 
 that a portion of these readings be short selections, about ten to twen- 
 ty lines, from the Bible, without comment. 
 
 The Commercial Department 
 
 Your committee made as careful study of the demands for commer- 
 cial education in the city and of the character of the work your com- 
 mercial department is now doing as the time for the survey would per- 
 mit. The number of persons now employed in the city according to 
 the best estimates available are bookkeeping 54, stenography, 27, 
 general 20, total 101. This estimate is liberal but it should be noted 
 that with a sufficient number of well prepared persons available, this 
 number would doubtless increase. 
 
 It does not seem wise, at this time, to discontinue this department. 
 It is very desirable to afford boys and girls a better opportunity for a 
 commercial education than the so-called business colleges with their 
 short and misleading courses afford. The examination of the work 
 seems to indicate that your department can economically prepare boys 
 and girls for successful bookkeeping and stenography. 
 
 Organization of Elementary School 
 
 It is necessary in public school administration that children be 
 taught in groups. This is an economic necessity, and the size of the 
 group under each teacher will depend upon local conditions and upon 
 the resources available for school purposes in the community. In com- 
 munities where school revenues are available groups may be smaller 
 than in poorer communities. 
 
 Within the group of pupils under any one teacher it has been the 
 aim of modern educational practice to secure homogeneity either in 
 the entire class or within two or more divisions of it. These groups 
 constitute the grades and the method of adjustment of pupils to these 
 grades is called the graded system. The purpose here is to have within 
 
 12 
 
the grade the minimum of individual differences among pupils for the 
 reason that the largest number may be economically taught. 
 
 The graded system pre-supposes a carefully planned course of study 
 increasing in difficulty from grade to grade, and the pupils of equal 
 ability are grouped in their proper places in such a course of study. 
 
 The graded system of schools provides for the readjustment of 
 the individual pupils at stated periods. At the end of the half year 
 or year there is a formal re-classification of pupils called promotion. 
 Pupils who have given satisfactory evidence of having completed the 
 work of the grade to which they have been assigned, and give evidence 
 that they can do the work of the succeeding grade, are moved into the 
 next grade, while those who have failed to keep pace are dropped back 
 to repeat the work of the grade. 
 
 That form of readjustment which requires pupils who do not keep 
 pace to remain in a given grade for another year is wasteful. The 
 best test of the efficiency of a school system" is found in the provision 
 made for the proper classification of children and for their progress 
 through the schools. Such a provision removes grade distinctions, 
 keeps at a minimum the number of "repeaters," and secures the most 
 economic expenditure of school revenues. 
 
 The records of school attendance in Grafton for the present year 
 show that many pupils dropped out of school during the sixth, seventh, 
 and eighth months. On entering school next year these pupils must 
 enter the grade they entered a year ago and repeat the first six, seven 
 or eight months' work which they did this year. More flexible grading 
 would provide against so much loss of time on the part of the pupil, 
 and less expenditure of money for the instruction of these "repeaters." 
 If each grade were divided in B and A sections each requiring a half 
 year's instead of a year's work, the grading would be more liberal and 
 grade distinctions would be lessened. It is entirely expedient in a sys- 
 tem of schools the size of Grafton to have the half yearly instead of the 
 yearly promotions. 
 
 An attempt has been made to ascertain to what extent, if at all, the 
 pupils in Grafton have suffered because of the present method of clas- 
 sification and promotion. The eighth grades in the different build- 
 ings were visited and certain data secured which may be stated as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 The ninety-nine pupils in the eighth grade who were present on the 
 day the data were gathered, will average 14 years and 7 months old at 
 the end of this present school year. This means that on the average 
 
 13 
 
these pupils on entering high school in September next will be nearly 
 15 years old. 
 
 Twenty-one of the ninety-nine pupils, all of whom were born in 
 Graf ton, will average 15 years and 8 months old at the end of this pres- 
 ent school year. This means that 21 of these pupils on entering the 
 high school in September will be nearly 16 years old. 
 
 The average of the ninety-nine pupils shows that these pupils will 
 be entering high school almost a year late. 
 
 The average of the twenty-one pupils shows that they will be entering 
 the high school almost two years late. 
 
 This retardation, which is not alarming, is not proof against the 
 present system of classification and promotion, but it is evidence. 
 Furthermore, in order that the evidence be complete, it would be nec- 
 essary to have similar data not only from pupils who belong in the 
 eighth grade not attending school, but also from at least the fifth, 
 sixth and seventh grades. 
 
 The test of the efficiency of a school system, so far as the study of 
 progress through the system is concerned, is incomplete unless the 
 ratio of the children in school to the school population is considered. 
 A school system might have no element of retardation, no "repeat- 
 ers" at all, and yet not have half the school population enrolled. 
 Hence a grossly inefficient system might appear to be highly efficient. 
 The total number of pupils enrolled in the public elementary and high 
 schools of Grafton at the time this survey was made, not counting the 
 42 colored pupils, was 1263. The ratio of this enrollment to the 
 school census, which is 1966, according to the figures furnished the com- 
 mission, is unusually low. 
 
 Present Time Allotment 
 
 Geography as a formal study is begun in the fourth grade and carried 
 through the eighth. This is more time than should be devoted to the 
 text-book study of geography, and is out of harmony with modern ed- 
 ucational practice. History as a formal study is begun in the fifth 
 grade and carried through the eighth. This amount is somewhat in 
 excess of present day practice. Hygiene, Sanitation, and Physiology is 
 taught in grades fourth to eighth inclusive. Three texts, the Primer 
 of Hygiene, the Primer of Sanitation, and Human Physiology are 
 used. In addition to these texts the Gulick books are used as supple- 
 mentary. 
 
 Important as the study of Hygiene, Sanitation and Physiology is, 
 
 14 
 
it is suggested that this study with a text be confined to hygiene and 
 sanitation in one grade instead of four, that one book instead of three 
 be used. 
 
 Arithmetic is begun as a formal study in the fourth grade and con- 
 tinued through the eighth grade. A careful investigation as to the 
 amount of time spent on arithmetic shows that the time allotted to it 
 is considerably in excess of modern practice. 
 
 We find, for example, in the sixth and seventh grades in the West 
 Side and Central Schools that a greater time-allotment is given arith- 
 metic than is given by the leading cities of the United States, as is 
 shown below. The figures indicate the number of minutes per week 
 devoted to arithmetic: 
 
 Cities. Grade. 
 
 6th. 7th. 
 
 New York 200 200 
 
 Chicago 150 150 
 
 Philadelphia 225 225 
 
 St. Louis 150 150 
 
 Boston 230 210 
 
 Cleveland 250 300 
 
 Baltimore 250 275 
 
 Pittsburgh 240 300 
 
 Detroit 250 275 
 
 San Francisco 250 250 
 
 Milwaukee 200 200 
 
 Cincinnati 300 300 
 
 Grafton 300 375 
 
 In the sixth and seventh grades the following is suggested as reasonable 
 time-allotment for the different groups of subjects: 
 
 I. Language (including reading, writing, spelling, composition, Eng- 
 lish grammar and literature), one-fourth. 
 
 II. Mathematics (including arithmetic, oral and mental), one-eighth. 
 
 III. Elementary science (including nature study, physiology, hygiene 
 
 and geography), three-sixteenths. 
 
 IV. History (including civil government, biography and history proper), 
 one-eighth. 
 
 V. Miscellaneous exercises (including music, drawing, industrial 
 training, physical exercises and recesses for games), five-sixteenths. 
 
 By simplifying and reorganizing the course of study and reducing 
 the time allotted to Arithmetic, Physiology and Hygiene, and Geog- 
 
 15 
 
raphy and History in accordance with modern educational practice, 
 the seventh and eighth grade pupils could devote one half day each 
 week to industrial work, the girls to cooking and sewing, and the boys 
 to manual training, and this would enable the public schools to offer 
 richest opportunities to the pupils and the best service to the com- 
 munity. The improvement of the course of study invariably enlarges 
 school attendance. 
 
 The Cost of Elementary Text-Books 
 
 The Board of Education is to be commended for making it possible 
 for pupils to purchase text-books at cost. But even with this provis- 
 ion it is the opinion of the committee that the cost of the books in the 
 aggregate in the different grades is greater than it should be. This 
 is due, not to the cost of the separate texts, for that is at a minimum, 
 but to the number of texts required to be bought. This is perhaps 
 not true in each of the grades, but taking the elementary grades as a 
 whole it is true. The actual cost of the texts in each of the grades is 
 as follows and is given in comparison with Elkins where the Board does 
 not furnish books at cost: 
 
 Grade 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th Total 
 
 Grafton 91 .94 1.23 2.58 2.83 3.98 4.06 4.81 21.34 
 
 Elkins 55 .76 1.53 1.48 2.49 3.42 3.49 3.49 17.21 
 
 Difference 36 .18 .30 1.10 .34 .56 .57 1.32 4.13 
 
 By reducing the number of texts as suggested above the cost of books 
 to pupils would be materially lessened. It should be stated that com- 
 parison in the cost of texts is made with Elkins not necessarily be- 
 cause the cost of the texts in the latter city is representative of the cost 
 elsewhere, but because Elkins provides for semi-annual promotion 
 and classification of pupils which, it is often argued, increases the cost 
 of texts. 
 
 Size of Glasses 
 
 The number of pupils that teachers have under their care is not ex- 
 cessive. In fact the number of pupils allotted to teachers in the Graf- 
 ton school is in most cases unusually low, but where revenues make it 
 possible to have a minimum of pupils under teachers such an arrange- 
 
 16 
 
ment provides for best teaching conditions. The average number of 
 pupils belonging to teachers is as follows : 
 
 School Enrollment Teachers Average 
 
 East End 153 6 25.5 
 
 South Side 145 6 24 
 
 First Ward 186 6 31 
 
 Central School . . .% 273 8 34 
 
 West Side . 286 10 29 
 
 TOTAL 1,043 36 29 
 
 It is evident from the above figures that the average number of pu- 
 pils belonging to each teacher is low, hence it is reasonable to expect 
 so far as numbers are concerned that conditions for good teaching are 
 provided. 
 
 i 
 
 Elementary Teachers 
 
 Of the 36 teachers employed to teach white pupils, 
 
 6 teachers have taught 12 years or more. 
 
 13 7 and not more than 11 years. 
 
 2 5 6 
 
 7 3 4 
 
 6 " " " 2 years. 
 
 2 " 1 year. 
 
 Nineteen of the thirty-six teachers are graduates of normal schools, 
 seminaries or colleges; thirteen teachers state that they are merely 
 graduates of the Graf ton High School; four teachers do not state 
 their academic or professional preparation. Of the thirty-six teach- 
 ers eight teachers, two men and six women, are married. One teacher 
 holds a second grade certificate. 
 
 In order that the city might receive the best service for the money 
 xpended for its schools, and that the school system keep pace with 
 lie school system of other similar sized cities, it is suggested that there 
 ^e a higher standard for eligibility to teach in the Grafton schools. 
 
 The following may be taken as a minimum standard so far as aca- 
 demic and professional qualifications are concerned : 
 
 1. License: The holding of a first-grade teachers' certificate, good 
 throughout the state for the time for which the teacher is employed. 
 City certificates should be granted when teachers have no opportunity 
 to get a state license. 
 
 1 
 
2. (a) The academic preparation: Graduation from a first-class high 
 school or its equivalent. 
 
 (b) Professional preparation: Two years professional and 
 academic training in the normal schools of the state, in the State 
 University, or in denominational schools whose normal departments are 
 recognized by the State Board of Education, or in reputable professional 
 schools elsewhere. 
 
 Superior experience which has been gained under expert supervision 
 in public schools may be taken as satisfying for the* professional work. 
 
 As a means for providing for the growth of teachers in service and 
 furnishing a stimulus for the reading and study of professional litera- 
 ture, systematic reading circle work under the leadership of the super- 
 intendent of schools should be provided. Such a provision would en- 
 able teaching efficiency more nearly to keep pace with length of service. 
 
 The matter of the selection of teachers should be in the hands of an 
 educational expert or experts. Most boards of education have real- 
 ized that they cannot perform this duty effectively and in consequence 
 the matter has been delegated to the superintendent of schools directly 
 or indirectly. 
 
 The schools are poorly supplied with equipment as is shown in an- 
 other part of this report. It has come to be regarded as a necessity 
 that schools be supplied with supplementary readers particularly in 
 the first four grades. It is very much better for the child to read three 
 or four readers of the same grade than to read one reader three or four 
 times. New material keeps up interest in reading and where interest 
 is the learning is at the maximum. By all means the grades mention- 
 ed should have three or four sets of supplementary readers, there being 
 about fifteen or twenty books to the set. Above the fourth grade the 
 schools should be supplied with supplementary books on geography, 
 history and the like. Such a provision would materially increase con- 
 ditions for good teaching and economic learning. 
 
 Summary ol Suggestions 
 
 L That provision be made for half-yearly instead of yearly classifica- 
 tion of pupils. 
 
 2. That the course of study be reorganized so as to provide for an 
 equitable time-allotment for each subject, and for enrichment, (a) Less 
 time for geography, history, arithmetic and physiology and hygiene, 
 (b) The introduction of industrial work in the seventh and eighth grades. 
 
 3. That a reduction be made in the number of text boks used by 
 pupils in certain of the grades. 
 
 4. That there be a careful consideration of the size of classes to 
 
 18 
 
ascertain whether the school revenues warrant so few pupils on the 
 average per teacher. 
 
 5. That the standard of eligibility for teachers in the public schools 
 be raised. 
 
 6. That the schools be provided with better equipment, particularly 
 with supplementary readers, maps and globes. 
 
 Possibilities of Consolidation 
 
 In our judgment the efficiency of these schools requires the employ- 
 ment of regular school principals at the Central Building, the West 
 Side, and the First Ward. The number of teachers assigned to and 
 employed in the South Side and East End schools are more than are 
 generally employed in other cities for schools of similar enrollment. 
 In Bluefield we find four teachers employed in a school with an enroll- 
 ment of 173, and the same number in another with an enrollment of 
 161; in Charleston five teachers are assigned to one school with an en- 
 rollment of 197; in Fairmont four teachers to a school with an en- 
 rollment of 151; in Morgan town 6 teachers are employed in a school 
 with an enrollment of 315; in Parkersburg six teachers in a school of 
 305 enrollment, and four in one of 158 enrollment; in Wellsburg six 
 teachers are employed in a school with 237 enrollment, and five in one 
 with 157 enrollment. 
 
 In the South Side school we found six teachers employed for a school 
 with an enrollment of 145, and in the East End six teachers in a school 
 with an enrollment of 153. It is our opinion that with a closer grad- 
 ing and organization of the pupils in these two schools, four 
 teachers in the East End, and five in the South Side would be 
 sufficient to take care of the pupils now enrolled in these schools or 
 those likely to be enrolled next year, as indicated by this year's enumer- 
 ation. We believe this can be done without detriment to the children 
 in these schools, and without placing any unusual burdens upon the 
 teachers. The money saved at this point would secure a fairly good 
 instructor in each of the subjects of manual training, and domestic 
 science, for the High School and the upper grades. This would give 
 the average 29 pupils to each teacher employed in the grades below 
 the High School. Estimated upon the basis of the reports made to 
 the State Superintendent in the annual directory of the schools of dif- 
 ferent cities in the State for the present year the following average en- 
 rollment per teacher in the grades below the High School is shown : 
 
 Charleston 37 
 
 Clarksburg 35 
 
 19 
 
Fairmont 38 
 
 Martinsburg 36 
 
 Mannington 38 
 
 Morgantown 44 
 
 Moundsville 43 
 
 Parkersburg 38 
 
 Wellsburg 36 
 
 Weston 36 
 
 The efficiency of this school system can be improved by gradually 
 reorganizing the grades below the High School so that the average en- 
 rollment for each teacher will be between 35 and 40 pupils, and apply- 
 ing the money thus saved to the employment of a drawing supervisor, 
 and instructor in manual training and domestic science. Your com- 
 mittee recognizes the fact that there may be local geographical and 
 neighborhood conditions that would interfere with such readjust- 
 ments. Such reorganization should be brought about with the ap- 
 proval of the majority of patrons after clear explanations have been 
 given of the plans for the general betterment of the schools. 
 
 The comparative cost of the various elementary schools based upon 
 the number of pupils enrolled in each school and the total amount 
 paid the past year for teachers may be observed from the following fig- 
 ures: 
 
 Cost per capita of teaching for pupils enrolled: 
 
 Central Building $15.66 
 
 First Ward 16.68 
 
 West Side 18.25 
 
 East End 20.30 
 
 South Side 20.48 
 
 To show the comparative annual cost oil elementary instruction in 
 various localities the following figures based upon the cost of teaching 
 in different representative schools are cited : 
 
 Carlisle School, Clarksburg $15.11 
 
 Fifth Ward School, Fairmont 15.95 
 
 Third Ward School, Elkins 13.26 
 
 Burke Street School, Martinsburg 13.24 
 
 Second Ward School, Morgantown 12.53 
 
 Third Ward School, Moundsville 11.51 
 
 Nash School, Parkersburg 16.14 
 
 Main Street School, Sistersville 15.27 
 
 It should be said that the per capita cost of elementary teaching can 
 
 20 
 
easily be reduced to the point where it will result in overcrowding and 
 inefficiency. A system of elementary schools in which the average en- 
 rollment per teacher is thirty-five pupils would be considered ideal for 
 efficiency, and in many places an average of forty pupils to the teacher 
 would be regarded as an efficient organization. We find at the time 
 of this survey that in the Grafton schools there is an enrollment of 1085 
 in the elementary schools with 37 teachers and principals last year, 
 while that of the South Side has increased over the preceding year. 
 This must have an influence on the enrollment in these schools next 
 year, and must therefore be taken into consideration in any adjust- 
 ment that may be made in the assignment of teachers. 
 
 We have gone over the enrollment by rooms and grades as furnished 
 to us by your Superintendent, and we suggest tentative plans for still 
 further consolidations: The tendency in the upper grades in many 
 progressive schools now is to provide for what is known as department- 
 al work. Two or three of the upper grades are organized on a basis 
 of subjects, and teachers are assigned to the different subjects as you 
 have it partially arranged in your Central and West Side schools. It 
 would seem feasible and advisable to bring the upper grade pupils in 
 the South Side schools to the West Side building, and place them in 
 the departmental classes there, and the upper grade pupils in the East 
 End school could be placed in the departmental classes at the Central 
 Building. It might be possible in this arrangement to reduce the 
 teaching force, but if that could not be done, it ought to result in bet- 
 ter work for the grammar grade pupils now enrolled in the small upper 
 classes in the South Side and the East End. If this plan should be 
 adopted there would be no need to employ regular principals at these 
 two buildings. The woman teaching the upper grade could be allow- 
 ed ten or fifteen dollars extra per month to exercise some general over- 
 sight of the building, while the supervision of the teaching and the 
 schools in general could be attended to by the Superintendent. The 
 present plan of employing principals at the First Ward, the Central 
 and West Side schools should be continued, and if possible the prin- 
 cipals at these schools should be given part time for supervision. 
 
 Salary Schedule 
 
 In establishing a salary schedule in a system of schools two things 
 must be taken into consideration first, the number of years experience 
 in teaching or the length of service, second, professional training and 
 growth, including academic and pedagogical training and success in 
 
 21 
 
class room work. We find here an elementary school system of forty- 
 one teachers in which grade teachers with a few exceptions are paid 
 fifty dollars per month, and the principals with one exception are paid 
 ninety dollars per month. In most cities the salaries of principals 
 are graduated in relation to the number of teachers employed under 
 them, or the number of children over which they have supervision. 
 Unless there are local reasons for varying from this principle, we sug- 
 gest that the schedule of salaries for principals be arranged with ref- 
 erence to the number of children enrolled in the school. In small 
 school systems such as this the marking or rating of teachers for the 
 purpose of fixing salaries may result in friction and dissatisfaction, so 
 that it may probably be more practicable to adopt the plan of dividing 
 the teachers into classes determined by the number of years they have 
 taught in these schools and schools of similar grade. An arrange- 
 ment of salaries based upon present expenditures that would encour- 
 age the older teachers in the system, and should not discourage the 
 younger ones desiring positions might be fixed as follows : 
 
 First year for those without experience in graded school teaching^ 
 $40.00 per month. 
 
 Second year for those with one year's experience in graded school 
 work, $45.00 per month. 
 
 Third year for those with three years' experience in graded school 
 work, $50.00 per month. 
 
 Fourth year for those with four years' experience in graded school 
 work, $55.00 per month. 
 
 Fifty-five dollars per month would be the maximum for teachers 
 from the second to the seventh grade inclusive. Teachers of the first 
 and eighth grades in these schools should be put in a special class with 
 a maximum salary of $60 per month provided they have had the re- 
 quired training, and at least five years' successful experience in teach- 
 ing. We make this suggestion because we believe that in a school sys- 
 tem such as this the best teachers should be assigned to the first and 
 the eighth grades. The amount of money saved in employing younger 
 teachers at the minimum salary will provide for the increased expendi- 
 tures required for the first and eighth grades. 
 
 A salary schedule for principals based upon the present maximum 
 amount paid would be about as follows: 
 
 For schools having over 250 children enrolled, $90 per month. 
 For schools having from 200 to 250 enrolled, $80 per month. 
 For schools having fewer than 200 enrolled, $70 per month. 
 
 22 
 
It must be understood that the welfare of the schools, and fairness 
 and justice to the principals and teachers now employed would require 
 that the salary adjustment here suggested be made gradually, and that 
 no principal or teacher now employed in the schools should suffer a re- 
 duction in salary. No Board of Education can hope for success in its 
 administration of a school system, if it does not treat its teachers with 
 absolute fairness and justice. 
 
 If found practicable the classification based upon years of service 
 may be modified by taking into consideration professional merit and 
 preparation, and success and efficiency in teaching. The estimates of 
 professional preparation should be based upon the records of scholar- 
 ship in the high school courses of study, and in advanced courses of 
 study in the normal school or the University or college together with 
 specific reports of practice teaching done in the training school under 
 expert supervision. Estimates of efficiency in teaching should be based 
 upon the observations and reports of the superintendent made at 
 many different times and directed to the fair and impartial consid- 
 eration of such qualities as power of discipline, mastery of the method 
 of teaching, organization and presentation of subject matter, capacity 
 for improvement and growth, and personality as it manifests its in- 
 fluence in the lives of the children. 
 
 Those teachers lacking many years of experience who show marked 
 ability and efficiency in their teaching could on recommendation of 
 the superintendent be placed on a higher salary by action of the 
 Board of Education. Those teachers failing to show increased effi- 
 ciency with their years of experience could on such report being made 
 by the superintendent be placed on a lower salary or dismissed from 
 service. Such readjustments as are here suggested would be made only 
 after every means had been exhausted for the improvement of the 
 teacher by the superintendent through suggestion, instruction, direc- 
 tion and supervision, so that no teacher could have any grounds for 
 justly charging unfairness or injustice. 
 
 The salaries of instructors in a High School the size of the Grafton 
 High School should be such as will secure and hold well prepared teach- 
 ers of successful experience in competition with cities of similar size. 
 With a range of salaries under those prevailing in other high schools, 
 your high school will constantly suffer from the loss of teachers who 
 will go out to those schools paying larger salaries. As a basis of com- 
 parison we note the following brief table of principals' and high school 
 teachers' salaries in a number of representative cities : 
 
 23 
 
Average High School 
 City Principal's Salary. Teacher's Salary. 
 
 Clarksburg $1,500 $90 and $96 
 
 Elkins 1,350 90 
 
 Fairmont 1,650 90 
 
 Morgantown 1,500 90 
 
 Moundsville 1,100 75 
 
 Wellsburg 1,400 85 
 
 With the consolidations suggested in another part of this report, 
 and with the abolition or modification of the commercial department 
 of the High School, it would be possible to make such adjustments 
 with the funds now applied to the High School as to provide a salary 
 scale that would compare favorably with cities of similar size. 
 
 Sanitary Conditions 
 
 The sanitary condition of your school buildings is probably not 
 worse than that of many other buildings in the towns and cities of the 
 State, but new demands are arising in this respect, and judged by mod- 
 ern standards, the sanitary conditions of the basements and toilets in 
 the different buildings are bad. 
 
 The sanitary fixtures in the new South Side building are modern, 
 and in good condition, but they must be cleaned occasionally if they 
 are to be kept in proper condition. The basement of the West Side is 
 in very good condition, but the toilet bowls ought to be thoroughly 
 scrubbed, and the stools painted. 
 
 The basement of the Central Building is in a very unsanitary con- 
 dition. The trash and rubbish of years' accumulation ought to be re- 
 moved and burned, the walls cleaned and painted or white-washed. 
 It has been years since the closet stools in this building have been clean- 
 ed. They should be gone over thoroughly, cleaned and disinfected and 
 the surrounding parts of the fixtures painted. 
 
 The toilets in the First Ward building are in a very unsanitary con- 
 dition, and need the same process of cleaning and disinfection. The 
 same may be said of the toilets in the East End building, which have 
 probably not been scrubbed and cleansed since they were put in. This 
 is a sort of work that janitors have not been in the habit of doing, and 
 some may object to doing it, but the fact remains that modern school 
 sanitation demands that this soft of cleaning must be done regularly 
 and systematically, either by the regular janitor or by some special 
 person employed for the purpose. 
 
 24 
 
If there be anything in the germ theory of disease, and the highest 
 scientific authorities are agreed that there is, then closets and urinals 
 in school buildings should have the most thorough care in order that 
 there may be no accumulation of germs about them. This care must 
 include frequent scrubbing, cleansing and disinfecting of closet bowls, 
 troughs and urinals, and the use of a good quality of disinfectant. 
 
 The floors of school buildings should be thoroughly scrubbed twice 
 a year with hot water and strong soap, and a light application of germi- 
 cide floor dressing or oil applied with a mop. If there is contagious 
 disease prevalent in the community, the desks and furniture in the 
 school rooms should be washed with an antiseptic solution, and the 
 rooms sealed and fumigated with an adequate quantity of formalde- 
 hyde gas. Formaldehyde candles are now on the market of sufficient 
 power to fumigate the average size school room. 
 
 The walls and ceilings in all of your school buildings excepting the 
 South Side are in an unsanitary condition. They should be gone over 
 with one or two coats of some brand of dull coat paint. This is im- 
 portant not only to the appearance of the rooms but to their health- 
 fulness. From every standpoint it pays to keep school rooms in a 
 clean and attractive condition. It may not be possible to make all of 
 these improvements at once, but we would suggest that plans be made 
 to carry out this suggestion in a period of years. In fact the painting 
 and renovating of school rooms ought to be a continuous process. 
 
 Improvements in Buildings and Grounds 
 
 The grounds of the South Side, and the First Ward buildings are in 
 need of improvement by grading, sodding and the building of walks. 
 There should be either cement or gravel walks in the approaches to 
 ach of these buildings. In case it should be decided to install domes- 
 tic science in the schools your committee is of the opinion that the 
 dwelling house located on the grounds of the Central Building now oc- 
 cupied by the family of the janitor, could without much expense be 
 fitted up for the use of classes in cooking and sewing. A room could 
 .also be arranged in the basement of the Central Building with some 
 excavation that would make fair provision for a class in woodworking. 
 There are also rooms in the basement of the West Side Building that 
 can be equipped for manual training work. The committee also notes 
 the fact that the building now being rented near the Central Building 
 for school purposes is in an unsanitary condition, and undesirable for 
 school use. There is vacant ground on the rear of the lot at this build- 
 
 25 
 
ing on which a temporary building of one or two rooms could be built 
 that would be far more satisfactory, and in the long run would effect a 
 financial saving to the Board. There are a number of firms in the 
 country now manufacturing portable school houses of one and two 
 rooms all ready to set up on the ground that can be purchased at a rea- 
 sonable price. 
 
 Current Expenditures 
 
 We have carefully studied the list of annual expenditures as fur- 
 nished by your Secretary and we make the following comment based 
 upon the list and our observations in the schools : 
 
 The amount paid for janitor service is not sufficient to secure or to 
 require such service as modern sanitation of school buildings demands. 
 
 The schools are inadequately supplied with materials for the teach- 
 ers to carry 011 their work. The annual estimate should carry a lib- 
 eral amount for the providing of the lower grade teachers with ma- 
 terials for the various forms of seat work, and for many sets of sup- 
 plementary readers, and for maps and books of reference in the differ- 
 ent grades. It is false economy to employ expensive teachers and neg- 
 lect to furnish them tools to work with. 
 
 The expenditure for medical inspection is not large, but we did not 
 find the specific results for this expenditure that ought to be in evi- 
 dence. If medical inspection stops with the hurried filling out of the 
 inspection cards, the money spent for it is wasted. Cases needing at- 
 tention ought to be followed up and correction secured. The medical 
 inspector with the principals and the Superintendent should make 
 an annual report showing the specific number of pupils whose physical, 
 ailments and defects have been treated or corrected as a result of the 
 examination by the medical inspector. 
 
 We believe that the expenditures in general are too low to insure ef- 
 ficiency in the operation of your plant. This is noticeably true in 
 the item of repairs, janitor service, apparatus, and general supplies. 
 
 The Purchase of Supplies 
 
 In a small school system such as this the best plan for the purchase 
 of supplies is probably to put such buying in the hands of the Super- 
 intendent. He is the official who ought to be most interested in the 
 matter, and who will be best informed as to what ought to be pur- 
 chased. He should be notified of the amount appropriated for supplies 
 
 26 
 
and held responsible for doing the best possible with the funds put 
 at his command. Itemized bills for all supplies purchased should be 
 submitted to the Board of Education after they have been checked up 
 and approved by the Superintendent. 
 
 Janitor supplies should be ordered by the head janitor in consulta- 
 tion with the Superintendent, and bills for such purposes should be 
 approved by one or both officials. 
 
 Apparatus and supplies for the laboratories in the High School 
 should be ordered by the Superintendent after consultation with the 
 teachers of the subjects requiring laboratory supplies. The Board of 
 Education should of course be specific as to the amount of funds it 
 has available for these various purposes, and the purchasing agents 
 suggested should be held to strict account for keeping within the 
 amount of the appropriation. 
 
 The supplies of all kinds should be kept in one central storeroom, 
 and distributed by requisition of janitors and principals on approval 
 of the Superintendent. 
 
 Money will be saved by submitting lists of supplies to two or three 
 dealers for estimates and bids, although it is not always wise to buy 
 the cheapest material. 
 
 New High School Equipment 
 
 The crown of the city school system is the high school. It provides 
 the higher training for the boys and girls who are capable and ambi- 
 tious, gives culture and higher ideals of life and training and skill for 
 vocational usefulness, and grace and force in social leadership. It 
 also provides the inspiration to the boys and girls below the high school 
 grades, leading them on to greater accomplishments. We find in this 
 community the nucleus for a good high school, but there is an urgent 
 need for a more adequate building, and better equipment. We find 
 that the enrollment in the High School for a period of nine years end- 
 ing with the present year has been as follows : 
 
 Year. Boys. Girls. Total. 
 
 1904-1905 15 45 60 
 
 1905-1906 28 56 84 
 
 1906-1907 34 64 98 
 
 1907-1908 35 69 104 
 
 1908-1909 43 84 127 
 
 1909-1910 . 65 102 167 
 
1910-1911 78 109 187 
 
 1911-1912 87 128 216 
 
 1912-1913 92 129 221 
 
 Judging by the number of pupils enrolled in the upper grades this 
 enrollment in the High School will continue to increase from year to 
 year. With the proper building and equipment it may be expected to 
 increase still more rapidly. The community which has a regard for 
 its future welfare can not neglect to provide the higher training for its 
 young people offered in the modern well-equipped high school. This 
 High School is in immediate need of a new modern building which 
 'shall contain at least ten class rooms, physical and chemical laborato- 
 ries and lecture rooms, rooms for manual training and domestic science, 
 a gymnasium, and an auditorium. Such a building as is needed can 
 be erected at a cost ranging from seventy-five to one hundred thousand 
 dollars. The funds would have to be provided by a bond issue. We 
 have gone into this matter with much care with a view of showing the 
 basis and the means of making this improvement. 
 
 We find that your district has a total property valuation of $7,792,- 
 000, and a net bonded indebtedness of $69,000, and that the tax levies 
 are as follows: Teachers' Fund 25 cents, High School Fund, 10 
 cents, Building Fund, 9 cents, and interest and sinking fund, 10 cents, 
 making a total tax rate of 6-t cents on the hundred dollars. The state 
 law provides that a school district may issue bonds to the amount of 
 two and one half percent of its valuation so that your district can 
 under the law bond itself to the amount of $194,000 approximately. 
 As compared with many other cities and towns of the state, your dis- 
 trict is not carrying a heavy bonded debt as may be seen from the fol- 
 lowing table of comparison : 
 
 Valuation. Bonded Debt. Total Tax Rate. 
 
 Wheeling $63,592,586 $1,040,000 30^4 
 
 Huntington $30,543,400 124,000 40 
 
 Elkins 5,702,000 90,000 60 V 2 
 
 Martinsburg 6,720,094 50,000 56 
 
 Wellsburg 4,764,556 97,000 741/4 
 
 Buckhannon 3,313,468 50,000 57% 
 
 Clarksburg 19,058,000 335,000 54y 2 
 
 Morgantown 14,105,410 135,000 48 
 
 Weston 4,780,738 75,000 56 
 
 Charleston 28,245,285 376,200 53 
 
 Fairmont 14,784,022 280,000 49 
 
 28 
 
Your district can issue bonds for a new High School building, lay- 
 ing the necessary levy for interest and sinking fund and still not be 
 much in excess of a number of districts that have made such improve- 
 ments in the last few years. We believe that the proper equipment 
 of your High School is the most important need of your school sys- 
 tem at the present time. Even though the making of this improve- 
 ment should involve an increase of taxation, we are confident that the 
 community will realize large dividends from such investment in the 
 better educational advantages afforded its young people, and the in- 
 creased community intelligence that will come from having a thor- 
 oughly modern high school building. 
 
 The ideal of every progressive community should be to provide such 
 educational opportunities as will make it possible for every capable 
 boy and girl to receive a thorough elementary and secondary educa- 
 tion. The future welfare and progress of your community will de- 
 pend upon the integrity and the efficiency of your citizenship. A fine 
 high school will develop the future men and women who will lead in 
 community advancement and betterment. The best investment you 
 as a city and community can make at this time, would be the expendi- 
 ture suggested here for a new high school. 
 
 Conclusion 
 
 It should be understood that the survey here given by your commit- 
 tee is suggestive, and that any recommendations as to modifications 
 of the school system or comments on prevailing conditions should not 
 be regarded as final. In many instances the plans here outlined may 
 require years for successful completion, and in the course of the yeajs 
 the plans themselves may undergo many modifications. The work- 
 ing out of the many ideas set forth in this report should be placed by 
 the Board of Education in the hands of its school superintendent who 
 should be an expert in matters of education, and school management 
 and organization. The superintendent, after consultation with the 
 Board of Education, and when he has secured a clear understanding 
 of the general policies and desires of the Board, should be given full 
 authority and support in carrying out his plans for the solution of the 
 problems herein outlined. 
 
 Eespectfully submitted, 
 
 J. N. DEAHL, 
 JOSEPH ROSIER, 
 OTIS G. WILSON. 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
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