2<2>4 A3 UC-NRLF $B bb Dlib CD LO X,fQ. <> Educational Conditions^ IN IDAHO WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Special Report of the Commissioner of Education (t .(p4^u^^crv».\ to the State Board; appgved by the Board for Pul Application for entry as second-class matter at the postoffice at Boise, Idaho, pending. ^..e ■K b STATE OR IDAHO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO David L. Evans President Malad Term expires April, 1915 Herman J. Rossi Vice-President Wallace Term expires April, 1916 l(Hl5*^Rl.AND Secretary Payette Term expires April, 1917 ^ Evan Evans Grangeville ^ Term expires April, 1918 Wai^TER S. Bruce Boise Term Expires April, 1919 Grace M. Shepherd, Superintendent Public Instruction, .Boise ex-officio Edward O. Sisson, Commissioner of Education LA Introductory Note. The report contained in this bulletin presents a brief sum- mary of educational conditions in the State and a proposal for reorganization of the State institutions. On this subject the Board and the Commissioner have sought not only facts but also advice and suggestions from many sources throughout the State ; the report is the outcome of this study, and is pub- lished for the consideration of the people of the State. The proposed change, or any other plan calling for considerable re- construction would of course require action by the Legislature. The aim of the plan is to increase and disseminate educational opportunity without increasing cost. The key-note of the method is co-operation. Certain points in the work of the State Board of Education are of such general interest that the following brief statements may be made concerning them. First is the question of economy. The state educational institutions are being conducted with the strictest economy. Care is being taken not to injure or derange the work of these schools, but no needless expenditure is allowed and the great- est results are sought for all money spent. The funds of each institution for the biennium are expended subject to a budget approved by the State Board ; separate expenditures ? . e ap- proved if large, by the Board ; if small, by a committee. The Board expects to finish the biennium without deficits and Avith some surpluses. Full financial statements for all the institu- tions will be made in the Biennial Report. There has been considerable discussion concerning the du- plication due to the existence of both a Commissioner of Edu- cation and a State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Act passed in 1913 establishing the present State Board of Ed- ucation seems clearly to intend the Commissioner of Educa- tion to be the general adviser and executive of the Board. (See Section 6, paragraph 1). In fact when the bill was introduced a joint resolution was also introduced proposing a constitu- tional amendment "so that the State Superintendent will no longer be one of the executive officers of the State, to be elected biennially." (H. J. R. No. 24). But while the bill passed and became law, the resolution did not come to a vote. It should be made clear that the enactment of such an amend- ment is indispensable to the completion of the new plan of state educational administration. Meanwhile the Commis- sioner and State Superintendent are working in harmony and avoiding the duplication and conflict which might arise under the circumstances. This has been possible because the Super- intendent and Assistant Superintendent are both staunch sup- porters of the new plan of administration. This special prob- lem is before the Board for consideration and further report may be made later. 099 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. Tihe end and aim of all our educational efforts is the wel- fare and development of our children. The State must think of all the children, and do its best to open the doors of education to all as nearly alike as possible. At best we cannot achieve perfection in this; we cannot bring a Uni- versity or even a good high school within walking dis- tance of every home; indeed, it will be some time before we can have a first class district school accessible to every child in the state. But we must do the best we can, and make every dollar expended reach as many as possible. Lo- cations must be determined, buildings built, equipment provided, teachers employed, courses of study arranged, with the sole end of bringing the greatest good educa- tionally to the greatest number. The following report deals chiefly with the regular state educational institutions, the University, Normal Schools and Academy. This is because the State Board has imme- diate charge of these institutions, and because the people of the state are expecting information concerning them and recommendations for their reorganization. It has been necessary for the Commissioner and the Auditor thus far to give most of their attention to these institutions. The supreme problem educationally is the improve- ment of the common schools, and especially the rural schools. This for two reasons; first, because only in these common schools are all of the children of the state touched ; but few, relatively, reach even the high schools, and an ex- ceedingly few go beyond to attend normal school or col- lege. There were in 1913 less than 800 students of college grade, not more than 6000 of high school grade, and about 85000 enrolled in the elementary schools. With regard to expenditures for the public schools there is undoubtedly some waste, and much inefficiency and loose accounting. The Board is preparing standard forms for accounts and reports, and is collecting facts (tq which to base a report and recommendations. T!he imipoverished and neglected rural school de- mands the very first attention of the state. Hundreds of children are deprived of any except the most meager school- ing under untrained and inexperienced teachers. Other districts have money to waste. For example, one district 5 may have an assessed valuation of |20,000-|30,000 per child, and another, less than |50 per child. The schools must strive to fit the children more ef- fectively for the life and oecupation that lies before them. This means a modification of what children do in school and how they do it. This is the greatest of all educational problems. This involves: Vocational training and guidance; we must help each child to find the calling for which he is suited, and then give him training to fit him for it. Especially must we strive to stop the rush into clerical and professional pursuits, and promote the more directly productive call- ings. Training for character. This involves intelligence and right purpose, with respect to citizenship, vocation, parenthood, and family life, and social relations in general. Progress depends upon the better training of teach- ers, and the training of more. At least half of our teachers are untrained. Some know little more than the children they are supposed to teach. Especially is there a dearth of competent teachers of agriculture; all our high schools are rightly ambitious to teach this, but trained teachers are almost non-existent. One other point must be made clear concerning this report; it deals merely with the machinery of higher edu- cation in the state, and not with the essence. We must work out a plan which will provide an efficient state school administration ; we must next attack the problem of the best culture and training for the young men and women in these state and local schools. No one who studies high school and college conditions can escape deep suspicion that some things need to be changed. It is useless to build up schools and supply equipment and employ teach- ers, unless the work of these schools is training hetter citi- zens, more efficient workers, wiser and stronger men and loomen. The state has a right to make great demands of those who partake of the peculiar privilege uf a higher education; these young people are the favored few, a chosen people; but they must understand that they are chosen not for their own selfish advantage but for the serv- ice of the state and their felloio citizens. 6 FACTS AND CONDITIONS. /. General View. The state of Idaho maintains six state schools, two of them are special, the Industrial Training School at St. Anthony, for children below eighteen years of age com- mitted by the Courts for crimes and misdemeanors or in- corrigibility ; the State School for the Deaf and Blind, the name of which describes its function. These schools are not so closely related as the other four, and are not so much involved in the general educational problem. Hence, while fully realizing their importance, we leave them for the regular biennial report to be made to the next legisla- ture. The other four are the regular educational institutions supported and controlled by the state — the University, the Lewiston and Albion Normal Schools, and the Academy of Idaho. These are the schools which constitute the most immediate problem of the State Board of Education. It was more on account of these schools than for any other reason that the new administration of state educational af- fairs was enacted by the people and the Legislature. The public schools, under the charge of the district boards are assumed to provide, first in all cases, an elemen- tary school training, usually covering a period of eight years, between the ages of about six and fourteen. This is all that the smaller districts can do ; but whenever a dis- trict begins to have four or five teachers it gives some further training in high school work. There are now in the state about 134 high schools, of which over 60 cover the full four years of work. The total enrollment is ap- proximately 6000 or about 7 per cent of the total school enrollment. This proportion of high school students to total enrollment is about the same as in Montana, and much lower than in Washington, Oregon and Utah. A largij proportion of the children in the state, certainly more than half, have no high school opportunity in tbeir home districts. This is the public school system upon which the state schools must be based. Our task is to survey the whole field and see if the two parts of the system can be more perfectly fitted to each other; and in particular whether the funds being spent by the state can be made to bring higher and better returns than at present. _ //. The State Institutions, 1. University of Idaho, 1. The University is the only state institution in Idaho of full collegiate rank, and it includes the advanced work in all lines. Thus it does work which is in some states divided between the University and the Agricultural College, or even shared by a School of Mines in addition to these. Com- parison with adjoining states shows that: (a) We have fewer students in proportion to our pop- ulation than most of our neighbor states. See table VI. (b) We pay less, in proportion to population, for this part of our educational system than Montana, Washington, Oregon or Nevada ; and probably also than Utah and Wy- oming, although a comparison with these is difficult on account of the arrangement of their work. See T^ble VII. 2. In considering the expenses of the University it must remembered that a large part of the work of the institu- tion is for the State at large. The total maintenance in- come (for all purposes except buildings and improve- ments) from State and Federal funds for the present bien- nium is |477,100 ; of this |118,800, or over 24 per cent is applied exclusively to experiment, demonstration and ex- tension work. This leaves an annual income of $179,150 for instruction, equipment and supplies at the University. 3. The cost per student is high in the University of Idaho in the same departments as in other Universities — Engineering and Agriculture. This is due partly to the high cost of giving the instruction; teachers in these de- partments command high salaries, and the equipment and supplies are more expensive. But the chief cause is the small number of students in certain classes. The most careful effort is being made to keep down expense in these lines; but Agriculture and Engineering (including min- ing) are of vital importance to the State, and great care must be taken to avoid damage to these great interests. The great need is more students in these important sub- jects. 4. South Idaho is represented in the University more 8 than is generally known. In the present year, 48 per cent of the Idaho students in the University are from South Idaho. What is still more striking and important is that in the Senior class, nearly 56 per cent are from the South. It is clear that the higher work at the University belongs quite as much to one part of the state as to the other. This should be kept in mind, as it bears strongly upon the problem of the reorganization and readjustment of our whole system of state schools. See Table IV. The President is giving earnest attention to the effi- ciency and economy of the whole institution, and will have reports and recommendations to make. 2. Lewiston Normal School* This school is in a favorable situation for normal school work, being in a fair sized and growing city, with good schools in the city and abundant rural schools in the sur- rounding country. The city and rural schools are cooper- ating splendidly with the Normal School to the great ad- vantage of all concerned. Tihe Normal School is year by year reducing the dupli- cation between it and the high schools, and concentrating on distinctive normal work. The result of this is shown in the great increase in full course graduates. Over 60 per cent of the students are of collegiate standing. The cost of the school in relation to its enrollment is reasonable, being not greater than the average of standard normal schools. There are possibilities of co-operation between the Uni- versity and the Normal School yet untouched. Under the new plan of control these possibilities open up. The presi- dents of the two schools have already taken the matter up, and we may expect recommendations looking toward greater economy and efficiency through co-ordination of effort and work. The outcome will probably be that the Lewiston school will become an integral part of the Uni- versity, so that both students and teachers may be trans- ferred from one to the other when desirable, thus eliminat- ing unnecessary duplication and raising efficiency. ♦See Table VIII. 3. Albion Normal School. This school forms one of the most difficult problems of the state educational administration. Those in charge of this school struggle against a hope- less handicap. The nearest regular passenger railroad sta- tion is twenty miles away ; there are times in winter when the journey is a serious undertaking; the nearest freight station is twelve miles distant; this greatly increases the cost of all heavy supplies brought in from outside; for ex- ample, coal which costs at Pocatello |4.50 per ton, costs at Albion 19.50. One of the essentials for a successful normal school is the nearness of schools both graded and rural in which the students may obtain practical experience. Albion is re- mote from such opportunities and presumably will be so for many years to come. The enrollment of the school has grown but slowly, in spite of gre^t efforts to advertise it through the press, through bulletins, and by personal representatives. More- over, the number of students who had completed a high school course has always been small and does not show an increase proportionate with the increase of high schools in the state. At present less than 30 per cent of the stu- dents are in the advanced classes or normal school proper ; the other 70 per cent are of secondary grade. Tlius the bulk of the work parallels and to an extent duplicates the work of the high schools. REGISTRATION STATISTICS. < Output « Full Part Number of course course Entering Hig^h School Enroll- di- certifi- Year— class graduates entering meat ploma cates 1909-10 107 18 (16%) 186 19 14 1910-11 Ill 25 (20%) 176 10 18 1911-12 94 24 (25%) 171 15 28 1912-13 129 46 (35%) 186 16 59 1913-14 128 34 (26%) 214 There has, however, been a great increase in cost: Building's, Improvements, Year— Maintenance Equipment Total 1907-8 $18,982.78 $24,030.74 $43,013.52 1908-9 18,745.12 7,608.43 26,352.55 1909-10 34,200.41 22,821.08 57,021.49 1910-11 32,061.27 33,216.10 65,277.37 1911-12 42,819.49 2,579.49 45,398.98 1912-13 42,819.49 2,579.49 45,398.98 1913-14 41,007.71 20,170.63 61,178.34 10 These statements are not intended to imply any criticism upon those in charge of the school as trustees; they pur- sued the same course that trustees have in general all over the country ; they were deeply interested in the school, gave freely of their time and energy in its interest, and naturally saw its good points large and its drawbacks small. It should be noted here that in 1911 a Legislative investi- gation Committee, consisting of six members, in a report showing much insight into the situation, recommended the discontinuance of the Albion Normal School, citing as rea- sons: (1) inaccessibility; (2) high cost of mainten- ance; (3) unsatisfactory character of immediate loca- tion; (4) small proportion of advanced students. The recommendation did not propose anything to take the place of the school, and this may have been partly the reason why the Legislature did not approve and enact the recommendation. 4. The Academy of Idaho. The Academy of Idaho was founded when high school facilities in the state were very meager. Since that time the development of high schools throughout the state has been little short of marvelous; the people of the cities, towns and even rural communities have vied with each other in erecting buildings, obtaining teachers and equip- ment, and introducing the newer and especially the prac- tical branches. One high school now enrolls nearly a thousand students, and at least four others range from 250 to 350. There are altogether not less than 134 high schools in the state, a number of which have work in agriculture, home economics, manual training, commercial work, and other vocational subjects, as well as the older "standard" subjects, such as English, History, Mathematics, Sciences, Foreign Languages. Moreover, no movement is more vigor- ous today, in Idaho and generally in the United States, than the development of the public high school. All this changes completely the relation of a State Acad- emy to the public school system. Such an Academy now finds itself in competition with the high schools, and covers practically the same ground as the larger high schools do. On the basis of average attendance, the Academy costs about three times as much per student as the high schools. 11 In other words, the money spent at the Academy would educate in our best high schools about three times as many Idaho boys and girls as are now being trained in the Academy. One third of the students in the Academy belong quite as naturally in the Pocatello High School, being residents of that city. This hinders the growth of the Pocatello High School, which has fewer students than several smaller cities in the state. On the other hand, the great majority of the high schools in the state are taking in pupils from outside of the home district and educating them either free or at a small tuition charge. Six of the larger high schools take care of 372 out- side students, a half more than the attendance at the Academy. These students cost the state nothing; they pay a moderate tuition fee in some cases, and the local dis- trict does the rest. It is safe to say that not less than 500 or 600 young people are being educated in the state in this way. To put it very briefly, the State is educating secondary students at high cost in the Academy, while the high schools throughout the state are educating at least twice as many from outside their districts at no cost to the state. The Legislative Investigating Committee in 1911 made the following report concerning the Academy : "We also find that they have an enrollment of 287. Of this number, 47 are duplicating the regular high school course and the remaining 240 are taking a course of techni- cal training, which is usually supplied by first class high schools throughout the state. We believe that the greater part of the work can be done and should be done by the high school districts throughout the state. ///. The High Schools.* We cannot solve the problem of the state institutions without considering the public high schools. These schools are largely the product of the last ten j^ears; that is, they have developed since the establishment of the state institutions. From the records available it may be safely estimated that in 1903 there were not more than ten four year high schools, as against over 60 now. So eager are our people for high school facilities close to ♦A bulletin on High Schools is being prepared. 12 home that many districts are going beyond their means to establish high school courses. Districts which ought to be content with an elementary school are giving one or two or even four years of high school work. Many districts are really starving the lower grades, and thus the majority of the pupils, in order to provide a meager high school. The ambition is most worthy; but we should satisfy it with- out sacrificing the welfare of the younger pupils. There are over 1000 district schools enrolling over 50,000 pupils, without any high school work; certainly many of these young people should go to high school. Where shall they go? A few go to the Academy of Idaho; certainly not more than 150. As already stated, the vast majority who get any education above the eighth grade go to the nearest good high school. Under present conditions this works a double hardship; the parents often must pay tui- tion; and the district maintaining the high school pays the bulk of the cost of educating pupils who belong elsewhere. Practically every high school of any size is burdened in this way. CONCENTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF EDU- CATIONAL FACILITIES.* There are certain general principles that bear upon the supply and demand of educational facilities everywhere. The following especially should be kept in mind: I. The presence of a school in any region stimulates young people to attend school; in other ivords^ a school creates students. If you put a high school into a commun- ity that has not had a high school, boys and girls who had previously no intention of going further in school will en- roll and attend. Schools and colleges everywhere draw the bulk of their enrollment from their immediate vicinity. A study of the list of students of practically any institution will show this. This is the great argument against too much concentra- tion. If we miass our educational oppertunities in one place we leave the rest of the state unfilled ; many children ♦See Tables III. and IV. 13 who have the talent and capacity for higher education will fail to get it. II. Younger students, especially in the high school period, do not and should not go far away from home to attend school. 1. They do not go far from home. When the University of Idaho had a preparatory school only 11 per cent of the enrollment came from South Idaho; the great majority came from close around Moscow. In the State Academy at Pocatello, half of the students come from, Bannock County; even from neighboring counties very few attend the Academy; for example, in Bonneville County, while three went to the Academy in 1912-13 over 50 went from their home districts to the Idaho Falls High School, in most cases paying tuition for the privilege, and this in spite of the great superiority of the resources and equipment of the Academy. 2. They should not go far from home, because they are still in a plastic and unformed state of mind and character, susceptible to influences which affect their habits and prin- ciples ; hence, they need care and oversight of home and parents. 3. High School work must be adapted specially to the needs and conditions of the particular locality. In one place agriculture should be emphasized, in another mechan- ical work, or business courses, and so on. The work of the school should be linked up with the industries and occu- pations of the surrounding region. III. The older and more advanced the students a/re, the further they travel in search of the kind of schooling they want. 1. Taking all the state schools together, 272 students make the ^^big jump" from North Idaho to South or vice versa. Of these only 62 are doing work that is in any sense of high school grade; and most even of these young people are either high school graduates or old enough to be such. All the rest, 210 in number, are of college grade. 2. In the University, while the per cent from South Idaho in the first year runs from 40 to 45 per cent, in the Senior year it runs from 55 to 60 per cent. IV. As pupils go through the various grades of schools there is a process of elimination and selection. All must 14 go to the elementary school, and very few indeed go higher. In our own state and public schools there are about 90,- 000 pupils in the elementary schools; not more than 6000 in high school grades, and less than 800 of college grade. Moreover, while there are 419 in the first two years of col- lege, there are only 129 in the last two years. That is, we have eight times as many in high school grades as in col- lege, and three times as many in the lower college years as in the upper. V. The cost of instruction increases rapidly from grade to grade. $30 per pupil is rather a high cost in the ele- mentary grades ; |50 is a low cost in high school work ; col- lege instruction is much more expensive, and in general the more advanced it is the higher the cost. THE TKAINING OF TEACHERS. The supply of trained teachers is never equal to the de- mand in any of the western states. A large number of schools have to get along with raw and almost uneducated boys and girls, hardly any older or wiser than the children they teach. Last year the two state normal schools turned out only 61 graduates (full course) and 158 who had cer- tificates for partial courses. This total output would not supply a quarter of the demand. A number of states after striving to meet the need through normal schools alone have turned for help to the high schools. As a matter of fact, a large number of high school graduates take up teaching at once without further training. This suggested the idea of putting into the high school some preparation for teaching, and led to the teachers' courses which are now given in many high schools. This plan has been officially adopted in a num- ber of states, including New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska and Kansas. In every case it has won the approval of those most competent to judge of its success and consequently is being developed more and more as time goes on. A report on this plan says : "In the combined states of Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, New York and Wisconsin there are more than four hundred and thirty-five training classes in operation. From the training classes 15 and schools in these states over four thousand are being graduated annually and this number is increasing rapidly. Kansas graduated seven hundred teachers from her high schools last year and expects to increase this number by half the present year. Nebraska has sent out two thous- and two hundred and seven teachers from her high schools during the past three years and is new sending out ap- proximately nine hundred a year into the rural schools. Judged merely from the standpoint of numbers the normal training work in secondary schools is very successful. Judged by what appears at this distance to be the general consensus of opinion of those who have given the actual work careful consideration it seems to be meeting expec- tations fully." (Proceedings Washington Educational Association, 1910; p. 97). It must be remembered that the high school course does not take the place of the advanced course in the normal school, but only supplements the lower work of the normal ; with a full development of the high school training course it would become possible for a normal school to devote it- self to advanced work and eliminate the part of its course which now to some extent duplicates or parallels the high school. These facts bear strongly upon our educational problem in Idaho, and must be kept in mind in seeking a solution. Several of our larger high schools are already planning courses for teachers. INFERENCES. What may we conclude from the above facts and prin- ciples? 1. W"e cannot "concentrate" high school instruction ; we must disseminate it as widely as our resources will permit. 2. On the other hand, the highest and most advanced instruction ca^n be concentrated, because few seek it, and they will travel any reasonable distance to obtain it, and are sufficiently mature to be on their own responsibility. And it must be concentrated, because duplication will in- volve great increase in cost and lowering of efficiency. This means one University, and only one in the state. 3. Now between the most advanced work, which must 16 be concentrated in one institution of highest rank, and the secondary or high school work, full four year courses of which are even now in operation in more than sixty places in the state, there is an important middle ground, con- sisting of the first two years of the college course. This coincides with the advanced course in a normal school, that is the part of the normal course that does not in any way parallel the high school. This two years above the high school is sometimes called the Junior College^ and we will adopt that name for the sake of convenience. Owing to geographical conditions in Idaho the Junior College idea has peculiar interest, hence we will discuss it at length in the next chapter. THE JUNIOR COLLEGE. The work of the Junior College, that is the first two years above the high school, can be added economically to a large and well equipped high school for the following reasons : 1. The subjects of instruction in the upper grades of a large high school overlap those of the first and second years of college ; this is true of foreign languages, several courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics, botany, some mechanical and technical courses, European and English history, and some other subjects. That is, some students take these subjects in high school and some take them in college. 2. Moreover, in any large well-equipped high school there are both facilities and teachers adequate for col- lege work. In our own state there are a goodly number of high school teachers who might properly be members of a college faculty. As a very natural consequence of this a number of large high schools in various parts of the country have added slightly to their faculty and equipment and extended their courses to include one or two years of college work. Thus the Junior College is not an untried experiment or a mere theory, but a fact and a proved success. The High School at Joliet, Illinois, has carried on Junior College work for 12 years. The principal. Dr. J. Stanley Brown, writes : "The number asking for such work is steadily growing, and the greatest support for it comes from the fathers 17 and mothers unwilling to send boys and girls sixteen to eighteen years of age from their protected home surround- ings to the more or less unprotected life in the big univer- sities. Added to this is the fact that all our classes in col- lege work are small, numbering from six to twenty, while the classes in the large universities, which our students enter in large numbers, range from twenty to one hundred." In Los Angeles, California, Junior College courses were first offered in the Los Angeles High School in February, 1912, classes being organized in the subjects of the first Freshmen semester, with 37 students enrolled. The present enrollment is 200. This work is accepted without exami- nation by the University of California and Stanford Uni- versity. Thus it is possible for a student to finish two years of his college course in the Los Angeles Junior Col- lege and enter the Junior year at the University without loss or inconvenience. One of the great dangers and difficulties of our larger universities is the great miass of students; a professor in one of the largest institutions in the west said of his own university: "The University of is swamped with shoals of students whom it cannot take care of." Now it is the "Underclassmen," or the Junior College students who cause this overcrowding and the trouble and injury that results from it. One of the disastrous results of the lower classes in the larger universities is the vast number who drop out through failure or discouragement in the first year. In our own university from last year's freshmen class of 145 there came a Sophomore class this year of only 80. In larger institutions the loss is usually much greater, running over 60 per cent in some cases. For example, in one state university fromi its Freshman class of 1693 members, less than 660 returned for the Sophomore year. The plan of having Junior Colleges in a number of centers away from the university is the only remedy yet discovered for this great and growing evil. The larger state universities are urging the establishment of such col- leges. The Junior College can be operated economically only in connection with a large high school, for the reasons indi- cated in paragraphs 1 and 2. But while the first two years of college work can be added to a large high school at comparatively small cost, the advanced w^ork of the upper college years is far more 18 costly, both in equipment and teaching force, and should not be undertaken except where abundant resources are available. As we have seen this work must be strictly con- centrated in one institution. The situation in Idaho forcibly suggests the Junior Col- lege plan. First, because of the extraordinary difficulty of traveling from the South to the University. Second, because of the existence of two distinct centers of popula- tion in the South, practically dividing the whole Southern population between them and being easily accessible from all parts. Again the plan adapts itself easily and naturally to the future growth and development of the country; ad- ditional Junior College centers can be organized wherever the population justifies it. The need of some provision for college work in Southern Idaho is still further shown by the numbers of Idaho stu- dents attending colleges in other states ; in 39 institutions there are from North Idaho 27 students, from South Idaho 226; more than four times as many go from the South, in proportion to population. It is safe to say that over 100 of the above 226 are in the first two years; 148 more go from South Idaho to do work of the first two college years in the University and the Lewiston Normal School ; thus there are from South Idaho, at least 250 students of "Junior College" grade now at- tending college. Tlhere are many others who would attend if opportunity offered nearer home. A serious loss to the state is incurred through our prom- ising young people going to college in other states : experi- ence shows that they are likely never to return, but to accept positions in the region where they attend school. At present more students from South Idaho go to other states than attend our own University. Junior College facilities in the South would tend to change this. PROPOSALS FOR REORGANIZATION. /. TTw Problem. The great problems in our situation are these: 1. Clearly the first duty is to provide for students now attending the Academy and the Albion Normal School. Although these are relatively few in number compared with 19 the many who need help, yet they have a special claim and any proposed plan for reorganization must guard their wel^ fare and progress. 2. To provide more abundant high school opportunities for the great number of boys and girls who are now de- prived of them in whole or in part. 3. To train more teachers for the rural and city schools. 4. To relieve so far as possible the hardship suffered by South Idaho students who wish to go to college and at present must either make the long journey to the Univer- sity or enter some other institution, usually outside of the state. We have seen that the two state schools in the South, while intended to meet the second and third of these needs, are not doing so efficiently and cannot do so, owing to the circumstances under which they operate. The fourth prob- lem is not met at all. The following proposal is based upon the most careful and exhaustive consideration of the facts and conditions and of the educational principles involved. No infallibil- ity or final correctness is assumed for it. If adopted, it would grow and change to fit conditions and circum- stances. It is put forward for the consideration of the Board, and, if they approve, of the people and Legisla- ture. //. Changes in Present Organization. 1. We should recognize the fact that the Albion Normal School cannot be made successful and efficient, owing to the drawbacks of the situation, and cease to attempt to operate it. There is no reason why the plant cannot be utilized for other state purposes. A number of possible uses have been suggested. All movable equipment can easily be utilized either locally or elsewhere. Those now attending the school can be provided for amply by the plans outlined below. 2. The immediate fact in the Academy situation is the presence in Pocatello of two separate groups of secondary students, a little over two hundnred in each group, one group in the Academy and the other in the high school. These two groups have in general the same educational needs, and are doing largely the same work. There will be no true efficiency until these two groups are combined 20 under one unified administration. They will then make up a splendid body of 400 or 500 students, the material for one of the finest secondary schoolsi in the Northwest. We cannot throw the Pocatello High School on the state; neither the state nor the city of Pocatello would tolerate that. Even the present situation goes too far in that direction, as 78 Pocatello secondary students are being educated at the cost of the state. The other alterna- tive is co-operation — let the state join forces with the local school, in both secondary work and such higher toorlc as the situation demands. The Academy plant can be utilized in this way far more fully and efficiently than at presenr. The cost of maintenance can be greatly reduced, and a splendid institution can be built up, worthy of the state and the city. This is proposed as part of the plan out- lined below. 3. The two schools would continue substantially as at present until July, 1915, Avhen the reorganization would be begun ; the most careful plans would be made to effect the changes with the least possible friction and loss. 4. Students now in attendance at Albion and the Academy would be provided for in the new co-operative system, the Junior College at Pocatello particularly would be planned to meet their needs. 5. This would render the present annual income of the two institutions, over |114,000, available for the far-reach- ing plan proposed below. This will cover all the state's expenditures involved in the plan outlined below, includ- ing co-operative payments and all other items. Ill, Plan for Reorgamzation on Co-Operative Basis, 1, — Co-operative High Schools. First, to provide for pupils in whose home districts there are no adequate high school facilities ; enter into co-, operative relations with the strongest and most accessible high schools throughout the state, requiring the school to meet certain standards in the course of study, equipment, and teaching staff, and to receive free of tuition outside pupils up to a certain maximum number. In return the state to pay an annual sum, based upon the quality and 21 character of the work done, and the number of outside students enrolled. ~ The state would supervise and assist the work of these co-operating schools and check up the amount and quality of service being rendered. Each school receiving state funds would be required particularly to provide vocational training adapted to the localitj^ In many cases the first line would be agricul- ture; the state payment might be made contingent in the beginning on the introduction of a strong course in agri- culture, in charge of a well trained and efficient teacher. This would advance agriculture education at once beyond what it could attain in years without state aid. This feature of the plan alone might well be worth more to the state than the whole cost involved. A number of the larger schools throughout the state would provide special courses for teachers^ especially for the rural schools. With such courses in operation it would soon be possible to exclude untrained persons en- tirely from the schools and greatly raise the competency of the teaching force and the efficiency of the schools of the state. This would not interfere with the usefulness of regular normal school work ; the output of the high school training course would take the place of those who now teach without any training. It might prove desirable to recognize certain strong schools in various parts of the state as special state high schools^ on account of their high efficiency. Any one who is familiar with the schools of the state will at once think of certain schools which are far in advance in prac- tical instruction, and are already serving a large area be- yond their own district boundaries. This would in no way hinder co-operation with other schools as outlined above. Such recognition would be based upon provision for full courses in several imi>ortant lines, such as agricul- ture, home economics, teaching, business, mechanical work, etc. 2. — Junior Colleges. Second, to provide some college facilities for regions remote from the University, enter into co-oi)erative rela- 22 tions with the largest, best equipped and most centrally located high schools. With a moderate amount of aid from the State fund these schools would extenrl their work to include two years of college; that is, they would become Junior Colleges. In return for the state aid, they would receive eligible students free from any part of the state. The Junior Colleges would do work in such lines as these : 1. Continue the vocational work of the high school for many who would not go away for further schooling — in agriculture, home economics, business training, mechanic arts, etc., always adapting the work to the special con- ditions and taking advantage of the industrial and com- mercial activities of the region. 2. Agricultural training of the most practical and val- uable kind could be given; the work could be linked up with the actual agricultural and horticultural industry of the locality. 3. Train teachers^ giving courses similar to those given by the advanced department of a normal school. 4. Give scientific, literary and practical courses such as are included in the first two years of the University, so that all who wished might enter the third year of the Uni- versity with full credit. 5. Besides thus benefitting students it would extend its advantages to the community in general, opening the way for older people to attend special classes, study sub- jects in which they were interested, and hear lectures and addresses given by members of the college faculty. Thus the college would become a great asset to the community at large. The college would have on its staff experts in the various arts and sciences whose services would be al- ways available. This extension work could be linked up with that of the University, to the great advantage of all concerned. The application of this plan to Pocatello has already been referred to. The Pocatello Junior College would be the natural center for the great southeast section of the state, containing more than one-third of the total population. From this section more than 190 young people went this year to the University or to other states to attend college. 23 The next center would naturally be Boise, for the Southwest section. The Boise High School is already widely known for its progressive work, especially in vo- cational education. It enrolled this year 989 students, in- cluding no less than 160 from outside the district. The addition of junior college work would be easy, economical and progressive. From the Southwest region over 200 students went to college this year at the State University or in other states. These two centers would probably be sufficient for the present; as the state developed, the system could be adapted and extended to fit the needs. The Junior Colleges w^ould be known as Junior Col- leges of the University of Idaho, and students would pass freely from the Junior colleges to the University. 3. — Training of Teachers. Normal Tlraining would be provided in two ways: 1. The larger co-operating high schools would give courses for teachers, with a special reference to the rural and other elementary schools. 2. The Junior Colleges would give normal courses under careful supervision from the state. 4. — Financial Side of Co-operative Plan. The details of apportioning funds in such a plan will have to be worked out in conference with school author- ities, taking account of the apportionment of state and county school funds. The essential points, however, are clear in advance as follows : (1.) The money now being spent in the Academy and the Albion Normal School would meet all the state's obligations under the co-operative plan, for Junior Col- leges and co-operative high schools, and also for neces- sary direction and supervision. (2.) The plan would take care of four or five times as many students as does the present system. (3). About 20 per cent of the fund would suffice for the junior colleges, leaving the bulk for the co-operative high schools. (4.) The financial saving would be great. Most of the money would go into the treasuries of districts carry- 24 < ing a heavy burden of high school work, caused by enroll- ment of pupils from outside the district. Parents would be relieved from tuition fees, and from sending their children far off to school or colleges; the small districts would be encouraged to dispense with high school classes, using instead the nearest co-operative high school. 5. — University Organization. The State Normal School at Lewiston should be con- nected closely with the University, making the Normal School a department of the University for the higher training of teachers. This plan has great possibilities of co-operation and efficiency. The two institutions are so close to each other that both students and teachers could be transferred with ease. Students could do part of their work to advantage in one place and part in the other. Teachers and lecturers on special subjects could serve in both places alternately. Thus the whole system of higher education would be unified; the high schools would lead to the junior colleges in their own vicinity, the junior colleges to the University. The whole organization would be planned with the one aim of meeting the needs of the young people and of the state, and consequently each part would be adapted to every other part. 6. — Advantages of This Plan. It would : — 1. Open the door of a good high school free and not far distant for every boy and girl prepared to enter. 2. Provide Junior Colleges and more adequate Nor- mal work for South Idaho. 3. Enable parents to keep their child/ren longer at home or near home, and still have them advance in their schooling. This would be a great saving financially. 4. Provide for at least three times as many young people of high school and college age as does the present plan, and at no increase of cost. 25 5. Give a fair remuneration to high schools which are now taking in pupils from other districts, largely at their own expense; this would lighten the financial burden of many districts maintaining high schools. 6. Relieve parents from paying tuition fees for their children attending high school in other districts. 7. Aid the high schools to develop work in agriculture, home economics, training courses for teachers, and other vocational work, suited to local needs and conditions. 8. Tiend to keep small districts from building up high schools at the expense of the elementary grades; instead they could send their older pupils to the nearest free high school. 9. Eliminate all wasteful duplication among state schools and between the state schools and the public schools. 10. The co-operating schools would strengthen their courses in order to meet the requirements of the plan, and hence the whole high school system would be im"- proved and all the students benefitted. 11. In brief, without added cost to the State funds, and with less cost to school districts and parents, it would distrihute educational opportunity as justly and widely as possible throughout the state. Erratum: — Page 9, line 7, read "eight" instead of "twelve." 26 K)IiS, 1913-14. O ha l5§ Summer session 1313- 6 weeks 479 567 201 233 361 138 54 214 263 244 125 TABIiE I.— ENROLLMENT IN STATE SCHOOLS, ^Gradeof Work-, Hifirh School Short Grade Courses University 88 Lewiston Normal School 128 Albion Normal School 160 Academy 244 Totals 532 88 766 1386 722 Special Schools. School for Deaf and Blind. Blind 14 Deaf 50 — 64 Industrial Training School varies from 200 to 230. TABLE II. — COMPARATIVE GROWTH OF INSTITUTIONS. 1907-1913 (Regular Session Only.) Lewiston Albion Academy , — University --> N. S. N.S. of Idaho 1907- 8 280 (174)* 173 156 206 1908-9 337 (206)* 199 153 215 1909-10 368 (165)* 272 186 243 1910-11 409 (118)* 389 176 295 1911-12 489 (59)* 424 171 284 1912-13 536 (32)* 359** 186 230 1913-14 567 361** 214 244 * — ^Figures in parenthesis are the preparatory school, abolished in 1913. •• — ^Falling off due to elimination of courses duplicating high school work and reduction in number of secondary students; in 1913- 14,2 3 3 students out of the 3G1 at I^ewiston are ot collegiate rank. 27 TABLG III.— ATTENDANCE AT STATE INSTITUTIONS BY COUN- TIES, 1913-14. (Does Not Include Summer Session, nor Students from Other States.) No. per No. of 1000 children L