DAKOTA.

From Report of Territorial board of education for 1888–89, L. A. Rose superintendent.]

GENERAL STATEMENT.

Dakota was never so prosperous in educational affairs as in her last year under a Territorial government. The large school system of the Territory has been carried on without any other means of support than that of direct taxation. Numerous private schools have also been established and carried on; the people of Dakota will rival even those of Ohio in the relative number of private schools they are maintaining.

It is anticipated that a marked improvement will take place in the schools when the State governments are put into operation, owing to the new impetus that will be given to education from the sale of the school lands and the passage of uniform school laws.

SCHOOL LANDS.

The public schools of the two Dakotas will rest upon a much firmer basis from the fact that the lands donated by the General Government now become available for school purposes. The number of acres in these lands is 1,715,009, and the average value per acre is $5.79, making the total value $9,929,902. Some of the school lands are quite valuable, those in Yankton County being estimated at $14.03 per acre, those in Cass at $11.05, those in Clay at $11, and those in Logan and Pembina at $10.

TEACHERS.

One of the greatest disadvantages that Dakota has labored under heretofore has been a lack of well qualified teachers, but since the establishment of two public normal schools, one at Madison and the other at Spearfish, and of several private normal schools, this want will soon disappear. Many experienced teachers from the East are also constantly increasing the number in Dakota.

TOWNSHIP SYSTEM.

Another disadvantage has been a lack of uniformity in the school system; seventy-two counties operating their schools under the township plan, and sixteen under the district system. This has been a cause of much annoyance, but it is very probable that the township plan will soon be generally adopted.

GRADED SCHOOLS OF THE CITIES.

The graded schools will compare favorably with the best in the East, and their success is manifested to some extent by the large per cent. of the school population enrolled. "These schools are all supplied with elegant and commodious buildings, the cost of which ranges from $6,000 to $80,000. As a general thing they have a good supply of apparatus with which to carry on their work. The best trained teachers that can be found are employed to teach in these schools and good salaries are paid. These schools are now ready to take rank with the best of their kind in any of the States.'

STATISTICS.

The statistics for 1888-89, as given in the report of the board of education, bear so many internal evidences of unreliability resulting from incompleteness and typographical errors that they are not reproduced here. In the State tables (chapter XXII) the figures for 1887-88 are repeated.

PROVISIONS RELATING TO EDUCATION IN THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH DAKOTA.

ARTICLE VIII.--Education.

A high degree of intelligence, patriotism, integrity, and morality on the part of every voter in a government by the people being necessary in order to insure the continuance of that government and the prosperity and happiness of the people, the legislative assembly shall make provision for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools which shall be open to all children of the State of North Dakota, and free from sectarian control. This legislative requirement shall be irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of North Dakota. The legislative assembly shall provide at its first session after the adoption of this constitution for a uniform system of free public schools throughout the State, beginning with the primary and extending through all grades up to and including the normal and collegiate course.

In all schools instruction shall be given as far as practicable in those branches of knowledge that tend to impress upon the mind the vital importance of truthfulness, temperance, purity, public spirit, and respect for honest labor of every kind.

A superintendent of schools for each county shall be elected every two years, whose qualifications, duties, powers, and compensation shall be fixed by law.

The legislative assembly shall take such other steps as may be necessary to prevent illiteracy, secure a reasonable degree of uniformity in course of study, and to promote industrial, scientific, and agricultural improvement.

All colleges, universities, and other educational institutions for the support of which lands have been granted to this State, or which are supported by a public tax, shall remain under the absolute and exclusive control of the State. No money raised for the support of the public schools of the State shall be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian school.

ARTICLE XIX.-Public Institutions.

The following public institutions of the State are permanently located at the places hereinafter named, each to have the lands specifically granted to it by the United States in the act of Congress approved February 22, 1889, to be disposed of and used in such manner as the legislative assembly may prescribe, subject to the limitations provided in the article on school and public lands contained in this constitution:

First. The seat of government at the city of Bismarck, in the county of Burleigh,

Second. The State university and the school of mines at the city of Grand Forks, in the county of Grand Forks.

Third. The agricultural college at the city of Fargo, in the county of Cass.

Fourth. A State normal school at the city of Valley City, in the county of Barnes; and the legislative assembly in apportioning the grant of 80,000 acres of land for normal schools made in the act of Congress referred to, shall grant to the said normal school at Valley City as aforementioned, 50,000 acres, and said lands are hereby appropriated to said institution for that purpose. Fifth. The deaf and dumb asylum at the city of Devils Lake, in the county of Ramsey. Sixth. A State reform school at the city of Mandan, in the county of Morton.

Seventh. A State normal school at the city of Mayville, in the county of Traill; and the legislative assembly, in apportioning the grant of land made by Congress in the act aforesaid for State normal schools, shall assign 30,000 acres to the institution hereby located at Mayville, and said lands are hereby appropriated for said purpose.

Eighth. A State hospital for the insane, and an institution for the feeble-minded in connection therewith, at the city of Jamestown, in the county of Stutsman; and the legislative assembly shall appropriate 20,000 acres of the grant of land made by the act of Congress aforesaid for "other educational and charitable institutions" to the benefit and for the endowment of said institution. The following named public institutions are hereby permanently located as hereinafter provided, each to have so much of the remaining grant of 175,000 acres of land made by the United States for "other educational and charitable institutions," as is allotted below, viz:

First. A soldiers' home, when located, or such other charitable institution as the legislative assembly may determine, at Lisbon, in the county of Ransom, with a grant of 10,000 acres of land. Second. A blind asylum, or such other institution as the legislative assembly may determine, at such place in the county of Pembina as the qualified electors of said county may determine at an election to be held as prescribed by the legislative assembly, with a grant of 30,000 acres.

Third. An industrial school and school for manual training, or such other educational or charitable institution as the legislative assembly may provide, at the town of Ellendale, in the county of Dickey, with a grant of 40,000 acres.

Fourth. A school of forestry, or such other institution as the legislative assembly may determine, at such place in one of the counties of McHenry, Ward, Bottineau, or Rolette as the electors of said counties may determine by an election for that purpose, to be held as provided by the legislative assembly.

Fifth. A scientific school, or such other educational or charitable institution as the legislative assembly may prescribe, at the city of Wahpeton, county of Richland, with a grant of 40,000 acres. Provided that no other institution of a character similar to any one of those located by this article shall be established or maintained without a revision of this constitution.

PROVISIONS RELATING TO EDUCATION IN THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

ARTICLE VIII.-Education and school lands.

The stability of a republican form of government depending upon the morality and intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature to establish and maintain a general and uniform system of public schools wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all, and to adopt all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education. All proceeds of the sale of public lands that have heretofore been or may hereafter be given by the United States for the use of public schools in the State; all such per centum as may be granted by the United States on the sales of public lands; the proceeds of all property that shall fall to the State by escheat; the proceeds of all gifts or donations to the State for public schools or not otherwise appropriated by the terms of the gift; and all property otherwise acquired for public schools, shall be and remain a perpetual fund for the maintenance of public schools in the State. It shall be deemed a trust fund held by the State. The principal shall forever remain inviolate, and may be increased, but shall never be diminished, and the State shall make good all losses thereof which may in any manner occur.

The interest and income of this fund, together with the net proceeds of all fines for violation of State laws and all other sums which may be added thereto by law, shall be faithfully used and applied each year for the benefit of the public schools of the State, and shall be for this purpose apportioned among and between all the several public school corporations of the State in proportion to the number of children in each, of school age, as may be fixed by law; and no part of the fund, either principal or interest, shall ever be diverted, even temporarily, from this purpose or used for any other purpose whatever than the maintenance of public schools for the equal benefit of all the people of the State.

* * *

The legislature shall make such provisions by general taxation, and by authorizing the school corporations to levy such additional taxes as with the income from the permanent school fund shall secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the State.

ED 89-45

No appropriation of lands, money, or other property or credits to aid any sectarian school shall ever be made by the State or any county or municipality within the State, nor shall the State or any county or municipality within the State accept any grant, conveyance, gift, or bequest of lands, money, or other property to be used for sectarian purposes, and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed in any school or institution aided or supported by the State.

No teacher, State, county, township, or district school officer shall be interested in the sale, proceeds, or profits of any book, apparatus, or furniture used or to be used in any school in this State under such penalties as shall be provided by law.

ARTICLE XIV.-State institutions.

The charitable and penal institutions of the State of South Dakota shall consist of a penitentiary, insane hospital, a school for the deaf and dumb, a school for the blind, and a reform school. The State institutions provided for in the preceding section shall be under the control of a State board of charities and corrections, under such rules and restrictions as the legislature shall provide; such board to consist of not to exceed five members, to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, and whose compensation shall be fixed by law.

The State university, the agricultural college, the normal schools, and all other educational institutions that may be sustained either wholly or in part by the State shall be under the control of a board of nine members, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, to be designated the regents of education. They shall hold their office for six years, three retiring every second year. The regents, in connection with the faculty of each institution, shall fix the course of study in the same. The compensation of the regents shall be fixed by the legislature.

The regents shall appoint a board of five members for each institution under their control, to be designated the board of trustees. They shall hold office for five years, one member retiring annually. The trustees of each institution shall appoint the faculty of the same, and shall provide for the current management of the institution, but all appointments and removals must have the approval of the regents to be valid. The trustees of the several institutions shall receive no compensation for their services, but they shall be reimbursed for all expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, upon presenting an itemized account of the same to the proper officer. Each board of trustees, at its first meeting, shall decide by lot the order in which its members shall retire from office.

The legislature shall provide that the science of mining and metallurgy be taught in at least one institution of learning under the patronage of the State.

The reports of the board of trustees and superintendents show that the public schools of the District of Columbia are in an excellent condition; that, judging from the frequent expressions of approval and high commendation of their results and the interest manifested by the pupils in their work, they are meeting with great success. Any child of the District, from the time it is able to grasp the rudiments of an education, can enter a public school, where it will be placed under the instruction of a skillful teacher; it can pass from grade to grade, fully comprehending the studies of each without any unreasonable mental exertion, until at last the boy or girl graduates from the high school with a thorough English education and, perhaps, some knowledge of higher branches, and fully equipped for any of the ordinary avocations. Or, if he has been deprived of educational advantages in his childhood and is now required to support himself, he still finds the doors of the evening schools open to him, where he can spend an hour both profitably and pleasantly. The citizens of the District may justly take great pride in their educational facilities.

ACCOMMODATIONS.

During the last three years much has been done by the erection and extension of buildings to accommodate the number of pupils attending; so that, while 12,089 out of the 32,336 pupils attending school three years ago were limited to half-day sessions, during the year under review only 6,000 out of 35,764 pupils were limited to half-day sessions. If these extensions shall be continued a year or two longer, provision will then have been made for all the pupils, and thereafter it will only be necessary to provide for the ordinary increase.

The building now used for the colored high school is inconveniently situated for the pupils attending it, and is needed for pupils of lower grades in the immediate neighborhood.

Although an additional building containing twelve class rooms, an armory, a library, and laboratories, has just been erected for the Washington High School, there has been so great an increase in the number of pupils that additional room is still needed. The enrollment in 1888-89 was 1,107, but in the session of 1890 there have already been enrolled 1,400 pupils, and it is probable that in 1890-91 the number will reach 1,600. This is a larger number than car. be accommodated or conveniently supervised, and it is therefore suggested that one of two courses be adopted-that the first grade in the high school be relegated to the grammar schools and be made to constitute a ninth grade, or, else, that two new high-school buildings be erected, one on Capitol Hill, the other in Georgetown. The first method could be adopted as a temporary expedient, but the second is the only one that can permanently remove the difficulty. This would also place a high school within the reach o. a large number of pupils who are now under the necessity of walking a long distance or of paying street-car fares. In either case much time is lost.

TEACHERS' SALARIES.

One of the most urgent needs to be supplied is an increase in the salaries of teachers, especially of the high-school teachers. Not only do they deserve higher salaries, but it is found that they can not otherwise be retained. With a few exceptions, all of the accomplished teachers employed in the Washington High School four years ago have resigned in order to accept more lucrative positions. Nearly all of these teachers are leading graduates of such institutions as Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, Amherst, Vassar, Cornell, Wellesley, and the Columbian University, and after an experience of one or two years they can easily command a higher salary than the present restrictions permit. It is true that the average salary paid teachers here is cqual to that paid in other cities, but there are conditions existing here which are not found there. In other cities there are manufacturing and other enterprises which call for the work of the larger boys and girls, consequently they are withdrawn from the schools. But here nearly all of the pupils continue through the fifth grade, and about two-thirds of them continue through the entire course. A great many children here are sent to private schools for two or three years and then enter the public schools. For these reasons we find the proportion of pupils in the higher grades here much larger than in other cities. Consequently the average salary should be larger.

EVENING SCHOOLS.

These schools had a larger attendance than ever before and many of those who formerly attended showed their appreciation of and interest in them by returning again. These schools furnish educational opportunities to many boys and girls who labor during the day, and also to many adults. The course of studies should be enlarged and some forms of manual training, such as cooking and sewing, should be included.

MANUAL TRAINING.

The introduction of manual training into the schools has proved eminently satisfactory; it has not only not retarded the progress of the pupils but has seemed to give them increased interest in their studies. Many useful lessons were given in cooking and sewing, and the general report is that the parents heartily indorse it and the pupils enjoy a change from the regular routine. In the Washington High School 200 pupils in the first and second year classes, who had not taken cooking lessons the year before, received instruction.

FREE TEXT-BOOKS.

Text-books are loaned to pupils whose parents declare their inability to purchase them, but there are many parents who dislike to make such a statement, although they

could truthfully do so. It often occurs, too, that children are withdrawn from school when they reach the higher grades on account of the expense of text-books. For these and other reasons it is thought best that free text-books be furnished to the pupils; the expense after the first year would probably be less than one dollar per pupil.

SCHOOL DAY.

It is suggested that the school day of the primary schools be extended to four and one-half hours, closing at 3 p. m. This is particularly desirable in the surburban schools, where many of the children in the primary grades are quite large.

SUPERVISION.

The supervisors of the schools are intelligent and capable and are diligent in their work, but on account of the large number of schools they must supervise, and the number is continually increasing, it is impossible for them to give the close and careful attention which each school deserves. The number of supervisors is much smaller in proportion than the number employed in other cities. At least two additional supervisors are needed at present.

The people of Florida are to be congratulated upon the excellent school facilities with which they are now provided; all the children of the State, both white and colored, are within easy access of a school, and high schools are being established in every county, so that boys and girls who complete the course of the ordinary common schools may continue their education still further. The people are taking great interest in the schools and appreciate the advantages derived from them. All of the public school funds, except $37,000 derived from the proceeds of lands, are raised by taxation. New schoolhouses, well planned with regard to light and ventilation, are being constructed wherever needed and provided with the most improved furniture. The school officers, although not experienced teachers in all cases, are good business men, energetic and faithful, and ever on the alert to improve their schools.

COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS.

It is the aim at present to organize and operate in every county one free high school at the county site or some more suitable place, and when the counties shall have increased in wealth and population other high schools may be established. Several of the most enterprising counties have already established such high schools and they are giving great satisfaction. These schools are designed to fit their pupils for business pursuits or for entrance into colleges.

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING.

The State board of education, being convinced of the importance of this subject, in 1886 called the attention of county superintendents and boards of instruction to the importance of giving boys in the public schools some lessons in the handling and use of tools, and of instructing girls in cooking, sewing, etc. One difficulty encountered is the scarcity of teachers capable of giving such instruction. It is now taught, however, in the agricultural and normal colleges, and in several of the city schools.