THE GIFT OF C^...,JA.,..... e •^ CIS CD H 1^ % ^ ^ Id Id 1 •v! r~\ iD r-i O C« f.-O t>s •" O %A c. (K M jp ^ P* CD iS3 ■■"< OJ a ■ M ffl l4-i OJ P-^ CO O Bj ft o -g >, •H « •H nJ ?-i >> A' ft c Cj o -P (« -SJ o -i--^ flj ft o ;:i r/j •d u s i:a o JS CD « o o >!- ffl ^-i CD u /-i (H U W 4-5 CO c5 cd -vs S S t. ,c! eS o (K ti ^ CD u ^ ai l ^ OJ ->■= '.0 M rH 0.1 ao CD fl) 03 to CO CD r-( ?< JU o: >1 ft o o m v< SiH w t!0 iti r-l '■■ o Pi o ■P >> OJ fM ■H 03 03 \~A ■7i ?i X ^ <;i ^J 4^ &■•■ O 4-5 « 'Si £3 'Ci CO a> "^ f4 o cJ %■^ !^ •i-t -;-5 o J1 bD 6 'd f5 ^•3 -rf C>5 O i-i o C- CO •H •d pi > •H .'.5 cci o •H 'C^ f.4 fl ■*^ X! bO >■; fH ■!-■> to 4J fiS < -l-» •H t-H O o 05 -p d J> bO crj !S 'l" .-4 J-1 •r^ 03 in •H -d o in «D ^ CD New York State Educational Exhibit, Columbian Exposition, Chicago. THE Schools of New York. A GLANCE AT THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM EMPIRE STATE Prepared by the Department of Public Instruction. ALBANY : J^MEs B. Lyon, State Prin-teb. THE SCHOOLS OF NEW YORK A GLANCE AT THE COMMON SCHOOL SYSTEM OF THE EMPIRE STATE. PBEPABED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. It is a proud record -.— this wide, outspread, many-colored history of the common schools of the Empire State. Its beginnings go back to the days when the State bore another name, when the sturdy, independent spirit that animated the new-born Dutch republic first breathed upon the shores of the Hudson and quick- ened into active life the germs of liberty and enlightenment, afterwards to blossom forth in such fair and fragrant manner. The national abhorrence of tyranny, grounded in the hearts of those colonists from the Netherlands, included ignorance on the list of tyrants, and education became with them the synonym of liberty. At the dawn of the seventeenth century, when the stout-hearted English captain was preparing for his memorable voyage in the Half Moon, and for the founding of a colony that was to become the greatest commonwealth in an immeasurably greater republic than that under whose flag he sailed, Holland was foremost among the nations of Eurape in the education of its citizens. Schools immediately followed the establishment of a regular colony on the Hudson, and Adam Kolaendson, the schoolmaster, was one of the earliest importations into the Empire State. Schools were prized by the colonists as much as food or shelter, government and protection. The States General, after a long, heroic war of independence, paid particular attention to the welfare of the scliooly and made education the chief bulwark of the new republic. It was exceptionally good stock that laid the foundations of our great State. The Dutch colonists came from a land which will glow in the pages of history forever as the scene of the lirst great struggle for ' liberty in Europe, as the high-water mark from which the waves of feudalism and tyranny first began to recede. They broujjht with' them to the new world the love of liberty which had grown up in their native land, moistened by the blood and suffering of count- less martyrs, and strengthened by the prestige of countless triumphs over the banded forces of oppression. They also brought with them the love for the school, which they revered as ihe palladium of their liberties, the fount of patriotism, the conservator of good government. The school had an ^special significance to them, for it was the institution against which the efforts of tyranny were particularly directed during the eighty years' struggle in the Neth- erlands. Among the host of Dutch martyrs the name of the school- master is of the most frequent occurrence. "Neither the perils of war," writes one of their admirers, "nor the busy pursuit of gain, nor the excitement of political strife, ever caused the Dutch to neglect the duty of educating their offspring to enjoy that freedom for which their fathers fought. Schools were everywhere provided at the public expense, witli good school- masters, to instruct the children of all classes in tha usual branches of education." The early colonists on the shores of the Hudson were bluff, jjlain- spoken, earnest yet unpresumptuous men who brought over with them from the United Netherlands the liberal ideas, honest maxims and homely virtues of their country. With them came to the wilderness the church, the dominie and the schoolmasts. The stagnation of educational interests for many years after the Kevolutionary wax was, perhaps, natural under the circum- stances. Seven years of business paralysis and the terrorism of foreign domination, made more oppressive and insufferable as the strug- gle for independence went on, drove thoughts of school and teachers out of the minds of the people. Even when they came to consider the necessity of providing their children with mental food, and had recovered from the effects of war, chaos and dis- 25 sension, they were too much occupied in money-making and mer- cantile pursuits to spare any time for schools. The rich gav? more attention to acquiring and hoarding wealth than to learning, except it could be turned to business account, and the poor had no time or money for the education of their children. It was the result of combined intelligent action, liberal, practical legislation and skillful, far-seeing management that brought education out of the mire of unappreciation, and long and weary were the years before the common school emerged from its impuberal condition. The pioneers of education in the infancy of this State could tell many a touching story of hardship and vicissitudes. The early country schoolhouse was a log structure, buUt by notching logs together at the end fur walls, and by framing together long poles for rafters, across which were placed other poles to support the covering made from the bark of trees. The floors were made of planks, split out of forest trees with beetle and weointed by the Grovemor, whose duty it was to invest it to the best possible advantage. From 1838 to 1881 the sum of $165,000 was apppopriart;ed from this fund for the support of common schools. For the past twelve years the annual appropriation has been $75,000, of which $55,000 are for school libraries, and $20,000 for supervision. UntU the present year $30,000 were appropriated from this fund for teachers' training classes. The apportionment of the school moneys is made by the Super- intendent of Public Instruction as follows: Cities and incorpo- rated villages of not less than 5,000 population, and union free 50 school districts, employing a superintendent, |800, with. $500 for each additional Member of Assembly from a city; ^4,t>(»0 for a contingent fund; Indian schools, according to number of teach- ers and population; $100 for each qualified teacher, and the remainder of the school moneys, according to population. The money appropriated by the State, large as the sum may appear, only pays about one-fifth of the expenses of the common schools, the other four-fifths being raised by local taxation. The entire amount expended during the past fiscal year for the main- tenance of public educational interests directly connected with this Department was |19,035,568.06. Teachers' Institutes. The first teachers' institute in this State was opened at Ithaca on AprU 4, 1843, under the supervision of Superintendent J. S. Denman, of Tompkins county, assisted by Salem Town, Jas. B. Thomson and Eev. David Powell. Twenty-eight teachers were in attendance, and instruction was given daily for a period of two weeks. In the fall of that year several institutes were opened in different sections of the State. In two years, in no less than seventeen of the largest counties, institutes were estab- lished, and over 1,000 teachers received instruction. They marked a new era in the history of popular education in New York. In 1847 the sum of sixty doUars was required to be annually appro- prfated from the income of the United States Deposit Fund for the use and benefit of each institute. There is nothing in the eventful history of the common schools in this State that shows such wonderful powers of development as the teiachers' institute. It has been well termed a temporary normal school, an essential agency in the preparation of good teachers. Superintendent Eice thus explains the usefulness of such institutions: "It is a well-lmown fact that those who follow teaching for any consider- able time are liable to become stereotyped and opinionated. These tendencies are counteracted at the institute. The more mature in years and experience are led, by a mutual interchange of opinions and sentiments, to abandon many false theories and 61 practices, and to adopt others whose proper application in their schools aiwaJiens their ingenuity, and enforces thought and research to which they have not before been accustomed; while the younger class of teachers acquire a certain amount of knowledge of their practical duties which they hare no other opportunity to learn, and are also matured in their purpose to devote themselves zeal- ously and cheerfully to their new vocation." During the past year 128 teachers' institutes were held, at which 17,571 teachers attended, with a total aggregate attendance of 84,986 days. The popularity of the institutes seems to be growing each year. The conductors are exceptionally able men, and they have been capably ajssisted ,by other distinguished educators. A notable feature of the institutes in late years has been the lectures with stereopticon views prepared by the American Museum of Natural History under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion. There is a constant, steady advance in the usefulness of those institutes, and new features are being constantly introduced. The law requires that every school commissioner, at least once in every year, shall organize in his own district, or in concert with one or more commissioners in the same county, a teachers' institute, and to induce, if possible, all the teachers in his dis- trict to be present and take part in its exercises. The closing of a school by a teacher during the time of the institute does not vitiate the contract for teaching, or forfeit any portion of the teachers' salary. Trustees are directed to allow teachers for the time they have spent at institutes. All schools in school dis- tricts, not included within the boundaries of a city, shall be closed, while the institute in the county in which such schools are situated, is being held. The sum of $30,000 is appropriated annually by the Legislature to pay the expenses of teachers' institutes. Teachers' Training Classes. The academies were the nurseries of the teachers' training classes. Governor DeWitt Clinton ga^'e the first impetus to this indispensable branch of our common school system in his message to the Legislature in 1828. It was necessary to correct the serious 52 deficiency in the supply of competent teachers that existed, and to devise means by which persons should be adequately instructed and prepared for the noblest of professions. General Dix recom- mended liberal appropriations for that purpose from the literature fund, and the establishment of teachers' seminaries. Training classes were at an early date organized in the various academies and seminaries, and to-day they form valuable auxiliaries to the normal schools. By 1864 the system had developed so far that teachers' classes had been, formed in eighty-four academies, in which, during that year, 351 male and 1,292 female pupUs had been instructed in the science of teaching. During the past year 159 classes instructed 2,530 pupils, the money apportioned being $34,386. Every institution is allowed one doUar per week for each pupU instructed for each term of not less than sixteen nor more than eighteen weeks. Not less than ten nor more than twenty-five pupils can be admitted to a class, and no institution can be allowed more than |350 for any one tei-m. The allowance of money depends upon the number of pupils and weeks taught. The Department of Public Instruction has unrestricted jurisdic- tion over the training classes in private academies and seminaries, and natm-ally over union schools where such classes are also held. The sum of |60,000 was appropriated from the free school fund by the Legislature this year for the maintenance of teachers' training classes. District School Libraries. To General Dix we owe the creation of district school libraries. Dm'ing Governor Marcy's administration an act was passed, in accordance with the recommendation of General Dix, authorizing the taxable inhabitants of the several school districts to impose a tax, not exceeding twenty dollars for the first, and ten dollars for each succeeding year, for the purchase of a district library. General Dix, who was then Secretary of State and Superin- tendent of Common Schools, and who first broached the subject of district libraries, made an eloquent appeal for this admirable means of promoting education. " Common school libraries," he said, " are, in the strictest sense of the word, institutions for the 53 benefit of the people. They are, like the common schools, among the most effectual means of coiTecting, so far as human regula- tions can correct them, those qualities of condition which arise from superior advantages of fortune." In 1838 the Legislature appropriated from, the United States Deposit Fund |3.5,000 for the purchase of suitable books for the several district libraries. That appropriation has been made annually ever since, the law being amended in requiring each district to raise an amount of school library money equal to that which it receives. Through the eloquent appeals and personal exertions of Grovemors, State Superintendents and other public-spirited friends of education the district libraries grew in numbers and usefulness in spite of the tendency at times of trustees and other school ofl&cers to divert the money appropriated for the purpose to make up deficiencies in teachers' salaries. " The diffusion of a million of useful books," remarked Superin- tendent Young, "through all the various portions of this great community, although many of them at present may fall in sterile places, can not ultimately fail to produce a rich compensating reward." Selections for the district libraries are made from the whole rajige of literature and science, with the exception of contro- vereial books^ political and religious history, biography, poetry; philosophy, mental, moral and natural; fiction — indeed, every department of human knowledge contributes its share. By means of this diffusive benevolence, the light of knowledge penetrates every portion of the State, and the sons of our farmers, mechanics, merchants and laborers have; diiily access to many well-selected books, of which, but for this sagacious policy, a majority of them would never have heard." Yet it has been an almost hopeless work to keep the district libraries from depi*eciating, owing to the carelessness or indifference of many local school officers. It was a blunder in the beginning on the part of the State, which was tardily remedied, to permit the library money to be used for other purposes, and for not holding those in charge of the libraries to a strict accountability for their good presen-ation. The law has been amended since, and now the library money must be 54 sacredly applied to the purchase of books. The district library system seems to hare culminated in 1853, for since that period its decline has been uniform and rapid. To-day the number of volumes in these libraries is but half of that of 1853. Apart from the pernicious practice of diverting money appropriated for school libraries, their decline may have been accelerated by the diffusion of cheap literature and the marvelous growth of news- papers, many of which contain nowadays more information on certain subjects than could be found in the old test-books. The district libraries served their purpose in their day, when sources of knowledge were scarce. It may be that the law passed last year restraining the diversion of the library money, prohibiting the loaning of books and appointing teachers as librarians, will stop the decline of the libraries. At all events the State should not expend a dollar for libraries f except those connected with the common schools. Any appro- priation beyond the one legitimate use of libraries is either ines- eusable extravagance or catering towards personal and local ends. Normal Schools. The comprehensive mind of DeWitt Clinton first grasped the idea of elevating the standard of the teacher by higher qualifica- tion requirements, and with characteristic directness he pointed out to the Legislature the only practical way in which that idea could toe made a reality, namely, a seminary solely for the educa- tion of teachers. The entire scheme and purpose of the normal school was distinctly shadowed forth by that eminent statesman. Although much was to be accomplished before Governor Clinton's recommendations could be carried out, the seed of profound edu- cational statesmanship fell on fruitful soil. Shortly after his death a memorial was presented to the Legislature which embodied his views in stUl more direct terms, by recommending the estab- lishment of three or more State normal schools for the education and preparation of teachers. At the State convention of county supei-intendents at Utica, in 1842, the subject of normal schools was exhaustively treated, and the current of public opinion ran 55 swiftly in that direction. But even among some of the most loyal friends of education half a century ago there were what we would now term unreasoning prejudices against normal schools. They doubted the feasibility of teaching by precept the details of schooil-room management, and regarded with dismay the cost of such institutions to the State. It has ever been a most diffi- cult task to convince legislators of the necessity of providing a sufficient number of normal schools for the constantly growing educational needs of the State. The establishment of the first normal school was an experiment, and for nineteen years it was the only institution of the kind in the State. Its success con- vinced the Legislature that similar training schools, organized and conducted with special reference to the object in view, were the proper institutions to educate teachers for the public schools. Oswego was chosen as the home of the second normal school, and in 1866 a law was passed authorizing and directing the Grovernor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney-General, Treas- urer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, to act as a com- mission to locate six other schools. Then there broke out a storm of opposition from the private academies, which had quickly discovered that their influence and emoluments were decreased by the new rivals. Efforts were made to cripple the normal schools, and lobbying in the 'Legislature was freely resorted to for that purpose. It has been justly said that many bitter controversies of this kind have resulted from the bad policy of the Start;e that not only tolerates, but partially supports, two conflicting systems of education. If all the schools of every grade, which the State to any extent supports, were associated in one homogeneous system, and the appropriations of the State con- fined to that system, there would be no ground for conflict. The normal schools have long outgrown envy and prejudice, and are now immorably fixed in the confidence and affection of the people. There are at present eleven normal schools, and the law passed during the last session of the Legislature will add another to the list It wUl be built at Jamaica, Queens county. 56 Albany. The Albany Normal School was organized under an executive board, consisting of the following distinguished educators: Super- intendent of Common Schools Samuel Young, Eev. Dr. Alonzo Porter, Eev. Dr. William H. Campbell, Gideon Hawley and Francis Dwight. The faculty, at the opening of the school on December 18, 1844, was as follows: David T. Page, principal; George R. Perkins, professor of mathematics; Frederick I. Ilsley, teacher of music; J. B. Howard, teacher of drawing; Merritt G. McKoon, professor of natural sciences. The school opened with twenty- nine pupils, but in a short time there were nearly 100 in attend- ance. The wisdom of the action of the State in putting the normal school idea in practical sliape was soon apparent in the tone, strength and vigor given to the schools by distributing throughout the State teachers who were thoroughly instructed. In the first three years of the Albany Normal School, 421 of its pupils were employed as teachers. This was sufficient encourage- ment for the Legislature to effect the permanent establishment of the school on a more liberal basis. It successfully passed the period of probation, and entered upon an exceptionally brilliant career, which has culminated in its advancement to the position of State Normal College, and the most complete system of normal training that has yet been devised. A model school is organized and maintained in the college that students may have an oppor- tunity for observing the successful application of the methods of teaching, and that they may have an opportunity to display their knowledge of the subjects taught and their skUl in teacning and managing pupils. The present faculty consists of the following: William J. Milne, Ph. D., LL.D., president, professor of philosophy of educa- tion and school economy; A. N. Husted, professor of mathematics; W. V. Jones, principal of high school department (model school), professor of German; F. J. Bartlett, professor of ancient lan- guages; E. W. Wetmore, professor of natural sciences; S. B. Belding, professor of vocal music; Kate Stoneman, teacher of drawing and penmanship; Mary A. McClelland, teacher of 57 English grammar and history; Mrs. Margaret Sullivan Mooney, teacher of elocution, rhetoric and English literature; E. Helen Hannahs, teacher of natural sciences and French; Mrs. Sara F. Bliss, teacher of elementary methods; Clara ]\I. Eussell, elementary methods and criticisms; Edith Bodley, secretary; Ellen J. Pearne, principal of grammar department (model school) ; Anna E. Pierce, principal of primary department (model school); Ida M. Isdell, principal of the kindergarten; Helen L. Sewell, assistant in the kindergarten. Attendance last year, 666. Brockpoet. Tlie Brockport Normal School, in Monroe county, was formally opened on April 17, 1867, when a short session of ten weeks was begun. The first regular school year commenced September 4, 1867. During that school year there were in attendance 157 pupils. The first appropriation was |12,000. The first local board was composed of the following persons: Dr. M. B. Anderson, Jerome Fuller, Thomas Comes, Hjenry W. Seymour, Augustus F. Brainard, Byron E. Huntley, Daniel Holmes, Eliphalet Whitney, John A. Latta, Timothy Frye, J. Durward Deckel", Joseph A. Tozier and Elijah C. Chriswell. The members of the origmal faculty were: Professor Malcolm McVicar, prin- cipal; C. D. McLean, Oliyer Arey, Mrs. H. E. G. Arey, preceptress; Sarah M. Efner, Lucy A. Mead, Helen Eoby, Lucena J. Grants Sarah Haskell, Elizabeth Kichmond, Martha Stark, Fidelia C. Ailing and William J. Milne. Two other teachers, Miss M. J. Thompson and Miss C. Minerva Chiiswell, were added to the faculty July 12, 1867. The local board at present consist of Daniel Holmes, John H. KiQgsbury, Eliphalet Whitney, Joseph A. Tozier, Thomas Belden, Elijah Chriswell, Edgar Benedict, John D. Burns, Henry S. Madden, Henry Harrison, Thomas H. Dobson. The faculty is constituted as follows: Charles D. McLean, A. M., LL. B., principal; W. H. Lennon, C. D. Seeley, C. W. Smith, A. Tooley, Mary P. Khoades, C. Minerva Chriswell, Jane E. 58 Lowery, Margaret J. Thompson, Sarah M. Efner, Elizabeth S. Eichmond, Emma L. Eandlett, Flora C. Willsea, Panchon W. Smith, Mary A. Cady, Louise C. Williams, Josephine Twichell, Mary O. White. Attendance last year, 790. Buffalo. This school first opened September 13, 1871, with an appropria- tion of $18,000, since increased to |19,000. Ninety-four pupOs were registered the first year. The members of the first local board of the Buffalo Normal and Training School were: N. K. Hall, chairman; William H. Greene, secretary; Joseph Warren, treasurer; Thomas F. Bochester, Francis H. Root, Grover Cleve- land, Albert H. Tracy, Henry Lapp and AUen Porter. The original faculty consisted of the following: Henry B. Buckham, principal; William B. Wright, George Hadley, Calvin Patterson, David S. Kellicott, Charles M. Sykes, Mark M. Maycock, Laura G. Lovell, Susan Hoxie, Sarah Bostwick and Mary J. Harmon. The present local board consists of S. M. Clement, president; D. F. Bay, vice- president; P. P. Pratt, treasurer; C. W. Goodyear, G. C. Greene, Wm. Hengerer, Henry Lapp, D. H. McMillan, and Thos. Lathrop. The present faculty is: Jas. M. Cassety, A. M., Ph. D., principal; M. A. G. Meads, mathematics; M. M. Maycock, drawing and physical geography; L P. Bishop, natural sciences; W. L. Sprague, Latin and Greek; Joseph Mischke, music and German; Anne K. Eggleston, methods and head critic; Mary Wright, arithmetic and algebra; Isabelle Gibson, French and general assistant; May L. Perry, reading, elocution and gymnastics; Laura E. Sprague, rhetoric, English literature and history; Helen G. Burch, grammar and composition. Attendance last year, 683. COETLAND. The Cortland Normal School organized in 1868, under the gen- eral act of two years before. It opened on March 3, 1869. The members of the original local board were: Henry S. Eandall, president; E. H. Duell, secretary; Charles C. Taylor, treasurer; Arnold Stafford, Horatio Ballard, F. Hyde, Henry Brewer, Norman Chamberlain and William Newkirk. 59 The members of the original faculty were: James H. Hoose, principal ; Norman F. Wright, Frank S. Capen, Thomas B. Stowell, Martha Eoe, Helen E. M. Babcock, Martha E. Ck)uch, Marianna Bates, Lemoyne A. Hoose, Helen K. Hubbard, Margaret Hunter and Charles A. Fowler. The amount appropriated by the State the first year was $7,660.87. For the nesxt fiscal year it will be $20,685. The number of pupils during the first year was 782. The present local board is as follows: W. H. Clark, chairman; John W. Sug- gett, secretary; L. J. Fitzgerald, treasurer; J. S. Squires, T. H. Wickwire, I. T. Deyo, Hugh Duffy, O. U. Kellogg and Salem Hyde. The present faculty is: Francis J. Cheney, A. M., Ph. D., principals- Darwin L. Bardwell, natural sciences; Welland Hendrick, mathe- matics; Clara J. Robinson, gymnastics, civics and school law; Mary E. Trow, history and English; Mary F. Hendrick, rhetoric, reading, elocution and English literajture; Clara E. Booth, geog- raphy, French and German; Carrie D. Halbert, vocal music and methods in music; Mary Lurena Webster, English, Latin and science; Margaret H. Hooker, industrial drawing; Thomas J. McEvoy, princip'al, and critic in intermediate department; Maria W. Bishop, methods, and critic in intermediate department; Mary L. Eastm'an, principal, and critic in primary department; Sara A. Saunders, methods, and critic in primary department; Jas. E. Banta, Latin and Greek; Martha Roe, methods, and superintendent of practioe. Attendajioe last year, 839. Fbedonia. The Fredonia Normal School opened on February 17, 1868, with an annual State appropriation of $13,000, which has since been increased to $19,500. The new building to which the school was removed in the fall of its first year cost the village of Fre- donia about $100,000. The school was at first placed under the direct and exclusive control of State Superintendent Weaver. The first local board consisted of: Geo. R. Barker, president; A. W. Johnson, Horace White, A. Z. Madison, Addison Gushing, Orson Stiles, H. C. Lake, Simeon Savage, Albert H. Judson, WU- 60 lard McKinstry, Spencer L. Bailey, S. M. Clement, Albert Hawood, L. L. Pratt and Lucius Hurlbut. The teachers of the first year were: Joseph S. Allen, principal; H. P. Perrin, Lucy M. Wash- burn, Mary Wright, F. B. Palmer, Helen S. Wright, EUen Seaver, Geo. P. Clark, Mrs. Z. G. Carruth and Ellen Carter. The number of pupils attending the first year was 527. The present local board is as follows: L. Morris president; Louis McKinstry, secretary; P. H. Stevens, M. M. Tenner, F. 0. Chatsey, C. L. Mark and F. E. Green. The present faculty consists of: Francis B. Palmer, Ph. D., prin- cipal; M. T. Dana, vice-principal; A. Y. Freeman, superintendent of practice and principal of intermediate department; T. C. Burgess, ancient languages; F. N. Jewett, natural sciences; Eliza- beth Kichardson, methods and essays; Anna McLaury, rhetoric and English langnaage, and literature; :Mj?)s. Georgine Dewey- Clothier, vocal music; Jeannie E. Kinsman, principal of primary department; Florelle Hovey, elocution and reading; Jessie Hill- man, piano; Minnie Archibald, critic in intermediate department; Nellie F. Palmer, critic in primary department; Mrs. Angle Bun- nell, painting; Carrie Livermore, assistant in mathematics; Julia J. Shepard, drawing; Kuth English, critic in primary department. Attendance last year, 632. Geneseo. The Geneseo (Wadsworth) Normal School opened September 13, 1871, with a State appropriation of about f 18,000, which is now increased to $21,000. The original local board of the school con- sisted of the following persons: General James Wood, president; W. E. Lauderdale, secretary; Hezekiah Allen, treasurer; Scott Lord, Daniel Begelow, Solomon Hubbard, A. J. Abbott, Colonel Eorbach, J. W. Wadsworth. The original faculty consisted of the following: William J. Milne, principal; Jerome Allen, E. A- Waterbury, J. B. Gorham, Helen Eoby, L. N. Van Husen, Emeline S. McMaster, Mrs. Sarah Fletcher, Delia M. Van Derbelt, Glora P. Bennet, Delia M. Day, Mary E. Parks and Lizzie KUlip. The number of pupils in attendance during the first year was 682. The present local board is follows: W. E. Lauderdale, presi- 61 dent; C. W. Fielder, treasurer; W. E. Lauderdale, W. A. Brodie, secretaries; A. J. Abbott, Colonel Eorbach, S. Hubbard, J. W. Wadsworth, Colonel Strang, W. A. Wadaworth. The present faculty is as follows: John M. MUne, A. M., Ph. D., principal; Eeuben A. Waterbury, mathematics and methods; Hubert J. Schmitz, natural sciences; Frank E. Welles, ancient languages; Myra P. Burdick, rhetoric and literature; Jennie C. Coe, algebra and methods; Mrs. Emeline S. Curtiss, grammar and history; Mary E. Bums, botany, geography and composition; Mrs. Phebe B. Hall, superintendent of intermediate department; Elizabeth McBride, critic in intermediate department and methods; Sara A. Goheen, superintendent of primary department; Elizabeth V. Eorbach, critic in primary department; Helen E. Angell, drawing and painting; Sarah Perry, elocution; Mrs. Louise M. Abbott, French and German; Mary E. Parks, vocal music; Mrs. J. L. Fraley, instrumental music; Julia E. BaUey, algebra and methods. The attendance at this school last year numbered 535 pupils in the normal department, seventy-eight in the academic, and 345 in the school of practice; in all, 758. New Paltz. This normal school opened Februai'y 15, 1S86, with an appro- priation of $18,000, now increased to |19,000. The first and only local board was as follows: Albert K. Smiley, president; Solomon Deyo, secretary; Charles W. Deyo, treasurer; Alton B. Parker, Jacob LeFevre, George H. Sharpe, Josiah J. Hasbrouck, Jacob D. Wurts, Lambert Jenldns. The original faculty was as fol- lows: Eugene Bouton, principal; Henry A. Balcom, Daniel Smiley, John E. WoodhuU, Mrs. Lulu C. Balcom, Miss Clara French and Alfred B. Sherwood. The number of pupils, first year, was 187. The present faculty is as foUoAvs: Frank S. Capen, A. M., Ph. D., principal; Henry L. Griffis, natiu^al sciences; Cassius J. Keyser, mathematics; ^''illa F. Page, methods and elocution; Isabel N. Tillinghasit, English language and literature; K. A. Gage, ancient languages; Mary L. Freeman, modern languages and histoiy; Sara E. Dillon, draAvtng and physical culture; Kate M. Denison, 62 mefthods, and principal of iatermediate department; Franc M. Witter, metkods, and principal of primary department; Anna M. Eeed, TKyeal music and assistant in school of practice; Charlotte E. Eeeve, critic in intermediate department; Ada E. Cole, critic in primary department; Josephine Lindhohn, instrumental music. The attendance of pupils last year was 520. Oneonta. The Oneonta Normal School opened on September 4, 1889. The annual appropriation for maintenance for one year and one-tentli of a year was $19,000. The appropriation for the fiscal year, com- mencing October 1, 1892, is |22,000. The number of students enrolled during the first year wasi 349. The local board, originally appointed September 7, 1887, con- sisted of the following: WUliam H. Morris, president; Eugene Kaymond, secretary; James Stewart, treasurer; Frank B. Arnold, George I. Wilber, Walter L. Brown, WUlard E. Yager, Keuben Reynolds, Charles D. Hammond, Frederick A. Mead, Samuel M. Thurber. The faculty, as confirmed by the Superintendent of Public InstTuction April 18, 1889, was as follows: James M. Milne, principal; Percy I. Bugbee, Charles N. Cobb, Williani M. Aber, Edwin F. Bacon, E. P. Russel, Elizabeth Weingand, Harriet T. Sanford, Elizabeth B. McLelland, Mrs. Helen E. Carpenter, Anna Gertrude OhUds, Grace BeU Latimer, Frances A. Hurd, Mary E. GiUis. Of the original local board three members, Messrs, Stewart, Arnold and Thurber have died or resigned and their places have been fiUed by David Whipple, H. D. Nelson and Hobart Krum. The present faculty is as follows: James M. Milne, A. M., Ph. D., principal; Percy I. Bugbee, mathematics; Charles N. Cobb, sciences; Edwin F. Bacon, modern languages; Vernon P. Squires, ancient languages; Elizabeth Weingand, methods, grammar, and superintendent of training department; Anna Gertrude Childs, music, English and criticism; Alice Gray Bothwell, literature, rhetoric and history; Han-iet A. Gates, methods, drawing and 63 criticism; Winifred Parsons, elocution, expression and physical culture; Grace Bell Latimer, civics, school law and principal in intermediate department; Frances A. Hurd, penmanship and criticism; Gertrude M. Stewart, physical geography and principal in primary department; Elizabeth E. HuU, methods and criticism. The attendance of pupils last year was 596. Oswego. The success of the Albany Normal School led to the establish- ment of a similar institution at Oswego, but so conservative and timid were our lawmakers that it took nearly twenty years to convince them that normal schools would be valuable auxiliaries to the promotion of public instruction. The Oswego school was organized on the 1st of May, 1861, as a city training school. There were but nine regular pupils in the class and but one teacher, and there was absolutely no appropria- tion for it, either by the city board of education or by the State. In 1863 a small appropriation of $3,000 was voted by the State to aid in the support of the school. By some flaw in the act the school received no portion of the money. No local board was appointed until May 11, 1867. At that time Superintendent Eice appointed the following members as a local board: Delos Dewolf, Daniel G. Fort, Samuel B. Johnson, David Harmon, J. M. Barrow, Gilbert MoUison, Benjamin Doolittle, Theodlore Irwin, John K. Post, Abner 0. Mattoon, Thomson Eongsford, Thomas S. Mott and Eobert F. Sage, thirteen in all. The number of pupils regis- tered in that year, 1867, was 283. The faculty included the following persons: E. A. Sheldon, J. W. Armstrong, Hermann Krusi, I. B. Poucher, E. J. Hamilton, C. C. Curtiss, Emily A. Eice, Matilda S. Cooper, Mary H. Smith, Elen Seaver, Mary E. Perkins, Edward Trowbridge, A. T. EandaU, Sarah J. Armstrong, Delia S. Lathrop, Martha McCumber, Tille 0. Staats and Kate Davis, eighteen in all. The State appropriation for 1867 was $13,403.69. The school received from the city during the year, in addition to the State appropriation, $2,303.85, making 64 as a total amount, $15,706.54. The local board at present is Theodore Irwin, treasurer; John Dowdle, secretary; Benjamin Doolittle, Abner C. Mattoon, Edwin Allen, George B. Sloan, John C. Churchill, John A. Place, Alanson S. Page, Frederick O. Clarke, S. Mortimer Coon. The present faculty is as follows: E. A. Sheldon, A, M., Ph. D., principal; I. B. Poucher, arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigo- nometry; A. W. Norton, ethical training, reading, vocal music and superintendent of the school of practice; J. W. Stump, botany, familiar science, geology and mineralogy, astronomy, chemistry and physics; Margaret K. Smith, philosophy and history of education, grammar, English language, plants; Caroline L. G. Scales, history, literature, rhetoric and composition; Sar^h J. Walter, geography and methods of teaching the same, arithmetic methods and school of practice; W. E. Bishop, Latin, German and gymnastics; Mary N. McElroy, school of practice and composition and rhetoric; * Amanda P. FunneUe, principal of kindergarten depai'tmeut; Anna Flynn, physical culture and primary and kindergai-ten departments; Mary L. O'Geran, school of practice; C. F. Hoick, Josephine C. Bunker. The attendance last year numbered 382 pupils in the normal department and 479 in the school of practice. The State appro- priation for next year is $21,000. Plattsbuegh. The Plattsburgh Normal School opened September 3, 1890, with an appropriation of |85,000 for the erection of the building and for furniture. The number of students enrolled was 113 in the normal department and 122 in the practice department. The original board of managers consisted of: Alfred Guibord, Everett C. Baker, Smith M. Weed, Alexander Bertrand, Henry G. Burleigh, Charles F. Hudson, S. Alonzo Kellogg, Rowland C. Kellogg, Stephen Moffitt, William P. Mooers, John B. Eiley, Lucien L. Shedden, William C. Stevens. The board remains the same with the exception of Mr. Weed, who has been succeeded by his son, Hbu George S. Weed. C5 The faculty at the opening of the school was: Fox Holden, principal; Myron T. Scudder, George H. Hudson, George K. Hawkins, Thankful M. Knight, Mary W. Lyon, Alice L. O'Brien, Helen M. Palmer, Sara J. Stewart, Eliza Kellas, Elizabeth B. Garrity, Kate S. Woodruff. The present faculty is as follows: Edward N. Jones, principal; George H. HJudson, vice-principal, natural science; George K. HaA^kins, mathematics; D. A. Loekwood, methods; Eleanor A. M. Gamble, Greek and Latin; Helen M. Palmer, French and Gei-man; Theodora Kyle, history and literature; Alice E. O'Brien, elocution and physical culture; S. Mae Hapgood, music; Rate S. Woodruff, form study, drawing and penmanship. The faculty of the school of practice consists of: Eliza Kellas, principal and critic ; Lucy E. Tracy, critic ; Louise A. Perry, critic. The present State appropriation for) this school is $20,S00. The attendance last year was 142 normal students and loC model school pupils. Potsdam. On April 27, 1869, the Potsdam Normal School became a reality, two years after the passage of the act authorizing it. It achieved popularity from the beginning, and had 328 pupils during the first year. The annual appropriation was at first fixed at $12,000. For the coming fiscal year it will be $23,500. The first local board was as follows: Henry S. Watkins, presi- dent; Chas. O. Tappan, stecretarj-; Jesse Eeymolds, treasurer; Aaron N. Duning, Geo. Ormiston, Noble S. Elderkin, Eben Fisher, John L Gilbert, BosAveill Pettibone. The original faculty was as follows: Malcolm Mc Vicar, prin- cipal; George H. Sweet, Henry L. Harter, E. D. Blakeslee, Gilbert B. Manley, Robert H. Button, M. Annie Allen, Ellen J. Merritt, Lucy A. Leonard, S. Julia Gilbert, Helen S. Wriglit, Sybil E. Russell, Amelia Morey, Eleanor E. Jones, Florinda E. Williams, Eunice J. Merriam. The local board at present consists of the following: General E. A. Merritt, president; J. G. Mclntyre, secretary; G. Z. Erwin, 66 treasurer; Jesse Eeynolds, John I. Gilbert, A. G. Gaines, Geo. H. Sweet, William E. Weed, Hon. John A. Vance. The present faculty is as follows: T. B. Stowell, A. M., Ph, D., principal; Amelia Morey, English language and methods; Warren Mann, natural science and methods; Edward W. Flagg, history, English literature and rhetoric; Ida B. Steyer, French and German; Jane F. Butrick, principal primary department; J. Ettie Crane, vocal music and methods; Fred. L. Dewey, Greek and Laitin; Freeman H. Allen, arithmetic, American history and methods; Minnie E. Lucas, reading, elocution, physical culture and methods; A. W. Morehouse, mathematics, geology and geography; Stans- bury Gorse, drawing and methods; Sarah V. ChoUar, botany, com- position, school law and methods; A. A. Woodward, principal Intermediate department; James M. Graves, Composition, pre- paratory branches and methods; F. E. Hathome, piano, organ, harmony; Mrs. F. E. Hathorne, assistant piano; Henry A. Wat- kina, leader of orchesta'a; Grace T. Howe, assistant vocal music. The number of pupils that attended this school last year was 989. Indian Schools. In 1856, under the provisions of an act of the Legislature, schools for the instruction of Indian children were organized on the Onondaga, Cattaraugus, Allegany and St. Eegis reservations. Two years later the Shinnecock Indians on Long Island were favored in like manner. In 1870 there were twenty-six Indian schools, thirty-nine teachers, of whom seventeen were Indians, and 1,000 pupils. The Department of Public Instruction has been charged for the past thirty-seven years with the duty of providing instruc- tion for Indian children living upon reservations within the bor- ders of the State. Liberal appropriations have he&a made towards that end from time to time by the Legislature. The bounty of the State has not been expended in vain, for the con- dition of those who have availed themselves of the educational opportunities offered them has been much improved. The first report upon Indian schools was made in 1857, when there were 1,658 67 Indians of school age, between four and twen1;y-one years within the borders, of the State. The attendance at the newly established schools was very smaU. In 1867, after ten years' trial, the schools increased to twenty-six, with aiji aggregate attendance of 968, and an average session of twentyi-seven weeks. The attendance was less than twenty-five per cent of the whole number of Indian children. There are at present six reservations — Allegany and Catta- raugus, Onondaga, St. Eegis, Shinnecock and Poospatuck, Tona- wanda and Tuscarora. On these six reservations are 1,553 chil- dren of school age, of whom 953 attended school during a portion of last year, the average daily attendance being 378. There were twenty-niae teachers, and the entire expense of the Indian schools for the year was about $9,519. The Legislature this year has liberally provided for necessary improvements in the condition of these schools. The principal drawback to the success of Indian schools is the unconquerable thriftlessness and disinclination for any regular work on the part of the Indian. The reservation system tends to perpetuate and intensify this shiftlessness and laziness, and it is very difQcult to instil any degree of interest for the schools in the breasts of the Indians. Many of the head men on the reservations are opposed to schools, as they think they tend to lessen their influence and enlighten and civilize the children. Until tribal relations and reservations are abol- ished, it is hopeless for the Indian to advance and take his place as a valuable member of the commonwealth. Compulsory Education. The question of compulsory education has occupied, for many years, the most earnest attention of thoughtful men, and as time rolls on it becomes more pressing and of greater importance. The chief commercial State of the Union, the principal gate-way through which the vast stream of immigration pours into the country, requires, beyond all others, the safeguard of universal education to enable it to blend and assimilate heteTOgeneous foreign elements with our advanced civilization and destroy the noxious weeds of ignorance which, left unchecked, would choke up 68 the vigorous growth of enterprise and poison the air of freedom. It is unquestioned that universal education is highly conducive to the welfare of the body politic, and that the State, having adopted a system of free public instruction, and having provided to a great extent for its maintenance, should require the attend- ance of all children of suitable age, who do not receive instruc- tion elsewhere, in order that the benefits of the schools may be fully realized. How to enforce this principle without unwar- rantable interference with the authority of parents and guardians over their children, has been a problem with edu- cators and legislators. It has been truly said that the adaptation of a system of education to the recognized wants and interests of the people, and its moral strength and influence, will do more to deu'ease truancy and attract children to the schools than any legislative enactments and penalties. The better the schools, the larger the attendance. The greater the improvement in methods of teaching, the less occasion there will be to scour the high- ways or the streets for pupils. The low per cent of school regis- tration for the cities of the State during the past year, about forty-eight per cent, is due to a large extent to the wide limits of the lawful school age, which stretches out to twenty -one years, at least three years beyond what is necessary. In the cities are, however, large numbers of children of tender years, who never realize the blessings of education, on account of the criminal neglect or selfishness of their parents. In 1S74 the compulsory education law first went into operation in New York. It has not accomplished the object for which it was intended, as it has been pennitted to remain unenforced, the local authorities beint; unwilling to court unpopularity and opposition in the attempt to carry out its provisions. There is much need of an efficient compulsory law, although the Legislature seems to be unwilling to take up the subject in the proper spirit. The State has a right to demand from the parent or guardian proper educa- tion for the child. The law of 1874 is a very clumsy and imprac- ticable affair^ containing many iiapracticable provisions which render it in the most material points null and void. 69 Educational Societies and Conventions, The first State convention of teachei-s, under tlie auspices of tlie State Teachers' Association, was held at Syracuse, in the suininer of 1845, John W. Balldcy being president. It succeeded the State convention of Superintendents, and both meetings were most notable assemblages for educational purposes. The teachers listened to eloquent addresses by Frederick Emerson, of Boston; Professor Simeon North, and 0. W. Anthony. This convention established a teachers' journal and gave considerable impetus ti) the cause of education. The State Teachers' Association has held annual conventions for forty-seven years, and has ever been a most valuable factor in s.-hool advance. The council of school superintendents has been held annually for ten years and has contributed valuable assistance to the good work. Then there is the New York State Association of School Commissioners and Sujierintendents, which has held annual meetings for thirty-eight years, at which most important subjects have been considered. Tkeire are many educational societies in more restricted fields of usefulness, but all serve as effective, moral and civilizing forces of the first value in all that concerns the social and mental amelioration of the lot of the people of the State. All of those elements, united to the Department of Public Instruction, are like great mains and, service pipes thjrough. which the vivifying water of education is laid on into extensive districts, covered with teeming populations, wh.o would, but for such agencies, have perished of mental thirst. They teach the ignorant; they lead into the light those groping in the dark ; they fit the rising genera- tion to cope with the new ideas that are constantly springing up and to aid in the great work of educational progress. A Noble System. There is a wide stretch of 260 years from the arrival of Adam Eoelandson, the first schoolmaster on our shores, to this Colum- bian era of national display and rejoicing. The principal educa- tional features of that period have been lightly glanced over in the preceding pages to present a faint outline of a glorious TO history wMcli would require many volumes to adequately illus- trate. Few primitive communities encountered such discourage- ments to educational advancement as that founded on the banks of the Hudson, and none met discouragements more valiantly and successfully. Not the greed of the unscrupulous company of traders who first ruled this State, nor the insolent pride and intol- erance of the subsequent royal governors, could hinder New York from fulfilling its glorious destiny as first in education, first in enterprise, first in wealth and first in the commerce of the nation. The sunrise of education in this State, over two centuries ago, was full of cloud and doubt and uncertain presages. But the glorious orb has now mounted to the top of its noonday tower, and all clouds are melted away into the blue, whUe in every part of this broad land, from Lake Erie to Montauk, from the Noiptih woods to the Pennsylvania line, the light of education falls on thousands of schoolhouses with their million pupils. But wonderful as the advance in New York in two centuries and a half has been ia all educational departments, the exceptional productive and vivifying power that seems to permeate ihis State in everytihiiLg it ffisays in the line of poxjgress, can not fail to bring forth, ere tiie twentieth century is well advanced, such results in public instruction as will make the ignorant man in New York as extinct as the dodo. The wonderful possibilities of educa- tion and the far-distant heights yet unclimbed by our edu- cators, are mirrored with faithful distinctness in the trans- lucent lake of oiu" common school system. We look for- ward confidently to the day when the system shall per- vade every part of the State, as the sole representative of the intellectual needs of the people, controlling coUegra iis well as country schools, inspiring all within the commonwealth, gather- ing in all the children of school age, filling the entire territory of the State with siohools — to which, as architectural features alon^eadh locality will point with pride to the inquii"ing stranger — supplying even the humblest country schools with a corps of trained, zealous teachers, who will look upon teaching as a noble profession, not as a makeshift or stepping-stone to some- Tl thing else, filling the land with normal schools, teachers' institutes, training classes and educational conventions and societies, and acting as an invigorating elixir to every branch of industrial development within the State. Grand as the present prospect is, when we look around the educational horizon, it is but a small area compared with that which the schools of the future in the Empire State will occupy. School Moneys and Attendance. The following table will show generally by semi-decades the development of our common school system from the earliest sug- gestions of it, under a free government, down to the present time. The statistics are in some respects incomplete: Public moneys expended. Attendance. 1798» 59,060 1816§ 140,106 1820 1206,848 271,877 1825 161,340 420,000 1830 586,520 500,000 1835 541,000 1840 1,011,873 570,000 1845 1,097,985 736,000 1850 1,884,818 800,430 1855 3,554,587 867,577 I860 3,774,247 867,388 1865 5,735,460 881,184 1«70 10,209,978 1,029,852 1875 11,459,353 1,059,238 1880 10,296,977 1,031,593 1885 13,466,368 1,024,845 1890 17,392,472 1,042,160 1891 17,174,835 1,054,044 1892 18,203,988 1,073,093 * Beturns from 16 out of S3 counties. g Beturns from 36 out of 46 counties. 72 General Expenditures for Schools. The following taWe sliows the entire amount expended during the year for the maintenance of public educational interests directly connected with the State Department of Public Instruction : For the salaries of common school teachers. . . . $11,621,066 73 For district libraries 61,820 20 For school apparatus 374,840 35 For buildings, sites, furniture, etc 3,925,191 10 For other expenses incidental to the support of common schools 2,220,060 18 For teachers' institutes 23,510 37 For teachers' tnaining classes 39,553 98 For normal schools 309,696 93 For Indian schools 9,790 96 For American Museum of Natural History 12,719 66 For Department of Public Instruction 32,571 50 For school commissioners 114,000 00 For New York Institution for the Blind 83,054 57 For instiitutions for the deaf and dumb 190,765 26 For school registers 5,200 00 For Arbor Day 913 06 For county treasurera ." 10,813 21 Total $19,035,568 06 Common School Statistics. Number of children of school age in the State 1,845,519 Common schools, number of pupils 1,073,093 Normal schools, number of pupils 7,842 Academies, number of pupils 44,875 Colleges, number of pupils 9,350 Private schools, number of pupils 163,941 Law schools, number of pupils 1,000 Medical schools, number of pupils 4,274 Teachers, number of 32,161 73 Average annual salary 1467 00 Averay:e weekly salary |12 62 Number of log schoolhouses 41 Num'ber of frame schoolhouses 10,127 Number of brick schoolhouses 1,532 Number of stone schoolhouses 317 Average length of school terms, weeks 37 Six counties, Albany, Erie, Kings, Monroe, New York and Westchester, pay .|1,291,344.24 in school taxes more than they receive back from the Jtate. The other fifty-four counties receive for the support of their schools more than they pay the State, the balance being paid by the counties above named. State Supekintendents. NAMES. Eesidence. Chosen. Gideon Hawley Welcome Esleeck Secretaries of State and Superintendents ^ ex officio John Van NesB Yates Azariah C. Flagg John A. Dix John C. Spencer Samuel Young Nathaniel S. Benton Christopher Morgau Henry S. Randall Ellas W. Leaven worth Department of Public Instruction ; Victor M. Rice Henry H. Van Dyok Emerson W. Keyes* Victor M Rice Abram B. Weaver Neil Gilmour William B. Ruggles James E. Morrison* Andrew S. Draper James F. Croolier Albany Albany Albany Plattsburgh . . . Cooperstown . . Canandaigua . . Ballston Little Falls.... Auburn Cortland Syracuse Buffalo Albany Albany Buffalo Deerfield Ballston Spa... Bath.j New York city Albany Buffalo January 14, 1813 February 82, 1831 April April April ^pril April April November November November 3, 1831 14, 1826 1,1833 4,1839 7, 1842 8, 1845 2,1847 4, 1851 8,1853 April April April February April April March January April April 4,1664 7, 1857 9,1861 1, 1863 7,1868 7,1874 14, 1883 1,1886 6, 1886 7, 1892 * Acting Superintendents by reason of resignations. Note.— The writer desires to egress his acknowledgements for data and information obtained from the valuable works of Broadhead, Howell and Randall and also from the Holland and English Colonial documents on the subjects discussed in the preceding treatise on the Schools of New York. : -^^■^'W^^m