REGULATIONS FOR. COMMON SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IN TWO PARTS. Co > Part I.- -General District Regulations. Part JTJ.—lEBtcmal Regulations ofthe Schools. PREPARED BY THOMAS H. BURROWES, SUPERINTENDENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS. HARRISBURG: Printep bt Elliott & M'Cvrdy. 1838. f ' Part JFirst* General District Regulations I. Directors and their Meetings. 1. The Board of Directors will meet regularly on the (last Satur- day in March, June, September .and December, at the house of at 10 o'clock A. M., for the transaction of business, of which teachers, par- ents and all others having business with the Board, will take notice.,, 2. When other meetings are necessary they shall be held by call of the President, (of which each member shall receive one week's written notice from the Secretary,) or by adjournment from a pre* vious meeting, at such time and place as the notice or adjournment shall specify. 3. At the .regular meeting in March, annually, the President, Sec- retary, Treasurer and Collector for the ensuing year will be chosen ; the two former of whom shall, and the two .latter shall not, be mem- bers of the Board. 4. Not less than four members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and if the President or Secretary, or both, be absent, a President or Secretary pro tempore shall be chosen by the members present. 5. The whole proceedings of each meeting shall be entered on the minutes before the adjournment thereof, and shall be read aloud by the Secretary and signed by the acting President and Secretary. 6. No motion can be adopted unless by the votes of three members when only ifour or five are present, or by the votes of four members m a full board of six. But if less than four members are present, no business eaEibe.degally transacted, except that of adjournment till tome other day. 7. The District Treasurer shall attend, if possible, -at the four regular meetings of the Board, in order to make known the state of the funds, to be informed of the probable drafts on him previous to the next meeting, and to ascertain the [proportion ,of .funds set apa# for each school or .primary district. II. Tax, Tax meetings, i&c. 1. The amount of ordinary tax for the year shall be fixed -at tie regular meeting next before the first Monday in May, annually, and the yeas and nays shall be called on all questions of tax, and shall be cnteted on the minutes. 2. When the question of additional tax is to be submitted td the?-' people, the Board' shall agree upon some certain sum, exclusive of the amount whkri- may be by law levied by the Directors themselves, which shall be granted op' refused by the people in this manner : — • Each voter in favor of the additional tax shall write the sum required by the Directors on the inside of his ticket, and the word " tax" on the outside ; and each' person opposed to the additional tax, shall insert the words " no additional tax" on the inside of his ticket, and the word "tax" on the ; outside, and the majority shall rule as in other cases. 3 At the election to decidV the question of additional tax, the President, or in his absence, some other member of the Board, shall act as Inspector, tv/o qualified voters chosen by the citizens present shall be the Judges, and the Secretary, or in his absence some other member of the Board, shall act as Clerk. 4. The assessment of the tax, both ordinary and additional, shall be completed, and the duplicate and warrant for collection shall be placed in the hands of the District Collector on or before the lust day of June, annually. 5. The Collector shall not be required" to collect the school tax sooner than the money' may be actually needed for the expenses of the district, so that the citizens may not be' unduly pressed' in the payment. 61 In order to afford the tax payers the longest possible time for payment, the whole amount of State appropriation' for the year, and all balances remaining from former years, shall' be applied to the ex- penses of the district, before the proceeds of tax is applied. III. Establish met & discoffltiiiwanceoi* Schools, Loea'tioia and use' of School houses, &c. 1.. A new school shall be established whenever it is proved to the Board that not less than 40 (or 30 or 20, as the case may be,) children are without reasonable and convenient opportunity of instruction, and When the establishment of such school will not reduce" the duration of teaching, in the other established schools,, to 1'ess than six months* in the year. 2. Whenever it is proposed to establish a new school, the citizens Within' its bounds shall be invited' to' build and' furnish the house by private contribution, or at least to contribute partly thereto, with the* understanding that if they do not, the cost of the house, or the balance of it, shall be deducted from the rateable portion of the district funds* coming to their school or primary district, before actual commori school instruction can be commenced. 3. The„establishment of a certain number of schools in a district shall not be taken to amount to a division of it into sub or primary districts. Sub-division can only take place by express resolution of fhe Board to that effect, entered on the minutes, and setting forth the bounds of each primary district as such. 4. To prevent disputes about the locating of school houses, the 'following mode will in -all cases be adopted: The Board will appoint four citizens resident within the bounds of the school or of the primary district in question, but at the opposite and most distant extremes thereof, who, with a member of the Board appointed for that purpose by the Board, but not resident within the bounds or primary district, shall determine the place at which the house shall be built; and their decision shall be reported to the Board, entered gii the minutes, and shall be final. 5. If the number of regular attending pupils in any full primary district or school, shall at any time be reduced to 15, the same shall be reported by the teacher or any tax payer to the. committee, or, if there be no committee, to the nearest Director, who shall put up six written notices, at least two weeks before the end of the current quar- ter, at public places within the proper bounds, that the school will be closed at the end of the quarter, unless the number of attendant pupils be permanently increased to 25 (or 30 or 35, as the case may be,) be- fore the end of the quarter, which shall be specified. — And if such increase do not take place, the "School shall be discontinued altogeth- er, or for the season, as- the Board may determine. 6. The school houses of the district shall not be used for pnbli e meetings, singing schools, religious worship, 4'C, without the con- sent of a majority of the proper committee, or of the Board of Direc- tors if there be no committee. IV. Distribution of ScBaool Fund. 1. All the funds of the District, whether derived from State appro" priations, District tax, or other sources, shall be subject to one and the same rule of distribution. 2. Each school or primary District, having not less than 30, (or 25 or 20, as the case may be,) and not more than 50, pupils attend- ing or desirous of attending school, shall be counted one full school; each having less than the foregoing minimum number shall be ac- counted a half or three-fourths of a school in proportion to its defi- ciency ; and each having more than the maximum number shall be accounted one and a fourth,one and a half, one and three-fourths, or a double school in proportion to its excess of pupils. The schools (or primary Districts,) being thus proportioned, and the numbers and fractions of all being -added together, the whole number thus produced, shall form the divisor, the whole amount of funds to be distributed the dividend, and the quotient or result shall be the share of each school or District accounted as one full school; and the others shall receive more or less than a full share in proportion to their fractional excess or deficiency, as previously determined. 3. No established school (or primary District) shall be 'denomina- ted less than a half school, nor shall any be denominated more Jhan & double school. 0' 4. The distributive share of any school (or primary District) shall'* not; be applied tb the purposes of instruction until the cost of the school house be' defrayed, or some definite arrangement made for it#» gradual payment, by annual instalments out of the future share of the' school or primary District, or from some other certain source. T. Primary Committees. 1. Whenever a District is laid of" into primary Districts, the citi- zens of each sh$ll be called on by at least six public notices, signed 5 by the President and Secretary, and- put up at least two weeks previ- ous to the election, to elect three resident taxable citizens of the primary District to act as the primary committee. A return of which' election shall be made in writing by the officers thereof, (who shall be an Inspector and Clerk, chosen by the citizens present,) to the' President or Secretary of the Board. 2. The primary committee first elected shall continue in office till; the last Saturday of the current School year, on which day, annu- ally, their successors shall be elected, to serve one year, on notice put up by the out-going committee, for two weeks, at six places. 3. The primary committee shall have charge and control of the school building; shall make all repairs to it, subject to the direction of the Board; and shall provide fuel. 4. They shall have power to grant or refuse the use of the school house to the citizens of the primary District for public purposes. 5. They shall select and nominate to the Board of Directors a teacher for their school, who shall be appointed by the Board, if upon examination he or she shall appear to be a proper and compe- tent person for the station. 6. They shall, with the concurrence of the Board, but not other- wise, fix the salary of the teacher, which they shall certify in. writing to the President, to be entered on the minutes. But if they and the Board cannot agree, or if the his or her proper place in the class, and is to stand erect and still during recitation. 7. When the- exercises are changed from writing to arithmetic, from arithmetic to reading, &c, no unnecessary noise is to be made, in putting away books, slates, &c. 8. No pupil is to complain of another without going to the Teach- er's desk for that purpose ; and if complaint be made without good reason, the complainant is to be punished in the same manner as the person complained of would have been, if the complaint had been well founded. 9. Before dismission, both at noon and in the evenings books, slates, &c, not required to be taken home, shall be put away in their proper places. 10. The pupils shall be dismissed by classes, and each class oi* being named by the Teacher shall quietly and speedily leave their' seats, take their books and hats, salute the Teacher, and leave the room. 11. No pupil shall delay near the school house after dismission' for the day, nor on the way home.. 12. The pupils are expected to show by their respectful saluta- tion of strangers whom they meet on the way from' and to home r that they are acquiring civility as well as knowledge at school. 13. All quarrelling or fighting, vulgar, profane or disrespectful hxr guage or conduct, either in school, during intermission, or on tft*' way to and from school, will be severely punished. 14. Cutting desks, benches, or window-sills, breaking windows or seribbling and drawing on the walls, injuring the plaster or floor, or any other damages to the building, either within or without, must be avoided, or if committed will be severely punished. 15. The slightest approach to falsehood and dishonesty will be- most severely punished as offences which, if they become habitual, must wholly unfit their unfortunate and guilty subjects for decent and safe society. 16. Each pupil convicted of falsehood! or dishonesty shall cut the wood, (or bring in the coal) make the fires and carry the water for ©ae week. 12 17. Playing truant shall be most severely punished, the truant being guilty of deception, idleness, and waste of time combined; each ■truant shall, in addition to other punishments, sweep the school room during the noon recess, every day for one week. III. Hours of Instruction— Roll— Intermissions and Vacations. • 1. The hours of instruction shall be from- 8 till 12 in the fore- noon, and from 2 till 5 in the afternoon, from the first of April till the 1st of October; and from 9 till 12 in the forenoon, and 1 till 4 in the afternoon, during the rest of the year. 2. The roll shall be called by the Teacher precisely at the minute of opening school in the fore and afternoon, and all late attendances noted by the Monitor. Total absences shall also be noted before dismission at noon and in the evening. 3. No pupil shall be permitted to.go out-of the school room during the hours of study, without the Teacher's permission ; nor shall two pupils be out at the same time. 4. Pupils who do not go home for dinner, shall continue during intermission near the school-house, and every act of ill conduct committed during intermission, shall be punished as if it had been committed during school hours. 5. The school shall be closed on the afternoon of every Saturday, 6. The vacations shall be two weeks from the Monday next before Christmas, and four weeks from the first Monday in August. There shall be no school on the fourth of July ; but no. other, holy day. or ■vacation shall be granted without express vote of the Directors. IV. Classes. 1. As soon as practicable the Teacher shall classify all the pupils, -fc'here shall not be more than twelve in one -class of any particular branch of study. 2. Pupils only whose advance in any particular study is nearly gimilar, shall be embraced in the same -class. 3. The classes i n each branch shall be designated numerically, the lowest in attainment being called the first, as theirs/ class in read- ing, the second, class in reading, the third class in reading, &c, the first class in grammar, -&c. 4. Promotions from lower classes to higher shall take place on Mondays, and shall be made by the Teacher ; they shall be publicly announced to the school on the preceding Saturday as a reward of merit and a mark of the Teacher's approbation. 5. Each pupil, who, in the regular order of the class, .answers a question missed by the pupil or pupils above him or her, shall take > the place- of the- pupil who first failed fe> answer. rs 8. The members of the same class shall not be required to sit together in school. "?. Pupils absent from one or more recitations, shall loose thek places in the class and go to the foot. 8. Males and females may be placed in the same class, if the number of one sex qualified for the particular class, be not sufficient to fill it. V. School-books and Studies. 1. School books, paper, slates, &c, shall be furnished by the' parents or guardians of the scholars ; and the books shall be uniform* and of the following kinds till otherwise directed: Spelling Books :— .- Reading Books :— «■ Grammars :~ Geographies:— Historie8 : — » Arithmetics :►— 2. The Old and New Testaments, containing the best extant eode of morality, in simple, beautiful and pure language, shall be used as a school book for Reading, without comment by the Teach- er, but not as 21 text book for religious discussion. 3. All pupils having the kind of books directed by the foregoing rules, Shall be classified, and shall be called on to recite first. 4. All pupils not provided with the proper kind of books directed by the Board, shall not be classed nor called on to recite till the uniform classes shall have recited. 5. No books whatever except those actually UBed for instruction shall be permitted in school. 14 6. The black board and slate sliall be frequently and generally made use of in the study of Arithmetic and Geography. 7. The course of studies -shall be such as may be calculated to impart aplain and sound 'business education. 8. The same course of studies shall be pursued in the schools of the same grade by all the pupils of the same advancement in learn- ing without distinction ; ,and no pupil shall be admitted for the pur- pose of studying any, one particular branch, except by express vote of the Directory TI. tlrder of Exercises. 1. The order of exercises shall be as follows, viz : -In the Forenoon — The Alphabet classes an their order, beginning vwith the 1st. The Spelling classes an their order. The Reading classes in their order. The Grammar classes in their otder. "The Geography classes in their .order. The half hour next before intermission at noon to be devoted to 'Pennmanship. In the Afternoon — The Alphabet classes in their order. The Spelling classes in their order. The Reading classes in their order. The History classes in their order. The hour next before dismission for the day, to be devoted to Arithmetic and Book-keeping. 2. Each member of the Alphabet and of the Spelling and Reading classes, who does not belong to any other class, is to receive at least four lessons in the day, viz : Two in the forenoon and two in the afternoon. The second lesson in the forenoon may be given while the larger pupils are engaged in writing, and in the afternoon while they are studying Arithmetic: or, if the Teacher's time will not admit of this arrangement, one of the larger pupils may be designated to give two of their lessons, tbut the-other two must be treceired from the Teacher personally. 3. If the time »cft the 'Teacher will not admit df -a daily lesson to all the pupils in Geography and History, they may be dispensed with, except on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on which days the lesson in Grammar may be omitted. 4. Saturdays shall be devoted to reviews or repetitions of all the lessons committed to memory during the week ; no new lessons of that kind, nor Writing nor Arithmetical exercises shall be required on that day. But Alphabet, Spelling and Reading pupils shall be attended to in the same manner as during the forenoon of any other day. 15 Til. Seats. 1. Each pupil shall hav« a seat assigned .him or her by .the Teacher, adapted to his or >her size and age. 2. The boys and girls aire to be separated from each other. 3. No exchange of seats .is to take place between scholars without the Teacher's permission. 4. Absence from school without leave, or without written ex- cuse from parent or guardian, will forfeit a seat, which may, in such case, be assigned by the Teacher to some other pupil if he think proper; and the pupil thus forfeiting his or her seat shall be compelled to sit. on the lowest seat, or to *tand, if there be none to accommodate him or her, till the next entry day, or till one becemes >vacant. ■Tin. Sweeping School-room, Making fires, &c T. Each of the female pupils of all the highest classes,. shall for one day,. in turn and in alphabetical order, sweep the school room, dust the desks, and arrange the seats, during noon intermission, ex- • cept when performed, as a punishment, by a truant. 2. Each of the male pupils of all the highest classes shall, for one day, in turn and in alphabetical order, prepare and bring in the fuel, make the fire, and carry the water, except when performed as a punishment for falsehood or dishonesty. 3. A sufficiency of fuel shall be left in the school room by the person whose duty it is for the day, to enable the Teacher to kindle 'the fire next morning with as little trouble as possible. 4. In schools consisting exclusively of males or exclusively of females, the members of the highest classes .in each branch, shall sweep the room, arrange the desks, &c, andtthose of the next shall ; attend to the fires and carry the water, in alphabetical order. 5. Each pupil shall putf away such of his or her books, slate* • eopy-books, (fee, as are not to be taken home, in their proper places, and arrange his or her desk in a proper manner, before dismissal at noon and in the evening, to accomplish which, the Teacher shall ■give the word "< arrange your desks 1 ' before dismission. 6. The Teacher shall have the control of the temperature of the •room, and of its ventilation, which he will regulate according to the Thermometer provided by the Board, taking care not to allow the Mercury to rise above 70 degrees, nor fall belaw 60. degrees Fah- renheit,. in .the winter. IX. Monitors. 1. To promote observance of the foregoing rules, and to assist in maintaining the discipline of the school, a monitor shall be appointed e a?h week. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 16 021 289 250 6 ,2 The monitors shall be'members of the highest classes in Gram- mar, Geography, History and Arithmetic ; the members of which classes shall serve in alphabetical order, unless when for bad conduct they shall be deprived of that privilege by the Teacher. 3. The monitor shall keep a book ruled in columns under the following heads : Late attendance, Total absence, Lessons missed, and Bad conduct; and the name- of each ssholar guilty of any of those offences shall be entered under the proper head. 4. The Monitor's book shall be regularly kept, and the transac- tions of each day, both during the fore and afternoon, entered and dated ; and on Saturday the whole shall be read aloud by the monitor before dismission, signed by him and delivered to the Teacher. 5. No pupil is to be entered in the Monitor's book for bad con- duct or lessons omitted, except by direction of the Teacher. 6i The Monitor is to call the Teacher's attention to all instances of bad conduct, but no other pupil is to do so, unless for some injury to him or herself, in which, case complaint is to. be made at the Teacher's desk. X. Publication of tlie Utiles; 1. A copy of the rules shall be suspended in a conspicuous part ©f the school room, for the information of the pupils and others. 2. They shall not be altered except with the consent of the Directors. 8. They shall be read aloud by the Monitor of the week, every Monday morning immediately after roll' call. 4. When any pupil shall' transgress any, even the least, of the rules, fee or she shall be obliged by the Teacher or Monitor to stand up and (if able) read aloud the rule violated ; if unable, it shall be read to him or her by the Monitor, that the like offence may not be com- mitted again through ignorance.