RADICAL CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION OF SCHOOLS URGED BY DR. DOWNES [Continued From First Page] gone into thoroughly and at the close of the report Dr. Downes recom mended early action to put the pro posed plans in operation before the organization of the intermediate or Junior high schools. Beginning with the present meth ods, and pointing out their weak nesses, Dr. Downes took up the en tire system, then gave the recom mendations of what should be pro vided In the new system of supervi sion arid administration. The present plan in the city school district includes the following super visory officers, the 1917-1918 salary totals of these officials being at tached: 1 superintendent (one-half administration) $3,500 5 district supervisors (largely superinvision) . 8,400 4 supervisors of music (all teaching) 4,300 3 supervisors of drawing (all teaching) 3,250 2 high school principals (one half administration) 6,400 26 Elementary principals (administration expense).. 6,870 14 Assistant principals (ad ministration expense) 1,400 $33,120 M'cakness Pointed Out Superintendent Downes pointed out the weakness of this plan as fol lows: "The cost of supervision (less than 40 per cent, of the above) is insuffi cient to meet modern educational needs. "The cost of administration, as compared with that of supervision, is too great. "The so-called supervors of music and drawing teach all the time and are therefore not supervisors in fact. "For solely supervisory purposes the number of employes in the de partments of music and drawing is t'oo large, "While district supervision Is less JSxwmanZ HARRISBURG, FRIDAY, MAY 18, 1017. For the June Bride All your dreams of "the one wonderful gown" may / \\ be realized here to the full ;f\ \V- est in the many exquisite JiM V v modes we have assembled. / v Lovely white things \ Jflfp Shimmering crepe de V; \ chines /! I \ \ \ ill 1 Sheer dainty voiles /['. !\ \!yh Pretty laces M\ I \ ttj|t Clinging Georgettes f l\ lltf '^ ne em broideries P ro P er accessories ' w H I V\\\\ Surely no June bride '• >Jv W/ \\\ V\ could be quite content to 4rJy 11 choose her bridal costume H \((-JtA without first seeing this store's showing, in which the demand of every purse ' <a- •"% **" • will be gratified. Sale of Highest Grade Silver Plated Ware > i i i ■ ii Superiority of quality in the metal itself, and de- f){ C -—: : signing that shows the highest achievements of the silversmith's craft. V' ~ * l 3 'j l J;i- Featuring the Sheffield Silverware and the Community Flat IVare Particularly appropriate for wedding gifts is fine grade silverware; useful and most pleasing to the recipients especially when they possess the kind of lasting qualities, qualities, which we offer you now at saving prices. Come and make your selection from a remarkable assort ment of the latest designs and incidentally SAVE! Berry Spoons, each, Ice Tea Spoons, half $2.11). dozen, $3.59. Sugar Shell and Butter Oyster Forks, half dozen, Spreader, set, $1.89. $3.29. Knives and Forks, guar- Fruit Knives, half dozen, ainteed 15 years, half dozen, $.>.98. $2.98. Three-piece Tea Set, Soup Ladles, each, $2.89. $13.75 and $10.75. Mayonnaise Ladles, each, Suar and Cream Sets, $1.19. $.{.29, $3.09 and $.>..">9. Gravy Ladles, each, Mayonnaise Sets, $4.59. $1.09. ' Relish' Dishes. $4.59. Ice Cream Forks, half Tureens, $4.59, $8.39, dozen, $3.G9. $8.59. Salad Forks, half dozen, Fruit Stands, $3.79. 84.09. Sugar Holders, 43£ and Coffee Spoons, half dozen, 53£. 82.(59. Egg Service, $2.09 and Soup Spoons, half dozen, $4.i5. $5.29. Bread Trays, $1.79, Bouillon Spoons, half $1.89, $1.98, $2.19, dozen, $4.59. $2.79, $3.79 and $5.39. Cheese Servers, each, Sandwich Trays, $2.39, 81.39. $2.98 and $4.09. Pie Servers, each, $2.59. Bon-Bon Baskets, $3.59, Sugar Tongues, each, $5.29 and $10.50. 89<\ * Cake Stands, $0.59. Knife, Fork and Spoon— Salt and Pepper Sets, Child's set, $2.19. $1.09. I Orange Spoons, half Spoon Holders, $2.39. dozen, $3.59. BOWMAN'S—Main Floor See Additional Store News On Page 3 FRIDAY EVENING, HARRISBURG TELEGRAPH MAY 18, 1917. expensive, under our present plan of organization, than any other scheme that might be proposed, it is at pres ent not sufficiently close and effec tive. Principals Without Authority "Principals are often handicapped because they are without supervis ory authority alf to teaching. "Special sunprvision is practical ly neglected. "Excepting through the office of the superintendent there is no su pervisory connection between the elementary grades and the high schools. "The office of assistant principal in certain elementary schools carries with it duties that are vague or un necessary. "The superintendent's time is, of necessity, too largely employed in dealing with matters of routine and detail." Cost or Supervision Statistics in the report show that the amount of money expended per capita in Harrisburg for supervision is far below that spent in most cit ies. The figures were taken from estimates made by a group of super intendents working under the direc tion of Dr. Harlan Updegraff, of the University of Pennsylvania. The costs of supervision were sought in all cities in Pennsylvania representing school districts of the second class, and In all cities of tho United States with populations rang ing, according to the 1910 census, between 50,000 and 150.000, a grand total of seventy-nine cities being in cluded in the study. Fifty-six cities responded but the replies from only forty-six were com plete enough to be used. The tabu lation showed the costs of supervi sion per capita ranging from 54c in Reading to $4.63 in Albany, N. Y„ the average for the forty-six cities being $1.86. The cost in Harrisburg was found to be $1.03 or 83c below the average. Only five of the forty- six cities spend less tlinn Harrisburg, it was shown. Cost of Administration The study of supervisory cost, in cluded an Investigation of the costs of administration In the same group of cities. Tabulated returns indi cated a range per capita costs on the basis of total enrollment, from 24c in Sommervllle, Mass., to 12.1S in Houston, Texas, tile average of the entire forty-six cities being 88c The cost in Harrisburg is sl.Ol or 13c above the average. wenty nine of the forty-six cities spend less per capita for administration by su pervisory officers than Harrisburg. This, Dr. Downes claimed, is due without question to the large num ber of elementary principals em ployed in the city, owing to small school buildings, the total amount of the salaries of these officials, over and above that credited to them as teachers, being charged to the cost of administration. Supervisors' Duties Declaring that the time of a super visor of special subjects, such as music and drawing, should be de voted largely to control and over sight, rather than actual classroom teaching. Dr. Downes stated the su pervisors' duty should consist in di- I ecting teachers- rather than pupils. At present supervisors of music and drawing are engaged most of the time in regular classroom teaching and have little time to devote to the principal duties that should receive their attention. Above tlio Average Here Harrisburg is the only city of the fifty-six replying to the questionnaire of the University of Pennsylvania investigators reporting four super visors of music, and was one of the six having three supervisors of drawing. This Is due to the fact that Harrisburg has been operating un der a system of basing the number of supervisors needed on the number of regular teachers employed. For ty-three of the fifty-six cities reply ing to questions only have one super visor of music, and thirty-eight only one supervisor of drawing. Closer Supervision District or group supervision will be the* most economical method which can be used in Harrisburg, Dr. Downes continued. To support this he says: "Harrisburg now has thirty elementary school buildings with capacities ranging from two to twenty-four regular classrooms. Eighteen of these buildings contain less than ten rooms each, and it would manifestly be impracticable to have a separate supervising prin cipal in each. On the other hand there is danger in spreading general supervision over too great an area. Where a supervising principal has charge of more than one building, tho buildings should be as compact as possible and one such supervisor should not be required to have more than from twenty to thirty teachers under Ills Immediate control and direction. In fact in most of our progressive school cities we find that the principals In all schools of twelve or more classrooms do no regular teaching, their work being entirely supervisory in character. For the past three years our plan in Harris burg has involved the supervision of teaching by one man of from forty five to sixty rooms in from four to seven buildings spread over a wide area. More Power For Principals "School principals," the report continued, "should have authority both to direct classroom teaching and to deal with discipline. They should have wide power in hand ling all the varied executive prob lems that arise. Administrative and supervisory functions are often so related that the performance of one function involves the per formance of the other. By our present plan the gen eral supervisor Is made responsible To-morrow at Troup's Attractive Values in New and Used Pianos and If you're looking for the utmost in quality at a low price, see our bargains in rebuilt used pianos and player pianos on sale to-day and to-morrow. Several fine makes, iike new, just down from our workshops; they arc much to be preferred to cheap new instruments. Or, if you prefer a new instrument of standard make, we now have several at greatly reduced prices. The following examples will give you an idea of our low prices; come and see the instruments for yourselves: Used Pianos New Pianos New and Used Some well-known Reduced Players makes, complete- Only one or two An Bg . notc and ly rebuilt, as low each but the ful] guaranteed f n a e vm * 15 Prices start at % inc. S7B $lB5 $265 Others at $l2O, buys a good $275 Others slightly $135, $l4O, $155 upright. Others at higher. Music and up to only $215 and up to rolls, bench and $l7O for an almost $285 for a S4OO scarf included new. Briggs. free. Any instrument you choose may be paid for as best suits you—cash, charge account or monthly rentals—and with each we give full guarantee; immediate delivery. J. H. Troup Music House Troup Building 15 S. Market Sq. for results in teaching, while the principal exercises general control over his building. These duties should be combined In one official. Neglect S|K'cial Supervision "We have already shown that our so-called supervision in music and druwing Is supervision In name only and not In fact. No other subjects or departments have special supervi sion, eveh in name. There are cer tain lines of educational work that, to accomplish the most satisfactory and effective results, require super vision and immediate direction by specialists in thoso particular fields. Among these, aside from music ahd drawing, might be particularly men tioned manual training and physical education. Of the group of fifty-six cities before mentioned all but nine have special supervision in manual training and all but fifteen in physi cal education. Thirty-three have special supervision in penmanship. There is a gi eat tendency to-day than ever before toward this differ entiated supervision, some leading educators going even so far as to ad vocate special supervision for each of the princlcal elementary academic subjects. Scope of Supervision "Every system of schools should also be so organized that there is functional unity in it. There should also be continuity throughout. To aid in accomplishing these ends cer tain special supervisory officials should have to do with the entire system.. This is true particularly In such subjects as music, drawing, manual training and physical educa tion. There should be one head in each of these departments, and his responsibility should not cease at the end of the elementary course. It should extend throughout the high school course. These links of con nection between the lower and high er schools are most important." Dr. Downes then explained that the first assistant principals desig nated at the time they were named, as assistants to the principals, were chosen for the Cameron und Camp Curtin schools, as these are the largest elementary schools in the city and contain large study rooms. Later assistants were provided for the Lincoln and Boas schools. Then assistants were gradually provided in all schools having large study halls or those containing ten or more rooms. The duties of the superintendent were outlined as follows: "The superintendent, broadly speaking, is the general manager of the school system, all other profes sional employes being responsible to him, and he in turn being responsi ble to the board. In this capacity he must concern himself with the applications, qualifications, examin ation and certification of teachers, courses of study, text-books, general meetings of supervisors and teachers, Important problems of discipline, teachers' salaries and promotions, public activities, educational meet ings, committee and board meetings, reports, supervision and many other duties of like character. In addition to this he should give much time and study to new problems and mod ern educational movements and give to the board the benefits of this study. His time should be devoted practically altogether to these broad er consructlve activities; and if any considerable amount of his time, therefore, as is now the case, is con sumed in purely clerical or mechani cal detail, when the work might be done equally well by some subordin ate employe, the district would seem to be by so much the loser. New Plan of Organization "It Is with a view to removing these various points of weakness that the new plan of organization has been proposed. It is not the product of impulse or of immature decisions. On the contrary, it rep resents months of Investigation and agt gg >■ \ i DR. F. E. DOWNES. deliberation, and I trust it will, in large measure at least, receive the board's approval. The outline of the proposed plan, together with suggested salaries, follows: 1 sperintendent, $3,500. 1 supervisor of advanced grades, I ($1,500 to $2,00) sl,fiso. 1 supervisor of primary grades, 1 supervisor of special activities, 1 su pervisor of music, 1 supervisor of drawing, 1 supervisor of manual training, 1 supervisor of physical education, $1,300 to SI,BOO, $8,650. 2 assistants in music and draw ing, $2,000. 2 High School principals ($2,500 to $3,000), $5,400. 3 intermediate principals ($2,000 to $2,500). 10 elementarv principals ($1,200 to $1,700) $15,000. 26 head teachers, $2,600. Extra for head teachers in order not to reduce salary, $3,000. Total cost of new plan. $41,800; total cost of present plan, $33,120. American naval officers. For Future Development "It should be understood that the plan proposed has been evolved with a view to future development. It Is not expected that, the board will feel inclined to employ all of these spe cial supervisors at present. The board's approval- of the general plan would not necessarily carry with it immediate employment in all cases. Such approval would mean the es tablishment of a definite aim in or ganization to be attained to as re quirements demand and resources permit. For example, wo shall not be ready for a supervisor of man ual training until after the inter mediate schools shall have been es tablished. It may be that it will be thought that the time is not yet ripe for the establishment of a su pervisor of special activities, or of physical education, or eVjn of ad vanced grades. If these four offi cials were temporarily omitted from the list, the immediate ccst of oper ation of the new plan over and above that of the present plan would be reduced to less than $2,- 500, on the basis of the salaries sug gested. No Conflicting Duties "As a brief discussion of the duties of various officials under the new plan Itself, I shall now devote a few minutes to this phase of the ques tion, taking up each official in or der. "Superintendent—The general du ties of the superintendent have al ready bee noutllned, and It is not ! necessary to go Into further detail here. "Supervisor of Advanced Grades— -1 This official would bo the general director of the work In grades 4, 5 and 6. There need be no conflict of duties between such a supervisor and the supervisory principals, since the work of the former would be general in character and apply to the entire city. He would concern himself with the textbooks and course of study in these grades, uni fying the work in various sections of the city, submitting uniform tests, aiding tho principals in the solution of their more difficult prob lems, etc. He would be an advisor both to principals and the superin tendent. "It is through this official also that the superintendent might be relieved of some of the executive details to which we have referred. Such an official couffl, for example, tfike entire charge of the assignment of substitute teachers and visiting teachers. He might also take over the work of transferring of pupils, which duty alone consumes two or three weeks of time and is work purely mechanical in character. He could be the superintendent's office as-'sistant, taking charge of the office when the superintendent is away on school business or on vacation. | "I wish to assure the board that I do not intend to press unduly this particular provision of the proposed plan. I simply express here that I believe that such an official would be of great service to the schools. The decision of the board In this case will doubtless be determined largely by Its views as to what con stitutes the most economical dispo sition of the time of the superintend ent. In this connection it should be •stated that during the next few years a considerable amount of the super intendent's time will have to be de voted to our new building project, which will mean that unless corre sponding relief comes from some source a portion of the superintend ent's customary duties must of nec essity receive less than the usual de gree of attention. Primary Supervisors "Supervisor of Primary Grades — The supervisor of primary grades would be the general director of the work of the lower primary grades. Such an official is particularly need ed in grade 1, but would be of great] value in grades 2 and 3 also. This position should be occupied by a' thoroughly trained woman. Her i duties would Include teacher train-1 ing, instruction In primary methods, i the giving of model lessons, unifying I the work >ln the various schools of i the city, and advising as to text- | books, course of study, and other j matters of importance. I am hope- ; ful that the time will soon come j when lie shall be able to establish j kindergarten work in llarrisburg. I recommended in my annual report, | as long ago as 1907, that kinder gartens be maintained at least in the I poorer sections of the city. A prl- j mary supervisor would help to or- i ganize these schools and her super- '■ vlsory duties would be extended to I include them. T regard this official ! as of particular importance in the,' plan. Special Super* isor "Supervisor of Special Activities—! The duties of this official would In- : dude the organization, development 1 and supervision of evening schools, the organization, development and , supervision of social center activl-1 ties. Including parent-teacher meet- . ings, and the supervision of open-air I schools, schools for the backward, j the continuation schools, detention ' schools are other special schools. | These are all special nroblems and i need special study and direction by ; me employed fo- the puryoue und one who can give his entire time to the work. Public sentiment has been crystallizing for a number of years on the social center idea, but the best expert opinion advises us that any general movement along thl3 line to be fully successful requires paid direction and supervision. As to evening schools, we have hardly made a beginning. It really grieves me to think that we are doing so little, with all our mechanical equip ment and facilities, for the adult population of the city. 1 am sure that Harrisburg is doing much loss allng this lino than any city in the State. These innovations would add somewhat to the cost of operating the schools, but, after all, the prin cipal consideration is not what a thine costs, but what returns we get for the expenditure we make. Supervisors of Music "Supervisors of Music and Draw ing—TVs have already touched upon the scope of activity of the super visors of special subjects. They should be the responsible heads, in their respective fields, of the work from the first grade through the high school. Tn music the course of study, glee clubs,V choruses, orches tras, as well as methods of teaching, should all be under the direction of one individual who is made respon sible for results tn music. Likewise in drawing. The assistants, working under their respective superiors, would devote themselves largely to helping the less efficient teachers and strengthening the weak spots in the system. I am of the opinion that not more than one nssistant is need ed in the elementary grades in either of these subjects. Others now em ployed could be transferred to the junior high schools. When High Schools Are Built "Supervisor of Manual Training— When the junior high schools are i established there will bo need of a supervisor of manual training. His duty would be to organize, direct and supervise the instruction in manual training, mechanical drawing, do mestic science and sewing in all schools. In no other way can any common aim be attained or any defi nite system established. The board already has the experience of pass ing on all manner of requisitions each year from the various shops and other manual departments. All these requisitions should come to the board as the requisitions of one individual who has all work of this character under his direction and supervision. "Supervisor of Physical Education —This official would be employed to organize, direct and supervise the work in physical training, athletic activities and hygiene. He would have equal authority in the elemen tary grades, in the intermediate schools, and in the high schools. We are sadly neglecting the physical side of our boys and girls In Har risburg—a fact which I have repeat edly called to the attention of the board. The basis of the highest in tellectual and moral growth is a sound and vigorous physical con stitution. T am sure that the need of an official, such as is proposed, to have full charge of this important phase of educational work will ap peal to you. Principals Unchanged "High Schol Principals—The du ties of these two officials will be un changed under the new organiza tions. Their work will he both ad l ministrative and supervisory In char acter and they will be the respon sible heads of their respective schools. The three junior high or intermediate school principals will perform like functions. No account of the salaries of intermediate prin cipals is taken in this report, since the financial tabulations are made for comparative purposes, and the expense for these officials adds equally to the total expense under either the old or the proposed plan of organization. Will Direct Work "Elementary Principals—Contrary to present practice these principals will do no regular teaching. They will organize, direct and supervise the work in their respective districts and perform the customary adminis trative duties incident to their po sitions. They will have the general management of their groups of schools, will sueprvise teaching, con duct tests, deal with transfers and promotions in their districts, hold teachers' meetings, attend to matters of discipline and make requisitions for textbooks and supplies. "Head Teachers —In the absence of the principal the head teacher will be the responsible officer in charge of the school. She will at tend to such duties as opening and closing school, meeting visitors, making out attendance reports, etc. At all times the head teacher will be ready to perform such service and assistance as the principal may require. Many Adjustments "I have thus outlined at consid erable length nnd to the best of my ability the plan which I have in mind and in my heart for the im provement of supervision and ad ministration in our schools. T have been thinking over some such plan as this for several years, but have i found no opportune rime until now to present it. The establishment of ji nlor high schools will necessarily involve many new adjustments, and advantage can be taken of this con dition to put the proposed new plan of organization into operation with out loss of salary or hardship to any one. The salary schedule for teach ers in the intermediate schools be- r ANOTHER ROUSING SUIT SALE 35 SUITS Left For This SALE sls °° sl6 so $18 5 ° -i s2s'"° Mm il Spring Suits to Go Saturday Morning at 'f 'Ua 9 O'clock Sharp at 0 k $5.98 11l i jl| 8 White Chinchilla '9 Jersey "Flare "Coats' Coats, values up to values up to $13.98 * \ $13.98, Sat- $1 Qfi Saturday $9 Q8 urday Morning V&.VO 6 01 1 6 South South Street (iDutcrOWmenb' street In* somewhat higher than that for teachers in the elementary schools, it will be possible to transfer, without, financial loss, certain qualllled prin cipals, assistant principals and spe cial teachers from the lower schools to the higher. These transfers will make it possible to conduct the ele mentary schools at considerably less cost than would otherwise be the case, and at the same time will prob ably not add materially to the cost of the intermediate schools. Of course a number of our present principals of long service would, un der the new plan, become head teachers, whose salaries would be larger than the new schedule pro poses for head teachers. It is pro posed to continue all such without reduction In salary, and the approxi mate sum of $3,000 :\as been pro vided in our financial estimate to cover this item, it might be pos sible to assign to these individuals certain additional duties because of this 'over-pay' or to place them in the larger buildings. Gradually, of course, these would retire from serv ice altogether. While it would not be desirable | Value! Va^! <| That's the great big dominating fac tor in WORTHY CLOTHES for men and young men that we've been pounding away at ever since we opened this store. of men have responded, put them to the test, and become con stant wearers of this clothing. Cj And now—in these days—when high prices and economy demand stricter observance than ever to merit, this 100% value apparel in style, quality and workmanship is, likewise, more than ever Your Best Buy sls S2O $25 14 N. Third Street gSK#°b£c store U/atson s/soper TTorthy - Vjlothes or easily feasible to put the pr posed plant in operation before organization of the Intermediate schools.it is greatly to be desired thai action on the plan be taken in ths near future. Our principals and teachers should have opportunity td take advantage of summer schoo} work and other means of self im< provement, in order to better fil themselves for the various forms of special work which would be open to them if the plan snould be adopt,* cd. It is important also that the su perintendent be given as much tlmi as possible to plan for the many ad< justments which would have to b* made. "As a tlnal work I desire to stat< that all the time and attention which have been deveotod to this mattei have been given with one thought uppermost in mind, namely, the in< tcrests of the boys and girls of Han risburg. In the consideration of th report by the board, I feel sure thai these same Interests will be th< guilding factor." 13
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