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Show 1 I f . ' I I . I I 1 Courtesy R. D. Adams Studio Parowan High School, Modern and Spacious. Courtesy R. D. Adams Studio Cedar City High School. Iron County Schools N. J. BARLOW Superintendent The Iron county school district came into existance in 1915, the time of state-wide consolidation. It holds an unique position among the school districts dis-tricts of southern Utah and the state. Iron county has always been ranked among the most progressive districts. With the entrance of the railroad into Cedar City, the gate-way to Zion's National park, Cedar Breaks and Bryce canyon and the development of the large iron ore deposits in the county, the demands upon the school have been steadily increased. A majority of the two thousand school children of Iron county are 1n Paragonah, Parowan, Summit, Cedar City and Kanarra, towns located along the Zion's National park highway, connecting Salt Lake with Los Angeles. An-geles. The balance are in small communities, com-munities, most of which are located on the Escalante desert. Iron county is neither among the rich nor among the poor school districts dis-tricts of the state, having an assessed assess-ed valuation of $9,250,000.00 for the year 1926-27, or $4,488.52 per capita for each of her 2061 school children on the census rolls. Iron county may levy 7.5 mills on each dollar of valuation valu-ation in the county since the legal limit for districts having assessed valuations val-uations of between $4,000.00 . and $5,000.00 per capita, based on the school census is 7.5 mills. Thus $33.66 per capita for each child on the census cen-sus rolls is available for the operation of school in the district from local taxation. This amount is slightly under un-der the median for the state, which is $36.49. However, the range in the state is from $80.22 in Jordan district dis-trict to $16.73 in Washington county. From this it will be seen that Iron county has average ability to maintain main-tain schools by local taxation. Iron county is equipped with modern school buildings, most of which have been finished since consolidation. The high school building in Parowan is modern and spacious. Equipment is rapidly being installed which will place the Parowan high school among the best equipped rural high schools of the state. The junior high school building and the grade school building of Cedar City are both outstanding. They are modern and well equipped. Not only are there good buildings in Parowan and Cedar City, but the smaller communities, in most cases, have buildings which compare favorably favora-bly with the rural school buildings elsewhere in the state. The Iron county school district has no high school building in Cedar City. High school work there is being done at the Branch Agricultural college, by special arrangements between the two institutions. The Iron county school board pays the Branch Agricultural Agri-cultural college for all students, under eighteen years of age, who attend that institution. It has been the aim in Iron county to get the best teachers available to carry on the educational program. They are generally well trained and in love with their work. All teachers in the county are certificated and qualified for the work they are doing. Every possible effort is being made to attract and hold teachers possessing posses-sing character, personality and educational edu-cational background, i A strenuous program is carried on in Iron county in an attempt to get all children of school age under the influence of the public schools. One hundred per cent of the children on the census rolls are accounted for, and most of them are attending regular school. One important feature of the Iron county school system is its health program. Good health is considered to be one of the greatest factors contributing con-tributing to the success of children in the system. A supervisor of health is employed who spends her entire time in the interest of better health for Iron county children. Goiter tablets tab-lets have been given to each school child in the district, which has resulted re-sulted in a forty per cent reduction in the number of goiters present among school children in the county. During the last two years practically practical-ly all school children in the district were immunized against diphtheria and a majority were vaccinated against small pox. An unusually large amount of corrective work has also been done in the county during this time. There is a feeling in Iron county that the large central school, with its better equipment, better trained teachers, teach-ers, and better social advantages is not only more efficient but more economical eco-nomical to the district. In keeping with this idea provision has been made to transport all high school students to Cedar City or to Parowan from the districts surrounding these communities. commun-ities. Grade school children are also transported from some sections to Cedar City and Parowan, thus eliminating elimin-ating several one room schools. In order to raise the standard of teaching in Iron countv a Primary supervisor was employed at the beginning be-ginning of the year 192G-27. This move was another step forward for the Iron county school system, placing it among the well supervised districts of the state. What has come to be known as "local "lo-cal rural institutions" is one of the outstanding features of the Iron county coun-ty system. In this way an institute is held in practically every school in the county. Teachers become acquainted ac-quainted with one another and with one another's problems. The patrons in each community attend these institutes, in-stitutes, thus familiarizing themselves with school problems. The institute also gives the supervisor an opportunity opportun-ity to help teachers improve instruction, instruc-tion, which is after all, the primary object of the meetings. The people of Iron county are deeply deep-ly interested in education and have proved conclusively, time after time that they are willing to pay for it.' There is a fine spirit of cooperation existing between the schools and the people of Iron county. This remarkable remarka-ble attitude is reflected in the school system. The Parowan high school is located lo-cated in the heart of an agricultural section, where sheep raising is carried on extensively. A large percentage of the boys in this section will naturally natur-ally enter agricultural pursuits. For this reason the Parowan high school was accepted as one of the Smith-Hughes Smith-Hughes schools in the state to re-ceive re-ceive federal aid. |