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Show C0UNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM J IS BECOMING SUPERIOR Weber County Makes Wonderful Strides in Supplying Sup-plying Education Facilities for Boys and Girls. HOW much would have been accom-iihcd accom-iihcd had it not been for a shortage in funds, and how much even under adverse financial conditions might have been done but for certain adversity in administrative affairs, are questions unanswered by officials of-ficials of the Ogden City school system at tho close of 1915. While the progress prog-ress and development during the past few years has not been equaled in the past "twelve months, there has been enough headway in educational meters to indicate what may be accomplished under authority of experienced ednca-V ednca-V tors. -r Under the efficient direction of John X'il. Mills, superintendent, Ogden began its work of reorganizing its schools seven years ago, and one cf the firtt steps undertaken was to cYeate schools for 'departmental work in tho upper grades, thus leading to the junior high school plan. There have been several stages of this work until the final organization or-ganization of three junior high schools, nil Unbracing seventh, eighth and ninth (jrades. Seven years ago Ogden w.is paving the poorest salaries to teachers that were then paid in the west. Efficiency required that economy should- bo practiced prac-ticed 'somewhere in ordVr that there 'might be iucreases in salaries to permit of tho employment of mora .qualified teachers. Elimination and consolidation (solved the problem. The salaries have been Mncroased all along 'the line, until Ogden has a salary schedule that will , ompure favorably, with those of other -cities. Physical Instruction. About one year ago an investigation was made with the idea in view to introduce in-troduce industrial work and modernize the schools in such a way that work, play Jind study might be the programme of eTu-h school, with the added provision that tho work part for boys and girls in their upper teens, might with safety be done at. home. ' This provision icquired that, careful supervision and reports bo-made bo-made on tho studeufs thus employed. It f&; also considered that -a halfway of academic work and the other naif day devoted to physical, social and industrial in-dustrial work would give the boys and drls more advantages in education than "hey ever had before. The plan was evolved with the idea that the school should be made to fit the individual rath?: than to undertake to make tho individual fit the school. It was on this plan that the Lewis junior high school was reorganized, and . has been operaled for tlio past year from S :.?' a. m. to p. m., with a hall' day of academic work and a half ". day dovoted to other activities It is not necessary for a pupil to be in at- tendance at the school building during these long hours if that pupil .or his pnrcnti can show a good purpose to which i.o can put hisHirno in tho out-hide out-hide school. ' Work Apportioned. S.rme boys are excused, not from school, but from tho school building, for a half hour in the morning' or the afternoon, others for an hour and so on up to a half day. FMpils who had to work during the day have been brought bacV to the school building for a half day of academic work. The same plan further provides that in all junior and high school work there should be three ' of these half-day sessions every day at V building, one in tho forenoon, one ;i.n the afternoon and another in the evening. Under such conditions the . ononis' would then use their buildings to their capacity and would be open ' to all the people of the. city, both old and young. While this plan was in - operation with night sessions at tho senior high school during the early part of 1915, it was impossible to continue it. this school year because of financial sltoitaJ.'t Nearly a thousand students, all over ihe age of IS years, took .advantage of .ihc evening sessions' at the senior high school. All of the. Iiinh school subjects wuv t'e'd and iiuiiiv pi'iclii-.'il sub-N sub-N in addition. The kilter class included in-cluded :n cliitectural drawing, conducted conduct-ed by a n architect, for brN'klavrr?, ma-mhis. ma-mhis. carpenters and contractors; mil linery for -women; business law by a practicing attorney for business men; salesmanship for clerks, and a score of other practical subjects taught by specialists. spe-cialists. The one year of public night school proved so successful that local educators are convinced it should be made a part of the regular educational plan as soon as it is possible to do so. Saving Achieved. As evidence that most of the progressive pro-gressive gTOwth of the school system means a saving, it is pointed out. that the Lewis junior school, with its full day plan, is being operated this year with four teachers less than would be needed under the old plan, the annual saving on the one school being nearly $4000. There have been many obstacles in the way of carrying these modern plans to completion, but, in the opinion of both local and outside educators, they must be followed out if Ogden is to keep pace with other cities in progressive progress-ive educational facilities. If it is possible to find throughout this state or mauy other states a system sys-tem wherein the physical facilities are almost equal and in some instances superior su-perior to those of city schools, that condition exists in Weber county. Experimental Ex-perimental progress along this line has been so successful during 1915 that the Weber board of education, with the cooperation co-operation of Superintendent W. N. Pet-terson, Pet-terson, has planned to center its activities activi-ties on the physical development of the system in 1916. County Is Active. Some idea of what "Weber county is doing for its boys and girls by providing provid-ing modern education pliiuts may be gained from the statement, that since lf0o the valuation of school properties in the county outside of Ogden Citv has increased from $70,000 to $-5,000". Of the twenty-one school buildings now in use twenty have been erected piuce the consolidation plan was put into effect in 1905. With the erection of two more buildings every district in the county will be provided with a modern school plant aod building. Activities may then cease, for Weber county not only builds its schools for the present, but also for tho future. How closely the country school system parallels the average city system for physical accommodations is shown by tho fact' that eighteen of the twenty-one twenty-one Weber county school buildings have sanitary drinking fountains with continuous con-tinuous flow. Two more o"' the school buildings are provided with wells of good, pure water. Iz was during the year just closed that the board evolved the plan whereby it. is proposed to equip every school with flush sanitary toilets. Water Improvements. This scheme was put into effect in the recent construction of a modern building build-ing in tho Marriott district. By equipping equip-ping the building with an automatic electric pump which feeds a largewater tank, it has been found possible to provide pro-vide an unlimited supply of pure water for every purpose. The cost of the plumbing system in this school was $1090, and 'members of the board consider con-sider the expenditure nothing in comparison com-parison to the benefits. Tt is the intention in-tention of the directors during the coming com-ing year to extend these systems into every school possible. Where electricity .is not availablo the system will be operated oper-ated by the gravity pressure. Next in importance to the pure drinking drink-ing water that Weber county furnishes for its school students, are" the playgrounds. play-grounds. Approximately fourteen acres of land was purchased by the board last year for playground purposes, bringing the total for the system up to forty acres, or an average of two acres to each school. Every school in tue couuty. with the exception of Birch Creek, now has a playground in connection. Two New Buildings. At a. cost of approximately $25,000, two new buildings were erected in the countv this year. They aro located in the Marriott' and Liberty districts. Only two districts, Warren arid Birch Creek, are now in need- of modern buildings, and the board has planned to erect one of these during 191ti. Of the twenty-three twenty-three buildings now in use, twenty are modern brick four-room structures, and the remaining threo are two-room buildings. build-ings. There is not a one-teacher school in Weber county. The teaching force of the county schools includes eighty instructors, about evenly divided between the primary gnules and grammar department. Of those in the grammar grades, twenty-one twenty-one are principals. It is a significant fact that during the past ten years in tho county schools the average number of students to a teacher has been re-dueed re-dueed from forty-two to tliirty-oue. At thp opening of the present school vear ninth grade or freshman vear high school work was ndded to the courses in two of the country schools. ft - - ' ! . , i prj i ' s it W f i '", ; : . f : .' ; i - i s i .-.M Lei't T.V;jo of Weber county school building in use prior to consolidation of schools in 1905. Eight School building recently ercc'.cd in the fair West district and which equals tn ose of most cities, |