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Show SCHOOL TRENDS Louisiana Parish Sets New Trends MARKSVILLE. LaThe school system of the rural parish of Avoyelles, Avo-yelles, La., of which Marksville is the seat, is becoming widely known in the south for its progressive progres-sive idea of serving all the people of all the community. Avoyelles has taken to heart the words of State Superintendent of Education Shelby M. Jackson: "Schools are set up for all the children of all the people, but in addition should serve all the youth and adults of the community, meeting their Interests, needs, and abilities, and preparing them for living as well as for making a living. liv-ing. School facilities should be utilized uti-lized throughout the year and should be the centers of recreation, recrea-tion, learning, and culture of the community in which they are located." lo-cated." The parish is located in the richest rich-est agricultural section of Louisiana. Louis-iana. It was settled by the French prior to 1780 and since then has developed de-veloped a distinct personality. And it knows how to get things done. Votes Bond Issue For Instance, the parish recently voted bond issues in the amount of $2.5 million for school house construction con-struction and renovation. One school in the parish has an outstanding record. It is the Fifth Ward high school, located eight miles from Marksville. It is using its plant and all Its facilities to provide a year-round program to raise the standard of living of parish farm families. One of its ideas is that the school is the center to which the entire community can turn for information, informa-tion, help, and guidance on farm and household problems. As a result, re-sult, last year 57 adults brought farm problems to the school and were helped in solving them. One hundred and seven women of the community took part in demonstrations demon-strations of cake making, slip covering, cov-ering, crocheting, figurine painting, paint-ing, the raising of poultry, and flower arrangements. Community residents were shown how to can and freeze foods. A total of 2055 cans of fruit, vegetables, and soup were processed; 3175 pounds of 1 meat and 28 bushels of vegetables were packed and frozen. Shop work included the repair of 125 items and construction of 38 others. . Community Profits The school has come to the conclusion con-clusion that where aims are worked out cooperatively by faculty, adults, and children and where objectives are concrete, real, and practical, the whole community goes to school, and profits from it. 'The whole community is being made stronger and a better place in which to live and making a living liv-ing as a result of this program. But the important thing to remember re-member Is that it could not have been accomplished, no matter how much school authorities desired, unless un-less the community as a unit supported sup-ported the program and was will-ing will-ing to finance it |