Show superintendent Super I 1 J F hoyt reports on county schools the beard of 0 education Du duchesne chesno C county school district gentlemen in the belief that you may be interested te in a discussion of at school conditions and activities during the past two years I 1 herewith hand you a report thereof while in point of recent settlement duchesne county is youngest of the state yet the Da duchesne chesne county school district ranks among the lorty school districts of the state as nineteenth in school population thirtieth in m assessed valuation and thirty sixth in assessed valuation per school child in this last division according to state slate superintendent jensens hensens Jen sens latest biennial report duchesne is in goad company tor for provo prove and logan with their note worthy schools hold thirty fourth and thirty fietti place respectively and uintah county holds thirty seventh place although uintah county holds next lower place than duchesne in assessed valuation per child it stands higher in revenue possibilities because ot of a higher maximum tax levy duchesne county ci uld raise only 2280 per school child while jordan the wealthiest district could raise 6 by local taxation or nearly twice the per capita cost of 0 education in duchesne county in cost of education per pupil in 1922 23 duchesne was the lowest district in the state expending only or per pupil less than the next lowest during the year 1923 24 an additional small high school was operated in the county the teaching facilities and equipment were increased at myton and at the county high school and two trucks partly at school board expense were put on there to transport the students to the school from the northern part ct cf the county through using asing more and higher qualified teachers in 1923 24 than during the previous year the teachers pay roll aitor I 1 tor the year was increased the final obligations of the district itrice were fully eared cared for yet wilile while the next lowest district 0 of tile the state increased its per capita cost of schooling from to in 1923 24 duchesne county lowered her per pupil cost still further to below the previous year and below her nearest rival tor for the same year because of the 25 per capita and high school state appropriations duchesne county received from outside wealthier counties to support its schools in 1924 25 of teachers the percentage of 0 properly certified teachers hired under und erthe the previous superintendent tor for 1922 23 was and tor for 1923 24 was 76 for the year 1924 25 the per cent of certified teachers was raised to 84 this compares favorably with eye even tile the wealthier districts while duchesne county has because of past short terms of 0 school ranked low in average annual salaries paid teachers in relative professional fess ional training the teachers of duchesne county ranked in 1924 above those of such wealthy districts as box elder wasatch juab and beaver while duchesne holds the same rank in average number ot of years experience ot of its teachers as that in professional training the wealthier districts ot of the state with tew few exceptions rank higher than Duch duchesne esue in average number of years 0 ot experience exper lence ot of its teachers teacher S the longer term of oe school planned for next year should be further inducement tor tile the better qualified teachers to join the district objectives attempted in ili the effort to fulfill the duties prescribed tor for a superintendent by all recognized authorities on educational procedure of being the professional adviser and planner for the board ot of education and executive head of 0 the school system the following chief objectives have been undertaken during the past two years economy in expenditures better teaching better school facilities high school education within riding distance of a all 11 school students economy in expenditures expenditure in order to save man money ey to give better service to the boys and girls of tile the county every effort has been bent to diminish unnecessary expenditures di tures although standardized tests were given over the whole county during 1924 25 for the first time and required a very large amount ot of clerical work to check hem up no additional office help was used above that of the preceding bear ear the total yearly cost tor for office help was less than tor for recent prior years the total of salary and expenses ot of the superintendents ot of lice for 1923 24 was cut below that tor for the school year of 1922 23 lu IV ater training in trying to secure bettor better teaching the first aim was to secure better teachers to replace the less qualified ones invitations to the colleges to have their graduates apply tor for questionnaires from the superintendents office to learn ot of their qualifications and training local applicants ot of equal fitness and satisfactory teachers lu in service have generally been given P reference preference over strangers successful experienced teachers have been sought tor for particularly for principal ships and teachers ot of first grade pupils numbers tit competent teachers have been secured and induced to accept re employment in spite of higher salaries off offered e red CIS elsewhere e two sots sets ot of stand standardized tests identical with those used in the best schools of the country in reading writing arithmetic and spellings spelling lingi were given all pupils from thiral third grade to eighth grade and the result compared with the av creage attained in other sch schools cols the results showed allowed a considerable number ot of the schools ot of the county to have classes doing better average work than schools having longer terms a and n d better facilities and showed which schools were weak in fit the various subjects subject a the tests put both teachers and pupils on their nettle mettle without the usual additional clerical help pupils examination papers and teachers reports were checked up at the office in making ap S this survey the figures were tabulated by schools teachers and grades so comparisons could readily oe be made continuance and extension of this testing will largely eliminate poor teaching it if followed up lip properly since december 1 1924 the superintendent erin has driven a car miles and during the present term has traveled approximately miles in the interest of the schools two TAVO hundred and eighty visits to the he various teachers and schools have been made A large amount ot of office work has been done luring during the time in locating and checking up on teachers and school needs and answering wrin office correspondence better school facilities I 1 ig dijt the one cne room schools are generally conceded to be inadequate for modern education there midot necessarily be too many and too short hort class periods ifor efficient work fork the better qualified teachers shun hun such schools as a rule because of it the unsatisfactory results large pupils dislike association with and discipline lisci pline necessary lor for small chil iren dren desirable social activities are impossible and the stimulus of 0 the large group ot of equal abilities is lacking the results are great school mortality and lack of education to end these conditions cond i eions one one room was eliminated at antelope and transportation of pupils to the graded schools at myton substituted with most satisfactory results Stock more and farm creek citizens are planning to add to the building at the latter place and to consolidate next year patrons of other small schools are now ready to accept the innovation two trucks from monarch and hayden respectively were run daily to the county high school at roosevelt partly at district expense thus making high school education ti available to all in that large area students from western uintah county come to roosevelt by truck from ft duchesne aid was bras given others to reach graded schools progressive schools throughout the country are adopting transPort transportation at 0 as the remedy for weak ru rural schools better equipment to overcome the lack of suitable buildings the citizens of 0 talmage mt alt home and boneta last year erected one temporary room and plan this year to build four rooms adequately to house the central high school during the past year this school has raised funds to pay 7 for a sewing machine and a large part en ca a piano and to buy some athletic equipment and secured several hundred dollars in cash to buy needed materials tor for the new building the county high school has been aided by the roosevelt commercial club to secure material for a sewage system and duchesne has raised funds and erected a new manual training shop and bought a ten volume set of oe encyclopedia myton has bought a ten volume encyclopedia and ether sets of standard books the new L D S church building at mt alt emmons with two good class rooms and fine amusement hall are being used for a high school new reference works and other improvements have been secured and altonah alzonah Al tonah with some help helli has fenced the school grounds there the loka people have improved their pupils safety by erecting a fire escape Duc duchesne hostle school should have such safety devices tor for the upstairs rooms development of high schools another objective of major importance is almost attained through tile the establishment in october 1925 of central high school between talmage doneta boneta and mt alt home high school education has been placed within riding distance ot of students of those towns through consolidation soli dation clation of efforts tor for secondary diry education at mt alt emmons students have now a high school within riding distance also from Alto altanah altonah Al tonah nall bluebell and upalco it if present plans in the farm creek section carry the way will soon no doubt bs be open to reestablish establish re ninth grade work there boys and girls club work following suggestions from the superintendent mr air john W carlson county agent peterson of 0 uintah aln county and the faculty of the duchesne county high school arranged for and with the aid of six professors from the e extension x division of the utah agricultural college held at roosevelt recently a very successful school to train club leaders to conduct boys and girls club activities in the two counties uintah county has shown the wonderful educational possibilities from these projects arrangements are now being considered with state commissioner of agriculture harden dennion bennion extension director william I 1 pete peterson r son I 1 of the U A C and the duchesne county commissioners by which it is very likely that mr carl soji as director of the state experiment farm tor for the basin will continue the excellent work started with these youths the school district should operate cooperate co closely with this very important movement respectfully submitted J F HOYT superintendent 0 of duchesne county schools duchesse Duch esue utah juno bunol 1925 |