Whole amount appropriated by the City Council for salaries and ordinary or current expenses of schools for the financial year beginning May 1, 9,000 00 Incidentals, School Committee, Total appropriations voted by the City Council for Amount voted to be assessed for State, County and Valuation of the city, May, 1869 Per cent. of valuation of 1869 appropriated for Public Schools (one mill and eighty-five hundredths), Average percentage of the valuation of 1865 of the cities and towns of the State appropriated for Public Schools, to be expended in the year 1867– 68 (two mills and sixty-two hundredths) Percentage of the valuation of 1865, of the city of Boston, appropriated for the Public Schools, to . 8,554,754 00 7,279,324 00 .12 .14+ $549,511,600 .001 85 .002 62 be expended in the year 1867-68 (one mill and seven-tenths of a mill), Amount received from the income of the School .001 70 Fund of the State for the year 1869 $8,171 38 PRIMARY SCHOOLS. The average whole number belonging to these schools during the last half-year was 14,038, against 14,730 for the preceding half-year, while the average daily attendance was 12,747 against 13,455, and the per cent. of attendance was 90 against 90.9. The number of teachers at the close of the school year was three hundred and seven against three hundred and nine at the end of the first half of the year. The above statement would seem to indicate a rapid decrease in the number of primary pupils, but if we compare the whole of the last year with the preceding year, we find that there has been an actual increase of forty-one pupils. The falling off in the last half of the year is owing to the withdrawal of pupils in the months of June and July, especially in the latter month. The withdrawals during these months were largely increased the past two years by the action of the board, providing that the examinations for promotion should take place in the month of June. This arrangement was intended to accommodate those parents who wish to take their children out of town before the beginning of the long vacation. But it was found that in those sections of the city where a considerable number of the pupils are withdrawn for this purpose after the promotions were made, others were withdrawn in pretty large numbers, who did not go out of town. In the Grammar Schools, the experiment showed similar results. The following table shows the number of Primary pupils in each district promoted to the Grammar Schools, July, 1869, and the average number of promotions to each school in the respective districts: The whole number of pupils promoted from the Primary Schools to the Grammar Schools in July, as exhibited in the above table, was 2,090; the number promoted in March was 2,170; the total for the year was 4,260, an increase of one hundred and ninety-seven over the whole number of promotions for the preceding year. The number promoted was 29.6 per cent. of the average whole number belonging. This is a high percentage; higher, I think, than has heretofore been attained. If the promotions during the year amount to 33.3 per cent. of the number belonging, it is evident that the pupils will average only three years in the Primary School course, which is the time assigned in the programme. By examining the above table, it will be seen that there is a considerable disparity between the districts in respect to the number of promotions to each school. I have frequently called attention to this difference, and the result has been, that in some districts in which the percentage of promotions was quite low, there has been a marked improvement. I should not consider it an improvement, however, to increase the percentage of promotions by sending up pupils under age, even if they can be made to pass the examination. I do not desire to see any children admitted to the Grammar School before they are full eight years of age. I am glad to find that among the more intelligent and well-to-do parents the practice of keeping children out of school until they are six or seven years old is gaining ground. For children from five to seven years, who cannot have good care at home, it is better, probably, to be in school, especially where the accommodations are as good as most of our Primary Schools afford. And yet, even for such children, probably four hours in school daily would be better than five. The following table shows the number of Primary pupils in each district and the average number of pupils to a school, or teacher, during the last half year: From this table it appears that the average number to a teacher or a school is 46.8 against 47.6 last March. Ten or eleven years ago these schools averaged sixty pupils to a teacher. This was thought to |