EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS OF DELEGATES. At the last annual meeting of the State School Improvement Association, each delegate gave a report from her County. The delegates were requested to answer a number of questions, the last being to give briefly greatest needs of schools of her County. Below are a few of the answers that were given: (1) “Our greatest needs are more well prepared and earnest teachers. Teachers who will strive to do something. "More interest among parents, which can be secured if we have teachers who will organize the community for the betterment of the school. "Local taxation and compulsory school attendance.” (2) "Better buildings and better equipment, consolidation, longer terms, libraries, expert supervision by one whose whole time may, if needed, be given to the work, organization of local School Improvement Associations.” (3) "Local Associations and concerted action on the part of teachers, intelligent interest and co-operation of trustees, better school-houses, better equipment, artesian wells, necessary out-buildings, libraries, longer terms and better salaries for our teachers." (4) "An active, intelligent interest in educational matters by trustees and patrons would secure for the county comfortable school buildings, beautiful surroundings, better equipment, better salaries and better teachers. These are our greatest needs." (5) "Enthusiastic teachers, trustees who take an interest in their schools, consolidation of weak schools, better buildings and better equipment, co-operation of patrons with teachers to increase the average attendance of pupils. libraries, organization of School Improvement Associations." These needs that have been enumerated by the delegates from various Counties are being supplied to a large extent in many Counties through the work of active County and Local School Improvement Associations. SPECIMEN REPORTS FROM COUNTY PRESIDENTS. (Report from Saluda County.) Nearly two months ago I was elected President of the Saluda County School Improvement Association and appointed organizer for this county. I immediately began work. In a short while nearly fifty members were enrolled in our county organization. Soon after wards, six local associations were organized, in six rural schools, with an average of over thirty members each. Three weeks later, having placed a substitute teacher in my stead, I, with Miss Nance and our County Superintendent, made a tour of a good portion of Saluda County, visiting rural schools. Our purpose in doing this was to gain a keener insight into the needs and conditions of these schools, and to offer suggestions by which they could be improved. While on this tour, we organized four local associations. These are all interested and wide-awake, and I believe they will do effective work during the year. Every week since then I have organized one or two associations; so that now we have in our county, besides our County Association, twelve local associations. The membership of these associations, together with our County Association, reaches over six hundred. Each association will increase with age, our oldest local association not being over six weeks old. They have only had time for a good beginning, but I can proudly say that the right spirit is pervading our people, and before spring I hope for great improvement. There are forty-seven rural schools in our county. In less than two months twelve local associations have been organized, and have begun active work. By next spring I hope to be able to add that forty-seven local associations have been organized and are doing good work. Nov. 25, 1908. Dear Miss Nance: (Signed) ELISE C. RUDD, County Organizer and President, Saluda, S. C. (Report from Horry County.) Nichols, S. C., R. F. D. 2, May 26, 1908. The County School Improvement Association of Horry County held its annual meeting at Athens school-house May 23, 1908. We have twenty-eight (28) local associations in Horry now, and twenty were represented by delegates with written reports. The others will send in reports by mail. Our meeting was interesting and well attended by a large crowd. The presidents of the local associations often write me for literature. Mr. Prince has just sent out one of your bulletins to each of the local associations. The membership of county and local School Improvement Associations in Horry is now almost a thousand, there being 963 members. All seem to be much interested, and are giving me their co-operation. Very truly yours, (Signed) LETTIE HARRELSON, President County School Improvement Association. (Report from Garnett Graded School, District No. 22, Hampton County.) Description before improvements were undertaken, Oct.-Nov., 1907: School: Rural consolidation. Building Frame; value, $1,500.00; built in 1905. Hyloplate: Blackboards, about 120 square feet. Desks: Sufficient for about forty pupils. Grounds: One acre, unenclosed, covered with undergrowth and stumps. Sanitary Features and Water Supply: Imperfect and poor. Libraries: None." Term 1907-1908. Improvements undertaken and progress made: Buildings: Window Blinds, Painting, Hardware, Grounds: A beginning was made in the improvement of the school lot, a portion of which was ploughed and sowed down in oats. Receptacles were kept for waste paper and trash. Projected improvements and those now being carried out, November, 1908: Artesian water supply. Wash bowls. Towels and toilet articles. Pictures for Primary room. stoves. More books for library. Cleaning off and grading school lot. A community library has been installed. New MRS. J. E. WIGGINS, President Garnett S. I. A. (Report from Local Association in Florence County.) Dear Miss Nance: Ebenezer, S. C., Nov. 23, 1908. Perhaps you would like to know something about the work our School Improvement Association has done since you helped us organize in January. We have grown from twenty-one members to sixty, thirty-five of them being associate members. The first thing we had was a tea or hot supper, at which we made $91.57. In June we had a play, and cleared $30.60. As some of the Timmonsville people who came to our play thought it was very good, they asked us to have it over there, so we did, and made $31.15 more on our play. The school children helped Dr. Hall sell tickets when he lectured at Ebenezer, and he gave us $2.35. We had a Hallowe'en Party last month, and made $18.35. So you see we now have $182.77. We are going to have a play Thursday night, and oysters will be served after the play, and we hope to have $200.00 by then. We are going to use this money to furnish our new school building, which we hope to have erected soon. Very truly, (Signed) LOUISE COLE, Secretary and Treasurer. (Report from Local Association in Horry County.) Fair Bluff, N. C., Dec. 26, 1907. Miss Lettie Harrelson, Nichols, S. C. Dear Miss Harrelson: The President of our School Improvement Society asked me to make a report to you of the improvement made in Spring Branch School this year. We have built a strictly modern school-house, costing over $1,400.00. It has two class-rooms, separated by a sliding partition, two cloak-rooms, a hall, and a music-room. The $100.00 prize money is being held to paint the house next summer. It has been equipped with the following: Teachers' desk and chair. About 300 square feet hyloplate blackboards. Outline map of North America. The Society has placed in the school-room nine pictures (5 portraits), also pictures of all the Presidents of the United States. We have tables, buckets, dippers, wash-pans, mirrors, combs, etc. The equipment cost nearly $300.00. The total cost of building and equipment is about $1,700.00. The Society numbers about 35 members. The library has been enlarged. Yours respectfully, (Signed) M. J. BULLOCK, Teacher. Prizes. ANNOUNCEMENT FOR 1908. The South Carolina School Improvement Association offers thirtyfive prizes to the schools of the State for the most decided material improvement made during a given length of time. Five of the prizes are to be $100 each, and thirty are to be $50 each. Regulations concerning the thirty-five prizes that are to be awarded by this Association are as follows: 1. Improvements must be made between November 1, 1907, and December 10, 1908. 2. Prizes will be awarded to schools where the most decided material improvements have been made during the time mentioned. 3. Under material improvements are included local taxation, consolidation, new buildings, repairing, and painting old ones, libraries, reading rooms or tables, interior decorations, beautifying yards, and better general equipment. 4. No school can compete for any of these prizes unless it is a rural school. No town with more than 500 population shall be eligible to the contest. 5. All who wish to enter this contest must send names and descriptions of schools before improvements are made to the President prior to October 1st. 6. All descriptions, photographs and other evidences showing improvements must be sent to the President before December 15, |