PUBLIC EDUCATION 



Public Schools 



The school situation in San Diego is unique in that there are 

 within the city hmits, a variety of types of pubHc schools. There 

 is the purely rural ungraded school, with few pupils, typical of 

 the country community, and usually under the jurisdiction of a 

 county superintendent; there is also the suburban graded school 

 of two or more rooms, typical of the small town or village com- 

 munity having a population of from one to over five thousand; 

 again there is the small grammar school of all grades, typical of 

 the city with a population of from ten to thirty thousand ; finally 

 there are the over-crowded city schools, typical of the city of 

 more than fifty thousand inhabitants. These conditions compli- 

 cate the administration of educational affairs which are entrust- 

 ed to a board of five members elected for a four year term. The 

 present Board is making an effort to look upon the Superintend- 



The Grant Open Air Public School. An Admirable Type of Building Suited 



to the 'Climate. 



ent as an expert' who shall be solely responsible for the educa- 

 tional administration. Until this is in reality the attitude of the 

 Board toward the Superintendent, San Diego's schools must re- 

 main more or less an asset of the pohticians, and the responsi- 

 bility for giving value received in the school system continue to 

 be shifted between the Board and the Superintendent in the 

 public mind. In some cities, the Board of Education is an un- 

 salaried, appointive body, and for this reason, less in politics. 



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