^z^ll 



CONTINUE 

 QUEST FOR 

 BETTER SCHOOLS 



Where Should the Greater Emphasis Be 

 Placed— On the School Buildings and 

 Equipment? Or on the High Quality 

 Of a Teaching Staff? School Experts 

 Try To Find Answer. 



P 



iiiii 



mi 



Above: Kolph L. Oitrander, (foreground) McHenry county, ritoa 

 to ai)( a question In schools conference. Below: Luther Black, 

 Springfield, addresses the meeting. At tpeaker's table are (left 

 to right) M. f. fulmer, Scott county; Chalrmon for/ M. Hughes, 

 McHenry county; Joe Maton, tfHngkam; and Roy fetherston, 



Sprtngfiefd. ^..-^^'^ 



HOW can we impress motorists with 

 tlie necessity ot stopping when 

 approaching a school bus from 

 tlie tront as well as Irom the rear 

 if the bus is stopped for loading 

 or unloading children? 



How can we acquaint people with the 

 fact that safety regulations for pupil 

 transportation apply as much to rural 

 roads as they do to concrete highways? 

 These were some of the questions raised 

 at the schools conference held in the 

 Sherman Hotel during the lAA annual 

 meeting. 



• Others included : What is to be done 

 with the offices of township trustee and 

 treasurer under widespread school reor- 

 ganization? How can the county super- 

 intendent of schools best fit into the re- 

 organized 12-grade school system? Where 

 should the greater emphasis be placed, 

 on building or on what is done in the 

 schools? Is this the time to build School 

 buiklmgs? 



Attended by 250 farm leaders, the con- 

 ference included seven members of the 

 original lAA State Schools Committee as' 

 well as 20 members of county school 

 survey committees. Also present were a 

 number of prominent guests representing 

 statewide organizations. 



These included President Piiul Grigsby 

 and Wendel Kennedy of the Illinois Edu- 

 cation Association: Mrs. Amber May, 

 Illinois Congress of Parents and Teachers; 

 Mrs. Paul Burdctte. Illinois Federation of 

 Women's Clubs; N. J. Ziener. Illinois 

 Chamber of Commerce; Lee Wolfe. Illi- 

 nois Manufacturers' Association; Dr. D. 

 E. Lindstrom. College of Agriculture, 

 University of Illinois; Joe Ackerman. 



Farm Foundation; Luther Black, acting 

 secretary of the State Advisory Commis- 

 sion and assistant to the State Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction; and Roy 

 Fetherston, secretary of the Illinois Asso- 

 ciation of Sciiools Boards. 



The conference was called to order by 

 Earl Hughes, member of tlie lAA board 

 of directors and rricmber of the school 

 survey committee in McHenry county. 



Luther Black presented a summar)' of 

 the progress of tlie school reorganization 

 program. "Tliere are fewer than 6,500 

 school districts in Illinois as of Nov. 1, 

 1948." said Black. "This includes 137 

 community unit districts. Four years ago 

 there were 269 small two and three-year , 

 high schools in the state. This year there 

 are only 29 open and operating. Two 

 hundred-forty have been closed in the 

 4-year period." 



Joe Mason, superintendent of the Ef- 

 fingham community 'unit. school district, 

 .was asked to discuss the greater possibili- 

 ties for service under the 12-grade unit. 

 "The strength of the unit organization is 

 built upon a continuity in the program." 

 said Masor). "Better unified school fa- 

 cilities and increased efficiency should be 

 the result of the unit organization as op- 

 posed to the dual system." 



Chairman Hughes then called on M. 1. 

 Fulmer, superintendent of the Scott 

 county 12-grade unit, to give some of Kis 

 experiences in the new community unit 

 district. 



"Scott county was one oftlic first to 

 organize into a communitv unit district." 

 said I'ulmer. "Wt are going along a_f 

 present, verv well a-nd prosiressing satis- 

 faaorily. Our plan for enforcement iJ 



very flexible. We still have 19 one-roorfi 

 schools in the covinty as we are trying to 

 move slowjy and clos6 schools only as 

 they need to be qlosed. \{ it is more con- 

 venient for all concerned to, retain the 

 one-room rural school, or if it is the will 

 of the people, then we do not close the 

 school. However,, with the exception of 

 one, we have only six grades in any rural 

 school. 



A short session followed in which most 

 of the discussion centered around ^eater 

 safety on school buses. • The chairman 

 asked the first question. 



Hughes: Shoiildn't, or couldn't, the 

 state highway department cooperate on 

 the qtiestion of school bus safetj' on the 

 highways? McHenry 'county had two 

 such accidents in one school district re- 

 cently, and we- believe that people are 

 not familiar with the laws regarding pass- 

 ing of scjiool buses. ' 



"Black: This *]taestioh merits the con- 

 sideration of ajl concerned. The state 

 highway department already has a man 

 for this purpose, but it' is necesSary for 

 the people, in a given locality to take the 

 respbrisibility of stressing school bus 

 safety-to their children and to insist upon 

 theproper protection of their children to 

 the proppr authorities. The law is that a 

 driver has to stop for a school' bus which 

 is stopj^ed for loading or unloading, re- 

 gardless of from which direction he is 

 coming. Of course. %ie bus driver is re- 

 quired to give certain signals, too. The 

 state; department is willing to go the limit 

 in giving information to bus drivers and 

 the public at large. 



Sirs.. Burden e, DuPage county: Do 

 people know that they should stop when 



approaching 

 \ Hughes ; I 

 licity regar(j 



Black: 

 .striKe^'^li'l 

 front than 

 run bcl; 

 .approaching 

 AUry Eiii 

 driver doesi 

 It IS still thcf 

 driver .^top | 

 The laws 

 each state h| 

 ClyJe (M 

 Knox Cour 

 because bus! 

 bcrs ot any] 

 bus. Tlic 

 because tiic-l 

 barrassmentl 

 Alt. L}»i 

 the requirti 

 .- let otf the ' 

 400 feet d( 

 \ Is It a got 

 aiross the 

 midst of he. 



BiM-k : 

 it might bL 

 remain stoj 

 the road, 

 approval oi 



Lynun: 



Shelby cou: 



does not ki; 



down the t 



have the d 



trati'ic was : 



older child 



the road n 



morning an 



Thurmar 



adviser, suj 



• signal in ai 



school' bus 



car can' see 



.^-^ John Sc 



issue has h 



of a distr 



petition oi 



hofided de 



BLicir- 



,----^are of tl 



district int 



that respc 



out woulc 



trict into 



went. 



Follow] 

 troduced 

 rural schi 

 duced Rc 

 the Illino 

 who sho^ 

 struction 

 remarks ! 

 good ide 



30 



I. A. A. RECORD 



lANUAl 



