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0 Commonwealth of Kentucky - O

EDUCATIONAL 'ULLETIN
’

NEGRO EDUCATION
IN KENTUCKY

University of Kentucky

President H. L. Donovan
Lexington, Kentucky

Published by

,,__,,,t,f.¢T DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

JOHN W. BROOKER
Superintendent of Public Instruction

ISSUED MONTHLY

Entered as second-class matter March 21, 1933, at the post office at
Frankfort, Kentucky, under the Act of August 24, 1912.

Vol. XI May, 1943 No. 3

ﬁBRARY
UNIVERSITY or KENTUCKY

FOREWORD

This bulletin presents the essential features of a program of
education for Negroes in Kentucky. It points out the difﬁculties
faced by boards of education in providing them proper educational
facilities. It gives facts which answer many questions on the educa-
tional program for Negroes in Kentucky and raises for consideration
other problems concerning the general educational program of the
state. It makes a deﬁnite recommendation for high school services for
Negroes in Kentucky and suggests plans for providing higher educa~
tional facilities for these citizens.

Mr. L. N. Taylor, who prepared this publication, has devoted the
last twenty years of his service with this department to a study of
the problems of Negro education. His wide experience in this con-
nection enables him to speak with authority on these problems. His
counsel and advice are sought by other states and agencies dealing
with problems of Negro education. One who knows him and has kept
up with the developments of education in Kentucky will recognize

that many of his ideas are now in operation in the school program of
this State.

This department acknowledges with sincere appreciation the
valued contribution of Mr. Taylor to the educational progress of the
state, not only to Negro education but to education as a whole. His
service with the department will cease at the close of this school year
(1943) because of the retirement law but his advice and counsel will
be sought from time to time as it has been during the past twenty-
four years of his service with the department of education.

JOHN W, BROOKER

Superintendent Public Instruction

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CONTENTS
General Statement .............................................................................. 135
Distribution of Population ................................................................ 136
Children Marching .............................................................................. 140
Development of High, Schools .......................................................... 147
High School Offerings ........................................................................ 152
High Schools County by County ...................................................... 153
High School Emergency .................................................................... 165
Higher Education .............................................................................. 172
Teacher Organization .................. 187
State Administration of Negro Education .................................... 191

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Grateful acknowledgment is made to those who cooperated in
the making of this bulletin. Mr. R. B. Atwood, our leading authority
in the ﬁeld of his subject, contributed the section on Higher Educa-
tion for Negroes in Kentucky. To Mr. J. M. Tydings we are indebted
for the artistry of the map that reveals the population complexion of
each county. The Kentucky Negro Education Association was pre-

sented by Mr. H. E. Goodloe, who reviewed its past and evaluated its
present policies.

The writer appreciates very sincerely the good spirit of the State
Department of Education staff and the friendly cooperation of the
best school people and general citizenry of the State in promoting

equal educational service for those among us endowed by Nature with
the richer color.

L. N. TAYLOR

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GENERAL STATEMENT

Education. Education is a matter of essential public policy in
any social order, especially in a democracy. It is of concern to all
the people that each individual be intelligent, productive and healthy.
Any section of our people is capable of being an asset to the rest, or
of being a liability. To the end that each group and each individual
may be an asset to life in our democracy, we operate a system of
public Schools for all.

Private and Public. Private schools existed before public schools,
and paved the way for their coming. Back of the private school is
recognition of the fact that education is of value to the individual,
justifying its cost to him and his family. Back of the public school
is recognition of the fact that education of the individual is of value
to the community of which he is a part, justifying the schooling of
all our youth at the cost of public taxation.

Negroes and Whites. Education of Negroes is in no sense dif-
ferent from education of whites. The purposes and procedures are
the same. Only the facts that separate schools are provided, that the
distribution of population differs, and that administrative practices
are at variance, make a special problem of education for Negroes.

This Bulletin. We are using this bulletin to present essential
features of Kentucky’s program of education for our Negro people.
Let us see wherein it succeeds and wherein it fails. Let us view it as
it operates and consider its possibilities for the near future.

Slavery. Kentucky was a “slave state” as distinguished from
the “free states” north of us. She held Negroes in slavery. The
Emancipation Proclamation went into effect 011 January 1, 1863,
legally freeing all Slaves in the states then in rebellion and under
martial law. Kentucky had not withdrawn from the Union, was not
under martial law, and was not reached by that proclamation. So in
this state slavery continued under the protection of law until the
thirteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States out-
lawed it on December 18, 1865.

Numbers Reduce. Kentucky then had a large Negro population.
As late as 1890, it was ﬁfty per cent greater than that of Missouri or
of Ohio and Illinois combined. Now the number in any one of these
states far exceeds that of Kentucky. Since 1890 it has reduced from
14.4% of the state total to 7.3% as shown by the 1940 Federal census,
and to 6.9% as indicated by the 1942 school census.

The Negro people in this state tend to concentrate in cities and

135

towns, where the women and the men work in personal service, and in
coal operations, where the men dig coal. Outside of these areas the
population has become so sparse that it is now very difﬁcult and very
expensive to provide their separate school service. For high, school
they must in most of the counties be assembled and sent to other
counties, for only a minority of the counties have enough of high
school grade for even one high school to the county.

Rocks in the Road. There are fewer colored children of school
age (six to eighteen years) in the entire state than white ones in
Louisville alone. So it may seem easy to provide for their education.
But when the matter is considered in its traditional and geographic
setting, conditions of difficulty are found of which most of us have
not been aware. These conditions include a state-wide and uneven
distribution of population, a traditional system of division into school
taxing districts, a plan of uneven taxation and inadequate ﬁnancing
for schools, and traditions of thought and practice not in line with
present democratic ideals. These embarrassments are rocks in the
road of progress, but rocks may be made into pavement.

Let us review some of these features and the program now oper—

ated, and then consider what may be done to lessen the waste of pupil
life and public money.

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION

The chief centers of Negro population are given in Table I. It
lists counties in descending order of their 1942 school census. Half
of the colored people of Kentucky live in the ﬁrst ten counties.

Migration. In the last ﬁve years the net loss of Negroes of school
age has been twelve per cent as opposed to a continued increase of
whites. This loss would not be so signiﬁcant if it were limited to this
period of time. But it has gone on for the last ﬁfty years. The tide
of emigration rises in years of industrial prosperity and subsides in
years of economic depression. But it continues.

Migration has been from farm areas to the towns, and from the
towns to cities and centers of industry in this state and in states north
of us. For many years it increased the numbers in our cities; but as
the tenant farm areas are drained of their supply, emigration to the
north has exceeded recruits from the farm. 80 most of our cities
have suffered a net loss in these ﬁve years.

Immigration from other states has been mainly from Tennessee
and Alabama. That from Alabama was to our eastern coal mining

136

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Table 1. Centers of Negro Population, Ages 6-18
Counties Having Five Hundred or More
County City Center S°h°°1 Census Flag—1:221; gtflzgednfs
June, 1942lJune, 1937 Loss of Total
1 Jefferson ............ Louisville .......... 10,151 10,479 Loss 13
2 Fayette _______ Lex1ngton 3,508 4,470 Loss 23
3 Christian Hopkinsv. 2,596 3,423 Loss 33
4 Harlan ...... Lynch ......... 2,099 1,846 Gain 8
5 Hopkins ............ Madisonv. ............ 1,467 1,737 Loss 14
6 McCracken ........ Paducah .............. 1,439 1,657 Loss 13
7 Warren .............. Bowllng Gr. 1,225 1,348 Loss 14
8 Henderson . Henderson 1,023 1,571 Loss 16
9 Fulton ............. Hickman ..... .. 939 1,146 Loss 24
10 Madison .............. Richmond ............ 938 1,233 Loss 11
11 Logan ................ Russellv. .............. 911 1,172 Loss 15
12 Trigg Cadiz ....... 811 821 Loss 24
13 Todd Elkton ..... 805 930 Loss 24
14 Barren Glasgow . 779 888 Loss 10
15 Bourbon ............ Paris .................... 745 975 Loss 18
16 Boyle .................. Danville .............. 703 690 Gain 17
17 Kenton ..... Covington ....... 689 719 Loss 4
18 Daviess Owensboro ....... 668 759 Loss 6
19 Shelby ..... Shelbyville 641 571 Gain 16
20 Perry .................. Hazard ................ 615 660 Loss 4
21 Muhlenberg ...... Greenville 569 641 Loss 6
22 Mason .......... Maysville .. 559 766 Loss 13
23 Letcher _____ Jenkins ...... 551 562 Loss 4
24 Union .................. Morganﬁeld 540 615 Loss 12
25 Scott .................. Georgetown ........ 535 658 Loss 17
26 Bell .......... . Middlesboro ........ 531 632 Loss 4
27 Webster .. . Providence ........ 529 692 Loss 12
28 Nelson ................ Bardstown .......... 517 580 Loss 11
Total These 28 Counties 37,056 42,241 Loss 13
Total Other 92 Counties 14,025 15,861 Loss 1.88
Total Entire State 51,081 53,102 Loss 6.86

Note that less than two per cent of the people in ninety-two of our counties are colored.
Yet a separate segregated system of schools must be operated for them.

137

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communities. This immigration has been negligible in recent years,

Causes of Migration. Migration is generally in response to
economic urge. People go where they hope to get employment and
make a better living. This accounts for nearly all this movement.
A second but weaker urge is for more satisfying social life, including
public health service and school facilities. Life as a Negro tenant
farmer in most areas or as a denizen of an ostracized shantytown
suburb is not satisfying.

Our Negro Ratio. Christian County has the largest per cent of
colored, thirty-three per cent, a little less than one third. Fulton,
Todd and Trigg follow with twenty-four per cent, and Fayette with
twenty-three. All others range downward from eighteen.

In more than three-fourths of the state, ninety-two counties,
there is only one colored child to an average of more than ﬁfty white
ones. It is economical to build a school and employ a teacher for
the ﬁfty, and have about thirty-ﬁve in attendance. But it is not
economical to build a school and employ a teacher for the one. It
costs a little less to employ some drivers to operate some cars (where
the roads are good enough) to gather children over an area served
by several white schools, and organize them into a one—teacher school.
This is a problem for the county board of education. You see one
reason why two-thirds of our counties have only seven months of
school each year.

Economic Problem of Schools. In forty-six counties, the county
boards have fewer than ﬁfty colored children in their entire county.
The building of a school house and the employment of a teacher for
them is the small part of the problem and of the cost. The real
problem is to build and operate several little schools for this scattered
few or to bring them together to one school. In one county that does
not have enough for a school, the cost has been reported as more than
two hundred dollars a year for tuition and transportation of a pri-
mary grade pupil to the nearest school twenty-two miles away in
another county. In some other similar Situations, the pupils are sent
away to attend elementary schools and board with friends of their
families, the county boards of their home counties paying the cost.

Either transporting a thinly scattered school population to a
center within the county, or sending them to school in another county,
involves heavy per pupil cost on the public and inconvenience to the
children and their parents. The Option of maintaining local schools
convenient (within reasonable walking distance) to their homes, with

only two or three children to a school, offers neither service nor
saving.

138

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The elementary school problem is not as embarrassing in in-
dependent districts as in county districts. Most independent districts
have a larger colored population in proportion to their total. In these
districts no transportation is needed to their local schools.

County and City Population. Table II shows the distribution of
colored census pupils as between county districts and independent
(city) districts in the ten counties that have half the colored people

of the State.

Table 11. Distribution of Colored School Census
Urban and Rural, June, 1942

Number of Colored in School Census Per Cent Colored
’ |

County District I Independent District Co. Dist. Ind. Dist.
Jefferson ............ 798 Louisville .......... 9,353 4.8 14.9
Fayette ...... 928 Lexington .......... 2,580 13.9 31.3
Christian 1,468 Hopkv., C. & P. .. 1,101 30.1 37.3
Harlan . .. 1,076 Lynch & H. ...... 1,023 5.1 24.4
Hopkins ...... 168 Madsv., D.S. & E. 1,299 2.9 29.9
McCracken 199 Paducah ............ 1,240 5.5 18.2
Warren ............. 682 Bowling Green .. 543 11.9 18.6
Henderson 493 Henderson .. 530 13.8 18.2
Fulton ........ 722 Hickman & F. 217 35.2 11.9
Madison .............. 495 Richmond & B. .. 443 8.2 20.0
10 Counties 7,029 17 Ind. Dists. .. 13,329 9.1 18.4

As shown by this table, there are less than half as many colored
in proportion to population in farm areas as in centers of population
and of industry. This ratio shown in these ten counties of largest
Negro population applies to the other half of the colored that live in
the remaining 110 counties. Delivering school service to this widely
and sparsely scattered population must be achieved at cost out of
proportion to the numbers served.

Schools and Teachers. In ﬁfty per cent of the counties the col-
ored pupils are so few and far between that a one-teacher school may
serve half the rural county. Many independent districts have so few
as to require only one teacher. So the number of one—teacher schools

is relatively large.

The number and type of schools and teachers employed is indi-
cated by county and independent districts in Table III.

139

Table III. Schools and Teachers, Colored

1-Tchr. Larger Schools Total Teachers
Type of Control Schools Ele. HS |HS&Ele. Schls. Elem. f HS | Total

County Dist. ...... 317 55 0 16 388 488 46 534
Ind. Dist. ............ 33 33 4 49 119 543 407 950
State .......... 0 1 1 0 2 3 20 23
Private .............. * * 1 O 1 * 4 4

Totals .............. 350 89 6 65 510 1,034 477 1,511

*Private elementary schools have not made reports to the State Department of Education.

We have 350 one-teacher schools as compared with 432 ﬁve years
ago (1936-37).

County districts have 534 teachers for 388 schools. Most of the
schools have only one teacher. Only twelve have more than three.
This tells a story of sparse population, with an average of but four
elementary teachers to the county, and no more than two in ﬁfty-five
of them.

Some high school work is done in sixteen county district schools,
but only seven qualify as four—year high schools. Most county pupils
go to independent districts for high schools.

More large schools operate in independent districts. They have
eighty-six schools of more than one teacher. These eighty—six schools
have 917 teachers, including 407 serving grades seven to twelve in
organizations including some or all of the high school grades.

The four high schools without elementary grades are Central in
Louisville, Dunbar in Lexington, Attucks in Hopkinsville and Doug-
lass in Henderson. The high school under State operation is Lincoln
Institute at Lincoln Ridge. The private school is Catholic, in
Louisville.

CHILDREN MARCHING

The Procession. The children are marching. - Every child is
on the road. Where are they going? They are on the way to partici-
pation in our democracy. The road has been carefully surveyed and

paved. It lies thru the twelve school grades and by way Of
graduation.

Precaution has been taken that these inexperienced travelers d0
not miss the road or fall by the way. Systems of schools and boards
of education, teachers and superintendents, bus drivers and attend-

ance ofﬁcers, are employed as attendants to see that the children are
directed and assisted on the way.

140

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may look to you like a page of ﬁgures. They are the ﬁgures of youth.
You must look beyond the page and see the battalions of children,
three quarters of a million strong. They are trudging to school from
their homes all over the State. See them in the coal ﬁelds of Harlan
and the cotton ﬁelds of Fulton, and from the sources of rivers around
the mountainous trail of the lonesome pine to the wide expanse of
the father of waters where the sands of Montana mix with those of
Pennsylvania on the shores of Wolf Island.

If in this table you see mere statistics and do not see Kentucky’s
childhood 0n the march, your vision is dull and your insight into the
future is obscure. You fail to interpret. The table follows:

Table IV. Progress Thru the Grades
By Races and Types of Districts, 1941-42

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Grade .5 0
Type of Dist. 3 E E +9 3E E E
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I. C0. Dist. W 77,810 I 10,561 22,536 44,713 14 29 7

C 3,395 321 1,070 2,004 9 32 59
Ind. Dist. W 17,417 3,835 2,354 11,228 22 14 64
C 3,572 741 683 2,148 21 19 60

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II. Co. Dist. W 43,205 3,881 7,140 32,183 9 16 75
C 1,764 114 275 1,375 6 16 78
Ind. Dist.W , 13,772 1,343 1,369 11,060 10 10 80
C 2,513 195 313 2,005 8 12 80
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III. Co.Dist. W 44,361 4,083 7,679 32,599 9 17 74
c 1,907 142 274 1,491 8 14 78
Ind. Dist. W 13,149 403 1,949 10,797 3 15 82
C 2,425 183 293 1,949 8 12 80
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IV. Co. Dist. W 44,325 l 3,987 | 7,260 33,078 9 16 75
C 1,829 93 320 1,416 5 18 77
Ind. Dist. W 13,646 1,182 1,192 11,272 9 9 82
C 2,576 124 299 2,153 5 11 84
|
V. Co. Dist. W 32,131 | 2,864 l 4,871 24,396 9 5 76
C 1,458 130 213 1,115 10 14 76
Ind. Dist. W 13,503 1,167 1,146 11,194 9 8 83
C 2,430 113 260 2,057 5 11 84
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VI. Co. Dist. W 40,568 I 4,036 5,730 30,802 10 14 76
C 1,639 113 255 1,271 7 16 77
Ind. Dist. W 13,256 1,124 862 11,270 8 7 85
C 2,268 212 207 1,849 9 9 82

141

Table IV.—Continued ' vane
§ 011116
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Grade 7:1
7:: 'U '6 cu +411 44 +-
Type of Dist. 3 0) 0 +4 1:: q, g x: 1
we 5 9,. g ' Imp
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‘ VII. C0. Dist. W 23,868 2,913 3,220 17,735 12 14 74 l
0 1,109 84 161 864 7 15 73
I Ind. Dist. W 12,543 1,350 1,126 10,067 11 9 80 I ea
0 2,292 203 335 - 1,754 9 15 76 y
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I VIII. Co. Dist. W 30,938 4,538 4,560 21,839 15 15 70 re]
I 0 1,322 126 239 957 10 13 72 I mi
, Ind. Dist. W 11,474 990 934 9,550 9 3 83
0 1,970 69 304 1,597 4 16 31
I IX. Co. Dist. W 15,187 2,459 1,128 11,600 16 8 76 a“
c 314 46 42 226 15 13 72 I. 161
Ind. Dist. W 12,898 1,729 1,029 10,140 14 8 78 I‘ H,
c 2,089 340 251 1,498 16 12 72 ‘
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I X. Co. Dist. W 13,986 1,874 719 11,393 13 5 82
, c 269 24 32 213 9 12 79
Ind. Dist. W 11,535 1,803 1,130 8,602 16 10 74 , 11
C I 1,748 296 211 1,241 17 12 71
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XI. Co. Dist. W 9,585 1,225 420 7,940 13 4 82 ,
c 136 24 14 98 18 10 72 1
Ind. Dist. W 9,076 1,218 559 7,299 13 6 81 1
1 0 1,259 160 107 I 992 13 8 79
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XII. Co. Dist. W 9,135 I 796 I 166 I 8,173 9 I 2 I 89
c 80 6 1 73 8 1 91
Ind. Dist. W 8,106 542 244 7,314 7 3 90
c 951 29 37 885 3 4 93
I I v
I—XII. Co. Dist. W 385,099 43,218 65,430 276,451 12 16 72 ‘
0 15,222 1,223 2,896 11,103 8 19 73 I:
Ind. Dist. W 150,379 17,459 13,122 119,798 11 9 80
c 26,093 2,665 3,300 20,128 10 12 78
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A11D1str1cts* '1‘ 576,793 64,565 84,748 427,480 11 15 74
I W 535,478 60,677 78,552 396,249 11 15 74 I
c 41,315 3,888 6,196 31,231 10 15 75 I"
I I I
Both Races. C0.D 400,321 44,441 68,326 237,554 11.1 17.1 71.8
1. D 176,472 20,124 16,422 139,926 11.4 9.3 79.3

_*These_ﬁgures are for last school year (1941-42). Two districts, Morgan County and
Selence H111, had not reported when these data were compiled. They have white schools I
only. Thelr ﬁgures would not increase the percentage of progress. '

Questions. These ﬁgures answer many questions. And they
ralse others.

1. Why do a hundred and ﬁfty thousand White and ten thou-
sand colored children in these districts not enroll? The State ad-

142

‘1 Perc \
"A [Passesnt

' vances per capita ($12.88) to the districts for the schooling of each

child. Relatively few of them were in private schools.

2. Why do sixty thousand white and four thousand colored
pupils drop out of school before the close of the term and not return
or enter another school? Relatively few of them die or leave the

State.

3. Why do eighty—ﬁve thousand children fail to pass 011 their
year’s work after taking it? They are rated as failures and required
to repeat the next year. The loss is terriﬁc. The per capita for these
repeaters is more than a million dollars a year. The per capita is the
minor part of the cost, and the cost is the minor part of the loss.

4. Why must forty-two thousand little ones (15,458 dropped out
and 26,643 retained) have to repeat ﬁrst grade? Have we not yet
learned how to teach beginners? To the extent that the pupils fail,
the school does, whosever the fault may be. Forty of every hundred
pupils enrolled in grade one fail to pass.

5. Why are there forty thousand fewer in second grade than
in ﬁrst? Those forty thousand are repeating ﬁrst grade.

6. Why do only sixty per cent of ﬁrst graders complete the
year’s work as compared with seventy-six per cent of second graders?
Since four in every ten took this grade the year before, it seems that
comparatively few should fail. The ﬁrst graders are taught just as
well. Their assignment is harder for them and their attendance may

be less regular.

7. Are the ﬁnal per cents of progress the same for the two‘
races? The difference is not signiﬁcant in the elementary grades. It
is less favorable to the colored in the ﬁnishing high school grades, so
many of the boys being out. i

8. Why must seventeen per cent of all rural children in school
at the close of the term fail as compared with nine per cent in inde-
pendent districts? Why should this difference be so great in the
elementary grades? The numbers are 65,804 rural as compared with
9,854 in independent districts. Are the rural children less capable?
We have not observed it. Are their interests more diverted to shows
and parties? We don’t think so. Are the rural pupils given a shorter
term? Yes, two months shorter.

9. Are the rural schools less liberally ﬁnanced? Yes, a county
board can levy only a 75-cent rate while the other districts may levy

up to twice that rate.

143

10. Are the rural children discriminated against in tax rate
because it costs less to get them to school? No, they are the ones
that have to be transported.

11. Are the rural children discriminated against in tax rate
and term length because they learn so much faster? No, that is not
claimed for them.

12. Are they discriminated against because they have more
wealth per pupil subject to tax“? No7 they generally have less.

13. Are they short-changed in tax rate because the wealth is
produced in the towns and not on the farms ‘2 No, it is produced on
the farms and at the mines. The farms and mines keep up the stores,
stockyards and places of business and amusement in the towns. Their
profits are taxed by the independent districts for the schools of these
districts.

14. Is this discrimination democratic? Not if democracy means

fair and equal distribution of the benefits and burdens of the public
service.

15. Are the schools not supposed to teach democracy? Yes,
and they do, even tho they may not be allowed to live it completely
while teaching it. Segregations and discriminations as between city
and rural or white and colored are not democratic. \Ve approach
democracy as we approach Christianity or civilization, slowly, a little
at a time.

16. Is there doubt that the county should be divided into rural
and city (county and independent) districts and that the poorer dis-
tricts should have lower tax rates, poorer schools and shorter terms?

Yes, there is. Students of school administration believe that we
should move in the direction of equalization of school opportunity for
children and of taxation for taxpayers. They think this is to be
found in a wider basis of school financing and taxation and in larger
units of school administration. This suggests that our schools should

be ﬁnanced in greater ratio from state sources and in less ratio from
local district taxation.

George Colvin used to say, “We must get the money where the
money 1s to educate the children where the children are.”

We have been making progress in this direction. Only a few
years ago in many of our cities the “white property” was taxed for
the white schools and the colored poverty for the colored schools. We
have outgrown that. 'We had only half terms for some small rural

144

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schools. We have outgrown that. Now thirty-two of our counties
are entire county units for school taxation and school administration.
In them there is no discrimination in the tax rate or term length as
between city and rural or racial groups. That number is destined to
increase.

Parallels. Children of the two races march thru the grades in
nearly parallel lines. For one hundred of each race enrolled in the
ﬁrst grade of county districts, twenty-eight white and twenty-eight
colored are being promoted from grade eight, and eleven white and
eight colored are being graduated in grade twelve. For one hundred
of each race enrolled in grade one of independent districts, fifty—ﬁve
white and forty-ﬁve colored are being promoted from grade eight,
and forty-two white and twenty-ﬁve colored are being graduated in
grade twelve. For one hundred of each race enrolled in grade one
in both types of districts, thirty-three white and thirty-six colored
are being graduated in grade eight, and sixteen white and fourteen
colored are being graduated in high school.

For one hundred children of each race enrolled in grade eight,
forty-one white and thirty-one colored are enrolled in grade twelve.
Of one hundred white pupils graduating, ﬁfty-four are seventeen
years of age or younger. Of the same number of colored, sixty-two
are eighteen years of age or older.

One in every seven children in the school census (white 14%,
colored 13.5%) are in the four years of high school.

When the measures of school service are followed in comparison,
they are found to be more favorable for city children than for rural
and more favorable for white children than for colored.

Peter and Paul. , Our larger independent districts operate their
schools ten months each year, and most of the others nine months.
Two-thirds of our county districts are unable to ﬁnance a term of
nine months. So they hold their elementary children to the legal
minimum term of seven months in order to give their high school
children nine months. Thus in the State we rob Peter to pay Paul,
because most of the Peters live in the country and the Pauls in
town. Then out in the county We again rob Peter to pay Paul, because
Peter is in the ﬁfth grade and Paul is in high school.

Negro pupils suffer less from term differences than do the
whites. This is because while 72 per cent of the white children en-
rolled are in county district schools (28% in independent districts),
only 37 per cent of the colored children. enrolled are in county dis-

145

trict schools (63% in independent districts). So it results that the 301100
Negro children enrolled in the State have an average attendance for Th? 5
the year of 136 days to 128 for the whites, even tho the colored chil- W111“?
dren average four more days of absence (21 to 17). - , $139
I
Girls and Boys. Colored girls stay in school thru the upper ]
grades better than the boys do. This is shown in Table V, which , requl
gives enrollment distribution by sexes in each grade, and the loss MOSt
thru the grades. , ment
Table V. Enrollment in Colored Schools (x edut
" Distribution by Sexes and by Grades 'nte
’ 1
. . 1000 P 'l ract
Grade 100 Pupils in Each Grade in £53” S
Boys I Girls Twelve Grades
. 1 53 47 168 ‘ am
‘ 2 53 47 103 r (101
r A. 3 53 47 104 sal
‘ l 4 50 50 106 -
5 50 50 94 . Te
6 49 51 94 c0.
7 49 51 82
8 46 54 80 '
9 42 58 60
10 43 57 45 IS
11 40 60 3'7 32
12 36 64 27 ,
t - vs
0f the boys in the census. 76 per cent were enrolled (1941-42); and of the girls 83 per 13"
cent. In the primary grades, where such masses of pupils repeat, boys predominate. In the 1
high school grades, as we approach grade twelve, girls predominate. The balance is found
in grade ﬁve, where the numbers balance.
2
Transportation of Pupils. The colored pupils are so widely 1

scattered and so far from their schools, especially from high school, i

that considerable pupils transportation is needed. High per pupil i

cost, due to small numbers and long routes, leads school districts au-

thorities to avoid it when they can. So transportation