who have made our village the place of their gathering, and who have found entertainment in many of our homes.

"Resolved, That we have hailed with the greatest pleasure the coming into our midst of our friend, Prof. Armstrong, and that we have listened to his words, from evening to evening, with a gratification of no ordinary character.

"Resolved, That our warmest thanks are due to Prof. Armstrong for the knowledge he has measured out to our intellects in his lectures, and the true wisdom he has impressed upon our hearts in his faithful sermons." Our Institutes have been growing in interest and importance, from year to year, and have now become almost indispensable.

In conclusion, allow me to add that the close of the present year terminates my second term of office as School Commissioner. During the past six years, I have been the recipient of many favors and hospitalities from the inhabitants of this district; the teachers and school officers have been uniformly courteous, and the time has passed away with much of genuine pleasure and enjoyment, and, I hope not without profit. I am also under great obligations to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the very prompt and polite manner in which my many letters have been answered, and also for many other favors. My successor, Mr. L. S. Loomis has, by much experience, proved himself an able and successful teacher, and he will hardly fail to be a good and thorough Commissioner.

As I retire from the office to assume new relations and duties, I shall ever cherish the noble cause of popular education, and endeavor to improve every opportunity to advance the interests of Free Common. Schools. Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

HIRAM L. ROCKWELL,
School Commissioner 2d Dist., Madison Co.

MONROE COUNTY-SECOND DISTRICT.

Hon. V. M. RICE, Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Sir-By request of the Department, I make the following statement relative to the schools of the Second District, Monroe county:

Whole number school districts is.....

125

Trustees.-The "one trustee system seems to take the preference in this district. Among the various schools I find seventy-three have but one trustee, fifty-one have three and one has two.

I have made no official visits, having occupied the office of Commissioner but about two months, filling the place of J. A. Tozier, resigned. I held an Institute at Spencerport, which was largely attended, having registered about 207 teachers, who co-operated with the instructors sent by the Department, and made the whole session of two weeks exceedingly profitable to themselves. The instructions given by Prof. Williams, who was present the first week, were of the best kind. The second week was fully occupied by Prof. J. H. Hoose, who made the dark things plain. Mrs. Randall's readings were fine, and Mrs. Arey gave some fine illustrations in map drawing, on the principle of triangulation. I think by the end of another year's school I shall be enabled to report more fully on all the departments of our schools.

I am, respectfully, yours, &c.,

F. R. GARLOCK,

Commissioner 2d District, Monroe Co.

SCOTTSVILLE, Nov. 22d, 1866.

CITY OF ROCHESTER.

SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE, }

ROCHESTER, January, 1867.

Hon. V. M. RICE, Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Sir-In complying with the requirements of the Department, I must be very brief.

The supervision and management of the common schools of this city are conferred upon a Board of Education consisting of fourteen members, who are elected directly by the people. Each ward is represented by a Commissioner, who holds his office for two years. To avoid the possibility of having a Board consisting wholly of inexperienced members, it is provided that one-half of the Commissioners shall be elected annually. The city charter confers upon the Board the power to purchase real estate; to build, enlarge and repair school houses; to purchase school furniture and apparatus; to appoint a Superintendent and Librarian; to employ and remove teachers and fix their compensation; to defray all the expenses of the schools, and to have in all respects their control and management. The Commissioners, however, have not the authority to designate the amount of money which shall be raised by local tax for school purposes. This power is conferred exclusively upon the Common Council, and the amount which they can raise annually is limited as follows: For building purposes, ten thousand dollars; for repairs, five thousand dollars; for teachers' wages and contingent expenses, three dollars for each child in the city of school age.

The number of teachers employed is one hundred and twelve-twelve gentlemen and one hundred ladies. The male principals of the grammar schools receive $1,000 per annum, and the female principals of intermediate schools $400. Of the 100 female teachers employed, eightyfive receive $300 per annum. The whole amount annually paid for

teachers wages is $44,025.

There are in the city seventeen common school buildings, all of them built of brick.

The average number of children now in daily regular attendance is 5,500, or forty-nine for each teacher.

We

Our schools are thoroughly graded, and the buildings are so constructed that each grade or class of a grade has a room by itself. find it far better in every respect to have each teacher have the entire charge and supervision of her own scholars in a room by herself. She then feels that she alone is held responsible for their advancement and good conduct, and no time is lost, or confusion created, in going to and from recitation rooms.

We have in the schools seven grades, and a child of ordinary natural abilities, and who is pretty regular in his attendance, goes through one grade a year, completing the course in seven years, and then, upon a satisfactory examination, enters the Free Academy, which has a four years' course of study.

The above, I trust, will give the Department a bird's-eye view of the general arrangement and organization of the Rochester schools. In relation to their condition, I can say it was never more prosperous. Many of our citizens who formerly had so strong a prejudice against the schools that they preferred to patronize private institutions, have changed their opinions, and are now sending to the public schools. The schools were never so full, and we have reason to feel that they are daily growing in public favor.

We have now employed in the primary department six teachers who are graduates of the "Oswego Training School," and they succeed so well, and are every way so much better qualified to instruct and interest primary pupils, that we intend, as soon as we can do so, to employ none but such graduates in the primary department.

In looking over your last annual report, we notice that most of the country Commissioners state that the money spent for books for the school libraries is about as good as thrown away; that the books are generally packed away or not cared for, and seldom read, &c., &c., and expressing the opinion that the money could be more advantageously appropriated to other purposes. This may be so in the country, but it is far otherwise in this city. Here we have united the several district libraries and formed one splendid library of over 5,000 volumes of valuable standard works; we have hired spacious rooms in the most central part of the city; employed a competent librarian, who spends his whole

time during business hours in attending to it, and the result is, that the "Central School Library" has become one of the institutions in which our citizens justly take pride. Over 2,000 persons constantly use it. Should any attempt be made to discontinue the appropriation for library purposes, I beg of you most earnestly to make an exception in favor of those cities where they have established central libraries.

All of which is respectfully submitted,

C. N. SIMMONS,

Superintendent.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

CANAJOHARIE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY,
December 27th, 1866.

Hon. V. M. RICE, Superintendent of Public Instruction:

}

In compliance with your request, the following is respectfully submitted:

Another year has demonstrated the wisdom of the founders of our school system by the unparalleled prosperity of our schools, and, although it is not entirely free from defects, yet thousands to-day rejoice that they have been the recipients of the munificent provisions made by the State to educate the children of the same.

I am pleased to report that the average daily attendance of children of school age, attending school during the past year, has been somewhat larger than the previous year, owing, no doubt, to the manner in which a portion of the school moneys is apportioned, and if the whole, not a part, should be apportioned according to the average daily attendance, it would largely increase the attendance, and partially cure a prominent evil. We need a law that will induce-shall I say compel?-parents to send their children regularly to school, and any law that will do it will be hailed with joy by every teacher and friend of education in the Empire State

Rate Bills.-The rate bill, in many districts, injures very much the efficiency of the school. For fear of a high rate bill many parents do not send their children to school, or send them but a part of the time. Trustees employ second-rate teachers at low wages, to make a cheap school; perhaps keep them just long enough to use up the appropriation from the State; and thus, year after year, this programme is gone through with, to save a few paltry dollars, at the expense of the education of the children. Never will our schools be what they should be until this odious rate bill is abolished. I take pleasure in reporting that two districts, during the past year, have voted Free Schools; and I think there are others that will soon follow in the wake, unless the Legislature, the present session, give us a General Free School Law, which I hope and pray they may.

Text-Books. We need very much a uniformity of text-books in this county, and, as the law now stands, the Commissioner can do little but recommend. Wherever there has been a diversity of text-books in a school, I have endeavored to remedy the evil by consulting with teacher and trustee, and pointing out to them the proper corrective, that of not allowing any teacher to change the text-books of the school. Teachers usually recommend their favorite books; and in districts where they change teachers frequently, the evil is almost intolerable. It is no uncommon thing to find in such districts four or five different kinds of geographies, three or four different kinds of arithmetics, and as many different kinds of readers. I visited a school not long since where there were ten studying grammar, all except two having different grammars. Allow me to make a suggestion, which is, that the Superintendent of Public Instruction ask the Legislature to pass a law giving him the power to appoint some person in each Congressional district in the State, who shall prescribe what books shall be used in the schools in his district.

Libraries.-The libraries are poorly cared for, and but few of the books read; most of the library money of this year has been applied to the payment of teachers' wages.

School Houses Several new school houses have been built the past year, and they are good, snbstantial buildings, well adapted to the purposes for which they are built. Several old ones have been repaired, so that most of our school houses are comfortable, yet there are a few that stand as monuments to the parsimoniousness and indifference of the inhabitants in educational matters.

Teachers. There have been 227 teachers employed during the year, of these seventy-three were males and 154 females. The idea that it requires a great amount of muscle to control the large scholars is no longer entertained by persons of intelligence; and, as a consequence the schools are passing slowly but surely into the hands of females. There has been a marked improvement in the method of teaching during the last few years, and teachers generally feel the importance of qualifying themselves for the arduous duties of the school room. I think I am justi. fied in saying that we have in this county, for the number employed, as many earnest and devoted teachers as any other county in the State, ever ready to uphold the hands of the Commissioner, and engage in any enterprise that will increase their own efficiency and improve the char acter of the schools under their charge. The demand for first class teachers is increasing every year, and now far exceeds the supply. The belief that a young man or young woman, without any special preparation beforehand, with but crude notions of the varied wants of the school room, can discharge efficiently and successfully the duties of the teacher, is fast giving way to a more enlightened sentiment; hence we need greater facilities for educating and training teachers.