John Marshall High School - Marshallite Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

Page 18 text:

William A. Bowles Second Principal S EAN 1882, ten vears after the establishment of the school, we find a faculty of twelve and an enrollment of three hundred and ninety-three. But the growth in numbers was by no means the only growth of the high school. We find that the scholastic rating of the school became of prime importance to those in authority, and efforts to improve it were constantly being made. A desire for a higher standard was manifested in 1884 by the substitution of fifty per cent instead of forty-five per cent as the minimum for promotion, and in 1888 this was raised to sixty per cent. In 1887 a Post Graduate year was added to the course of study. This marks the inception of the City Normal School. In 1889 Mr. Fox, the man who had guided the school through the critical period of its infancy, became superintendent, and William A. Bowles succeeded to the principalship.

Page 17 text:

First High School Building 805 E. Marshall St. STE , | - g Sq HE first high school building, located at 805 East Mar- shall Street, was opened on October 1, 1873. It was a three-story building with eight class rooms, the third floor being occupied by an assembly hall. The building cost $49,000 and had a capacity of 274 pupils. At this time the faculty consisted of the prin- cipal and three teachers, and the enrollment was seventy-six. The first class was regularly graduated from the school in June, 1875. It consisted of six boys and eight girls. In that year Senior pupils were emploved as substitute teachers in the city schools. In 1881, the enrollment of the high school having outgrown the capacity of the building, it was found necessary to enlarge the structure by the addition of eight rooms and a basement. The popularity of the school increased steadily, and several times after this rooms were added to take care of the growing enrollment. an we a

Page 19 text:

Julian P. Thomas Third Principal YEAR after becoming principal, Mr. Bowles resigned to accept a position in a larger institution, and Julian P. Thomas was elected principal. In the same vear we find a further expansion of the curricu- lum. The school showed its progressiveness by putting into practice the new theories of education which urged that a pupil should not be forced into an arbitrary system but that the course of study should be adapted to the needs and abilities of the child. Phonography and typewriting were introduced, and shortly afterward a two-year busi- ness course was established. The superintendent recommended that, in addition to the college preparatory, business, and post graduate courses, a manual arts course for boys and girls be adopted. A full course at that time did not seem feasible, but a partial compliance with the recommendation was made by the establishment, in 1893, of a course in cooking. Owing to a lack of funds this course was later discontinued.