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

Page 20 text:

Outside Quarters of the School T he John Marshall House and The Jefferson Club tice of renting outside rooms was begun. This continued until June, 1909, when the school occupied every available shall House, and the old Jefferson Club. Before 1903, however, it became evident to the School Board that the building at 805 East Marshall was hopelessly beyond improvement and totally unfit for a twentieth century school. They used every effort to secure funds for the erection of a new school. In’ 1904 they succeeded in obtain- ing half of the lot on which the building now stands. Plans for the new school were submitted, but before any work was begun, the citizens, headed by the School Board, the Richmond Education Association, and the daily press, so vigorously pressed the question of securing the whole block, bounded by Clay, Marshall, Eighth, and Ninth Streets, that in 1905 their efforts were crowned with success.

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.

Page 21 text:

James C. Harwood Fourth Principal i N THE fall of 1903 further effort to improve the scholastic po standing was made. Examinations were abolished for all except the graduating classes. The standard adopted for these classes was an average of eighty per cent with a minimum of seventy per cent on a subject. In the spring of 1906 a committee ap- pointed by the board made a study of the standards of the high schools throughout the State and reported the Richmond High School as among those requiring the highest standard. In 1905, upon the resignation of Mr. Thomas, James C. Harwood became principal. At this time there were but two courses in the school: the regular course of three years and the two-year business course. All who selected the regular course were required to take every subject in the course. In 1907, upon Mr. Harwood’s recommendation, the course was extended to four years, allowing greater latitude in the selection of subjects.