Kennard School - Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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The St. Louis Public Schools BY HON. JAS. J. FITZGERALD President of the Board of Education The St. Louis Public Schools, as an institution, received their origi- nal incorporation under the name of The Board of Trustees for Superintending Schools in the Town of St. Louis, on January 30, 1817. The original trustees were men whose names will live forever in the history of St. Louis. They were: General William Clark, William C. Carr, Colonel Thomas H. Benton, Bernard Pratte, Auguste Chouteau, Alexander McNair and John P. Cabanne. The Board of Trustees was succeeded on February 13, 1833, by a new act of incorporation, which charter, through several successive amendments, is the one under which the present schools operate. On April 1, 1838, the first public school was opened in St. Louis. This was at the corner of Fourth and Spruce Streets and was called the Laclede School, in honor of the founder of St. Louis. The first teachers elected were Miss Mary H. Salisbury and David Arm- strong, who were appointed March 3, 1838. The St. Louis Public Schools are under the direction of a Board of Education of twelve members, who serve for a term of six years, four of whom are chosen every other year. The administration of the schools proper is in the hands of the ofiicers of the Board of Education, who are the Superintendent of Instruction, the Secre- tary and Treasurer, the Commissioner of School Buildings, the Auditor, the Supply Commissioner, and the Attorney. The Superintendent of Instruction has direct control over all activi- ties in the Department of Instruction. Each school is in the direct charge of a Principal who has full authority over the work in his institution and who bears a direct responsibility to his assistant superintendent. The Department of Instruction also maintains special services for all of the schools in the fields of health and hygiene, testing and research, school attedance, and in educational supplies and equip- ment. The other officers of the Board of Education have direct con- trol and charge over the various activities of the Board itself. The Finance Department has as its function the financial adminis- tration of the schools. In this office all obligations of the Board are paid, whether they be salaries of employees or bills incurred in the disposal of the business of the schools. The funds of the Board of Education by law are protected by bonds of the United States, the State of Missouri, and the City of St. Louis, placed by the Board's depository in a third agency to guarantee their safety. The Secre- tary and Treasurer's office also has charge of all of the records of the Board of Education and keeps copies of the Board meetings. 20

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The Cub Pack The Program of CUBBING is now entering its seventh year. Throughout this period the Patrons' Association has sponsored a Cub Pack at Kennard School. Boys of the School, between the ages of nine and twelve, are most cordially invited to join the Pack. This year the Pack has an enrollment of twenty boys, divided into three Densbalndfeach Den is under the supervision of a Den Mother and a Den ie . It has been definitely learned that the Cub trained boy, upon enter- ing the ranks of Scouting, becomes a more enthusiastic and consci- entious Scout than the boy who has missed the pre-Scout training which Cubbing offers. In promising, to be square, to do my best, and to obey the laws of the Cub Pack, the boy steps forth toward the development of good character habits, a desire to excel, and a sense of social responsi- bility which undoubtedly will stand him in good stead in later life. l CHICKASAW DEN: Joseph Carbone, William Hackel, Louis O'Leary, Angelo Marino, William Simon, Charles Timmerman. Den Mother: Mrs. Doris Hackel. Den C11 ief: Clifford Dameron. OSAGE DEN: Gordon Allen, Lee Brownlie, Howard Heald, Carl Heiman. Den Mother: Mrs. Charles Allen. Den Chief: Robert Beasley. CHEROKEE DEN: Donald Archibald, Robert Dameron, Gene Fey, Benjamin Haug, Charles Miller, Thomas Niehaus, Warren Prass, Donald Ruhland, Thomas Seeler, James Smith. Den Mother: Mrs. Benjamin Haug. Den Chiefs: Frank Winters, James 0'Brien. PACK COMMITTEE Arthur R. Brownlie, Chairman - J. D. Smith H. W. Prass Paul F. O'Brien CUBMASTER, H. Clifford Dameron, Flanders 6385 19

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The Building Department, which is in charge of the Commissioner of School Buildings, has the responsibility for school buildings and grounds, not only for their construction, but for their maintenance and operation. The various divisions in the Building Department are the Architectural, which has charge of' the plans and specifica- tions for new buildings and the direction of their construction, the Operating Division, which carries out the heating and ventilating of school plants and their cleaning, the General Maintenance Divi- sion, which makes all repairs and alterations on school buildings, the Plumbing, Heating and Ventilating and Electrical Divisions, which are in charge of experts in each of these fields, so that these branches of school construction may be kept at their best, the Land- scaping and Playgrounds Division, which has the function of beau- tifying the planted areas around the school buildings, and the Transportation Division, which has charge of the moving equip- ment of the Board of Education. The Auditing Department, in charge of the Auditor, has two gen- eral duties. As general accountant for the Board of Education, the Auditor is charged with the preservation of accounts, vouchers and contracts pertaining to school affairs. In addition to that, he must examine and audit all accounts or demands against the Board, and certifygheir correctness to the Secretary and Treasurer before they are pai . The Supply Department, in charge of the Supply Commissioner, directs the purchase and distribution of all of the movable equip- ment and supplies in the St. Louis Public Schools. In the warehouse of the Board of Education, over which he has supervision, the Board stores materials to be used in the schools in vast quantities. Since the St. Louis Public Schools occupy an unique place in the country as one giving free supplies to all of its students, the num- ber of materials under the control of the Supply Commissioner ap- proximate almost 3,000 items, and the number of books approxi- mate 1,200,000. The Attorney of the Board of Education has direction over all legal matters pertaining to the business of the Board. It is indeed a great step from the first school and its simple organi- zation in 1838 to the present day, when we find in St. Louis nine public high schools, twenty-one ninth grade centers, two vocational schools, two Teachers Colleges, one hundred seven elementary schools, and thirty special schools. It is a far cry, indeed, from the simple school for all types of pupil, offered in 1838, to the specialized schools such as the Michael, Turner, Gallaudet, and Taussig which are available to the sub- normal child, and to which transportation is provided. As President of the Board of' Education it is indeed a pleasure to congratulate and commend the people of St. Louis on the fore-sight, initiative and perseverance that has made possible the improved school which is now available to all the children of our City. May 15, 1936. 21