CHAPTER LIII.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE KINDERGARTENS..

The most difficult statistical work of this Bureau for 1897-98, and the most unsatisfactory in its results, was that of collecting information concerning kindergartens. This applies with special force to private kindergartens. This office obtained from many sources a list of more than 3,500 private kindergartens. When requests for statistics were sent to the individual kindergartens it was learned that at least 500 of them were no longer in existence. Every year hundreds of these schools are started by young women who have no special training or aptitude for the work. The result is failure for the individual and more or less discredit for the kindergarten movement in the community.

After repeated requests for information 1,519 private kindergartens reported statistics to this office. Detailed information from 1,479 other private kindergartens reported as still in existence could not be obtained. The 1,519 kindergartens reporting had 3,232 teachers and 47,853 pupils. Allowing proportionate numbers of teachers and pupils, it may be estimated that the 1,479 kindergartens not giving statistics had 3,173 teachers and 45,884 pupils. Taking this as a liberal estimate, the 2,998 private kindergartens had 6,405 teachers and 93,737 pupils in 1897-98.

Public kindergartens to the number of 1,365 were maintained in 189 cities in the United States. These kindergartens had 2,532 teachers and 95,867 pupils. The total number of children in public and private kindergartens, according to reports and estimates, was 189,604. (See Table 3 of this chapter, which summarizes the combined statistics of public and private kindergartens.) Estimating for private kindergartens whose location may be unknown to this office, it is not probable that the total number of children in all the kindergartens in the United States in 1897-98 exceeded 200,000.

The growth of the kindergarten movement in the last twenty-five years may be shown in the following table, which gives the number of public and private kindergartens, the number of teachers, and the number of pupils, as reported to this office for certain years beginning with 1873:

PUBLIC KINDERGARTENS.

The statistics in the above table prior to 1892 were never complete, even for the public kindergartens. Several cities failed to report for the first few years their experiments with the kindergarten. St. Louis was the first city to incorporate the kindergarten with its public school system. For the year ending June, 1874, there were 68 pupils in the public kindergartens of that city; 271 pupils in 1875; in 1876 there were 1,011; in 1877 the number had reached 3,333; in 1878 the number was 5,359, and in 1879 the kindergartens had 6,202 pupils.

The statistics of public kindergartens are summarized in the first six columns of Table 1 in this chapter. Of the 189 cities supporting kindergartens in connection with their public school systems 91 were in the North Atlantic Division and 68 in the North Central Division. In the first division 31 of the cities are in New York, 27 in Massachusetts, and 15 in Connecticut. In the North Central Division Michigan and Wisconsin each have 17 of the kindergarten cities.

In the 1,365 public kindergartens there were 2,532 teachers-hardly an average of 2 to the school. The 95,867 pupils would give an average of about 38 to the teacher. There were 2,783 more girls than boys in these kindergartens, or 46,542 boys and 49,325 girls.

In 1892 there were 137 cities reporting public kindergartens, as shown in Table 9. These cities had 459 kindergartens, 933 teachers, and 31,659 pupils.

Table 10 gives in detail the statistics of the public kindergartens in the 189 cities in 1898, as summarized in Table 1.

PRIVATE KINDERGARTENS.

The statistics of the 1,519 private kindergartens reporting to this office in 1897-98 are summarized in the last five columns of Table 1. .There were 3,232 teachers, or an average of more than 2 to a school. There were 47,853 pupils, or scarcely 15 to a teacher. As already shown, the average number to a teacher in the public kindergartens was about 38, or 19 for each of the half day sessions.

The number of private kindergartens reporting to this office in 1892 was 852, with 1,602 teachers and 33,637 pupils, as shown in Table 9. The statistics of public kindergartens reported the same year will be found in the same table, while the combined statistics of public and private kindergartens for that year are given in the last three columns of Table 8.

The combined statistics of public and private kindergartens actually reporting for 1897-98 are summarized in Table 2. The same statistics combined with estimated figures for the 1,479 private kindergartens not reporting are given in Table 3.

Table 4 shows that of the 1,519 private kindergartens reporting 534 were mainly supported by kindergarten associations, 915 by tuition, and 70 by donations. Only 1,011 of the kindergartens reported their expenditures; these had 33,816 pupils and an aggregate expenditure of $519,252, or an average of $15.36 to the pupil.

Tables 5 to 8 summarize the statistics of public and private kindergartens from 1873 to 1892. These tables are compiled from returns made to this office and do not include estimates of schools not reporting.

Table 10 gives the detailed statistics of public kindergartens in the 189 cities whose returns are summarized in Table 1.

Table 11 is a list of the kindergarten associations reported to this office. A very large number of these associations failed to respond to requests from this office for information.

Table 12 is a list of training schools for kindergarten teachers and normal schools maintaining kindergarten training departments. Many of the training schools failed to respond to inquiries.

STATE PROVISION FOR KINDERGARTENS.

Kindergartens in connection with the public school systems are authorized by State law in Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, and the District of Columbia. Many cities in other States support kindergartens under general municipal powers granted by their charters of incorporation. By such authority kindergartens are supported in connection with the public school systems of certain cities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

The following States assist the kindergarten movement by maintaining departments or classes for the training of kindergartners in the public normal schools: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

In general it may be stated that any city through powers inherent in its charter granted by the State may maintain public kindergartens as part of its system of schools, provided such kindergartens are supported wholly by local taxation. In most of the States the age limit for free attendance at the public schools is from 6 to 20, or 6 to 21. Manifestly, kindergartens in these States could not derive support, from State school funds, where the children attending were below 6 years of age, without special legislative enactment.

In Massachusetts there is no age limit for free attendance at the public schools; in Connecticut the age limit is from 4 to 16; in Wisconsin from 4 to 20, and in Oregon from 4 to 20. It would seem that in these States legislative provision for public kindergartens receiving children 4 years of age and over would be unnecessary.

The public schools of Massachusetts are supported almost wholly by local taxation, and as there is no age limit for free attendance publie kindergartens are not provided for in the State law. This State has a larger number of public kindergartens than any other except New York. There are 181 maintained in 27 cities, with 358 teachers and 10,977 pupils.

Public kindergartens are permitted by legislative enactment in the State of New York. (See Consolidated School Law of 1898, Title XV, "Miscellaneous provision.") Article 9, under the head of "Free kindergartens," reads as follows:

The school authorities of any union, free, or common school district, located in any county having less than 1,000,000 inhabitants, may establish and maintain one or more free kindergarten schools. The moneys for the support of such schools shall be raised in like manner as for the support of the other public schools of such district. No child under the age of 4 years shall be admitted to the schools, and the local school authorities are hereby empowered to fix the highest age limit of children who may attend. All teachers employed in these schools shall be licensed in accordance with rules and regulations established by the superintendent of public instruction, and shall each share in the distribution of district quotas. The attendance of children under the age of 5 years who may be enrolled in the schools shall be reported separately and shall be counted in the distribution of public money.

In New York 31 cities have 218 public kindergartens, with 371 teachers and 15,817 pupils. Of the entire school revenue of this State the portion derived from local taxation is about 59 per cent, from State taxes 14 per cent, from permanent funds 1 per cent, and from other sources 26 per cent.

The Connecticut State law permits the establishment of public kindergartens for children between the ages of 3 and 7 years. Under this law 15 cities have 57 kindergartens, with 147 teachers and 3,083 pupils. In that State the portion of school revenue derived from local taxation is nearly 80 per cent, from Stato taxes nearly 11 per cent, from permanent funds about 5 per cent, and from other sources about 4 per cent.

New Jersey has no State law expressly providing for kindergartens, but local boards have organized them in 6 cities, where there are 46 kindergartens, with 64 teachers and 3,277 pupils. The State Normal School has a training course for kindergartners, using some of the organized kindergartens as model schools. The schoolage limit in this State is from 5 to 20. Local taxation provides about 55 per cent of the school fund, State taxes 40 per cent, and permanent funds 5 per cent.

In Rhode Island kindergartens are not provided for by law, but they are maintained by five cities, in which there are 25 kindergartens, with 51 teachers and 1,511 pupils. The minimum age for attendance at the public common schools in this State is 5 years. More than 87 per cent of the entire school revenue of Rhode Island is derived from local taxation.

The Pennsylvania law allows the school directors to establish and maintain out of the public-school treasury kindergartens for children from 3 to 6 years of age. Under this provision two cities have 149 kindergartens, with 3,677 pupils. In this State over 59 per cent of the school revenue is derived from local taxes, 26 per cent from State taxes, 15 per cent from other sources.

In Wisconsin public kindergartens are expressly authorized by law. As the age limit in this State is from 4 to 20, and as local taxes provide more than three-fourths of the school revenue, there can be little controversy as to the means of support. In this State there are 17 cities maintaining 103 kindergartens, with 210 teachers and 11,735 pupils.

The Michigan school laws permit the establishment of kindergartens for children from 4 to 7. In that State 17 cities have 65 kindergartens, with 90 teachers and 4,0.3 pupils. More than 78 per cent of the public school revenue is derived from local taxation.

The Illinois legislature in 1895 passed the following act authorizing the establishment of kindergarten schools:

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the general assembly, That in addition to other grades or departments now established and maintained in the public schools of the State, any school district managed by a board of education or a board of directors is hereby empowered, when authorized by a majority of all the votes cast at an election for that purpose, such election to be called and held in accordance with the provisions of Article IX of an act entitled "An act to establish and maintain a system of free schools," approved and in force May 21, 1889, to establish, in connection with the public schools of such district, a kindergarten or kindergartens for the instruction of children between the ages of four and six years, to be paid for in the same manner as other grades and departments now established and maintained in the public schools of such district. No money accruing to such district from the school-tax fund of the State shall be used to defray the tuition or other expenses of such kindergarten, but the same shall be defrayed from the local tax and the special school revenue of said district.

All teachers in kindergartens established under this act shall hold a certificate issued as provided by law, certifying that the holder thereof has been examined upon kindergarten principles and is competent to teach the same.

Two cities in Illinois have 65 kindergartens, with 132 teachers and 5,671 pupils. The public schools of that State derive more than 86 per cent of their support from local taxation.

In Iowa independent districts are authorized to establish and maintain kindergartens. In this State 9 cities have 51 kindergartens, with 79 teachers and 2,675 pupils.

Indiana authorizes by law the establishment of kindergartens for children between the ages of 4 and 6, but they must be supported wholly by local taxation. In that State 8 cities have 26 kindergartens, with 43 teachers and 1,206 pupils. The public schools derive about 59 per cent of their support from local taxes, 26 per cent from State taxes, 9 per cent from permanent funds, and 6 per cent from other sources.

In Ohio kindergartens are authorized by the school law for children from 4 to 6 years but the support must be wholly local. In that State 7 cities support 27 kin

dergartens, with 37 teachers and 1,740 pupils. More than 80 per cent of the support of the public schools is derived froin local taxes.

The California school law recognizes kindergartens established by cities and towns in section 1617 of the code, which prescribes that trustees of school districts shall "exclude from schools children under 6 years of age; provided, that in cities and towns in which the kindergarten has been adopted, or may hereafter be adopted, as a part of the public primary schools, children may be admitted to such kindergarten classes at the age of 4 years."

There are 10 cities in California supporting 65 kindergartens, with 136 teachers and 4,580 pupils. The public schools of this State derive 45 per cent of their support from local taxes, 49 per cent from State taxes, 5 per cent from permanent funds, and 1 per cent from other sources.

In Colorado there are 4 cities which maintain 29 kindergartens, with 60 teachers and 1,501 pupils. There is no State school tax in this State. The schools derive over 80 per cent of their support from local taxes, about 3 per cent from permanent funds, and 17 per cent from other sources.

The Colorado law of 1893, authorizing the establishment of kindergartens, is as follows:

The school board of any school district in the State shall have power to establish and maintain free kindergartens in connection with the public schools of said district for the instruction of children between three and six years of age residing in said district, and shall establish such courses of training, study, and discipline, and such rules and regulations governing such preparatory or kindergarten schools as said board may deem best: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed to change the law relating to the taking of the census of the school population or the apportionment of State and county school funds among the several counties and districts in this State: Provided further, That the cost of establishing and maintaining such kindergartens shall be paid from the special school fund of said districts, and the said kindergartens shall be a part of the public school system and governed as far as practicable in the same manner and by the same officers as is now, or hereafter may be, provided by law for the government of the other public schools of the State: Provided further, 'That teachers of kindergarten schools shall have a diploma from some reputable kindergarten teachers' institute or pass such examination on kindergarten work as the kindergarten department of the State Normal School may

direct.