Old Missoula

The following article appeared in the Missoulian Centennial issue on page 34 of Section E.

 

The Garden City has a right to be proud of its educational facilities, which have expanded tremendously in the last 20 years.

School District 1 added 92 classrooms and seven gymnasiums during the period from 1940 to1960, and three new buildings and an addition with 45 more classrooms and three more gyms are to be completed by September 1961.

 

Enrollment Doubled

During the past two decades enrollment in the elementary schools has more than doubled. During the school year of 1940-1941 the average daily attendance was 2,323 with 86 teachers employed. The enrollment for the 1959-1960 school year was nearly 5,000 with 175 classroom teachers.

Ira B. Fee retired as superintendent of schools in 1944 after serving 26 years in that capacity and was succeeded by C. S. Porter, who had been principal of the Central and Prescott schools for a dozen years. Porter has been District 1 superintendent for 16 years.

 

Buildings Full

In spite of the many classrooms provided, all buildings in the district are full, some to overflowing.

The chronology of additions and buildings in School District 1 during a six-year period from 1949 through 1955, giving year, building, and number of rooms is: 1949, Paxson Annex, 3; 1950, South Higgins Annex, 3; 1950, Franklin addition, 6 and a gym; 1951 Jefferson, 8 and a gym; Prescott, 8 and a gym; 1951, Washington, 12 and a gym; 1953, Hawthorne addition, 4 and a gym; 1953, Jefferson, 4; 1953, Roosevelt, 18 and a gym; manual arts (near Washington), 4; 1955, Lewis and Clark, 18 and a gym.

 

Administration Building

In 1954 when the new Roosevelt School building was constructed, the old Roosevelt building on South 6th street west was remodeled and equipped as the Administration building.

New schools scheduled for occupancy by Sept. 1, 1961, are Dickinson, 9 rooms and a gym, South 2nd and Curtis streets; Rattlesnake, 14 rooms and a gym, Brayton and Achilles; Russell, 18 rooms and a gym, Russell and Ernest, and the Lowell addition, 4 rooms, Sherwood and Phillips.

 

Many Changes

Additions to buildings and increased enrollments in the 1940-1960 period resulted in assigning one principal to a building instead of one for each two buildings.

A marked upgrading of the preparation of the instructional staff has been evident in the last two decades. In 1940 only 33 per cent of the teachers had four-year degrees as compared to 55 per cent in 1960.

Grading reports are being sent home four times a year now instead of six, and teacher-parent conferences are being conducted twice a year.

 

Preschool Tests

To avoid starting youngsters in school before they are prepared, testing of preschool children for school readiness is now done annually in School District 1.

Systemwide standardized tests for diagnostic guidance in the basic skills helps the teacher to locate weaknesses in the skill habits and the pupils as well as her own presentation.

A two-year experimental program with accelerated pupils is now under way with satisfactory results. Additional help is provided the instructional staff with the employing of a curriculum coordinator, speech correctionist, audio-visual director, art supervisor, remedial reading and testing.

Band and orchestra instruction is provided for approximately 500 pupils. Both the band and orchestra give annual concerts and also play at other functions during the year.