A few days previous to the opening of school at ——, a member of the school board dropped in one morning to see me. In the course of the conversation he said that the board would meet the second evening after the opening of school, and invited me to be present, if I cared to come. I thanked him for the invitation and assured him that I should be glad to attend the meeting.

At the teachers’ meeting on the Saturday before the school opened, I gave each teacher a blank, and asked for a report at the close of the first day of school, somewhat as follows:

1. Number of pupils enrolled.

2. Number of boys and number of girls and their respective ages.

3. Number of pupils who were attending school for the first time.

4. Supplies, if any, that were needed immediately.

From this information, which was easily obtained by the teachers, I compiled a definite report which showed the school attendance the first day compared with the opening days of the two previous years; the grades having largest number of retarded pupils; and the extra supplies that would soon be needed. The report concluded with a brief statement of my appreciation of the hearty coÖperation that I had received from the teachers and pupils. I wrote the report very carefully and placed it in my pocket, hoping that it might be presented at the board meeting.

The first board meeting meant much to me, for I was desirous of having the members feel that the success of the school depended very largely upon having the administrative head take an active part in the deliberations. I was present promptly at eight o’clock, the time set for the meeting, and the gentleman who had invited me explained to the other members how I happened to be present. Before the close of the meeting, the president of the board asked how I liked the place and how many I had found it necessary to “strap” the first day. I replied that I was well pleased with the school conditions, and that if there were no objection I would like to read a short report that might be of some interest to the board. There was no objection and I read the report. At the conclusion of the reading, one member of the board said, “By Jimminy, I have been on this board for seven years and that is the first time I have ever heard a report like that. I move, Mr. Chairman, that we thank the superintendent for bringing in the report, that we file it with the secretary, and that we extend a standing invitation to him to attend all our meetings.” The vote in favor of the motion was unanimous. I went home that evening feeling that I had been well repaid for the time spent in compiling the report.

From that time on I made a regular monthly report at the board meetings, which resulted in the extension of my authority. I was soon permitted to order supplies when needed, if the requisitions were approved by the secretary of the board. This was a great help to the school. It saved much delay, and we always knew what we could get and when we could expect it. The teachers often spoke of how much more definitely they could plan their work. Great care was exercised to purchase only such supplies as were needed, and we turned in many of the worn-out books as partial payment for new texts. Hence, at the end of the year the cost of school supplies had been cut nearly in half as compared with that of the previous year. It was a matter of pleasure to have the board realize that a superintendent might be a business man as well as an educator.

The next extension of authority was in regard to the employment of teachers. It had been the general policy of the board to engage and discharge teachers without consulting the superintendent. I anticipated this by making, at the end of the fourth month, a report as to the general efficiency of the teachers. Not a word was written in the report that the individual teacher concerned did not know. The members of the board expressed themselves as being much pleased with the teacher report idea and I was told that I would be asked to recommend the teachers when the time came for their election. This confidence of the board was a great inspiration to me, and helped me more than anything else to decide that I would remain a schoolmaster.

My experience with the board in another community is equally suggestive.

During the five years previous to my superintendency at this place, the board had voted against the introduction of manual training each time it came up for discussion. I was interested in having manual training introduced, but before making a formal request of the board, I decided to give the subject a very careful study. I spent a number of Saturdays going from town to town to inspect the manual training equipment and courses of study. At that time, manual training was very much in the experimental stage, and I found something new at each place. After settling upon the plan that I considered best suited to our accommodations, I arranged to have an evening meeting of the parents at the school building where an exhibit of the regular school work was displayed in each room. During the evening a talk was given on the topic of manual training by a neighboring superintendent, who was especially well qualified to discuss the subject. I wanted to create a public sentiment in favor of manual training before asking the board to introduce it into the school system.

At the next regular board meeting I presented a definite, written plan for the introduction of manual training, stating the space in the building for it, the grades that would be given the work, the number of times per week that it would be offered, and the cost of the benches and tools. Without a moment’s hesitation, the leading member of the board said, “I have objected to the introduction of manual training for five years, not because I was opposed to the subject but owing to the fact we never had a report made to us as to its cost, where it could be placed in the building, or the grades in which it would be offered. I move that the recommendation be adopted and the material purchased as designated in the report.” The motion was adopted without a dissenting vote.

I have had many other experiences with school boards similar to those cited above. School boards have not always purchased everything that I have requested, but I have found in the vast majority of cases that if the board has faith in the superintendent and feels that he knows what he wants, and what he will do with it after he gets it, he will not have much difficulty in obtaining what the school really needs. Too many superintendents go to board meetings with no definite report as to what is being done in the schools or what is really needed to make them efficient. This inability or failure to assume leadership causes the board to lose confidence in the superintendent, and soon reacts detrimentally upon the school system.