ment of the junior and senior high schools. Still another recent position established is that of supervisor of trade and industrial training, and to this position a qualified specialist in vocational education with long State experience under the Federal Board for Vocational Education has been assigned.

In the particularly important field of agricultural extension the aid of the Department of Agriculture was sought, and one of the active workers of that department has been transferred to the Indian Office to direct its program. A well-qualified specialist has been appointed supervisor of livestock, who will also advise as to the school herds. The office has also secured for the coming year the services of Dr. Erl Bates, of Cornell University, to help plan and coordinate the various educational and extension activities on the reservations.

With such a staff in education and related field as the nucleus of a planning organization, it is believed that it will be increasingly possible to build up a definite Indian education program.1

HIGHEST QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING PERSONNEL

Steps taken in 1928 and 1929 to raise the standards of teaching and other educational service in Indian schools have begun to show results. The salary increases for teachers, while by no means large from the point of view of modern educational service in urban communities, have nevertheless been sufficient to attract some new entrants of more than satisfactory qualifications. The salaries of principals of boarding schools now range from $2,000 to $2,900; of senior high school teachers, $1,860 to $2,100; of junior high school teachers, $1,680 to $1,920; of elementary teachers, $1,500 to $1,740. The minimum qualifications for principals include "graduation with a degree from a normal school, teachers college, college or university of recognized standing, with 18 semester hours in the school of education" and a minimum of two years' successful experience. For senior high school teachers the new requirements comprise graduation from a 4-year course in a recognized college or university, with 16 units in education, the latter to include 12 units in psychology, principles of education, and methods of teaching. Junior high school teachers are required to have at least three years and elementary teachers two years beyond the high school. In actual practice the qualifications of many new entrants have been better than the minimum; in home economics, for example, practically all the applicants this year have been full 4-year graduates of colleges and universities of recognized standing, and among the nearly 200 new appointees to elementary and intermediate positions for the coming year are many above the minimum standard for these grades, including a number with college degrees. This is in part due to abnormal employment conditions and the slightly better salaries, but it also indicates the effectiveness of higher professional standards.

It should be understood that this necessary raising of standards can not be retroactive. In accordance with the established practice in any movement for improving personnel, employees now in the

1 Since closing the year's work it has been the good fortune of the Indian Office to secure as director of education a distinguished educator from one of our best-known colleges, who has specialized in the education of minority races and who in the Civil Service examination far outranked all of the eighty-odd applicants.

REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

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service who do not meet the new qualifications but are otherwise competent-particularly if they are found to be successful in their human relations with Indian people are being encouraged to secure the necessary additional educational qualifications. Training in service is an essential function of the new demonstration teachers previously referred to, and of all others directing the educational program. In case of withdrawals, of course, applications for reinstatement are being considered only from those who are qualified under the new requirements, but applicants for reinstatement, if otherwise qualified, are being advised as to means of securing the additional preparation. An unusual number of members of the teaching staff have this taken advantage of the opportunity afforded by "educational leave " for advanced study. In the spring of 1930 suggestions were given as to the type of university summer courses that would be helpful to Indian school teachers, the universities having been canvassed to find out what they could offer. A circular issued in March, 1930, addressed to elementary teachers, urged the desirability of enrolling in "courses dealing with important phases of an elementary school program which are on the whole receiving insufficient attention in our Indian schools." Chief among these needs as listed were:

year

1. Environmental experiences of children as a basis for school procedure and curriculum content.

2. Philosophy of progressive education, basing school work on activities and at the same time recognizing and providing opportunities for various learning outcomes rather than beginning and ending teaching procedures mainly with subject matter.

3. Physical education and play as an opportunity for health, recreation, and creative expression.

4. Industrial and fine arts as a functional part of the school program. 5. Appreciative and creative phases of music.

6. Consciously capitalizing the opportunities for personality and character development which are inherent in every classroom situation and all school activities.

CHANGES IN CURRICULUM

Instead of attempting a total revision of the existing course of study, plans are well under way to enrich the curriculum through the selection and introduction of stimulating materials and initiating classroom procedure that approximate more nearly real life situations. Under guidance several teachers initiated construction activities involving on the part of children, choosing, planning, executing, and judging, in addition to providing the necessity for use of numbers, oral and written English, and art. The results of a survey of industrial and fine arts together with additional suggestions for such procedures will be issued to the elementary teachers for the purpose of further stimulation of this type of functional school work. Emphasis is being placed upon the importance of basing all early primary reading on words that already have a place in the children's speaking vocabulary. Since this necessitates the construction of all reading material by the teachers, an initial purchase was made of 50 typewriters equipped with primer-sized type. These were distributed largely to schools where beginners are non-English speaking.

A carefully selected list of modern textbooks in reading, language, and geography has been added to the recommended book list for elementary grades. Up-to-date school supplies and materials, too, have been listed and submitted to the schools.

Seven positions of home-economics teachers were set up this past year in reservation schools. This means that home-economics departments are now organized in all but the smaller boarding schools, and in two of the day schools.

THE INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS

Each boarding school situation is being scrutinized to determine whether the school is to be retained for some time, abandoned soon, or assigned to purposes other than that for which it now exists. The rapidity with which we can carry out our policy of eliminating young children from the boarding schools depends, of course, upon a number of factors. Some of the educational factors involved have to do with home conditions, remoteness from public-school facilities, ascertained need for institutional care, possibilities of health followup, and social case work not ordinarily available in the small rural communities in which so many Indian children live. Other factors that must be considered are the attitude of the white people of the community and the older Indians toward the boarding school and the attitude of white parents toward the Indian children. If the policy of the Government to increase public-school provision for the Indian school population is to be carried out, obviously local communities will have to be considerate and take an unselfish view of proposals to abandon Indian boarding schools.

In the meantime such boarding schools as remain must be helped to do the best work they can, especially for older boys and girls, and smaller children can be eliminated from these schools except where institutional care is found necessary after adequate investigation by trained social workers. Six large nonreservation boarding schools have now raised their grades to include the twelfth grade, or senior high school, and have concurrently dropped the lower grades.

Approximately 2,000 boys and girls were enrolled in the three upper high-school grades in 1930 as compared with 1,617 a year ago and 710 in 1926. The figures for five years are given in the table below. It will also be noted that this has taken place while there has been a falling off in the enrollment in elementary grades.

Enrollment in Government Indian schools, 1925–1930, by school divisions

As long as the boarding schools remain they must be staffed as effectually as possible. It is generally recognized that among the most important positions are those having to do with personal relations of the boys and girls. This is a weak point in nearly all institutional enterprises, but it is particularly serious in the Indian boarding schools. Previous reports have referred to the change in designation from "disciplinarians" and "matrons" to "advisers," No one would claim, of course, that changing the name changes the type of worker, except in so far as it gives official sanction to a different attitude toward the work. Some improvement has been

of Girl Scout troops, and in various other activities. This should make for a decided improvement in the caliber of women filling these positions, with a corresponding development on the part of the girls themselves. It is to be regretted that no such improvement can be reported in the qualifications of boys' advisers. This remains one of the most serious problems of the schools.

For some years attempts have bene made to reduce the amount of noneducational institutional work required of boys and girls in Indian boarding schools. In the case of girls, for example, competent observers generally agree that no phase of institutional work is harder than sitting at a sewing machine for a three or four hour period. This year, for the first time, part of the girls' clothing was purchased ready made at a figure not much greater than the cost of the material, thus relieving the girls from the endless round of sewing. The purchase of girls' ready-made clothing does not, of course, in any way interfere with clothing instruction and practice. Another boarding-school problem of the utmost importance is supervision of diet. In the majority of schools the home economics teachers have general supervision over the meal planning, the kitchen, and dining rooms. This, together with the additional funds available for food, is making a real improvement in these departments.

The work previously begun at the boarding schools in teaching Indian children their native arts and crafts has been continued. All Navajo schools now have native weavers who teach blanket weaving to the girls. Pottery is taught at Albuquerque and Santa Fe and also in the Maricopa, Hopi, and Pueblo day schools. Many of the Indian boys and girls are doing outstanding work in design. The girls have taken their native designs and applied them to household linens and other forms of household decoration.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR INDIAN CHILDREN

Previous reports have described the efforts to have Indian children attend public schools. In the year just passed the number of Indian pupils reported in attendance in public schools increased from approximately 35,000 to 38,000. Contracts were made for payment of tuition for Indian children with 861 boards of education, 23 more than the previous year.

At many jurisdictions the problem of transporting Indian children to the public schools of their districts has been given special attention, and in one or two places has been made the subject of a comprehensive study of the situation. Among the Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma a field study of the smallest group-that of the Seminoles-was completed before the close of the fiscal year. Supervisor Thompson's report shows that of the 705 Seminole chil

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dren of school age 353 are enrolled in public schools, 146 in Government boarding schools, 61 in denominational and other schools, and 145 not enrolled in any school. He found State and local authorities glad to cooperate in the education of Indian children, and as a result of his investigation he recommended the further development of the public-school program for Indians and the abandonment of the separate tribal boarding school. This study of the Seminole situation is the first to be completed of a series of comprehensive studies of the school opportunities and needs of the Five Civilized Tribes. Less extensive studies are being carried out elsewhere.

It is recognized, of course, that merely placing Indian children in public schools, even where the community is cooperative, is by no means the whole solution. There are many situations where arrangements need to be made very slowly and only after careful study of all the factors involved. Reports by day-school representatives and others show a growing disposition to try to understand family and home conditions and other elements in the situation that really require the services of trained social-case workers.

INDIAN EDUCATION AND OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS

During the year under review Indian education has had the attention of various outside groups. The Lake Mohonk conference gave considerable space to education in its discussions and in its resolutions. There have been encouraging evidences of cooperation with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Junior Red Cross, American Child Health Association, religious groups, and other associations and individuals interested in the Indian problem. Several of the committees of the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection have given separate attention to the Indian school child, and a special subcommittee of the conference appointed to deal with Indian education is headed by Miss Edna Groves, of the Indian Office.

INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS FOR INDIAN EDUCATION

The first deficiency act of March 26, 1930, made available the sum of $1,100,000 to supplement the regular annual appropriations for support and education of Indian pupils in Federal school for the fiscal years 1930 and 1931. This money was to be used for the following purposes: For additional subsistence, $195,000; for subsistence of pupils retained in boarding schools during summer months, $40,000; for noonday lunches in day schools, $50,000; for additional clothing, $50,000; for additional personnel for enlarged program of study, $200,000; for equipment, $175,000; for furniture, $240,000; and for livestock, $150,000.

The act making appropriations for the Department of the Interior for the fiscal year 1931 contains also an appropriation of $64,000 for subsistence of pupils retained in boarding schools during the months when school is not in session. The same act provides a special appropriation of $200,000 for purchase of furniture, school, shop, and other equipment for Indian day, reservation, and nonreservation schools.

In the general appropriation, in the same act, for support of Indian day and industrial schools for the fiscal year 1931, an increase in the sum of $417,000 was allowed in excess of the appro