Seattle: 1900-1920 -From Boomtown, Through Urban Turbulence ...

Educationsuperintendent gave them the freedom to create an inventive curriculum. Not surprisingly,the schools had high attendance. There were twenty-six schools in 1902 and seventy by1912, the student-to-teacher ratio in 1902 was 46 to 1 but 32 to 1 by 1912, and teachers’salaries averaged $793 in 1902 and $1,126 in 1912.The public schools fulfilled the needs of the middle-class newcomers, who soughtfriendly neighborhoods with an elementary school and playground or park in which toestablish their families. The “upper class”of labor must be included in this socialcategory. Together, these upwardly mobilegroups worked to gain access to economicopportunities and social amenitiesthat the watchdogs of the powerfuldowntown interests on the school boardguarded against. Social services rankedCourtesy, Seattle Public Schools ArchiveDuring the city’s boom years following the Great Fireof 1889 many working families found homes in theneighborhood at the south end of Lake Union. CascadeSchool opened for their children in 1894 and theneighborhood adopted the name for itself. During thecity’s boom years the school was enlarged twice, first in1898 and again in 1904 for a whopping enrollment thatyear of 949 pupils. Cascade School was also blessedwhen Charles Fagan became its third principal in 1900.Noted for both his sense of humor and sensitivity, Faganserved Cascade for 33 years.Courtesy, Ballard Historical SocietyA boom in school construction came inevitably withSeattle’s extensive 1907 annexations in 1907 of ColumbiaCity, West Seattle, and Ballard. With the Adams Schoolin Ballard (1910) the school district used a T-shapedenlargement of its popular Jacobean-styled red brickand terra-cotta tile model. Colman School in the RainierValley is nearly its twin. And with Adams the schoolboard also cooperated with the Seattle Park Departmentin developing the rest of the site’s double block for aplayfield in the spirit of the then popular “playgroundmovement.”61high on these board members’ lists ofunnecessary expenditures. Recognizingthe relationship between good healthand learning, Cooper initiated a freeand reduced-price milk program thatpreserved the anonymity of its recipients.He had to defend this program throughouthis tenure.A teacher’s tenure tended tobe long. However, if a female teachermarried, she was summarily dismissed.Apparently the act of marrying causedfemale teachers to fall from grace;married male teachers were presumedto be free of taint. Most grammarschool teachers were women. The payfor grammar school teachers was lowerthan that for high school teachers, wheremales predominated. And female highschool teachers were paid less than theirmale counterparts. The board’s operatingprinciple was “[N]o male candidate ofacceptable rating is denied.” Yet duringthe years 1910 and 1911, four times asmany women as men applied for teachingjobs.The school board was a severemoral taskmaster. Teachers founddrinking or smoking in public weresubject to disciplinary action. Sick leave