MYFBS, MAY(R - the Digital Library of Georgia

MAYOR'S ANNUAL BEPORT. 249dations had been available in the beginning of theyear.The ratio of the average number belonging to thetotal enrollment at intervals of five years since 1870present some interesting facts. These ratios expressedin per cents are as follows:1870........ 71 percent.1875.. ....74 " '1880 .......75 •'1885 ...... 80 "1890. .....83 per cent1895 .......83 «1900 .....86 "1901........87 "From this statement it is shown that the tendencyon the part of pupils to remain in schools when onceenrolled has been steadily increasing since the organizationof the schools to the present time. This is avery gratifying result, especially when we compareSavannah in this respect with other cities of the'country. In St. Louis with one of the best schoolsystems in the United States, only 78 per cent, of thechildren enrolled retain their places during the schoolyear, and yet this condition is considered as satisfactory.For nearly two years four of our schools have beenoperated under serious disadvantage, owing to thedestruction of Chatham Academy by fire and theconsequent necessity of adopting the plan of afternoonschools. Although this plan was the best thatcould have been adopted under the circumstances,it involved considerable embarrassment not only tothe operation of the schools themselves but to thedomestic arrangement of pupils and parents. Indirectlyit crowded some of the classes of the HighSchool into uncomfortable quarters, and interfered