in cities are under the charge of a principal who is subordinate to the city superintendent.

In 1893 the General Assembly made the kindergarten an integral part of the public school system. Under this law the school board of any district may establish and maintain free kindergartens for the instruction of children between three and six years of age. A high standard of efficiency is required of those proposing to teach in the kindergartens.

106. The Graded Elementary School embraces eight grades, each grade requiring one year for completion. The instruction is usually confined to orthography, reading writing, arithmetic, English grammar, geography, history, civil government, physiology with special reference to the effect of stimulants and narcotics, and some elementary work in the natural sciences. In some of the schools instruction is given in gymnastics, singing, drawing, and sloyd.

107. The Secondary School or High School embraces four grades, covering four years, and completes the work of the elementary school. A high school course of study has been adopted by the State Teachers' Association, and most of the high schools are attempting to approximate the work therein prescribed. The course of instruction in these schools furnishes the means for acquiring a fair general education, and in the more advanced schools, it meets the requirements for admission to the institutions of higher learning.

108. Compulsory Education.-The State requires that every child between eight and fourteen years of age shall attend either a public or a private school for at least twelve weeks in each school year, eight weeks of which must be consecutive.

109. The Revenue for the support of the public schools is derived from State, county, and district sources.

(a) The general school fund which is used for teachers' salaries is made up from State and county sources.

(1) The State revenue for the general fund is derived from the proceeds of the public school investment fund; from interest on the deferred payments of school lands; from proceeds arising from the lease of school lands;1 and from escheats and gifts. This State fund is apportioned among the various counties once in every six months by the superintendent of public instruction.

(2) The county revenue for the general fund is derived. mainly from a county tax of not less than two mills nor more than five mills, which the county commissioners are required to levy on all taxable property of the county. A considerable sum is realized from fines, penalties, and forfeitures.

The general fund is apportioned by the county superintendent at regular intervals among the various districts in proportion to their school population.

(b) The special school fund is derived from a special tax which the school board levies on the taxable property of the school district. In districts of the third class the highest limit is fifteen mills. Should the school board neglect to levy this tax, when needed, the county commissioners are required to levy it.

110. The Licensing of Teachers.-A person holding a certificate, granted by lawful authority, is legally qualified to teach in the public schools of the State. County certificates are granted by the county superintendent to persons successfully passing an examination. Applicants are examined in the school law of Colorado, and in the subjects taught in the common schools. The questions are prepared and furnished to the county superintendent by the superintendent of public instruction.

The State board of education grants State certificates to persons successfully passing the State examinations, also

1 Sections sixteen and thirty-six of every township in the State were granted by Congress to Colorado for the support of the common schools. 2 See note, page 75. See 106, page 79.

to persons who have rendered eminent educational services in the State for five years. These certificates are valid for life unless revoked for good cause.

The State Normal School grants a life certificate to persons graduating from its full course.1 Districts of the first

class are given authority to examine teachers."

111. Special Schools are maintained by the State for the education of the unfortunate, vagrant, and criminal classes.

The school for the unfortunate class, those who do not have possession of all the physical senses, is located at Colorado Springs, and is called the School for the Deaf and the Blind. This institution is not an asylum or hospital, but is a well-equipped school with a faculty of specialists. In the training of the blind, music as a means of education is emphasized. In both the deaf and the blind departments the training of the hand is cultivated. The State Industrial School, and the State Industrial School for Girls unite elementary manual training with the usual instruction in primary subjects, hoping thereby to make self-supporting citizens of the vagrant and criminal classes of boys and girls.

4

HIGHER EDUCATION.

112. The State institutions for higher education in Colorado include the State School of Mines, the Agricultural College, the State Normal School, and, crowning the entire system, the State University. All except the State Normal School are included specifically in the Constitution. the time of the adoption of the State Constitution the

At

1 These certificates are valid in any public school in the State. The certificate may be revoked for cause.

2 These certificates are valid only in the districts in which they are issued.

3 See 129, p. 90.

5 See Art. VIII. Sect. 5.

See 2 130, p. 90.

State Normal School was not an organized Territorial institution. It should be classed as one of the constitutional institutions, as the Constitution provides for it in a general way, as follows: "Educational . . . . institutions shall be established and supported by the State, in such a manner as may be prescribed by law."1 This school has been established by law, the authority for which is derived from the Constitution. Its board of trustees acts under the general direction of the State board of education, a constitutional board."

These institutions of higher learning are as much a part of the educational system as are the common schools. No system of education is complete which stops with the mere rudimentary elements of learning.

The subjects pursued in an institution of higher learning have a direct bearing on the practical work of life. They aid directly in building up a strong and wise citizenship. The State recognizes that it reaps rich returns from the investments it makes in institutions of higher learning. It would seem to be wise on the part of the State to insist that each institution should work out only the special line for which it was created. The State should see to it that each institution is given the highest facilities for doing the most efficient work in its allotted field.

113. The School of Mines is located at Golden. This school was established to make a practical application of science to mining and its kindred subjects.

114. The Agricultural College. This school is located at Fort Collins. Its object is to promote the practical education of the industrial classes, especially by instruction in agriculture and in the natural sciences connected there

1 See Art. VIII. Sect. 1.

2 The State Normal School is an integral part of the public school system by law and is placed on the same basis as to apportionment of the State school funds as are union high schools.