Page:Eastern North Carolina Encyclopedia.djvu/22

 Snow Hill, costing $90,000. This building is modern in every respect, and has a large library and well equipped laboratory for the teaching of science. It is on the accredited list of high schools and has a high school enrollment of 140 pupils. All work is standardized and it draws high school pupils from many districts in the county. All teachers are college trained.

During the school year of 1922–23 three more modern schools were built. A well equipped brick building at Hookerton with 12 classrooms and basement, a beautiful auditorium with seating capacity of over 500, costing $70,000. Another modern structure with all conveniences was erected at Walstonburg with 12 class rooms and an auditorium of over 500 capacity, costing $50,000. This is a consolidated school of five rural schools. Also another five-room brick school was erected in Shine consolidated district. This is a modern rural school costing $10,000. All of these schools are up-to-date and are monuments to the communities in which they are erected.

The class of teachers in the schools is constantly improved upon, till this year for the first time all white teachers hold State Certificates. Only a few County Second Grade Certificates are issued to colored teachers. All teachers in larger schools are well trained and experienced.

There are now 27 white and 19 colored schools in the county. The number of white schools is decreasing every year through consolidation. There are three central high schools, Snow Hill, Hookerton and Walstonburg, located so that they are in easy reach of every high school boy and girl in the county. Practically all are 2 to 13 teacher schools.

In 1921–22 the cost of instruction per pupil in Greene County as compiled by the State Department of Education is below the average in Eastern North Carolina and much below the average of her adjoining counties. The school advantages in Greene County now compare very favorably with that of the Eastern Carolina counties in proportion to the amount of money spent on public education.

Ten or more Parent-Teacher-Associations have been organized in the last two years among the small rural schools and they are active and are doing untold good in the communities in which they are organized. This shows the growth of the community spirit.

Under the proposed plan of county-wide consolidation Greene County will have three central standard high schools and six standard elementary schools. When this scheme is put into operation every boy and girl in the county will have the advantage of a standard elementary and high school education. The spirit of education is growing and there are no impassable natural barriers in Greene County to interfere in making an ideal school system with minimum cost to the people.

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