Roanoke Rapids Schools Are Overcrowded, September 17, 1920

The public schools opened Monday morning with a good enrollment which has increased constantly since the opening day and which bids fair to pass the 1,200 mark next Monday. Last year the opening week showed fewer than 900 children, but this number was increased to about 1,400 during th eyear. With an enrollment of over 1,100 in the beginning it is expected that more than 1,600 will be enrolled during the year. The school buildings are so crowded that 14 teachers in the first and second grades are compelled to teafch on the half-day basis. Every available bit of space is being untilized. In order to find quarters for the high school it was necessary to cut the balcony of the auditorium in two and put a class on each side. In addition the ninth grade occupies space on the floor of the chapel. A fine corps of teachers has been employed, among whom are some who have been trained in such institutions as the Universty of North Carolina, Peabody College and Columbia Univeristy. It is safe to say that no better teachers can be fo0und in any time in the state. (From the front page of the Roanoke Rapids Herald, September 17, 1920.)