|
About APS Links
|
|
About APS – History of Akron Public Schools
1900-20
When Henry V. Hotchkiss became the superintendent in 1900,
Akron had one high school, 11 elementary schools, 150 teachers
and 5,000 students. Twenty years later, when Superintendent
Carroll Reed took over, there were four high schools, 26
elementary schools, 800 teachers and 33,000 students!
The amazing growth in the school system was a direct result of
the phenomenal growth in the city of Akron, due to the rubber
industry. During this time, population in Akron grew 480% – from
42,000 to 200,000. In fact, from 1911 to 1920, Akron was the
"world's fastest growing city."
It was quite a challenge for a school system to keep up with
those numbers! An increase of 2,000 students a year meant two
new buildings a year were needed. It seemed as soon a school was
built, like South High School in 1911, it was filled to
capacity. But Hotchkiss firmly believed that each child should
be provided for. He once explained, "People may live three to a
room, or may live in tents, but each child must have a seat with
his name on it as long as he remained in Akron." He also said,
"A child is only 6 or 10 or whatever age he might happen to be
for one short school term, and it behooves his elders to see
that he gets the advantages to which he is entitled at that time
– not two years hence when someone can get around to it, but
RIGHT THEN."
As well as finding seats for their students, school officials
also tried to keep them healthy. Bowen and Mason schools were
the first to feature "open-window rooms" for underdeveloped and
undernourished children. Since at that time about 30% of
children under 18 had tuberculosis, and crowded classrooms could
lead to spreading the disease, the health commissioner requested
more air in rooms for pupils likely to get sick. In 1918, an
influenza epidemic raged throughout the nation, closing schools
for several weeks. More than 600 died in Akron during that time.
Another crisis that occurred during Hotchkiss' superintendency was
World War I. Physicals for the draft were given at Central High
School, and the Summit County War Work Council used high school
auditoriums to promote Liberty Bond campaigns. Some people
thought the schools should close during the war. But Hotchkiss
said, "Don't the children of war time have as much right to an
education as those of peace time?" |
