Original Document

The forward movement in education is one of the more marked features of Pennsylvania's progress in the last decade. The increase in salaries of teachers and in amount of money appropriated by the state is an indication of this trend.rn rn "When the School Code of 1911 was passed by the Legislature, Pennsylvania entered upon a new era in her educational history and took an advanced step in popular education. Probably no educational measure was ever more widely discussed in State or National circles than this code; and the consensus of opinion concerning it was expressed at the time by one who had made significant studies in educational legislation when he said that 'the most conservative State in the Union enacted the most complete educational code ever attempted in America.'rn rn "When the Legislature of 1915 appropriated one million dollars to aid in promoting continuation schools in connection with the Child Labor Law, it took a step far in advance of any other State in the Union.rn rn "During the summer of 1918 the State Board of Education undertook a campaign in behalf of increased salaries for the teachers. This campaign culminated in the enactment of the Woodruff Salary Bill, by which six millions of dollars were added to the teachers' salaries during a biennium.rn rn "This movement in behalf of teachers' salaries was advanced by the passage of the Edmonds Act, in 1921, whereby an additional six millions of dollars was appropriated for distribution in the form of teachers' salaries. This latter hill was so amended in the session of 1923 as to give a more equitable distribution of school moneys to the districts least able to finance public education. By this method it is hoped to equalize educational advantages throughout the Commonwealth. At the instance of Governor Pinchot, the Legislature of 1923 made a larger appropriation to the public schools than had ever been approved by any Legislature in the history of the Commonwealth. Within its organic law the State has made provision for every form of educational endeavor- practical, theoretical, or vocational that can be thought of in connection with the social, industrial or civic life of the Commonwealth."rnrnrnrnrnrn

Credit: J. George Becht, "Progress in Education," 1923.