er personal inspection of
the school to which the three boys would go. The new home is not, in
some respects, as attractive as the other nor is it as convenient for
commuting, but one cannot have everything. They are content and the
small boys are once more expressing themselves with a New England
accent.

In inspecting both the graded and high schools of a neighborhood that
pleases you, the obvious things are the buildings, school bus service,
play space, provisions for school lunches and so forth. These are
tangible and can be readily observed. Much more important are the
intangibles. These include the scholastic standing of the particular
school; the pedagogical ability and personality of the individual
teachers; and, finally, whether those who manage village, borough, or
town governments, provide adequate school appropriations.

Schools that really educate children can be operated on starvation
budgets but, more often than not, the quality of teaching suffers.
Likewise the schools of a town reflect the capacity and ability of
those in charge. To judge this, make it a point to meet the local
school superintendent. If there is a parent-teachers association, a
frank discussion with its leader is an excellent idea. From talks like
these you can sometimes gather cogent information that neither
superintendent nor member of the school association would or could put
in writing. If possible observe the school while it is in session. The
attitude of teachers and children should enable you to form an
estimate of it as a whole.

In determining the scholastic standing of a high school, its rating by
college entrance boards, the success in college of recent graduates,
and kindred data can be readily obtained and will tell a complete
story. However, under present conditions, there are some excellent
high schools which pay little or no attention to college preparation
because relatively few pupils intend to enter college. If this
condition prevails at the high school your children would normally
attend and your plans for them include college or technical school,
recognition of it is important. A year or two in a good private school
that makes a specialty of college preparation is probably the answer.
But don't wait until a son or daughter is nearly through the local
high school to discover this lack of specific preparation.

If, on the other hand, you do not intend to send your children to the
schools where tuition is included