the demands of duty, the School door is opened to every child,
and our only labor now is to make the Schools equal to the
need of the rising generation and the expectations of those
who establish and sustain them.

In the report transmitted by your Excellency to the Special
Session of the General Assembly, Jan'y 9th, 1866, the work
of the State Board of Education was fully related up to De-
cember 31, 1865. I refer to that report for some facts requir-
ed to give the full history of educational labors, and also, as
embodying the views of a large number of intelligent citizens
and earnest School men, relating to the intellectual progress
of our State under the old local laws establishing Public
Schools.

STATISTICAL SUMMARY.

From the Statistical Tables of the several counties, the fol-
lowing summary of the work of the Schools, during their first
year, is prepared. The statistics of Baltimore City Public
Schools, are not included in the summary for reasons stated
below.

To secure accuracy in these Statistics, and make them
valuable as a basis for calculating the amounts needed for
the support of the Schools, the records of School work are
kept uniformly in each School house by the teacher, in each
District by the School Commissioner, in each County by the
Secretary of the School Board, and at the close of the year,
transmitted to the State Superintendent by the President of
each County Board upon forms precisely the same for all.

A School Register is provided for each School house, in
which are recorded the names of the pupils, the time of at-
tendance and the branches studied. From this Register, the
teacher prepares, according to a prescribed form, a Term
Report, which is handed to the Commissioner. From these
the Commissioner makes a District repoit, also after a pre-
scribed form, and the District reports combined are recorded
by the Secretary at the end of each term or quarter in a Record
Book, which is of the same form in every County. This is
a stoutly bound volume large enough to contain the District
and County reports for several years, thus securing a per-
manent record by which to judge of the progress of School
work.

From this record the annual County Report is prepared by
each President, also according to a prescribed form, which
being the same in each County, enables the Superintendent
to present as nearly as practicable an accurate Summary of
School work, as exhibited in condensed form below, and in
detail in the tables printed at the end of this report.

These School Registers, and forms for quarterly and annual
reports not having been used in the Baltimore City Schools
and their Scholastic year ending with the secular year, are