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"Permanent Regulations & By-laws, Annual Reports..School Committee..Town of Chicopee"

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This selection from the "Annual Reports" of the Town of Chicopee, Massachusetts, (March, 1850) is the report of the local school committee. The data presented in the report reflects the highly localized nature of public education in the mid-nineteenth century. The town contained 20 schools and was divided into twelve separate school districts. These districts, controlled by "prudential committees," were in charge of hiring teachers, while the town paid salaries. The Fourth District was the largest in the town, containing ten schools including a high school. The report is notable for its complaints about immigrant children, who are said to have "filthy habits" and "bad odor."

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