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Superintendent of Education correspondence and other material

  • GR-0038
  • Series
  • 1955-1967

The series consists of correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports, briefs, memoranda, etc. created by the Superintendent of Education. The records include those relating to the B.C. Teachers' Federation, 1963-1967; the B.C. Education Conferences, 1955-1960; the Provincial Board of Examiners, 1968; and the Langara College Campus, 1967.

British Columbia. Superintendent of Education

Superintendent of Education correspondence and other material

  • GR-0450
  • Series
  • 1872-1919

GR-0450 consists of letterbook copies of correspondence outward from Superintendents John Jessop (1872-1878), C.C. McKenzie (1878-1884), S.D. Pope (1884-1899), Alexander Robinson (1899-1919) and S.J. Willis (1919-1946). The letterbooks document the multifarious duties of the Superintendents of Education, who were responsible for the administration and overall management of the provincial public school system. The first seven years of correspondence may have been written in the Superintendent's capacity as Chairman of the Board of Education.

Due to its artifactual value, only volume 1 was retained after microfilming.

Indexes to correspondence outward are included in this unit. However, the indexes have certain characteristics and idiosyncracies which researchers should note before consulting the records. No index exists to correspondence outward for 1872 and most of 1873. Correspondence outward for the period December 1873 - March 1881 is indexed in the letterbooks for those years (vols. 2-5). Another overlapping index for the period 1878-1881 will be found in vols. 192 and 193.

A more comprehensive system of indexing commenced in April 1881 and continued on through December 1905. Correspondence outward for this period was indexed in separately bound volumes (vols. 194-207). In 1906 the bound volumes were replaced by boxed index cards. GR-0450 includes index cards up to and including 1915. Regrettably, cards for the years 1916-1919 have not survived and, as a result, vols. 148-191 are not indexed.

Researchers should also be aware of the indexing methods used in the Education Office over time:

  1. Correspondence outward, Pre-1901 (Vols. 2-5; 192-205)
    Correspondence outward, 1873-1900, was indexed alphabetically, by name of recipient. For example: correspondence concerning a school would be addressed to the secretary of the local board of school trustees; it was then indexed under the name of the secretary, not under the name of the school or school district. Researchers will need to know the names of school board secretaries in order to search the indexes for documents pertaining to a particular school. The best way of identifying these officials is to consult the Annual Reports of the Public Schools. In the appendices of the Reports researchers will find an alphabetical list of public schools, showing the names of local school trustees and indicating which of the trustees had been designated secretary.

  2. Correspondence outward, 1901-1913 (Index vols. 206-207; Index card boxes 208-212)
    Beginning January 1901, correspondence outward was indexed alphabetically, by name of school or school district. Between 1906 and 1913 special index headings were reserved for correspondence with the Department of Public Works (re: the construction and maintenance of school buildings) and with provincial School Inspectors.

  3. Correspondence outward, 1914-1915 (Card Index Boxes 213-216)
    Outgoing correspondence was divided into four broad categories: General, Cities, Municipalities, and Rurals. Within each category, correspondence was indexed alphabetically. "General" correspondence includes routing circulars, acknowledgements of petitions for schools, replies to applications for teaching appointments, etc. In the "General" category special index headings were also reserved for correspondence relating to school gardens (Agriculture), school law (Attorney-General), Cadet Corps, Finance, the Free Text-Book Branch, Provincial Normal Schools, Public Works Depts., School Inspectors, Technical Education and U.B.C. Under "Cities" will be found correspondence relating to Graded City Schools; under "Municipalities," correspondence pertaining to Rural Municipality Schools. "Rurals" describes correspondence concerning the small Rural and Assisted Schools in the province.

To determine the status of a particular school i.e. whether it was classified as a graded city school, a municipal school, etc., consult the published Annual Reports of the Public Schools.

British Columbia. Superintendent of Education

Superintendent of Education correspondence indexes

  • GR-0449
  • Series
  • 1881-1915

GR-0449 consists of indexes to correspondence inward of superintendents C.C. McKenzie (1878-1884), S.D. Pope (1884-1899) and Alexander Robinson (1899-1919). The actual correspondence - or at least those documents which have survived - is to be found in GR-1445.

Contemporary indexes to correspondence inward from 1872 (when the position of superintendent was established) to 1877 were lost or destroyed sometime before 1936, when the superintendents' records were transferred to the Provincial Archives. The index to correspondence inward, 1878 - March 1881 is to be found in GR-0450, vols. 192 and 193 [B08624].

The indexes which comprise this unit begin in April 1881 and continue on through December 1915. The indexes consist of two types - bound index volumes and boxed index cards. Three methods of organization were used over time as the records were created. They are as follows:

  1. Index volumes 1-12 (1881-1900)
    Correspondence received prior to 1901 was indexed by name of correspondent, not by subject. For example, correspondence concerning the schools of VANCOUVER, 1886, does not appear under the heading "Vancouver" in the index (GR-0449, Vol. 3); rather, it is indexed under the name of Dr. D.L. BECKINGSALE, Secretary of the Vancouver Board of School Trustees.

Secretaries of local school boards were responsible for official communications between school districts and the Education Office in Victoria. Thus, researchers will need to know the name of the school board secretary in order to search the index volumes for documents pertaining to a particular school. The best way of identifying these officials is to consult the Annual Reports of the Public Schools. In the appendices of the published Reports researchers will find an alphabetical list of public schools, showing the names of local trustees and indicating which of the trustees had been designated secretary.

  1. Index volumes 13 & 14 (1901-1905); Index card boxes 15-19 (1906-1913)
    As a rule, indexes to correspondence inward after 1901 are arranged alphabetically, by name of school or school district. Thus, correspondence and reports concerning schools in Vancouver will be indexed under the letter "V". Correspondence unrelated to a particular school is indexed under the name of the correspondent.

  2. Index card boxes 20-23 (1914-1915)
    Incoming correspondence was divided into four broad categories: General, Municipalities, Cities, and Rurals. Within each category, correspondence was indexed alphabetically.

"General" correspondence includes routine administrative letters, applications for appointments, general enquiries, etc. However, the "General" category also includes special index headings for correspondence re: Cadet Corps, Free Text-book Branch, School Inspectors, Technical Education, University of British Columbia, and the like.

Under "Cities" will be found correspondence relating to Graded City Schools; under "Municipalities" correspondence pertaining to Rural Municipality Schools. "Rurals" embraces correspondence dealing with the small Rural and Assisted Schools in the province. Researchers who are uncertain of the status of a particular school - i.e. whether it was classified as a graded city school, a municipal school, etc. - should consult the published Annual Reports of the Public Schools before searching these indexes.

British Columbia. Superintendent of Education

Superintendent of Education correspondence inward

  • GR-1445
  • Series
  • 1887-1894

Consists of correspondence inward to Superintendents John Jessop (1872-1878), C.C. McKenzie (1878-1884), and S.D. Pope (1884-1899). Types of records include petitions for school buildings, applications for teaching posts, minutes of local school boards, school trustees' reports, etc. This series may be used in conjunction with GR-0449 (Superintendent of Education, Indexes to Correspondence Inward, 1881-1915) and GR-0450 (Superintendent of Education, Correspondence Outward, 1872-1919).

Researchers should also be aware of the Correspondence Inward files of the Provincial Secretary, 1871-1892 (GR-0526). Since the Provincial Secretary was responsible for the Education Department, these files contain many records pertaining to teachers, schools, and education matters in general. Access to documents in GR-0526 is through GR-0524 (Provincial Secretary. Registers and indexes of letters inward, 1872-1924). Documents pertaining to education, etc. are indexed under the headings "SCHOOLS", and "EDUCATION, SUPERINTENDENT".

British Columbia. Superintendent of Education