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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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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.

The series consists of records created by the Dept. of Education in 1939. It includes correspondence, inward and outward, of all branches and formed the department's Central Registry. Records include correspondence re text books, curricula, appointments, and special education programs. School inspectors' reports and files re individual rural schools also included. The series also includes eight maps and plans and one photograph of the gymnasium of Brooks School at Powell River under construction.

Maps and plans transferred to the map collection, map accession M867053, registration numbers 22550C-22551C, 22552A-22553A

This series consists of correspondence outward from Dr. H.B. King in his capacity as Technical Adviser, May, 1938 - Aug. 1939, and later as Chief Inspector of Schools, Sep to Oct 1939.

The series consists of records created by the Dept. of Education and includes rural district assessment forms from 1906-1909. The series also contains various account books, including two from the Belgian Children's Relief Fund, 1916-1919, and one from the Education Office, 1894-1897.

This series consists of Department of Education records. Records include contracts and bonds with text-book companies; and bequests, including a trust deed between Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia and Toronto General Trusts Corporation regarding Norah Elizabeth Coy and between Canadian Teachers' Federation and Mary Louise McLennan. Also includes a copy of Memories, 1923-1930 (Stratford, Ontario, 1941) by M.L. McLennan.

Letterbook containing correspondence outward from Board of Examiners, March 1917 to July 1919 (on reel B11360); further correspondence outward dealing with, appointment of examiners and staging and marking of 1939 examinations; also includes miscellaneous minutes of meetings of the Board of Examiners and province-wide exam results for 1939 Senior Matriculation and Grade 12 (on reel B16599).

This series consists of district and municipal school inspectors' reports. Records include correspondence inward and outward primarily between inspectorate No. 2, and the Assistant Superintendent of Education (1916); and reports on teachers filed by inspectors' names (1940-1946).

Reports for 1916 were prepared for the Superintendent of Education, Alexander Robinson; reports for the period 1940-1946 were submitted to the Chief Inspector of Schools, Dr. H.B. King. Also included are reports from the Inspector of High Schools, the Inspector of Technical Education, and the Director of the Home Economics branch for the years 1941-1946. The reports for the 1940s deal with schools throughout the province and so provide a detailed record of the state of public education at that time.

Generally, the reports contain evaluations of school buildings, equipment and grounds, along with assessments of the organization and management of individual classes within the schools. The reports also included evaluations of the teachers working in the various schools.

The reports were originally filed under the names of the school inspectors, an arrangement which has been maintained here. However, to facilitate research on particular schools and communities, an effort has been made to identify the boundaries of the different school inspectorates.

Prior to 1946 and the advent of well-defined school districts, boundaries of the various inspectorates were sometimes imprecise; the inspectorates varied in size and did not always coincide with municipal, rural, or even regional areas. The inspector of schools in Agassiz, for example, also reported on schools at Alert Bay; similarly, the inspector responsible for Port Moody also looked after schools in Saanich and Powell River. Researchers are, accordingly, advised to use this collection with GR-01492 (Directories of School Inspectorates, 1937 - 1946).

This series consists of correspondence of the Organizer of Technical Education. This officer dealt with night school, summer school, domestic science and manual training, in addition to technical education. The letterbooks of correspondence outward include the Director of Elementary Agricultural Education.

This series consists of correspondence, circulars, and other records from the Director of Elementary Agricultural Education (J.W. Gibson). Records include correspondence regarding Gibsons' appointment, home and school gardens, and students' wartime agricultural work. Also included are minutes of meetings of Provincial Committee on Food Production, Conservation and Control; correspondence regarding Returned Soldiers' Aid Commission (1915-1916); and register of summer school pupils (1914-1923). There are also circulars describing soil conditions, landscaping, and general appearance of school grounds in primarily rural schools, 1915. Scale drawings on circulars show school buildings, outbuildings, wells, paths, position of trees, rocks, flagpoles etc. on school playgrounds.

This series contains records of the Department of Education, Physical Education and Recreation Branch. Correspondence inward and outward regarding the Pro-Rec program and similar programs elsewhere; invoices and vouchers; exercise sheets and schedules; copies of Pro-Rec publications; annual reports of instructors; circulars; and register and attendance record for recreation centres, 1939-1940.

Pro-Rec correspondence includes routine administrative correspondence of Pro-Rec (Provincial Recreation Centres).

This series consists of minute books of the School Dramatics Advisory Committee, 1940-1946; school drama festivals, Vancouver and Victoria committees, 1940-1943, 1943-1948; and smaller school drama festivals, 1944-1945.

This series is comprised of School District Information forms distributed by the Teachers Bureau to rural school teachers in 1923 and 1928 to be filled out and returned to the Bureau. The forms are questionnaires for the purpose of obtaining information about teachers’ living conditions in rural school districts. There is no record of similar forms being sent in other years.

Not every rural and assisted school is represented in this collection. Of the 684 rural and assisted schools in BC for the year ending June 1923, there are forms for 651. For the year ending June 1928, there are forms for 711 of the 728 schools.

This series consists of 33 volumes of register of Schools, school trustees and teachers. Records include registers showing the location of rural and assisted schools (1 vol.), names of trustees of rural and assisted school districts, 1917-1946 (29 vols.) and names of teachers in provincial public schools, 1918-1921 (3 vols.).

Volume 1 is a register of rural and assisted schools, ca 1918-1946. The schools are listed alphabetically and the location of each school is described. For example: "JACKSON BAY - a post office on Lewis Channel - Topaz Harbour route of Union Steamship Company from Vancouver;"

Volumes 2-30 are registers showing the names of school trustees of rural and assisted schools. The registers are arranged by year, beginning in 1917/1918 (vol. 2) through 1945/1946 (vol.30). Each register is organized alphabetically by name of school.

Volumes 31-33 are entitled "Teachers' Index Books." These registers are arranged alphabetically by name of teacher. The registers also show where each teacher was posted and the teacher's residence or postal address.

The Teachers' Indexes for 1918-1920 (vols. 31 and 32) list teachers in all categories of public schools City, Rural Municipality, Rural and Assisted. The Index volume for 1920-1921, however, only shows teachers who taught in Graded City Schools and in Rural Municipality Schools; teachers at small country schools (i.e. rural and assisted schools) are not listed in Vol. 33.

This series consists of Department of Education experience and tenure forms for teachers. Forms referring to experience and tenure of teachers and qualifications from rural and municipal districts, 1943-1944, and from cities, 1944-1945. Files cover rural schools, city schools, Vancouver, and the Matsqui - Sumas - Abbotsford Educational Area.

The series includes records relating to three inquiries into various educational matters, and include correspondence, transcripts of evidence and reports on:
Commission on the Board of School Trustees of Vancouver, 1913
Commission Re Board of School Trustees of the City of Nelson, 1912
Commission to investigate the charges brought by Miss [Agnes] Gertrude Donovan of Victoria against the Department of Education, 1903-1908

Transcripts of hearings held by the Select Standing Committee on Municipal Affairs and Housing to review real property taxation procedures in British Columbia, May - October 1974.

Minutes of meeting held in Vancouver, Feb. 1, 1946, to discuss reorganization of physical and recreational education.

This series consists of Department of Education newspaper clipping books, 1903-1919; 1920-1931; and 1932-1938.

Blank school register for Summary of Attendance and Payments.

GR-0470 contains records pertaining to the operations of the Elementary Correspondence School Branch from 1919 to 1969. The records document virtually all aspects of the branch's work. In addition to copies of the directors' correspondence and reports, GR-0470 includes copies of semi-annual correspondence school magazines (containing profiles of pupils and instructors), brochures, applications and sample lesson plans. Also includes records of courses offered in government Relief Camps during the Depression, along with records of courses provided to Japanese pupils interned during the second World War, and pupils enrolled under Sections 13(g) and 20 of the Public Schools Act.

GR-0470 also includes individual student files for the years 1919-1930. This series consists of a complete sequence of files [Nos. 19-296] from 1919 to 1921, and a representative sample of files [Nos. 299-2655], selected because of their historic value and because they contained illuminating letters from parents and pupils. Note that Files 1-3 (1919) will be found in GR-0396. Files 4-18 have not survived.

Before these records were transferred to the archives in 1979, application forms and report cards were removed from the students' files and were microfilmed. Regrettably, the application forms - which contain key biographical data and valuable genealogical information and the report cards were not returned to the original files; in fact, original copies of the application forms and report cards, along with related correspondence, were destroyed after the records had been filmed. Microform copies of the application forms and report cards have, however, been preserved by the Correspondence and Distance Learning Branch, Ministry of Education.

This series consists of transcripts of evidence and exhibits from the Commission on Grizzly Valley Natural Gas Pipeline, 1977.

Commission on Statute Laws handwritten report, dated March 1888, and typewritten report, dated January 1889.

Handwritten report of Commissioner M.W. Tyrwhitt Drake, Commission on the Operation of Victoria Gaol, 1889

This series consists of a printed report from the Mining Commission,1890-1891.

Royal Commission on charges preferred against Captain N. Fitzstubbs report of Commissioner Henry P.P. Crease.

Two copies of Judge Eli Harrison's report of the Commission to enquire into certain charges against Mr. J. P. Planta, police magistrate of the city of Nanaimo and into his general conduct as a police magistrate. One original copy and one carbon copy.

This series consists of records of the Commission on the Provincial Gaol at Kamloops, 1898, including a typewritten report of Commissioner Albert Beck, correspondence, and handwritten notes of evidence.

This series consists of records of the Commission on Allegations of Maladministration in Dept. of Lands and Works, 1898, including Report of Commissioner George A. Walkem and transcripts of evidence.

This series consists of records of the Commission on the Conduct of Warden Armstrong Or Guard Calbick of the Provincial Gaol at New Westminster, 1898, including report of Judge Eli Harrison, transcripts of evidence, and exhibits.