By KAREN MADORIN
As calendar pages flipped closer to a new century, Ellis and surrounding communities grew and prospered. Schools reflected that prosperity in the number of students and the days of attendance.
In 1889, Professor Whelan introduced a three-term school year. The first 2 terms consisted of 3 months while the last totaled 2 months. To improve school quality, he stated “No students could enroll after the first week of each term.” He intended to strengthen instructional integrity for all Ellis students. A total of 222 youngsters enrolled that first term. The board approved the 8-month school and funded it with a 12-mill levy (Ellis Review Headlight 7-30-1889).
As Ellis evolved from frontier outpost to thriving town, board and administrative decisions increasingly reflected state educational policy. The State Superintendent of Schools mandated all schools in his jurisdiction fly the United States flag. To meet this requirement, pupils and residents organized socials to raise $30.10 to purchase a 12 x18 foot flag and pole (ERH12-31-1889). To celebrate reaching their goal, they commemorated the flag and flew it for the first time at Kansas Day Ceremonies on January 29, 1890 (ERH 1-14-1890).
April saw even more improvements. The board planted numerous trees on school grounds (ERH 4-25-1890). To finish the year, students, teachers, and townspeople planned a school exhibition that earned $44.60 to buy books for the school library. Sources estimated this amount would buy 75-80 volumes for the library shelves (ERH 5-2-90). One can imagine the community’s satisfaction with its educational system as it worked through the final decade of the century.
By 1891, the Ellis school system had earned a fine reputation. The President of the Agricultural College sent a note published in the Ellis Review Headlight, February 6, 1891, stating that “Pupils who complete our course of study as far as the eighth grade will be admitted to the college on certificate of that fact without further examination.” That same year, the system boasted 5 teachers: Miss Peters, Miss Kingsley, Miss Courts, Miss Frost, and Miss Holman.
The following year, 1892, offered a grand opportunity to celebrate education in Ellis. Although the school had operated for 19 years, no one had graduated. That changed when two girls and boy received diplomas from Ellis High School (Langley, 1990).
The August 6, 1970, Centennial Edition of the Ellis Review shared former student Emma Kastner’s memories of early school practices. She recalled the janitor rang the bell at 8:30 each morning. The final bell rang at 9:00 a.m. Students lined up and marched up the stairs to a tune a teacher played on a triangle. Faculty marked students tardy if they failed to make the line before the door closed. First through fourth grades remained on the 1st floor of the building. Fifth and sixth graders studied in the basement, and high school classes met upstairs where courses included algebra, geometry, history, and rhetoric (now known as English). In addition to academic subjects, teachers instructed character, culture, and citizenship “as rigidly as the three R’s.”
Under the watchful eyes of their community, students succeeded in their educational efforts. Imagine their joy saluting that first flag, filling those library shelves, and celebrating that first graduation. The stone school continued to build Ellis one youngster at a time.