Draft: Historic Colored Schoolhouse
Teachers 1904-1938
Of the identified teachers of the Sykesville Colored Schoolhouse, most were paid a certified rate, indicating they had completed at least two years of state-regulated college-level coursework.
At this time, it seems that most of the schoolhouses’ teachers did not live nearby. At least two of the Schoolhouses’ teachers rode the train in from Baltimore to work each day and home in the afternoon at their own expense.
Most of these teachers were married women, who were often not the only earning individual of their household.
Teacher Pay
During the time of Sykesville Colored Schoolhouse's operation, Black teachers in Maryland on average made less than half the salary of equivalent white teachers.
State officials recognized that low pay led to uneven attendance and poor qualifications of teachers in general and contributed to a statewide teacher shortage. In turn, poor quality teaching contributed to poor student attendance, which was especially pronounced in black schools.
Graph: Report of the Maryland State Board of Education, 1925, p. 176.
School Day Plan 1906
Chart: Program Course of Study for One Room Rural Schools, Report of the Board of the Maryland Department of Education, 1906, p. 86.
Recognizing the difficulty of teaching rural schools of many students with varied grade levels, the Maryland State Board of Education developed this model schedule to help organize the day of rural school teachers. Understandably, teachers responded with how little this plan helped in practice.
Student Experience
For more information on the Student Experience, including first-person accounts, see the general history page for the Sykesville Historic Colored Schoolhouse found here. n
