REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NORMAL COLLEGE FOR THE TERM ENDING MAY 14TH, 1870. SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, MAY 18th, 1870. NEW YORK: THE NEW YORK PRINTING COMPANY, To the Committee on Normal, NORMAL COLLEGE, NEW YORK, May 13, 1870. Evening, and Colored Schools: GENTLEMEN,-After much opposition, and many obstacles overcome, the Normal College of the City of New York is a fact accomplished. Nothing but the energy and determination of your Committee, combined with the liberal support of the Board of Education, could have brought this great enterprise to a successful issue. All admitted the necessity of such an institution, but each wished to model it according to his own particular plan. Had all these persons been gratified, discussions would have been endless, and the founding of a Female Normal College would have probably fallen into other hands. The public school system of this city had long suffered from the want of trained and competent teachers, particularly in the primary departments. The present Board of Education, discovering this fact, adopted a series of by-laws making provision for normal instruction, and authorized your Committee to hire a building and furnish it with the necessary appliances. Accordingly the third floor of the edifice on the southeast corner of Broadway and Fourth street was leased for one year, with the privilege of renewal. Had New York been searched from end to end it is doubtful if any other place could have been secured so well adapted for the purpose intended. This floor was found to be 275 by 41 feet, and separated by a partition wall into two |