=Changes in the District Schools.= Conditions are quite different in the country schools to-day. Many of them have terms of eight months, a few have nine months, while seven months is the shortest term permitted by the State. The truancy law requires attendance during the full term, whatever its length. The sod and log schoolhouses of pioneer days were, in time, replaced by neat little box-like buildings usually constructed of wood, though occasionally of brick or stone, and these in turn are now rapidly disappearing and their places are being taken by buildings that are larger, more beautiful, more comfortable, and far better adapted to educational needs. The qualifications of teachers have been raised. In earlier days, when there were but few high schools, many teachers had no education beyond what they had obtained in the country schools, but to-day ninety per cent of the rural teachers of the State are high-school graduates, and this per cent is steadily increasing. The work of the rural schools has expanded far beyond the “three R’s.” In addition to the regular work it now includes as much as time will permit of such subjects as music, manual training, agriculture, and household arts. The rural schools have been receiving a great deal of attention in recent years and are very rapidly being improved. Several hundred of them have already met the requirements laid down by the State for a “standard” school, and a few for a “superior” school, and these lists are constantly growing. [Illustration: A CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL.] [Illustration: A HIGH-SCHOOL CLASS IN DOMESTIC SCIENCE.] [Illustration: A HIGH-SCHOOL CLASS IN MANUAL TRAINING.] =Consolidated Schools.= Consolidation is generally looked upon as a method of bettering conditions in the rural schools. A consolidated district is one formed by the union of several districts. The little district schoolhouses are replaced by a larger building, usually centrally located, to which the children are conveyed in wagons provided for that purpose. With its larger valuation the consolidated district can have plenty of teachers and equipment and can offer a greater variety of subjects. There are a number of consolidated schools in the State now, and the plan is being considered in many communities. The good roads movement will no doubt do much to encourage consolidation. [Illustration: A COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL.]