(By Our Pittsburgh Correspondent)
That the trend in the modern Jewish homes of this city is toward smaller families has been revealed in the bi-annual census of the Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh in an effort to obtain information vital to the proper development of Jewish educational work.
Officials point out that whereas a 5 percent a year increase in the number of Jewish school children would be a normal addition to the child population of the community, a decrease of several hundred has been noted since 1924, when the Jewish children attending the elementary and high schools totalled 9,460, or 249 more than at present enrolled. Officials further point out that although high school attendance has naturally increased from 2,293 in 1926 to 2,75 for this year, it is in the elementary school that the decrease is very marked, substantiating the conclusion that the newer families are smaller.
The census, taken under the direction of Prof. Israel A. Abrams, principal of the Institute, and with the cooperation of the Board of Public Education, of which Marcus A. Aaron is the president, forms the basis for conclusions regarding educational facilities in the various districts, and the progress of such work.
The school attendance figures serve also to determine the Jewish population of this city, which is 43,469 or over 13 per cent of the city’s total population.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
