unit of the National Parent-Teacher and Home and School Federation. There is ample evidence that many pieces of federal legislation originated from resolutions submitted each year to Ottawa after the National Annual Meeting.

A review of the minutes, however, reveals several areas of social and educational concern which were initiated during this period.

First there was the appointment of Mrs. Helen MacDonald, our first president, as the Chairman of the Public Relations Committee. Thus began the Home and School monthly radio broadcasts to be followed by TV. intervieWS under the skilful, professional direction of Mrs. MacDonald. It would be difficult to exaggerate the contribution the use of these media has made to the growth of Home and School. We are greatly indebted to CFCY Radio and CBC-TV for the full broadcast prime time which has been so generously given to the activities of Home and School.

Second, after several submissions we were both encouraged and delighted to receive the good news from the then Minister of Education, Dr. George Dewar, that as from 1963 Home and School would receive an annual grant from the provincial govern- ment to help meet our expanding service to our constituency with the inevitable expanding budgets.

Third, county workshops and many meetings were directed to presenting the significance of the new vocational school pro- grams as given by the new Provincial Vocational Institute, Charlottetown, and the Prince County Vocational lnstitute in Summerside. The introduction of such vocational programs for pupils above Grade 9 opened up a vital new era for this province. That such services were desperately needed was emphasized by the fact that our fair province had one of the highest dropout rates in the nation for students after Grade 7 and 8. This unhappy situation was solely attributable to the fact that we were offering only a one track academic course for all students regardless of their inherent talents and maturing needs.

Unhappily many parents by tradition rated a vocational program as second class compared to the academic which led only a select few to prepare for professional careers. This emphasized the need for workshops and other devices to create a better and more positive image of vocational offerings.

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