PRIVATE SCHOOLS, institutions under private control as distinct from public, and im plying maintenance by private corporations or individuals. But the school may be private, or not public, in its origin and government, and if there are no limitations as to who may be ad mitted as pupils, it is usually classed as a public school. In the United States private schools embrace a large number of institutions ranging in purpose from elementary to professional edu cation. Thus in the school-year 1915-16 there were reported 1,665,075 pupils in private ele mentary schools of kindergarten, primary and grades; 155,135 students in private schools; 6,958 students in private normal schools, and 57,540 students in the various pro fessional schools. More than one-half of the private schools were under the control of re ligious denominations and had 103,829 students of high school grade. The ordinary profes sional schools comprised those of theology, law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medi cine and nurse training, the latter in general being connected with large hospitals. In spe
cialized work there were over 1,300 independent commercial and business schools and 762 private high schools giving business courses. These courses included stenography, typewriting, te legraphy, telephony, accountancy and general office service. Soon after the outbreak of the World War in 1914 many large financial insti tutions, chambers of commerce, boards of trade and colleges and universities established special schools of commerce in preparation for an ex pected expansion of the foreign trade of the United States after the close of the war, and a larger private specialization of educational ef fort was developed by the necessities of the government, especially after the United States entered the war. See RUGBY; EnucAnori, AGRI