Albany Teachers’ Agency

We’ve been reviewing Albany’s numerous schools from 1894. Each of those schools had anywhere from seven to 18 teachers. To fill teaching slots today, we have strict educational requirements, civil service and hiring lists. But before all that, there was the Albany Teachers’ Agency, which “provides schools of all grades with competent teachers” and “assists teachers with good records in obtaining situations.” One of their ads from 1899 indicated the agency had done placements as far away as Alabama. Its manager, Harlan P. French, was a Vermont native born in 1843, who came to Albany in 1873, and seems to have been engaged in the business for many years before founding the Albany Teachers’ Agency in 1890. He died in 1921, aged 77, living at 1090 Madison Avenue and still apparently heading the agency. He also served on the Board of Public Instruction of the City of Albany. He’s buried at Albany Rural Cemetery.