House Storozheva, Odoyev Village

" The first girls` high school was opened in Odoev (Tula province) in 1832, and it was located in the old Militia Building (K. Marx street). It was held by tuition fees and charitable donations. The teacher was Fyodor Ponomarevskiy, who arrived at Odoevskoe County School in 1809. He taught children during twenty-three years and got acquainted with many of the inhabitants of Odoev, who paid their homage in a peculiar way: they invited him to a name-day. Fedor Ponomarevskiy had many "godsons" and "goddaughters". First there were 12 girls in his class, from among the goddaughters of Fedor Ponomarevskiy, who opened the way to a women's education in the Tula province. Girls attended the women's school during 2 years. The curriculum included a small range of knowledge: they were taught to read (initiated with the fables of I.A. Krylov), to write, to know religious instructions, arithmetic, drawing, and handicraft, that means they brought up "good wives, careful mothers, exemplifying den mothers for the children, mistresses". In the begining of 1950s, the Odoev girls`high school had been visited many times by the provincial headmaster of schools, Ivanov, who found the school facilities exemplary and expressed gratitude to Pokrovskiy (the caretaker of the school from 1834). 31 students attended girls` school in 1837. The school reached stable situation only in 1857 thank to donations of the local merchant Tolstikov, who showed his willingness to be the keeper of the school with donation of 100 roubles per year. A citizen Storozhev presented as a gift the building for school (current V.D.Uspenskiy school) in 1900."