USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > City Officers and the Annual Reports to the City Council of Newburyport 1917 > Part 9
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$ 1,400.00 ** $2,100.00
Leslie W. Orcutt, Sub-master
375.00
1,250.00
Elizabeth A. Towle
*1,000.00
Marjorie S. Noyes
894.00
1,000.00
Charles D. Montgomery
1,100.00
1,200.00
Helen D. Robinson
800.00
900.00
Lucy B. Morse
800.00
900.00
Mildred E. Collyer
800.00
900.00
Ethel M. Stevens
765.00
800.00
Katherine E. Barrett
800.00
900.00
Lefee Ayer
800.00
900.00
Ethel M. Jameson
490.00
Eva H. Williams
450.00
Alban Fowler
696.67
Caroline E. MacGill
800.00
900.00
John Whitmore
836.00
Margaret S. Osgood
712.67
750.00
James H. Brewster
300.00
1,000.00
Beatrice L. Jones
210.00
700.00
Adele Mathey
225.00
750.00
Margaret B. Flewelling
*900.00
* Paid by the Putnam Trustees.
$550 paid by the Putnam Trustees.
6
ANNUAL REPORT
Josephine L. Bayley
385.00
450.00
H. F. Plaisted, Substitute
71.25
Leslie Durham, Substitute
20.00
Parkman A. Collins, Substitute
20.00
Laurence Merideth, Substitute
40.00
Grace Bartlett, Substitute
3.00
Walter J. Furlong, Laboratory Assistant
21.00
James H. Ronan, Laboratory Assistant
21.00
Burton Robbins, Laboratory Assistant
9.00
Everett Wilson, Laboratory Assistant
3.00
Elliott Knight, Laboratory Assistant
6.00
. .
$ 13,853.59
Albert Currier School
Leon E. Davis, Principal, Grade IX $ 1,060.00 $ 1,200.00
Gertrude L. Barrett, Assistant, Grade VIII
605.00
700.00
Retta V. Marr, Assistant, Grade VII
606.00
7.00.00
Goldia S. McArthur, Assistant, Grade VI
607.00
700.00
Helen W. Marr, Assistant, Grade V
430.00
550.00
Helen S. Merrill, Assistant, Grades V and VI
606.00
700.00
Gertrude Nealon, Substitute
8.00
Cora O. Jaques, Substitute
... 8.00
$ 3,930.00
Jackman School
George W. Brown, Principal, Grade IX
$ 1,530.00 $ 1,600.00
Mary E. Chesterman, Assistant, Grade IX
615.00
700.00
Priscilla G. Craig, Assistant, Grade VIII
615.00
700.00
Abbie L. Frost, Assistant, Grades VII and VIII
615.00
700.00
Josie W. Kimball, Assistant, Grades VII and VIII
615.00
700.00
isabel H. Wiggin, Assistant, Grade VII
417.00
Esther J. Woods, Assistant, Grade VII
195.00
700.00
Lillian W. Greenleaf, Assistant, Grade VI
615.00
700.00
Ella M. Furlong, Assistant, Grade VI
430.00
550.00
Lelia E. Kimball, Assistant, Grade V
615.00
700.00
Helen E. Somerby, Assistant, Grade V
615.00
700.00
Gertrude L. Nealon, Substitute
2.00
. .
$ 6,879.00
7
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Kelley School
Irving H. Johnson, Principal, Grade IX
$ 1,330.00
1,400.00
Nellie G. Stone, Assistant, Grade VIII
615.00
700.00
Anne J. Dixon, Assistant, Grade VII
611.75
700.00
Anne L. Whitmore, Assistant, Grade VI
615.00
700.00
Emily F. Upton, Assistant, Grade V
597.13
700.00
Cora O. Jaques, Substitute
12.00
Sarah E. Ilsley, Substitute
2.16
$ 3,783.04
Bromfield Street School
Tula M. Reed, Principal, Grade IV
$ 665.00
750.00
Feroline L. Woods, Assistant, Grade III
615.00
700.00
Ruth M. Carens, Assistant, Grade II
580.00
700.00
Elizabeth Boardman, Assistant, Grade I
602.62
700.00
$ 2,462.62
Curtis School
Fannie S. Goodwin, Principal, Grade IV
$ 665.00
750.00
Julia M. Hopkinson, Assistant, Grade III
615.00
700.00
Effie G. Armstrong, Assistant, Grade II
530.00
650.00
Mary F. Whitmore, Assistant, Grade I
615.00
700.00
$ 2,425.00
Davenport School
Mary E. O'Connell, Principal, Grade IV
$ 662.84
750.00
Marguerite L. Pritchard, Assistant, Grade III
615.00
700.00
Laura W. Hopkinson, Assistant, Grade II
480.00
600.00
Beulah Evans, Assistant, Grade I
615.00
700.00
$ 2,372.84
Johnson School
Charlotte K. Dickins, Principal, Grade IV
$ 665.00
750.00
Isabelle P. Montgomery, Assistant, Grade III
615.00
700.00
Jennie P. Haskell, Assistant, Grade II
580.00
700.00
Julia J. Hubbard, Assistant, Grade I
615.09
700.00
$ 2,475.00
Temple Street School
Mary A. Doyle, Principal, Grades III and IV
$ 665.00
750.00
Anna L. Doyle, Assistant, Grades I and II
615.00
/00.00
$ 1,280.00
8
ANNUAL REPORT
Training School
Ellen de S. Barrett, Principal $ 830.00 $ 900.00
Gladys Barry, Training School Pupil 56.00
Josephine Brown, Training School Pupil 56.00
Elizabeth Chase, Training School Pupil 56.00
Dora Felch, Training School Pupil 54.00
Hazel Langmaid, Training School Pupil 56.00
56.00
Jessie Norman, Training School Pupil Rosamond George, Training School Pupil
22.00
Mildred Nolan, Training School Pupil
22.00
Edna McNeill, Training School Pupil
22.00
Charlotte Bayley, Temporary Special Assistant
165.00
Dora Felch, Temporary Special Assistant
105.00
Jessie Norman, Temporary Special Assistant
105.00
$ 1,661.00
Moultonville School
Elizabeth A. Walsh, Principal, Grades I, II, III $ 650.91 750.00
Special Teachers
Florence M. Murphy, Drawing
$ 750.00
800.00
Elizabeth Adams, Music
600.00
700.00
Sara A. Chase, Domestic Science
750.00
800.00
Helen M. Varney, Assistant Domestic Science
398.67
450.00
Victoria M. James, Physiology and Hygiene
650.00
700.00
....
$ 3,148.67
Evening Schools
William P. Lunt
$ 45.00
Leon E. Davis
32.50
Flora Pettigrew
66.00
Catherine C. Lunt
61.50
Cora O. Jaques
67.50
Gertrude Nealon
9.00
Ella B. Stevens
28.50
Gertrude L. Barrett
.... 4.50
$ 364.50
9
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Janitors' Services
James H. Brown, Jackman School
$ 650.00
750.00
Philippe Champoux, Kelley School
745.10
750.00
Mrs. Annie Chase, Moultonville School
124.80
125.00
Charles B. Cressy, Assistant High School
97.60
Joseph L. Dockam, Currier School
701.00
700.00
Dennis Finnegan, Curtis School
499.72
William Hughes, Davenport School
310.03
375.00
Dennie Lowell, High School
800.28
900.00
John Robinson, Temple and Purchase Street Schools
325.00
375.00
Clarence C. Stevens, Bromfield St. and Johnson Schools
499.72
600.00
$ 4,753.25
GENERAL EXPENSES OF ADMINISTRATION
Brown, Howland Company, office supplies $ 2.80
James F. Carens, postage
83.23
Carter Ink Company, record ink
.75
Edward W. Davis, printing
7.75
Library Bureau, office supplies
7.08
McMillan Book Company, leaves for record book
.42
William C. Moore, traveling expenses, rent of P. O. box ...
11.83
Neostyle Sales Agency, office supplies
18.38
Newburyport Herald Press, printing
111.25
New England Telephone Company, telephone service
148.91
News Publishing Company, printing and advertising 85.50
3.00
480.90
TEXT BOOKS AND SUPPLIES
Allyn & Bacon, text books $ 107.08
American Bank Note Company, diplomas 24.60
American Book Company, text books 261.47
American Express Company, express
21.23
D. Appleton Company, text books
20.56
Edward E. Babb & Company, text books and supplies
756.90
F. J. Barnard & Company, rebinding text books
253.48
Barnes & Noble, text books
60.89
Ellen de S. Barrett, express
.30
Boston Paper Board Company, paper
78.00
Milton Bradley Company; supplies
223.44
Treasurer's Department, City of Newburyport, postage
10
ANNUAL REPORT
A. B. Dick Company, supplies 6.10
Oliver Ditson, music
25.28
C. W. Dow, supplies 1.49
Dowling School Supply Company, supplies
594.11
Educational Specialties, equipment
7.31
Percy H. Fernald, science department, high school
7.41
Frank W. Field, science department, high school .30
Fisher & Company, domestic science
6.58
Ginn & Company, text books
199.02
D. A. Goodwin, domestic science
77.96
Henry J. Green, science department, high school
4.05
W. A. Hall, drawing supplies 2.07
J. L. Hammett & Company, supplies
265.93
D. C. Heath & Company, text books 198.12
28.95
Frank Hoyt, science department, high school 67.56
J. B. Hunter & Company, drawing supplies 4.27
Kenny Bros. & Wolkins, equipment
170.18
L. E. Knott Apparatus Company, science department
138.17
D. H. Knowlton & Company, text books 35.15
3.83
Little, Brown & Company, text books
23.47
Macmillan Company, text books 68.90
F. W. Martin Company, diplomas
27.84
McKinley Publishing Company, equipment
3.98
Charles E. Merrill Company, text books
.22
W. E. Morse, science department, high school
3.69
Frank A. Munsey Company, supplies
1.00
D. F. Noyes, domestic science 2.75
.45
Est. George H. Pearson, supplies
66.35
Peoples Express Company, express
40.36
F. A. Perkins, supplies .
3.85
Phonograph Institute Company, text books
4.90
W. B. Porter, teaming and freight
58.46
Prang Company, drawing supplies
3.10
H. W. Pray & Company, domestic science
76.62
Row, Peterson & Company, text books
1.91
Benjamin A. Sanborn Company, text books
24.57
Sam Sargent, engrossing diplomas
39.50
Scott, Foresman Company, text books
36.89
Silver, Burdett Company, text books
61.09
Mary T. Spalding, text books
3.00
L. S. Starrett & Company, science department
7.23
Horton C. Stevens, domestic science 35.46
Houghton, Mifflin Company, text books
George A. Lang, domestic science
Osgood & Goodwin, domestic science
11
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
E. P. Stickney, domestic science
72.59
Thompson, Brown & Company, text books .76
E. H. Thomas & Company, science department 18.75
Unite Press, text books
3.51
United States Geological Survey, equipment 9.00
University of Chicago Press, equipment 42.18
1.20
-$ 4,395.37
MISCELLANEOUS
Anti Dust Company, disinfectant $ 4.00
Effie Beal, cleaning 3.00
Eben Bradbury, janitors' supplies 7.80
Mrs. Cashman, cleaning 1.80
Philippe Champoux, cleaning
5.40
F. E. Coffin, repairs to sewing machines
4.80
Columbia Grafaphone Company, repairs 2.05
John F. Cutter, repairs .35
O. J. Gurney, paper boxes 8.00
Edward A. Hale, paper boxes
2.40
S. J. Hughes, janitors' supplies
6.02
Fred L. Hunt, services at high school graduation
1.00
George H. Jaques, janitors' supplies
3.20
J. H. Larrabee, janitors' supplies
1.00
A. P. Marden, tuning piano
5.25
Massachusetts State Prison, janitors' supplies
12.77
Susan C. Merrill, cleaning 16.60
Middlesex House of Correction, janitors' supplies 4.81
44.00
Fred W. Peabody, rent of piano 10.00
L. L. Peavey, janitors' supplies 52.76
Perkins Lumber Company, manual training supplies
6.04
E. C. Reade, janitors' supplies
34.75
Remington Typewriter Company, repairs to typewriters
5.12
Samson Laundry Company, laundry
13.37
Frank R. Schaller, tuning piano
2.50
School Arts Publishing Company, subscriptions
5.25
Standard Electric Time Company, science department,
high school
1.00
Clarence C. Stevens, cleaning .50
Charles L. Stockman, rent of chairs 12.50
Wadsworth, Howland Company, drawing supplies
Monument Mills, janitors' supplies
12
ANNUAL REPORT
Towle Manufacturing Company, manual training supplies 5.25
West Disinfecting Company, disinfectant 7.50
Yerxa & Company, science department, high school 3.33
294.12
SUPPORT OF TRUANTS
Essex County Training School, support of truants .........
.$ 104.86
TRANSPORTATION
E. C. Blaikie, transportation of his children $ 12.50
Massachusetts Northeastern St. Railway Company, car
tickets 420.00
J. C. Moulton, transportation of his children
10.30
D. P. Newhall, transportation of his children 9.96
R. S. Norris, transportation of his children 9.09
-
-$ 461.85
FUEL
Cashman Bros. $ 2,546.86
J. W. Chase
9.00
Jere Healy 1,138.29
George I. Little 87.68
Newburyport Gas & Electric Company
6.75
Edward Perkins Lumber Company
35.00
John Ronan
14.25
John M. Small 142.00
- -
-$ 3,979.83
Salaries
Janitors
Text Books and Supplies
Fuel
Light
Repairs
Total
Cost per pupil
Administration
.$ 3,467.92
High School
13,853.59
$ 897.88
$ 461.00 1,606.82
$ 915.27
$ 191.88
$ 764.20
$ 3,928.92 $ 2.13 18,229.64 53.57 (a)
Grammar Schools:
Currier School
3,930.00
650.00
377.46
618.06
27.48
226.93
5,829.93
30.47 (b)
Jackman School
6,879.00
650.00
559.27
457.09
16.01
210.63
8,772.00
29.85
Kelley School
3,783.04
325.00
306.52
402.29
249.86
5,066.71
31.27
Primary Schools:
Bromfield St. School
2,462.62
249.86
231.55
183.67
137.47
3,265.17
27.18
Curtis School
2,425.00
499.72
193.62
281.00
139.89
3,539.23
34.60 (b)
Davenport School
2,372.84
361.13
210.81
325.47
103.01
3,373.26
30.38
Johnson School
2,475.00
249.86
206.26
167.06
66.12
3,164.30
29.27
Temple St. School
1,280.00
162.50
138.35
153.98
1.51
109.48
1,845.82
25.90
Moultonville School
650.91
124.80
38.44
34.15
249.85
1,098.15
51.58
Training School
1,661.00
325.00
224.96
402.28
96.42
2,709.66
23.81 (b)
Cooking
750.00
162.50
185.22
37.71
46.18
34.18
1,215.79
8.63 ()
)
Sewing
398.67
52.40
451.07
2.83
Drawing
750.00
315.12
1,065.12
.58
Music
600.00
25.75
625.75
.34
Physiology and Hygiene .
650.00
26.90
676.90
.37
Evening 'School
364.50
95.00
10.80
94.71
565.01
7.52
Transportation
461.85
461.85
Miscellaneous
1.80
324.72
326.52
Truants
104.00
104.00
Total
.$48,754.09
$4,753.25
$5,737.10
$3,979.83
$ 377.77 (c) $2,712.76
$66,314.80
Amount expended by the School Committee, $59,244.44.
Total cost of Schools $66,314.80
(a) In computing High School costs Putnam figures are excluded.
Cost per pupil not including repairs $34.54
Cost per pupil including all charges $36.01
(b) Includes the cost of transportation.
(c) Approximately fifty dollars of this amount was for light furnished for other than school purposes.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
13
14
COMPARATIVE EXPENSES FOR TEN YEARS
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
Administration
$2,347.80
$2,350.00
$2,467.50
$2,540.00
$2.598.92
$2.778.00
$2,674.00
$2,988.00
$3,129.52
$3,467.92
Salaries :
High School Teachers
8,197.50
8,400.00
9,312.50
10,423.00
11,640.00
12,814.17
12,672.83
12,258.75
13,320.17
13,853.59
Grammar School Teachers
12,697.78
13,451.97
13,730.49
14,096.01
14,345.14
14,382.30
14,179.00
14,286.66
14,291.00
14,592.04
Primary School Teachers.
8,626.32
8,362.28
9,149.55
10,425.33
10,682.06
11,074.97
11,086.36
11,153.23
11,262.02
11,666.37
Training School Teachers
1,486.00
1,198.00
1,334.00
1,434.00
1,434.00
1,443.20
1,492.00
1,312.83
1,147.25
1,661.00
Evening School Teachers
616.00
608.00
655.50
1,008.00
1,392.00
1,389.00
1,027.50
1,111.50
496.00
864.50
Special Teachers
1,730.00
1,777.50
1,835.00
2,910.00
3,239.32
3,391.45
2,778.00
2,539.59
2,557.75
3,148.67
Janitors
3,100.99
3,117.96
3.222.50
3,525.92
3,952.35
4,059.33
4.252.46
4,204.50
4,573.10
4,753.25
Fuel .
3,051.33
2,749.46
2,959.15
2,675.33
4,061.58
2,939.97
3,442.33
2,867.62
*3,108.81
*3,979.83
Supplies and Miscellaneous
4,264.69
4,363.22
4,858.59
6,866.96
5,648.01
5,164.82
3,569.85
5,480.20
5,481.79
5,737.10
Total Expended by School Committee .. . $46.118.41
$46,378.39
$19,524.78
$55,904.55
$58,993.38
$59,432.21
$57,169.33
$58,202.88
$59,367.41
$63,224.27
Light.
215.32
213.64
164.50
215.29
299.44
367.99
311.34
328.63
299.21
377.27
Repairs ..
4,848.04
2,107.02
5,604.79
3,237.33
2,366.85
5,279.12
1,380.37
1,580.02
1,864.23
2,712 76
Total Cost of Schools
$51,181.77
$48.699.05
$55,294.07
$59,357.17
$61,659.67
$65,079.32
$58,861.04
$60,111,53
$61.530.85
$66,314.80
ANNUAL REPORT
*Amount for fuel not expended by the School Committee.
15
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools
To the School Committee of the City of Newburyport:
This is the twenty-sixth annual report of the Superintendent of Schools. It is the third issued over my signature. It covers the period for the year ending November 30, 1917. For the information of the people in general it attempts like its immediate predecessors to chronicle some of the most important events of the preceding twelve months and to outline the principal problems demanding attention during the coming year.
Foreword
The first report of the present Superintendent dealt with the larger features of school administration which stood out prominently in need of reform. These were grouped under two heads: (1) those involving no substantial increase in school expense and (2) those requiring greater expenditures of money.
Last year's report pointed out that practically all of the suggested reforms included in the first group had been brought to pass. This was encouraging and gave hope of accomplishment in other directions. But the report was forced to acknowledge that the needs of the schools involving the spending of more money were still to be met.
The present report can record more progress than its immediate predeces- sors in matters requiring increased expenditures. Among the larger items of this sort are the recent advances in teachers' salaries, the appointment of a school nurse, and the provision for a much needed assistant for the principals of the Kelley and Currier Schools. This evidence of a more liberal policy is cause for rejoicing for, with wise spending, more money means better schools.
Certain Specific Needs Reiterated
Only a beginning has been made, however, and we must once more urge the needs of better school buildings, manual training for boys in the upper grammar grades, opportunities in the high school for education of a more practical char- acter, and special classes for children of retarded development.
Our School System Not Democratic
My report of two years ago advised the people that in Newburyport we are not offering equal opportunities to all pupils to get the kind of education which will best prepare them to earn a living. We may say that everyone has the
16
ANNUAL REPORT
same chance to learn, but that is true only in the sense that our schools are open to all. As a matter of fact the education we are providing tends to favor the few; those who take readily to books.
Some of our pupils find it more and more difficult as they reach the upper grammar grades and the high school to learn the kind of lessons demanded of them. The studies they are required to take do not seem to be of any real value in themselves nor to be related in any practical way to life. These pupils, there- fore, feel that they are not getting anything worth while, and, in fact, so far as their needs are concerned, they are not.
So these pupils drop out long before they have gained all the education they are capable of getting. They leave school not because their parents are unable to send them longer, but because both parents and pupils can see no practical benefit in spending time upon the studies offered. As a rule, these are the very boys and girls who are very much in need of a kind of education which we can, but do not furnish.
These pupils are really being deprived of an education because the schools fail to recognize their rights. It has long been the custom to blame these boys and girls for their lack of success. But as a matter of fact, the blame more often rests upon the system of education. The school is not treating these children with the same consideration it shows those who are preparing for college.
Our school system is, therefore, not really a democratic institution because it does not make reasonable provision for all the children of all of the people. The pupil who prefers to work with material objects rather than with books can be helped towards an education more surely by learning how to do things with his hands than by trying to learn how to juggle x's and y's or by studying a foreign language. But there is nothing in the course of study that provides this oppor- tunity for the boys and there is very little for the girls. To quote directly from my report of two years ago-"We are spending money liberally for the kind of education required by a relatively small number of pupils and very little for the kind needed by the many."
Some Massachusetts towns no larger than Newburyport, have for some time been providing for the boys in the grammar grades systematic manual training of a distinctly educational value. They have in addition been encouraging both boys and girls to enter and remain in the high school by offering them advanced instruction in the industrial and household arts. We must not forget that the girls and boys of today do not have the same chance in the home and small shop to supplement their school education that the children had when our grandfathers were boys. And we must remember that a school education no broader than that of our grandfather's day will, as a rule, command wages no higher than those of that time. The schools today everywhere are called upon to do more for their pupils than the schools of several generations ago.
An Appeal on Behalf of the Children
Why can't Newburyport do more than it has been doing for its boys and girls? Wouldn't it be far better for the city and for the boys themselves if they were started in the direction of some skillful manual occupation for which they
17
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
are especially fitted, instead of encouraging them to prepare for soft hand jobs of small pay and smaller chance of advancement; or instead of turning them loose as we often do at sixteen years of age, or earlier, to swell the ranks of un- skilled labor? Wouldn't it be better to encourage many of the girls to study dressmaking, millinery and household management rather than allow them to leave our schools with little or no knowledge of the principles governing the selection of dress and the management of a home? In other words oughtn't the boys and girls of Newburyport to have as good a chance for the kind of education that will fit them for life as many children elsewhere are having?
Would that this appeal in behalf of the many worthy boys and girls of New- ยท buryport to whom the doors of the upper grade rooms and of the high school are practically closed could be heard by the voting parents of these children. And that they and others would heed the call to the extent of helping to create a sentiment in favor of greater opportunities for the rank and file of our boys and girls. For upon public opinion as determined by the people themselves depends what the City Government can and will do. It is not worthy of us to settle back and say there is no use trying to do anything. In enterprises like the Liberty Loan, the Red Cross subscriptions and the Y. M. C. A. war work there is no lack of public spirit in Newburyport. Isn't it about time that we started a drive for better schools?
Recommendation for a Commission of Educators
In response to the above inquiry made in my report of last month, the local newspaper asked editorially "What is the matter with our schools?" It suggests that a commission of educators study our school system, report in detail on its excellencies and defects, and make suggestions. Such a report, it says, would be a shock to our self complacency but it would do us good. The proposition is an excellent one, and the superintendent recommends that a commission of expert educators be appointed to report on the excellencies and deficiencies of our school sysem.
What is the Matter With Our Schools?
What is the matter with our schools, indeed. While the suggestions of an outside commission in regard to certain details would undoubtedly command greater respect among people in general than a similar report from the School Committee and Superintendent its recommendations would be fruitless if we con- tinue to hold the apathetic attitude towards these matters which has characterized us as a community in the recent past. We have allowed school affairs to drag along from year to year without solving the problems from time to time as they have arisen. In view of the amount of money the citizens of Newburyport are able to raise in response to demands from without it is idle for us to plead poverty as an excuse for this neglect. Isn't it about time then for some of our public spirited men and women to co-operate with the School Committee with much the same vigor that has characterized the management of the recent patriotic movements ?
18
ANNUAL REPORT
All praise for the wonderful response that Newburyport makes to calls for assist- ance from the outside. But surely when our attention is directed to the needs of our own children we can do something for them, too.
Our Antiquated School Buildings
The school laws of the State require compulsory education. These laws also provide for the medical inspection of school children partly for the reason that with compulsory attendance no child should be exposed to the communicable dis eases of others. If the law went a step further and imposed restrictions upon the use of unsuitable buildings, the city of Newburyport would undoubtedly be re quired to provide immediately one or more schoolhouses of modern construction and up to date equipment. My first report characterized certain of the school buildings as antiquated, poorly lighted, and badly ventilated and my report of last year quoted the statement of a special committee appointed several years ago to examine our school buildings. This committee advised the people that the conditions in some cases were such as to have a demoralizing effect upon both teachers and pupils. The local newspaper in the editorial above referred to said "There are parents who regularly send their children to private or out of town schools because their feeling about what they call unsanitary school buildings."
Our School Problem Includes Both Equipment and Organization
In regard to the improvements in our school buildings my report of a year ago pointed out that everything that is needed can not be done at once. The attempt to make our school equipment what it ought to be must extend over a number of years. It must be based upon some well thought out, comprehensive pian. Last year, a joint commission composed of members of the Public Property Committee and School Committee was recommended. But this recommendation came to naught.
The school problem, indeed, as you can easily see from what has been said above, includes more than better buildings. Not only is it a matter of poorly lighted, badly ventilated rooms, in some instances overcrowded, but it is a ques- tion of insufficient books, maps and illustrative material, no opportunities for manual training and physical education, no provision for children of retarded de- velopment and in the high school no library, no assembly hall worthy of the name, practically no lunch room, small ill-ventilated physical and chemical lab- cratories perched up under the roof four stories above the ground, no laboratories whatever for any of the other sciences and no equipment for household arts and manual training.
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