USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1898-1899 > Part 13
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94.06
.87
D. W. Gooch
365.83
327.17
38.66
332.10
307.33
24.77
90.78
93.94
3.16
Horace Mann ...
328.11
300.79
27.32
287.10
284.93
2.17
87.50
94.73
7.23
Mary A. Livermore.
176.52
179.35
2.83
164.70
170,59
5.89
93.19
93.17
.02
Lincoln
190.79
190.79
178.41
178.41
Joseph Warren
138.39
110.64
27.75
128.75
104.96
23.79
93.03
94.87
1.84
Sewall ... .
170.45
152.32
18.13
144.50
134.79
9.71
84.78
88.46
3.68
Winthrop
150.56
135.34
15.22
130.60
125.52
5.08
86.74
92.74
6.00
Whittier ...
133.90
115.02
18.88
112.50
104.90
7.60
83.27
91.20
7.93
Converse .
64.65
50.00
14.65
56.00
47.87
8.13
86.62
95.74
9.12
Ripley . ..
37.00
36.42
.58
30.60
31.16
.56
82.70
85.51
2.81
West Side Kindergarten .
15.84
15.84
13.59
13.59
84.48
For all the schools.
2,505.55 2,506.15
.60
·
2,260.70
2,343.91
83.21
90.23
93.53
3.30
.
SCHOOL REPORT.
SUMMARY.
Increase in average membership for 1898, .60
Increase in average attendance for 1898, . 83.21
Increase in per cent. of attendance for 1898, 3.30
299
.
.
.
.
93.45
...
1897
300
SCHOOL REPORT.
SUPPLEMENTARY TABLE OF COMPARATIVE STATISTICS.
Per cent. of Attendance.
SCHOOLS.
Jan. to Jun. Sep. to Dec. 1898
1898
Loss, Sep. to Dec. Sep. to Dec.
High
95.25
97.59
2.34
Washington
90.76
93 49
2.73
Franklin
92.75
92.54
.21
D. W. Gooch
93.12
94:85
1.73
Horace Mann
93.28
95.82
2.54
Mary A Livermore
94.28
95.55
1.27
Lincoln
92.65
Joseph Warren ..
94 37
95.99
1.62
Sewall.
89.51
91.94
2.43
Winthrop
91.95
93.21
1.26
Whittier.
90.83
91.40
.57
Converse
93.83
92.93
.90
Ripley.
86.43
90.70
3.27
West Side Kindergarten
85.86
Summary for all schools
92.60
94.50
1.90
SUMMARY.
Net gain in per cent. of attendance during the period from September to December over that from January to June, 1.90
GENERAL STATISTICS.
Number of persons between the ages of 5 and 15 residing in town May I, 2,188.00
Number of persons between the ages of 8 and 14 residing in town May I, .
1,478.00
Whole number of pupils enrolled the during the year,
3,044.00
Number of pupils over 15 years of age enrolled during the year, .
316.00
Number of pupils between 5 and 15 years of age enrolled during the year, .
2,482.00
Gain
301
SCHOOL REPORT.
Number of pupils between 8 and 14 years of age enrolled during the year, . 1,492.00
Whole number of pupils under 5 years of age en- rolled during the year, 282.00
Average membership of the schools during the year, 2,506.15
Average attendance of the schools during the year, 2,343.91 Average per cent. of attendance of the schools during the year, . 93.53
Cost per pupil for teaching,
$17.44
66 66
supervision and clerk hire, .83
66
" books and supplies, . 2.04
66
" janitors, -
1.98
" fuel, . 2.39
66 66
" miscellaneous (not including
repairs, furniture and new buildings, ) . ·
.78
Cost per pupil, excluding repairs, furniture and new buildings, 25.46
Cost per pupil for furniture,
1.72
Cost per pupil for repairs, 1.36
excluding new buildings only, · 28.54
[The cost per pupil in the above is based on average membership.]
COMMENTS ON ATTENDANCE.
There is one fact revealed in the table of comparative statistics that it may be well to notice. The per cent. of attendance for 1898 shows an increase in the regularity with which pupils attend to their school duties of 3.3 per cent. over that of 1897. These figures are gratifying, for they indicate the development of habits of regularity and prompt- ness among the pupils, and mean better work in the schools if maintained.
The per cent. of attendance for 1897 was below the
302
SCHOOL REPORT.
average for the state, as given by the state board of edu- cation. Now, so far as I have been able to discover, there are no conditions existing in Melrose that can satisfactorily account for that result. On the other hand, the location of our school buildings and our social conditions are such, as a whole, that the per cent. of attendance ought to be above the average for the state.
Believing regularity of attendance to be fundamental in securing the best results in school work, and feeling that the relative standing of Melrose in this respect meant that the schools were not accomplishing for the pupils all that they might, if closer attendance could be secured, I have asked the teachers, during the few months that I have been connected with the schools, to put forth special effort to secure a greater degree of regularity in the attendance of their pupils. As a result, the per cent. of attendance for September, October, November and December, is 94.5. while the average for the six previous school months of the year is 92.6. Thus the average per cent. for the year has been raised, so that for 1898 Melrose stands 1.53 per cent. above the average for the state instead of 1.77 below as in 1897.
Special effort has also been put forth, with a fair degree of success, to reduce the amount of truancy in the schools.
To prevent pupils who change their residence from one section of the town to another from absenting themselves longer than necessary from their school duties and also to enable me to know that a child enters the proper school in case of such a change, the following system of discharge and admission cards has been put in operation.
If a child changes his residence, so that it is more con- venient for him to attend another school he is given the following discharge card properly filled in by the teacher :
303
SCHOOL REPORT
MELROSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
DISCHARGE CARD .- FORM III.
(To be given pupils transferred from one school to another in town.) Name of Pupil Discharged,. Age. School from which Discharged,. . Grade, .
Date of Discharge, 189 . Last attendance, .189
Total attendance since Jan. 1, 189
General character of pupil's work,.
Parent's or Guardian's Name,. Occupation,
Future Residence,. .Street.
.Teacher.
Principal.
At the same time the teacher sends to the superintendent of schools the following card properly filled :
MELROSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
DISCHARGE CARD .- FORM I.
Name of Pupil Discharged,. · Age, . School from which Discharged, .Grade,
Date of Discharge, 189 . Last attendance,
Total attendance since Jan. 1, 189
Cause of Discharge,
Teacher. Principal.
N. B .- Send this card to the Superintendent of Schools, not later than the day follow- lowing the date of discharge.
As soon as the pupil enters the school to which he has been discharged, the teacher of that school sends the super- intendent of schools the following admission card properly filled in :
4
304
SCHOOL REPORT.
MELROSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
ADMISSION CARD.
Name of Pupil Admitted,. Age, . School from which Admitted,.
Grade, .Town,. Date of Admission,. 189 . Brought no Discharge Card. (If discharge card was presented cross out "no" and send card, with this report, to the Superintendent of Schools.)
.Teacher.
Principal.
N. B .- Forward this report not later than the day following the date of ad- mission. Receive no child from another school in Melrose without the proper discharge card or a permit from the Superintendent of Schools.
If the expected admission card does not reach the super- intendent within the proper time, the truant officer is given the child's name and is asked to ascertain why he is not in school.
The above mentioned arrangement is merely an adapta- tion of what I have seen in practice elsewhere.
NAMES OF THE SCHOOLS.
Several of the schools have had new names given them by the committee during the past year and, since I shall have occasion throughout my report to refer to these schools, it may be well, for the benefit of any who are not familiar with the new names, to present the following table, giving the names by which they were formerly designated, the new names, and the location of such schools.
305
SCHOOL REPORT.
SCHOOLS WHOSE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED
DURING THE YEAR.
FORMER NAME. PRESENT NAME.
LOCATION.
Centre School. Sewall. Upham Street.
Grove St. School ..
Horace Mann. Cor. Grove and Myrtle Sts.
Lebanon St. School. . Washington Cor. Lebanon and Lynde Sts.
Old Franklin School. .. Whittier · Franklin Street.
Upham Hill School. .. Winthrop.
Cor. First and Eleventh Sts.
Warren St. School.
Joseph Warren . . . Warren Street.
Wyoming Ave. School. . Lincoln.
· Wyoming Avenue.
CHANGES IN TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS.
There have been an unusually large number of changes during the past year in the arrangement of schools and in the teaching force.
At the close of the term in June, the following teachers severed their connection with the schools : Ernest H. Leavitt, principal of the Mary A. Livermore school, and Alice Watts of the same school ; also Marion Pearson, principal of the Winthrop school, and Grace L. Pillsbury of that school.
The vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Leavitt was filled by the election of G. Alvin Grover, a graduate of Bridgewater normal school and a teacher of several years successful experience, and Inez A. Hunt, a graduate of Far- mington, Me., normal school was elected to the position formerly held by Miss Watts.
The vacancy in the principalship of the Winthrop school was filled by transferring Edith S. Dermot, who had been principal of the Converse school ; and the vacancy caused by Miss Pillsbury's resignation was filled by the election of Martha A. Briggs of Auburn, Me.
306
SCHOOL REPORT.
Mary E. Nye, who had taught the first and second grades in the Converse school for some time, was promoted to the principalship of that school and Anastatia G. Riley, a na- tive of Melrose and a graduate of Salem normal school, was elected to fill the vacancy caused by Miss Nye's pro- motion.
A few days before the opening of the schools in Septem- ber, Mr. Luther Hatch, principal of the D. W. Gooch school, resigned on account of poor health, and the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Augustus O. Burke of Brockton. Mr. Burke is a graduate of Bridgewater normal school and has had several years of successful experience as a teacher.
Near the c ose of the summer vacation Malcom D. Bar- rows, the popular and efficient sub-master of the high school, resigned to accept a position in the Charlestown high school, and Everett H. Scott of Brockton was elected to fill the vacancy.
Mr. Scott was highly recommended by Mr. Beede, prin- cipal of the high school, with whom he had formerly been associated as a teacher, and his work in Melrose thus far has ustified the recommendation.
D. ing the summer a commercial course was added to the high school curriculum and Hugh G. Green of Tilton, N. H., was appointed to have charge of that department. Mr. Green brought to his position excellent preparation and good experience and is doing thorough work.
Soon after the schools opened in September, Herbert F. Taylor, the energetic principal of the Washington school resigned, to accept a more lucrative position in Fitchburg, Mass., and Herbert L. Rand, a graduate of Bridgewater normal school, and for the past two years principal of the Webster Street grammar school in Auburn, Me., was elected to fill the vacancy.
307
SCHOOL REPORT.
At the beginning of the fall term it became necessary to divide the ninth grade at the Washington school into two sections, owing to the large number of pupils in that grade, and Mary S. Fellows, teacher of the sixth grade in that school, was elected to have charge of one of these sections. The vacancy thus caused in grade six was filled by the elec- tion of Martha A. Dodge of North Attleboro. Miss Dodge is a graduate of Salem normal school and is earnest and painstaking in her work.
The removal of the high school to the new and commodi- ous building on Main street enabled several needed changes to be made in other schools by the opening of additional rooms for the lower grades in the Lincoln school building, which had been occupied since its completion by the high school.
I. The kindergarten that had been located in the Hor- ace Mann school was removed to the Lincoln school and the vacant room thus made in the Horace Mann school was filled by transferring grade seven from the Washington school.
2. To accommodate pupils living west of the railroad who had been obliged to attend the Horace Mann school and al- so to relieve the overcrowded condition of the lower grades at the D. W. Gooch school, three other rooms were opened in the Lincoln building,-one containing a sixth grade, an- other the fifth grade, and the third containing pupils in the second and third grades.
3. Later one of the first grades at the D. W. Gooch school was removed to the Lincoln school. This enabled the children in Russell park section to receive better accom- modation, and gave opportunity to relieve the congestion in the eighth grade, both at the Mary A. Livermore school and the Horace Mann school, by transferring to the D. W.
308
SCHOOL REPORT.
Gooch school the eighth grade pupils who live in the vicinity of that school.
These changes involved the transfer of several teachers and some additions to the teaching force. Caroline L. Hollis, who during the previous year had had charge of the overflow pupils in grade V at the D. W. Gooch school, was placed in charge of the second and third grades in the Lincoln school ; Mrs. Harriet A. Saunders of Melrose was placed in charge of grade V in the same school ; Arline Merrill was transferred from the D. W. Gooch school to have charge of Grade I in the Lincoln school, and Martha A. Briggs was transferred from the Winthrop school to be teacher of the sixth grade and acting principal of the Lin- coln school for the remainder of the year.
The vacancy in the second grade at the Winthrop school made by the transfer of Miss Briggs, has not yet been filled by permanent appointment, but Grace C. Albee of Melrose has charge of the work.
The removal of a first grade from the D. W. Gooch school, as above mentioned, enabled the large seventh grade in that building to be divided, part being placed in charge of Mary A. Maddocks, a graduate of Gorman, Me., normal school, and the remainder with the eighth grade pupils who were removed from the Mary A. Livermore and Horace Mann schools, being placed in charge of Mr. Burke, the principal of the school.
During the summer vacation, the old Franklin school building, on the west side of the railroad at the Highlands, was prepared and arranged for kindergarten work, and Miss Price, who had previously taught a similar grade in the Whittier building, was given charge of the new school.
309
SCHOOL REPORT.
TEACHERS' MEETINGS.
However well equipped teachers may be, frequent meet- ings with the superintendent of schools and with the super- visors of special subjects are necessary in order that the best results may be secured. Such meetings afford opportunities ( a) to outline and discuss plans of administration. (b) to suggest possi! le lines of progress, (c) to gain broader ideas of the work of teaching, ( d) to develop methods of teach- ing and management, and (e) to secure enthusiasm for the daily work.
Owing to the fact that my work with the schools began in the middle of the year and that it takes time to secure an intel- ligent appreciation of the needs of a school system, it has not been possible to systematize my teachers' meetings as it is my purpose to do later. However, general meetings have been held as freqently as once a month and meetings with the principals and with special groups of teachers as fre- quently as seemed needful.
At the general meetings, addresses have been given by Superintendent Morss of Medford, on "Elementary Science;" by Superintendent Gay of Malden, on "Language,' and by myself on "School Programs," "How to Succeed in Teaching," and "Suggestions Regarding Administration."
At the meetings with the principals and grade teachers, various points looking to better administration and more systematic work in the schools have been discussed.
In addition to the above work, the supervisors of music, drawing and penmanship have held meetings at various times with the teachers of the different grades; and at my suggestion the above supervisors have arranged for regular office hours once a week as follows: Mr. Drake and Mr. Carter, Mondays from 4.15 to 5.15 p. m. in the high school
23
310
SCHOOL REPORT.
building, and Mr. Clark, Tuesdays at the same hour and place. Such an arrangement affords an excellent opportun- ity for the supervisors to confer with teachers who may need special assistance in their work which it is not possible to secure in meetings of a more general character and for which, previously, no satisfactory opportunity was given. For ex- ample, previously, if a supervisor discovered that a teacher needed special aid to enable her to secure the desired re- sults in his department, it was necessary for him to give his suggestions to her hurriedly while she divided her attention between his statements and the management of a room full of restless children. As a result she was neither doing her best for the children nor was she grasping the full force of the supervisor's suggestions.
As arranged at present none of the school time need be lost to purposes of instruction while teacher and supervisor confer, and also the teacher has a better chance to be benefitted by the supervisor's suggestions, for she has the opportunity to discuss the matter at a time when she can give him her undivided attention.
The principals of the various schools have held meetings with their teachers more or less regularly for the considera- tion of matters of interest and importance to their respective schools.
All of the above work tends to develop a more enthusi- astic and efficient corps of teachers, and to bring about greater uniformity in teaching and administration, as well as to secure closer articulation of the different parts of the school system.
THE MELROSE EDUCATION SOCIETY.
The Melrose Education Society, an organization com- posed mainly of teachers, is doing considerable to strengthen a professional and scholarly spirit among the teachers.
3II
SCHOOL REPORT.
This organization has been in existence nearly three years, and, in my judgment, if properly managed and supported by teachers and school authorities, it may be of great benefit to the educational interests of the community. The following quotations from the constitution of the soci- ety indicate its principles and purposes :
(a) "The Melrose Education Society is established to promote a broader knowledge of the science of education, a better understanding of methods now employed, and a close sympathy and co-operation between the home and the school."
(b) "Any person of the age of twenty-one years, desiring to join the society and sympathizing with its objects, may become a member by signing the constitution, if nominated by the executive committee and elected at any meeting by a majority of the members present."
It will be seen from the above statements that member- ship is not confined to teachers; neither is the society designed merely to promote the interests of teachers as individuals, but that the educational interests of the com- munity may receive an uplift. Therefore, it is to be hoped that, as its principles and purposes become better under- stood throughout the town, more of the educational workers among the mothers and fathers of the community will give it their support by associating themselves with its work.
My knowledge of the work of the society comprehends only what it has done since the opening of the schools in September, but in that time the following lectures have been given :
Two by Mr. Philip Emerson of Lynn, one on "The Geog- raphy of Eastern Massachusetts," and the other on " Glacial Action in New England ; " two on "Astronomy, " by Prin. F. H. Beede ; two by E. H. Scott, one on "Early Begin-
312
SCHOOL REPORT.
nings of English Poetry," and the other on "Early Be- ginnings of English Prose." Other lectures are to be given in March and May by Hubert G. Shaw, Ph. D., on “ Ele- mentary Science," and by Rev. Father Glynn on "Self Culture."
MUSIC, DRAWING AND PENMANSHIP.
While I need say little regarding music, drawing and penmanship in the schools since the work in these lines is in charge of special supervisors, whose reports are sub- mitted in the appendix as a part of my report, a few words in general upon each subject may be profitable.
I. Music. The general plan of work in this line seems to me to be good, and some excellent work is being done in the schools. The fault, as it appears to me, in teaching music in many places is to present technical difficulties too early and too rapidly, and to emphasize unduly this side of the music work in the lower grades.
The method of teaching any subject should be deter- mined in part, at least, by one's conception of the purpose for which the subject has a place in the curriculum.
Now, according to my belief, the main purpose for which music has a place in school work is that it may be used as an agency in developing the aesthetic nature of man so that his life may be richer through his greater power to appre- ciate and appropriate to his inspiration and help the beauti- ful things of life, as they are revealed to him through the sense of hearing ; and the secondary purpose is to train his power of musical expression so that he may be able to express the sense of harmony within him.
It naturally follows, then, that the essential ends to be secured in the lower primary grades are enjoyment in sing- ing, a sense of rythm, an appreciative idea of tone relation
313
SCHOOL REPORT.
as expressed in the major scale, and the power to express that relation accurately, rather than a technical familiarity with musical notation.
In this opinion I find myself substantially in accord with the supervisor of music, and I am pleased to say that his plans for the future involve increased emphasis along the lines suggested.
2. Drawing. Professor Hugo Munsterberg in discussing the subject of art in the school-room recently said, "Mil- lions of children receive there the strongest decisive influ- ence for aesthetic attitude, millons of children have there the most immediate contact with the world of the visible art, and mould there the sense of refinement, of beauty, of harmony. The future battles against this country's greatest enemy, vulgarity, will be fought largely with the weapons which the drawing teachers supply to the masses."
The value of drawing as a study in the schools is becom- ing better recognized each year ; but to accomplish the best results the work in this line must take a broader range than it has in the past. Our best educators have already recognized the weakness of the work in drawing as it has been conducted in the schools of the past, and are shaping their work with this thought in mind that the chief end to be sought in this line, so far as the public schools are con- cerned, is the development in pupils of the power to recog- nize and appreciate visible beauty of form and color in ma- terial things, rather than power of execution in drawing be- yond elementary work.
While there is much to commend in the work in this de- partment in our schools, I feel that more might be done to secure the ends for which it seems to me the subject has a place in the curriculum, if all, who are in any way respon- sible for the results that are secured, appreciated that what
314
SCHOOL REPORT.
we desire to get from the prosecution of this line of work in the schools beyond the mastery of the fundamental prin- ciples of drawing, is what may be appropriately termed art culture, in other words, the chief end of our effort in this line in the schools should be to produce power to appreci- ate rather than power to produce except in an elementary way.
3. Penmanship. Regarding the work in this line, it may be said that, while in some schools excellent results are be- ing secured, the general character of the work is not entire- ly satisfactory.
However, I have been able to discover causes that seem to me to account in a measure, at least, for this, and steps have been taken that already show results which warrant the expectation of better work in penmanship, on the whole, than has been secured in the past,
HIGH SCHOOL.
An experience of eleven years as a high school principal naturally left me with a large degree of interest in high school work. Other duties have thus far prevented me from devoting much attention to the class work of our school, so that I am not prepared to make an extended re- port upon the work. However, so far as my observation of the administration of the school has extended, I have been pleased. The management throughout reflects considera- tion for the best interests of the pupils, and the teaching that it has been my good fortune to observe was purposeful and stimulating.
It is by no means to be inferred from what I have said that either the teachers, the principal, or myself consider that the management and teaching in the school is perfect ; but I believe that we may safely feel that the Melrose high
315
SCHOOL REPORT.
school is in a prosperous condition and is doing a great deal of work of which we may be justly proud.
One of the most beneficial things accomplished during the year in connection with the school,-barring the open- ing of the new high school building-is the equipment of a commercial department. This step supplies a deep-felt want, as is shown by the size of the classes in that depart- ment, and will enable the school to more nearly fulfil its mission in the community.
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