USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1909 > Part 2
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George M. Hall,
Charles B. Goss,
Fred H. Goss,
George Goodwin, Florence E. Sinclair, Eugenie J. Verrette
Public Weighers of Merchandise,
William L. Pierce,
Charles F. Woodward,
William H. Martin,
Orietta Towner, James McTiernan, Edward M. Caldwell, H. C. Perry.
Patrick G. DeCourcy
Edward A. Riley, John J. Scott,
Fence Viewers,
Charles F. Woodward,
Daniel J. Lucey.
Field Driver, Charles W. Chapman.
Pound Keeper, Charles W. Chapman.
Constables,
George W. Burke, Osborne E. Drown,
William L. Pierce, Frank M. Mclaughlin.
24
CITY OF MELROSE
Police Officers,
Osborne E. Drown, Acting Chief,
George E. Fuller,
Frank M. MeLaughlin, Retired Chief,
Harry Brown,
William A. Caswell,
Allston H. Pineo,
Redford M. Rand,
William H. Doherty,
William C. McCarthy,
Christopher B. Thompson,
Louis B. Heaton,
Frank N. Pierce.
Reserve Police Officers, Appointed 1906.
William T. Fahy, Albert McBeth,
Michael D. Reardon, Isaac Gorman,
Wallace B. Eaton.
Special Police Officers,
William Riley,
Roscoe A. Leavitt,
M. James Hanley,
Samuel W. Furbish,
George H. Cray,
John H. Thyng,
Frank C. Newman,
Amos W. Lynde,
Charles W. Chapman,
W. M. Penney, Edgar E. Sherburn,
James F. Fernald,
Dennis Callahan,
Atwater B. Hathaway,
Burgess W. Grover.
Keeper of the Lock-Up,
Frank M. Mclaughlin.
Election Officers for the Year 1909-10
Ward I.
Patrick W. Curry, Republican Warden
Harry A. Batchelder, Republican
. Deputy Warden
Simeon Cragin, Democrat Clerk
William H. Greenleaf, Democrat Deputy Clerk
George S. McNeil, Republican Inspector
Charles F. Reed, Republican Deputy Inspector
George H. Glover, Democrat
Inspector
Thomas F. Troy, Democrat . Deputy Inspector
Frank H. Middleburg, Democrat Inspector
Corydon, W. Harlow, Democrat .
Deputy Inspector
Frederick Curry, Republican
Inspector
A. Williston Dillaway, Republican
Deputy Inspector
Ward 2.
George W. Burke, Republican .
Warden
Ralph E. Sewell, Republican .
Deputy Warden
Augustus E. Caesar, Democrat Clerk
Dexter G. Pratt, Democrat
Deputy Clerk
Martin McDonough, Republican Inspector
James A. Crawford, Republican Deputy Inspector
Harry Watson, Republican Inspector
Clifford Cochrane, Republican . Deputy Inspector
Frank L. Terwilleger, Democrat Inspector
George W. Stinson, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
Frank W. Lewis, Democrat
Inspector
George Brickett, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
Ward 3.
Frank Towle, Republican . Warden
Everett E. Tarbox, Republican Deputy Warden
Francis W. Hoffman, Democrat Clerk
Edward A. Brady, Democrat
Deputy Clerk
Charles Roder, Republican, Inspector
Walter J. Lord, Republican
Deputy Inspector
Melvin A. Walter, Republican . Inspector
George F. Woodman, Republican Deputy Inspector
Stephen A. Hopkins, Democrat Inspector
George W. Van Horn, Democrat. Deputy Inspector
Peter J. Curran, Democrat . Inspector
Daniel O'Leary, Democrat . Deputy Inspector
26
CITY OF MELROSE
Ward 4.
Edward J. Kitchings, Republican Warden
William P. Libbey, Republican,
Deputy Warden
Harold P. Waterhouse, Democrat
Clerk
Amos Dean, Democrat Deputy Clerk
Charles A. Page, Republican . Inspector
Herbert M. Cox, Republican
Deputy Inspector
George A. Dean, Democrat
Inspector
Frank Brown, Democrat.
Deputy Inspector
William H. Sullivan, Democrat
Inspector
Fred A. Gordon, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
Ward 5.
Alrick B. Swensson, Republican Warden
Hebert H. Tyler, Republican .
Deputy Warden
George H. Dearborn, Democrat
Clerk
Joseph A. Sheridan, Democrat Deputy Clerk
Frank E. Newell, Republican
Inspector
Osgood F. Tarr, Republican
Deputy Inspector
Arthur H. Glynes, Republican. Inspector
James Gillies, Republican .
Deputy Inspector
Thomas J. Hawkes, Democrat
Inspector
Thomas P. Connolly, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
John Keefe, Democrat
Inspector
John E. McKinnon, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
Ward 6.
Arthur A. Hayden, Republican . Warden
Edward P. Waitte, Republican . Deputy Warden
Jonathan H. Atkinson, Democrat Clerk
William P. Duffy, Democrat . Deputy Clerk
Fred P. Kimball, Republican
Inspector
David H. Orcutt, Republican
Deputy Inspector
Charles H. Rockwood, Republican
Inspector
George O. McNally, Republican
Deputy Inspector
Stephen C. Deering, Democrat Inspector
George B. Grottendick, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
Charles A. Knapp, Democrat
Inspector
George A. Snow, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
27
ELECTION OFFICERS
Ward 7.
Albert E. Dadley, Republican.
Warden
Eugene L. Pratt, Republican
Deputy Warden
Edwin D. Baker, Democrat
Clerk
John J. Buckley, Democrat . Deputy Clerk
Walter B. Copeland, Republican
Inspector
Lewis C. Copeland. Republican
Deputy Inspector
William B. Clark, Republican Inspector
Samuel L. Akers, Republican
Deputy Inspector
Daniel J. Foley, Democrat Inspector
Thomas Kelley, Democrat .
Deputy Inspector
William F. Henney, Democrat
Inspector
Henry E. Johnson, Democrat
Deputy Inspector
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
CITY OF MELROSE 1 909
In School Committee, February 28, 1910.
Voted :- To accept the report of the Superintendent of Schools and to adopt it as the report of the School Committee for the year 1909.
CONTENTS OF THE SCHOOL REPORT.
Calendar
32
School Committee, (Membership and Organization) 33
Report of Superintendent of Schools. 35
Resolutions to Mr. Nickerson. 35
Statistical Matter:
School Census and Enrollment. 36
Summary of Principals' Reports for School Year, 1908-1909. 37
Number of Teachers in Different Departments. 39
Number of Pupils in Different Grades. 39
Average Age of Pupils in Different Grades 40
Annual Financial Exhibit for 1909. 41
Changes of Teachers. 42
Administrative Changes:
Course of Study. 44
Semi-Annual Promotions 44
Kindergartens Abolished. 44
Age Limit Raised for Entrance. 44
Office Records.
45
Certain Economic Considerations: Educational Waste:
Per Cent of Retarded Pupils in Other Cities. 48
Number Retarded in Melrose, and Cost. 49
Causes Assigned for Retardation. 50
Grades in Which Retardation Occurred. 50
Number Retarded, School Year 1909-1910. 50
Conclusions.
50
A Measure of Efficiency :
Per Cent of Membership Retained to Upper Grades and High School 54
Per Cent Retained in Other Cities. 55
Play Grounds. 56
The High School .
57
Report of High School Principal. 58 Reports of Supervisors of Music, Drawing, Manual Training, Sewing and Penmanship. 62
Changes in School Committee 68 Conclusion 68
Appendix:
Program of High School Graduation 69
Honors and Prizes. 70
Pupils Promoted from Ninth Grade to High School. June, 1909 72
Organization of School Staff, December 31, 1909. .
74
SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR 1910.
WINTER TERM.
First Half. Begins January 3, and closes February 25. Vacation of one week.
Second Half. Begins March 7, and closes April 29. Vacation of one week.
SPRING TERM.
Begins May 9, and closes June 24. Vacation of ten weeks.
FALL TERM.
Begins September 7, (Wednesday), and closes December 23. Vacation of one week.
HOLIDAYS DURING TERM TIME.
Every Saturday, Washington's Birthday, Patriot's Day, Memorial Day, June 17, and Thanksgiving Day, with the half- day preceding and the day following it.
School Committee for 1909
Name.
Residence.
Term Expires. January, 1910
Oscar F. Frost,
85 Green Street
Isabelle Stantial,
146 Florence Street
1910
Elmer O. Goodridge,
148 E. Foster Street
1910
Sarah A. Day,
45 Ashland Street 66 1911
George E. Cornwall,
54 Orient Avenue .
66 1911
Eben F. Phillips,
12 Orient Place
66
1911
Edwin S. Small,
273 Main Street
66 1912
Frank L. Welt,
31 Malvern Street
66
1912
Lowell F. Wentworth,
19 Bartlett Street
66
1912
Organization of Committee.
Oscar F. Frost, Chairman.
Isabelle Stantial, Secretary.
Meetings of Committee.
Regular meetings of the School Committee are held in the Committee- Room, High School Building, on the second and fourth Mondays of every month, except July and August, at eight o'clock p.m.
Superintendent of Schools.
John C. Anthony,
100 Vinton St. Office: High School Building.
Office Hours: 8 to 9 a.m. on school days, and 4 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Office Telephone: 55-1; Residence Tele- phone: 400.
Superintendent's Clerk.
Rosetta M. Pendleton, 179 Trenton St.
SUB-COMMITTEES.
Accounts, Finance and Estimates.
Mr. Cornwall Mr. Phillips Dr. Wentworth
Courses of Study and Text Books.
Mr. Welt
Mrs. Stantial Mr. Small
34
CITY OF MELROSE.
Dr. Wentworth
Supplies and Printing. Mr. Welt
Mr. Goodridge
Teachers and Salaries.
Mrs. Day
Mr. Small Mrs. Stantial
Mr. Goodridge
Special Studies. Mrs. Day Dr. Wentworth
High School.
Mrs. Stantial
Mr. Phillips Mrs. Day
Rules and Regulations.
Mr. Phillips Mr. Cornwall Mr. Welt
School Houses and Janitors.
Mr. Small
Mr. Goodridge
Mr. Cornwall
VISITING COMMITTEES.
Highlands.
Mr. Phillips
Mrs. Day
Mr. Small
East Side.
Mr. Welt
Mr. Goodridge
Mr. Cornwall
Center.
Mr. Cornwall
Mr. Phillips
Mr. Goodridge
Wyoming.
Mr. Small
Mrs. Stantial Dr. Wentworth
Report of the Superintendent of Schools.
To the School Committee of Melrose :-
The following annual report of the public schools of the City is respectfully submitted for your consideration.
The one matter that most vitally concerned the interests of the schools and that called for the most serious consideration on the part of your Committee, was the resignation, July 12, 1909, of Mr. Fred H. Nickerson, for eleven years Superinten- dent of the public schools of Melrose, to accept a similar posi- tion in the City of Medford. In accepting his resignation, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted, spread upon the records, and an engrossed copy was presented to Mr. Nick- erson.
"The School Committee of Melrose wishes to place on its records its high appreciation of the excellent service rendered by Mr. Fred H. Nickerson as Superintendent of the Melrose Schools for eleven years past.
His knowledge of educational science and thought, his high aims, his good judgment, zeal, diligence and patience in the manifold duties and relations of his office have produced their natural results in the present high character of our corps of teachers and of our whole school system.
We cannot fail, therefore, to recognize our great indebted- ness to him and to express our regrets in the loss of his services, while we heartily follow him with our best wishes for the great- est possible success and happiness in the new field in which he carries on his chosen work."
The excellent system of schools which Mr. Nickerson has left, the personal and professional loyalty of a strong corps of teachers, and the cordial support which the community and your Committee always have given him, speak eloquently of his ability as an executive, of his high standing as an educator, and of his sterling character and integrity as a man. It is a
36
CITY OF MELROSE.
pleasure and an honor to follow him in his work and I wish to add my personal appreciation of all that he has accomplished for your City.
The statistics here incorporated cover, in general, the same items that have been presented in recent years, with the addition of statistics upon certain matters which receive special consideration in this report.
TABLE I. School Census and Enrollment.
1908
1909
No. of persons between 5 and 15 years of age re- siding in the city, September 1. 2753 2869
No. of persons between 7 and 14 years of age re- siding in the city, September 1. 2084 2171
No. of different pupils enrolled during the school year. 3266
3222
No. of pupils over 15 years of age enrolled during the school year.
521
520
No. of pupils between 5 and 15 years of age en- rolled during the school year.
2694
2665
No. of pupils between 7 and 14 years of age en- rolled during the school year. 1957
2074
No. of pupils under 5 years of age enrolled during the school year. 51
37
Table II. SUMMARY OF THE PRINCIPALS' REPORTS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR, 1908-1909.
I. By Schools.
Schools
No. of Dif- ferent Pupils Enrolled Exclusive of Re-Enroll- ment
No. of Boys
No. of Girls
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Per Cent. of Attendance
Corporal Punishment
High
534
244
290
511.46
492.02
96.17
Franklin.
409
219
190
375.28
355.23
94.66
6
Washington .
416
190
226
393.77
372.90
94.70
3
Lincoln
356
163
193
348.57
336.58
96.56
1
Horace Mann.
325
162
163
303.99
281.99
92.76
10
D. W. Gooch
325
157
168
312.33
293.23
93.88
5
Mary A. Livermore
177
96
81
173.55
166.53
95.95
3
Joseph Warren
135
75
60
131.36
121.01
92.12
Winthrop
126
6-4
62
118.96
110.19
92.63
3
Sewall .
167
83
844
157.28
143.61
91.31
Whittier .
201
100
101
170.10
159.76
93.92
Converse
23
11
12
24.23
22.91
94.55
Ripley .
28
20
8
29.80
26.88
90.20
Total
3,222
1,584
1,638
3,050.68
2,882.84
94.49
31
SCHOOL REPORT.
.
37
38
2. By Grades.
Grades
No. of Dif- ferent Pupils Enrolled Exclusive"of Re-Enroll- ment
No. of Boys
No. of Girls
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Per Cent. ... of (1) Attendance
Corporal Punishment
High .
534
244
290
511.46
492.02
96.17
Grade 9.
221
116
105
211.36
203.95
91.76
1
Grade 8 ..
253
125
128
260.43
249.07
95.64
1
Grade 7.
327
155
172
302.86
291.17
96.14
16
Grade 6.
334
178
156
314.26
299.55
95.32
1
Grade 5.
314
148
166
297.50
281.10
94.49
10
Grade 4.
326
153
173
312.35
293.98
94.12
1
Grade 3
257
125
132
246.96
231.84
93.88
Grade 2.
293
161
132
283.44
264.85
93.44
Grade 1
312
148
164
256.03
225.52
88.08
1
Combined, 1-2-3 ...
51
31
20
54.03
19.79
92.15
Total
3,222
1,584
1,638
3,050.68
2,882.84
94.49
31
CITY OF MELROSE.
·
39
SCHOOL REPORT.
Table III. NUMBER OF TEACHERS IN THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, DECEMBER, 1909.
Male
Female
Total
High (Grades X, XI, XII, XIII)
7
13
20
Grammar (Grades V, VI, VII, VIII, IX)
2
37
39
Primary (Grades I, II, III, IV)
0
27
27
Supervisors, Music . .
1
0
1
Drawing
0
1
1
Manual Training
0
1
1
Total
10
79
89
Table IV. NUMBER OF PUPILS IN THE DIFFERENT GRADES, DECEMBER, 1909.
Primary,
Grade I.
*129
Grade II .
253
Grade III
258
Grade IV
225
Grammar, Grade V.
263
Grade VI.
254
Grade VII
305
Grade VIII
291
Grade IX
212
High,
Grade X
188
Grade XI .
129
Grade XII
127
Grade XIII
112
Post Graduate
7
Total
2,753
*87 Beginners.
40
CITY OF MELROSE.
Table V. AVERAGE AGE OF PUPILS IN THE DIFFERENT GRADES, SEPTEMBER, 1909.
Primary,"" Grade I.
6 yrs.,
2 mos.
Grade II.
6
10 “
Grade III
7
11
Grade IV
9
66
2 "
Grammar, Grade V
10
66
4 "
Grade VI
11
66
3
Grade VII
12
66
Grade VIII
13
66
1 66
Grade IX
14
66
1
High,
Grade X
15
Grade XI
15
66
11
Grade XII
17
66
2
Grade XIII
18
66
41
SCHOOL REPORT.
Table VI. ANNUAL FINANCIAL EXHIBIT FOR 1909. I. General Statement. Receipts.
Original Appropriation for 12 months , from January 1,
1909, to January 1, 1910 $91,531.08
Supplementary Appropriation 5,140.45
$96,671.53
Expenditures.
Salaries,
$75.529.00
Books and Supplies,
6,540.57
Fuel, .
6,999.39
Repairs
3,291.20
Miscellaneous
2,647.52
Furniture
199.42
Transportation
560.00
Advertising and Printing
500.64
Tuition .
400.00
Total Expenditure for the year $96,667.74
Unexpended Balance 3.79
2. Average Expenditure per Pupil.
(Based on the average membership of the schools for the financial year, 2887.65)
Teaching
$23.09
Supervision (Superintendent, clerk)
1.02
Janitors and Truant Officer
2.04
Books and Supplies
2.26
Fuel .
2.42
Miscellaneous
.92
Transportation
.19
Advertising and Printing
.17
Tuition
.14
Cost per pupil, excluding repairs, furniture, and new buildings
$32.25
Furniture
.07
Repairs .
1.14
Cost per pupil for all purposes $33.46
42
Table VII. CHANGES OF TEACHERS, 1909. I. Withdrawals.
Name
Position Held
Date of Withdrawal
Gertrude B. Stewart .
Grade 3, Whittier School . January
1
Grace M. Carpenter
. Grade 9, Lincoln School . May 1
Etta M. Wilcox . .
Principal, Sewall School . . May
1
Harold C. Spencer
. Business Department, High School. May 17
Edith S. Dermot .
. Principal, Winthrop School . .
June 25
Susie G. Fisher
. Grade 8, D. W. Gooch School.
. June 25
Helena M. Hocking
. Grade 1, Washington School . .
. June 25
Mary E. Deans .
Grade 2, Washington School ..
. October 19
Frank E. Poland .
. Principal, Franklin and Whittier Schools .
. November 19
CITY OF MELROSE.
2. Appointments.
Name
Former Position
Position to which Appointed
Began Work
Louise E. Smith
Grades 1, 2, 3, Needham, Mass. . .
Grade 4, Sewall School .
May 10
Bertha F. Dean . .
Not Teaching . .
Grade 9, Lincoln School
May 10
Robert S. Schoonmaker
Moses Brown School, Providence, R. I Porto Rico . .
Business Department, High School .
May 17
Robert L. Cummings .
Physics and English, High School . .
September 8
Ethel Foster. .
Not Teaching .
Grade 8, D. W. Gooch School .
September 8
Helen E. Long .
High School, Rockland, Mass ....
September 8
Carl D. Lytle . .
Principal, School Street School, Mid- dleboro, Mass.
Book-keeping, Commercial Arithmetic, High School. Principal, Franklin and Whittier Schools.
December 6
SCHOOL REPORT.
43
44
CITY OF MELROSE.
ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES.
At the regular meeting of the School Committee, held April 12, 1909, it was voted that the elementary course of study be changed from nine to eight years, that promotions be made semi-annually in the elementary grades and in the High School, that kindergartens be abolished on the ground of economy, and that children should not be admitted to the first grade below the age of six years, but that they should be ad- mitted twice a year, in September, and the first week in Feb- ruary of each year.
At the regular meeting held November 22, 1909, the follow- ing provisions were made to carry out the first two of these changes.
The present eighth and ninth grades will continue under the old course of study and will graduate from the grammar schools as follows :- the ninth grade in June, 1910; the eighth grade in June, 1911. The present, seventh grade, as a class, will enter the High School in February, 1912. This will be the last class to graduate under the nine year system. The course will be so arranged that the present sixth grade will graduate in June, 1912, and from that date the lower grades will grad- uate from an eight year elementary course.
At the beginning of the year all classes were arranged in two divisions in certain major subjects. This was done to secure greater efficiency of work and economy of time and effort, to accomplish certain reviews that were considered necessary, to obtain more time for study in school under direct supervision of the teachers, and to prepare gradually for semi- annual promotions.
The present grades five, four, three and two have been divided into two divisions in the major subjects and designated as A and B. The A divisions will graduate in February, and the B divisions in June, of their respective years, as follows:
Fifth Grade: A to graduate in February, 1913
Fifth Grade: B to graduate in June, 1913
Fourth Grade: A to graduate in February, 1914
Fourth Grade: B to graduate in June, 1914
45
SCHCOL REPORT.
Third Grade: A to graduate in February, 1915
Third Grade: B to graduate in June, 1915
Second Grade: A to graduate in February, 1916
Second Grade: B to graduate in June, 1916
The present first grade and those following will be divided in respect to the time of entrance, those entering in September of each year being designated as Division A, and those entering in February as Division B. These classes will, as a whole, take the full eight years to complete the work under the new course of study, but individual pupils, who are able, may finish the course in less time.
It was also voted to drop Latin and Algebra from the course of study for the ninth grade.
From the educational standpoint these changes are not only justifiable, but essential, if we are to have a flexible, efficient system. They will bring about a saving of time for a large number of pupils and greater effectiveness in the work of the teachers. Financially, they will eventually make for economy. Later in this report certain specific instances will be pointed out where they should be thus effective.
Office Records.
Your Committee has been impressed with the necessity for more adequate and detailed knowledge of school expendi- tures and educational results, if the money intrusted to their care is to be wisely and economically expended and the best possible value received. To this end, blanks have been ob- tained from some forty cities and several systems have been visited and carefully studied.
As a result, a system of financial accounts and of school statistics has been worked out and will be installed as soon as money is available for that purpose. In accordance with this idea an accurate inventory has been made of all school prop- erty and will be transferred to a card system, so that it will be possible to tell at a glance exactly what the department owns, when purchased, its location and cost. Further, the informa- tion required by the State for the school census has been re --
46
CITY OF MELROSE.
duced to a card system, in which one card lasts during the school age of a pupil, and these cards have been checked with the school registers, so that we are now sure that every child in the city is in school.
Information along several other important lines is being gathered and will soon be in available and permanent form. Thus we shall have definite knowledge as to expenditures and results that will be of interest and value not only to school officials, but to every citizen.
Certain Economic Considerations.
Mr. Leonard P. Ayres, Secretary of "The Backward Children Investigation," Russell Sage Foundation, has re- cently pointed out that, "In every line of business it has been convincingly and repeatedly shown that it pays to spend enough money and enough effort to learn the facts about the business. Why should this not hold, likewise, in the field of education ?"
"If the directors of large corporations have found through experience that it pays to know what happened to a stove or to a shoe in the process of manufacture, who worked on it, how long it took to complete it, and, if it is in any way deficient, at whose door the responsibility lies, is it not much more the duty of those in charge of training citizens, to be able to find out what happened in the course of the education given, when the child entered, how long he spent in each grade, where he pro- gressed slowly and where rapidly, and, if he left the school be- fore completing the course, when and why ?"
One such line of inquiry that has been of special interest is that concerning the advancement of pupils in the grades and their retention in the schools. The facts obtained are so im- portant that it seems best to incorporate them in this report. We believe in publicity for the public schools. The taxpayers and the parents have a right to know what the schools are ac- complishing or failing to accomplish, and why. Furthermore, such knowledge will make for greater public interest and sup- port, and will help the administration to keep in touch with the
47
SCHOOL REPORT.
needs and desires of the community and to guide and develop the system to greater efficiency.
1. Educational Waste. Throughout the country, one of the most serious problems that confront the school authorities is that of the large number of children who have to stay in the same grade longer than the allotted time and are therefore older than the majority of their classmates. They are known variously as "repeaters," "laggards," or "retarded pupils." Their number varies, as shown by Professor Ayres, from 7 per cent. of the pupils in Medford, Massachusetts, to 75 per cent. among the colored children of Memphis, Tennessee. On the average, he finds that 33 per cent. of all the children in the schools are "retarded," although he applies that designation to all children who are above the normal age for the grade they are in, and not merely to "repeaters." For the purpose of this report, however, the term "retarded pupils" is used in reference only to those who have had to repeat the work of some grade or grades during their course.
The above facts are given in order to make it plain that conditions in our schools as shown by the figures that follow, are not merely local in their application or significance, nor are they due to any lack of good management or proper direc- tion in the past, in comparison with other systems, but rather to a lack of knowledge of actual facts on the part of the com- munity and a consequent lack of appreciation and cooperation.
Our schools, in respect to this matter of retardation, are no worse than those of most other cities,-in fact, they are just about the average,-but we do not stand among the best. Conditions are sufficiently serious, therefore, to warrant the fullest publicity in this report, to the end that the citizens, who support the schools financially, should also assume the further responsibility, which should be theirs, of intelligent interest, of intimate acquaintance, and of hearty cooperation with the school authorities in the serious questions that con- front them.
To those in charge of the schools, this problem presents two aspects,-the educational and the financial. The former will be treated briefly at this time. The effect upon the work
48
CITY OF MELROSE.
of the teacher and upon the class as a whole of the over age pupil; the reactionary effect of failure upon the child himself; the more perfect adaptation of the system and the course of study to the needs and abilities of the child; how to secure more effective teaching, and how to arouse more enthusiasm on the part of the children ;- these are questions which require the most careful study and serious consideration of the school authorities. We have reason to hope that the solutions of some of them are being slowly worked out. This report, how- ever, aims particularly to show what this large percentage of retardation means to the city in a financial way. Before doing so, it should be stated that it has not been the policy in the past, nor will it be in the future, to keep children back, but rather to promote every pupil who appears to have any chance for success in the grade above.
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