USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1933 > Part 22
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On September 11, 1933, the net enrollment in grades 7 to 12 in- clusive was 6,770 or an increase in the secondary schools during the last six years of more than 61%.
7B 7A 8B 8A 9B 9A 10B 10A 11B 11A 12B 12A Total
1927 537 406 540 345 553 296 429 267 274 168 245 133
4,193
1933 1,222 1,212 1,276 1,224 940 896 6,770
There are several reasons for this tremendous increase in the upper level of our schools. I should place the junior high school first. It is the exploratory period in the school life of the child. There is also a transition from the compulsory to the elective studies within the junior high school unit. Then, too, the people are more determined that their children shall stay in school until they finish the high school. The recent economic conditions have played a very important part in this enrollment.
This, indeed, has given us a very complex problem because of the change in the types of pupils who are entering the high school, a problem that must be faced not only by the educators but by the community. It has also caused in Quincy a problem in the nous- ing of these pupils. For several years we have been overcrowded at the Quincy Senior High school and the crowded condition at the North Quincy High school has become acute. The combined en- rollment in the North Quincy High school of the junior and senior units is approximately 2,300 pupils, 2,000 of whom are housed in the North Quincy High building which was built for 1,500 pupils. Types of pupils of varying abilities, new offerings essential to meet the present demands, overcrowded conditions, heavier teachers' loads, have taxed the patience and the strength of the teaching per- sonnel. The spirit with which the teachers have faced these diffi- culties and increasing demands deserves the highest commendation.
The North Quincy High School-The North Quincy High school is the first six year high school in the city of Quincy and one of the few in this section. The class of June, 1934, will be the first class to graduate from this school. The six year high school is an economi- cal and efficient type. It is a particularly convenient type in mov- ing from the ninth to the tenth year.
College Entrance Record-A study was made of the records of the college candidates in the Quincy Senior High school last June.
There were 20 who took the College Entrance Board examina- tions. Of the 85 examinations taken by them, over 82% were passed.
For a rating of 80-90%, honors are given; for a rating of 90-100%, high honors. The following table gives the record of Quincy candidates in comparison with that of the 16,004 candi- dates from all over the country:
Per cent of 80-90 "Honors"
Examinations Rated 90-100 "High Honors"
Total Per cent of Examinations Given Honor Ratings
All candidates Quincy
16.1 20.0
5.4 22.3
21.5 42.3
This is an excellent showing.
In addition to those who took College Entrance Board examina-
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CITY OF QUINCY
tions, 40 pupils were certified for college entrance-19 for state teachers' colleges, 21 for other colleges.
A Program of Pupil Adjustment-A program of Pupil Adjust- ment has been established in the junior and senior high schools. The courses of study have been revised and enriched better to pro- vide for the various groups of pupils with their varying interests, abilities and purposes, and better to meet the demands of the present day. Pupils have been scientifically placed within the school program so that they can work to the best possible ad- vantage. A system of counseling has been set up to provide in- dividual attention for every pupil. Teachers especially qualified to act as counselors assume responsibility for the pupils over a three-year period, helping them to adjust to the school, guiding them in their choices, and checking on their progress. The most recent development has been an attempt to provide more ade- quately for the health of the pupils. The work in Pupil Adjust- ment has been an outgrowth of the work of the dean of girls in the Senior High school. It is under the direction of Miss Harrison.
The several phases of the work are discussed below:
The Enrichment of Offerings-As the result of careful study, the junior and senior high school courses of study have been revised and the offerings enriched.
A new Home Economics curriculum was put into the senior high schools last year. (By curriculum is meant a course of study com- parable to the college preparatory or the commercial.) The prog- ress of this work has been outstanding. Whereas in 1931-32 there were 11 girls specializing in this department, at the present time there are 275. This is in addition to those who are enrolled in elective courses in Home Economics of whom 125 are taking Foods, 184 Clothing, 80 Art in Dress, 109 Home Management.
The Home Economics work in the ninth grade is new this year. In addition to English, Science, and Civics, the curriculum includes a survey course in Home Economics dealing with such problems as My House, My Family, My Money, Child Study, Home Hygiene, and First Aid, following the State Department outline. A cor- related course in Practical Mathematics has been worked out by a committee of teachers. For girls who leave school early such a program offers much that is related to practical living. For girls who plan to continue, it leads into the Home Economics work at the senior high school level.
In the field of Art considerable has also been done. New courses have been prepared in connection with the Home Economics work-a 9th grade course in Art in the Home, a 10th grade course in Art in Dress. Advanced courses in History of Costume and Home Decoration are to be offered next year. In addition, a course in Appreciation of Art is being offered to boys and girls in the senior high schools. Miss Adams, the Art Supervisor, is now super- vising the Art work through the 12th grade. She has devoted a great deal of extra time to the preparation of this new work.
With the growing recognition of training for citizenship as the primary objective of the public school, there must be more and more emphasis upon social science.
A course in Problems of Vocational Adjustment has been put into the 11th year as an elective for boys and girls. The course was prepared by Miss Wakeman and Mr. Price. It includes sub- ject matter in the fields of economics and sociology as well as vo- cational information. As far as we know the course is unique. It has already attracted the favorable attention of the State De- partment of Education.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Work in Civics has been put into grades 7 and 8, combined with subject matter of significance for guidance purposes. This new course, which was prepared by the junior high school counselors, forms the basis for group counseling. (To be discussed later.) The course starts with the pupil himself and his new school, his privileges and responsibilities as a citizen of that school, and the larger communities of which he is a part. He learns of the educa- tional opportunities that are ahead of him and the vocational fields into which they lead. He brings his own school problems into the classroom where they are discussed.
All of these new courses have been outlined as part of the program of Pupil Adjustment. They represent a very careful at- tempt to provide more adequately for the various groups of pupils and to meet the demands of the present day. They have been planned with certain objectives very definitely in mind: worthy home membership, worthy use of leisure, economic intelligence, training for citizenship. The school program must keep pace with social and economic changes.
In connection with the enrichment of offerings, the following point should be made: New courses do not mean increased cost. In fact, sufficiently varied offerings represent a saving in that pupils succeed in work which is suitable for them and in which they are interested. Restricting all pupils in the total number of points which they are allowed to carry, as we have done in the senior high schools this year, means that a limited number of subjects are taken as "extras."
The Scientific Placement of Pupils-A second phase of the Ad- justment work has been the scientific placement of pupils within the school program and the adaptation of instruction to meet their varying needs.
Last spring information was obtained relative to the 825 pupils who were to enter the Senior High school in the fall: their previ- ous school record, intelligence quotient, the results of standard tests, their choice of subjects, and whatever additional data were available through principals and teachers. On the basis of this information, pupils were classified and grouped according to their habits of work. This was done by Mrs. Frye. As a result, there are in the Senior High school 21 distinct groups of pupils to whom the work in all subjects is definitely adapted. Heads of departments have been given the responsibility of adapting the instruction in content and methods of presentation.
The placing of pupils within the school program so that they can work to the best possible advantage is a means of efficiency.
The progress of these pupils has been carefully followed. The records for the first term show a decrease in failure to the extent of 16 per cent in comparison with last year's grade 10 pupils in the Senior High school. A 16 per cent decrease in failure repre- sents not only an increase in educational efficiency but a substan- tial saving in dollars and cents.
The problem of failure needs further study. It is a big prob- lem and involves many considerations. At the present time the question of marks and report cards is being studied by principals and teachers.
An intensive study of the senior high school pupils who were failing last spring revealed the fact that a large proportion were carrying unreasonably heavy loads. This led to a study of all pupil loads and a ruling whereby senior high school pupils are limited in the total number of points which they are allowed to carry-a maximum of 22 in grade 10 and 24 in grades 11 and
328
CITY OF QUINCY
12. (A total of 60 is required for graduation.) As a result, pupils are made to feel that taking courses is a privilege, that if they wish to succeed they must choose their subjects more care- fully and take their work seriously.
The decrease in the average pupil load has been as follows:
Senior High
North Quincy High 3.60
Grade 10. Grade 11.
1.33
1.34
2.03
The total decrease in these two grades alone is 4,015.20 points, which is the equivalent of the work of 5 and 1/3 teachers. This means a saving in salary of over ten thousand dollars.
In an attempt to get at some of the underlying causes of failure a series of standard tests in reading, spelling and arithmetic rea- soning were given throughout the city last November in grades 3, 6 and 9. The results show surprising variation in achievement on the part of pupils in the same grade and reveal the need for an intensive study of the situation to determine remedial and pre- ventive measures. It will necessitate sending someone into each of the schools to work with the pupils individually and in groups. This work of diagnosing academic difficulties and coaching pupils can best be done by Mrs. Frye.
The Counseling Work-As a further means of effecting satisfac- tory Pupil Adjustment we have set up a system of counseling.
Instead of one person in one school attempting to give attention to the girls of that school we now have a group of persons serving as counselors for all of the pupils in all of the junior and senior high schools under the direction of Miss Harrison. Teachers were selected for this work on the basis of personality and interest. They are receiving their training "on the job" through a series of conferences and general meetings.
Each counselor has a certain group of pupils for whom he or she assumes responsibility over a three-year period. The junior high school counselors meet their pupils in groups twice a week. Attention has already been called to the combining of the work in civics and group counseling.
In addition, all counselors assume responsibility for their pupils as individuals, helping them to adjust to the school, guiding them in their choice of subjects, making adjustments in their programs when necessary, and checking on their progress. A pupil in a junior and senior high school may have in the course of his three years in the school, from 20 to 25 different teachers. Each one is concerned with him in some particular respect at a particular time. The counselor is concerned with the pupil as a whole and his de- velopment over a period of time. The counselor thus supplies the one constant factor in tha three-year program of the child.
In this way we have provided individual attention for every pupil, and a comprehensive guidance program has been gotten un- derway at no additional expense. It has been entirely a matter of organization.
The counselor serves as a clearing house for information. Facts which in themselves seem inconsequential may, when brought to- gether, become significant. Cases presenting difficulties are re- ferred to the School Department for investigation. Those requiring home visits are assigned to Miss Perry and Mr. Clark who have been devoting part time to this work. Their contacts and experience make them invaluable in this field. The interpreting of the school to the home, and the home to the school, is one of the most vital and far-reaching phases of the work.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Extension of the Health Work-The matter of providing more adequately for the health of pupils has demanded attention.
In the spring of 1932 Mrs. Baker was put into the Senior High school as a health instructor to work with the dean of girls. Her work has been very effective. It has included the handling of emergency room cases, the dismissal of pupils in cases of illness, the supervision of the girls' rooms, co-operation with the physical education department, the follow-up of eye and ear examinations, group instruction in hygiene, the administration of welfare work among pupils, and the investigation of all cases presenting health problems.
The health work has become a necessary adjunct to the counsel- ing program. Similar provision should be made at once for health work at North Quincy. The work done in the Senior High school has also shown the need for a more constructive health program throughout the system.
In November a committee of junior and senior high school counselors took upon themselves the consideration of the possibili- ties of furthering the health work as part of the program of Pupil Adjustment. They submitted a report to the Superintendent which shows a careful study of the situation. It makes 41 specific recom- mendations under the following heads:
Can Anything Be Done to Make the School Enviroment- ment or the School Activities More Healthful ?
What Health Instruction Should Be Given Pupils in Groups ?
What Can Be Done to Make Counselors More Alert to the Existence and Significance of Health Factors and to Insure Adequate Individual Attention for Individual Physical Needs ?
What Can Be Done to Make the Entire School System More "Health Conscious"?
What Can Be Done to Contribute Further to the Physi- cal Welfare of the Pupils ?
The recommendations are practical and suggestive and should receive consideration as soon as possible.
The junior high school course in General Science is being revised by a committee of teachers to include group instruction in health in grades 7 through 9. A course of study in Health Education re- cently prepared by the State Department is available for use in the elementary grades.
Two health projects of a welfare nature which were initiated by the above mentioned committee are already underway:
1. The Home Economics departments in the junior and senior high schools are preparing a series of menus for family use of high food value at low cost. These are available to the pupils to be taken into the homes. The material distributed includes menus with food order and recipes for preparing the less familiar dishes.
2. Information has been obtained in regard to the Child Feeding Program of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Through local welfare departments, funds are available for the feeding in school of undernourished children whose families are on the welfare. This means that we can furnish hot lunches to those pupils in the junior and senior high schools and can provide milk during the morning session in the elementary grades.
330
CITY OF QUINCY
Information has been secured in regard to all undernourished children throughout the system. In the judgment of the school nurses and principals, there are the following number of cases needing attention:
In the Junior and Senior Schools
In the Elementary Schools
Totals
Children Whose Families Are on Welfare 31
71
102
Children Whose Families Are Not on Welfare 46
289
335
Totals
77*
360
437
* (All cases of need in the junior and senior high schools are already be- ing taken care of.)
It seems advisable to give this matter immediate attention.
Considerable welfare work has been done among the boys and girls in the schools. The chief source of help for dental and medi- cal attention, glasses, etc., has been a relief fund established in the. fall of 1931 by the Quincy Teachers' Association. At the present time a total of $2,388.91 has been spent. The cases of all needy pupils are carefully investigated by the school nurses and home visitors.
The work in Pupil Adjustment which has been organized during the past year and which is outlined above represents outstanding progress. A department of this kind is essential if we are to avoid waste in education.
In addition to the regular work, the supervisors report the fol- lowing accomplishments during the year:
Miss Howes, the Supervisor of Music, reports the discontinuance of the Music Memory Contests and the introduction of a true Music Appreciation course in the elementary and junior high schools. Every grade in every building has been provided with the Victor records necessary for developing the course. Through proceeds derived from concerts the Music Department was able to finance the plan.
Instrumental class work has increased this year, the enrollment totalling nearly four hundred children. The instrumental instruc- tors are particularly well equipped and adapted for the work, thereby creating a favorable reputation for class work in school. Also, the lesson fee of only twenty-five cents is a strong factor. This work finances itself and is of no expense to the city. Classes are offered for all orchestral and band instruments and for piano. Orchestras are available to pupils of all schools-elementary, junior and senior high. Both senior high schools have a school orchestra and band and also a training orchestra. These senior organizations were awarded first prizes at the New England Band and Orchestra Contest in May.
Miss Dellicker, the Grammar Supervisor, reports the comple- tion of three units of work prepared by a committee of teachers -one in Reading on Good Citizenship, one in History on the Story of Records, one in Geography on the Teaching of China.
Under the direction of Miss Adams, the Art Supervisor, an ex- hibit of the drawing work in grades 1 through 12 was prepared and displayed for the Quincy Art League. The course in Art Ap- preciation, which was started last year in grades 1-6, has been ex-
331
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
tended through grades 7, 8 and 9 in the junior high schools. The other new courses offered by the Art department have already been discussed.
Dr. Drew, the School Physician, gives the following report of the follow-up clinic of the State Department of Health held in February:
Number of children recommended for re-examination. 95
Number of children re-examined 87
Number of children improved 82
Number of children unimproved 5
Number of children X-rayed
89
Number of children tested 82
Number of reactors 69
Number of non-reactors 13
Number of children recommended for sanatorium treatment 1
Number of children recommended for summer camp 10
Number of children discharged from the clinic . 4
Number of children referred to Dispensary Clinic 5
Number of children referred to Out-Patient Department, M. G. H.
1
With the assistance of Dr. Frederick Costanza, the pupils of the ninth grades were examined last spring.
During the fall months the children of the first grades were ex- amined.
Due to the limited budget, the campaign for the prevention of diphtheria was omitted in the spring-also the physical examina- tions of pupils in the seventh grades.
According to the report of Mr. Whiting, Supervisor of Physical Education, nearly five hundred pupils in the Senior High School, selected by various tests in May, 1932, attended special classes in physical education four times weekly. The primary purpose of these classes was to improve physical vitality, correct defects and develop pupil morale. Retests in January, 1933, revealed that the 500 pupils actually improved an average of over 20 per cent; some as much as 50 per cent.
Following the same testing procedure as in 1932, tests were given and the organization of physical education classes for Sep- tember, 1933, was based upon results of those tests.
With the opening of the 12th grade this year at North Quincy Senior High, inter-school athletics began. These games will tend to develop a greater school and civic spirit.
Lists of suitable teaching aids available for grades 2, 3 and 6 have been distributed to the teachers of those grades. Mr. Krasker, the Director of Visual Education, calls attention to the fact that education goes on more than five hours a day, that in order to counteract the present undesirable influences of the com- mercial moving pictures the schools must assume some responsi- bility for the educating of children to a better appreciation of films.
Annual reports were received from the principals of the Senior High School and the North Quincy High School.
In referring to the work in Pupil Adjustment, Mr. Ernest L. Collins, Principal of the Senior High School, says: "We have used every means-class teachers, counsellors, visiting teachers and contacts with the junior high schools, to adjust the pupils of the entering class to the school and the result has been very gratify- ing. On the whole, there has been an improvement in scholarship and many possible failures have been avoided."
332
CITY OF QUINCY
At the graduation exercises in June the following awards were made:
Washington and Franklin Medal for Excellence in American History to William A. Coates.
Wollaston Woman's Club scholarships to Elizabeth E. Smith and Gladys W. Leonard.
Quincy Women's Club scholarships to Joan E. Rigby and Alli M. Puro.
L'Eco Club Scholarship to Anna M. Palmisano.
Jewish Scholarship Club of Quincy scholarship to Isadore Schwartz.
Quincy Business and Professional Women's Club scholarship to Linnea M. Allgorin.
Squantum Women's Club prizes to John R. Young and Isabel M. Allen.
The Quincy Women's Club prizes for the boy and girl who, in the opinion of the faculty and their class, had contributed most to the school, to Vincent J. Barry and Anna V. Danielson.
Mr. James S. Collins, Principal of the North Quincy High School, reports on the reduction of failures as follows: "The number of failures has been reduced to a gratifying degree. We feel that money has been saved by this reduction. We feel that discourage- ment, which often leads to undesirable attitudes, has often been eliminated, and that courage and enthusiastic effort have taken its place."
The first scholarship to be awarded is that of $50.00 from the Atlantic Women's Club-to be given to the most outstanding boy or girl in the northern part of our city.
The Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Albert H. Cochrane, has re- ported for the State-aided schools and special classes.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES N. MUIR, Superintendent of Schools.
333
REPORT OF SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
The Day Trade School
The depression from which the country is slowly recovering caused some people to attack vocational education. It is not, then, out of order to restate some facts in regard to Vocational Educa- tion.
Vocational schools in Massachusetts came into being as a result of a Commission appointed by Governor W. L. Douglas in 1905, consisting of nine members chosen from leaders in labor, finance, law, agriculture, business, social service, economics and education. The Commission made such a convincing report that the Legisla- ture of 1906 authorized Governor Guild to appoint a "Commission on Industrial Education" for a three-year term. This Commis- sion was empowered, among other things, to initiate and estab- lish schools "with the cooperation and consent of local authorities."
The "Commission on Industrial Education," which in its three years' regime established sixteen evening and four day schools for industrial education, was not composed of professional educators. The members were A. Lincoln Filene of Boston, a merchant; Charles H. Winslow of Fitchburg, vice-president of the Massachu- setts State Federation of Labor; Carlton D. Richardson of North Brookfield, a member of the State Board of Agriculture; Mrs. Mary Kehew, president of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union (Mrs. Kehew soon resigned because of ill health and Milton P. Higgins, president of the Norton Company of Worcester and other manufacturing enterprises, was appointed her successor). Later Miss Emily G. Balch, Professor of Economics and Sociology at Wellesley College, was added to the group. The Commission was headed by Dr. Paul H. Hanus, Professor of Education at Har- vard University.
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