USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1876 > Part 6
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700
1860
Rebecca F. Woodberry
650
1863
Mary L. Sanderson
475
1875
Louise A. Brine
375
1876
Webster
Ada L. Sanborn
700
1869
Annie L. Savage
575
1874
Morse
William B. Allen .
1,800
1869
Nellie P. Nichols
650
1871
Pauline S. Downes
650
1872
Helen W. Chapin.
650
1873
Anna E. Sawyer
650
1873
Beech Street
Mary A. Haley .
650
1868
Marion Damon .
650
1875
Spring Hill
Louisa M. Wilde
650
1873
Jane E. Clark
700
1873
Lizzie C. Howe
650
1868
Emeline C. Ruggles
650
1876
Hattie A. Hills . ..
575
1874
Harvard.
Annie E. Robinson.
475
1876
Lincoln .
Edward E. Bradbury
1,800
1876
Jennie Colburn
650
1875
Georgiana Cutter
650
1873
Margaret D. Barter
475
1875
Carrie L. Lacount
650
1875
Holland Street.
P. Jenette Teele
650
1870
Cedar Street.
Alice Simpson .
650
1872
Lizzie J. Conwell.
650
1873
Teacher of Music
S. H O. Hadley
1,050
1868
Union
Isabella M. Prince
375
1876
Annie W. Chickering
650
1874
Jackson
Nora O'Leary
650
1873
Franklin
8
114
PUPILS.
The whole number of persons in the city between five and fifteen years of age, on the first day of May last, as ascertained by the Truant Officer, was 4,028 .
Ward One
1,340
Ward Two
1,400
Ward Three
633
Ward Four 655
Increase for the year 343
Whole number of pupils in all the schools in May
last
.
4,021
Number over fifteen years of age . 305
Whole number of pupils in all the schools in De- cember 3,974 .
Boys
1,994
Girls
1,980
Number over fifteen years of age . 306
Number of pupils in the High School
221
Boys
93
Girls
128
Number of pupils in the grammar schools 1,945
Boys
957
Girls
988
Number of pupils in the primary schools 1,808
Boys
944
Girls
864
The High School contained 5 562 per cent of all the pupils. The grammar schools contained 48.943 per cent of all the pupils. The primary schools contained 45.495 per cent of all the pupils.
115
Number of pupils in all the schools in December, 1872,
3,148
66
1873,
3,381
66
66
66
1874,
3,626
66
1875,
3,708
66
66
1876,
3,974
Whole number of pupils registered in all the schools
during the year 1876 .
4,960
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PUPILS IN EACH OF THE THIRTEEN CLASSES IN DECEMBER; THE AVERAGE AGE OF PUPILS IN EACH CLASS, THE PER CENT THAT THE NUMBER IN EACH CLASS IS OF THE WHOLE NUMBER, AND THE NUMBER OF CLASSES IN EACH GRADE.
SCHOOL.
Class.
Boys.
Girls.
Total.
Average Age.
Per Cent.
No. of Classes in each Grade.
High
First ..
15
23
38
18 yrs. 0 mos.
.956
1
Second
15
25
40
17
2
66
1.007
1
Third ..
26
32
58
16
4 .4
1.459
1
Fourth
37
48
85
15
9
2.139
1
Grammar ..
First ..
55
71
126
14
10
3.171
4
Second
71
101
172
14
0
66
4.328
4
Third ..
129
137
266
13
4
6
6.693
Fourth
210
201
411
12
4
10.342
10
Fifth . .
229
208
437
11
66
3
10.997
10
Sixth.
263
270
533
10
66
3
13.412
12
Primary. .
First ..
244
226
470
8
5
11.827
8
Second
264
252
516
7
7
12.985
8
Third ..
436
386
822
6
3
20.684
17
Total ....
..
1994
1980
3974
100.000
84
116
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
Average
whole number.
Average
attendance.
Per cent
of attendance.
Number
Number
of dismissals.
Forster
Martha H. Pennock
. .
44.1
41.2
93.3
65
49
66
Ella F. Lears
44.5
40.7
91.3
110
18
66
Mary E. Wiggin .
49.5
42.6
86.0
234
60
Prescott.
Georgette P. Hall
54.2
51.6
95.2
28
35
66
Fannie R. Morse
55.7
51.9
93.2
33
18
66
Mary A. Rice
61.0
55.3
90.6
38
22
Edgerly
Anna L. Prescott.
52.7
48.6
92.2
56
22
66
Clara M. Bagley
59.0
53.8
91.2
52
3
Tufts Street
Hannah V. Hathaway ..
42.2
39.8
94.2
55
24
Luther V. Bell ..
Lizzie Appleton
52 5
50.8
96.7
55
33
Belle H. Grieves
61.1
55.4
90.6
61
13
*
Charlotte I. Houghton.
51.0
45.5
89.2
30
19
Brastow
Annie W. Chickering ..
55 3
52.7
95.3
53
36
Bennett
Adeline Sanderson ....
46.6
43.0
92.2
83
22
66
Mary B. Currier
51.0
46.5
91.2
42
31
66
Emma F. Schuh
50 6
46.7
92.2
47
11
Jackson
Rebecca F. Woodberry
45.4
43.4
95.6
100
63
60
Mary L. Sanderson
50.2
47.7
95.0
92
10
60
Louise A. Brine
50.0
46.7
93.4
81
18
Webster.
Annie L. Savage
53.5
51.0
95.3
59
32
Union .
Isabella M. Prince
52.1
46.3
88.8
179
18
Beech Street
Marion Damon.
52.5
47.9
91.2
124
192
Spring Hill
Louisa M. Wilde ..
55.0
48.9
88.9
182
48
Franklin
Emeline C. Ruggles
51.9
47.9
92.1
68
18
Harvard
Annie E. Robinson.
51.4
46.3
90.1
41
12
Lincoln
Carrie L. Lacount
56.4
51.4
91.1
45
34
Holland Street ..
P. Jenette Teele
31.8
28.9
90.9
82
26
Cedar Street
Alice Simpson
42.2
37.1
87.9
85
38
Total
1675.7
1537.4
91.7
2607
1044
.
Ida A. Howe
49.0
45.6
93.1
60
29
.
Lillian F. Howe
54.9
49.1
89.4
72
43
1
Ada Cowles
51.5
44.0
85.4
99
7
Prospect Hill
Nora O'Leary
52.2
49.5
94.8
113
20
Hattie A. Hills ..
44.7
39.6
88.6
83
20
. .
* Organized in May.
of tardinesses.
117
Number of primary schools .
· 33
Average whole number of pupils for the year .
1,675.7
Average attendance
66
1,537.4
Per cent of attendance
66
91.7
Number of tardinesses 66
2,607
Number of dismissals
66
1,044
Average number of pupils to a teacher
51
Number of pupils in the primary schools in December . 1,808
Great importance is attached to the schools in this department. They contain forty-five per cent of all the pupils in our schools. The work performed in them is preparatory, - foundation work, - which, in consequence of its effect upon all that follows, is ever regarded as most important work. The children composing them are ingenuous, confiding, impressible, and easily moulded to the will of those in whom they have confidence, and consequently require skilful treatment. The quality of teaching in these element- ary schools should be of the highest order. The impulse and direc- tion that pupils receive during their connection with them will be manifest throughout their entire subsequent course.
Especially should teachers of primary schools be in full sympathy with their pupils. Sympathy, more than any other thing, is the special need of childhood. Children should ever feel that they have in their teacher a sympathizing friend whom they can approach with confidence at all times. The following general observation is per- tinent : "Whenever we find ourselves losing sympathy with youthful hearts and pursuits, we may be sure that something is wrong with us, for it is not in the nature of the soul to grow old. It may grow in height and depth and breadth and power ; but the passage of years can bring it no decay." Teachers should witness with apprehension the first symptom of decline in their sympathy with their pupils, for it is an evidence that they are losing what must ever be regarded as an essential, fundamental element of success in their vocation.
As we advance in life and feel the pressure of its cares, we are sometimes inclined to inquire, " What is the cause that the former days were better than these?" and are disposed to regard
118
childhood as the happiest period of life. But such impressions are delusions which the remembrance of our own childhood soon dissipates. The susceptibilities of children are easily moved. They are capable of exquisite pleasure and of acute sorrow also. Goldsmith says, " The sports of childhood satisfy the child." But their sorrows often overwhelm them too. It has been said, " The sorrows of childhood are not sorrows of that complicated and perplexing nature which sit heavily on the heart in after years ; but in relation to the little hearts that have to bear them, they are overwhelming for the time." Boyd says, "Let me say to every one who has it in his power directly or indirectly to do so, do what you can to make children happy! Seek to give that great enduring blessing, a happy youth ! Whatever after-life may prove, let there be something bright to look back upon in the horizon of their early time."
One teacher in this department reports no case of corporal pun - ishment during the year ; one reports two cases ; and another, who has had one of the largest schools of this grade, reports three . cases only. Several teachers report small numbers ; but in some of the schools we could wish that the numbers had been smaller. The impression is very general that, under proper management, corporal punishment is rarely a necessity. Before the infliction of punishment, it is always wise to deliberate. Deliberation, if it does not suggest a better way, will tend to moderate the severity and add to the effectiveness of the punishment; for it is not so much the weight of the blow that affects the recipient of it, as the manifest spirit and motive of the one who inflicts it. Children have a keen appreciation of justice, and their intuitions are rarely at fault.
119
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
SCHOOLS.
TEACHERS.
A verage
whole number.
Average
attendance.
Per cent
of attendance.
f tardinesses.
Number
of dismissals.
Forster
George R. Bradford ...
47 7
46 3
97.0
62
54
Anna M. Snow ..
36.3
34 5
95.0
37
37
Frances M. Guptill.
46.9
43 9
93 5
73
24
Edith C Long
34.6
32.2
92.9
55
49
Helen E. Magoun . ..
39.5
37.2
94 0
35
26
Prescott
Gordon A Southworth
47.4
46 5
98 0
9
7
V. Eunice Hapgood
. .
48.5
46.9
96.7
10
29
Harriet N. Sands
29.5
28.1
95.4
4
14
Kate A Duncan
32.7
31.2
95 3
9
27
Frances L. Child ..
36 1
34.6
95.9
11
27
M. Ellen Eddy .
37 9
35.7
94.1
11
56
Nancy W. Proctor
44.5
42 7
95.9
8
28
Catharine T. Brown
36.4
34.7
95 3
23
24
Clara Taylor.
46.7
44 8
95.8
13
33
Edgerly
Augusta M. Cowles
41.8
40 1
95 9
46
36
Amelia I. Sears
45.8
42 8
93 5
49
49
L. V. Bell
Simeon C. Higgins
40.9
39.8
97.3
8
4 ,
Clara A. Battles
33 6
32.6
97.0
14
21
Lydia L. Gordon.
43.3
40.7
93.9
21
63
Ellen M. Gooding
35.5
33.8
95.3
18
20
Caroline S. Plimpton .
43.0
41.8
97.2
24
34
Abbie C. Hunt
42.4
39 7
94 2
32
36
Fannie A. Wilder
43.9
40.4
92.0
25
25
Lydia J. Page
55.2
52.2
94.5
18
50
Prospect Hill
..
Augusta A. Roberts
42.3
40.7
96 3
77
49
Hattie M. Sears
43.8
40.1
91.6
89
51
Ellen Ledyard
45.5
42.5
93.3
71
24
Maria Miller
41.8
38.9
93.0
70
57
Brastow
Sarah E. Pennock
40.3
38.5
95 6
81
72
Bennett
Helen Tincker
38.8
36.7
94.5
102
45
Jackson
Lizzie W. Shelton
38.8
36.7
94.6
84
43
Webster
Ada L. Sanborn
36.1
34.4
95.3
44
25
Morse .
Wm. B. Allen.
24.0
22.7
94.7
49
44
Nellie P. Nichols . .
39.7
38.1
95 9
60
46
Pauline S. Downes .
46 3
45 5
98.3
14
9
Helen W. Chapin .
41.3
37.3
90 4
125
73
Anna E. Sawyer
39.0
36.8
94.2
86
61
Beech Street . ,
Mary A. Haley .
45.4
43 2
95.3
92
81
Franklin
Jane E Clark
39.5
36 6
92.6
65
129
Lizzie C. Howe
34 5
32.5
94 2
63
53
Lincoln
Edward E Bradbury ..
36.6
33.5
91.7
103
67
Jennie Colburn . ..
45.4
41.3
90.8
62
59
Georgiana Cutter
44.7
42 5
95 0
74
74
*
Margaret D. Barter.
44.9
42.4
96.4
44
35
Cedar Street.
Lizzie J. Conwell
31.1
29.2
94.0
29
9
Total .
1829.9
1733.3
94.7
2099
1879
* Organized in September.
Number
120
Number of grammar schools .
45
Average whole number of pupils for the year .
1,829.9
Average attendance 66
1,733.3
Per cent of attendance 66 66
94.7
Number of tardinesses 66
2,099
Number of dismissals 66 66
1,879
Average number of pupils in each school
41
Number of pupils in the grammar schools in December . 1,945
In the grammar schools, during this year, there have been 408 less tardinesses, 303 less dismissals, and 79 less punishments than during the preceding year. In one school there were only four tardinesses, and in another, only four dismissals, during the entire year.
At the close of the school year in July, one hundred and twenty- three pupils of the grammar schools received Certificates of Grad- uation.
At the Prescott School . 39
66 Luther V. Bell School . 29
66 Forster School
24
Morse 66
.
23
66 Lincoln 66 8
Of the graduates, 114 made application for admission to the High School; 101 passed a satisfactory examination; and 82 entered the school in September.
About two thirds of the graduates of the grammar schools enter the High School.
121
The following table shows the result of the monthly examinations, and of the examination for admission to the High School, of pupils from the several grammar schools who passed a satisfactory exam- ination in July last.
No.
SCHOOL.
Average Age.
Monthly Examina· tions.
High School Examina- tions.
Average.
Arithmetic and Grammar.
39
Prescott
15 yrs. 2 mos.
80.27
83.29
81.78
80.74
29
L. V. Bell ..
15 " 3 "
74.54
78.29
76.41
75.81
24
Forster
15 4
5 66
76.59
75.93
76.26
70.80
23
Morse
14 “ 7 “
81.89
77.15
79.52
74.83
8
Lincoln
15 “
2 “
82.51
77.14
79.82
75.00
123
Average
15 “ 2 4
78.82
79.50
79.16
76.45
HIGH SCHOOL.
Whole number of pupils during the year .
301
Largest number at one time
226
Number admitted during the year
91
Number graduated .
34
Whole number at the present time
221
Number at the present time over 15 years of age
173
Number in course preparatory to college .
54
In the first class £
9
66 second class
14
66 third 66
22
66 fourth 66
9
Number pursuing the regular course .
112
66
" English
55
Average whole number for the year
206
Average attendance
66
201.7
Per cent of attendance
.
97.9
Number of tardinesses
.
115
122
Number of dismissals for the year
282
Number of the first class on entering the school 83
Present number
38
Number of the second class on entering the school
72
Present number
40
Number of the third class on entering the school 81
Present number
58
Number of the fourth class on entering the school 86
Present number
85
GRADUATED JULY 3.
Lillian Eliza Bagley.
Ella Jane Davis.
Mary Jane Delano.
Emma Alice Steele.
Hattie Eleanor Dodge.
Cora Leishman Tyler.
Nellie Frances Furber.
Florence Estelle Jerauld.
Thomas Moulton Durell. Joseph Winn Fiske. John Walter Kelley.
Sarah Emily Keyes.
Joseph E. B. Lovering.
Ella Bennett Kilburn.
Albert Freeman Mason.
Susie Elizabeth Moore.
Alice May Porter.
Frank Hayward Richardson. William Edward Robinson. Paul Junkins Smith.
Emma Frances Porter.
Alice Amanda Proctor.
Stephen Marvin Sullivan.
Emma Thompson Russell.
Samuel Briggs Willis.
OF THE COURSE PREPARATORY TO COLLEGE.
* Henry Cutler Baldwin. * William Henry Hills.
William Goss Crocker. ¡ Laura Adams Elliott.
* Arthur Cyrus Hill. + Mary Katharine Pike.
We have graduated 30 per cent of all pupils who entered the school from 1858 to 1864, inclusive ; 42.05 per cent of all who entered from 1865 to 1870, inclusive ; and 48.09 per cent of all who entered in 1871 and 1872. Average for fourteen years, 41 per cent.
Fifteen per cent of all the graduates entered college.
Entered Harvard College. + Entered Boston University.
Catherine Marie Shannon. Carrie Maria Sibley.
Carrie Damon Johnson.
123
The following named pupils, graduates of the grammar schools. passed a satisfactory examination for admission to the High School.
FROM PRESCOTT SCHOOL.
Chas. F. Aiken.
Ellen Hanson.
John Durant.
Bertha P. Joslyn.
Frank E. Furber.
Nellie Kauler.
Owen E. Golden.
Ella Knight.
Fred. A. Rumney.
Abbie S. Laighton.
Walter H. Milliken.
Adeline E. Lovering.
Louis H. Mudgett.
Josie D. Melvin.
Harry Porter.
Carrie F. Meserve. Gratia M. Moore.
Arthur W. Sanborn.
Harland H. Totman.
Emily S. Overlock.
Wm. S. Woodcock.
Annie F. Page.
Iliram G. Hammett.
Annie S. Preston.
Jennie Appleton.
Eunice W. Shedd.
Nellie Coburn.
Ada L. Snow.
Nellie Cole.
Ella A. Tarbell.
Hattie II. Colgrove.
Belle G. Taylor.
Sarah E. Davis.
Carrie M. Taylor.
Gertrude Edmands.
Martha W. Tenney.
Nella L. Fitch.
Carrie M. Uihlein.
LUTHER V. BELL.
James L. Bowlby.
B. R. Twombly.
John G. Hayward.
E. Clifford Walker. Celia H. Canfield.
Edward K Hewlett.
John II. Holmes.
Mary J. Coakley.
Fred HI. Osgood.
Lottie M. Farrington. Minnie L. Flagg.
Jones N. Robinson.
Minnie W. Jackson.
Lewis J. Smith.
Carrie H. Parker.
Ervin W. Snow.
Ella Sampson.
Orville L. Story.
Jennie B. Warren.
FORSTER SCHOOL.
Frank E. Davis.
Wm. F. Lovejoy. Chas. L. Morss.
Chas. E. Sanborn. Chas. F. Williams.
John H. Corbett.
Wm. E. Plummer.
124
George H. Thompson. Lydia E. Berry. Amelia G. Brown.
Corinne Cutter.
Nellie F. Davis.
Emma J. Dodd.
Cora W. Foster.
Hattie L. Furber. C. M. Maynard. Alice H. Murch. Nida M. Pennock. Flora I. Towle.
Sarah L. Winn. Abbie M. Bennis.
Mary P. Banks.
MORSE SCHOOL.
Chas. W. Merritt.
G. Ernest Lane.
John Finnon.
John D. Bullard.
Lillian E. Tower. E. Louis Tibbetts. Josie C. Leuchte.
Alden N. Libby.
Rolla J. Butman.
Hattie F. Johnson.
Wm. J. McDermott.
Wm. W. Sartwell.
Hattie F. Homer. Lizzie Robertson.
Marilla A. Woodworth.
LINCOLN SCHOOL.
Alex. M. Graham.
Addie L. Buss.
Ella N. Bickford.
Lillie M. Fiske.
L. Gertrude Bullard. Hallie M. Hood.
Hattie A. Packard.
PUPILS ADMITTED TO THE HIGH SCHOOL DURING THE YEAR FROM SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF CITY.
SECOND CLASS.
September. Ida May Blaikie, from Bridgewater Normal School.
66 E. H. L. Gilman, from Amherst High School. THIRD CLASS.
January. Maude M. Hobson, from Roxbury High School. Ella H. Hood, from Lynn High School.
FOURTH CLASS.
May. Fannie C. Hartwell, from Taunton High School.
September. Frederick W. Archer, from Brookline grammar school. Sarah A. Clarke, from Cambridge grammar school. Rosa C. Safford, from East Boston grammar school. 6. Grace W. Dane, from private school.
125
ATTENDANCE.
The following table represents the number of pupils in each of the thirteen classes in December, each year, for the last five years, the per cent that the number of pupils in each class is of the whole number, and the average for those years.
1872.
1873.
1874.
1875.
1876.
Average No. of
Pupils.
Per cent
High
1
29
.927
26
.769
31
.855
34
.917
38
.956
31,6
.890
2
33
1.055
34
1.006
38
1.048
40
1.079
40
1.007
37.0
1.033
3
50
1.598
44
1.302
52
1.434
57
1.538
58
1.459
52.2
1.465
4
69
2.206
82
2.425
1.986
79
2.131
85
2.139
77.4
2.173
Grammar
5
116
3.708
122
3.60S
139
3.834
143
3.857
126
3.171
129.2
3.626
6
175
5.595
187
5.532
178
4.909
160
4 315
172
4.328
174.4
4.895
7
269
8.600
247
7.305
235
6.481
237
6.392
266
6.693
250.8
7.039
8
289
9.239
306
9.051
347
9.570
397
10.706
411
10.342
350.0
9.823
9
341
10.901
407
12.038
441
12.162
391
10.545
437
10.997
403.4
11.322
10
409
13.076
447
13.222
466
12.851
512
13.808
533
13.412
473.4
13.274
Primary,
11
337
10.774
401
11.858
378
10.425
466
12.568
470
11.827
410.4
11.518
12
266
8.504
340
10.056
431
11.886
426
11.486
516
12.985
395.8
11.108
13
745
23.817
738
21.828
818
22.559
766
20.658
822
20.684
777.8
21.823
Total . .
. .
3,148 100.
3,381 100.
3,626 100.
3,708 100.
3,974 100.
3,563
100.
Taking the average number of pupils in the several classes in Decem- ber of each year for the last five years, as a basis of computation, we obtain the following results : -
No. of pupils in First Class was 85.4 per cent of the No. in Second
Class.
Second
70.8
66
66
Third
66
66
Third
66
67.4
51.0
74 1
69.1
66
66
Seventh
Eightlı
66
66
66
Ninth
85.2
66
66
Tenth
66
115.3
66
Eleventh ..
66
66
Eleventh
66 103.7
66
66
Twelfth
66
66
Twelfth
66 50.8
66
66
Thirteenth
66
School.
Class.
No of
Pupils.
Percent
No. of
Pupils.
Per cent
No. of
Pupils.
Per cent
No. of
Pupils.
Per cent
No. of
Pupils.
Per cent
Fourth
Fiftlı
66
66
Fifth
Sixth
66
66
71.6
66
66
Seventh
Eighth
86.7
66
Ninth
66
Tenth
66
66
Fourth
66
Sixtlı
66
66
66
126
From the foregoing tables we derive the following items : -
During the last five years the primary schools have contained 44.5 per cent of the pupils in all the schools ; the grammar schools have contained 50 per cent ; and the High School, 5.5 per cent.
One half of all the pupils in the Grammar Schools have been in the fifth and sixth classes, one third in the third and fourth classes, and one sixth in the first and second classes.
In the grammar schools, the -
No. of pupils in First Class has been 27 per cent of No. in Sixth Class.
66 Second 66 36.6
Third
53
66
66
Fourth 66
74
66
Fifth
66
85
66
66
66 66
About one fourth of all the pupils who enter the grammar schools complete the entire course of study prescribed for those schools, and graduate.
These items present to us the most discouraging feature of our schools. It is a cause of deep regret, and of unpleasant apprehen- sion in regard to our future, that so large a proportion of our pupils fail to secure the full benefits of our liberal system of education.
We must look for the remedy in an improved public sentiment in regard to the importance of education, and the desirableness of a systematic and extended course of instruction and training.
As teachers and school officers, we must earnestly employ all the means at our disposal to render our schools profitable and attrac- tive, and must omit no proper influence to induce our pupils to avail themselves of all the advantages so generously afforded them.
A large proportion of our pupils receive their only instruction in the lower grades of our schools. Hence the importance of placing those schools under the best instruction that the means afforded us can secure. Since large numbers leave school at all stages of ad- vancement, every teacher should labor constantly with the feeling that many of his pupils are receiving from him their last school in- struction, and should direct his efforts accordingly.
66 66
127
COURSE OF STUDY.
The pupils composing the schools may be grouped into five divisions, as follows :
1. Those who do not complete the full course of the grammar schools, being about three fourths of all who enter those schools.
2. Those who graduate at the grammar schools but do not enter the High School, being about one third of the graduates.
3. Those who enter the High School, but do not complete the full course, being about fifty-nine per cent of all who enter the school.
4. Those who graduate at the High School and enter at once upon the active duties of life, being about eighty-five per cent of the graduates.
5. Those who pass from the High School to higher institutions of learning.
Since it is impracticable to have more than one course of study in the primary and grammar schools, all of the five classes of pupils specified must be educated together during the time of their continuance in those schools.
No course of study can be arranged that will be exactly adapted to pupils whose pursuits in life will be numerous and varied. We are compelled therefore, to adopt such a course as will secure the highest good of the largest number. The studies of each year must be adapted to the age and mental development of those who are to pursue them, and preparatory also to the studies of subsequent years. As far as possible, those studies which will be of the highest practical value to those who leave school before they complete the full course should be placed first in the course.
Since it is impossible for us to foresee what will be required of our pupils in their various occupations, or how extensive will be their pursuit of knowledge, we should endeavor to lay such a foun- dation in the elementary schools as will be adapted to any super- structure.
All who graduate at the grammar schools may profitably pursue the same course of study in those schools, since the qualifications
128
essential for admission to the High School are identical with those most useful in the ordinary pursuits of life.
To meet the manifest requirements of the community, three courses of study have been arranged for the High School, - an Eng- lish or Mercantile Course ; a regular English and Classical Course ; and a Classical Course especially adapted to the wants of pupils who wish to prepare for college.
Pupils who do not intend to remain in the school the full term of four years, usually adopt the English Course ; hence, for their spe- cial benefit, those studies which are of the highest practical impor- tance are placed first in this course.
At present I am unable to see wherein the course of study for the various departments of the schools can be modified to the advan- tage of any one of the five classes of pupils specified, without detri- ment to the remaining classes.
EVENING SCHOOLS.
The evening school which was opened the first week in Decem- ber, 1875, was continued until March 31 of the present year. It was divided into two divisions. Each division met three times a week upon alternate evenings.
Whole number registered . 251
Boys, 185 ; girls, 66.
Average attendance .
97
Boys, 82 ; girls, 15.
Number of teachers 6
Male teachers, 3 ; female teachers, 3.
Cost of tuition . $756.00
Total cost .
.
$1,100.00
The school was reopened in the hall of the Luther V. Bell School-house Monday evening, Nov. 13. Average attendance, about fifty, including both males and females.
129
MONTHLY REPORTS OF TRUANT OFFICER.
1876.
Cases investigated.
Cases of truancy.
Arrests.
Absentees placed in school.
January
31
16
February
26
10
March
66
20
2
19
April
100
25
2
May
12
10
June
16
15
2 21 1
September
117
19
October
115
23
November
92
22
1
December
72
14
Total .
647
174
6
21
Truant Officer, ELI A. SMITH.
POPULATION AND VALUATION.
Population of the city, census of 1875 . 21,594
Valuation of the city, May 1, 1876 .
. $26,573,400 00
Personal estate
.
$2,978,800.00
Real estate . . $23,594,600.00
Estimated value of school property . $436,350 00
9
130
EXPENDITURES.
BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
Repairs
$8,930 88
Furniture
504 32
Insurance
888 70
Rent .
401 00
Fuel .
· 3,987 75
$14,712 65
BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
Teachers' salaries
66,600 34
Superintendent's salary
2,500 00
Janitors' salaries .
3,283 74
Truant officer's salary
1,000 00 .
Water .
370 42
Gas
348 28
Printing
315 36
Books for indigent pupils and evening
school .
.
788 91
Writing books
496 72
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