Report of the city of Somerville 1881, Part 5

Author: Somerville (Mass.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Somerville, Mass.
Number of Pages: 294


USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1881 > Part 5


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366 81


Chadwick Lead Works, "


48 97


Boston Belting Co., rubber rings,


etc., 27 00


Somerville Iron Foundry, clamps, 7 86


Hill & Langtry, washers, 6 52


Howe & Flint, pipe, etc.,


4 49


Joseph N. Gibbs, powder, etc.,


2 25


J. C. Warren, teaming,


3 00


J. A. Cummings & Co., printing, 3 00


J. O. Hayden & Co., 66


1 50


$2,040 65


WATER MAINTENANCE, credit balance transferred, 1,018 93


$3,059 58


WATER SERVICE ASSESSMENTS.


Credit.


CASH, received of sundry persons for water services, $2,307 29


BALANCE, to debit in account of 1882, 836 83


$3,144 12


Debit.


BALANCE, from 1880, $413 80


WATER SERVICES, service pipes laid in 1881, 2,730 32


$3,144 12


97


Table D.


BALANCES DEC. 31, 1881.


$14,321 76


Cash,


Excess and Deficiency,


$9,067 54


Funded Debt,


1,585,000 00


Highway Betterment Assessments, 1,945 26


49 62


Overlay and Abatement,


Overplus on Tax Sales,


67 00


Property and Debt Balance,


430,000 00


Public Park,


351 32


Public-Park Betterment Assess-


ments, 786 91


Public Property,


1,155,000 00


Real-Estate Liens,


2.007 30


Sewer Assessments,


7,470 26


Sidewalk Assessments,


1,534 58


State of Massachusetts, - Indi-


gent Soldiers and Sailors, 1,004 00


State of Massachusetts, - State Aid, 4,655 50


Sundry Persons, 1,047 60


Taxes,


166,020 68


Temporary Loans,


190,000 00


Water Service Assessments,


836 83


$1,785,583 08


$1,785,583 08


7


REPORT


OF


COMMISSIONERS OF THE SINKING FUNDS.


CITY OF SOMERVILLE.


IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, FEB. 8, 1882.


Received and ordered to be printed in the Annual Report of 1881. Sent down for concurrence.


CHARLES E. GILMAN, Clerk.


IN COMMON COUNCIL, FEB. 8, 1882. Concurred in.


DOUGLAS FRAZAR, Clerk.


CITY OF SOMERVILLE.


IN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE SINKING FUNDS, Jan. 31, 1882.


To the Honorable the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Somerville : GENTLEMEN, -The undersigned present herewith their sixth annual report as Commissioners of the Sinking Funds of this city. The amount of the funds Jan. 25, 1881, as per report of that date, was, $253,764 95


The increase during the year 1881 was, -


Contribution by the city, for the year, 45,525 00


Interest on city bonds in sinking fund, 12,772 50


Interest on deposits in banks, 201 14


Total sinking funds at this date, $312,263 59


Invested as follows : -


In bonds of the city of Somerville, $264,500, at 5 per cent, and $44,500, at 52 per cent, Deposited in banks and drawing interest, 3,263 59


$309,000 00


$312,263 59


Respectfully submitted,


NATHAN TUFTS, JOHN A. HUGHES, HENRY F. WOODS,


Commissioners.


ANNUAL REPORT


OF THE


SCHOOL COMMITTEE


OF THE


CITY OF SOMERVILLE,


FOR THE


YEAR 1881.


CITY OF SOMERVILLE.


IN SCHOOL COMMITTEE, Dec. 31, 1881.


The Superintendent submitted his annual report, which was read and accepted. It was voted that the committee adopt the report now sub- mitted by the Superintendent of the Public Schools, and present it to their fellow-citizens as the report of the School Committee for the year 1881.


J. H. DAVIS, Secretary.


IN BOARD OF ALDERMEN, Feb. 14, 1882.


Referred the report to the Committee on Printing, to be printed in the Annual Reports of 1881. Sent down for concurrence.


CHARLES E. GILMAN, Clerk.


IN COMMON COUNCIL, Feb. 16, 1882.


Referred the report to the Committee on Printing, to be printed in the Annual Reports of 1881, in concurrence.


DOUGLAS FRAZAR, Clerk.


BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE, 1881.


HON. JOHN A. CUMMINGS, Mayor, ex officio.


MARK F. BURNS, Esq., President of Common Council, ex officio.


WARD ONE.


JOHN H. BUTLER .


Term expires Dec. 31, 1881.


HENRY M. MOORE


66


66 1882.


HORACE C. WHITE, M. D.


1883.


WARD TWO.


OREN S. KNAPP


Term expires Dec. 31, 1881.


ALPHONZO H. CARVILL, M. D.


66


66 1882.


REV. ALBERT E. WINSHIP


66


66 1883.


WARD THREE.


HENRY F. WOODS


Term expires Dec. 31, 1881.


NORMAN W. BINGHAM


66 1882.


QUINCY E. DICKERMAN


WARD FOUR.


HENRY C. BUCK


Term expires Dec. 31, 1881.


PROF. BENJ. G. BROWN


66


66 1882.


REV. CHAS. M. SMITH, D. D.


66


1883.


Chairman, HON. J. A. CUMMINGS.


Superintendent and Secretary, J. H. DAVIS.


1883.


STANDING COMMITTEES, 1881.


On the High School, MESSRS. BROWN, WOODS, SMITH, BINGHAM, WINSHIP, WHITE.


On Schools in East Somerville District, MESSRS. BUTLER, MOORE, WHITE, BURNS. On Schools in Prospect Hill District, MESSRS. CARVILL, KNAPP, WINSHIP.


On Schools in Winter Hill District, MESSRS. BINGHAM, WOODS, DICKERMAN.


On Schools in Spring Hill District, MESSRS. SMITH, BROWN, BUCK. On Schools in West Somerville, MESSRS. BUCK, BROWN, SMITH.


On Evening Schools, MESSRS. CARVILL, BUCK, BURNS. On Examination of Teachers, MESSRS. BUTLER, KNAPP, SMITH.


On Text-Books, MESSRS. BUTLER, BROWN, DICKERMAN, CARVILL, WINSHIP.


On Repairs, Furniture, Heating Apparatus, MESSRS. MOORE, CARVILL, BINGHAM, BUCK, BURNS. On School Supplies, MESSRS. WOODS, WHITE. On Fuel, MESSRS. BUCK, BINGHAM.


On Music, MESSRS. BINGHAM, BROWN, DICKERMAN, WHITE.


On Finance, MESSRS. MOORE, KNAPP. On Drawing and Penmanship, MESSRS. DICKERMAN, WOODS, CARVILL, BUTLER. On Salaries, MESSRS. KNAPP, SMITH, WOODS, MOORE, BUCK, WINSHIP.


On Examination of First Class, MESSRS. KNAPP, SMITH. On Examination of Second Class, MESSRS. BUTLER, WOODS.


On Examination of Third Class, MESSRS. MOORE, WINSHIP. On Examination of Fourth Class, MESSRS. BROWN, CARVILL. On Examination of Fifth Class, MESSRS. BINGHAM, WHITE. On Examination of Sixth Class, MESSRS. DICKERMAN, BUCK, BURNS.


BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE, 1882.


HON. JOHN A. CUMMINGS, Mayor, Chairman, ex officio. ALBION A. PERRY, President of Common Council, ex officio.


WARD ONE.


HENRY M. MOORE


Term expires 1882.


HORACE C. WHITE, M. D.


1883.


JOHN H. BUTLER .


1884.


WARD TWO.


ALPHONZO H. CARVILL, M. D.


Term expires 1882.


REV. A. E. WINSHIP


1883.


OREN S. KNAPP


66 1884.


WARD THREE.


NORMAN W. BINGHAM


Term expires 1882.


Q. E. DICKERMAN


66


1883.


HENRY F. WOODS


1884.


WARD FOUR.


PROF. BENJ. G. BROWN


Term expires 1882.


REV. C. M. SMITH, D. D.


66


1883.


MISS HARRIET M. PITMAN


1884.


J. H. DAVIS, Superintendent and Secretary.


STANDING COMMITTEES, 1882.


On the High School, MESSRS. BROWN, SMITH, BINGHAM, WINSHIP, WHITE, DICKERMAN.


On Schools in East Somerville District, MESSRS. WHITE, [MOORE, BUTLER. On Schools in Prospect Hill District, MESSRS. WINSHIP, KNAPP, CARVILL.


On Schools in Winter Hill District, MESSRS. DICKERMAN, WOODS, BINGHAM, PERRY.


On Schools in Spring Hill District, MESSRS. SMITH, BROWN, MISS PITMAN.


On Schools in West Somerville, MESSRS. BROWN, SMITH, MISS PITMAN.


On Evening Schools, MESSRS. WINSHIP, WHITE, PERRY.


On Examination of Teachers, MESSRS. KNAPP, BUTLER, SMITH, MISS PITMAN.


'On Text-Books, MESSRS. WHITE, KNAPP, BINGHAM, MISS PITMAN.


On Repairs, Furniture, Heating Apparatus, MESSRS. MOORE, CARVILL, PERRY, BROWN.


On School Supplies, MESSRS. WOODS, BUTLER. On Fuel, MESSRS. CARVILL, PERRY.


On Music, MISS PITMAN, MESSRS. BINGHAM, CARVILL, WHITE.


On Finance, MESSRS. KNAPP, MOORE.


On Drawing and Penmanship, MESSRS. BUTLER, WOODS, CARVILL, DICKERMAN.


On Salaries, MESSRS. BUTLER, SMITH, WOODS, MOORE, WINSHIP, KNAPP.


On Examination of First Class, MESSRS. SMITH, KNAPP.


On Examination of Second Class, MESSRS. BUTLER, WOODS. On Examination of Third Class, REV. A. E. WINSHIP, MISS PITMAN.


On Examination of Fourth Class, MESSRS. MOORE, BROWN. On Examination of Fifth Class, MESSRS. BINGHAM, WHITE, CARVILL.


On Examination of Sixth Class, MESSRS. PERRY, DICKERMAN, MISS PITMAN.


SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.


To the School Committee of Somerville :


GENTLEMEN, - In compliance with the requirements of your regulations, I respectfully present the following report of the public schools of the city, for the year 1881.


POPULATION AND VALUATION.


Population of the city, United States census, 1880 24,985


Valuation of the city, May 1, 1881


$22,569,100


Personal estate


$2,213,000


Real estate


$20,356,100


Estimated value of school property


$344,432


SCHOOL POPULATION.


Whole number of persons in the city between five and fifteen years of age, on the first day of May last, 4,204.


In Ward One


1,294


66 Two .


1,354


Three


732


66 Four


824


No material changes in the general structure or arrangement of the schools have been effected or required during the year ; but modifications of specific methods of instruction, revisions of the course of study, and various changes in the minor details of school work, are frequently occurring.


110


EXPENDITURES FROM JAN. 1, 1881, TO JAN. 1, 1882. BY THE CITY COUNCIL.


Repairs, insurance, rent of school-


rooms


$7,287 79


Fuel .


3,797 07


$11,084 86


BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.


Teachers' salaries


$62,136 15


Superintendent's salary


1,800 00


Janitors' salaries


3,247 00


Truant officers' salaries


75 00


Water


563 00


Gas .


193 00


Books


565 00


Printing


250 00


Writing books ·


385 00


Stationery and other school supplies


830 00


Miscellaneous


1,231 90


71,276 05


Total expenditures


$82,360 91


RECEIPTS.


Tuition of non-resident pupils


$110 00


Rent of school halls .


622 50


732 50


Net expenditures


$81,628 41


SCHOOLS.


At the beginning of the school year in September, two grammar schools were discontinued in Prospect Hill district, and one gram- mar school was organized in West Somerville district. Previous to the beginning of the present school year, the first and second classes of the Forster School had occupied the same school-room. In September, a separate room was assigned to each of those classes, causing an increase of one school in the Forster School- House.


Whole number of schools


·


82


High School


1


Grammar schools


46


Primary schools


.


.


35


.


.


.


·


111


SCHOOL-HOUSES.


Forster School-House. - During the summer vacation, two school- rooms were constructed in the hall of the Forster School-House. That building now contains ten school-rooms, all of which are occupied by schools.


Lincoln School-House. - In the long vacation, the Lincoln School- House, which contains four school-rooms, was moved from Elm Street to its present location on Clarendon Hill.


Previous to the erection of that building, in 1866, a school-house located at the foot of Walnut Hill, and containing a single school- room, afforded sufficient school accommodations for the section of the city situated west of Willow Avenue.


The Lincoln School-House was first occupied in March, 1867. It then contained two schools. A third school was added in 1871, and a fourth in 1872.


Highland School-House. - This building, located at the corner of Highland Avenue and Grove Street, West Somerville, was begun in October, 1880, and completed in September, 1881. It was con- structed under the supervision of the Committee on Public Prop- erty, consisting of Aldermen E. C. Clark and G. T. Burnham, and Councilmen W. E. Shedd, J. F. Wellington, and A. A. Perry.


The building has a frontage of seventy-three feet on Highland Avenue, and a depth of seventy-eight feet. It is two stories high, exclusive of the basement. Each of the two stories has four school- rooms, twenty-eight feet by thirty-two feet, and thirteen feet high in the clear. Adjacent to each school-room is a spacious dressing- room for the pupils and a room for the teacher. Each dressing- room communicates with its school-room and also with the corridor, and serves as a passageway for pupils in entering and leaving their school-room. The corridors are twelve feet wide, and extend from the front to the rear of the building. The stairways are large, light, and of easy grade.


The basement is eleven feet high, and is light and airy. It con- tains water-closets, a room for fuel, and four play-rooms, corre- sponding in size to the school-rooms, for the use of pupils in stormy weather. The walls and partitions are of brick. The ex-


112


terior walls are faced with pressed brick and are ornamented with freestone belt courses, window caps, and sills. The inside finish is ash, with Southern pine for floors, platforms, and stairs.


The plans and specifications were furnished by Samuel D. Kelley, Esq., of this city. The contractors were L. P. Soule, Esq., for the masonry, and W. B. Stinson, Esq., for the carpentry. The building is heated by four of Magee's portable furnaces, one in each play-room. These were furnished by J. A. Durell, Esq. The furniture for teachers and pupils was manufactured by A. G. Whitcomb, Esq.


The schools, eight in number, first occupied the building on Monday, Sept. 12.


Cost of the building,


$26,366 28


" lot, 23,260 feet,


4,186 80


66 grading,


276 27


60 heating apparatus,


976 90


66 furniture, 626 37


Total cost,


$32,432 62


ADDITIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS.


All parts of the city are now well supplied with convenient school accommodations, with the exception of East Somerville district. The necessities of that section of the city, which were minutely specified in the report of last year, have become still more urgent in consequence of the constant increase of population.


The lot of land on Cross Street, on which the Edgerly School- House is located, contains 26,480 feet, and is ample for the con- venience of a large number of pupils. That building, which will soon be surrounded by a dense population, now contains four school-rooms, and is well arranged for enlargement. An increase of its capacity by the addition of four or six school-rooms would meet the present demand and the probable need of several years to come.


113


TABLE SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THE SEVERAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS, THE TIME OF THEIR ERECTION, THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL-ROOMS IN EACH, THE NUMBER OF FEET IN EACH SCHOOL LOT, AND THE ESTI- MATED VALUE OF EACH BUILDING, INCLUDING LAND AND FURNITURE.


NAME.


LOCATION.


When erected.


No. feet in lot.


Estimated value.


No. of school- rooms.


High


Highland Avenue .


1871


$44,000


2


Forster.


Sycamore Street ..


..


1866


62,693


41,500


10


Prescott


Pearl Street


1867


21.444


42,000


12


Edgerly


Cross Street


1871


26,428


25,500


4


Luther V. Bell,


Vinal Avenue


1874


22,262


43,000


12


Prospect Hill .


Washington Street


1848


25,313


20,600


6


Brastow


Medford Street.


1861


10,019


6,250


2


Bennett


Joy Street.


1868


20,560


8,300


4


Jackson


Poplar Street


1861


11,212


8,300


4


Webster


Webster Avenue


1868


11,050


8,300


4


Union


Prospect Street


1842*


9,360


2,600


1


Morse


Summer Street


1869


29,109


26,000


6


Beech Street ..


Beech Street


1872+


6,000


4,750


2


Spring Hill


Rear of Harvard St ..


1850


4,991


1,700


1


Franklin .


Somerville Avenue ..


1846


33,017


14,300


4


Harvard . .


Beacon Street


1851


9,810


2,600


1


Highland ..


Highland Avenue.


1880


23,260


32,432


8


Lincoln


Broadway


1866


17,662


11,500


4


Cedar Street ..


Cedar Street


1843


.....


800


2


$344,432


89


* Before.


t Purchased.


TEACHERS.


The following changes have been made in the corps of teachers during the year : -


ELECTED.


Miss Alice T. Couch, teacher in the Forster School.


Miss Harriette H. Winslow, teacher in the Prescott School.


Miss Hattie E. Boardman, assistant in the L. V. Bell School. Miss Alice E. Furber, teacher in the Spring Hill School. Miss Zillah E. Freeman, teacher in the Beech Street School. Miss L. A. Hayward, assistant in the Highland School. Miss Sarah F. Gibbs, teacher in the Highland School.


Miss Alice P. Lord, teacher in the Highland School.


8


..


..


114


TRANSFERRED.


Miss A. A. Roberts, from the Prospect Hill School to the Ben- nett School.


Miss Helen Tincker, from the Bennett School to the L. V. Bell School.


Miss Ada L. Sanborn, from the Webster School to the Prospect Hill School.


Miss Lillian F. Howe, from the Prospect Hill School to the L. V. Bell School.


Miss Anna C. Damon, from the Prospect Hill School to the Jack- son School.


RESIGNED.


Miss Nancy W. Proctor, teacher in the Prescott School. Miss Clara A. Battles, teacher in the L. V. Bell School.


Miss Annie F. Hills, teacher in the Lincoln School.


115


SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS.


SCHOOLS.


TEACHERS.


SALARIES.


FIRST ELECTED.


High


George L. Baxter .


$2,200


1867


66


Frank M. Hawes


1,500


1879


66


Sarah W. Fox .


1,050


1868


Sarah L. Graves .


850


1865


66


Annette E. Long


850


1864


66


. .


Sarah F. Litchfield


700


1880


Kate W. Cushing ..


700


1880


Forster


John S. Hayes.


1,800


1878


Stella M. King


675


1877


Mary E. Northup


600


1878


Frances M. Guptill .


600


1869


Alice A. Batchelor


575


1877


Nellie M. Whitney


575


1878


66


Martha H. Pennock


550


1873


Leila V. Colby


425


1879


66


Lizzie G. Perry


550


1878


66


Alice T. Couch


550


1881


Prescott.


.


Gordon A. Southworth


1,900


1873


Anna M. Bates


675


1874


V. E. Hapgood.


600


1876


Adelaide Reed


650


1877


66


.


·


.


Frank P. Hudson


600


1877


Abbie A. Anderson


600


1378


Amelia I. Sears


600


1873


Harriette H. Winslow.


350


1881


Catharine T. Brown. ..


575


1868


Clara Taylor


575


1871


Sarah E. Pratt


575


1877


Elgina M. Plummer


550


1877


Emma F. Schuh


550


1874


Augusta M. Cowles


625


1865


66


Harriet N. Sands


575


1864


66


Anna L. Prescott


550


1873


66


Clara M. Bagley


550


1873


Tufts Street


H. V. Hathaway


575


1875


Ada Cowles


550


1875


Luther V. Bell


Robert Bickford


1,700


1879


Hattie E Boardman


625


1881


66


Minnie H. Marden


600


1876


66


Ellen M. Gooding


600


1868


Abbie C. Hunt


600


1873


66


Helen Tincker


600


1872


Lillian F. Howe


600


1876


66


May E. Berry .


425


1880


Fannie A. Wilder


600


1874


66


. . . .


Anna M. Snow


575


1866


66


.....


Lydia J. Page


575


1869


66


Lizzie F. Appleton.


550


1874


66


.... .


Augusta M. Houghton.


550


1877


.


·


·


·


.


·


66


.


.


.


66


.


..


. .


. .


66


....


·


. ..


.


.


..


6 .


.


Edgerly


66


.


116


SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS. - Continued.


SCHOOLS.


TEACHERS.


SALARIES.


FIRST ELECTED.


Prospect Hill


Ada L. Sanborn


$625


1869


Ellen Ledyard


575


1874


Ada I. Howe.


425


1880


66


Charlotte I. Houghton


550


1875


Brastow


Sarah E. Pennock


575


1871


66


Lizzie D. Harding


550


1877


Bennett


Augusta A. Roberts


600


1861


66


Maria Miller.


550


1870


66


Mary B. Currier


550


1873


Jackson


Nora O'Leary


600


1874


66


Maud M. Hobson


350


1879


66


Annie E. McCarty


350


1880


Webster


Annie L. Savage.


550


1873


Union


Isabella M. Prince


550


1876


Morse


Charles C. Hunkins


1,600


1877


Nellie P. Nichols


600


1871


66


Pauline S. Downes


600


1872


66


Clara N. Burgess


600


1880


66


Anna E. Sawyer ..


575


1873


66


Carrie N. Sanderson


425


1880


Beech Street


Mary A. Haley .


575


1868


66


Zillah E. Freeman


350


1881


Spring Hill


Alice E. Furber.


350


1881


Franklin


Jane E. Clark.


625


1873


66


Emeline C. Ruggles.


550


1876


66


Hattie A. Hills.


575


1874


Harvard.


Annie E. Robinson


550


1876


Highland


George E. Nichols


1,500


1877


66


L. A. Hayward


625


1881


66


.


Georgiana Cutter.


600


1873


66


.


. .


Lizzie J. Conwell


575


1873


Sarah F. Gibbs


575


1881


Alice P. Lord


500


1881


66


Sarah E. Pray


550


1878


Lincoln ..


Mary A. Paul.


575


1879


Cedar Street


Alice Simpson .


575


1872


66


Alice M. Porter.


425


1880


Teacher of Music.


S. H. O. Hadley ...


1,000


1868


Whole number of teachers


.


96


Male teachers, 8; female teachers, 88. Number of teachers in the High School .


7


Male teachers, 2 ; female teachers, 5. Number of teachers in the grammar schools Male teachers, 5 ; female teachers, 46. Number of teachers in the primary schools One teacher of vocal music.


51


.


37


.


·


·


.


.


.


·


Anna C. Damon.


550


1879


.


·


Jennie Colburn


600


1875


....


....


.


.


117


PUPILS.


Number of pupils in attendance in January · 4,268


Number of persons in the city between five and fifteen years of age in May last


4,204


Number between eight and fourteen years


2,949


Number of pupils in attendance in December .


4,315


In the High School


248


grammar schools


2,148


primary schools


1,919


Number over fifteen years of age in December


346


Whole number registered during the year


5,271


TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF PUPILS IN EACH OF THE THIRTEEN CLASSES IN DECEMBER, THE AVERAGE AGE OF PUPILS IN EACH CLASS, AND THE PER CENT THAT THE NUMBER IN EACH CLASS IS OF THE NUMBER IN ALL THE CLASSES.


GRADE.


Class.


Boys.


Girls.


Total.


Average age.


Per cent.


High


First


10


25


35


18 yrs. 6 mos.


.81


66


Second ..


15


34


49


17


2


66


1.13


Third .


32


41


73


16


66


5


66


1.69


66


Fourth . .


48


43


91


15


66


5


66


2.11


Grammar


First


78


100


178


14


66


11


4.12


66


Second


101


115


216


13


66


10


66


5.01


66


Third


173


143


316


13


66


1


66


7.32


66


Fourth ..


252


188


440


12


66


3


16


10.20


66


Fifth


279


195


474


11


66


2


66


10.99


66


. ....


Sixth .


303


221


524


10


66


0


66


12.14


Primary


First


286


214


500


8


66


8


66


11.59


Second ..


370


268


638


7


66


6


14.79


66


Third.


453


328


781


6


3


66


18.10


Total


2,400


1,915


4,315


·


100.00


. .


. ....


118


SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN THE SEVERAL DISTRICTS.


DISTRICTS.


SCHOOL BUILDINGS.


Grammar Schools.


Primary Schools.


Total.


Number of pupils in December.


Winter Hill


Forster


6


4


10


478


Cedar Street


1


1


2


105


Prescott


9


3


12


650


Edgerly


1


3


4


226


Tnfts Street.


...


2


2


87


Prospect Hill


Luther V. Bell


10


2


12


652


66


....


Prospect Hill.


2


3


5


234


66


...


Brastow


1


1


2


97


66


....


Jackson.


1


3


4


203


66


.. ..


Webster


....


1


1


57


Union


....


1


1


50


66


......


Beech Street


1


1


2


106


66


.....


Spring Hill


1


1


45


Franklin


2


1


3


142


66


Harvard


....


1


1


64


West Somerville .


Highland


5


3


8


355


66


·


Lincoln


1


1


2


91


Total


46


35


81


4,067


ATTENDANCE.


Average whole number in all the schools for the year ·


4,064.0


High School .


237.0


Grammar schools .


2,082.5


Primary schools


1,744.5


Average attendance in all the schools for the year .


3,793.7


High School .


225.3


Grammar schools


1,978.2


Primary schools


1,590.2


Per cent of attendance in all the schools for the year


93.3


High School


95.1


Grammar schools .


94.9


Primary schools .


91.9


Number of tardinesses in all the schools for the year 2,136


High School . 84


. .


Morse.


5


1


6


267


... .


Bennett


1


2


3


158


Spring Hill


....


......


East Somerville. 60


119


Grammar schools .


768


Primary schools


1,284


Number of dismissals in all the schools for the year


2,212


High School . 422


Grammar schools .


· . .


. 884


Primary schools


906


School attendance is a subject of much importance, and demands more than a passing notice. Our records pertaining to it reveal annually much that is interesting and encouraging, and much also to occasion regret and unpleasant apprehension.


We will briefly consider those topics which are intimately con- nected with this general subject.


Punctuality. - The regulations of the School Board regard tar- diness, without sufficient cause, a misdemeanor, and it is treated accordingly. In all the schools tardiness is constantly diminishing, and in many of them it has almost entirely disappeared. Pupils are rarely seen outside of the school buildings after the time for the schools to begin. Great saving of time is secured to a school when every member of it is regularly in his place, and ready for work at the opening of the exercises. The habit of punctuality thus fostered will be of incalculable benefit to pupils in all their subsequent years.


In dealing with tardiness, however, as with all other evils con- nected with the schools, the constant exercise of judgment and dis- cretion is demanded. In our efforts to diminish this evil, we must wisely employ means that are perfectly legitimate and will be sal- utary in their consequences. The special danger is that in our en- deavor to rectify a given error, we create or magnify others still more objectionable. Our aim should ever be to secure the constant attendance at school of the largest number of pupils possible ; if, therefore, the penalty for tardiness is such as to induce non-attend- ance or truancy, a comparatively small evil is exchanged for one of far greater magnitude. The careful attention of teachers to this subject is respectfully but earnestly solicited.


Regularity of Attendance. - When all the unavoidable causes which continually exist to prevent constant attendance are con-


120


sidered, the bigh per cent of attendance which is maintained by pupils belonging to the schools is gratifying, and in the main, satis- factory. During a series of years, the ratio of the average daily attendance to the average whole number belonging to the schools has been as follows : In the High School, 97.2 per cent; in the grammar schools, 94.6 per cent; in the primary schools, 91.2 per cent ; in all the schools, 93.3 per cent.


It should be observed, however, that these results are obtained by finding the ratio of the average daily attendance to the average whole number actually belonging to the schools ; whereas the per cent of attendance of all persons in the city, of school age, is obtained by finding the ratio of the average daily attendance of pupils between the ages of five and fifteen years to the whole num- ber of persons in the city between those ages. Such a computation gives a per cent of attendance of 82.2, and a loss from non-attend- ance of 17.8 per cent.


Non-Attendance. - A part of this non-attendance is accounted for satisfactorily by the absence of pupils on account of their own sickness, the presence of contagious diseases in their homes, or other unavoidable causes. Another part is caused by absence for reasons insufficient and inexcusable. The largest part, however, arises from the permanent withdrawal of pupils from the schools before the completion of the grammar-school course. The table on page 117 shows that more than two thirds of all the pupils in the grammar schools are members of the three lower classes, and that comparatively few leave school permanently before the work of the fourth class is completed ; but it represents also a lament- able decline in numbers in the three upper classes. The third class contains only about sixty per cent, the second forty per cent, and the first thirty-three per cent of the number they would contain, provided all pupils remained in school until the completion of the grammar-school course. At present, we graduate less than thirty per cent of all pupils who enter the grammar schools.




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