USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1891 > Part 8
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After careful consideration, the undersigned, a majority of the committee, beg to offer the following recommendations : -
1st. That the petition from Ward Four be placed on file for future consideration.
2d. That the City Council be requested to erect an addition of four rooms to the Edgerly schoolhouse.
(Signed )
S. NEWTON CUTLER. MARTIN W. CARR. Q. E. DICKERMAN.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
The undersigned, a minority of the committee on additional school accommodations, offer the following recommendations : -
1st. That the petition from Ward Four be placed on file for future consideration.
2d. That the City Council be requested to erect a new High School house on Central Hill Park, said building to be arranged for use chiefly as an English High School, with laboratories and equip- ments, including also accommodations for the departments of indus- trial education and military drill.
Respectfully, S. NEWTON CUTLER. JAMES F. BEARD. MARTIN W. CARR.
The first recommendation was adopted, as were also the recom- mendations in regard to the Edgerly and High Schools.
June 29. The committee on High School reported recommend- ing that the City Government be requested to provide additional accommodations for the High School and improve the ventilation of the building. Accepted and adopted.
October 26. The superintendent presented a report on the crowded condition of the High School, with a table of figures show- ing the comparative numbers in several high schools of the State, and urged that some action be taken to relieve the pressure. The report was accepted and referred to the committee on High School.
November 30. The High School committee reported recom- mending that the board request the City Government to fit up the Brastow building for two High School classes. Accepted and approved.
The superintendent read a report on the growth and size of the High School, making comparisons with other schools of the State, and showing that there is great need of a new building and greater facilities to meet the wants of a growing city.
Dr. White spoke of the crowded condition of the High School, and advocated making a united effort to have a new High School building.
The matter was referred to the committee on additional school accommodations.
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
VENTILATION.
September 28. The committee on High School recommended that the City Government be requested to take action at once to secure more thorough ventilation for the High School, and to allow the proprietors of "Germicide " to put their apparatus into the build- ing on the conditions named by them. Adopted.
MILITARY DRILL.
There has been considerable discussion and legislation by the board during the year on the subject of military drill in the High School, particularly with reference to the purchase of guns and equip- ments.
On March 30 the committee on supplies was directed to pur- chase guns of such weight and in such numbers as should be approved by a special committee, consisting of the physicians of the board.
The members of the committee reported individually at the April meeting, and the matter was laid on the table. At the next meeting the subject was taken from the table and the purchase by the committee on supplies authorized.
On June 29, at the recommendation of the committee on sup- plies, it was voted to request the City Government to provide a suitable place for storing and keeping 200 guns and equipments for the High School Battalion.
On September 28, the City Government not having responded to this request, the High School committee recommended that (in view of this fact and other unfavorable circumstances ) the military drill be suspended for the present.
RECESS.
January 12. Voted, that in the grammar and primary schools, under the direction of the district committees, the recess may be occupied in gymnastic exercises, at the option of the principal, pro- vided that those pupils who need to leave the room during the session are allowed to do so without restraint of any kind.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
MISCELLANEOUS.
February 20. A letter was read from Mr. John M. Woods, offer- ing a set of specimens of wood used in the arts to each of the grammar schools, and a prize of $10.00 for the best essay on forests.
The superintendent announced that he had accepted the first offer, and the specimens had been received.
The board voted to accept the second offer, and instructed the superintendent to express the thanks of the board.
April 27. A communication was received from W. C. Kinsley Post, G. A. R., inviting the High School Battalion to join in the parade on Decoration Day, which was received and referred to the High School committee, with power.
April 27. The superintendent presented a report on the finances, and submitted a table showing the comparative expendi- tures of twenty-five cities and towns, which was accepted and placed on file.
August 31. A communication was received from Councilman W. L. Barber, offering a flag for the Glines School. The gift was accepted with the thanks of the board.
October 26. Mr. Beach announced that a fine marble clock had been placed in the Charles G. Pope School by his honor the mayor, in appreciation of the naming of the school for him, and moved that the thanks of the board be conveyed to him for the same, which was voted.
November 30. Mr. Beard, chairman of the finance committee, moved that the City Government be requested to make provision for the school contingent account, and that the secretary be directed to make a statement of the demands on that account. Voted.
November 30. The superintendent made a statement in regard to the appointment of teachers, and requested that a special com- mittee be appointed to take into consideration the training of teachers.
Mr. Beard moved that a committee consisting of one from each ward be appointed for this purpose.
The chair appointed Mr. Beard, Mr. Cutler, Mr. Dickerman, and Mr. Carr.
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
There have been thirteen resignations of teachers, twenty-one transfers, twenty-seven elections of new teachers, and five teachers have been granted leave of absence.
RESIGNATIONS OF TEACHERS, 1891.
High School, Mabell S. Clark, Sept. 28.
Forster School, Clara A. Jordan, April 27.
Bingham School, Mary A. Osborne, March 30. Edgerly School, Mrs. Enola C. Brainard, June 29. L. V. Bell School, Nellie A. Knowlton, Sept. 28. Lilian A. Wellington, Aug. 31. Alice L. Curtis, Nov. 30.
Prospect Hill School, Ellen Ledyard, May 25. Kate R. Miles, Aug. 31.
Highland School, Mary E. Brown, Nov. 30. Lilias M. Bryden, Aug. 31.
Lincoln School, Annie C. Thayer, June 29.
Supervisor of Drawing, Lizzie A. Herrick, June 29.
TEACHERS GRANTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE.
High School, George L. Baxter, Principal, Nov. 30, three months.
Prospect Hill School, Ellen Ledyard, March 30, for rest of year. O. S. Knapp School, Rubie M. Stetson, June 29.
Morse School, Anna Pushee, May 25, one year. Mary A. Haley, Aug. 31, one year.
NEW TEACHERS APPOINTED.
Winter Hill District.
High School, Daisy Hoyt, March 30. Annie E. French, Sept. 28.
Forster School, Blanche E. Heard, March 30. Margaret A. Orr, June 29. Glines School, Annie J. Reed, Aug. 31. Nellie A. Boynton, Sept. 28.
Bingham School, Hattie L. Devereau, Principal, Aug. 31. Florence E. Baxter, June 29.
Cedar-street School, Elizabeth G. Boardman, Sept. 28.
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
East Somerville District.
Edgerly School, Annie L. Dimpsey, June 29. Martha M. Power, June 29. Emma L. Zeigler, Aug. 31.
Prospect Hill District.
L. V. Bell School, Alice L. Curtis, Aug. 31. Anna L. Alger, Aug. 31. Martha E. Daniels, Aug. 31. Charles G. Pope School, George M. Wadsworth, Principal, Aug. 31.
O. S. Knapp School, Maizie E. Blaikie, May 25. Minnie A. Perry, May 25. Emma Frye, June 29. Dorcas C. Higgins, Sept. 28.
Prospect Hill School, Clara B. Sackett, June 29. Kate R. Miles, May 25.
Spring Hill District.
Morse School, Lizzie E. Hill, June 29.
Beech-street School, Emma T. Tower, Jan. 26.
West Somerville District.
Highland School, Mary H. Knight, Feb. 20. Mary E. Brown, Aug. 31. Hallie M. Hood, Sept. 28.
TRANSFER OF TEACHERS.
From To
Mrs. C. H. Dimpsey,
Bingham School,
Florence E. Baxter,
Bingham School,
Margaret A. Orr, Forster School,
Emma Burckes, Amy C. Hudson,
Brazillian Hall,
Edgerly School, L. V. Bell School, L. V. Bell School,
Frances A. Wilder,
Ellen P. Longfellow,
O. S. Knapp School,
J. T. Glines School. J. T. Glines School. J. T. Glines School. J. T. Glines School. Morse School.
Alice I. Norcross,
C. G. Pope School. C. G. Pope School. C. G. Pope School.
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
From
Maizie E. Blaikie,
O. S. Knapp School,
To C. G. Pope School.
Mary C. Jones,
Prospect Hill School,
C. G. Pope School.
Clara B. Sackett,
Prospect Hill School,
C. G. Pope School.
Maria Miller,
Prospect Hill School,
C. G. Pope School.
Emily G. Arnold,
Prospect Hill School,
C. G. Pope School.
Lizzie W. Parkhurst,
Brastow School,
C. G. Pope School.
Lillian C. Albee,
Brastow School,
C. G. Pope School.
Florence O. Bean,
Bennett School,
Prospect Hill School.
Lena G. Allen,
Jackson School,
O. S. Knapp School.
Minnie A. Perry,
Union School,
O. S. Knapp School.
Hallie M. Hood,
Morse School, Highland School.
Florence B. Ashley,
Harvard School,
Beech-street School.
Eula M. Byrns,
Harvard School,
L. V. Bell School.
At the beginning of the year a new rule went into effect, requiring the several committees having charge of work requiring the expendi- ture of money to inform the committee on finance how much should be asked for to run the schools during, the year. These committees met, and, with all the information available, made out their estimates, in some cases cutting down the figures submitted by the clerk, and in all cases making a very conservative budget. The school teachers' salaries footed up $107,000, and the total of school con- tingent amounted to $27,529. The finance committee reported an estimate of $105,000 for school teachers' salaries, and $25,000 for the school contingent. The appropriation made by the city govern- ment was: For teachers' salaries, $102,000; and for school contingent, $21,000. It was apparent at the outset that the schools could not be maintained on these appropriations.
When the first pay-rolls of the year were received at the City Hall, his honor the mayor requested an interview with me, in which he wished me to explain the large pay-roll on school teachers' salary account and the school contingent account. Recognizing this as right and proper on the part of the chief magistrate of our city and the chairman of the School Board, I replied as best I could, and before the next meeting of the board prepared a report on the subject, accompanied with a table of comparative statistics, showing the standing of Somerville in comparison with twenty-four other cities in the State.
With a knowledge of the exact state of affairs, and with an
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
earnest desire to meet the financial situation at the City Hall, your committees have curtailed every possible expense. Requisitions from the principals have been cut down or laid over again and again. The reopening of the Highland School last January necessi- tated a large expenditure to replace books that had been destroyed during the progress of the alterations in the building. The equip- ment of two new schools this year entailed a heavy expenditure for books and everything that is required for the successful running of a school. Further than this, your committees have expended nothing above the ordinary every-day needs. The result is that the October pay-rolls on school contingent account showed an over draft, and the November pay-rolls have not been provided for. Is it not possible to secure the cooperation of the City Government in the matter of the appropriations, in order that salaries and just bills may be paid when due, and thus save the credit and good name of the city ?
THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
The plans adopted by the City Government of 1890 for the erec- tion of two new school buildings have been carried out by the present administration. The Charles G. Pope School, on Washington street, in Ward Two, and the Jacob T. Glines School, on Jaques street, Ward Three, were opened October 26. A full description of the buildings is to be found in the last annual report. By this opening we have been able to relieve the greatly crowded schools in these wards. None but the committee of the Prospect Hill District could possibly realize the need of a new grammar school in Ward Two, and none but those more closely connected with the schools in that district could comprehend the difficulty of the situation when the Bell School was the centre of the system which embraced the schools in ten buildings and taught by forty-six teachers. When the district was reorganized this summer it was found necessary to retain the eighth class at the Knapp, thus making it a full grammar school, besides organizing the Pope School with nine grades and occupying the whole building. It was also necessary to continue thirteen classes at the Bell School and four at the Prospect Hill, which left the Brastow ( two rooms ) and the Union ( one room ) vacant. Two of the classes at the Prospect Hill belong to the Knapp School -the fifth and sixth grades. This arrangement is very unsatisfactory, but
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
was the best that could be made. It is hoped that some provision may soon be made by. which they may attend the Knapp School. This should have been a twelve-room building, and its enlargement seems to be only a question of time. The section of the city in which the school is situated is growing very fast, and must be pro- vided for.
The report of my predecessor for the year 1887 contained the fol- lowing statement of the wish of the School Board for that year : " For the accommodation of pupils residing south of the Fitchburg Railroad the School Board at their meeting in February last passed an order requesting the City Council to construct in Ward Two and south of the Fitchburg Railroad a school building that will contain eight school-rooms, and to construct it in such a manner that four school-rooms may be added whenever the necessities of the neighbor- hood where it will be located may require them."
The wisdom and foresight of the School Board is now vindicated. The necessities of the neighborhood now require the additional four rooms, and we hope the plan of the building will admit of its enlarge- ment by the addition of four rooms.
The opening of the Glines School, with five classes, has relieved the crowded condition of the Forster School, but has not provided for the increase of the Bingham, caused by the rapid growth of that section. It became necessary to open the other room in the Cedar- street building, and sixty pupils are now enrolled in the two rooms.
The enlargement of the Bingham School, suggested in the last report, will, before long, demand attention.
The schools in the East Somerville District have increased since the year began, and the demands made by the local committee and the citizens last year are emphasized by the conditions now presented. The Prescott, Edgerly, and Davis schools have all called for additional assistants in the primary classes as the one practical means of accomplishing the work to be done with the increased numbers. The relief of the Edgerly School, recommended last year, is still a matter for consideration.
The problems of the accommodation of the Spring Hill District, which we supposed to have been settled by the enlargement of the Morse building, are again coming up for reconsideration. In May, 1890, the Spring Hill and Beech-street buildings were closed, and the schools absorbed into the Morse. Last spring one room was
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
reopened in the Beech-street, and in September the other was also occupied by the overflow from the Franklin. At the same time the Harvard was obliged to shelter two classes instead of one. The Burns was supplied with an extra assistant, and the Morse has now filled the extra room and the little recitation room on the first floor. The Beech-street building is no more fit for school purposes than when it was condemned two years ago, and the Franklin and Har- vard buildings have not improved since the old-time judgment passed upon them years ago. The district south of the Fitchburg Railroad is rapidly filling up, and the citizens are calling loudly for a new school.
The city has been doing a grand work in the erection of new buildings and the enlargement of old ones; but we must not forget that the city is growing very fast and that something must be done each year. In no other way can we keep pace with our growth. We must not content ourselves because of the erection of two new build- ings and suppose that the problem is solved for years to come.
The Highland School has already filled the additional four rooms, and this growing section will before long demand a new building.
It will be clear by this outlook that the city must not expect to pause in the building of schoolhouses. Every year that goes by without action will only embarrass future administrations. New build- ings in all the school districts will be imperatively demanded within a few years. It is necessary, therefore, to take immediate steps towards the erection of
A NEW HIGH SCHOOL.
For several years the growth of the High School has called the attention of the board and the City Government to the urgent need of providing more room and better facilities for this important department. It has, in fact, become an old story. Something must now be done. I have recently presented to you some facts in regard to the experience of other cities, and some comparative tables show- ing the condition and progress of high schools of the State.
These I will not repeat at this time. The solution of problems in other cities similar to ours ought to furnish valuable information to enable us to come to an intelligent decision as to what ought to be done.
161
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
In the East the establishment of English High Schools is coming to be recognized as a wise expedient. In the West there is no longer any discussion upon the subject, as every city of the size of Somerville has its English or Manual Training High School. Boston long ago recognized the principle. Cambridge and Lynn have two flourishing schools. Worcester is building a new English High School.
Fall River, in its fine memorial High School, costing half a million dollars, is provided with all possible courses. Lowell is now agitating the subject. These are the cities larger than Somerville in school membership. Our school is so large that it cannot be accom- modated in the present building, and is too large for any one build- ing. The most practical method for its relief is a division by courses into a classical and an English school. This subject has been so fully treated in former reports and so carefully considered by the committees, that I will be very brief in this presentation of the case. In deciding upon the wisdom of the establishment of an English High School in a building separate and apart from the regular high school, school boards have been guided from the educational point of view, mainly by the following considerations. This is practically a consensus of the views of those experienced in these matters : -
1. There is no longer any doubt that such a school is demanded by the requirements of the times and by the people, who desire a higher education than the grammar schools afford. Such a school is sure to live, and does not need to be started experimentally as an adjunct to a regular high school.
2. It is capable of attaining equal honor and furnishing as ample and comprehensive education, even to the extent of preparing boys for college, as the ordinary high school. It, consequently, de- mands a place of equal rank, which it could not attain as a mere department.
3. The pupils taking the course prescribed are equal to any in honor, in intelligence, and in their possibilities, which, however, are not recognized in students of an English course in the same institu- tion with classical students.
4. As a rule, high-school teachers are not inclined to esteem students of an English course as highly as they do those of a classical course, nor do they take so deep an interest in the studies and work
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ANNUAL REPORTS.
of such a department. Consequently, the English courses suffer at the expense of the classical; whereas the existence of a separate school would guarantee a faculty wholly in sympathy with its courses and its students. There would also be a healthy rivalry, stimulating to both.
5. The average classical teacher does not recognize all the studies of the English High School as essential, nor does he sympa- thize with the methods employed. It is, consequently, impossible to secure and maintain the work of an English High School under the management of the regular high-school teachers. This might not be the case here, but it is the generally accepted opinion.
6. The work of the English High School is so different in many subjects from that of a classical school that one would interfere with the other or would be interrupted in its progress. There would be many disturbances. The progress now being made in the matter of elective courses would also tend to complicate the programme of exercises in one large school, whereas it would be greatly simplified in two buildings. Students should be in a building with those who are most closely associated with them in the courses pursued. They should have the same interests in common; the atmosphere of the school should be of one clime, as it were, and not charged with con- flicting and disintegrating elements.
These are not merely my theories, drawn from imagination or from observation of our present conditions, but the common views held by many who have given attention to the subject, gathered and summarized from reports, articles, and conferences.
There are other considerations of a local nature which every city has to recognize in concluding such an important matter, such as the size of the school, the present building, the possibility of enlarge- ment, the availability of lots, the community, etc. I have no doubt that the board will carefully consider all arguments, thoroughly investigate the situation, and learn the experience of other cities that have had this problem to solve.
I will not at this time attempt to outline the courses that ought to be provided in an English High School, nor to describe the methods that would 'be employed in carrying out the work. The committee will have ample opportunity to study the institutions similar to this now in operation. There need be no experimenting at this late day ; courses are already well established. The elective principle would
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
have to be adopted, for which there are already many precedents. A detailed description of building, class-rooms, laboratories, etc., should be made when courses are marked out, and this should be done only after a very careful examination of other similar buildings. It would not be safe to intrust such a responsibility to an architect who had not inspected similar institutions, or who had simply tried to solve the problem how best to contrive a structure to fit into a certain lot, or to join on to a given building, or to furnish a given number of rooms for a stated appropriation. The building should be planned, constructed, and furnished to meet the educational re- quirements of the school. This is presumably the design of every schoolhouse plan ; but, unfortunately, many buildings are erected without much study of the educational needs or without consultation with those who are to use them. It is confidently hoped that the City Government will approve the plans recommended by the School Board, and provide a building that will satisfy the needs of the city in this special department of education.
CARE OF THE BUILDINGS.
The new city ordinances provide that the appointment of jani- tors, their salaries, and their responsibility shall rest with the committee on public property of the City Government. This is an experiment which we hope will work to the advantage of the schools. So far as their obligations extended, the janitors have been efficient and painstaking employees of the city. Their meagre salaries have not allowed the janitors of small buildings to give much of their time to the service, and those of the large buildings have not been able to hire help to do the work as thoroughly as is necessary. Our school buildings, as a rule, have not been kept as clean as is desirable. Sweeping at intervals of three or four days is not enough during most of the months of school. Consequently, teachers have often been obliged to sweep their own rooms or have it done by the boys. It is easier and better to keep mud out than to sweep it out. Acting upon this principle, mats have been provided in abundance, and teachers have tried to train children to come in with clean shoes. Everything is done to lighten the work of the janitor, but, neverthe- less, constant cleaning is necessary. Every room should be examined daily by the janitor, and swept in parts, or throughout if
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