USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1898 > Part 16
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The cost of the Carr schoolhouse is as follows : -
Paid for 10,409 additional feet of land $ 3,411.50
Cost of construction, including heating
and furnishing
58,713.03
Total, $62,124.53
The new school was opened in September under the mastership of Charles G. Ham of Watertown,-a gentleman of
315
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
long and successful experience in grammar school instruction and supervision,- and an efficient corps of assistants, four of whom were transferred from the Franklin School, which was incorporated in the Carr. The fourteen classrooms were immediately filled, as was· also a fifteenth room not originally designed for class use, by 700 pupils transferred from other schools in the Spring Hill and adjoining districts. Two rooms containing the first grade and one room with half of the second grade pupils were set apart for the use of the Training School. Under the general direction of the master, this department is. in charge of a competent critic teacher. The instruction is- given by six young ladies with either a normal school training or equivalent experience in teaching. It may be remarked, in passing, that the Training School, which is now in the third year of its existence, commends itself strongly to the Board and to the public, first, by the excellence of its instruction, which is more largely individual than is possible in other schools, and, secondly, by the efficiency of its graduates, four of whom are rendering services in various parts of the city, which will compare very favorably in character with the best in the city.
The schools in the Spring Hill district are still crowded, an assistant being employed in the lowest grade in the Morse School. The six-room schoolhouse now in process of con- struction in Washington street will be filled upon completion in September, 1899, by children from the Harvard, Knapp, and Carr schools. This will close the first-named building, which has so long repressed our pride ; it will render the use of the Knapp wardroom no longer necessary ; it will permit the return to that school of the two classes transferred in September last to the Pope School; and it will relieve some- what the crowded condition in the Carr and Morse.
316
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The school accommodations in the Winter Hill district are inadequate, and some relief must be afforded. We are obliged to employ an assistant in the lowest grade in the Bingham School, and to occupy wardrooms in the Forster and Glines. While these rooms are not unhealthful, they are ill-adapted to school purposes and were not designed to be thus used. Three new schoolrooms in this district could be filled to-day. There are therefore at least three problems of demand for increased accommodations that present themselves for consideration and settlement during the coming year. They are, - first, the' enlargement of the English High School, which will be dis- cussed later on, - secondly, a new school building in Ward IV to satisfy the demands of the immediate future, - and, thirdly a new school building for present and prospective needs, to be located somewhere in the Winter Hill district.
There are two considerations that should control the location of new school buildings. They are, - first, the convenience of patrons, and secondly, economy of administration. At the time of their construction many of our school buildings were located in centres of population, but as the city has grown, new resi- dents have been compelled to send children long distances to school. There are certain sections of the city in which little children are compelled to walk from a half to three quarters of a mile to reach their schools. For older pupils the matter of distance is of little consequence, but primary school buildings, particularly those containing kindergartens, should be so located as to be easily accessible in all sorts of weather to the little children that attend them. Then, too, some regard must be paid to the future growth of the city. The location that seems one-sided at the present time, three or five years from now may be the centre of the school population that it will accommodate.
The second consideration, economy of administration, is one that affects the long future as well as the immediate present.
317
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
The peculiar organization of the Somerville school system that forces the per capita cost of grammar and primary school instruction much above that in other cities in the State, has been discussed in previous reports. The matter, however, is of such importance that we recur to it again. Attention is called to the following comparison in the cost of school maintenance in buildings of different sizes. We have selected the buildings most recently constructed as being more nearly typical of what may be expected in future buildings. Estimates are made on the basis of 45 pupils to a schoolroom.
The expense of schoolhouse care is the average cost for the last two years and that of instruction is based on the ordinary conditions, kindergartens being excluded.
PER CAPITA COST OF SCHOOLS IN BUILDINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES.
BUILDINGS.
ROOMS.
PUPILS.
CARE.
INSTRUCTION.
TOTAL.
Durell
4
180
$3.74
$13.75
$17.49
Hanscom
6
270
3.20
13.89
17.09
Bingham
8
360
2.49
13.90
16.39
Hodgkins
12
540
2.89
17.00
19.89
A study of these figures reveals these facts : - School main- tenance in a twelve-room building costs $2.80 more per pupil than in a building of six rooms, $2.40 more than in one of four rooms, and $3.50 more than in an eight-room building run under normal conditions, that is, with an $800 principal without an assistant. This is an average of $2.90 per pupil in favor of the smaller buildings, a sum equivalent to the expenditure of $1,500 annually, and sufficient to pay the yearly salary of two and one- half teachers, or to build a six-room schoolhouse every twenty years.
For many years, whatever else may be done, the erection of any additional buildings containing more than eight rooms and
318
ANNUAL REPORTS.
involving the unjustifiable expense above indicated, should be strenuously opposed. Gradually the primary school pupils who do not so much need the supervisory care of a master, should be removed from our largest buildings, which could then be devoted entirely to grammar-school purposes.
In the report of last year it was recommended that a six- room building be erected not far from Powder House Park. A building in this locality must sooner or later be furnished for the relief of the Hodgkins and Highland schools. The recom- mendation is not renewed this year, but the substitute suggested in the last annual report is urged for the present year. We refer to the enlargement of the Burns School by the addition of four rooms and four rooms only. The erection of the Carr School did not afford the relief to the Spring Hill district that we had every reason to expect. Without placing any grade higher than a fifth in the Burns School there are children enough between and including Linden and Willow avenues to fill the additional four rooms in September, 1899, provided we abandon the Cedar Street School, in which the cost per pupil is $9.61 more than in its nearest neighbor, the Burns. This will afford some relief to both the Morse and Highland schools.
Further reason for this enlargement exists in the necessity of providing some form of ventilation for the present Burns School building, a desideratum that would naturally be secured by the plan suggested. The addition of more than four rooms to this building, while possibly feasible, would lead to another grammar school centre with all the unnecessary annual expendi- tures that this involves.
A careful consideration of the best means of relieving the needs of the Winter Hill district leads to the conclusion that it can best be done by the erection of a six-room building on the Forster schoolhouse lot. There is land enough, and the
319
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
location is reasonably convenient to patrons. A building thus located would be practically a part of the Forster School, and for purposes of supervision and classification could be very easily managed. The Bingham School and the Glines would thus be relieved of two classes each, and the wants of the dis- trict would seem to be met for several years. The new building could be entirely independent of the old or connected there- with as thought best, and could probably be erected for $25,000.
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
According to the annual census taken by the Truant Officer in May last, there were 9,845 children between 5 and 15 years of age in the city, showing an increase of 732 children of school age during the year. This increase is so large as to throw some doubt on the accuracy of the returns, for it exceeds by several hundreds the number of children in the schools at that time. Still the census was taken with unusual care, and the number of children reported as not attending school, while unusually large, may have been correct. If so, greater vigi- lance is required in the enforcement of compulsory school laws. Under the changed statutes, the school census will hereafter be taken in the month of September, thus affording an opportunity of requiring the attendance of all children of school age at the opening of the year. The law now requires children between 7 and 14 years of age to be in school dur- ing the entire school year of 40 weeks instead of 30 weeks, as under the old law. It imposes a fine for each five days of unnecessary absence within any period of six consecutive school months.
The law requires high schools to be in session 40 weeks annually, exclusive of vacations. Our high schools have kept 37 weeks of actual school time, lacking two days. One week
320
ANNUAL REPORTS.
has been lost by blizzards and storms, another in the due observance of the five legal holidays that always occur during the school year, and seven days have been lost by the extension of vacations. The same statute demands that elementary ' schools shall keep at least 32 weeks during the year. Our own rules require a school year 40 weeks in length. The actual number of sessions has been 365 instead of the theoretical 400. For the loss of 11 of these sessions, the weather is responsible. Legal holiday observance has taken 10 more. The vacations have been extended to cover 13, and on one half day the schools were closed on the occasion of the funeral of an honored chief magistrate of the city, Ex-Mayor Burns. This loss of three weeks and a half of working time is mainly unavoidable. It may be that the respite thus given from severe school work gives increased vigor in the use of the remaining school time. But in measuring the work accom- plished, this loss must be considered as an important factor. The theory is that every hour of school time should be so used as to yield full value, and return to the city an equivalent for its expenditure. Teachers, pupils, and school authorities should bear constantly in mind that each day of school life now costs the city $1,167, and schools should be closed only in cases of urgent necessity.
The number of pupils connected with the public schools during the year is 11,577. Of these, 1,388 have never attended school before, and 1,151 have come into our schools from other cities or towns. The average membership of the schools has been 9,085, indicating a floating school population of 2,492 pupils, attending for a portion of the year only. Of the average number belonging to the schools, 8,636 have been present at every session, showing a per centage of 95.1. The increase for the year has been 559 pupils.
321
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
A change in school-attendance laws, which requires the names of absentees to be carried upon the rolls for 20 sessions instead of 10, as heretofore, will somewhat increase the average membership of the schools and decrease the rate of attendance. The object of the change is to secure uniformity in the keep- ing of records throughout the State.
The number of tardinesses during the year has been 2,941, the increase being attributable to the unusual hours during which the four-hour schools were kept during the first six months of the year. Only 1,321 times have scholars been dismissed before the close of the session, an index of the readiness with which parents are willing to co-operate with teachers by avoiding as far as possible the interruption of school work. There have been 256 occasions on which physical force has been used by teachers as a substitute for moral power. The number is gratifyingly small, either when compared with what was not uncommon ten or a dozen years ago, or when we reflect that human nature has not essentially changed since Solomon's time.
The question may properly be asked whether the disuse of the rod may not lead to the substitution of more objectionable disciplinary measures. There is danger in this direction. The palms of the hands are by no means the most sensitive parts of the child's organism. Not all teachers are always imperturbable. A few rarely are. Stinging and undeserved rebukes, hastily given, ridicule, biting sarcasm, -the impatient teacher's readiest and sharpest weapon, - leave wounds that slowly heal and do much to destroy the teacher's influence, and alienate respect. Unkind references to personal peculiar- ities, or weakness, or dulness, or home surroundings and training, thoughtlessly made in a moment of irritability, may lead to bitter antagonism where there should be cordial co- operation. From impatient, carping, sarcastic, unsympathetic
322
ANNUAL REPORTS.
teachers, in whom the milk of human kindness seems to have soured, if any such there be, good Lord, deliver us. Give us rather those that chastise in love in the good old way.
HIGH SCHOOLS.
There has been little change in the size of the Latin High "School during the year. A decrease of 6 brings its present membership down to 271. A class of 55 was graduated in June, and 78 entered in September. Twenty-five of the gradu- ates entered college, and others are found in music, drawing, normal, or technical schools. There has been no change in its efficient corps of instructors, and its work, specific and direct in purpose, has progressed without interruption, and has been carried on undemonstratively but with the thoroughness and success that have always been characteristic of the school.
The average membership of the English High School for the year has been 563, an increase of 19 over the last year. Its present membership is 600. The entering class numbered 230, and 75 pupils were graduated. The present membership of the 9th grade, or graduating class of the grammar schools, is 495. Judging by the last three years, one half of this number will enter this school in September, '99. Assuming that the per- ' centage of loss will be the same this year as since its organiza- tion, the school will contain at least 650 pupils to be provided for at the beginning of the next school year. As the present seating capacity of the building is but 604 at the outside, it is evident that some provision must be made for the increased numbers.
It may seem preposterous to call for an enlargement of so expensive a building during the fourth year of its existence, particularly when it was expected to supply all high-school wants for a decade. But there are cogent reasons therefor, and the question may as well be faced with fortitude and composure.
.
323
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
The first reason has already been given. The membership of the school in September, '99, cannot be comfortably seated in the building. A second reason is found in the fact that there are no recitation rooms at present. There were originally three rooms designed to be thus used. One of them, however, has been incorporated into the schoolroom made from the Superin- tendent's quarters ; another has been taken for the imperative enlargement of the library ; and the third is used by the type- writing department. This compels a resort to dressing-rooms for recitation purposes. Three of these, although unventilated and hung with pupils' garments, are now occupied daily by teachers and classes, necessarily small, of course. The mas- ter's office is used for one period daily in a similar way. A third and very important reason for enlargement is found in the needs of the manual training department. When the house was built, compulsory manual training for high schools was not thought of, and no provision was made for it. Four rooms in the basement were occupied for the purpose in lieu of some- thing better. They are inadequate, however, for the develop- ment of the full course, and moreover are, especially at certain seasons, damp and unhealthful, as might be expected from rooms mainly below the ground level. Then, too, provision was made, when the curriculum of the school was arranged, for a course in domestic science. But from the outset no room has been available for this very practical work. If then, this school, so important in the far-reaching results it is accomplish- ing, is to continue its good work under the most favorable con- ditions, an increase of accommodations must be provided at an early day. These should include at least six classrooms, four recitation rooms, and six rooms for manual training and domestic science. If it is possible at the same time to provide an assem- bly room, in which the entire school may occasionally be gath- ered, and a room devoted to physical training, other urgent
324
ANNUAL REPORTS.
needs will be met. This all involves outlay, but it also involves provision for the supply of present necessities, for the legitimate natural growth of the school, for its development according to the original plans, and for the extension of its usefulness in a community that is rapidly growing to realize its value and to appreciate the opportunities it presents.
There were three changes in the teachers of the school dur- ing the school year. In April, Dr. Lyman C. Newell, to whom the school is indebted for the thorough organization of the departments of chemistry and German, left the school to accept a position in the new State Normal School at Lowell. He was succeeded by George J. Pfeiffer, Ph. D., a graduate of Zurich Polytechnic School and University, and a gentleman fully equipped by education and experience to maintain the high standard of his department. In June, Miss Marsh was granted a year of absence for rest and recuperation. Her place was taken by Etta A. Seaver, Smith, '92, recently of the North Easton High School. Miss Davenport, who had had charge of the drawing department since the organization of the school, resigned and was succeeded by Mary F. Carrick, Normal Art, '94, and supervisor of drawing in Natick schools. These ladies are worthy members of the exceptionally strong teaching corps of the school.
The regular teaching force has been supplemented by the employment of student teachers, who serve without pay and under the direction of the head master. They are all graduates of college or technical schools, and have their specialties. As in these days experience is indispensable to permanent employ- ment, they are willing to give their time and service for what they can gain thereby. While they give no regular instruction, their services are of much value to the school. In both draw- ing departments the classes are large. Hence the individual direction and assistance that are essential can be given by the
325
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
regular teacher to only a limited extent. The three assistants in these departments, graduates of the Normal Art School and thoroughly trained, can give valuable aid by supplementing the work of the regular teachers. This is true, also, in the depart- ment of elocution, where of necessity there can be only class instruction with a single teacher and 600 students, and where some individual work is very desirable. In the chemical and biological laboratories there is always much work to be done in the preparation of specimens and material and their distribu- tion. An assistant who has specialized in these lines can be very helpful. A student teacher in the department of stenog -- raphy has saved the city the salary of a second teacher for at least two years. In the academic departments there is much that trained, intelligent, though inexperienced teachers can do. In the library, in corridor duties, in clerical work of various kinds and in their willingness to aid in a great variety of ways, they prove their value. Two of these students have already obtained lucrative premanent positions through the prestige this sort of experience has given them. A mutually advan- tageous arrangement of this kind, whereby the school is increased in efficiency and our own college graduates are very greatly assisted in beginning their life work, should be encouraged and made permanent.
The school continues to maintain the high standard of excellence which has been conspicuous from its organization. Whatever the earnest effort and enthusiasm of skilled and self- denying instructors can do, is constantly being done for its students. As its numbers increase and the circle of its patrons extends, the school advances in the knowledge and appreciation of our citizens ; and still, a large body of our people are ignorant of what the school offers and what it accomplishes. At recent informal receptions given in the
326
ANNUAL REPORTS.
building by the teachers to parents of students, there were constant expressions of surprise, not only at the appearance of the building, but at the evidences of the diversity and practical nature of subjects taught.
While the expenses of the school, some of which are peculiar to the conduct of laboratories and manual training work, may seem large, we are confident that they are justified by the results that are constantly attained, and that all well- informed citizens will admit that the investment yields satisfactory returns.
As showing what proportion of those who enter the school drop out during the course, and how the loss is divided between the boys and the girls, the following tables are instructive. They furnish data for judging future membership, and apply to the three classes which have entered the school directly from the grammar schools.
STATISTICS OF CLASS OF 1899 IN DECEMBER, 1895, 1896, 1897, AND 1898.
BOYS.
GIRLS.
TOTAL.
Year.
No.
Per cent. of class.
Per cent. loss in mem. 1 year.
No.
Per cent. of class.
Per cent. loss in mem. 1 year.
No.
Total per cent. loss 1 year.
1895
90
46.9
. . .
102
53.1
· .
192
. .
1896
59
39.6
34.4
90
60.4
11.7
149
22.4
1897
47
38.8
20.3
74
61.2
17.7
121
18.7
1898
36
36.7
23.4
62
63.3
16.2
98
19.0
Boys' loss from 1895 to 1898, 60 per cent. Girls' loss from 1895 to 1898, 39.2 per cent. Total loss of class from 1895 to 1898, 49 per cent.
327
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
STATISTICS OF CLASS OF 1900 IN DECEMBER, 1896, 1897 AND 1898.
BOYS.
GIRLS.
TOTAL.
Year.
No.
Per cent. of class.
Per cent. loss in mem. 1 year.
No.
Per cent. of class.
Per cent. loss in mem. 1 year.
No.
Total per cent. loss 1 year.
1896
92
40.3
. .
136
59.7
228
. ·
1897
75
46
18.4
88
54
35.3
163
24.1
1898
34
28.6
54.6
85
71.4
3.4
119
27
Total loss of class from 1896 to 1898, 47.8 per cent.
Boys' loss from 1896 to 1898, 56.5 per cent. Girls' loss from 1896 to 1898, 37.5 per cent.
STATISTICS OF CLASS OF 1901 IN DECEMBER, 1897 AND 1898.
BOYS.
GIRLS.
TOTAL.
Year.
No.
Per cent. of class.
Per cent. loss in mem. 1 year.
No.
Per cent. of class.
Per cent. loss in mem. 1 year.
No.
Total per cent. loss 1 year.
1897
82
38.9
. . .
121
61.1
211
. .
1898
58
37.9
29.3
95
62.1
21.5
153
27.5
TEACHERS.
There are now 252 teachers (23 men) employed in our schools ; 32 in the high schools, 113 in grammar grades, 90 in primary work, 10 in kindergartens, and 7 as specialists.
During the year the city has lost the services of nineteen of its best teachers. Two of them, Mary S. Lawrence and Clara M. Bagley, died suddenly in the midst of their activities near the close of the school year. The action of the Board concerning them is recorded elsewhere in this report. Another,
328
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Caroline S. Plimpton, relinquished teaching after a faithful and continuous service of 39 years in our schools, honored and respected by the hundreds who had come under her influence and instruction during this exceptionally long period of service. The 21 years of service of another, Elgina M. Plummer, were regretfully closed by ill-health. The fifth left us for financial reasons. Five others ended brief but honorable pedagogic careers to exercise their educational activities hereafter in connection with the strongest ally of the public school, a well ordered home. Ten, more than one half the whole number, were drawn from us by that irresistible attraction, a larger salary, an agency that is constantly depriving us of our strong- est teachers.
Perhaps the most noteworthy change of the year in our teaching corps and one which awakened the widest public in- terest was in the department of music. After seven years of successful labor as supervisor of music in the six lower grades, Mrs. Gish Garwood resigned. After long continued efforts to harmonize divergent views, on the 49th ballot Mrs. Charlotte D. Lawton was elected her successor. Mrs. Lawton brings to her work zeal and enthusiasm, a thorough musical training, great skill in managing children, and a full knowledge of grade work gained in the Somerville schools,-an equipment which gives promise of gratifying success.
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