USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1912 > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
The following table contrasts the condition of the schools in Ward Seven, October, 1912, with that of October, 1911 :-
No. Rooms
No. Pupils Belonging.
No. Teachers.
Used.
Vacant.
Name.
1911.
1912.
1911.
1912.
1911.
1912.
1911. 1912.
Highland .. 566
511
12
12
12
12
0
0
Hodgkins .. 644
499
15
12
*14
12
0
2
Lincoln ..
205
0
5
0
15.
0
0
5
Lowe.
333
302
8
8
8
8
0
0
Cutler. . .
0
536
0
12
0
12
0
0
Total .... 1,748
1,847
40
44
39
44
0
7
* Includes 1 basement room and 1 hall.
+ Includes 1 room in church.
-
Repairs and improvements were made at many of the schoolhouses during the summer vacation. Perhaps the most important change was that made at the Clark Bennett School. Here enough land was added to the lot to provide a playground very well adapted to the needs of the pupils. During the sum- mer it was graded, given a good surface, and enclosed by a substantial fence. Later several pieces of standard play apparatus were set up and a border five feet wide for flowers and shrubs was prepared around two sides of the grounds. Before the frost came every pupil had planted one or more bulbs in the school garden for blooming next spring. Four shower baths were installed in the basement of the schoolhouse and were opened for use during the latter part of August. They were used daily thereafter by children who attended the summer playground at this school and after schools opened they were used by the pupils of the schools. At the request of citizens of. Ward One the Committee on Playgrounds decided to open the baths on Wednesday and Saturday evenings for men, and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for women. So popular was this feature that it was maintained from the last of August until the close of December. Elsewhere is printed as part of this report a statement which shows the facts of
155
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
attendance at the baths and the cost of their maintenance.
At the Morse School additional windows were provided and a great improvement in the lighting of several of its class- rooms was made thereby. The grounds at the Carr School were graded and improved and more artificial light was fur- nished at the Forster School. At the Prescott School a fire escape was built so as to give egress from each story to an iron stairway enclosed in a brick structure. A new heating plant was installed at the Edgerly schoolhouse and minor repairs were made at other buildings. All in all, a good deal has been done during the present year to add to the working value of the schoolhouses. Although more than half of them have been in use over twenty years all of the buildings are in good repair and in a wholesome condition. Some of the older ones are still deficient in window space and some in artificial lighting as well. This is a fault which ought not to continue longer. It could be remedied by a comparatively small outlay and the benefit which would follow the remedy would be great and lasting.
Promotions. Promotion of pupils is a matter of vital con- sequence in any system of graded schools. The term specifically applies to the progress of pupils from one grade to another higher grade. Its synonym is progress; its antonym is demotion. A graded school system provides certain divisions of instruction and of learning, and fixes certain time limits in which the pupil is to complete the prescribed work. The term grade is indiscriminately applied sometimes to the content of instruction and learning and sometimes to the time interval fixed therefor. Normal progress in school is to pass through each grade of instruction in the allotted time. By as much as a pupil fails to do this he is retarded; by as much as he advances more rapidly he is accelerated. If all children in a given class were of equal capacity, or if all were equally well adapted to do the prescribed school work, then progress would be uniform and there would be neither retardation nor acceleration. As children differ widely in these respects, differences develop in their rates of progress, resulting in retardation as well as promotion. Some acceleration also results. It has long been one of the most difficult problems of school administration so to deal with the various elements involved in promotion as to give to children of varying ability the kinds of opportunity which they need. Retardation has been recognized as an evil of the graded school system and varying devices have been employed to overcome it. These devices have for their object providing elasticity of manage- ment and avoiding the rigidity which the graded system tends to create. In our schools pupils are now re-classified semi- annually. In addition to this provision, pupils may be pro-
156
ANNUAL REPORTS.
moted at other than the stated times of promoting. The determining of the fitness of a pupil for promotion is placed in the hands of the grade teacher, who forms her opinion in the matter upon the average performance of the pupils. Formal examinations are not required as the test of the child's fitness for promotion, and a spirit of liberality is manifested in the teacher's attitude towards the interests of the child in this matter. As a result, our school system stands high in the suc- cess which has been attained in the promoting of pupils. Several methods have been proposed by which to estimate the efficiency of schools in this particular: First, by considering the distribution of pupils by ages ; second, by finding the num- ber of repeaters or retarded pupils and comparing them with the whole number; third, by locating in the various grades pupils of a given age, as for example, thirteen years ; fourth, by determining the rate of progress of pupils. This means to find out how long it has taken each child to reach his present standing in the school system. This method is the most valuable of all, but it is also the most difficult to apply inasmuch as it demands the keeping of elaborate data and the making of complex compilations of data. The first three of these methods can be applied to our own schools. Tables 19, 19A, and 19B printed herewith show the facts concerning these criteria. It is a creditable fact that only 17.8 per cent. of all the children thirteen years old are below the normal grade for that age, while of the remaining 82.2 per cent. the larger part are further advanced than the normal grade. While this showing gives reason for continued effort to improve, it nevertheless discloses a condition very creditable to the schools of our city. Compared with other cities the percentage of promotion is high and the percentage of over-age pupils is very low. Great credit for this condition must be given to our principals and teachers because they are the ones who have brought about this result. Without the help of special devices such as additional teachers for slow children or classes for backward children, they have managed, nevertheless, to teach their classes, generally large ones, and to promote an exceptionally high percentage of their pupils.
Elimination of the Ninth Grade. Owing to the crowded condition of the high school buildings and to the uncertainty of the time when additional room would be provided it has not seemed wise to take any steps this year towards eliminating the ninth grade. While we have waited several of our neigh- bors have acted and have accomplished the change. But now that it is settled that enlarged facilities will be provided at the high school it is desirable to plan for this transition. In general, two years are required in the process. Beginning this
157
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
year to plan therefor the change should be effected by Septem- ber, 1915. One of the incidents to be expected from this change will be an abnormally large attendance in the high school for the four years following the elimination of the ninth grade, for the reason that when the last ninth grade class enters the high school the first eighth grade class will also enter.
Changes of Teachers. Twenty-three teachers resigned, nine were granted leaves of absence and two died, during the past year. Forty-six persons were elected to positions as teachers in our schools during the same period. Of these forty-six, eleven had served the city as assistant or substitute teachers before receiving an election. Thirty-five new teachers were added to the teaching corps. The significance of this fact is that one-tenth of the teaching corps were unacquainted with the curriculum and methods of our schools, and consequently were, for a while, at a lower state of efficiency than the other nine-tenths. To find thirty-five eligible teachers and to investi- gate their records has placed a large burden upon the super- vising force and has taken a large part of its energies away from the other work of the schools. Last year the number of resignations was not quite as large, although, then, it was seventeen. There appears to be no way to prevent such a change in the teaching corps inasmuch as the causes are recur- rent and not subject to control. Of the twenty-three resigna- tions during the present year eight were on account of marriage, nine were for professional advancement, and five were on account of sickness.
Salaries of Elementary Teachers. In March an increase of $50 was made in the maximum salaries of elementary teachers below the rank of supervising principals, bringing that of the grade teacher up to $750. This increase is smaller than the teachers had hoped to receive, but it was accepted by them cheerfully, as a partial recognition of what they con- sidered to be their just claims for larger pay. But by this increase the teachers have not gotten ahead very much. The cost of living within the year has advanced for those who live in the city, so that their balance at the end of the year is little more than before. Nor has the increase changed materially the relation of our maximum to that of neighboring cities. Increases have been granted recently in many of them as a result of which the difference between their maximum salaries and ours is no greater now than it has been for a number of years. Consequently the inducement which our salary maxi- mum holds out to competent teachers of other cities and towns has not increased in proportion to this increase of our maxi- mum. Therefore it cannot be considered that the question of the salary of grade teachers has yet been satisfactorily settled.
158
ANNUAL REPORTS.
High School. The present administration of the High School and the plan of organization which was adopted when the Latin and the English High Schools were combined have had the test of a year and a half. During the school year which closed last June the plans adopted the preceding Septem- ber were in effect. These plans were designed both to meet the new conditions incident to combining the two High Schools and to meet other new conditions incident to the necessity of conducting the whole membership of the school on a basis of a morning session for the three upper classes and an afternoon session for the first year class. Along with these difficulties there was encountered another new one incident to the exten- sion of the semi-annual promotion movement which last February reached the second year class. All of these new conditions were handled efficiently, and the school year which closed June, 1912, was as satisfactory as could be reasonably demanded when all of the difficulties are considered. The discomforts which were experienced by pupils and parents were in the main necessary consequences of the over-crowding of the high school buildings and the necessity of having an after- noon session, but the experience of this first school year under the new plan enabled the administration to make improvements in minor details of the plans for the present school year, which have removed some of the discomforts of the first year. At the present time the school is being conducted upon a double- session plan, with the first-year class attending in the afternoon, and the details of administration are working smoothly and satisfactorily. This result testifies to the efficiency of the high school organization on the side of administration. The plan of organization distributes responsibility and locates it, and also provides for and distributes initiative in matters of administration among the members of the high school faculty. There has been also a gain in the educational supervision of the school. In respect to it as well as in the case of adminis- tration the plan places responsibility and provides for initiative. While during the last school year there was some delay and hesitation in establishing the work of the Board of Supervision, this year it has been taken up with vigor and certainty. So far, then, as the organization of the faculty is concerned, the plan adopted is working well, and has within itself the possi- bility and the promise of efficiency. At the present time the senior and junior classes are working under a programme of studies which was in force before the present grouping of studies into courses was adopted. The sophomores and fresh- men, however, are grouped in the four courses provided for in the present organization of the work of the school. These courses are the preparatory, general, commercial, and manual
-
159
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
arts. Pupils upon entering the High School now are required to take one of these courses. In each course there are certain prescribed studies, and a liberal list of optional studies. These courses are well defined in a pamphlet which was distributed at the opening of the school year.
In the commercial course a new grouping of studies has been made so as to offer a distinct course to those who want a training in business subjects extending over only two years. That such a provision is desirable would seem to be clearly evident from the fact that of the number of pupils who yearly enter the High School nearly one-half drop out before the beginning of the third year. Whatever the value to them of the studies they have pursued during the period those who drop out before the third year have decided for themselves that a two-years' high school experience or course was all they could have. As has been said, the number of such students has for many years been nearly one-half of the entering class. Formerly most of the commercial studies were by design placed in the third and fourth years of the curriculum, thereby being beyond the reach of those who left at the end of the second year or earlier. Recently we have altered that condition some- what. Now we are giving a chance for this element of the school which stays only two years to elect a group of studies of a commercial nature, unified in two years, and designed to give knowledge and skill in the elements of business practice. No pupil will be encouraged to take this course by the thought that it will be easy, for the reverse will be the case. Nor will it be held out to the pupil that this is a short cut to the kind of a position which can only be reached after four years of equally hard application. But it will offer a good solid training two years in length mainly in subjects relating to business. At the end of this course the pupil may continue another two years, if he so elects, and complete the regular four years' course.
It is altogether probable that courses two years in length, but capable of extension into four years, should be arranged in other departments of the High School, for similar reasons.
From the report of Headmaster Avery, and from the figures showing the number of pupils in the High School pursuing various studies which accompanies it, the fact appears that a large proportion of the pupils are now pursuing either the preparatory course or the commercial course. The ex- planation offered by Mr. Avery for the comparative neglect of the manual arts course is probably correct. The condition, however, is one unfavorable to the best interests of many children. It cannot be doubted that among so many pupils as are enrolled in our High School, a larger proportion should
160
ANNUAL REPORTS.
fit themselves for vocations connected with the industries. As the manual training facilities at the present time furnish oppor- tunity only for working in wood, and for a period of only two years, these facilities must be enlarged and the course extended in time before any considerable improvement in this matter can be made. In the enlarged accommodations of the High School this improvement can undoubtedly be undertaken. With an enlarged equipment, and with industrial courses strongly vocational, many of the school pupils who now drift into commercial or literary courses might find their true opportunity.
Playgrounds. An appropriation of $2,500 for summer play- grounds was provided by the Board of Aldermen to be expended by the School Committee. The Somerville Play- grounds Association offered to co-operate with the School Committee again in carrying on this work, and raised the sum of $1,446.62 for this purpose. As this offer was accepted by the School Committee, $3,946.62 were available for the expenses of the season. It was decided to follow the plans of organization and activities which had been worked out last year, and to expend part of the money upon supervision and a part upon permanent apparatus and play material. Twelve playgrounds were conducted during the period beginning July 8 and ending August 28. The attendance was good, and the interest of the children was well maintained throughout the summer. The season closed with an athletic meet for boys, and with a play festival for girls. The athletic contest for boys was held on Lincoln Park, and drew a large attendance of boys and of spectators. The play festival for girls was held on the lawn on Central Hill Park. More than a thousand girls took part in the games, marches, and dances, and a large gathering of spectators was present. Teel's band furnished
music for the exercises.
Profiting by the experiences of the last year or two, the Committee on Playgrounds was able to start the season with plans well matured, and with a corps of supervisors well pre- pared for the work. Consequently there was attained a higher degree of efficiency than in any preceding year. In the future it seems desirable, however, to add to the programme for boys some forms of manual occupations. While the girls devoted a large portion of each day to needle work, no attempt was made to give the boys hand training of any kind. This fact was due to the conviction held by the committee that it would be best this year to improve upon lines already laid down before beginning new ones. Another year such a neces- sity would not exist, and some new work for boys might be undertaken. Among the projects which might profitably be
161
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
considered are gardening, manual training, chair caning, and make-up classes. I hope it will be possible to try some or all of these occupations for the benefit of the boys who have to stay in the city during the summer. ,
School Savings Banks. In March of this year school savings banks were started in the elementary schools. This enterprise was undertaken in accordance with Chapter 211, Acts of the Legislature of 1911, to inculcate thrift among the pupils of the public schools. For nine years saving had been encouraged in the schools through the operation of the stamp savings system, and a good deal of success had been attained by that method. The substitution of the new system for the old one was rendered necessary by the withdrawal of the Associated Charities from longer participation in that work. Being obliged to assume the whole conduct of the enterprise, or to allow the matter to go by default, the School Com- mittee authorized the establishment of school savings banks in the schools of the city in co-operation with the Somerville Institution for Savings. Banks were established in twenty of the elementary school buildings, and are now in operation.
The method of keeping the accounts in the bank savings system is totally different from that employed in the stamp savings system, and opinions differ as to which imposes more labor upon the teachers, and which better promotes thrift. Some like the new system better than the old, while others hold just the opposite opinion. There is a corresponding difference among the schools in the success with which the system is operated. As will be seen from the statement printed with this report, several schools show nearly as large total deposits made during the eight months of the existence of the banks as they made during the preceding year under the stamp savings system, while three have actually increased their de- posits. It is too early, therefore, to pronounce final judgment upon the success of the new venture. Other cities of the commonwealth are having the same experience, and are solving the problem. If this matter is to merit a place in the activities of the school it must be recognized as a school enterprise deserving the amount of time and attention neces- sary to its successful conduct. It will be of little avail to conduct the savings system in a perfunctory way, but it will be of great importance so to deal with this matter as to bring to the attention of all school children the importance of thrift, and to cultivate in them the habit of saving their money. It can not be doubted that such a habit tends to make its possessor a better citizen, and to increase his chances of success in life. On this basis the enterprise rests its claim for a place in the activities of the schools.
162
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Evening Schools. Evening schools were maintained in the High School and in the Bell and Highland Schoolhouses.
The Evening High School afforded the large variety of subjects which has characterized that school for a number of years. It affords training in extension of their daily callings to many workmen. Its work is well done, and it is adequately meeting the needs of the community.
The Elementary Evening Schools are serving a different constituency, but are doing a work fully as important. At these schools there is a large attendance of non-English speak- ing foreigners, who here get their first instruction in the English language. The evening school has an important part to fill in making American citizens of these newcomers.
Vocational Schools. The Boys' Industrial School last June graduated its first class of students from a full two-years' course. These boys, thirteen in number, have all been placed advantageously in positions for which their school training has fitted them. This fall fifty-two boys are enrolled, and the work of the school is being carried on in an efficient manner. Through lack of funds the enlargement of the school, which was under consideration in the early part of this summer, was not undertaken. No further extension of this work can be made until more room is provided for it. I think that the plan for increased accommodations, which failed because of lack of funds, should be put into effect during the approaching school year, or some other one which will afford an equal amount of room should be adopted.
Girls' Industrial School .- This school, which was started a year ago last October, has had a successful year. Its courses of study have been well thought out, and have been put into successful practice. The enrollment at various times during the year has exceeded fifty pupils.
Details of the work of the year of these two schools will be found in the reports of the principals.
Atypical Class. Mention, although brief, should be made of the meritorious work which is being done for feeble-minded children in the Atypical Class at the Bell School. The fifteen children who have been taught there during the present school year have been withdrawn from the classes, where they were totally out of place, and have been given a sympathetic training suited to their needs. Attendance upon this class is entirely voluntary, but there has been no time during the present year when there was less than the full number of pupils enrolled. Another class of this character in another part of the city would doubtless be the means of withdrawing an equal number of children from the schools which they are now attending with- out profit to themselves.
PUBLIC SCHOOL DENTAL DISPENSARY, PROCTOR SCHOOL BUILDING.
0
163
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Dental Dispensary. After three years of work performed without charge by the Somerville dentists, the dental dispensary has now been placed upon a secure basis as a part of the school system. A dentist has been employed by the School Committee to have charge of the dispensary, and to render service there every morning when schools are in session. Assignments of time are made so that each school may send pupils to the dispensary in turn. For the present treatment will be limited to giving relief in cases of toothache, and cleaning and filling teeth.
It is the hope that much more than this can be undertaken before long. An effort will be made to secure the co-operation of dentists in treating a limited number of cases to be sent to them from the dispensary. Arrangements will be made to conduct pupils to dental clinics, where they can receive free treatment in cases which require more time than the public school dispensary can give.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.