USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1913 > Part 12
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Three unusual improvements to elementary schoolhouses were made during the summer vacation. The attic of the Bing- ham School was remodeled into a large and well-lighted assem- bly hall. Now for the first time in many years one of our gram- mar schoolhouses has a hall adequate to its needs.
At the Bell Schoolhouse a generous addition of windows was made, greatly improving the lighting of that building. This improvement is so valuable and so much appreciated by pupils and teachers alike as to make it a good plea for a like provision in the other schoolhouses where one is needed.
By slight alterations in the basement of the Bell School- house the ward room has been enlarged and made a suitable place for school and neighborhood meetings,
166
ANNUAL REPORTS.
The third improvement referred to was made at the For- ster School, where a brick fire-escape was built at one side of the main building.
Other repairs and improvements of a lesser extent were inade at other schools, all contributing to the comfort and safety of the pupils. This work should continue unchecked, however, until all the deficiencies which have been reported are made good. It would seem good policy, moreover, to add at least one assembly room a year to the grammar schools. At the Hodg- kins School is an opportunity for making a hall like the one at the Bingham. As the cost of such a change is small I hope it can be made in 1914.
But the great improvement of the year was made in enlarging the high school plant and adding to it a large assem- bly hall. The additions consist of two three-story wings on the north side of the west building, each wing having nine rooms above the basement, and two three-story additions to the south side of the same building, one at each end. By these additions the south front of the building was lengthened by two rooms. A three-story connecting structure was built between the east and west buildings. Interior remodeling of the two small halls and other parts of the two buildings was made in the effort to increase the seating capacity of the plant. By these means there were added to the buildings twenty-six recitation and study rooms, thirteen laboratories and shops, and eight smaller rooms for office, store-rooms, etc. Al- though these alterations were not begun until April first they were so nearly completed by September 15 that sessions of the school were resumed on that date in accordance with announcement made at the close of school in June, and the whole student body again attended the same single daily ses- sion. The hall which was begun ten weeks later than the other additions was finished late in December. On Tuesday, Decem- ber 23, the hall was dedicated. As was fitting the first public exercise held in it was a school celebration, when for the first time the student body assembled with the faculty. In the even- ing there was held in the hall a public meeting and the building was thrown open to the inspection of the public. What have these additions done to help solve our High School problem? The best answer that can be made is a general one. The addi- tions have made possible conducting the school again on a single session plan. Since September every pupil has had a sitting of his own. They have also provided a few more labora- tories and workshops, giving place for additional work in sciences and manual arts. As the space of the buildings is now divided between laboratories of one kind and another and sit- tings for pupils, the provision for the former is pinched, is a minimum allowance, while the space devoted to sittings is a
16%
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
generous maximum. Under present conditions, however, the work can be carried on with a comfort which seems great when compared with the limitations and discomforts of the past. But when at the beginning of the next semester 210 more pupils enter the school the seating capacity will be severely taxed to accom- modate them. Thus it will be seen that the high school problem is not vet solved. A very great first step has been taken and high school pupils and faculty will work rejoicing in that step, but the march of development of provisions for secondary edu- cation in this city will inexorably force this problem upon public attention until greatly increased facilities are provided for the secondary education of our youth. While there is the time of waiting for this next advance it is worthy of the most thoughtful study to determine what the character of the advance should be.
Organization. Our schools are organized in the follow- ing order :-
Kindergartens. Elementary Schools. 9 grades. 4 special classes. Secondary Schools. High School. 2 Vocational Schools.
The programme of studies for the elementary schools is uniform for schools of a given grade, though large liberty is permitted principals and teachers in its application to their individual classes. This organization of the elementary school has come down from earlier days and until the last decade has been ac- cepted without question though the eight-year elementary course was common outside of New England. Within the last decade this grouping of the elementary educational efforts has been seriously attacked by educators of high standing and other plans of organization have been advocated by them. Within the last few years many cities have adopted plans of organization varying in a greater or less degree from the tradi- tional plan. Briefly stated these new plans have in common agreement upon the following division of the scheme of educa- tion :-
Kindergarten 4 to 6 years of age. 66
Grades 1 to 6 Elementary 6 to 12
77 to 8 Intermediate 12 to 14
6
Secondary 14 to 18 66 66
The kindergarten feature is the same as in the present scheme, varying from one to two years according to the re- sources of the community.
The elementary .period from the first to the sixth grade in-
168
ANNUAL REPORTS.
clusive corresponds in general to the same grades of the pres- ent scheme. The teaching of the school arts is the principal function of this group. History, geography, and literature are included much as they are in the usual curriculum. The period is recognized, however, as a unit of treatment and as belong- ing to the pre-adolescent stage of child development.
The intermediate stage includes the last two years of the elementary course, the seventh and eighth years, in which the age of the pupils ranges from twelve to fourteen years. This is the early adolescent stage of development. This is the period when childhood is receding and there is a looking forward to maturity. The programme of the intermediate schools differs from that of the last two years of the traditional elementary course in that it presents several parallel courses of instruction from which the pupil may select one most suited to his aptitudes. These courses lead up to and articulate with corresponding courses in
secondary schools, either High or Vocational. In adapta- tion of the Intermediate School idea to local conditions communities differ in practice. Some apply the principle to the upper grammar grades which remain in the same building with other grades. The plan most strongly recommended, however, is to segregate the seventh and eighth grades in build- ings by themselves, conduct the work on a departmental plan, and offer the differentiated courses with a single equipment for special studies serving a large group of pupils. For this plan are claimed superior efficiency, economy in accommodations, and economy in cost of instruction.
From the Interim Report of the Committee on School In- quiry, Board of Estimate and Apportionment, of the City of New York, recently published, I quote the following paragraph from the report of Professor Hanus, which as well as anything I have read sets forth the function of intermediate schools :-
"They afford. as already said, an unusually good oppor- tunity to adapt instruction during the last two years of the elementary school to individual and social needs through dif- ferentiated courses of study. The pupils of an intermediate school have reached the age when they are passing through the stage of later childhood and early youth. The physical and mental changes of early adolescence, and the dawning interest in social responsibilities, demand much more careful considera- tion than they usually receive. The segregation of such pupils in a separate school brings all the special problems of their edu- cation into prominence. Consequently the teachers of such schools may, under wise guidance, develop peculiar skill in dealing with them. Such problems are the appropriate differ- entiation of courses of study to meet individual and local needs : segregation of the sexes, with appropriate modification of
169
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
teaching and management for each sex; grouping the pupils in accordance with varying abilities, health, industry, ambitions, and home conditions ; articulation of the different courses of study, with high schools and with vocational schools; voca- tional guidance; organization of pupils for self-government, athletics, club work, social activities ; in general, problems con- nected with the larger freedom appropriate to the age of the pupils, through which they may exercise and develop the in- sight and self-direction that makes all the rest of their lives now and later more significant and valuable."
In this scheme the High School occupies the same part as in the older order. But it is claimed that both the elementary and the high schools are benefited by the better approach to the high school which is afforded by the differentiated courses of the intermediate schools.
While I do not advocate applying this principle generally to . our schools at this time, I think there are elements in our situa- tion to which I have alluded in other parts of this report that make it worth our while to examine this plan to see if it would help us solve some of our problems.
Attendance. The facts of attendance of pupils during the last school year are set forth in the usual statistical tables, where a comparison can be made with other years. It is of immediate interest, however, to know what the present attend- ance is, how it compares with last year and what its effect is upon the organization of the schools. The following figures will give such information :--
October
Change
1911
1912
1913 1912-13
Whole membership.
11,872
11,978
12,422 +444
Membership in high school ..
1,781
1,819
1,814 -5
elementary schools.
9,786
9,847
10,272 ++425
66
66
kindergartens
214
211
221
+10
66
6.
vocational schools
91
101
115 +14
Teachers employed
343
349
365
+16
Sixteen teachers more are employed now than at the same time last year. Of these, two are employed in the high school, two in the Vocational School for Girls, five in the elementary schools, three are cadet teachers and four special teachers. The five additional elementary teachers are distributed as follows : One fifth-grade teacher at the Edgerly, one first-grade teacher each at the Lowe, Hanscom and Bennett, and one assistant at the Hodgkins. The special teachers are distributed as follows : One sewing teacher, one teacher of an atypical class in the Hodgkins School, one teacher of a non-English speaking class and one teacher of an ungraded class at the Bennett School. The two high school teachers are in the Commercial depart-
170
ANNUAL REPORTS.
ment, one a teacher of Stenography and the other a teacher of Spanish and Commercial subjects.
The increase in membership in the elementary schools shown above was 425. On the basis of forty-two pupils to a teacher this increase in the membership would call for an in- crease of ten teachers. Because of the distribution of the pupils over the city this growth in attendance was met by the addition of five elementary teachers, of whom one is an assistant, two are cadet teachers, and two are regular grade teachers.
Cost of the Schools. For the present fiscal year an appro- priation of $320,000 was made for teachers' salaries and $36,000 for contingent expenses. Of these sums $318,957.18 were ex- pended for teachers' salaries and $35,971.06 for contingent ex- penses. The corresponding expenditures for 1912 were for teachers' salaries $305,879.97 and for contingent expenses $37,- 030.37. The larger expenditure for teachers' salaries for the last year is in part due to the increase of the salaries of elementary teachers and in part to the increase in the number of teachers employed.
The details of expenditure in the Contingent fund are given in a statement submitted as a part of this report. The salaries paid to teachers and the number of teachers and their individ- ual salaries are also shown. These are the elements which produce the cost of the schools.
Conclusion. In this review of the year I have not repeated the discussion of needs which were presented last year. It is pleasant to note that this year's achievements include provision for some of those needs; others still remain for care. There- fore I include them among the recommendations which I sub- mit below.
The subjects which I specially recommend to the attention of the School Committee are the following :-
Additional provision for exceptional children in the elemen- tary schools including
A. Ungraded classes.
B. Classes for non-English speaking pupils.
C. Classes for older boys who do not fit their scholarship grade.
The provision for teaching cooking to girls in elementary schools.
Additional window space in several buildings.
Extension of the supervision of masters over smaller schools.
Change of Section 82 requiring masters to teach ten hours each in ninth grades so that they may teach more in other grades in their schools.
171
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
Consideration of the application of the plan of intermediate schools to local needs.
Introduction of physical training in the high school and the appointment of a physical director who shall also direct sports.
Consideration of the feasibility of awarding diploma credits to High School pupils for outside work of certain kinds. Completion of the Cutler School at an early date.
Building an assembly hall in the Hodgkins School. Provision of additional accommodations for elementary schools in East Somerville.
Provision of additional accommodations for the Vocational Schools.
Re-opening of the Lincoln School either in February or September.
Consideration of the best way to provide for the future de- velopment of secondary education.
As a closing sentiment I wish to record my appreciation of the spirit of cordiality and co-operation which has existed throughout the schools during the year and to thank the mem- bers of the School Committee for their unfailing kindness and support.
Respectfully submitted,
January 2, 1914.
CHARLES S. CLARK, Superintendent of Schools.
HIGH SCHOOL REPORT FOR YEAR 1913.
Somerville, Massachusetts,
January 12, 1914.
Mr. Charles S. Clark,
Superintendent of Schools,
Somerville, Massachusetts.
Dear Sir: I take pleasure in presenting the following re- port of the high school activities for the preceding year.
The year of 1913 has marked an epoch in the history of the Somerville High School. Lack of sufficient room has been for fifteen years a source of great inconvenience, a constant ham- pering of school work, and a decided menace to the health and safety of pupils and teachers. These difficulties are now tem- porarily removed through the building of additions to the school of twenty-six new rooms, with a large hall and lunch room. For the first time in years pupils and teachers are now meeting in single session, though, to secure this, several rooms are used jointly as home rooms and for the teaching of specific subjects such as mechanical drawing, typewriting, and sewing.
One Session Plan. As a result of these additions the school returned in September to a one session plan after three years of double sessions. This special plan of extended or double sessions has thus been thoroughly tested. It was adopted as the only possible means of housing 2,000 pupils in a building much too small. It was entered upon with unbiased minds and was modified and improved each year. Having given this plan careful observation and study, I am convinced that such an arrangement is neither practical nor advisable for the follow- ing reasons :-
(a) Extension of the school day at both ends. School be- gan at eight o'clock and closed at four-thirty. This meant in- convenience to the homes because of very early breakfasts; it also meant sending pupils home late in the afternoon. In the winter, particularly, they were obliged to go home after dark.
(b) Artificial light. For a large part of the year, the pupils of the afternoon session had to do most of their work by arti- ficial light.
(c) Double use of desks. The morning pupils were obliged to share their desks with afternoon pupils. Although this was carried on without confusion, yet it was a source of great in- convenience.
(d) Little opportunity for conference with pupils. As the in- termission between the sessions was necessarily short, morn- ing pupils were obliged to leave the building promptly and so had little chance to confer with their teachers. On the other
173
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
hand, teachers were very much restricted in their power to re- tain pupils after school for purposes of discipline or instruction.
(e) A factory method of furnishing an education. Everything had to be done by clock work and hurriedly. The opportunity for the development of many of the broader issues of school life, such as musical, literary, and debating organizations, was decidedly curtailed.
(f) A hardship to teachers. A special arrangement was made for practically every teacher. The greater number were on duty either the first six or the last six periods of the day. The opportunity for conference with teachers, the holding of de- partment meetings and general teachers' meetings were de- cidedly affected because of this plan, and the school was put to a very great inconvenience.
I am unreservedly of the opinion, therefore, that it is a great gain to the school to be enabled to meet and pursue its activities in one session and as one school with a united force of teachers and body of pupils.
Reorganization of Faculty and Rearrangement of Pupils. The problem of reorganization and arrangement involved three considerations : First, a plan to avoid excessive traveling on the part of teachers and pupils ; second, a plan to group together pupils and teachers pursuing similar courses, and, third, a re- distribution of the executive and administrative force to secure the best possible conduct and administration. The placing of the entire commercial department in one building and the pre- paratory work in the other was perhaps the greatest factor in bringing about relief from congestion, and in securing a de- cided decrease in walking and stair climbing between periods.
Capacity of the Building. Although we appreciate sin- cerely this return to normal conditions we must not lose sight of the exact situation regarding the capacity of the building. There are at the present time forty-four class rooms containing in all 1,691 desks. By a double use of drawing rooms, sewing rooms, typewriting rooms, and lecture rooms so that these rooms may be also used as home rooms the total capacity is 1,949. The largest number of pupils present at any one time this past fall was 1,865. The incoming freshman class of 210 will make a membership in February of approximately 2,000. It is very apparent from these figures that the maximum capacity of the school will be reached at that time and that plans must be immediately devised to accommodate the natural growth of the school.
Educational Work of the School. The division of the work of the school into courses under competent heads has led to many interesting innovations and changes.
174
ANNUAL REPORTS.
Preparatory Course. This course, always strong in the per- sonnel of its teachers and in the character of its work, has in no sense suffered by the various changes and additions in its teaching force and course of study, and is in a position, I am confident, to do better work than ever. The resignation last spring of the head of this course, Mr. Sprague, was followed by the election of Mr. Wilkins, for many years an able teacher of preparatory subjects in this school. Mr. Wilkins brings to this course a thorough knowledge of its needs, competent leadership and much enthusiasm.
Pupils were sent from this school in September, 1913, to the following higher institutions :-
Boston University.
8
Dartmouth College.
8
Harvard College.
4
Jackson College.
1
Mt. Holyoke College
2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6
Radcliffe College.
3
Simmons College
4
Smith College.
1
Tufts College.
12
Tufts Dental School
3
Wellesley
Massachusetts Agricultural College.
University of Wisconsin. .
1
Worcester Polytechnic School
1
Framingham Normal School.
4
Lowell Normal School
1
Salem Normal School.
12
Massachusetts Normal Art School.
5
Total
87
The present Senior class is preparing for the following schools and colleges :-
Boston University.
3
Colby College.
1
Dartmouth College.
4
Framingham Normal School.
3
Fitchburg Normal School.
1
Harvard College.
20
Holy Cross. ..
1
Jackson College.
1
Normal Art School.
4
Massachusetts Agricultural College.
6
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
13
Radcliffe College.
7
Salem Normal School
7
Simmons College
5
Sargent School.
2 2
Tufts College.
16
Tufts Dental School.
2
Tufts Medical School.
1
Wellesley
3
.
.
.
.
·
.
.
.
·
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
·
.
7 4
.
Smith College.
Total
102
.
175
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
The school has had for many years the privilege of sending pupils by certificate to the colleges represented by the New England College Entrance Examination Board. This Board represents practically all of the colleges of New England, ex- cepting Harvard and Yale. This certificate privilege is granted every three years on the basis of the excellence of the records maintained in college by the pupils sent from the school. In April, 1913, the certificate right of our high school was re- newed for three years.
Commercial Course. This department has materially profited this year in equipment and space allotment. Two well equipped bookkeeping rooms, two typewriting rooms, a com- mercial geography room, three rooms devoted exclusively to stenography, all combine to place the department on a much better working basis. The organization of a school bank (in conjunction with one of the savings banks of the city) is con- templated in the near future.
General Course. This course remains one of the steady hard working courses of the school. One innovation during the past year has been the establishment of a Community Civics course for first year classes. It is the purpose of this course to interest and acquaint pupils with the civic conditions of their own city and to study various matters such as health protection, taxation and government at close range.
Manual Arts Course. A considerable opportunity for de- velopment has been accorded this course during the past year, and with the new rooms, wholly or partially equipped, much more extensive and thorough work is possible. The boys tak- ing Manual Training have made all of the benches in one of the new rooms, besides many partitions, and tool closets. A newly equipped sewing room for girls is very popular and supplies a long felt want. In the cooking department the girls have turned their work to practical use by supplying lunches for a limited number of teachers and pupils.
Departments. The heads of departments have been mak- ing a concerted effort to systematize the work and to adapt the subject matter and method of treatment in each class to its particular course. The following table shows the number of teachers and pupils coming under the direct supervision of each department head :-
176
ANNUAL REPORTS.
No. of Teachers
Part Teachers.
No. of Classes.
No. of Pupils.
Subjects and Their Cost. The different subjects taught in the school with the proportionate cost for instruction is given in the following table :-
No. of Pupils.
No. of Classes.
Average No. of
Pupils per Class.
Total No. of Reci-
tation Periods.
Individual Pupil
Recitation Units.
Total Cost of
Instruction.
Cost per Pupil
per Recitation.
English
1,850
64
29
253
7,400
$10,660
.036
Elocution
6.19
23
28
23
649
900
.034
History
1,152
10
29
133
3,881
5,309
.034
Mathematics
1,174
41
29
170
4,910
7,176
.036
Greek
66
5
13
25
330
1,530
.115
Latin
550
23
24
115
2,750
7,006
.063
German
365
15
24
75
1,825
3,363
.046
French
5.94
24
25
120
2,970
5,134
.043
Spanish
189
7
27
35
945
1,900
.05
Biology
54
3
18
18
324
570
.043
Chemistry
150
5
30
30
900
1,873
.052
Science Lectures
97
2
49
5
233
371
.039
Physiology
204
8
26
8
204
330
.04
Manual Training
204
13
13
64
1,031
3,208
.077
Mechanical Drawing
290
15
21
38
725
2,909
.10
Freehand Drawing
226
10
15
50
732
1,434
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