USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1930 > Part 7
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135
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
The Charles A. Grimmons School, fully described in the report for the year 1929, was occupied on March 3, 1930, for the first time, seven of the eight rooms being used for the ac- commodation of children of all the grades from the kinder- garten through grade six. At the opening of schools in Septem- ber last it was necessary to occupy the eighth and last room' in the building, showing again that the various steps in our program are not being made any too rapidly to meet the con- ditions.
The hopes and desires of the School Committee, as ex- pressed in the last report with reference to the proposed ad- ditions and alterations of the Southern and Western Junior High Schools, are being fulfilled. After a slight delay during the early part of the year, they are now being rapidly but well constructed in accordance with the original specifications of the School Committee.
The Superintendent is happy to repeat his opinion that the completion of these projects means that no further con -- sideration need be given to the housing of secondary schools: for at least twenty years.
It is fitting at this time to give commendation to His: Honor, the Mayor, for recognizing the seriousness of condi- tions as expressed by the School Committee when it recom- mended (1) construction of the additions, already proposed, to the Southern Junior High School and the Cliff Buildings, (2) a survey of the physical conditions of the elementary schools with a view to replacing soon those which are least safe and most out of date, and (3) the provision for a new Vocational School for Boys.
Early in the year a survey of the physical conditions of all the schools was made. Significantly this survey bore out the necessity of immediate attention being given to the rec- ommendations of the School Committee made in 1929.
It is hoped that, as soon as practicable after the comple- tion of the projects now under construction, steps will be tak- en to purchase the land bounded by Cross, Bonair, and Otis Streets, and the Northern Artery for the purpose of replac- ing the Edgerly School by a much larger building which will house a modern Vocational School, the Continuation School, and the present primary school in that district.
Improvements to Present Buildings
During the year, through the efforts of the Building Com- missioner and his staff, the school buildings have been im-
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ANNUAL REPORTS
proved to an extent that has not been possible in other years. The Superintendent feels that the repairs and improvements recommended by this office have been made in a far more satis- factory way and in a much more prompt manner than in for- mer years.
It should be borne in mind that all of our elementary school buildings are so constructed that they require constant and costly repairs and that many of our buildings have reached the age at which the cost of making them attractive and keep- ing them so is prohibitive.
Special attention was given this year to making the build- ings attractive to the children. The Brown, Bingham, Ben- nett, and Folsom Schools were painted on the inside and the Bennett and Cummings Schools painted on the outside. The fence which has been placed around the yard at the Bennet !. School completes a program of fencing of two years' dura- tion. All yards which are bounded by streets which afforded a serious menace to children have now been fenced. During the last two years several yards have been resurfaced by the use of a rough macadam pavement which is more durable and more satisfactory than the concrete surfaces formerly used. The yards at the Cummings and Bennett Schools have been repaired and a beginning made at the Cutler School.
There have been, as always, the necessary repairs, but there have been several improvements accomplished this year with the cooperation of the Building Commissioner which are worthy of special mention.
In the girls' division of the Continuation School a new cooking room with additional and improved equipment was added. The sewing room was changed also and equipped with more suitable furniture. This school has now been placed in such a condition as to meet the demands made upon it and it provides the proper physical necessities for a modern type of instruction under very attractive conditions.
The toilet facilities of many of the old buildings are be- coming seriously inadequate. Many of them should be re- placed and others provided suitable for the use of the chil- dren now in the schools. Considerable progress can be reported in remedying these conditions. All of the toilets have had the necessary repairs and painting and it is hoped that money will be appropriated year by year for the purpose of renovat- ing or replacing those toilets which are inadequate.
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Several additions to the furniture have been made. New sixth grade furniture was placed in the Grimmons School. Another set was purchased for the Morse School. Over 4,000 desk tops and 3,000 chair tops were refinished and varnished. Several of the teachers' rooms have new couches and chairs, permitting them to be used by the children for emergency cases as well as for rest by the teachers. New teachers' desks have been provided in several rooms.
At the Northeastern Junior High School, alterations in the lunchroom were made by means of which the work might be carried on more expeditiously and without interference to the cooking class. A larger sink was added. It was necessary to make three classrooms of the library because of the over- crowded conditions. A new net and basketball equipment have been added to the hall, permitting it to be used for ath- letic purposes as well as gymnasium work.
In the high school new track corners have been added to the gymnasium. In the lunchroom the accommodations were increased by providing counters attached to the walls and 700 additional chairs were bought. The laboratory facilities have been improved by considerable electrical work and several more connections for gas were supplied. A sink was added in the clerical practice room. The equipment of the lathe and foundry rooms, which have needed repairs for some years, is being thoroughly renewed and repaired. Another classroom was obtained by transferring the supplies to a basement room. For the purpose of providing a room for storage of stage equipment another room was constructed in the basement.
The very welcome addition of three dental clinics, lo- cated in the Glines, Prescott, and Hodgkins buildings, made necessary a considerable outlay for plumbing, electrical wir- ing, and painting. It is doubtful if at the present time any city has better equipped clinics than ours.
CHANGES IN PERSONNEL
The educational personnel which ordinarily changes slightly from year to year by resignations and retirements is now in the midst of a situation which must be met with a considerable degree of seriousness so that the high standards of our schools will not be lowered.
A review of the reports of the last eight years will show that we have lost from our ranks through the provisions of the Retirement Act such able and efficient masters as Mina J. Wendell, Charles A. Ham, John S. Emerson, and during the
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ANNUAL REPORTS
past year Samuel A. Johnson. In addition these years have seen the loss of a large number of exceptionally capable wom- en teachers.
During the next nine years seven masters and a larger number of teachers will be lost to the service of our children through the provisions of this act. The filling of their posi- tions will devolve upon the members of the next and future Schcol Committees who will be committed to an earnest en- deavor to meet the obligations of their responsibility.
In June Samuel A. Johnson, who during the past thirty- six years served as Principal of the Prescott School, Principal of the Eastern Junior High School, and Supervising Master of the Carr. Cummings, and Durell Schools, and who reached the age of retirement, had to withdraw from his active duties.
In May the School Committee adopted resolutions upon the retirement of Mr. Johnson, expressing its hearty good- will and appreciation and its best wishes for his future suc- cess and happiness. His ability to organize, his devotion to the interests of the youth of the community, and the influence of his high moral character throughout his long period of faith- ful service in the positions filled so honorably and with credit to himself and the municipality, have all placed the commu- ity in his debt.
Francis A. Ryan, Supervising Master of the Bennett School, and previous to that a teacher at the Vocational School and Supervising Master of the Knapp, Perry, and Baxter Schools, after seventeen years of service, was granted a leave of absence to become Assistant Dean of the School of Educa- tion of Loyola University of Chicago, Illinois.
In filling these masterships, the School Committee com- mitted itself to a policy of promotion from within the system and of preference for the product of Somerville schools, thus offering inducements for advancement to those who merit pro- motion by preparing themselves for the more exacting duties of cther positions.
Michael Dewire, successor to Mr. Johnson, is a young man of excellent character and personality who is attacking the problems of the education of the children with tact and ag- gressiveness.
Albert Giroux, serving as Master of the Bennett School, is also a young man of excellent character and broad educa- tion, with a desire to serve the children of the community ably an ! well.
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Early in the year the School Committee created the posi- tion of Elementary School Supervisor, in accordance with its policy of meeting the demands of progressive education. A very able, faithful, and efficient master's assistant, Mary G. Blackwell of the Knapp School, with a broad experience ex- tending over a period of twenty-nine years in our elementary schools, was chosen to fill the position. It is evident, due to her experience and natural ability, that considerable progress has been made in the fulfillment of the functions of the posi- tion in the short time she has filled it.
In addition to the retirement of Mr. Johnson, three teach- ers retired after many years of able, unselfish, and efficient service for the children of the community. Mary L. Boyd, sew- ing teacher for forty-two years, was forced to retire by the pro- vision of the Retirement Act. Bertha M. Morton and Mary A. Holt, teachers of seventeen and twenty years of service with the mentally retarded children and eleven and twenty-one years previously as elementary school teachers, voluntarily re- tired on account of physical disabilities. Letters of apprecia- tion for their devoted services were sent to them by the School Committee with best wishes for many more years of happiness and enjoyment.
Of the other fourteen teachers who left the service of the city during the year, nine left to be married, one resigned be- cause of illness, and two married women decided to give their undivided attention to their home duties. Only one left because of the inducement of higher remuneration and professional advancement, while Francis J. Mahoney, a teacher in the High School, resigned to take a position in another department of the service of the community when he was appointed by His Honor, the Mayor, as Director of Recreation.
ACTS OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
During the past year the School Committee has given much consideration to several orders pertaining to problems in pro- gressive education which are in keeping with the best thought and practice of American educators of today. The main thought stimulating this activity has been the desire of the School Committee to improve the quality of instruction, to enlarge the scope of instruction, and to provide suitable in- struction to meet the needs of all the pupils, not only those of school age but of adults.
Some of the outstanding acts of the School Committee Have been :
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ANNUAL REPORTS
The establishment of a position to be known as Elementary School Supervisor. The functions of such a Supervisor are (1) improvement of the teaching act; (2) improving teachers in service; (3) selecting and organizing subject matter; (4) testing and measuring; and (5) evaluating the effectiveness of teaching.
A tentative approval of several revised courses of study for the elementary, junior high, and senior high schools.
Approval of the plan, details to be adopted later, for a sabbatical leave for teachers for the purpose of study, travel, and health.
A study of the curriculum in the Commercial Depart- ment of the secondary schools.
A lengthening of the school day for both the high and junior high schools with definite provisions for aid and as- sistance by the teachers to pupils delinquent in scholarship or discipline.
Authorization for the addition of high school subjects to the curriculum of the summer school.
The establishment of additional teacherships in the de- partment of music, in the department of physical training, and in the automotive and carpentry departments in the Boys' Vocational School.
Authorization for the establishment of new kindergartens in the Grimmons and Carr Schools and authorization for the establishment of other kindergartens at such times and such places as the demand is evident and the necessary rooms avail- able.
A study of the needs of crippled children and those with impaired health, and authorization for the employment of a teacher for the instruction thereof.
Authorization and establishment of additional courses in the evening schools for adults. These courses include cook- ing and home nursing in the Evening Practical Arts Depart- ment, and French, Italian, and clerical practice in the Evening High School.
Changes in the Rules and Regulations limiting the number of cadets to be appointed each year to ten, and limiting can- didates for teacherships to those under forty-five years of age.
In addition the rule concerning the admission of begin- ners in the primary schools was amended by making provi-
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
sion for the mental testing of children five years and three months of age and making provision for entrance after April 1 of children six years of age who were suitably prepared and had previously attended school in some other city, so that the rule reads as follows :
"Beginners shall be admitted to the first grade during the month of September only. (This does not exclude children of proper school age who are pre- vented from entering by sickness, provided they are suitably prepared.) Those eligible for admission shall be,-first, children who are six years of age or who will attain that age before the first of Octo- ber following; second, where vacancies exist, chil- dren who will become six between October 1 and De- cember 31, and children who are not less than five years and three months of age in September, but who can show by a test a mental age of six years. "No child who will become six after December 31 shall be admitted to the school until the following September, except as provided in the previous para- graph, and except that after April 1 children who are six years of age and who have been in attendance in a first grade may, if suitably prepared, enter the first grade by permission of the Superintendent."
A provision for a recodification of the Rules and Regula- tions.
Authorization for the reestablishment of fitting formal graduation exercises in the junior high schools beginning in June 1931.
Authorization for the establishment of a position and ap- pointment of a Business Manager of Athletics in the High School.
Establishment of two additional positions of Supervisors of Attendance.
ORGANIZATION
Our conventional schools have been for some years or- ganized on the 6-3-3 plan, in accord with the accepted practices of the larger and more progressive school systems.
The special enterprises carried on by the School Com- mittee, which make provision for students with physical or mental handicaps and for those who are practically rather then academically minded, have been increased by establish-
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ANNUAL REPORTS
ing more classes to meet the demands and by the addition of a new activity which makes provision for instruction at home for crippled children or others who through impaired health are unable to attend the conventional schools or the special classes.
Since, in the two previous reports, comprehensive state- ments have been made concerning the organization of the school system and its special activities, attention will be focused in this report on only a few items of interest which are of special importance or are new activities inaugurated during the past year.
Safety Education
The increasing automobile traffic and the construction of several traffic arteries have brought about conditions which make the passage of children to and from school and their play a problem. To obviate the dangers which have been pro- duced and which not only menace their actual lives but are a constant source of worry for parents and the teachers of the school, four things have been done :
1. Through the agency of the police department a safety officer has been appointed to talk to the children in all the elementary grades. His talks have done much to train children to obey signals and traffic officers and have instilled within the pupils habits of watchfulness and carefulness which will stand them in good stead.
2. A course in safety instruction has been pro- vided by the Massachusetts Safety Council for teach- ers of elementary and junior high schools. This course embraces such situations as may occur at any time in the life of a child. The monthly leaflets have been responsible for a great deal of directed, necessary, and valuable instruction.
3. The addition of many traffic officers, situ- ated at those places where experience has shown them to be most needed, has resulted in parents' being much relieved.
4. The Highway Department has taken great care to paint cross-walks contiguous to schools and at corners traversed by school children.
Needless to say there is much that must be done by pa- rents and schools alike to prevent the horrible accidents that
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SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
will always be a menace so long as we have automobiles. The ensuing year will see the development of a course to include the cooperation of the parents. The Superintendent wishes to speak of the fine cooperation of the Police and Highway De- partments in making these wise and necessary provisions for the safety of the school children.
Health Education
The exact condition of the health of school children is becoming a matter of the utmost concern. The schools are confronted with the increasing burden of preparing children for the activities which they are to undertake upon gradua- tion. This makes necessary a physical well-being on the part of the child which in many cases is woefully lacking. Parents, without realizing the disastrous effects, permit their chil- dren to have too many diversions which are amusing but of little educational value. This condition has resulted in many pupils' having a state of mind which drives them from one thing to another with little regard for the advantages and dis- advantages of such pursuits, which process ends inevitably in their inability to concentrate on their school work because of lack of interest and self-discipline. There is also a feel- ing among teachers that this condition has brought about a condition of nerves or nervousness under which a pupil be- comes fatigued without working. Many other factors in in- dividual cases are causing children to work under great dif- ficulties.
The conditions mentioned above and the lack of good breakfasts and proper clothing not only cause excessive fatigue but result in embarrassment of the child and eventually fail- ure in his school work. To overcome these conditions, teach- ers and school nurses have devised a program of health teach- ing which consists of the following: health games; daily in- spection, in many cases performed by the children, of hands, face, and teeth ; frequent visits to homes by nurses ; extended use of the washing period after recess; good posture and reg- ular habits; and encouragement given to the drinking of milk and water and the eating of vegetables.
No better evidence is needed that this instruction is in- teresting to the children than the avidity and enthusiasm with which they organize their room and participate in the selec- tion of their classmates who have physical evidences of hav- ing recognized the virtue of being clean.
In connection with this, the Superintendent wishes to thank the many parents who have praised this work so highly.
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ANNUAL REPORTS
Ilcalth
Two outstanding developments have occurred in the mat- ter of caring for the health of the children aside from those referred to above. The first and most important was the work of the Chadwick Clinic which examined with the per- mission of the parents several thousand children. The results of this clinic have been far-reaching and of inestimable value to the school nurses. Parents and children were somewhat skeptical of the success of the clinic, but during its progress through the city nothing but commendation was received by this office. During the ensuing year, children diagnosed as requiring it will receive special attention from the school nurses. The Superintendent reports that in 450 cases the children are being weighed monthly and that they have shown an increasingly satisfactory physical condition. It is well to bear in mind that this clinic required the services of the school nurses as well as those of an additional nurse employ- ed for this purpose. The conditions arising from this arrange- ment made apparent the fact that an additional nurse is need- ed to carry on the regular work. There is a generally accept- ed standard that there should be one nurse for every 1500 school children. With our present force of three nurses much important work must be left undone.
The second big development was the addition of three dental clinics and the organizing of all this work under a su- pervisor. The need of additional clinics has been very ap- parent for a number of years and these additions will permit the extension of the examination and treatment into grades which have not been able to receive attention formerly. The examination given children has been made much more thor- ough, the information has been sent to parents, and encourage- ment has been given to have the treatment done promptly by the family dentist. Cases of children requiring special at- tention, either because of conditions at home or a poor gen- eral condition of health, are receiving first, and special, con- sideration. Particularly pleasing is the promptness with which the dental clinic has worked with the school nurses in the correction of dental defects shown to exist by the Chad- wick Clinic. The Superintendent feels that the city is to be congratulated in having men in authority who have recogniz- ed the need for a modern dental improvement program and who have provided such excellent clinics.
Summer Round-Up
For two years the Superintendent has cooperated with the Board of Health in a project known as the Summer Round-
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SCHOOL DEL'ARTMENT
Up. Its purpose is the improvement of attendance in the first grade by means of eradicating absences due to preventable ill- nesses, especially those due to diseased tonsils and bad teeth. It is too early to say that our attendance in the first grade has appreciably improved due to this activity. It is disappoint- ing that more parents do not realize the necessity for the cul- tivation of a habit in their children of attending school. There is no other way of accounting for the lack of interest and cooperation in this undertaking which is displayed by pa- rents and their utter disregard of the advantages of placing their child in the highest possible physical condition when he enters school. The Round-Up was given wide publicity and three clinics were held in which the Assistant Superintendent of Schools and a representative of the Board of Health par- ticipated. Only 192 children were examined at these clinics and only 311 of the 2,208 children that entered school were examined at all. Eighty-six children had all their defects corrected, the most common ones being those related to teeth, tonsils, and adenoids.
Summer School
The success of the first summer school conducted during the year 1929 was such as to recommend its extension into the high school grades. The courses of study which were ex- perimental the first year were found to be very satisfactory and were adopted for use.
The summer school has at least three advantages :
1. It saves the city considerable money because of the trial promotion of demotees, consequently reduc- ing the necessary number of repeaters.
2. Habits of industry and a process of self-disci- pline are substituted for lackadaisical and disinter- ested attitudes.
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