USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1931 > Part 18
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By way of further comparison it can be shown that for each $1.00 expended for education, $1.28 is spent for life insur- ance, $2.89 for building construction, $6.75 for passenger au- tomobiles, and $2.61 for candy, chewing gum, and theatres. From whatever angle these facts are viewed it is clear that only a very small fraction of our economic power and capital is invested in public education.
Against the second statement that more money is spent for education than the importance of this public interest
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justifies, it seems necessary only to note that the annual in- vestment in public education in the United States is 26% of the taxes collected for all public purposes. For every dollar expended for public schools there is expended nearly three dollars for other public purposes. In view of the necessity for a good education and the improved economic standing and social status which are concomitants of education, do these facts indicate that too large a portion of our public revenue is expended for the education of our children ?
The increasing cost of all public activities, and especially that of the schools, the third point of criticism, has been the basis for the condemnation of any increase in school expend- itures, irrespective of the cause. Slight consideration by the most uninformed of laymen, who frequently are the most ap- preciative of the educational opportunity offered their chil- dren, would inevitably and emphatically dispose of such crit- icism as penurious, ill advised, and so utterly un-American as to be indefensible.
Statistics show that the fraction of income expended for public instruction has remained practically stationary since 1922, while the fraction of income expended for automobiles has increased fifteen fold. Henry Ford would say that this increase is justified because the automobile is essential to mod- ern life, and the fads and frills, or the body style changes, are steps towards progress and make for prosperity. In short, the luxuries of one year become the necessities of the next.
Therefore, a mere increase in cost for a service should not be condemned if the enterprise is important and the amount of service is needed. We insist that the schools constitute the most important enterprise carried on by any municipality, if their aims be correct and if they function properly to fulfill the aims. Hence, if it can be shown that the size of the job has enlarged and yet the fraction of income spent for schools: has remained stationary since 1922, it is reasonable to em- phasize the indication that we have not been placing too high a value on education.
However, no public activity which cannot justify its: worth under the test of contributing to individual and gen- eral welfare should be supported by taxation. Any honest ef- fort to appraise critically the activities paid for from public funds is to be commended. Every effort to increase the ef- ficiency of public enterprises should be supported. The at- titude, however, that holds school expenditures as a social loss and taxes for the same a necessary evil has no justifica-
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tion unless it can be proved that the schools do not function properly.
A study and analysis of the attached tables which con- stitute a part of this report will reveal to the most critically minded, if it be agreed that the facts for the country are justified, that, with respect to costs, the schools of Somerville are carried on economically and efficiently. It then remains for the School Committee to offer definite proof of efficient functioning of the system which it has provided for the com- munity in accordance with the statutes.
As our democratic spirit develops, a change is manifested in that private expenditures give place to outlays for things that benefit larger numbers. Society becomes more and more industrialized and demands improvements in its community and civic affairs. In short it demands producers and a produc- tion for which it is willing to pay.
Education is the greatest productive force in modern civ- ilized life. Hence society demands not only public school ed- ucation, but education in a well ventilated, well lighted struc- ture that makes an appeal to the artistic sense of the com- munity and education by a well trained staff of instructors who have adequate equipment with which to work.
Any institution is productive that either directly or in- directly leads to the satisfaction of human wants. If it be rec- ognized that the real wealth of a nation is the mental condi- tion and development of its citizens, no more productive in- dustry can be found in which to invest money than that car- ried on by the public schools. Education, then, is the most val- uable form of capital, a scientific fact readily accepted by economists. Therefore, school costs are a depreciation fund whereby our most important form of capital is protected from deterioration and as much money as can be given will not be too much for education, and no industry can be more produc- tive than an effective public school system.
ACCOMMODATIONS
As evidence of the spirit of the community with relation to the demands of society for the educative process to be car- ried on under the most effective conditions possible, it is only necessary to call attention to the additional school accommoda- tions placed at our disposal during the year 1931.
In view of (1) the persistent recommendations of the Su- perintendent of Schools, (2) the follow up by continued re-
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quests of the School Committee, and (3) his own convictions, his Honor the Mayor made determined efforts in behalf of the interests of our well-established and well-recognized junior high school system to provide the necessary additions to the Western and Southern Junior High School buildings.
Considerable inconvenience has been experienced during the construction period, without affecting the academic accom- plishments, and now we can look forward to the ever-increas- ing efficiency of a system which has been exceptionally produc- tive even though operating under adverse conditions.
Both additions are thoroughly modern and built of fire- proof construction with great care being given to conditions governing ventilation and lighting. The outstanding features, aside from the usual academic recitation rooms and shops, are the beautiful auditoriums, well-equipped gymnasiums, print- ing shops, the visual education apparatus, and perhaps most important of all, the fine radio equipment and installation by means of which messages and important programs can be transmitted to every student without any waste of time to as- semble the whole school in the auditorium. Already, excep- tional value has been realized in consequence of the Mayor's determination to give the children the best opportunity that could be provided.
Although the economic depression has, as is always the case, caused many children to remain in school who would ordinarily at junior high school age enter employment, the statement of the Superintendent to the effect that these addi- tions would meet the needs of the secondary schools for a number of years appears correct.
In addition to placing the junior high school plants up- on a high plane, the policy of replacing all wooden buildings which are fire hazards with fireproof buildings has been ad- vanced during the year by providing plans, awarding the con- tract, and having the construction rapidly nearing completion of a new first class, fireproof eight-room building to replace the Cummings School building on School Street which was erected as a primary school in 1884.
At the laying of the Corner Stone, which took place on the afternoon of October 28, 1931, a copy of the following ad- dress delivered by the Superintendent of Schools was placed in the corner stone with copies of the annual reports of 1929 and 1930, some coins, and the newspapers of the day.
The Charter of the City of Somerville charges the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen with the respon-
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sibility for the erection, care, and maintenance of schoolhouses and for furnishing the necessary moneys for the support of public education. The City Govern- ment must, therefore, provide adequate and suitable schoolhouses designed for the pursuit of purposeful activities. These buildings are necessary to furnish the proper environment and inspiration for the suc- cessful accomplishment of the instructional phase of the process of education.
The School Committee is charged by statute with the establishment and maintenance of a public school system which will offer the best opportunity for the highest type of education to every child in the com- munity. In order to carry out this responsibility, the School Committee must face the future, strive to un- derstand the youth of the generation, and provide educational opportunities for training and experience which will be as effective as possible in adjusting the youth of today to the life of today.
The School Committee must maintain effectively its educational undertakings and it must insist that these undertakings are adequate and in keeping with the spirit and needs of the times.
Education is a process of adjustment,-physical, emotional, or mental. Every new experience entering one's life necessitates an adjustment in one of these three fields. Too long has the idea predominated that education is simply a scholastic process limited to the few years of conventional schooling. Education is a life-long process. Emphasis is now being placed in these days of scientific treatment of all situations on pre-school training and adult education, and impetus is being given to the advantages of public libraries and recreational opportunities.
However, in order to prepare for the adjustments of life, it is exceedingly important that the beginnings be effective in establishing proper habits and facilities for acquiring the necessary fundamental faculties for learning. These are acquired in the primary and ele- mentary schools. No industrial depressions or other periodic difficulties should, in any way, affect the fixed policy of American education to hold schooling on the highest plane. The duties and responsibilities of the branches of our City Government here repre- sented are correlative and supplementary.
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This ceremony is an indication that Somerville intends to continue to equip the youths of our city for the assumption of the powers and responsibilities which will devolve upon them when their time shall come to maintain the edifice of a democracy, "for only those who have the habit of learning, the habit of thinking, the habit of growth, can keep in line with this complicated old world."
In 1842, when Somerville became a town, the en- tire school system of Somerville consisted of six rooms which accommodated two hundred and ninety- three pupils. In 1884 the number of pupils in the Som- erville schools had increased to six thousand and thirty-two. At that time a four-room building had been completed and was opened for use on January 5, 1885 upon this site. This building was named, in 1884, for John Addison Cummings who was Mayor of this city at that time.
John Addison Cummings, teacher, soldier, and pub- lisher of the Somerville Journal, served his city well; first in the Massachusetts Legislature, next as a mem- ber of the Board of Aldermen, and finally as Mayor of our city for four years. "The lesson of his life stands out to every young person whatever his condi- tion or circumstances, 'will to be right and God will help you to gain your aim'."
This building has, for some years, been inadequate to meet the needs of its district. Consequently, with the purpose in mind of providing adequate and suit- able modern accommodations for the education, health, and safety of the children of this district, the City Government is now laying the corner-stone of an eight-room elementary building, simple in architec- ture, economical in cost, but fully capable of provid- ing the accommodations for acquiring the necessary tools for successful living for the children from kin- dergarten age to those who will successfully enter our improved secondary school units.
Mr. Mayor,-on behalf of the School Committee, on behalf of the citizens of Somerville, and on behalf of the countless children whose education will be re- ceived in part in the building to be erected here, and whose interests are to us all alike dear and sacred, I express to you, and through you to the City Government
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and citizens of our city, appreciation and gratitude for the efforts expended in this important enterprise.
This subject of building program cannot be left without again calling attention to the urgent need for more adequate and suitable quarters in which to house the Boys' Vocational School. It is hoped that this project will be the next step un- dertaken in our very progressive program.
Improvements to Present Buildings
The necessity for the continued repair of our old build- ings is constantly before the Building Commissioner and the Superintendent of Schools. So many urgent demands are made for the limited funds that it is almost impossible to keep each and every building in the best possible shape.
Four buildings, the Prescott, Bennett, Baxter, and Carr, have been painted and redecorated. The grounds of the Grim- mons School have been graded, covered with loam, and seeded, and the Building Commissioner has recommended that the city erect a retaining wall on Puritan Road to protect children on the playground. A new fence was placed around the Cutler yard. A sewer to drain the water which formerly formed a pond in the Perry School yard after every rain has been con- structed.
The toilet facilities in many of our schools are utterly in- adequate. The Building Commissioner has undertaken to re- place those in one school each year with a more modern equip- ment. The toilets of the Prescott School this year were com- pletely renovated and those at the Hanscom also were made more presentable.
Four elementary rooms have been outfitted with new fur- niture. Fourteen teachers' desks and twelve tables have been purchased, and 5,000 pupils' desks and 7,000 seats have been cleaned, repaired, and varnished. Furniture for another kin- dergarten has been purchased, four kindergartens have been floored with linoleum, and all kindergartens are to be further equipped with individual cabinets for the children.
Considerable outlay has been necessary for electrical wir- ing for the purpose of connecting machines of different kinds at the Northeastern, Continuation, Edgerly, and Boys' Voca- tional Schools. Additional gas ranges have been set up in the Highland and Edgerly Schools
As a matter of conclusion, it may be stated that the wants of our school buildings, so far as equipment is concerned, are
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being rapidly satisfied. All requests made by the School De- partment have been attended to promptly by the Building Commissioner and the Superintendent reports that the build- ings are in as good a condition as the limited funds at the dis- posal of the Building Commissioner will permit.
CHANGES IN PERSONNEL
During the past year great sadness has come among us by the departure from the educational service of the community of several exceptionally efficient members of our organiza- tion. Three were relieved of their duties by the intervention of Death,-Harriet M. Bell and Lucy E. Dorr after severe ill- ness and M. Virginia Crowne as a result of an accident. The entire community mourns their loss from service, and former students and we who worked with them mourn the loss of their friendship.
Eight of our number were retired by the provisions of the retirement act. These were teachers of long experience, among the best in our system.
Arthur L. Doe retired in June after forty-six years of service as a teacher, thirty-five of which were spent in Somer- ville as master, first of the Hodgkins Grammar School and later of the Western Junior High School. Many tributes were paid to Mr. Doe including banquets and receptions and the School Committee passed resolutions concerning his retirement which were engrossed and presented to him. It was a distinct pleas- ure to share responsibilities with Arthur Lincoln Doe, and he has left an indelible mark upon the hearts and minds of all those who associated with him.
Everett W. Tuttle, Vice-Headmaster of the High School; Alice B. Cunningham, Prescott School; Ardelle Abbott, Burns School ; Florence E. Locke, Pope School; Isabelle M. Gray, Prescott School; and Mary E. Richardson, Prescott School, were forced to retire voluntarily on account of ill health, and Emma J. Wayland, Supervisor of Sewing, was forced by the retirement act to conclude her services.
All these teachers had given their utmost to the educa- tion of the youth of our city. Letters of appreciation for their devoted services, which covered periods of from thirty to thirty-six years, were sent to them by the School Committee with best wishes for many more years of enjoyment and good health.
Dr. Francis A. Ryan, Supervising Master of the Bennett School and previous to that a teacher at the Boys' Vocational
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School and Supervising Master of the Knapp School district, after seventeen years of service was granted a year's leave of absence in 1930 to become Assistant Dean of the School of Education of Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois. At the end of the year of leave, Dr. Ryan believed that he could best serve in another branch of the educational field and severed his con- nection with the schools of Somerville by resignation. Since Dr. Ryan was not in the city, his friends had no opportunity to express their respect of him and their appreciation of his zealous, conscientious, and scholarly service to our community. He leaves with best wishes for success in his chosen field of education.
Of the remaining thirteen who left the service, eight be- came married, another, not a member of the retirement associa- tion, resigned on account of poor health, and four accepted teaching positions of professional advancement in other com- munities,-three in Boston and one in New York City.
In filling the positions of master of the Western Junior High School and Vice-Headmaster at the High School, the School Committee continued its policy of promotion within the system.
George K. Coyne, the new master of the Western Junior High School, is a young man of excellent character and per- sonality, broad education, and seven years' experience as teach- er and Vice-Principal of the Northeastern Junior High School. Mr. Coyne has attacked his problems as a master with rare tact, an unusual amount of wisdom for one of his years, and a devotion to his task which assures successful accomplishment.
The School Committee felt that the increased enrollment at the High School warranted the employment of two Vice- Headmasters and selected for these positions Albert Giroux, who served ably and well as acting master of the Bennett School last school year after previously teaching at the South- ern Junior High School, and Harry F. Sears, the dean of the men teachers of Somerville High School. Mr. Sears' promotion was well deserved after his twenty-eight years' experience as a teacher of history and his long successful experience as a member of the Board of Administration of the High School.
MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE
The public school membership at the present time is 16,171, as compared with a membership of 16,022 for the correspond- ing date last year and 15,626 for the same approximate date
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of the previous year. These figures again indicate the correct- ness of the statement previously made that
1. The possible school population is fast ap- proaching the saturation point in our community,
2. A slight fluctuation exists in the numbers of pupils entering the lower grades annually,
3. The popularity and attractiveness of our High School is continually growing.
The net increase in membership over last year is 149.
This net increase, however, when analyzed shows a gain in membership in the High School of 277 after a rather unusual increase last year of 217. This is, of course, due in part to the statements made above but particularly is it due to the natural « consequence of the industrial depression which has also affect- ed the membership of the Continuation School by a decrease of 59.
The industrial depression, which affects the adult popula- tion of our city very seriously, has placed an even harder task of obtaining employment upon those minors of school age normally affected by the Continuation School law. When it is impossible to obtain employment, the compulsory school law compels all children up to the age of sixteen to remain in school and thus brings more clearly to the minds of those over sixteen the importance of more adequate education; conse- quently from choice they endeavor to better themselves educa- tionally so that their economic condition may be improved up- on the resumption of normal industrial circumstances. It would appear that the facilities of our High School, which the Superintendent said would meet our needs for a number of years, are at the present time taxed to the limit of accommoda- tions, but, in view of the reason therefor, it is not necessary to be alarmed about the situation.
The junior high schools show a loss in membership of 8. A comparison of the facts with reference to the individual junior high schools is not pertinent since the district lines for these schools have been changed during the past year so that a more equitable distribution of pupils might be made.
The elementary schools this year show a net decrease of "58 made up of material losses in two districts against the smaller gains in five districts.
The attendance record of our schools remains practically ¿the same as that of last year. The School Committee has spent
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considerable time during the past year upon an analysis of the attendance situation with a view towards reorganizing the at- tendance department by adding to the personnel as was done by the assignment of two temporary employees early in 1930. Our attendance record has this year, as always, stood high in comparison with the other cities of the state. This continued success is, no doubt, due to the extra efforts on the part of the teachers to secure good attendance and is in spite of the re- duced personnel of our attendance department. Regularity of attendance is an important means of teaching a child the value of constant and sustained response to duty.
Attendance affects scholarship and regular attendance, therefore, is necessary and the closest cooperation between home and school in this matter is strongly urged.
ACTS OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
The members of the School Committee have carefully and earnestly considered many important matters relating to the schools of the city. On account of the economic situation sev- eral of these matters which concern projects quite necessary but involving the expenditure of more money than seems jus- tifiable at this time have been referred to the next School Committee.
However, in addition to its routine tasks, the School Com- mittee has taken important actions during the year as follows :
Reorganized the Physical Education Department making provision for a full time director and one male and one female assistant to the director.
Made provision by the transfer of a competent grade school teacher for the instruction at home of those children who are physically handicapped and unable on that account to attend school.
Made request of the Board of Health for another school nurse so that the pupil load per nurse may be reduced.
Examined and approved tentatively revised courses of study in the following subjects: Latin, Spanish, Italian, Commerce and Industry, Music, Art Appreciation, Geography, Penmanship, and Kinder- garten Work.
Clarified the Plan for Sabbatical Leave adopted in December, 1930.
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Made provision for the twelve-payment plan for salaries of school teachers, and presented a revised ordinance to the Board of Aldermen to make provision for the plan.
Established a second vice-headmastership in the High School.
Established a new kindergarten in the Brown School.
Presented orders, which are still being consid- ered by the Committee on School Accommodations, for a redistricting of the Elementary Schools.
REPORTS ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES
Improvements in Instruction
Definite endeavors of various kinds have been made to im- prove the instruction, especially as to matter of content. The outstanding development has been the progress and the ex- tent of the project work in the elementary schools. This work has developed to a high degree the correlation between sub- jects within a given grade, the articulation of the work be- tween grades, and the individual pupil's innate ability and ambition for better and more intensive work. In order to ac- quaint the public and parents with the excellence of this work, two afternoons were devoted to a display of work of this kind throughout the city. From 100 to 800 parents attended the exhibition in each school and reports of the success of the ex- hibition and the interest displayed by the parents have been gratifying. The proper organization of this work has made necessary a number of meetings and demonstration lessons.
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