USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1939 > Part 7
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High School heads of departments, in addition to several super- visors of special fields such as Physical Education, Music, Athletics, and Manual Arts, to an eventual membership of not more than nine. Further details will be released before the close of 1939, and the first steps of the reorganization will be effective early in the new year.
Such far-reaching changes in the set-up of our educational system cannot be made without serious consideration being given to every detail. Consequently, if no other matters of importance were consummated by the School Committee dur- ing the past year, the citizens could well compliment highly those who have so diligently given themselves to their respon- sibilities and obligations, and could consider that those whom they had chosen as their representatives had rendered outstand- ing service. In spite of the very earnest endeavor of School Committee members to fulfill their personal and civic obliga- tions, the fact remains that there are many elements influencing their work which prevent their functioning to the fullest extent. Among these is one which is regarded as a particularly perni- cious factor in inhibiting the program of the School Committee.
Unfortunately an obsolete provision of the City Charter places the jurisdiction of the care and maintenance of the school buildings under another department than the School Commit- tee. For many years complaints about such a situation have been made, and on several occasions bills have been submitted to the legislature to correct this condition, but each time no favorable action has resulted because of the political minded- ness of certain influential persons or groups of persons who, for their own personal advantage, find ways and means to have this difficult condition continued. How long are the citizens of Somerville who know of the difficulties involved in this ob- solete provision of the Charter going to stand idly by and allow the rectification of this wrong to be thwarted ?
Another phase of this matter which should be truly under- stood by the citizens, because of the unfounded statements made frequently by those who would mislead an uninformed public is a statement of the actual cost of the schools and educa- tion to the taxpayers of the City of Somerville. There is a dif- ference between gross expenditures and net cost. There is a difference between the amount of moneys charged to education and the actual amount spent in the operation of the instruc- tion of the school children. Would it not be surprising to the
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citizens to know that because of the lack of a proper account to which these matters could be charged, the cost of heating, lighting, and janitor service spent by other departments of the city for services such as political rallies in schoolhouses, beano parties in schoolhouses, recreational activities of the Recrea- tion Commission, including evening centers, bridge parties, and basketball games, or in fact any activity whatsoever carried on in schoolhouses, must be charged to the education of the pupils and figured in the per capita cost.
In the light of previous discussion regarding savings made by a more careful scrutiny of expenditures, a reduction of per- sonnel, and the elimination of unnecessary activities by the School Committee, is it not a good time to consider placing these previously mentioned non-educational expenditures in accounts separate from those of education so that the true and actual costs of schooling may be known to the people who supply the revenue for carrying out our educational program ?
The remedy is simple and means the introduction of a bill revising the City Charter so that the care and maintenance of school buildings will be under the jurisdiction of the School Committee. Such a condition of affairs then could and would no longer exist.
There has been a general discussion of some of the problems of the costs of education and in order to clarify this a concrete example of the real financial situation with relation to the net expenditures of the school system is herewith presented.
Placed to the account of the School Committee :
By appropriation from the City Gov- ernment . $1,366,784.50
For School Teachers salaries, includ- ing teachers, supervisors, and mas- ters .$1,281,911.99
For Contingent Account, including all supplies, administrative sala- ries and expenses, textbooks, maps, expressage, telephones, etc. $79,219.09
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For outside tuition from which all vocational and other instruction for Somerville residents outside the City is paid
$5,653.42
Placed to the account of the Public Buildings Department on account of schools by appropriation $216,465.17
For Janitors Services $108,250.00
For Fuel and Light $51,910.00
For Buildings and Grounds $56,305.17
The sum of the appropriations to the two departments, under the heading Education, is therefore $1,583,249.67.
Disbursements by the School Committee, while not, at the time of writing this report, complete in detail, are approximate- ly as above, within at the outside extreme one-half of one per cent, and always less than the appropriation.
Using these figures as a basis of computing per capita cost, which is found by dividing the gross expenditures by the num- ber of pupils in the net average daily membership for the year, it will be found that the per capita cost is approximately $95.00.
Let us now consider the figures which represent the revenue received into the General Revenue Account by the City Treas- urer on account of the activities under the jurisdiction of the School Committee.
During the year 1939 these amounts are approximately as follows :
From the State :
General School Fund $116,197.97
Vocational Education Reimbursement 15,532.68
Americanization Reimbursement 2,918.50 Sight Saving Class Reimbursement 500.00
State Wards Reimbursement 6,954.50
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From other cities and towns :
Tuition at Vocational Schools 14,806.16
Tuition at Continuation Schools 6.00
Tuition of City Wards 680.13
From Individuals :
Tuition 236.29
Forfeiture of Evening School Fees . 308.00
In addition to these amounts, there were received from the Federal Government the following sums which must be cred- ited directly to schools :
George-Deen Fund 13,449.93
Smith-Hughes Fund 4,257.25
Total received from all sources . $175,847:41
If there be added to these figures a sum of $40,000, which represents a fair approximation of the charges made against education which are not strictly educational, such as the items previously mentioned,-beano, political rallies, etc.,-it can easily be seen that the net cost to the taxpayers for education is not the cost which one would be led to believe it is, but actually is the difference between $1,583,249.67 and $215,847.41, or $1,367,402.26. This figure reduced to a net per capita cost is less than $86.00.
The average per capita cost for the thirty-nine cities of the State is $105.98. Somerville ranks seventh in population with- in the state, and has a per capita assessed valuation of approx- imately $7,200, which gives us a rank in this respect with rela- tion to the thirty-nine cities of twenty-fifth.
The per capita costs of some of the other cities in the Com- monwealth are: $131.37, 126.44, 125.99, 117.57, 106.51, 99.41, 94.43, 90.67, etc.
The program of education offered to Somerville children is full and complete and contains all of the well recognized ele- ments which such a program should contain. This data just presented gives ample and simple proof (1). that the program is adequate, (2) that it is being well administered, (3) that it
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can be afforded in view of the $7,200 per capita assessed valua- tion supporting each school child, and (4) that it is reasonable in cost and value in comparison with other cities and towns.
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
It has been customary each year to make note of such changes in the curriculum as appear to be important, and to explain briefly the reasons therefor. The courses of study are in a constant state of change due to adaptation of different methods or increased knowledge. The following work has been done on courses of study for this past year: (1) A committee is now composing a course of study in science for the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, which will include considerable in- struction in health and hygiene as well as the usual general science. For the last five years definite attempts have been made to equip the junior high schools with the necessary equipment to conduct a science course. The committee which is working on the matter will, as part of its course of study, plan a number of experiments, will bring into agreement the nomenclature of the definitions, and will make recommendations for a standard list of equipment which every science room should have avail- able. (2) The English course of study now in use is being revised, and this revision will go into effect next September.
With the cooperation of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, a detailed program of safety instruction has been instituted in the junior high schools. While this course is designed pri- marily for the preparation of future automobile drivers, it has in it also a great deal of contributory knowledge on the gen- eral subject of safety.
In the High School, part of the mathematics course material has been reorganized and designated as Mathematics (1) and Mathematics (2). The content of these courses has been modified and arranged in such a way as to conform to the present concepts of mathematics instruction. One of these concepts in particular deserves mention in that it is now possible for all pupils choosing either Mathematics (1) or Mathematics (2) to have elementary instruction in the most necessary phases of mathematics, including geometry.
An advanced course in Biology of equivalent level with those in Physics and Chemistry has also been provided for those students who are interested in continuing the study and whose ability warrants it. There has been a decided increase
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in the number of pupils requesting instruction in Biology, this interest being due to the increased interest in health throughout the nation.
After an investigation, the School Committee increased the requirements for graduation from High School by making necessary the passing of the course in American History.
The past year has seen a considerable interest in the so- called project work done in our elementary grades. The work- manship of the projects has now become so outstanding and the leadership of the teachers so exceedingly effective that a study based upon teachers' reports was made to determine the feelings of the teachers regarding the various values derived from such a type of teaching procedure. Teachers were un- usually analytical, sincere, and frank in their comments, list- ing many unfavorable matters which will have to be inves- tigated further and eradicated, and many favorable ones which apparently would warrant the conclusion that the work is ex- tremely productive of good thinking and that it contributes a high interest factor to the school work, which could not be obtained by other means. The teachers were asked to comment upon ways in which they thought the project work assisted pupils, and one particular reply was so often given as to justify some comment. The claim was made that pupils were taught responsibility more effectively than by other ways of teaching procedure. The reasoning underlying this was that the pupil, in order to contribute his part in the undertaking, was forced to think for himself, plan his work, and complete it.
In the study referred to on elementary project work or class activities, it is pertinent in the light of the demand for increased instruction in social activities that out of a total of 222 different projects, besides the usual subjects for projects, were included some on the United States Flag, Safety, Health, Holidays, and Heroes.
There are two aspects of this work which deserve emphasis. First, it involves a departure from the routine teaching which has implied that personal traits and attitudes may be taught by direct teaching through commands, rules, and restrictions. This work is based upon the principle that a pupil will form better attitudes and will derive more personal training from personal activity in searching for solutions in problems which have been wisely chosen for such purposes. That this work is
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not proceeding without careful study may be acknowledged through the fact that many teachers who believe in the tradi- tional methods have subjected the present practices to the scrutiny of past experience, and through the fact that the work as carried on has been carefully interwoven to take full advantage of the traditional school subjects. In the opinion of the Superintendent, better work is being done in the funda- mental subjects through the added interest of the pupils in these activities. There is absolutely no question but that these practices have aroused greater interest in education as a general concept in the pupil's mind, and that it also has stim- ulated him to work out his interests and abilities in far more detailed fashion than any other method so far conceived. A very striking feature of this work has been the remarkable interest on the part of the teachers, many of whom have found in this work extraordinary pleasure. The average layman, upon viewing the finished product of the pupils, has no conception of the amount of planning necessary to make the work success- ful and has very little idea of the ingenuity and personal inter- est that the teacher has drawn upon to arrive at a topic and a method of work which will be of thorough interest to the pupils and will combine with it a high educational value. There is extreme necessity in the light of present-day events for all pupils to receive early acquaintance with other lands and peoples. Work of this type, designed to increase the pupils' activity and participation in its planning and in arriving at conclusions regarding it, is of definite promise and value in this direction.
There has been very definite progress made in visual educa- tion facilities during the past year in this city. For many years there has been under consideration a program which would include as its necessary elements a modern sound machine in each secondary school, a machine available in each elementary district, a library of a few well selected films, and contracts, on rental basis, for such others as appear to be necessary to cover the field thoroughly. Many of the schools have purchased their own machines with the assistance of parent-teacher associations or through their school funds. The School Department has assisted mainly by outright purchase of films, of which it now has approximately twenty, or by rent- ing under a contractual agreement others which the teachers have desired. The desirability of this type of education will be discussed thoroughly in some future report. At this time it can be stated with considerable satisfaction that great progress has been made, that there are several committees at
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work studying the question, that definite schedules are being made for the showing of the films, and that teachers are tak- ing courses and making personal studies of how to adapt this very interesting means of instruction to their daily work. Out of these many activities will come what may be tritely called "A Visual Education Program," with all of the arrangements which will make it efficient and satisfactory. Those citizens who are sufficiently intrigued by this short description of this modern instrument of learning would do well to interest them- selves further in it, because this field of teaching endeavor will be extremely and profoundly unusual in its development.
SCHOOL-LIBRARY PLAN
For some time there has been in use a school-library plan which was devised by the school librarian of the Somerville Public Library, Mrs. Bartlett, with the assistance of several members of the School Department. Various people have con- tributed important parts to this program, among these being contributions by Miss Blackwell, the Elementary Supervisor, who organized the work for the elementary grades, and the junior high school librarians, Miss Nona Blackwell at the Southern, Mrs. Sheldon at the Northeastern, and Miss Wood- man at the Western. This undertaking was instituted during the early part of the depression, at which time it was thought that it would help pupils considerably if they were encouraged to read. The plan had other educational objectives, less delight- ful but more useful in the sense that the books were definitely allied to the curriculum by both time and material. By transfer of effort and knowledge, children would be encouraged to read more history, for example, through having a greater ability to read and a more extensive vocabulary. It has often been noted by educators in the city that this program probably has more value than almost any other incidental part of the educational program. The plan tapped a wellspring of childish wish and desire which has been astounding, and from the viewpoint of books read per pupil, number of books circulated, and number of pupils participating, which are the usual indices by which such plans are measured, the program is extremely successful. To the casual observer, however, after hearing the children give their book reports, such figures are very unimpressive. Far more impressive are the chuckles, the interest, and the re- living of the characters by the pupils.
The gross circulation for the elementary pupils, directly due to the school-library plan, has been increased the past year
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from 92,272 to 97.609. Individual circulation for elementary schools has averaged 15 books, with a range from 10 to 125 books per year. Over 8,000 pupils, or approximately 90% of the entire elementary group, did some reading as a result of this plan. Notable among room circulations are the follow- ing: 1488 in the second grade of the Morse School, the largest in the city, and 1464 in the second grade of the Hodgkins School.
In the junior high schools, where we are fortunate in having school libraries, the plan is different only in slight modifica- tion. The circulation there has increased from 23,350 to 28,032, and the individual circulation has averaged 7 books.
The high school library is operated largely as a reference library, to which pupils may go as individuals for research purposes or as classes for instruction in the use of the library, or in the use of reference works. This phase of education is becoming much more important with the increased scientific knowledge required by the average man. The library consists of 2,689 volumes and subscribes to 22 magazines and one daily paper. 4,415 books were circulated for home use last year. More indicative, however, of the general purpose and work of the library are these figures, which show that 26,926 pupils used the library last year, an increase of 3,236. Approximately 80 pupils avail themselves of library privileges during the average school period. The largest day recorded last year was a total of 318 pupils making use of this facility.
It is interesting to note in the 1907 Annual Report of the Superintendent that when this work was first mentioned the total number of volumes available for the entire city was 6.649, scattered in 165 deposits. There are now available 200 deposits and a school collection of over 11,000 volumes.
Coincidental with this type of teaching is the instruction to promote the ability to organize and analyze research material, to develop the ability to recognize good authority, and to develop discrimination in the type of material read. This splendid progress has been directly due to many individuals. but to the late Mr. Evans, former public librarian, and to the present librarian. Mr. Kelley, goes a large share of the credit because of their willingness in cooperating in the plan, in mak- ing available the books, and particularly, in the case of the
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latter, in finding the means to free Mrs. Bartlett from all duties other than school work.
POST GRADUATES IN HIGH SCHOOL
Due to several forces over which they have no control, many of our graduates of high school are returning to high school for further instruction. No definite study has ever been com- piled to show the facts regarding these young people, and since there has been wide recognition of their problems, a brief study of the present post graduate group is included in this report. This is done as a means of indicating the extent of the problem and the need at some future time for definite consideration.
The total number of post graduates at the end of the first marking period was 62, composed of 42 boys and 20 girls, their ages ranging from 17 to 22 years, well over half of them being 17 and 18. The distribution of courses taken during their high school careers was: 40 in Preparatory, 9 in Commercial, and 6 in the General Course. Seven pupils took miscellaneous courses. The subjects being studied as post graduates by the greatest number of pupils are, in the following order : Algebra, English, Geometry, Chemistry, French, Physics, United States History, Bookkeeping, and Biology. Other subjects studied by several pupils are Typewriting, Business Arithmetic, Latin, English History, Trigonometry, and Ancient History. Not all of these students are graduates of Somerville High School, and a check on their answers as to what rating they would give themselves as students was impossible for that reason. In no case was there one single individual who could be termed a poor student by his record, and in fact only those students who have a decided, purposeful ambition and a good record during their regular high school careers are considered for admission.
The reasons for their attendance in school are rather inter- esting. Most of them are intending to go to college, and in most instances they lacked a certificate grade for either one or two subjects. Others did not wish to go to college this partic- ular year because of youth or financial reasons. Another group includes students who have changed their minds, some pursuing business courses in high school and wanting to go to college after graduation, and others, just the opposite, having taken the college course and now wishing to enter business. Others are pursuing some definite subject which has a direct bearing
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on the individual's vocational aim, as, for instance, nurses who cannot enter a training school before they are eighteen years of age and who are required to offer a language and science, which they quite often neglect during their high school career because of a postponed decision.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS
With the assistance of the Building Commissioner and his staff, a great deal of work has been accomplished in the school buildings. Much of the work was made necessary by the hurri- cane of last fall, the repairs, however, being of such a nature that they could not be done while school was in session. The most important work is that being done in the High School with the assistance of the W. P. A. authorities. This building is being painted inside and out, walls are being replastered, the floor of the gymnasium has been renewed, and a great deal of work has been done on the plumbing and heating. The grounds in the rear of the buildings are being terraced, retain- ing walls are being erected to hold these terraces, and a running track is being laid in the area behind the east wing.
Another long-needed repair has been the completion of the renovation of the lavatories at the Northeastern Junior High School. This work was exceptionally well done, and the facilities now available for the children are extremely satis- factory from the modern viewpoint of sanitation and from the viewpoint of number of facilities.
It is pertinent to call attention again to the fact that many of our buildings are of an age where they are difficult and expensive to keep running for school purposes. The School Department is beginning a study this year which will be a basis for recommendation sometime in the future as to the disposal of old buildings and location of new ones. The study will be a complete one, taking into account the growth of in- dustrial sections, traffic arteries, railroads, and other influences which have a great effect upon school populations.
MEMBERSHIP
A comparison of the size and change in membership of the public schools over a period of years, as indicated in the fol- lowing table, shows a further decrease of 104 for the entire system during 1939. Most of the units had little change, but
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the elementary schools show a decrease of 122 and the High School shows an increase of 29.
December
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