USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1946 > Part 6
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War Allowance
Military Aid
State Aid
Soldiers' Relief
Total Relief
Cash
Medical
Fuel
Groceries
Cases
Persons
January
$415.50
$320.00
$170.00
$1,946.02
$2,851.52
$1,540.00
$369.02
$27.00
$10.00
86
157
February
227.75
315.00
200.00
1,716.87
2,459.62
1,461.50
203.85
11.52
40.00
85
159
March
302.50
380.00
210.00
2,217.14
3,109.64
1,620.64
271.07
310.43
15.00
92
192
April
200.00
435.00
165.00
2,652.18
3,452.18
1,687.50
895.68
69.00
97
187
May
121.00
415.00
185.00
3,012.68
3,733.68
1,463.50
1,474.18
...
75.00
92
195
June
396.50
977.26
165.00
1,714.42
3,253.18
1,360.74
330.93
5.75
17.00
98
212
July
400.00
230.00
185.00
1,957.61
2,772.61
1,486.45
410.36
10.80
50.00
103
214
August
235.00
330.00
165.00
2,008.17
2,738.17
1,320.50
566.77 .
45.90
75.00
98
198
September
140.50
300.00
195.00
1,921.51
2,557.01
1,374.50
525.01
22.00
91
173
October
250.00
340.00
170.00
2,036.46
2,796.46
1,252.00
559.46
190.00
35.00
95
173
November
348.50
275.00
140.00
3,055.80
3,819.30
2,520.00
232.80
230.00
73.00
98
192
December
265.00
1,407.56
130.00
3,426.74
5,229.30
2,235.50
868.82
218.42
104.00
105
206
$3,302.25
$5,724.82
$2,080.00
$27,665.60
$38,772.67
$19,322.83
$6,707.95
$1,049.82
$585.00
1140
2258
50.00
Soldiers' Burials
......
$38,822.67
...
...
Recapitulation of Soldiers' Relief
109
SCIIOOL DEPARTMENT
CITY OF SOMERVILLE REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
December 30, 1946
SCHOOL COMMITTEE ROOMS
Ordered, that the Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools be adopted as the Annual Report of the Board of School Committee, it being understood that such adoption does not commit the board to the opinions or recommendations made therein ; that it be incorporated in the reports of the City Officers ; and that six hundred copies be printed separately.
EVERETT W. IRELAND,
Secretary of School Board.
110
ANNUAL REPORTS
SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1946
FRANCIS H. BROWN WILLIAM J. SHEA
Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Members
EX-OFFICIIS
G. EDWARD BRADLEY, Mayor 40 Benton Rd. . JAMES F. HALL, President of Board of Alderman . 15 Parkdale St.
WARD ONE
MARY E. WHOLEY . .
191 Broadway
FRANCIS H. BROWN
WARD TWO
34 Bow Street
JOSEPH J. GALVIN
WARD THREE
34 Central Street
EARL W. LANDRY
WARD FOUR . 72-R Marshall Street
WILLIAM J. SHEA . .
10 Aberdeen Road
V. THERESA MORRISSEY · WARD SEVEN . 86 Yorktown Street
Superintendent of Schools EVERETT W. IRELAND
Office: West Building, High School, Highland Avenue Residence: 18 Day Street
The Superintendent's Office will be open on school days from 8:00 to 5:00; Saturdays, 8:00 to 10:00 A. M. His office hour is 4:00 on school days and 8:30 on Saturdays.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools LEO C. DONAHUE 383 Broadway
Superintendent's Office Force
Mary A. Clark, 156 Summer Street Marion E. Marshall, 62 Highland Avenue S. Regina Truelson, 39 Rogers Avenue Margaret R. O'Connor, 2 Adrian Street Frances C. Geaton, 29 Tennyson Street Virginia V. Hender, 202 School Street
WARD FIVE
WARD SIX
17 Warner Street
JOHN F. FITZGERALD .
111
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Standing Committees
NOTE: The member first named is Chairman; the second, Vice- Chairman. TEACHERS
Fitzgerald, Shea
Shea, Brown FINANCE
CURRICULUMS AND INSTRUCTION Morrissey, Fitzgerald HEALTH, PHYSICAL TRAINING AND ATHLETICS . Galvin, Wholey
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION Wholey, Landry
SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS
Landry, Galvin
RULES AND REGULATIONS
Brown, Morrissey.
Board Meetings
January 7
April 29
October 28
January 28
May 27
November 25
February 25
June 24 December 30,
March 25
September 30
112
ANNUAL REPORTS
TO THE HONORABLE SCHOOL COMMITTEE SOMERVILLE MASSACHUSETTS
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
In accordance with the provisions of the Rules and Regu- lations of the Somerville School Committee, the Superintendent of Schools has prepared and submits herewith his nineteenth annual report, which is the seventy-fifth in a series of annual reports of the Somerville Public Schools, and covers the calen- dar year 1946.
This document is prepared in three sections, Part I of which is the report of the Superintendent of Schools to the School Committee, comprising a discussion of (1) the matters involved in the outstanding activities of the School Committee, and (2) the condition of the schools with respect to changes, improvements, and progress, which includes statements regard- ing personnel, membership, and buildings, with recommenda- tions concerning the immediate and necessary needs of our edu- rational system.
Part II is prepared as a report of the School Committee to the citizens and consists of (1) a description of the school property, (2) statistical tables which set forth comparative figures covering a period of years concerning enrollment, mem- bership, attendance, cost of instruction and maintenance, and other maters of organization, and (3) tables showing statistics, not necessary for camparison, covering the last fiscal year.
Part III presents the organization of the school system at the close of the year 1946 and the lists of graduates of this year from the secondary schools, the evening high school, and the vocational schools.
Respectfully submitted,
EVERETT W. IRELAND,
Superintendent of Schools
December 30, 1946
113
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
PART I REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 1946
Without the interference of devastating anxiety concern- ing their loved ones in the armed forces, and without the neces- sity of giving full attention to changing methods and increased activities involved in a successful termination of the war, those charged with the responsibilities of Education during the year 1946 have been able to devote their entire attention to the prob- lem of taking stock to discover the inventory of what remains . and to prepare for the upbuilding of the postwar educational system.
Throughout the period of the six and a half years of the crisis, as has been reported in detail through previous annual reports of the Superintendent of Schools, sight has never been lost of the primary purposes of our schools in spite of the fact that in time of war the programs and the activities of the schools had of necessity to be related directly to the war effort. The School Committee, administrators, supervisors, teachers, and even the children, cognizant of the importance of the under- taking, accepted wholeheartedly and with an eager, coopera- tive, and loyal willingness, the responsibilities necessary to the war effort, and speedily and successfully carried out their increased duties and the necessary tasks involved.
When the actual fighting days came to an end on V-J Duy in August of 1945, immediate attention was focused on the de- velopment of the long-term plan of action, partially prepared during the term of the 1944-45 school committee. This plan would result in the establishment of a postwar system of edu- cation for the present and future citizens of our community, and would be commensurate with what is considered an ade- quate education for all its constituents and would be within the ability of the taxable factors of the community to afford and maintain.
114
ANNUAL REPORTS
The war cut deep into the human talents and skills upon which the peacetime progress depends. The casualties included many thousands of professional and business leaders. Enor- mons amounts of our natural resources were used, approaching the inevitable day of exhaustion. To replace the professional and business leaders and to provide substitutes for our natural resources, education will be called upon to develop expert knowledge and skills as speedily as it prepared for those skills and activities necessary for the successful pursuit of the war effort.
The tremendous expenditure of human and materia! wealth during the war, and the staggering national debt, can be com- pensated for only by the development of those skills which have been and are now being fully evolved through Education. Merely to bring our nation and the world back to where they were before the war is an enormous task requiring the discovery and development of every available talent, but simply restoring ·what was is not the goal. We must look forward to a better world, the accomplishment of which will rest essentially upon the product of adequate educational opportunity for all. Such opportunity requires an improvement of our schools.
The schools belong to the people. The kind and quality of education offered reflects and expresses the aspirations of the parents for the welfare of their children and the hope of citi- zens generally for the future of the nation. There is no more important American policy than that of keeping the control of schools directly in the hands of local citizens.
In spite of the fact that school committees have always given their utmost of time and energy to their responsibilities of developing the educational plant and processes, without re- muneration, nevertheless during the past year the attention given Education has been greater in amount and more con- structive in character than it has been for many years. With the coming of the war, the schools suffered a major crisis in the shortage of personnel. The financial demands of the war took precedence over the financial needs of the schools. It must now be shown that personnel and financial resources. which were great enough to fight and win a war are great enough to educate our youth to make real what the victory made possible.
The School Committee of 1946 was composed of six newly elected members, one who had served four years, one who had
115
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
served three years, and his Honor the Mayor, who had been an ex officio member for one year as President of the Board of Alderman and for two years as Mayor. All recognized the im- portance of their obligations, which was evidenced by the fact that the newly elected members, even before they assumed of- fice spent much time and effort individually in preparing them- selves for the successful performance of their duties by invest- igating the scope of their functions and the job to be done, to the end that they had well defined ideas of what should re- Guire their attention after January 1, 1946.
At the organization meeting, Francis H. Brown was elec- ted to act as Chairman and William J. Shea to act as Vice Chairman for the year. In effecting its organization, it was evident to the members of the Committee that its problems would require much expenditure of time, deliberation, and en- ergy to bring about a successful plan of postwar education. . A leader, experienced with the problems of the war activities and the continuity involved, was necessary. Mr. Brown possessed a keen appreciation of the problems, he had a desire and a de- termination to see the problems properly solved, and a willing- ness to give fully of his time and energy to the task of leader- ship assigned him. The effects of the cooperative endeavors of the members of the School Committee under his leadership will be shown in the following pages to be the result of their inter- est in the welfare of education and our future citizens.
From the outset this School Committee evidenced a clear understanding of its powers and responsibilities as established in the following legal decisions.
Chief Justice Rugg of the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1922 in his decision con- cerning Leonard vs. School Committee in the City of Spring- field clearly sets forth that, "The policy of the Commonwealth from early times has been to establish a board, elected by the people, separate from other governing boards of the several municipalities, and to place the control of the public schools within the jurisdiction of that body unhampered as to details of administration and as to acts performed in good faith not subject to review by any other board or tribunal."
He further states, "The school committee is an indepen- dent body, entrusted by law with broad powers, important du- ties, and large discretion. The obligation to select and con-
116
ANNUAL REPORTS
tract with teachers implies examination as to their fitness and of necessity carries with it the authority to fix the compensa- tion to be paid. It would be vain to impose upon the school committee responsibility for excellence of the instruction to be afforded to pupils and to deprive them of the power to deter- mine the salaries of teachers. There is much of self-sacrifice and devotion to the common welfare among teachers in the public schools. But, nevertheless, the character of service to be obtained depends to a considerable degree upon the compensa- tion offered. The full and appropriate discharge of their du- ties by school committees requires ample power to select com- petent teachers. The Legislature, moved by obvious and strong reasons, has vested the school committee with the absolute and unconditional power to agree with teachers upon their salaries to the end that high standards may be secured and maintained in the education of the youth of the Commonwealth. In the exercise of their honest judgment on the question of salaries for teachers, the school committee are not restricted to the amounts appropriated. For the time during which school must be kept by law the municipalities must pay such salaries as may be fixed by the school committee. To take this power from the school committee would break up the long-established sys- tem of our law in regard to public schools."
He quotes Chief Justice Shaw, who in 1845 in the case of Cushing vs. Newburyport, states, "The establishment of schools for the education to some extent at least of all the children of the whole people is not the result of any recent legislation : it is not the growth even of our present constitutional govern- ment, or the provincial government which preceded it, but ex- tends back two hundred years to the early settlement of the colony. Indeed, the establishment of popular schools is under- stood to have been one of the objects for which powers were conferred on certain associations of persons, enabling them to regulate and manage certain prudential concerns in which they had a common interest."
Upon the basis of these decisions, and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 71 of the General Laws of the Com- monwealth and those of the City Charter of the City of Som- crville, the School Committee of 1946 believed its obligations and responsibilities to be mandated in the following manner :
The School Committee is charged with the establishment and maintenance of a public school system which will offer the
117
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
best opportunity for the highest possible type of education to every child in the community. In order to carry out this re- sponsibility, it must strive to understand the youth of the gen- eration and his problems and must provide educational oppor- tunities for training and experience which will be as effective as possible in adjusting the youth of today to the life of today, and which will be effective in preparing him for thinking so that he may solve intelligently the problems of tomorrow.
Such a responsibility requires intelligent attention and sincerity of purpose to the task of providing a modern, ade- quate, thorough, and complete curriculum for all the children. of all the people, conducted by a well trained, qualified teach- ing staff, which is provided with the necessary modern equip- ment, textbooks, and supplies, in educational structures prop- erly and artistically designed for modern needs, well ventilat- ed, well heated, and well lighted, and with proper provision for the student's health and safety.
Immediately after taking an oath of office to perform the duties contingent upon their obligations and responsibilities to the best of their individual and collective abilities, the mem- bers of the School Committee studied the necessary equipment m a very logical manner.
The first concern seemed to be a study of the housing fa- cilities in which the educational program would be carried on.
Keeping in mind that in the report for the year 1945, it was stated that approval had been given to the program of postwar building projects which the Superintendent of Schools. had outlined to the Mayor's Postwar Planning Committee, which program proposed the replacement of those school build- ings which have served the community well for periods of from fifty to eighty years, and which now cost more to maintain for further use than is logically and reasonably proportional to the cost of replacement, the Committee gave attention to the necessity of providing the repairs and replacements of buildings which woud bring the housing equipment as near as possible to usable and livable conditions.
The Superintendent of Schools was requested by the Com- mittee of the Whole to gather information concerning the cur- rent condition of the school buildings of the city. The Super- intendent prepared a comprehensive questionnaire, which re-
118
ANNUAL REPORTS
quired a thorough study of conditions by the masters of the several schools and districts. The tabulation of results, made upon large charts, gave a very complete picture of the needs, and while it is admitted that the information was gathered by educators who are not building or construction experts, the Commissioner of Public Buildings expressed the opinion that never had he seen such a comprehensive survey made in such a short time which showed the conditions in such a true light.
The summarization of the tabulations, explained to the Committee by the Superintendent, gave a general idea of the necessary repairs to make the buildings usable and livable until the contemplated replacements can be provided in the form of modern educational housing units.
To show to the public the thoroughness of the study, a brief of the report of the Superintendent to the Committee con- tained the following information :
The thirty buildings studied are of four types of con- struction. Four are of Type A construction, consisting of brick and reinforced concrete, known as fireproof, two are of Type B construction, brick and cement with wood finish, twenty-two are brick and wood construction, called Type C, and two are a combination of A and C, due to new fireproof additions having been made to old remodeled Type C build- ings.
Few structural defects are shown by this casual survey. A few sagging floors, some stone foundation faults, expan- sion cracks in ceilings and walls, and foundation and wall leaks constitute the total of these defects.
The condition of the outside of the buildings ,i.e., the building shell, is reported as follows: Excellent 1, Good 10, Fair 12, Poor 6, and Very Poor 1.
It is the belief of the masters that many of the large number of leaks in roofs and walls may be prevented from further damaging ceilings and walls by repointing twelve buildings and a partial repointing of three more, and by re- pointing the chimneys of thirteen buildings.
119
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Structure.
The outside doors are reported as : Excellent 1, Good 4, Fair 18, and Poor 7, with twenty-eight locks needing replace- ment. Some few report that attention should be given to panic locks on the exit doors. Door checks are reported as : .
Excellent 1, Good 13, Fair 11, and Poor 5. Outside trim needs repair on half the schools, and twenty-six of the thirty need the trim repainted.
The general condition of the inside of buildings, involv- , ing the corridors and 543 rooms, is estimated as follows :
Excellent 1, Good 4, Fair 12, Poor 11, and Very Poor 2. Ceilings,-reported as : Excellent 3, Good 3, Fair 14, Poor 9, and Very Poor 1, -show 144 to be loosened and 472 in need of whitening. The walls, 72 of which have serious cracks or are loosened, need painting in 683 instances. Twenty-one of the thirty are reported as Fair or Poor. About 150 floors, some of which are in corridors, need replacing on account of excessive wear, slivering, or because they are loosened from the stringers. Twenty-one of the thirty buildings are rated Fair or better. Over 500 lights of glass, cords for 535 windows, 888 casings, and 837 sashes show need of repairs and replacement. The inside trim needs repairs in only sev- en buildings, but in twenty-four schools it needs refinishing. Blackboards in eighty-two rooms need to be replaced or re- finished, according to the report, which indicates that twen- ty-five schools have blackboards Fair or better.
Furniture,
There are 15,000 permanent and 942 movable desks for students, of which 10,900 need sanding and 13,732 need re- finishing. Of the 508 teachers' desks, 89 need repairing 293 need sanding, and 471 need refinishing. There are 15,000 permanent and 1,754 movable chairs, of which 1,115 need sanding and 12,521 need revarnishing. Of 471 teachers' chairs, 117 need repairing, 166 need sanding, and 256 need revarnishing There are side chairs numbering 769, of which 227 need repairs, 289 sanding, and 381 revarnishing. Audi- torium accommodations in the high, three junior high, the vocational, and nine elementary schools have a seating ca- pacity of 7,480. Available chairs or seatings number 5,100. Approximately 2,400 such seatings are necessary. The gym- nasium seating situation at the High School is quite inade- quate to accommodate the affairs carried on in that building.
120
ANNUAL REPORTS
There are at the present time seatings for approximately 350 people. In order to accommodate the followers of high school basketball, there should be available seatings for at least 2,000 persons. There are five lunchrooms, requiring 530 chairs to be furnished to accommodate the capacity numbers.
Shades.
The general condition of the window shades in the school buildings is poor. masters reporting that 83% are either in fair or poor condition. Few are in good shape, and these are in schools that have been recently provided with new sbades. There are 317 classroom windows with no shades at all, 1,849 shades are usable, 1,803 are torn or badly soiled, and 152 are on rollers which do not operate.
Lighting.
Seven of the schools are estimated to be adequately lighted and twenty-three are inadequate. Nine of the twen- ty-three are believed to need modern lighting systems, while the other fourteen probably would be considered adequate were more wattage provided.
Heating.
The heating systems, most of which are steam, are re- ported as 75% satisfactory and 25% unsatisfactory. Those reported satisfactory are either provided with recently in- stalled boilers or are fired by men who devote considerable energy and attention to keeping their buildings warm with antiquated equipment which needs plenty of repairing or re- placement. Some cases of servicing and needed added radia- tion are reported.
The care of the school buildings, which are manned by approximately sixty employees, exclusive of the traveling mechanics, is reported upon favorably. Only in a few in- stances are the comments on the janitorial service unsatis- factory, and these are generally attributed to the condition of the building, the condition of the toilet equipment, and, in some cases, the age of the custodian. Fairly generally, it is reported that the rooms and corridors are swept twice a week, the windows washed twice a year, and the toilet equip- ment is fairly good, twenty-three of the thirty in this respect
121
SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
reporting Fair or Good. The general condition of the school grounds and the fencing is reported Fair or Good by twenty- three of the thirty schools. Various suggestions for improve- ment have been made and are shown on the charts, consist- ing mainly of needs for surfacing, filling depressions, repair- ing or bracing fences, where there are fences, and providing fences where there are none. A few suggestions call for seed- ing and shrubbery.
The bells and telephone systems seem to need plenty of attention. The stage curtains should be fireproofed to meet the requirements of the State law, only one now meeting those requirements. Fire escape regulations are usually met by inside stairs. The new law, calling for auxiliary lighting systems, has had no provision made for the purchase and in- stallation of such equipment. The linoleums in the various places should be patched or replaced. Kindergarten linoleums are in fair shape. The clocks in the elementary schools are, in general, in very poor shape. Even in some buildings where electric clocks are operated from a master clock, this same condition holds.
In consequence of the foregoing, the School Committee at its meeting of March 25, 1946 adopted the following resolu- tions :
WHEREAS, The members of the Somerville School Com- mittee for 1946, having made themselves acquainted with their duties, responsibilities, and obligations to the pupils placed under their charge and guidance for education, have given serious thought and time since assuming office to the problem of discovering the condition of the various ele- ments and units, educational and physical, provided for carrying out the requirements of Chapter 71 of the Gen- eral Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and
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