USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1946 > Part 7
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WHEREAS, The said Chapter 71, provides that every city shall maintain a sufficient number of elementary schools, and certain cities shall maintain high schools adequately equipped for the instruction of eligible children, taught by competent teachers in schoolhouses properly furnished and conveniently situated, and
WHEREAS, It charges the School Committee to have gen- eral control and supervision over the establishment and
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maintenance of all public schools, their teachers and courses of study, and the purchase of textbooks and other school supplies needed for the operation and conduct of the schools, and
WHEREAS, The requirements of this Chapter 71, by the obsolete provisions of the City Charter of Somerville have been divided very unwisely and without sound business judgment between two municipal departments, namely the School Committee and the Department of Public Build- ings. Such division of jurisdiction places the control only of the educational policies, organization of the schools, and instruction of the future citizens within the province of the School Committee, while all jurisdiction over selec- tion of sites, location of buildings, construction, operation, maintenance, and care of school buildings is vested in the Department of Public Buildings. Such a situation is con- trary to the original intent of Chapter 71 because of diver- gent opinions concerning proper professional decisions re- lating to educational attitudes and policies, and the possi- bility and probability of conflict of authority and super- vision of the functions of the departments involved. The complete responsibility for the general control of education in all its 'various forms should be vested in the jurisdic- tion of the School Committee, the locally elected body charged by statute to use its authority, delegated by the General Court, for the best interests of the complete edu- cation (so far as it is provided at the expense of the local community) of all the children of all the people, and
WHEREAS, Believing that the housing of the educational activities has not been kept at the same high level of con- dition by that part of the City Government which by the provisions of the City Charter is charged with that re- sponsibility, as have the educational offerings, the School Committee, because of the receipt of numerous complaints from parents of pupils, and because of its intent to dis- cover the actual condition of its equipment, educational and physical, caused a survey to be made of the building needs of the school buildings, and
WHEREAS, The information obtained reveals a deplorable situation as a result of neglect over a period of years on the part of those responsible for providing a sufficient number of school buildings, properly furnished and
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equipped, and adequately cared for and maintained. Many buildings have been allowed to depreciate to such an ex- tent that not only is the cost of maintenance for further use all out of logical and reasonable proportion to the cost of replacement, but conditions are such that the continued use of some of the schools may be decidedly hazardous. None of the thirty units surveyed can be reported to be free from need of much costly attention. In many schools, there are some ceilings and walls which are loose and badly cracked as a result of leaky roofs which need re- placement and side walls which need repointing; floors and stair treads need replacing due to being worn thin and becoming loose because of years of constant wear; inside and outside trim, including window casings and sashes, not only need repair, but practically all of it needs refin- ishing ; and all ceilings and walls not needing replacement need whitening and repainting.
Classroom furniture consisting of seating accommoda- tions for approximately 17,000 pupils and teachers' desks and chairs for 550 members of the instructional corps are so antiquated and in such deplorable condition that 80% of the total need complete refinishing, i.e., sanding and varnishing, if not complete replacement. The auditorium seating accommodations are wholly inadequate in quanti. ty to allow the proper use of the assembly programs, visual education, and other such activities. Those available need complete overhauling and refinishing. Better than 500 additional seating units are needed in the lunchrooms for pupils.
Over 80% of the window shades are in exceedingly poor condition because of being torn or in filthy condition and there are many windows with no shades at all.
Twenty-three schools are inadequately lighted. Many need modern lighting systems installed and all others need to be equipped with lamps of larger wattage to bring the lighting equipment to anywhere near the required foot-can- dle necessity for the various rooms.
The heating facilities constitute a very serious problem. Because of the condition of the boilers, many of which have given forty to fifty-two years of service, replacement will have to be provided for many boilers before heat can
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be adequately furnished for the school year beginning in September, 1946. Heat leakage, due to the leaks in the buildings, makes necessary the adding of more radiation.
Although the toilet room equipment is fairly good, much repair work is necessary in several buildings.
The school grounds are surely far from sightly and need attention in the form of resurfacing, fill for depressions, and shrubbery and seeding.
Recently enacted state laws have been completely ig- nored, particularly as they concern the fireproofing of stage curtains and the purchase and installation of aux- iliary lighting systems, and
WHEREAS, The deplorable conditions enumerated are ex- tremely hazardous to the health and safety of the child- ren of the community who are compelled to use these anti- quated housings and equipment in order to attain an ade- quate education, and have caused the members of the School Committee to be deeply concerned, and
WHEREAS, The School Committee believes it is its duty to do its utmost to alleviate the unhealthy, unsanitary, and unsafe conditions shown in its findings, therefore be it
RESOLVED: That, the School Committee publicly express its deep and serious concern over the deplorable, depre- ciated condition of the physical provisions for the housing of the educational system, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED : That demand be made for immediate provision for a sufficient appropriation of ade- quate funds to be made available to allow the Department of Public Buildings to furnish the necessary housing ac- commodations suited in architecture, design, and equip- ment for modern educational needs and demands, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED : That copies of these reso- lutions be forwarded to his Honor the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen for their earnest, serious, and early consideration, and that copies be sent to the Press and spread upon the records of this meeting.
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The extent of the response to these demands of the School Committee will be noted later in this report under the heading "Buildings and Repairs".
The second major problem considered was the eighth rec- ommendation of the Superintendent in the Annual Report of 1945, suggesting "That a thorough study be made immediately of the administrative organization of the High School, to the end that a more closely knit and more effective unit will be developed."
The Superintendent presented a proposed plan of revision of the organization, as follows :
Our founding fathers wisely placed the responsibility for Education under the jurisdiction of the State. The State, realizing the enormity of the task, delegated the authority for the establishment and maintenance of the public educa- tional system to local boards of education or school commit- tees. Such boards were charged by law to establish and maintain educational systems, locally supported, under cer- tain legalized minimum regulations. The boards were to be composed of laymen, locally chosen, and free from interfer- ence and control by other local governmental officials.
No activity of local government has been so efficiently administered, and, at the same time, kept so close to the people, as have the public schools.
In the early days of public education, school boards soon found it impossible to exercise all the functions of adminis- tration and supervision, and in consequence established the position of superintendent of schools, and administrative specialist, to whom were delegated certain duties and func- tions. After many years of experimentation and study, the present plan was adopted and has proved to be eminently successful.
Under this plan the board serves as a legislative and policy-forming group, and the superintendent of schools serves as the administrative and executive head of the school system. By such an arrangement real progress is possible, for the employed administrative officer is held responsible for the success or failure of his subordinates, and is in a position to take advantage of all the possibilities of major social
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changes, while the school board, not responsible for decisions regarding petty details or handicapped by attempts from pressure groups to control its decisions, is in a position to give profound study and much time and energy to its respon- sibilities as a policy-forming body, to the social and economic problems of the educational system.
No better agency has been suggested to provide for the lay control and general management of public education than the school committee.
As has been pointed out, the board has delegated a por- tion of its state-delegated responsibilities to the superinten- dent of schools, its administrative specialist. In large cities such as Somerville, the superintendency has developed into a large-sized job. The board holds the superintendent primar- ily responsible, but it has permitted and has approved the de- velopment of a "line and staff" organization. Such an organ- ization permits the development of a staff of specialists, which can free the superintendent from the intricacies and petty details of many problems, and which can assist him in making studies and, together with scientifically determined facts, make recommendations for the development of plans of far-reaching significance.
The administrative authority of the school board is by this plan, the essence of which is to organize, deputize, and supervise, delegated to the superintendent, the principals, and the teachers. The scheme is practical and efficient. Each person knows the limitations of his authority, enjoys the satisfaction of doing his part well, and appreciates the necessity of cooperation with his co-workers.
The school board, which serves without compensation, does not undertake to exercise administrative functions over professional matters, but confines itself to the establishment of the general administrative program, in accordance with which the schools are administered.
Our system is organized on the 6-3-3 plan, in accordance with the line and staff organization.
Today there is general agreement in education that "ad- ministration" refers to the activities involved in the execu- tive management of a system of schools, while "supervision"
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refers to those activities concerned with the analysis and im- provement of classroom instruction.
The administrator has jurisdiction over the conditions which are satisfactory for classroom instruction. The super- visor has jurisdiction over the activities involved in deter- mining and developing the most effective ways of conducting classroom teaching. The supervisor is a teacher of teachers.
Teachers are required to exercise democratic leadership, with the chief purpose of getting pupils to want to do the things they ought to do. The supervisor, too, must exercise democratic leadership, accept the responsibility of demon- strating his expertness, and accomplishing things on their merits, not through autocracy. He is a consulting expert, an adviser, a demonstrator, one who suggests and recommends, but does not direct. He has no administrative authority. Where the exercise of authority is necessary, it is exercised by the administrator, who has this responsibility.
In organizing a line and staff force for the management of a system, the character of the function to be performed must be the basis for the delegation of authority. Assign- ments, made in terms of clearly defined functions, after care- ful analysis of the tasks to be performed, will be and have been successful.
Due to changes in preparation and experience of per- sonnel occupying positions in such an organization, there are developed certain weaknesses, generally not noticeable for some time, because of misunderstanding of the assignment of duties planned on a functional basis.
Frequent overlapping of authority develops because of misunderstanding of duties or of a consciousness of author- ity over duty. After much study over a period of years, cov- ering the encumbency of many different persons in various supervisory and administrative positions, it appeared to the Superintendent of Schools that these misunderstandings of duties or failure to define clearly the scope of the duties, have caused an overlapping of authority and a deviation from the originally intended line of demarcation between administration and supervision in the High School.
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It seems that it is quite important immediately to recog- nize the existing situation and take steps to remedy it, most particularly because of the fact that three very important key persons in the administrative setup are forced, by the provisions of the Retirement Act, to terminate their services to the secondary schools of our community.
From observation, it appears now that the aforemen- tioned overlapping has developed an administrative, group of ยท ten persons, including the headmaster, vice headmaster, three heads of courses, four building masters, and a business man- ager of high school activities, in addition to three directors from outside whose duties and responsibilities cover the en- tire school system.
The supervisory group is composed of the numerous heads of departments and the personnel workers, a plan for the concentration of which was adopted several years ago, but not yet made wholly effective.
Believing that the duties and responsibilities on a func- tional basis should be set forth in accordance with the fol- lowing definitions :-
(a) Administration, having to do with the general control and operation of an entire school system, or a specific educational service, should involve the legal basis upon which the school program operates, the organization of its numerous factors into an effective machine, the of- ficering of its business and instructional staff, the super- vision of its contributory activities, and the accounting of its cost and progress ;
(b) Supervision is a specialized function devoted to the inspection, analysis, and direction of the improvement of the educational activities of individuals working at one administrative level, administered by superior officers working at higher administrative levels ;-
it is the recommendation of the Superintendent that the High School staff be reorganized on the functional basis in accordance with the foregoing definitions with (1) an ad- ministrative staff of three persons, namely, the Headmaster, a Director of Administration, and a Director of Education, (2) a supervisory staff consisting of the Heads of Subject De-
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partments, Personnel Workers, Building Masters, and Floor Masters, and (3) a teaching staff.
The Headmaster shall be the chief administrative officer of the buildings and its organization ; the Director of Admin -- istration shall have charge of the administration of those business, attendance, and disciplinary activities of the school and its pupils, as well as the routine administration of the building, physically and mechanically; and the Director of Education shall have charge of the educational activities of the school, including the direction of the curriculum, the courses, and the program of studies. These two directors shall jointly organize and direct the administration of Re -- search and Guidance.
The Supervisory Staff shall be responsible, under the direction of the Administrative and Educational Directors, for the supervision of the execution of the work as set forth in the courses of study, and the responsibilities of the ad- ministrative direction in accordance with specific definitions to be presented later.
The Teaching Staff shall be the responsible agent for the direct instruction of the students in the classroom and shall keep such records of scholarship, attendance, and disci- pline as are required by their superiors.
It is the opinion of the Superintendent that this pro- posed plan will provide a more closely knit unit of over-all re- sponsibility and a more effective and efficient supervisory organization, with a resultant improvement in the accom- plishment of an already well established, hard working in- structional staff.
There was a difference of opinion manifest concerning the feasibility and possibility of the Director of Education per- forming all the responsibilities of the positions of Heads of Courses. After careful consideration of the matter over the period of three months, the principles of the Superintendent's plan were approved in essence by the action of the School Com- mittee which provided two Vice Headmasterships, one of which assumes the direction of administration and the other the direction of curriculum. The functions and responsibilities of the various levels of authority and scope of activity have been clearly defined and made effective with a resulting im- provement in effectiveness of administration and supervision.
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An analysis of membership trends early in the year re- vealed the fact that the teacher-pupil ratio, particularly in the secondary schools of Somerville, had been decreased somewhat from the national accepted standards. In consequence, a third major consideration was studied as a result of an order which was adopted by the School Committee, setting up a pol- icy to establish and maintain in the high and junior high schools a teacher-pupil ratio of 1 to 27, in place of the ratio of 1 to 21.1 which had developed during the war period. In view of the magnitude of the problem and because of an atti- tude that it is not desirable to dismiss any teachers serving under tenure, it was deemed advisable to accomplish the de- sired result over a period of two years. Therefore, it was agreed that the ratio of 1 to 25 be accomplished in the organization of the schools for the school year 1946-47 and the ratio of 1 to 27 for the school years 1947-48.
The first step in the process, namely, the establishment of a teacher-pupil ratio of 1 to 25, was effected in the organiza- tion of the High School for the opening of school in September, largely made possible by two factors which, in the opinion of the Superintendent, were not wholly desirable or in the inter- est of the best welfare of the students. The first of these fac- tors was the result of the termination of the emergency legis- lation which during the war allowed the continued employment of key persons in the organization who because of age .were by law compelled to retire. The second was the result of the effective retirement law with its increased benefits, which caused several of our outstanding teachers to retire before the compulsory retirement age had been reached, thus depriving the students of the benefits of further instruction under the guidance of these well trained, long experienced, very success- ful, loyal teachers. By the organization of larger classes, many of the positions thus vacated were not filled in the High School.
In the junior high schools the task was not too easy of accomplishment, for many positions held by those who entered the Armed Forces had never been filled due to the fact that while the teachers were leaving, many students were unfortu- nately being influenced by the lure of high wages to enter in- dustries, taking part in the preparation of materials and equip- ment necessary for the pursuit of the war. It was, however, possible to increase the ratio some by creating larger classes and by terminating the employment of some so-called tempor- ary teachers.
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In the secondary schools a fair beginning was made, but it may be found necessary to spread the program over a period of three years before the desired result will be attained.
In the elementary schools a similar policy was formulated in an attempt to meet the nationally recognized standards of teacher-pupil ratio. Considerable success was possible at this level, without in any way detracting from the effectiveness of the instruction and the quantity and quality of accomplishment.
It can readily be seen that this study and consequent ac- tion by the School Committee made possible some financial economy, which was a major objective, to aid in making pos- sible the desire of the Committee to take some action tending towards alleviation of the problem of scarcity of well trained, well qualified teachers, by providing a salary schedule for its employees which would allow them to live and work within proper standards.
Such a situation allowed the Committee, even before it was requested by the organizations represented by the teach- ers, to give thought to a plan of action which would result in the establishment of a salary schedule, the elements of which would alleviate the possibility of the social consequences of an inadequate, poorly financed, understaffed educational pro- gram.
The ascendancy of our nation in world affairs has not been accidental. We were the first large nation to establish a democratic educational system open to all through elemen- tary and secondary levels, and in some few cases on the higher education level. By virtue of public education, the United States has become a mighty citadel of social, political, econom- ic, and even military strength. Our rise to world leadership was made easy because the other nations lagged behind in their educational efforts. The other great powers, jealous of our leadership and aware of the reason for our position, have even since the cessation of hostilities taken steps to place their countries in competition. Great Britain has developed a new educational program and has doubled the expenditures for education, while Russia has for the first time in its history obtained a place among the great powers through its recent education of its people.
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Our country with its enormous wealth is spending only three billion dollars or about 2% of its income on Education. Should a struggle between democracy and communism develop, the outcome will be determined by education, not by force.
The needed supply of new teachers is not being recruited because capable young people are not preparing to teach for various reasons, the major one being that industry is better recognizing the value of their educational training.
Our present supply of teachers is being depleted because of the same lure of much larger salaries in industry and in the governmental service. The average salaries for professional persons in the governmental service, with the same qualifica- tions and training as are required for teachers, is better than twice as much as is paid to teachers. The latest figures show this comparison to read $4150 against $2000.
Teachers are now compelled to pay Federal Income taxes, not charged to them before the war, their duties have been added to by the expanded curriculum, and they must expend time, money, and energy to keep themselves abreast of current national and world developments. The public demands good schools and still the public does not recognize the character and importance of teaching by good teachers.
Teachers are leaving the profession, college students are shunning teacher preparation, teaching salaries are pitifully low, yet there is spent yearly seven billion dollars in this coun- try on liquor, and eighteen billion dollars yearly for a peace- time army and navy, compared with a mere pittance of three billion dollars for the education of twenty-five to thirty million youth.
What shall be done about it?
The answer is clearly set forth in the following quotations from recent magazines and newspapers, whose editors have recognized the fact that if America is to retain its position as a world power and if the American nation is to preserve its integrity against attacks from within and without, the schools of America must be maintained, properly financed and sup- ported as the greatest citadel and bulwark of democracy against threatening alien isms :
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READER'S DIGEST (October 1945)
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