USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Report of the city of Somerville 1952 > Part 8
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20. Urged the Commissioner of Public Buildings to re- quest a sufficient appropriation to provide for the purchase of adequate classroom furniture not only to replace the large amount of antiquated, broken, and unusable furniture now in the schools, but to provide for the very large increase in enroll- ment in kindergartens and first grades during the past two years and to anticipate the needs of the continued increase in enrollment of the next several years.
A major task is required of the School Committee by statute during the month of November each year. It must prepare a budget of the estimates of money needed for the support of schools, public and vocational, for the next munici-
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pal year. Such an annual procedure requires considerable thought, effort, study, and work to be expended in its prepara- tion.
The Superintendent of Schools prepares the basic necessary estimates of the cost of those activities which have become constants because of actions of the School Committee of previous fiscal years. Thorough discussion of amendments, proposed either by the Superintendent or by the members of the School Committee, brings about recommendations of necessary additions to the basic figures. The amended budget must be approved by a majority vote of the School Committee and placed in the hands of the Mayor before December 1st of each year.
In November 1952 the School Committee approved such a budget for the municipal year 1953 calling for an estimated total expenditure of $2,784,350.93. This amount is in excess of the amount actually spent during 1952 by an amount of $218,830.26. The increase involves additional amounts re- quired for (1) a plan to replace a substantial portion of the old and inadequate sewing machine equipment of the Home Economics divisions over a period of three to five years, (2) provision to equip the High School Band with new uniforms, (3) a slight increase for testing materials, and the brochure concerning High School subjects previously mentioned, and (4) $155,100 for salary schedule adjustments for the entire school personnel.
Against this expenditure, however, there is a considerable amount of revenue accruing to the city's general revenue be- cause of the school program. This revenue totals approximately $573,138.89, made up as follows: From the State, $480,351.14 under Chapter 643, known as School Aid, $75,000 for 50% of the net maintenance cost of the Vocational Schools, $2,788.75 for 50% of the net maintenance cost of American- ization work, $500 on account of the Sight Conservation class, and $7,500 from tuition of nonresident pupils and State wards.
Subtracting the anticipated but very close approximation of the receipts on account of the schools from the total esti- mated expenditures leaves an estimated amount to be raised by taxation of $2,211,212.04.
It has frequently been stated before in this series of reports that, while in recent years increases in salaries have been granted by the School Committee in amounts which it felt
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could be afforded from available revenues received by the City in order to maintain and retain an efficient, capable, and qualified teaching and administrative force, it has not been pos- sible for salaries to be paid which would maintain the 1939 standard of living. Neither has it been possible for the com- munity to keep the salaries of its municipal employees apace with the salaries provided by business and industry. School systems as a result have suffered through industry and business: acquiring a very large portion of the best prepared college- trained persons who would under different circumstances be able additions to the field of education.
It has been recognized for a period of years that the Teachers' Salary Schedule in Somerville has contained some inconsistencies and some inequities. Granting flat increases across the board, which in recent years has been the practice, does not in any way correct the inequities, but further com- plicates the situation and adds to the inconsistencies. Con- sequently, the School Committee, while it has requested an appropriation of $155,100 for adjustments of the salary schedules of its employees, has by order caused a special committee of its members to be appointed to study the matter and formulate a new salary schedule, which it is hoped will need no modifications for at least five years.
Each year as a part of the annual report the Superintendent of Schools submits recommendations concerning matters which in his opinion require the attention of the School Committee during the succeeding twelve months.
Realizing the importance and cost of the school plant prob- lem, and the cost of other problems facing the City Govern- ment, and keeping constantly in mind the burden which would. be placed on the taxpayer, the Superintendent in the report of 1951 made only seven recommendations, five of which bore directly upon the improvement of the school plant facilities. The other two concerned the Civil Defense program and a partial revision of the Rules of the School Committee.
The matters discussed on the previous pages of this report show evidence that considerable progress has been made on that phase of the work which it was suggested should be the major task of the School Committee during 1952, namely, the school plant. During the time that the School Committee has been devoting its efforts to the preliminary steps of discover- ing the proper vicinities for the location of the necessary bu.Idings and finding the best and most desirable sites in these areas, the administration has been gathering the statistical
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information which will be necessary to establish the necessary building capacities and the required accessory accommoda- tions.
The citizens can be assured that the School Committee and its administrators will continue their efforts unstintingly until they are certain that the adequate school plant facilities which Somerville should acquire and maintain are well on the way to completion.
It is sincerely hoped, therefore, that this word picture of the results of the legislative and policy-making body of the public school system of 1952 is at least satisfactory to the citizens of the community.
REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE SCHOOLS
Previously in this report a general statement was made with reference to the curriculum indicating that in the first eight grades of the twelve-grade system the subject matter fields are common for all the pupils with minor modifications in grades seven and eight and include those elements of the culture which all should appreciate and acquire, and that in grades nine through twelve general education for all is continued with specialized education offered for individuals and groups.
In recent annual reports the curriculum for the various units of the schools has been discussed at considerable length. During the year 1952 no great changes have been made or contemplated in the curriculum, hence the portion of this report usually devoted to the reporting of the work of the schools will in general be used for the purpose of pointing at- tention at outstanding features of the manner in which the instructional force and its supervisors have improved the effectiveness of the curriculum.
HIGH SCHOOL
The relationship of the school to the community has undergone striking changes and adjustments in recent years. Basically this change is due to the recognition by the school administrators and teachers that the schoolroom is no ivory tower where pupils can be taught in isolation from the realities of everyday living. Educators themselves have been instru- mental in developing this newer approach, by adopting a
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philosophy of education that recognizes the position of the school in a democratic society and that emphasizes a positive role for the school in its own community.
In another sense, the school has been forced to accept the fact that it is only one agency out of many that influence the educative process of a child. While it is still true that the school by its very nature is one of the most influential factors in the development of a child's education, it is also true that in the hours that the pupil is out of school he is acquiring other experiences that affect and influence his total education. The impact of newspapers, magazines, radio, television, the movies, athletic and social clubs on a growing child can be very significant. Many of these out-of-school experiences can hinder and obstruct the proper education of a child. However, the school is able to harness many of these experiences and direct them into worth-while channels.
It is no educational novelty to say that a school should base its curriculum offerings as far as is practicable on the experiences of its pupils. This process has been under way in the curriculum of the High School for several years. To such standard courses of an experiental curriculum as manual training and household arts, there have been added in recent years other courses such as retail distribution, business man- agement, and general mathematics. It is interesting to note that this year the Bureau of Internal Revenue of the Federal Department of the Treasury is appealing to high schools throughout the country to teach pupils the mechanics of mak- ing out an income tax return. Some school systems have adopted the idea with a fanfare of publicity. The high school pupils in Somerville taking the advanced general mathematics have been quietly doing this very thing for the last six years.
The Science Department has been giving its attention to the problem of offering an experiential curriculum in the field of chemistry, physics, and biology for pupils in the general and commercial courses. The practical value of the present science department offerings has been emphasized recently by several of the graduates who are in the armed services. Many of them have made special visits to the High School to tell of their experience in this regard. It appears that the armed services are continually searching for young men who have the natural ability and scholastic background necessary for advanced study at service schools leading to highly special- ized positions required by modern military science. Since these positions carry higher ratings and better pay, large num-
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bers of men in service apply for them. Selection of applicants. is made by series of tests which indicate among other factors acquaintance with and experience in handling scientific terms and materials, as well as facility in mathematics. The success of Somerville High School graduates in these service tests would seem to justify the science and mathematics curriculum requirements.
The Science Department has also been successful in stim- ulating large numbers of the pupils in the junior and senior high schools to give concrete evidence of their ability to develop practical applications of the science principles studied in the classroom. This has been accomplished by extensive participation in a Somerville Science Fair. The revival this year of the Camera and Radio Clubs furnishes another example of the attempt by the Science Department to provide practical experiences to supplement the work of the classroom.
In last year's report it was noted that "world economic and political conditions have been making excessive demands on national manpower and, in turn, opportunities heretofore un- known have been opened to beginning workers." This demand was made apparent much earlier this year than last. By May of 1952 any girl, in any course, who had even a fair high school record, was placed in a permanent position, if she so desired. It is possible that this year the labor supply of Somerville High School among the senior girls will be exhausted months earlier. As early as September 1952, there were requests for part- time office workers in unprecedented numbers. The majority of these part-time positions are filled by students who are selected and recommended on the same basis as full-time employees because many companies, especially larger organ- izations, are (1) replacing personnel with part-time workers as full-time workers are not available; (2) training inexperienced personnel so that positions requiring training will have a trained pool of workers when the demand arises; and (3) fore- seeing their personnel needs for 1953 and absorbing the supply while it is available.
While this employment situation is acute in the office- worker field, clerks and typists in particular, it is typical of labor conditions in general in the areas entered by high school graduates. The majority of pupils from Somerville enter the labor market directly from high school. In this kind of labor market, the main problem in placement is not finding positions for the beginning worker but finding the position that will best utilize the student's individual abilities, to the advantage of the pupil and the employer. To this end each employer,
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whether it be the Somerville National Bank, which usually hires eight to ten boys and girls, or the National Shawmut Bank, which hires twenty-five to thirty, or as many as we can refer and recommend, is interested in character as reflected in personality and adaptability, attendance, and school marks.
Students have to be known as individuals in order to make satisfactory placements. Such placement done on an individual level, both with the employer and the student, necessitates many conferences. The school-and through the school the student-benefits from these conferences with employers who help the school to gauge the effectiveness of its teaching and of its training and helps the school to know where its pupils will find jobs and what knowledges and skills are necessary to obtain and keep these positions. All of this fosters the en- deavor to build an even closer association between the school and the businessman.
The High School recognizes that the preparation of young people for responsible vocational positions in the community is only one aspect of its general purpose. It is of tremendous importance that each child in the school system be adequately prepared and motivated to participate actively in the civic life of the community, state, and nation, to the end that the democratic system of government may be maintained and improved. The High School has a particular obligation to pro- vide experience that will give the pupils opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
Upon authorization of the Legislature, the Massachusetts Department of Education last spring appointed a State Director of American Citizenship, one of whose first acts was to make a survey of democratic practices in the schools of Massachu- setts. So impressive was the record of Somerville High School in this regard, that the High School was asked to prepare the first of a series of six broadcasts by Massachusetts high schools on the general theme "Citizenship in Action." The tape re- cording for this broadcast was prepared by a group of high school students who are members of the Student Council, ex- plaining the functions and practices of the extracurricular activities which they represent. This tape recording is on loan from the State Department of Education to various other high schools which may wish to develop their own citizenship pro- grams.
To acquaint pupils with the mechanics of voting by the use of ballot boxes and voting booths is not new, but some
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refinements of the practice have been made by the High School. A student election commission is selected and formally sworn in and acquainted with its special duties. This commis- sion checked registration cards against class dues receipts, cut stencils for the ballots, mimeographed and folded the ballots, typed lists of eligible voters, and served as wardens, clerks, checkers, police, and ballot box officials. This procedure was followed for both the primaries and the final election. The polls were open from 8:15 A.M. until 2:15 P.M. Pupils were required to vote on their own time, and were not marshalled by classes. Ninety-one per cent of those eligible to vote exercised their franchise in this voluntary system.
The High School participated actively in the campaign sponsored by the State Department of Education to "Get Out the Vote" in the national election. Bulletin notices, posters, classroom discussions in the Social Studies Department, straw ballots, and a film, "This Is Your Government," borrowed from the Somerville Recreation Department, helped to emphasize the importance of voting to the high school students, who themselves will be voters in a few years. As a result of this activity and others sponsored by various agencies in the com- munity, Somerville had a high percentage of its voters exer- cising their voting rights on election day.
One of the most significant aspects of the citizenship training program of this high school resides in the opportunities afforded large numbers of its pupils to perform services of value to the community. The pupils become personally familiar with service agencies of the community and develop an en- thusiasm for active participation in worthy community projects. This pupil activity is especially noteworthy because it is entirely voluntary Students have volunteerd to serve as col- lectors for the Community Fund Drive. Some of the girls volunteered to serve as typists for several afternoons for the Red Cross, while a group of boys also volunteered to give up various afternoons each week in order to drive the Station Wagon for the Red Cross Chapter. The pupils of the Clerical Practice Department folded, assembled, and sealed thousands of Christmas Seals for the Middlesex County Tuberculosis As- sociation, while students of the Bookkeeping Department did the same for the Infantile Paralysis Drive.
The Music Department has furnished entertainment at Veterans' Hospitals, Parent-Teachers' Association meetings, the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and Elks Clubs, Civic Parades, and patriotic observances. At Christmas time especially the musical
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clubs provide appropriate entertainment for the local Homes for the Aged, hospitals, and veterans' organizations. A mixed chorus of forty voices presented a concert on October 12 at the New Ocean House in Swampscott. Later in October, the musical clubs were invited to present the first concert in a new series of sponsored programs over Station WMEX, featuring outstanding high schools of Massachusetts.
The Junior Red Cross Council of the High School provides the medium through which many other school activities find opportunities to serve community causes. The girls of the Household Arts Department prepared table favors for the Veterans' Hospitals and the Home for the Aged at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The pupils of the Art Depart- ment and the members of the Art Club provided wall decora- tions and silk screened tray mats for the same hospitals at several holidays. The boys of the Manual Training Department made cribbage boards for the veterans in the hospitals.
Early in May the Players' Club sponsored a very enthusiastic assembly featuring Ralph Flanagan and his famous orchestra in the interest of the Cerebral Palsy Fund.
The Student Council naturally takes a position of leader- ship in school activities. The Student Council at the High School is composed of class officers, floor proctors, and a representative from each extracurricular activity in the school. The members have served as volunteer collectors for the adult Red Cross Drive in the city, and for the March of Dimes col- lection in the school. Each year they sponsor a collection for Memorial Day wreaths which are placed on the school plaques honoring the graduates of the school who died during the two world wars.
The Student Council also takes a leading part in the task of indoctrinating the incoming sophomores in regard to the op- portunities afforded by the extracurricular activities of the High School. On the opening day, the sophomores were pre- sented with a mimeographed message of welcome, which also contained considerable information of value to the new students. The Student Council also provided each sophomore with a Somerville High School Guide Book which has been prepared and supported by the Student Council. In addition, as a partial observance of Citizenship Day on September 17, the Student Council conducted an assembly for sophomores in order to acquaint them with the traditions, activities, and opportunities of the school community.
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The final phase in developing a program of increased school-community relationships lies in the acceptance of the program by the community, and the recognition by the com- munity of the significant position which the school holds in the democratic culture. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the willingness of professional and business leaders of Somerville, busy as they are, to be of service to the High School in a variety of ways. Since the establishment of our Retail Dis- tribution Course we have had an active Advisory Committee composed of Somerville merchants who have met with school administrators and teachers at various times during the year, and who have been generous with their advice, guidance, and practical suggestions of value to the students. In the same manner an Advisory Committee of financial, industrial, and mercantile leaders was established to assist the pupils taking Business Management. With the cooperation of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, speakers from Somerville's business enterprises are provided for the pupils, and visits to business establishments are planned for the classes. Both the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs have initiated programs this year to be of service to the guidance functions of the High School.
The General Chairman of the Community Fund Drive re- quested the High School to assist in providing both collectors and publicity for the local Red Feather Drive. One of the senior boys who developed a very original presentation ad- vanced to the finals in the Junior Leader Speaking Contest and was invited to present his very striking appeal on behalf of the Red Feather several times during the Drive.
The confusion and unsettled condition of many Europeans since the last war has been brought to the attention of the foreign language classes in a direct way. Displaced persons of many nationalities in Europe have been seeking to make con- tact with relatives or former neighbors who at one time had an address in Somerville. Sometimes letters from these people are sent to the Mayor, sometimes to the Chief of Police, or sometimes arrive through the courtesy of the Red Cross. The school has been asked to supply translations of these letters which are written in German, French, Italian, or Spanish.
The scholarships made available to Somerville graduates by such institutions as Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the success of the placement work in so many firms of the Greater Boston Area; the wholehearted cooperation of the local civic, professional, and business leaders attest to the excellence of the standards of the school. The public has
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also supported enthusiastically the athletic teams, especially at the New England Basketball Tournament, and the Exchange Bowl Football Game. The public also pays a unique compli- ment to the outstanding social event of the year, the Senior Prom, by gathering quietly in large numbers outside the gym- nasium to watch the seniors arrive for their formal debut as adult citizens of Somerville.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
Children today are living in a world that is in a state of unrest, and it is generally recognized that many pupil problems are beyond the scope of the school. It is therefore very natural that the schools reflect this feeling of unrest.
The Boston Globe in an editorial tells of a survey of tele- vision habits of one thousand school children in Cincinnati this year that has revealed certain information which should be of interest to both parents and teachers. It reached the startling conclusion that twelve and thirteen-year-old children who are of junior high school age were watching television for an average of thirty hours a week as compared with the twenty- five hours they spent in the classroom. This would indicate that these children have little or no opportunity for exercise, play, or home study. Still another discovery was that fifty- eight per cent of the youngsters reported watching a late dramatic show at least once a week until well after midnight. Others were up late five nights a week. From such a showing it is very obvious that the key to this problem and many others lies in the hands of the parents. Nevertheless this situation has a serious implication for the schools and is of deep concern to educators.
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