USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1901 > Part 8
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Teachers.
The schools are suffering more than usual from our inability to retain a more permanent corps of teachers. During the calendar year, 1901, twenty vacancies occur- red by resignation or removal, and at the close of the year three others were away on leave of absence. During the same time twenty-six new teachers were ap- pointed, and seven old ones were transferred to other po- sitions.
During the year there has been a net increase of nine schools, besides the addition of a commercial course in the High School, and yet the net increase in the number of teachers was but six, chiefly because on entering the new buildings we were able to dispense with assistant teachers.
Of the twenty-six teachers appointed during the year, twenty-two had a College or Normal school prepa- ration, and three were graduates of city training schools in lieu of the latter. The quality of our teaching force has not suffered because of these changes, but the task of securing these teachers, and of acquainting them with their duties has occupied a great deal of the Superintend- ent's time and thought. The time required by each of them in turn to gain even the knowledge of the school
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system and her school which her predecessor had, is con- siderable. For these two reasons alone it is desirable to reduce the number of changes as much as possible.
A word in regard to the teachers, for, in the last analysis, upon their character and skill depends the suc- cess of the schools. One who is much in schools comes to feel that there are few shining stars among the teach- ers of any city or town, but that there are a great many educated, devoted, toiling men and women who are safe guides and companions of little children. Of such as these Attleboro has her share. Many things are here taught well. We are all striving together to teach them better. Frequent meetings and many single visits and interviews serve to maintain helpful relations between the teachers who are on the front line and their supervisors who are at hand to help.
High School.
Despite the fact that the standard of scholarship for entrance has been raised ten per cent., the school con- tinues to increase in size every year. It is probably true that pupils were never better prepared to enter than they are now, and as a natural result were never more perse- vering in their attendance. A class of twenty-five is now preparing for graduation in June, one of the largest in the history of the school. At a conservative estimate, the freshman class in the fall will number seventy. This gain is very embarrassing, for it again makes the de- mand on the voters and taxpayers for a new building.
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1
4
2
1
The diagram shows the arrangement for the first floor of the present High School building. The second floor is just like it. Room 2 represents the two large school rooms which when crowded to their utmost seat- ing capacity can seat 152 pupils. We expect 170 next fall. Room 3 represents the two large recitation rooms, in which classes having as many as 30 pupils can recite. In order to do this chairs only, not desks, are used. Beneath in the cellar is the laboratory. All the appara- tus except glassware is promptly returned to the closets upstairs on account of the dampness. The instructor, however, stays there all the time.
Room I represents the two smaller anterooms, one
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of which contains the library, and the other with crowd- ing is able to accommodate 12 students at a time in the bookkeeping department, or about half the class.
Room 4 represents the two store rooms. One of these is used for the typewriting classes. There is just enough room for five machines. There is light and heat but no ventilation.
When this building was planned twenty-one years ago there were 35 pupils in the High School. A single floor with its adjoining class rooms furnished plenty of room for the Principal and his one assistant to work in. But with a school of 170 pupils, the classes will have be- come too large for the recitation rooms as well as for the school rooms, and both a closet and a cellar must be used. What should be done ? The opening of twenty-one elementary schools during the last eight years seems to indicate the answer.
There remain only two questions, How to gain the room, and When to begin.
A reasonable confidence in the future demands the erection of an entirely new building, according to the best models of the present time. The best plan for patching the present building will prove but a temporary expedi- ent, in view of the enormous increase in the elementary schools, while, if converted into an elementary school, it would render service in its present condition for many years longer or be more useful still as a manual training school.
The time to begin is now. The following diagram represents graphically the rate of increase since this building was erected.
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1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
30
60
120
150
Two years ago there were eighty-five pupils in the eighth grade, last fall there were in the eighth and ninth 160. From this time on the entering classes in the High School may be expected to be very large To see the membership mount to 250 within the next five years would not be surprising. There is small hope of accommodating the school in the present building after next year. It will take a year to construct the new building. To defer action would be injurious to the school which is now passing into one of the most pros- perous and useful periods of its existence.
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Gifts to the Schools.
Besides the gifts mentioned in the report of the Prin- cipals, the following individuals and organizations have made gifts to the schools: the Trustees of the Richards Fund, South Attleboro, maps to the South Attleboro school; the Trustees of the Richardson School Fund, framed pictures to the Farmers school, reference books to the High School, maps, globes, dictionaries, and a piano to the Richardson School, reference books to the Public Library for the use of all the schools, besides pro- viding largely for the expense of the instructor in draw- ing : William A. Streeter Post, No. 145, G. A. R., an organ to the Turner street School, and silk flags to several schools ; Miss Lucy Sweet, Humane Calendars to all the Bands of Mercy in the schools; Rev. Fr. P. S. McGee, a framed picture to the Dodgeville school.
Humane Education.
In the early fall arrangements were made with the American Humane Education Society to send its agent, Mr. A. Judson Leach, here to organize Bands of Mercy in the Grammar and upper Primary schools.
Their primary purpose is to lead the children to say kind words and to do kind deeds and to make happier the lot of dumb animals. Their secondary purpose is to inspire respect for personal rights, and to insure the pro- tection of life and property. This education is not so much technical as it is ethical. The organization is very simple. The children of each school, who will pledge themselves to be humane and kind, constitute the Band of Mercy in that school. As occasion gives opportunity,
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and at all events once in each month the teacher directs attention of all the pupils to their high aims as members. It is too early yet to notice any great results, but con- certed, sensible efforts of this sort must result in great ยท good.
Health of the Children.
During the year the following measures have been adopted for promoting the health of the children :
I. During May, June and September the noon hour for most of the schools has been lengthened a quarter of an hour.
2. When a storm arises during the morning session the youngest children are sent home for the day at noon instead of at I o'clock as formerly.
3. The Hebronville school is now ventilated by a modern heating and ventilating system.
4. The instruction in gymnastics, including indoor and outdoor active games, is made more interesting than ever before, and the visits of the special teacher are much more frequent. This is a very valuable part of the school work.
5. Each session has been shortened 15 minutes for the first primary grades in the belief that prolonged at- tention is injurious to such small children.
6. The safety of children is guarded by fire drills in the larger buildings.
It is regretted that the safeguards to health diminish as pupils enter upon the arduous duties of the High School. Some of the class rooms are insufficiently venti- lated for the numbers they receive, one-the laboratory --
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is in the cellar, and for reasons explained in the last re- port, attempts at physical training have been abandoned as impracticable. The noon lunches purchased in the vicinity are often unwholesome or unsatisfying. A mod- ern High School building such as is recommended else- where in this report provides for suitable well ventilated class rooms, floor space for free physical exercises, and a lunch counter where simple and nourishing food may be had at cost.
Mckinley Memorial Exercises.
On Thursday, September 19, 1901, the day of the funeral of William McKinley, the late President of the United States, all the schools held memorial exercises. At 9 in the morning those schools who could be ac- commodated assembled in the Bates Opera House, the rest in their respective school rooms. The former as- semblage was one of the most remarkable this town has ever witnessed. Over one thousand children moved silently to their assigned position with martial precision. and during the impressive ceremonies which followed bore themselves with a solemnity of decorum which was an unexpected revelation of how even the children shared the Nation's grief. The programme which was in charge of the School Committee is reprinted in the Appendix.
Attendance.
The compulsory school attendance law is now pretty generally obeyed, though the vigilance of the truant officers has not been relaxed, and some parents have re- quired warnings, while one has been convicted in court.
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Children are not now absent from school to any great extent except for serious reasons. Where the foreign population is greatest the attendance is poorest. In the other and more populous parts of the town the absence during the fall term for all causes combined amounted to but a fraction over 5% of the membership. It was over 11% in the section first referred to.
To create a stronger desire to be present and to be on time, rewards were offered by the Committee early in the fall as follows :
I. Every school having a perfect record of atten- dance for one week will be dismissed a half hour early on Friday afternoon.
2. Every pupil having a perfect record of atten- dance for one month will be dismissed an hour early on such a day as the principal may designate.
This device has put an esprit du corps into the schools which has vastly exceeded all expectations, and the pupils are now doing more of the striving, while their parents and teachers are required to do correspondingly less.
A Course in Reading and Literature.
A Course in Reading and Literature has been pre- pared, published, and distributed throughout the homes . of the school children. Its aim is to direct pupils, par- ents, and the teachers to a safe and easy way of attaining that which should be the end of all study in this subject- the enjoyment of the best books.
The general plan of the course, which is practically the same for all grades, embraces the following require- ments :
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I. Class Reading from regular school readers and supplementary volumes. In the earliest grades this is chiefly to gain rapid mastery over the printed page, while in the higher grades the emphasis is on literary interpre- tation.
2. Reading to the Class by the teacher. This ex- ercise in lower grades is to awaken interest in books which pupils may afterwards finish for themselves, and in higher grades in works which require some exposition to be appreciated.
3. Selections to be Memorized, including entire short passages from the world's best literature, and many short sayings. These are the beautiful pictures which are to hang on memory's wall long after school days are done. In learning to recite them well, skill is gained in declamation.
4. Home Reading, chiefly from books in the Public Library. These books have been classified as carefully as possible not only to suit the tastes of children ac- cording to their ages, but also to show them the value of reading in departments of literature other than fiction. Of the 1, 160 library books in the home reading lists, 702 are in Fiction and 458 about equally divided among the following classes: (1) Myths, poetry and essays; (2) Science, (3) Travel, (4) History, (5) Biography.
Children whose parents are willing are entitled to library cards, no matter in what part of the town they may reside. Free transportation of books between the libraries and the outlying school houses was begun in January, 1902. The adult as well as the juvenile resi- dents of these districts may also have the benefits of the
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improved library service through these school deliveries, if they so desire.
The co-operation of the Library Trustees and Li- brarian of the Public Library with the School Depart- ment cannot be too strongly commended.
Evening Schools.
The season of the Free Public Evening Schools be- gan October 1, 1901, and continued on Tuesday, Wednes- day, and Thursday evenings of each week thereafter until November 27, or 26 evenings in all.
Statistics. Bank St. Hebron. Dodge. Total.
Enrollment,
146
II3
99
358
Average attendance (per evening),
70
78
62
210
Per cent. of Attendance
to total enrollment,
48%
69%
58.7%
Number of Teachers, ... 5
4
62.6% 3
12
Number present :
The full 26 nights,
4
19
*
23
From 20 to 25 nights, ..
32
39
40
III
From 15 to 20 nights, ..
I6
I3
9
38
From 10 to 15 nights, ..
23
I2
I3
48
From 5 to 10 nights, ...
30
20
24
74
Fewer than 5 nights, .. *Open but 24 nights.
41
IO
13
64
A school was opened at South Attleboro but was discontinued after three nights for lack of patronage.
Serious delays were encountered in organizing owing to the unexpectedly large numbers who presented them-
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selves to be registered. Additional rooms had to be made ready, and more teachers and books secured at very short notice. These measures rapidly exhausted the funds, and so the term was cut short to the great disap- pointment of many.
Instruction of the best character was given by ex- perienced teachers, most of whom are on the day school force. Classes were formed for primary, intermediate and advanced work in the common school branches : nothing higher was attempted. Drawing, both free hand and mechanical was offered at Bank street, but the classes were small. A large number of illiterate minors were required to attend. They did not resent the com- pulsion in the least, but accomplished a surprising amount in the time allowed. The schools had also many young men and women who came voluntarily to learn to read. It is impossible to estimate the value of the school to the large number of young people who ha 1 serious ambitions.
The attendance was reduced on certain evenings by such causes as the theatre, church fairs, and extra night work in the shops. Then there was the expected num- ber of those who lack the depth of purpose to persevere amid obstacles. The records show that these dropped out in large numbers after a few nights. There was a complete and simple system of co-operation between the employers of illiterate minors and the schools in en- forcing both attendance and proper behavior. The em- ployers showed a strong interest in the schools, especially at Hebronville and Dodgeville.
We are better prepared to conduct these schools
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another year, and with an increased appropriation they will become a most valuable part of our school system.
School and Home.
A wise teacher and a wise parent may sometimes come into conflict over the training of a child, so delicate are the questions involved. What is likely to happen when the parent is misinformed and the teacher is unin- formed about matters each should know clearly ? Since the beginning of the evening parents' meetings last fall there have been many cordial expressions concerning their value in promoting an intelligent and sympathetic co-operation of the educational forces of the school and those of the home. These meetings, begun at the Rich- ardson, Hebronville and Robinson schools, will be con- tinued and extended in the future.
Transportation.
Transportation has been discontinued between St. Jean Plat and the Turner Street School since the opening of the new road. By granting transportation of the older scholars from Briggs Corner to the centre over the Bristol County railway the town may defer for some time the construction of a new school house there. The Dodgeville children have for several years come to the centre after leaving the fifth grade. The town should grant them free transportation. It will be cheaper than to open a Grammar School there.
Manual Skill and Applied Art.
This is or has been the business of the fathers and mothers of most of our pupils. Follow in their footsteps the children certainly do. Equip the coming generation
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of jewelry makers with a training which makes them not only resourceful in good designs but handy in turning them out, and the industry of this town has one more bulwark. The cotton mills are not to be driven out of New England, if the textile schools of Lowell and New Bedford can help it, and a kind of protection for home industries that Attleboro must not forget-one that be- gins at home and is independent of Congress-is Art Manual Training in the public schools.
This matter was referred to a year ago. It was not pressed, because the opening of three new school houses and a set of Evening schools was quite enough for the town to do in one year. Before us lies the erection of a new High school building ,which cannot properly be postponed, and the imperative need of funds to retain successful teachers ; so again conviction gives way to ex- pediency.
The reports of the Supervisors and Supervising Principals which follow deserve a careful reading for the information they contain regarding the work in their re- spective fields.
Report of the Principal of the High School.
Mr. William P. Kelly, Superintendent of Schools :
The past year has been marked by steady progress. Our enrollment to date shows a large increase in the number of High School pupils, although the fact that last year the ninth grade was seated in the High School gave us about the same number of pupils as at present. It is an encouraging fact that there have been fewer with- drawals during the past fall term than during the corre-
T 14
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sponding period of last year. This is due partly to better preparation and partly, perhaps, to a stronger desire to complete the course. It is to be hoped that this tendency may be still more manifest, for, between September, 1900, and September, 1901, not less than thirty-six pupils with- drew from the school, some leaving during the terms and others failing to return after the summer vacation. The above number does not include the nine who graduated.
It is probable that the next entering class will be considerably larger than those of late years and this will overcrowd the building. As has been noted in former reports, our High School is much smaller than the average in towns of our population, but under proper conditions there is no good reason why this should be the case. The indications are that the Attleboro High School has entered on a period of growth, and it seems to me that every possible encouragement should be given to this branch of the school system. It will be a difficult problem to accommodate the school even another year in the present building, after which time more room will be a necessity. Even now we are greatly incon- venienced by lack of recitation rooms and laboratory facilities.
A careful examination of the present structure will convince anyone of the impracticability of adding to it. Any enlargement would be, at the best, only a temporary arrangement, not a solution of the problem. On the other hand commodious, modern building could be erected at once, which would satisfy the needs of the town in this respect for many years.
Moreover a suitable building with proper equipment
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would be the greatest inducement to pupils to pursue the High School course, and would do more than anything else to increase our enrollment.
At the time of its erection, the present house was amply suited to the existing needs, but that day has pass- ed; the school has outgrown its old quarters, and now, in comparison with the other and more recent school houses in the town, this one seems but ill adapted to the constantly increasing demands of the time.
If we claim that the High School should give its pupils lofty ideals, a taste for the aesthetic, a broad, com- prehensive view of science, literature and art, as well as a practical equipment for their entire life work, should we not give them suitable environment? We are all affected to some extent by our surroundings and it is quite reasonable to suppose that four years' work in a beautiful building is much more inviting to a child than the same four years amid surroundings less attractive.
In accordance with the recommendations of one year ago, the rooms which were formerly occupied as offices by the Superintendent of Schools and the Supervisor of Drawing, are now respectively employed as a recitation room for commercial branches and as a typewriter room. In this latter room have been placed five type- writers, and students who have elected this branch of the work are enabled to use these machines ninety minutes each day.
Another teacher was also added to the force, who now has charge of the business department. By this increase the Principal was so far relieved from teaching
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duties that now he has some much needed time for supervision.
The new course of study is proving successful. Pupils are choosing their electives wisely and seem to take increased interest in their subjects. In general the work of the school is good, while the atitude of the pupils toward the teachers is especially harmonious and praiseworthy.
The hearty thanks of both teachers and pupils are due Mr. Charles E. Bliss for his generous gift of a mag- nificent cabinet of minerals, numbering some five hun- dred specimens.
Parents are cordially invited to visit any sessions of the school. In order to direct the work more intelligent- ly for the pupils as individuals, the Principal has set aside for an office hour, Wednesdays from half past two to half past three, when he will be glad to meet and con- sult with parents or pupils at the school library.
I desire to thank you and the members of the Com- mittee for your continued efforts to make the High School a success.
Respectfully, WILBUR D. GILPATRIC.
Report of the Principal of the Sanford Street School. Mr. William P. Kelly, Superintendent of Schools :
I herewith submit my third annual report as princi- pal of the Sanford Street School.
The past year has been one of encouraging develop- ment. Greater opportunities have been given and more and better work has been done. It is the constant aim
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of the teachers to secure the best results ; the pupils, as a whole, respond to the efforts of their teachers; and all are loyal to the best interests of the school.
The rearrangement of the work permitting super- vision is unifying the separate schools into one system, promoting a healthy school spirit, and, I trust, proving a source of strength and helpfulness to the teachers. Op- portunity is given for careful consideration of the prog- ress, grading and promotion of all pupils, and every effort is made to avoid the evils of an inflexible system of grada- tion. As far as possible, the grades are subdivided ac- cording to the ability of the pupils, so that children of widely different degrees of mental activity are not class- ed together to their mutual disadvantage.
The ninth grade, at Sanford Street School for the first time this year, is still somewhat experimental. It is, however, of undoubted value, and will be a source of strength to the pupils who take the work of that year. It would be far better for the present class, if it were larger, and occupied a room by itself. The course of study for the ninth year should have special inducements for pupils to take the work of that grade. Last year 43 per cent. of the pupils promoted to the ninth grade failed to return in the fall. At present, the ninth grade is not popular. If possible, it should be made so.
There are other special needs. The administration facilities are totally inadequate. There is no office for the principal, no office furniture, no lights, and inade- quate heat. There is no means of communication be- tween the principal's room and the other rooms of the buildings, except by traversing several flights of stairs.
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