USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Attleboro > Reports of town officers of the town of Attleborough 1940 > Part 9
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Jan. 1.1939 Valuation $24,256,005
Valuation per Pupil $6,745
Only 65 Cities and Towns lower in Cost Rank No. 286
Rank No. 45 Rank No. 169
351
351 Towns and Cities in the State
5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 165 175 185 195 205 215 225 235 245 255 265 275 285 295 305 315 325 335 345
114
ANNUAL REPORT
NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING
The most important event in the school department in 1940 was the letting of a contract to James A. Munroe and Sons of North Attleboro for the erection of a 16 room elementary school building, on the Watson Avenue lot. The new build- ing not only provides for all the pupils living on the west side of the railroad now attending the Bank Street, Sanford Street and the Capron schools, but contains classrooms, a shop, and sewing and cooking rooms for the boys and girls of the continuation and vocational schools. The school will also have a hall with a seating capacity of 440, which can also be used as a gymnasium. This building will not only be the most modern but will be the most unique of all the Attleboro school buildings, and is probably the most beautiful. Part of the school lot will be developed as a playground, available, not only for the pupils of the school, but for use by the High School teams when the grounds are suited to their needs.
A detailed description of this building will be made public when the school is dedicated in September.
JEWELRY TRADES SCHOOL
The second most important event of the year in the education of Attleboro boys is in the expansion and development of the Attleboro Trade School. Since 1934, the Trade School has been struggling along, making each year some prog- ress, but not so much as those interested in the school hoped or expected. Money for the Trade School has been scarce and hard to get.
This year, under the leadership of Mr. Rathbun Willard and Mr. Harold E. Sweet, the manufacturers of Attleboro and North Attleboro have contributed nearly $7,000 for buying new equipment for the school. Federal funds have been promised for the employment of another instructor in toolmaking. It is hoped that two full time teachers for related and academic work may be employed, with certain rooms at the High School building set apart for their use. The pupils will then spend alternately one week in school and one week in the shop. Only boys who have passed the eighth grade will be admitted to the school, as the academic work will be on the high school level. With additional equipment and teachers, the number of boys who can be accommodated will be doubled and they will receive much better training for the trade they expect to enter. For the boys who really wish to learn the fundamentals of the jewelry trades, the school will offer a wonderful opportunity.
Jewelry Trades School Financial Statement
Salaries
Appropriation $5,089.50
Expended $4,955.21 1,039.96
Balance Overdraft $134.29
Rent.
1,000.00
39.96
Equipment.
500.00
545.55
45.55
Maintenance .
2,000.00
1,844.10
155.90
Shop Expansion
73.97
73.97
Total
$8,589.50
$8,458.79
$290.19
$159.48
Net Balance
$290.19-159.48 == $130.71
There has also been paid for salaries from Federal Funds $4,519.25, making a total paid for salaries of $9,474.46. The State will reimburse the city for one- half the salaries paid by the city and certain other items. The net cost of the school to Attleboro is obtained by the following process.
The State will not reimburse the city for new equipment, shop changes, or rent. These amount to $1,659.48. Deducting this from the total cost of $8,458.79, leaves $6,799.31 on which reimbursement will be made. Against this amount of $6,799.31 is credited the tuition received, $771.12, leaving $6,028.19, of which the State will pay one-half, or $3,014.10. This makes a total credit of $3,785.22 against a total cost to the city of $8,458.79, leaving the net cost to the city of $4,673.57.
115
ANNUAL REPORT
A statement of the amount expended for maintenance follows: Telephone
f 41.81
Gas.
83.62
Electric Lights
97.23
Power.
261.32
Books
20.00
Supplies
755.23
Maintenance and replacement.
453.82
Janitors' Supplies
9.75
Miscellaneous
121.32
Total
$1,844.10
RESIGNATIONS
The following resignations and retirements occurred during the year: 1940
January 8
Marjorie Hunken
Lincoln
To be married
July 1
Laura M. Povey High
Better position
July 22
Eleanor C. Fillmore
High
Better position
July 29
Virginia A. Lucey
Lincoln
Better position
August 5
Anna O. Swanson
Tiffany
To be married
August 29
Ruth Ellis
Lincoln
Better position
September 9
Elsa D. Johnson
Tiffany
To be married
RETIREMENT
July 1
Louisa G. Richards Richardson after 34 years service in Attleboro
DECEASED
September 13
Mary E. McManus Sanford Street
after 44 years of service in Attleboro 41 years of which were in the same room
PENMANSHIP Summary of Awards 1939-1940
High
Bank St.
37
44
24
Bliss.
42
31
36
46
41
59
19
22
296
349
Briggs Cor.
10
11
9
7
13
14
1
65
83
Capron .
18
8
18
16
60
48
Carpenter St ..
45
Dodgeville
10
12
14
7
12
14
10
1 80
65
Farmers.
18
16
16
9
27
5
1
92
102
Finberg
20
20
18
20
19
13
17
15
142
108
Lincoln
19
23
30
16
24
15
15
36
178
130
Plat.
10
8
3
21
25
Pleasant St. .
16
17
14
15
62
50
Richardson ..
48
58
67
91
75
69
83
58
549
356
Sanford St ..
14
26
25
10
67
44
65
33
284
311
So. Attleboro.
61
Tiffany
24
46
30.
36
37
55
55
27
310
283
Washington
45
43
35
49
23
25
7
22
209
Totals .
294
319
315
322
338
313
280
246
2427
1939 Totals . .
291
347
292
337
281
236
299
179
2262
S. S.
Button
G. S.
Button
Palmer
Button
Merit
Button
Prog.
Junior
Stud.
H. S.
1940
Total
1939
13
7
Cert.
Total
Pin
Cert.
Cert.
Reason
Teacher
School
116
ANNUAL REPORT
Per Cent of Pupils in Each Grade Who Have Received the Palmer Award for the Grade
Grade
June Enrollment
Pupils holding the award for the grade
Per Cent
High, Commercial
16
16
100%
VIII
335
319
95%
VII
336
308
92%
VI
321
307
96%
V.
319
307
96%
IV.
338
322
95%
III
312
297
95%
II
295
291
99%
I.
318
295
92%
2590
2462
95%
Only 128 pupils out of a total of 2590 did not have the penmanship award they were expected to have. This fact certainly reflects credit on the ability of the teachers.
SCHOOL SAVINGS BANK Statement December 31, 1940
Dr.
Bal. on deposit Jan. 1, 1940, including interest ($1,487.02).
$ 4,132.05
Deposits in First National Bank from Jan. 1, 1940-Dec. 31, 1940.
5,942.65
Interest from November, 1939 to November, 1940
49.39
$ 10,124.09
Cr.
Transferred to pupils' individual accounts, Jan. 1, 1940 to Dec. 31, 1940 $ 6,226.00
Withdrawn, 1940, from interest to cover expenses. 26.19
Balance on deposit Dec. 31, 1940, including interest ($1,510.22).
3,871.90
Total amount deposited since October, 1908. $196,194.43
Number of individual accounts opened at First National Bank from October, 1908 to December 31, 1939. . 6958
January, 1940 to December 31, 1940. 158
7116
Number of pupils depositing in the school bank Dec. 31, 1940.
1382
The School Savings Bank was started in October, 1908. Up to 1935 a total of $166,905.96 had been deposited. About 1400 pupils in the elementary schools make deposits in the bank. Since 1935 the deposits have been as follows:
Deposits Since the Establishment of the Bank in 1908
Year
Deposits
1908-1935 (inclusive)
$166,905.96
1936.
5,072.90
1937
5,950.33
1938
5,655.94
1939
6,666.65
1940
5,942.65
Total deposits to December 31, 1940 $196,194.43
$ 10,124.09
117
ANNUAL REPORT
Attleboro has long had a reputation for having good schools. With the completion of the new building to replace the Bank Street, Sanford Street and Capron Schools, most of the pupils will be well housed in modern school buildings. Farmers, Pleasant Street, Briggs Corner and the Plat are all that are left of the small wooden buildings. With the installation of up-to-date plumbing in the toilets, these buildings would be satisfactory for a long time. A beginning should be made this year.
Good as the work of the teachers is, I believe it would be greatly improved by more supervision in the elementary grades. A primary supervisor would unify the work of the primary grades and keep teachers up to a definite standard which they now lack. Much can be done through outlines and tests, but much more can be accomplished by direct supervision. The employment of such a super- visor would be a sound educational investment.
Attleboro has good schools. They are not so "progressive" as some schools. They do, however, try to provide pupils with all the essential qualifications for becoming worthy citizens; upright character, a thorough knowledge of all the elemental subjects of education, and a desire to be of service to the community. These are the aims and purposes for which for many years the teachers have labored. I believe the results show in the kind of city Attleboro has become, and the teachers should be thanked for their continued and sincere efforts.
Respectfully submitted,
Lewis A. Fales.
REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Lewis A. Fales, Superintendent of Schools:
Following is my fifth annual report as principal of Attleboro High School.
Enrollment
The enrollment as of November 1940 was 934, a drop of 46 from the registra- tion a year ago. This number is the lowest since 1936, and enrollment of the next two years will probably continue the trend toward a tapering off from the maximum of 980 pupils in 1939. It is to be noted, however, that the school plant, recently increased by the new addition, will still be required for the full program of the school when it is recalled that the building without the addition was intended to accommodate only 600. At the present time there is still a noticeable shortage of room to accommodate some of the educational features of the school's program, but the slight decline in enrollment figures in the next few years is expected to remedy this condition.
Enrollment by Curriculum (As of June 28, 1940 for the year 1940-41)
College Tech.
Com'1
Man. Arts
H'd Arts
Civ. Arts
Total
Seniors
43
11
42
5
5
51
157
Juniors
52
13
78
25
11
57
236
Sophomores
68
17
75
33
35
46
274
Freshmen .
60
10
89
49
30
65
303
223
51
284
112
81
219
970
11S
ANNUAL REPORT
Enrollment by Sex and Class (As of November 22, 1940)
Boys
Girls
Total
Seniors
64
96
160
Juniors
86
108
194
Sophomores
129
149
278
Freshmen
137
162
299
P. G.'s.
2
1
3
418
516
934
In the above table figures for the junior class include fourteen who failed to secure the credits required for full senior standing (9 boys, 5 girls). Similarly fifty "near-juniors" (27 boys, 23 girls), and thirty-seven freshmen (22 boys, 15 girls) failed to secure sophomore standing at the end of their first year's work. On the other hand a more optimistic picture is shown in the cases of seven in- dividuals (4 boys, 3 girls) who, failing of promotion to junior standing at the end of their sophomore year, nevertheless worked so well last year that they were able to jump the junior class entirely and are registered this year in full senior standing as prospective graduates in June, 1941. A maximum of 174 seniors are expected to be in line for graduation.
Pupils Dropping Out
Between the beginning of the current school year (Sept. 5, 1940) and the present writing, Dec. 19, 1940, fifty-four pupils have left the high school. In- formation has been secured about these individuals as follows:
Working
22
Transferred to other schools 17
C. C. C.
1
At home.
2
Deceased
1
No information
11
Occupation of Graduates of June, 1940
Total number of graduates
. . 191
Employed. 128
Continuing their education:
In institutions requiring a high school diploma-
Aeronautical school.
2
Bentley School of Accounting
1
Boston College. 2
1
Bridgewater
1
Brown
1
Bryant.
Boston University (Physical Education)
1
Emmanuel
2
Fisher Business School.
Hobart. 1
Junior College 5
Kansas City College.
1
Katherine Gibbs.
1
M. I. T.
1
Massachusetts Nautical School
1
Massachusetts School of Art
1
Mary Brooks School. 1
1
Bowdoin
119
ANNUAL REPORT
Massachusetts School of Optometry
1
Northeastern (Engineering) .
1
Nursing Schools.
4
Providence Bible Institute
1
Providence College .
1
Rhode Island School of Design
2
Skidmore.
2
Tabbut-Hubbard School
1
Wentworth
3
Wheaton.
1
Worcester Tech
3
Yale
1
Total 49
In other institutions:
Preparatory schools. 4
3
Attleboro Jewelry
8
57
Unemployed
6
Total
191
Occupational Distribution of Employed Grades of 1940
According to returns thus far received from a large majority of the graduates of June, 1940, fifty per cent of these graduates are working in jewelry factories or in establishments representing allied industries. Except for this concentration in the jewelry field, graduates are distributed at present in an interesting and wide variety of occupations. The following table offers an interesting answer to the question: What happens to high school graduates?
Jewelry and allied industries.
63
Toolmaking, pressed steel, etc.
15
Retail merchandising
13
Textiles.
6
Secretarial (except in jewelry)
3
At home
3
Laundry
?
Construction.
1
Electrical assembling
1
Automotive repair. .
1
Public water department
1
Journalism
1
Plumbing
1
Telephone operator
1
Truck driver
1
Plastics .
1
Unclassified
14
128
New Post-School Inventory
For a number of years cards have been sent out each fall in an attempt to check on the whereabouts of graduates of the previous June, the material thus secured being used primarily for the principal's report. A new follow-up pro- cedure inaugurated in the fall of 1940, and involving the use of forms of the
P. G. study at A. H. S.
1
120
ANNUAL REPORT
Occupational Adjustment Study of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, is bringing to the school a much more accurate and broader picture of the occupations of its graduates. This post-school inventory in- quires about employment status, advanced education, and other phases of the graduate's progress. Of especial value in the returns are data relative to the high school subjects found to be of most value in post-school life and those subjects which the individual did not take but which he believes would have been helpful. Concerning the specific type of work in which the graduates are occupied, definite information will be secured regarding the general type of skill involved. This information will be of real value to school officials and teachers and from it should come a closer adjustment of the work of the class room to the probable later needs of its students. The occupational study is intended to cover a period of several years, and conclusions cannot be drawn until all data are in. Information already secured, however, has a real significance for the instructional program of the school, and it is reasonable to assume that when the study is completed the occupations, qualifications and definite work needs of the school's recent gradu- ates will point to a revision of the school's program concerning the need of which there can be little argument.
Under consideration by the Massachusetts legislature for the past year, the youth problem of the State will have been surveyed and doubltess given full publicity by the time this present report is read. The State believes that either large numbers of young people are to be allowed to drift along as best they can or that some measures must be taken to assist them to economic self-sufficiency. Among recommendations to the legislature of the Department of Education will be the establishment by the State of an unpaid youth planning board with a full-time State executive to collect and coordinate information; establishment by each community of a planning board; employment of a placement director in each high school to assist young people; and establishment of a State loan fund to aid young people in acquiring training. The local high school should be in a position to receive the utmost profit from such a State program of aid to out-of- school youth because of the local post-school inventory now under way.
Absences
For the past two years the school has had a commendable attendance record, the percentage of pupils present for the month of November 1939 and 1940 being 96. In these same months and years the school's standing was second a- mong all schools of the city. This record has been brought about partly by administrative procedure involving a careful check on absences each day by the submaster and an insistence that pupils absent meet the requirement of a written note from the parent, and partly by a careful daily check on the individual's record by his home room teacher. In a number of rooms regular attendance has become a matter of home room pride.
The Daily Schedule and Guidance Through Home Rooms
Period Mon. Rm. Tue. Rm.
Wed. Rm. Thurs. Rm. Fri. Rm. Home Room
1
2
A
A B
X Assem. A B
B
3
B
B
(*
4
C Recess
C Recess
C Recess D
Recess
C Recess
5 b 6
Recess Recess Recess F
E
E
7
H
F
D
a
D D
Recess Recess
E
F
121
ANNUAL REPORT
With the increased space made available by the addition, the "rotating" schedule (in which each subject met four days a week, instead of five, but in slightly longer periods) was discarded as a temporary expedient which had served its purpose during a time of crowded conditions. The majority of the faculty felt that the program did not do justice to the needs of the underclassmen, a. large number of whom had not yet formed correct habits of study. The custom- ary five-period-a-week schedule, with regular homework assigned for each night, was believed to be the best means of training these pupils in regular study habits. Certain features of the variety found in the rotating schedule have been retained in the program of the last two years. This year a study period common to all pupils (period "X" comes at a different time cach day, and the homeroom pro- gram inaugurated two years ago now alternates every other Wednesday morning (period "X") with an assembly. While upper classmen, for example, are in the assembly hall for a morning program, freshmen are in their homerooms occupied with a program of a type illustrated by the following samples:
November 6-Election of homeroom officers
November 20-"Education for the Common Defense"
December 11-"School Organization"
February 5-"Care of Public Buildings and Property"
March 12-"Good Manners (Home, School, and Public)"
April 30-Conference on marks (Preparation for selecting next year's,subjects)
At the end of the four-year program seniors consider in their homeroom periods such subjects as the following:
November 13-"How to Choose Your Career" (A talk by a representative of a preparatory school)
January 15 -- "Opportunities Under the Civil Service" (A talk by the local postmaster)
It is also planned for the present year to have representatives of a local bank, a local insurance house, a secretarial school, a Providence store, and Brown University in these homeroom programs of the senior class.
Other programs, similarly planned by a joint committee of the faculty and student body, are already in progress in the sophomore and junior classes, the former programs evolving around the subject of personal guidance and the latter, vocational opportunities.
Student Activities
The "extra" activities of the school continue to be one of the most vital parts of its program. In the past two years the senior play has been unusually successful in its financial returns to the graduating class and in the excellent support given it by the entire school. At the play, "What a Life", given early in December of this year, a considerable number who had not bought tickets in advance were turned away at the doors because there were no more seats available. The Tri-Y club has contributed to the purchase of a new glass-enclosed bulletin board for the main corridor as well as giving generously to the local Children's Christmas Fund. At the present writing, sixteen homerooms are occupied in preparing Christmas dinner baskets for needy families of Attleboro, the names provided by the City Welfare Department, and one room is preparing a large collection of toys. New activities organized during the year are a French Club, where meetings are carried on entirely in French for the benefit of advanced students in the subject; a Library Club, assisting in the care and management of the library; and a Camera Club, in which members learn the rudiments of good photography and the technique of developing, printing, and enlarging their own snapshots.
122
ANNUAL REPORT
In athletics, the varsity basketball team last winter was invited to partici- pate in the championship play-off sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the preliminary game the boys defeated Newton High School and on the second night lost by a narrow margin to a strong Haverhill team, an excellent performance against two teams from much larger schools. In the fall of this year the annual freshman-sophomore football contest, inaugurated a year ago, was continued with an excellent show of spirit and support by a large number of the student body as well as townspeople. More boys in the school should avail themselves of the opportunity provided in football for training in muscular coordination, team play, and "stick-to-it-iveness". The school spirit, as shown in student support of the football games, has on several occasions been the subject of favorable comment among adult spectators.
Athletes' Accident Benefit Fund
The Athletic Council has favored the continuance of the school in the in- surance plan provided by the representatives of the New England athletic associa- tions in the plan known as the Athletes' Accident Benefit Fund. At the begin- ning of the season all candidates in a given sport secure the consent of their parents, are examined by a physician, and pay a fee of one dollar for this insurance. Injuries received requiring medical attention are the subject of claims upon the fund. During the football season just closed eighty boys were insured and three have already collected claims totalling sixty-six dollars. Claims of four other boys for X-ray treatment on minor injuries are pending. While there is a great amount of bookkeeping and checking required to facilitate the plan, Attleboro's success with it, as at present conducted, has been sufficiently satisfactory to warrant continuing another year.
Manual Arts
The Manual Arts curriculum, conducted for a good many years on the traditional line of woodworking, should be completely reorganized to meet the needs of a large number of boys in the school. At present three years of the subject are offered, including repetition and extension of the eighth grade program which is intended to give training in manipulative skills and in the use and care of simple hand tools. When these fundamental steps are mastered, boys are encouraged to work on projects of their own, such as letter boxes, birdhouses, sawhorses, sewing cabinets, and even desks. It is proposed that the traditional work be continued in Manual Training I and half of the year in Manual Training II, if necessary, but that in this second year there be an introduction to work with metals-sheet metal soldering and forming, work with wire, and some experience with bar metal, including pipes and tubes. There should also be provision, either here or in the third year, for skills which will aid in the improvement and upkeep of the home. Among these might be mentioned minor electrical repairs permitted under the law, glazing, furniture upholstering and refinishing, general automotive work, and plumbing repairs permissible under the law. The use and care of high-power machinery, such as that in our own department, should probab- ly be reserved for teaching in the fourth year. If changes such as these were put into effect, the department would probably be hard pressed to accommodate even a fraction of the boys interested. In addition, the printing press, type, and other materials made available by the enthusiasm of the printing club could play an important part in a revised manual arts department. Printing offers not only opportunity for development and coordination in manual skills but also excellent training in general accuracy, patience, and the fundamentals of English grammar and composition.
Music
The following calendar of musical events during the course of a school week may be of interest to those persons who recognize the value of the art of music in the training of young people.
123
ANNUAL REPORT
Monday, period X (8:20-9:01) Chorus (Alternating freshmen and upper- class)
Tuesday-Band-all day (Separate instruments and instruction each period; full band at 1:40)
Wednesday, period X, assembly-Orchestra plays
Wednesday 1:40-Orchestra rehearsal
Thursday 1:40-Glee Club (specially selected singers.)
The course in music theory offered for the past two years was discontinued this year because of insufficient enrollment. Both orchestra and band (as well as football teams!) experience periodic declines and spurts, a fact very evident to the school officials most directly connected with these organizations; but as long as the school can be represented in the public by an organized orchestra and a band, there is certainly no cause for discouragement. Both these groups are in frequent demand by public and civic organizations. It is the policy of the school always to accede to these requests whenever the confidence of the individual players, as well as the morale of the entire organization, will not suffer from such appearance.
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