USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1921 > Part 6
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No institution, except government, can afford to per- mit its gigantic plant to remain idle from one-fourth to one-third of the year, and for that matter, not even gov- ernment can afford it, although still able to do it.
The experience mentioned with pupils and teachers in summer school suggests a possible saving in student's time and in taxpayers' money by more extended opera- tion of the school; i. e., a 12-months' year. Probably it would be well to let the school week remain one of 5 days as at present so that the extension of the year will not be, in any way, difficult for pupils ; for, after all, the pupils are the main consideration. Such a change, if made, will not be popular with pupils or with teachers; and it may not appeal to the people. This change is not at present recommended by your committee, but is merely mentioned in connection with some facts so that the public mind may become accustomed to the idea and then will judge dis- passionately of the merit of such a plan. Probably oppo- sition to a plan of this sort would be likely to be greatest ir teaching circles, because of custom and tradition and the natural disinclination of all of us to change, especially if change means inconvenience. However, our work in this world often is inconveniencing and tradition gives
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way before necessity. Forget tradition for a moment and answer the question whether for the school teacher a 12- months' year, of only 5 days a week, of 5 hours a day (on shift plan only 4 hours a day), with a week of rest every 8 weeks is too much. If the answer is "Yes," then, if a plan of a 12-months' school year is adopted, a supplemen- tary staff of teachers for the summer period would be needed.
If it is "No" and we believe that a year of short days, 5 day weeks, and with frequent week-rest perids, is not unduly severe, then an extension of the work might be achieved with the regular staff. Probably some consider- ation would be necessary before deciding upon salaries of teachers, although they now are paid upon the basis of a 52-week year. This was clearly established by the teach- ers at the time of their request for increase of salaries in the recent past. Considering the salary of a teacher on the present basis-i. e., a 40-week year-one can see that, with a year composed of 1000 hours, a salary of $1200, the maximum grade pay, gives the teacher $1.20 for each hour; a salary of $850, the minimum, $ .85 an hour. At present, those on shifts have a 4-hour day or 800 hours pe' year, making the hourly pay something over $1.00 an hour for the teacher receiving the smallest salary paid by the town, while the $1200 salary yields $1.50 pper hour to the teacher.
A fair average pay for women of equal ability in other lines might be said to be about 60 cents an hour. If one works 44 hours a week, the weekly yield in $26.40, or $1,372.00 per year of 52 weeks. Most concerns give a two-weeks' vacation with pay and allow some days for illness with being, this last being so in teaching work also, an allowance of 5 days being given in Palmer.
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SUMMARY
It is clear that :-
(1). The total required is necessarily greater than before because we are doing more each year at an in- creased unit cost.
(2). That the major part of the unit increase is in a department of the work that may further increase, but will not decrease in cost.
(3). That other costs, like the interest charges on investment in school property, which, while not mentioned in municipal reports, are, nevertheless, a part of the ex- pense to the people and will not be less in future. (These charges are the same whether the schools operate 6 months or 12 months.)
(4). That the only possibility of less expensive ed- ucation lies in getting more accomplished at present cost, which apparently can only be done through more complete utilization of staff and property.
(5). That conditions which require shift opera- tions are very expensive to town and to pupils.
Space forbids an elaboration of these matters but it seems to your committee some mention is desirable in this report, which is almost the only way to reach the taxpayer.
A condensed financial report is attached.
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16
COMPARISON OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Increase
General Expenses,
$
1922 8,685.00
1921 $ 6,620.00 73,153.06
$ 2,065.00 5,036.74
Textbooks and Supplies.
6,000.00
6,000.00
0.00
Transportation,
6,000.00
5,440.00
560.00
Fuel and Light,
7,600.00
8,650.00
-1,050.00
Janitors' Services,
6,075.00
5.890.00
185.00
Maintenance of Building
and Grounds,
2,500.00
2,250.00
250.00
Rent,
0.00
425.00
425.00
Repairs,
3,000.00
3,000.00
0.00
Music, Manual Training
and Drawing
3,840.00
3,890.00
-50.00
Commercial
9,080.00
7,110.00
1,970.00
Furniture and Furnishings
2,000.00
2,000.00
0.00
Other Expenses
4,640.00
2,765.00
1,875.00
Continuation School,
6,770.00
2,500.00
4,270.00
Americanization
3,500.00
3,500.00
0.00
Playgrounds,
3.000.00
3,500.00
-500.00
Bills Payable
2,846.65
3,506.94
-660.29
Special Heating,
0.00
1,700.00
-1,700.00
$153,726.46
$141,900.00
$11,826.45
"_"-Decrease
Amounts Less Reimbursements
Appropriation,
Less Re-imbursements,
1921 $153,726.45 17,970.00
1920 $141,900.00 18,760.00
Difference $11.826.45 -790.00
$130,256.45
$118,490.00
$11,766.46
Less Tuition
5,500.00
4,650.00
850.00
$130,256.45 $118,490.
$11,766.45
-
Respectfully submitted,
DR. GEORGE A. MOORE,
JOHN F. SHEA,
DR. JOHN F. ROCHE,
GEORGE L. WARFIELD,
HARRY M. PARSONS, DR. CHARLES H. GIROUX,,
School Committee.
Teachers' Salaries,
78,189.80
Report of Superintendent of Schools
To the School Committee of the Town of Palmer :
Gentlemen :- I herewith present my eleventh annual report as Superintendent of Schools in Palmer. This is the twenty-ninth in the series of reports issued by the superintendents of the town.
BRIEF TRIBUTE
The public school system of America-in conception, in operation, in results-needs no defense. Its work throughout the generations past and at the present time is sufficient tribute. The America of today, without it, would not exist. It has been the nursery of democracy.
It is not perfect-far from it. It has been faulty in part and almost in toto, at times; it has been weak in town, state, and nation, frequently. Mistakes and errors have been many. The institution was conceived by finite minds ; has been nurtured and directed by human beings. Human instrumentality is always weak; always fallible.
Yet, faulty as it has been, the public school system of America, for a democracy, is the best that has been de- vised. It has profited from its failures and, when it has fallen, it has fallen forward, thereby gaining a body's length in its constant strife to attain its goal.
Its motives are pure; its efforts, real and earnest ; its accomplishments, positively good. It is worthy of strongest support, morally and financially.
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HOUSING SITUATION
The needed remedy to relieve an acute lack of school- housing facilities has not been applied.
Any attempt to supply additional information may not be welcomed by a public who may feel that it has been "fed up" on this question. Yet, the statement is so often made by many that, if they had known, they would have done differently, your Superintendent submits a "boiled down" summary of a few essential facts.
A scientific survey of the school General Statement building situation in any town or city-an absolute necessity for the formulating of a definite building program-is a task calling for expert knowledge, one that cannot be per- formed by everybody. It is a technical job, just as tech- nical as any job calling for expert engineering or other special knowledge.
The first proposition to be "tackled" is an appraisal of present school accommodations. This is out of the question locally, for it would be useless to check up our present buildings, for what is ahead of us in the way of providing needed buildings makes it impossible to think of discard- ing or modernizing any of them.
The second proposition is to answer these questions, if possible :
1.) What has been the rate of increase in school population over a period of years ?
2.) Is this increase likely to remain constant or to become greater or less ?
3.) Where is the congestion greatest ?
4.) In what direction is the tide of population mov- ing?
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5.) What is the present condition of school buildings ? To what ones should additions be made
6). How much playground space is needed ?
7.) In order to eliminate present congestion and also provide for future growth, how many and what kind of new buildings should be erected, and in what parts of the town?
8.) What appropriation is necessary to carry out a comprehensive building program ?
A real survey would answer all of these questions and, when answered, would stagger the citizens of Palmer. The utter impossibility of carrying out any such program as would be devised makes it futile to answer all.
Several of them can, and must, be answered, if any program at all is to be undertaken that even savors of wisdom.
QUESTION I.
What has been the rate of increase in school population over a period of years ?
A careful study has been made over a period of twenty- eight (28) years-from 1893 to 1921. This was begun in 1913 and has been carefully repeated every year since.
The average percentage of increase in each school was a's follows :- High, 5.3 per cent .; Palmer, 4.6 per cent .; Three Rivers, 5.3 per cent .; Bondsville, 3.4 per cent .; Thorndike, 2.1 per cent .; Wire Mill, 7 per cent .; All, 3.7 per cent.
QUESTION II.
Is this increase likely to remain constant or to become greater or less ?
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No one can answer with absolute certainty. Life in- surance companies operate on a mortality table of twenty- seven (27) years. It is the best basis of prognosticating enrollments that we have. No one can have a better one. We always anticipate the future in terms of the past.
Based upon these percentages of increase, in 1930-ten (10) years-the following average memberships may be expected :
High,
346
Palmer,
993
Three Rivers,
1,004
Bondsville,
508
Thorndike,
419
Wire Mill,
193
(When these figures were obtained, they included the children now in the Polish School, but not those in the French School.).
QUESTION III.
Where is the congestion greatest ?
It is greatest in Palmer, Bondsville, and the High School.
Palmer
The present enrollment is six hundred fifty-five (655) ; four hundred forty-one (441), or sixty-six and two thirds per cent. (66 2-3% ), are on "shift" plan; two hun- dred fourteen (214) are on full-time.
Twelve (12) classes are on "shift"; six (6), on full- time.
Six (6) new rooms are immediately needed-one (1) more when pupils three of more years mentally retarded are examined and provided for, as required by law.
The rate of growth is about one (1) room per year.
In 1930 about twenty-five (25) rooms will be needed,
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six (6) more than in the present grammar, which has eleven (11), and high school. (There are eight (8) in the high.)
A high school as recommended will furnish for ten (10) years these additional six (6) rooms.
Bondsville
The present enrollment is three hundred eighty-six (386) ; three hundred twenty-four (324), or eighty-four per cent. (84%), are on "shift" basis; sixty-two (62), on full time.
In 1930, fourteen (14) rooms, as recommended, will be needed.
High School
The present enrollment is two hundred thirty-eight (238). There are nine (9) rooms in the building-eight real and one (1) makeshift. Of these nine (9), two (2) are purely recitation rooms-science and typewriting. One (1) room in portable is used, housing thirty (30) pupils.
The building is outgrown from standpoints of capa- city and service as a high school.
QUESTION V.
What is the present condition of school buildings ? To what ones should additions be made ?
Additions should be made to Bondsville and Wire Mill.
QUESTION VII.
In order to eliminate present congestion and also provide for future growth, how many and what kind of new buildings should be erected, and in what parts of the town ?
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One new building should be erected now-a new high school.
Reasons :- (1). Present accommodations are not ample to house present enrollment.
(2). Present building makes it possible to run least possible courses that could dig- nify our work as high school work.
(3). It solves the present grade conges- tion in Palmer by releasing present high school building for grade purposes.
(4). It furnishes ample room to take care of grade increases by housing upper grades in new high school.
(5). It makes it necessary to erect but one building in the Depot Village within the next ten (10) years.
(6). It best serves the educational needs and, at the same time, does it the most economically.
1). A new High School will care for Brief Summary high and grade needs for ten (10) years. Roughly speaking, twenty-five (25) rooms will be needed. There will be nineteen (19) in the grade buildings; six (6) can be supplied in New High School.
2). Three Rivers will need about twenty-five (25) rooms. There are fourteen (14) in the public; six (6) in the Polish School. Either public or private will have to build more before 1930.
3). Thorndike will need ten (10) or eleven (11) rooms, provided parochial school does not cut in too deep- ly. Use of portables will help out if needed.
4). Bondsville will need fourteen (14) rooms unless a parochial school is built.
,
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5). The Wire Mill, caring for Grades 1 to 4 only, will need five (5) rooms. A one-room portable has already been placed here. The Town can easily extend the present two-room building into a four-room building, which can be done at small cost.
By the expiration of ten (10) years, one-half bonded indebtedness would be paid on New High School and, if necessary, grade additions could be made without using up nearly all of the bonded indebtedness allowed by law. The School Committee, personally Statement of Facts and through its Executive Officer, has made, year by year, for the past eight (8) to ten (10) years a careful, exhaustive study of housing accommodations. It has constantly called the Town's attention to the growing enrollments. In the School Reports for 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, and 1920, the attention of the voters has been called to the necessity of increased school accommoda- tions. Several Special Committees have been appointed, every one of whom has recommended a new high school- some immediately ; others a little later. The uniformity of such recommendation ought to establish the unques- tionableness of the need.
The following, briefly summarized, are facts :
Fact I-Palmer's school accommodations are woefully inadequate.
Fact II-With exception of Three Rivers, every village in town needs more room.
Fact III-The erection of a new high school, re- leasing present building and portable, will give this everywhere but in Bondsville, which was given attention at the last Town Meeting.
Fact IV-The present high school building is inade- quate for furnishing ample and proper accommodations for present enrollment-in fact, some are now housed in the portable.
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Fact V. The present high school building ab- solutely prohibits an extension of curriculum along sorely needed lines. 50
Fact VI-A new high school building is an ab- solutely imperative and immediate need.
Fact VII-The erection of a new high school of the right type would be the wisest, sanest, and most for- ward-looking step Palmer has taken in years.
Fact VIII-Based upon actual, present-day en- rollments in the Palmer Grammar and Wire Mill Schools, eight (8) additional rooms for grade accommodations are now needed. (This excludes counting the one room in the two-room portable; also, the one additional room that the three-year mentally retarded will demand.)
Fact IX-If a grade school were to be built west of the Point of Rocks, the most careful planning of room and grade assignment would necessitate a total of twenty- two (22) rooms for immediate needs. We now have thir- teen (13). At least two (2) six-room buildings would have to be built, were we to do this, making Thorndike Street a school district dividing line. To anticipate a few years in advance, two (2) eight-room buildings would have to be built. This may not be clear-the difference between a single grade and two separated grade buildings. Briefly explained, it is :- A dividing line splits atten- dance. It is not entirely the number of pupils that con- trols the number of rooms needed; it is the number of grades and the number of pupils in these grades that do control. You cannot fill space with pupils as you can with bricks-they are not uniform in any way.
Fact X-Any further addition to the Palmer Grammar School should not be considered unless the Town is willing to buy much land. The present yard space is not ample for one-quarter of the six hundred
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(600) children attending the school. Think of it! There are as many children in this building as employed in the Thorndike Mills-or nearly as many.
Fact XI-Whatever solution is presented as an excuse for not "taking the bull by the horns" now in the immediate erection of a new high school will relieve the grades only and in the immediate future a new high, school will have to be erected.
Fact XII-Whatever is decided now cannot ma- torialize within a year and, in the meantime, the schools will still be operating under the same bad conditions. If action is not taken now, the conditions will last still longer.
Fact XIII-Any adequate attempt to solve the grade problem first and then the high school will mean that, for some years, the present high school building will be idle from a school standpoint. With the building pro- gram facing Palmer, she cannot afford such building idle- ness.
Fact XIV-Whereas, even in erecting a new high school, no positive assurance can be given that no- thing further in the school building line must be under- taken within ten (10) years, the fact that school bonds can run only twenty (20) years would cause sufficient payment on high school bonds to have been made so that the necessary grade additions can be provided as de- manded.
COST
The cost of running the schools is often commented upon. There is no gainsaying of the fact that the cost has increased very largely. Most of the factors entering into the increase have been beyond the control of the School Committee and the voters themselves.
Even at the expense of repetition-the same for 1920
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appeared last year in this report-the following compari- son is given :
Price 1914
Price 1920
%
Article,
Increase
Arithmetic Paper,
$ .12
$ .33
175 %
Practice Paper,
.15 3/4
.431/2
176 %
Composition Paper,
.23
.69
187 %
Drawing Paper (Gray)
.40
1.14
185%
Drawing Paper (White)
.44
1.24
190%
Pencils,
1.75
2.75
56 %
Teachers' Desks
16.50
50.00
203 %
Pens,
.30
.63
110%
Teachers (High)
750.00
1,500.00
100%
Teachers (Grade)
494.00
1,200.00
143%
Coal
7.50
14.10
88%
Primers,
32
.75
125 %
Average,
148%
One of the very heavy items of expense is Teachers' Sal- aries. Back in 1919, a raise of $200 per teacher was made; in 1920, another raise of $200 was made. Every raise was by an express vote of the Town. There are seventy-one (71) teachers; the total increase in cost by this raise, based upon actual salaries now in force, is $33,000.
Roughly speaking, every $1.50 will buy only what $1.00 would buy in 1914. These are incontrovertible facts.
The World War and eventuating circumstances caused high prices. If anyone in particular is to be blamed for in- creased costs in every line, the instigator of this War is the man.
The statement of Palmer's relative standing in 1913 and 1920 in comparison with the three hundred fifty-four (354) town and cities in Massachusetts should prove in- teresting.
1913
1920
Average Membership,
1,434
2,074
Total Expenditures,
$39,831.00
. $78,088.25
Cost per Pupil,
$27.78
$38.58
Rank in State,
334
342
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For the school year of 1919-20, these figures show Pal- mer's relative standing in several matters :
Cost per Pupil in State, $57.20
Cost per Pupil in Palmer, $38.58
(Twelve (12) towns had a smaller cost-Ash-
burnham, Avon, Deerfield, Milford, Seekonk, Dra- cut, Rehoboth, Acushnet, Auburn, Somerset, Mill- ville, Blackstone.)
State Average Tax Rate, 1919, $20.58
Palmer's Tax Rate, 1919, $16.10
Palmer's Relative Position in:
Cost per pupil, 342
Population,
64
Tax Rate,
295
Valuation per Pupil,
335
Expenditures per $1,000 of Valuation,
48
A backward glance reveals that Palmer's relative pos- ition in Cost per Pupil-the years taken at random-was :
Year
Rank in State
1913
335
1915
335
1917
342
1918
338
1919
339
1920
342
The total cost of running the schools is large and grows larger each year. This is a condition that cannot be avoid- ed. The School Committee is not responsible for it, ex- cept in that they are endeavoring to give the boys and girls what they rightfully deserve-a real opportunity in life, mentally, physically, and morally. What is being of- fered in our schools in variety of work is, in reality, only a part of what should be offered. The Town ought to pay gladly, willingly, and joyfully for the best educational fac- ilities possible for its children. In so writing, your Super- intendent is not "day-dreaming or chasing butterflies of fancy." What, pray, is more important as a town func- tion than the care of and provision for, the little human souls that are nearly ready to blossom out into full frui- tion-good or bad, as the fostering care may have been ?
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EXTENSION WORK
Several allied school activities were conducted during the year. All of these fall, by the very nature of the work, under the direction of the School Department. They are, in fact and theory, educational efforts.
In the opinion of your Superintendent, the doing of such work is an indication of the progressiveness and wide-awakeness of Palmer. It indicates a healthy inter- est in the welfare of its citizens of to-morrow. It shows an appreciation of what enters into the making of the cit- izen and a willingness to supply it.
Classes, commonly called-for the
Americanization want of a better term-Americaniza- tion, were in operation during the past school year, conducted under the joint auspices of the State Department of Education, the local School De- partment, and the industries.
The aims of this work have been stated frequently. A repetion, nevertheless, will not be amiss. They are :- (1) To make English a common medium of speech. (2) To establish better relationship between all Americans. (3) To preserve the best contributions brought from the Old World and unite them with the best ideals of the New. (4) To prepare aliens for citizenship. (5) To make a united people, loyal to America.
Five things are necessary to make effective this sort of work :- (1) The vital interest and support of the pub- lic; (2) authoritative leadership; (3) an intelligent co- ordination of working agencies under public direction ; (4) good teachers ; (5) adequate public funds.
The task of successfully organizing this work was no simple one. It consisted of conferences with the indus- tries to secure their active and willing co-operation ; of in- teresting through public meetings and private conferen- ces those for whom the work was to be done; of training teachers to handle the adult illiterate; of organizing and
29
grading classes; of keeping the interest of pupils and teachers at a high point.
The results obtained can best be presented by giving these statistics :
AMERICANIZATION REGULAR CLASSES
Enrollment
Teacher
Enroll-
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Per. Atten.
Bondsville
Miss Shea
15
14.8
13.6
91.93
Miss Derby
20
14.7
14.22
96.93
Miss Cronk
17
14.62
13.77
94.12
Miss Quirk
12
10.97
10.53
96.
Total
64
55.09
52.12
94.60
Thorndike
Miss Mahoney
19
13.21
11.8
89.2
Miss Sampson
17
14.70
13.13
89.2
Miss Morey
17
12.32
11.40
92.53
Miss Smith
19
13.84
12.52
91.40
Total
72
54.07
48.85
90.35
Three Rivers
Miss McDonald
13
11.07
9.46
85.40
Miss Twiss .
15
14.22
13.51
95.
Miss McCarthy
9
6.62
5.
81.4
Total
37
31.91
27.97
87.65
Palmer
Miss Ham
12
.60
7.8
81.1
Bondsville
64
55.09
52.12
94.60
Thorndike
72
54.07
48.85
90.35
Three Rivers
37
31.91
27.97
87.65
Palmer
12
9.60
7.8
81.1
Total
185
150.67
136.74
90.75
Summary
A study of these figures will show that not only were the enrollments large, but also the percentage of attend- ance were especially good. The latter in voluntary work are always strongly indicative of the interest of those who are members of a class.
Along with the organization of the regular classes in Americanization, a very strong and insistent demand came from many of the younger people who had finished fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grades in our schools for · · an opportunity of further education. Most of these young . people were forced to go to work upon reaching the age of
ment
30
fourteen. Realizing that what they had received in school was not sufficient for their needs, they were desirous of further opportunity. Believing that such a desire upon their part should be aided and abetted in every way pos- sible, their requests were met insofar as our financial abil- ity allowed. Wherever possible, the work was tied up with the State University Extension Department, the Red Cross, and other agencies in order to keep the expense down to an irreducible minimum. While not strictly Am- ericanization work in the narrow definition of the work in the particular statute governing it, this sort of effort is Americanization work of the best and strongest nature.
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