USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1946-1950 > Part 21
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A pamphlet, We Go To School, was prepared by a com- mittee of primary teachers, Mrs. Woodward, chairman, to give pre-kindergarten and 1st grade parents general informa- tion on many questions about starting to school in these two grades.
Visual Aids
We now have a strong program of visual aids, primarily sound films, which have been chosen to correlate with units of study in the social studies and science. Their use has greatly enriched the learning experiences of our students. Exhibits from the Children's Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts provide additional teaching material. A program of evaluation is conducted so that improvements can be made in the selection of materials for the next school year.
Personnel
The school committee adopted a school salary policy and schedule in November, 1946, which established a sound basis for obtaining teachers. The conditions with respect to avail- ability of teachers have not improved in the elementary grades and it was apparent that adjustment was needed in the sched- ule. A cooperative study of our schedule and those of twenty- three other communities was undertaken by a committee representing the teachers and the school committee. Data gathered indicated clearly that there was need for adjustment.
In addition the teachers' committee submitted a local study, The Teachers Look At A Community Problem, in which analyses were made of the nature of the community, the schools, the teachers in the community and the salary situation. The School Committee voted to increase the basic
184
TOWN OF LINCOLN
schedule for each level of training by $200, to increase the present salaries correspondingly, and to increase the annual increment from $100 to $150. Our salary schedule is shown below:
Training
Years'
Less than
Experience
4 years
4 years
41/2 years
5 years
1
$1,800
$2,100
$2,200
$2,300
2
1,950
2,250
2,350
2,450
3
2,100
2,400
2,500
2,600
4
2,250
2,550
2,650
2,750
5
2,700
2,800
2,900
6
2,850
2,950
3,050
7
3,000
3,100
3,200
8
3,250
3,350
Additional provisions of the schedule include absence reg- ulations, the requirement of medical examinations and X- ray for all new employees and a requirement for six weeks' summer school attendance once every five years to continue annual increments.
Another first grade teacher has been employed to make possible a more effective teaching situation in beginning in- struction in reading. Two teachers have replaced staff mem- bers who resigned and it was possible, for the first time since the war, to offer all positions with no restrictions because of a military leave of absence.
All employees of the school department participated in X-ray examinations at the Middlesex County Sanatorium and all were discharged from the clinic with tuberculosis-free reports.
The staff meetings on one afternoon a month have been decidedly worth the time taken for them and are of significant professional value. If really good curriculum work is to be done consideration may need to be given to extending this time. To show the scope of a staff meeting the agenda for the November meeting is given below:
Agenda for Staff Meeting, November 5, 1947
1. Demonstration - Operation of
a. Film Projector
b. Phonograph
185
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
2. Report by each staff member on observations made on visiting day, October 24
3. Report on after-school sports program
4. Report of the Lincoln School Building Committee
5. Schedule for conference on self-evaluation of professional abilities
6. Report on Junior Red Cross activities
7. Proposed Parents' Conference Period
8. Plans for Open House, American Education Week
9. Meeting of textbook committees
10. Teachers' Club Meeting
Our custodian, Mr. Smith, attended a two-day conference in Newton on June 26 and 27, devoted to improvement of school building service. This conference was sponsored by the New England School Development Council. It is some- times easy to overlook the importance of this service; Mr. Smith is to be commended for the excellent condition in which our schools are maintained.
The protection afforded by the Blue Cross organization has been made available to all school employees since October.
The Lincoln Teachers' Club has for a number of years carried on activities beneficial to the staff and to the school. Mention has been made of its cooperation in making a study of the community and in studying and reporting on the salary practices of other communities. Several social affairs for the staff have been held under the direction of a social com- mittee, of which Mrs. Woodward is chairman.
The officers of the club are:
President - Walter J. Vorse Vice-President - Sylvia B. Mann Secretary-Treasurer - Augusta F. Sisk
Kindergarten
Our enrollment for 1948-49 is estimated presently at 42 pupils. It will be necessary, therefore, to conduct a two- session kindergarten (as many communities successfully do)
186
TOWN OF LINCOLN
with a morning and afternoon group. The division of these groups should be based upon age, with the younger children coming in the morning and the older children in the afternoon. Some very good equipment for kindergarten is included in the 1948 budget which will make certain activities more prac- ticable. Mrs. Woodward, kindergarten instructor, is partici- pating in a study of the kindergarten program, sponsored by the New England School Development Council.
Enrollment
The enrollment at the present time is the highest in the history of the Lincoln Schools, 264 elementary pupils and 79 high school pupils, a total of 343. The enrollment by grades in the Lincoln Schools is shown below:
Kdg. - 29
1
-
19
*
1 2 -
- 18 36* 28 32* 35*
3
4 5
6
24
7
- 26
8
17
264
We are now using every available room for instruction and all of our equipment. It is apparent that the need for addi- tional rooms, as well as other facilities, is coming nearer. Those classes which are starred above are now above a desir- able maximum and may easily grow to require division into two groups; only a very few more pupils would be needed to make this problem become acute. We know that recent years have been years of high birth rates, that twenty-five homes are now under construction in the town and that Lin- coln may expect to increase in size. Based upon present en- rollment and the birth rates of recent years, but not including
187
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
any estimates because of new home construction or increase in the birth rate, the prediction for the next five years follow:
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
Kdg.
35
34
42
39
32
39
1
31
35
34
42
35
30
2
26
31
35
34
42
35
3
33
26
31
35
34
42
4
33
33
26
31
35
34
5
26
33
33
26
31
35
6
27
26
33
33
26
31
7
23
27
26
33
33
26
8
25
23
27
26
33
33
259
268
287
299
301
305
The need for providing new and adequate facilities is clear- ly shown in this table. The kindergarten class for 1952 now has 46 pupils.
Building and Equipment
The pressing need for additional space in the near future has been graphically illustrated in the enrollment report. As the reports of town committees and superintendents have shown, however, our building problem is not alone that of more space but of facilities which we do not have. The need for a gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria, health clinic and teachers' room have been reported to the town, which has authorized a School Building Committee to prepare prelimin- ary plans for a new school. The School Committee submitted a detailed report of the educational program it sought, a program reviewed by the Parent Council and studied by the school staff, and the building and equipment needs for that program to the building committee.
The plans which have been developed are based, therefore, upon an analysis of the educational need. At various stages in the architects' planning the building committee, the con- sultant, the school committee and the school staff have parti- cipated. Complete information regarding this plan will have been presented to the town prior to the March Town Meeting. The town should then be ready to take the necessary steps for further planning in order that our educational needs may
188
TOWN OF LINCOLN
be met. No more important decision for the welfare of the children and their educational program has ever confronted the citizens of Lincoln.
Community Relationships
The Parent Council membership was elected in September and chose Mr. Alan McClennen as chairman and Mrs. Freder- ick Taylor as secretary-treasurer. A number of problems have been discussed and plans developed for assisting in certain projects. The council completed its statement of general procedures, obtained very fine cooperation from the Bemis Lecture Committee in the suggestion that one occasion be devoted to an educational area, supported the proposal for a school site acquisition, and conducted an experimental Satur- day movies program.
Open House was held during American Education Week with the best attendance of the last three years. Parent con- ference days have been arranged so that any parent may come on the scheduled day without an appointment for a conference with his child's teacher. The occasional school bulletins have been continued.
Administration
The budget for 1948 has again been prepared in detail to show exactly how the money requested for schools is to be used. A copy of this budget has been placed in the Lincoln library and a few extra copies are available to any interested citizen. The budget for 1948 represents an increase over 1947, because of the necessity for increasing salaries, shown earlier in this report, to increases in high school tuition, to the addition of another teacher, to purchase of a new school bus and additional days of transportation and mileage, and to increased cost of supplies. The budget estimate for 1948 of $76,122.00 is shown following this report.
The budget for 1947 was $64,965.85, of which $64,960.61 was expended. The school department received a substan- tial increase in state aid for transportation, however, and increases in state aid because of an additional teacher and in the income from the DeCordova Fund brought total offsetting
189
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
receipts to $11,419.92, resulting in a net cost of $53,540.69 for schools for 1947.
Lincoln's expenditure for elementary education is relatively modest or average, when one considers $75 per pupil as a low expenditure and $175 per pupil as in the upper range. For the year ending June 30, 1947, Lincoln's expenditure for ele- mentary education was $31,433.14, or an average per pupil cost of $123.26. The remaining expenditures of $29,437.49 were for high school tuition, all transportation, and general control, items usually . omitted in obtaining comparative educational per pupil costs.
The problems of financing school support in the years ahead must be considered a problem without some form of assist- ance from the state. State aid in Massachusetts for the support of schools now is about 8% of the total cost of schools and the state ranks about fifth from the bottom of the forty- eight states in that respect. State aid for the support of schools in Delaware, Washington, New Mexico and California averages about $3,150 per classroom while in Massachusetts it is $270 per classroom.
In 1944 Massachusetts spent 1.55% of its total income for the support of public schools and ranked in that respect twenty- seventh from the top of the forty-eight states, although it is one of the wealthiest states.
Serious attention and study needs to be given to this problem by citizens and parents and efforts made to inform our legis- lature of the need for substantial state educational assistance.
Mention has been made of the increase in cost of high school tuition, with a charge for 1947-48 averaging about $200.00 per pupil. The cost for the 1948-49 school year will probably be about $225.00.
The sincere efforts made by the members of the school staff to improve our program, by parents and townspeople in their support of forward-looking plans for a better school, by town officials and employees in many daily helps and by the school committee's high conception of the public school's importance is gratefully acknowledged.
Respectfully submitted,
F. H. McKELVEY, Superintendent of Schools.
190
TOWN OF LINCOLN
SUMMARY OF SCHOOL EXPENSES
General Control
Expended 1947
Requested 1948
Office Expenses and Clerk
$1,432 12
$1,593 86
Salaries - Superintendent
4,554 92
4,900 00
Expenses - Superintendent
297 21
200 00
Other Expenses
90 00
Instruction
Teachers - Salaries
24,692 30
29,862 00
Textbooks - Elementary
1,008 41
1,104 17
Supplies - Elementary
1,403 65
1,647 38
Operation
Custodian - Salaries
2,191 68
2,246 60
Fuel
996 95
1,050 00
Supplies, Light, Telephone, etc.
794 80
960 99
Maintenance
Repairs and New Equipment
1,409 01
1,054 85
Auxiliary Agencies
Health - Elementary
717 17
735 00
Transportation - Local
11,150 22
12,496 75
Transportation - High School
Tuition
14,113 58
17,591 00
Totals
$64,762 02
$75,532 00
Appropriation
$64,631 85
Vocational Education
Tuition
$149 99
$500 00
Transportation
48 60
90 00
$198 59
$590 00
Appropriation
334 00
SUMMARY
Total Appropriation
$64,965 85
$76,122 00
Total Expended
64,960 61
Unexpended Balance
5 24
Accounts Receivable
Grammar School Fund
$25 65
Vocational Tuition - Transportation
155 86
Transportation Re-imbursement
50 00
State Transportation Aid.
8,352 74
Comm. of Mass., Part I, Ch. 70
2,200 00
City of Boston - Tuition
53 07
DeCordova Fund
582 60
Total
$11,419 92
Net Cost of Schools to Town, 1947
$53,540 69
191
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Membership by Age and Grade, October 1, 1947
Boys
Age
Grades Kdg. 1
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Totals
2 14
16
3
8
7
1
19
2
2 11
2
15
3
3
8
2
13
4
2
11
2
15
5
11
6
1
18
6
1
7
1
9
7
1
1
6
2
10
8
6
7
13
Totals
2 17 10 21
13
14
14
14 13
10
128
Girls
Age
4
5
6
7
8 9 10
11
12
13
Totals
Grades Kdg.
3
9
12
1
2
17
1
20
2
7
15
22
3
5
13
4
17
5
1
13
2
16
6
4
9
13
7
1
11
2
14
8
3
1
4
Totals
3 11 24 21
15 11
17 12
14
3 131
259
Distribution of Minors October 1, 1947
5 yrs. or over and under 7
7 yrs. and under 16
A. In the registration of minors
Age as of October 1, 1947
32
119
Girls
42
109
74
228
B. Distribution of above minors
In public day schools
60
194
In vocational schools
0
2
In private schools .
12
31
Not enrolled in any school
2
1
74
228
Boys
8 7 10
192
TOWN OF LINCOLN
Tuition Pupils Attending Secondary Schools Outside of Lincoln
October 1, 1947
Grade
9
10
11
12
Totals
Concord
18
15
10
15
58
Weston
4
7
4
1
16
Waltham
2
1
1
4
Essex Agri.
1
. .
. .
. .
1
25
23
15
16
79
Graduated from 8th Grade, June, 1947
Marcia Faye Berry
Bernard Buel Blodgett
Robert Curtis Chapin
E. John Ciraso
Carolyn Joan Cousins
Richard Charles Picazio
Barbara Joan Cullen
Pauline Mary Rasmusson
James Harold David
Richard Paul Russes
Rachel Palmer Davis
Paul James Dorian, Jr.
Elizabeth Denise Dougherty
Robert Emmerson Dunbrack Barbara Joyce Faulkner
Frank Warren Gordon
Frances Laura Henley Paul Maurice Leslie Raymond Jay Maher Constance Helen Moszka
Virginia Stefania Russes Mary Ann Simonds Caroline Snelling Stone Malcolm Rodman Stone Alfred Stuart
Richard Warren Thorpe, Jr.
. .
193
REPORT OF SCHOOL NURSE
REPORT OF SCHOOL NURSE
To the School Committee of Lincoln:
A report of school nursing for the year ending December 31, 1947, is hereby submitted.
Schools have been visited daily. There have been 185 office calls for treatment or advice, one major playground accident, a fractured right arm, 42 taken home and 196 home visits, 15 check on absent pupils.
Pupils have been weighed and measured. Scalps and skin have been examined frequently and pupils in kindergarten have throat examination and general inspection every Mon- day morning. I assisted Dr. Randolph Piper, school physi- cian, with physical examinations and reported any major defect to the parent. Children entering kindergarten at- tended the Well Child Conference; 99.2% were given a physi- cal examination by Dr. John A. V. Davies, of Boston, our conference pediatrician.
Eyes were tested with five defects discovered; four have been to an oculist; three are now wearing glasses and one is under observation.
In October I received an Audiometer, from the State Dept. of Public Health. All pupils in grades 3 thru 8 and the teach- ing staff were tested. Our facilities for using an audiometer are very poor but nevertheless results were satisfactory. Three pupils were found to have severe defective hearing; two are now going to clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital and one is under care of the family physician.
The School clinic for the prevention of diphtheria and tetanus, started in December, 1946, was continued and com- pleted in March. 98.7% of our pupils have received this protection, either by Dr. Piper, at the Center School or their family physician.
A very pleasant Pre-School get-together was held at South School in June with 26 interested mothers attending.
I have assisted Dr. Joseph Barron of Boston, with the dental examination of each pupil; letters were sent home reporting
194
TOWN OF LINCOLN
defects discovered. Actual work is limited because of our facilities.
I attended a School Nurses' Institute at Framingham Teach- ers' College and since September, monthly meetings at Wellesley High School.
The general health of our pupils has been very good, with the month of March having the greatest number of absentees.
Contagious diseases consisted of chicken-pox - 17 cases; scarlet fever - 1 case, and mumps - 1 case. -
The entire school faculty and two pupils received negative X-rays at Middlesex Sanatorium.
Respectfully submitted,
MARIAN N. OBER, R.N. School Nurse.
195
WARRANT
NOTICE Business Meeting, Monday, March 1, 1948, at 7:30 P.M.
WARRANT
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
MIDDLESEX, ss.
To either of the Constables of the Town of Lincoln in said County: GREETING:
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby required to notify the legal voters of said Town of Lincoln, qualified to vote in Town Meeting for the Transaction of Town affairs, to meet in the Town Hall in said Lincoln, on Monday, the first day of March next at 7:30 o'clock P.M., then and there to act on the following articles except Article 1 and also to meet in said Town Hall on Saturday the sixth day of March next, at 12 o'clock Noon, then and there to act on the following Article 1, by posting a copy of this Warrant, by you attested in each of the Post Offices, and in some other public place in said Town seven days at least before the first day of March next:
The polls for voting the Australian ballot on Saturday, March sixth, will be open at 12 o'clock Noon, and may be closed at 7 o'clock P.M.
Article 1. To bring in their votes for the following Town Officers and any other officers required by law, to be elected by Australian Ballot, Viz:
One Moderator for three years.
One Town Clerk for one year.
One member of the Board of Selectmen for three years.
One member of the Board of Assessors for three years.
One member of the Board of Assessors for two years.
One Treasurer for one year.
One Auditor for one year.
196
TOWN OF LINCOLN
One member of the School Committee for three years.
One member of the Board of Water Commissioners for three years.
One member of the Board of Health for three years.
One member of the Board of Health for one year.
One Tree Warden for one year.
One member of the Trust Fund Commissioners for three years.
One member of the Trustees of the Bemis Fund for Free Public Lectures for three years.
One member of the Board of Cemetery Commissioners for three years.
One member of the Planning Board for five years.
Article 2. To bring in their votes for any committees, commissioners, trustees and other officers, required by law to be elected by ballot or otherwise.
Selectmen
Article 3. To hear and act upon the reports of Town Offi- cers, Committees, Commissioners and Trustees.
Selectmen
Article 4. To fix the salaries and compensation of the several elective officers of the Town and to determine whether any Department, Board or Committee shall be authorized to employ for additional compensation any of its members and to fix additional compensation of such members.
Selectmen
Article 5. To raise and appropriate money for the neces- sary and expedient purposes of the Town, and enact anything in relation to the same.
Selectmen
197
WARRANT
Article 6. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Town Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, to bor- row money from time to time in anticipation of the revenue of the financial year beginning January 1, 1948, and to issue a note or notes therefor, payable within one year and to re- new any note or notes as may be given for a period of less than one year in accordance with Section 17, Chapter 44, General Laws.
Selectmen
Article 7. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of $7,281.25 for the purchase of a heavy duty truck and snow plough, or take any other action relative thereto.
Selectmen
Article 8. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of $3,000.00 to pay the Water Works for use of hydrants and water.
Water Commissioners
Article 9. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of $1,500.00 for the widening and grading of Mill St., or take any other action relative thereto.
Selectmen
Article 10. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars to place street lights on Concord Road northerly from Route 117 to Codman Road.
By Petition
Article 11. To see if the Town will appoint a committee to register a complaint with our representative in the General Court in regard to the disturbance made by planes from the Bedford Airport.
By Petition
198
TOWN OF LINCOLN
Article 12. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of $4,000.00 for a Chapter 90 project on Route 117 near the Weston line, or take any action relative thereto. Selectmen
Article 13. To see if the Town will vote to have a Fourth of July celebration, appoint a committee, raise and appro- priate money therefor, or take any action relative thereto.
Selectmen
Article 14. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate a sufficient sum of money to pay the following unpaid 1947 bills.
Legal, School Site. Herrick, Smith, Donald,
Farley & Ketchum . . $250.00
Newton & Weir 240.95
Will & Deeds.
Garden City Print, Inc. 83.20
Highway Dept.
Doherty's Garage
50.00
Cemetery Dept.
George E. Cunningham 150.00
Treasurer $774.15
Article 15. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appro- priate the sum of $3,880.00 for a new heating system for the upper Town Hall or take any other action relative thereto.
Selectmen
Article 16. To see if the Town will vote to appoint a committee to revise the Building Code, or take any other action relative thereto.
Selectmen
Article 17. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the withdrawal of $2,750.00 from the Post-War Rehabilitation
199
WARRANT
Fund to be used by the School Committee for the improve- ment of the toilets in the Center School, or take any relative action thereto.
School Committee
Article 18. To see if the Town will vote to conduct Memorial Day Services on May thirtieth next, appoint a committee, raise and appropriate money, or take any other action relative thereto.
Lincoln American Legion
Article 19. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate money for printing and mailing an official Town Bulletin, or take any other action on the matter.
Selectmen
Article 20. To see if the Town will vote to raise and, appropriate money to purchase, take by eminent domain or otherwise acquire land for a site for a new structure for the use of the Highway Department and other departments of the Town, or take any other action relative thereto.
Planning Board
Article 21. To see if the Town will vote to erect a new structure to house the equipment of the Highway Department, instruct the Moderator to appoint a Building Committee, and raise and appropriate money for its use, or take any relative action thereto.
Planning Board
Article 22. To see if the Town will vote to purchase the building now being used as the Town Barn, raise and appro- priate money therefor, or take any other action relative thereto.
Selectmen
200
TOWN OF LINCOLN
Article 23. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate the sum of twenty-six thousand dollars ($26,000.00) for the use of the School Building Committee. Such sum to be used for the making of detailed plans and specifications of the pro- posed new elementary school building and for such expenses as the committee may deem necessary or take any action relative thereto.
School Building Committee
Article 24. To see if the Town will vote to request the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pass an act, now filed, authorizing the Town of Lincoln to borrow money for School purposes as contained herein, or take any action relative thereto;
Section 1. For the purposes of constructing and origi- nally equipping and furnishing a new school building in the Town of Lincoln, said town may borrow, from time to time within a period of five years from the passage of this act, such sums as may be necessary, not exceeding in the aggregate, five hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, and may issue bonds or notes therefor, which shall bear on their face the words, Lincoln School Build- ing Loan, Acts of 1948. Each authorized loan shall constitute a separate loan, and such loans shall be paid in not more than twenty years from their dates. In- debtedness incurred under this act shall be in excess of the statutory limit, but shall, except as provided herein, be subject to Chapter forty-four of the General Laws, exclusive of the limitation contained in the first para- graph of section seven thereof.
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