USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lincoln > Town Report on Lincoln 1963-1965 > Part 44
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These are among the many things which have been going on and are on-going in the schools.
Looking to the future, groundwork is being laid for neces- sary building additions at Hanscom School to take care of in- creased enrollment in the upper school. Preliminary discus- sions are to take place this coming year in terms of necessary additions to Brooks School in the form of classroom space, a library and field house, possibly needed by 1969-1970, if the present rate of pupil growth continues.
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Above all, the schools will continue in their endeavor to keep abreast of changing conditions of society and the world in terms of their relationship to education and children who will be- come tomorrow's adult citizens.
PRINCIPALS, HARTWELL, SMITH AND BROOKS SCHOOLS
(Mrs. ) Joan S. Warren, Principal, Hartwell Primary School Stefan Vogel, Principal, Smith Middle School
Timothy Rhodes, Principal, Brooks Upper School
STAFF
Hartwell School opened in September, 1965, with a full- time faculty of twenty-five plus four part-time teachers. Six of the full-time and three of the part-time teachers are shared with other schools. Due to an increase in students assigned to Team G, an additional part-time teacher was appointed in Nov- ember, 1965.
In September, 1965, eight students from Boston Univer- sity School of Education were assigned to Hartwell School for a period of sixteen weeks. In addition to students from Boston University, Lesley College students will be assigned during the second semester.
Eleven teachers form the basic staff for the Smith Mid- dle School. Three represent replacements in faculty, and one an addition in staff in Team N due to increased enrollment. In addition thirteen teachers are shared between schools on the central campus in the following subjects: music, art, physical education, speech, math, science, french, reading and library. With the exception of speech, all shared teachers act as con- sultants as well as classroom teachers. Three student teach- ers from Boston University were assigned to Smith School dur- ing the fall term.
Brooks School's staff consists of twenty full-time teach- ers, four part-time teachers, and shares specialists in art, mus - ic and physical education with Smith School, and in speech and
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testing with all schools. Of the total of twenty-nine staff mem- bers, ten are replacements and three represent new positions.
Of the sixty-nine full and part-time members of the teach- ing staff in all the three schools, nineteen represent replace- ments in faculty, and three new positions: a partnership teaching arrangement in math and science and an additional part - time teacher for Team G.
BUILDING UTILIZATION
At Hartwell School, Team Y and B are housed in the main building. Each team has five rooms and for the first time in several years the Visual Aids Room does not have a regularly assigned reading and math group, so can be used for its origin- al purpose. The library remains set up in a classroom, and, while this is not the most ideal arrangement, it has proven to be very accessible to all children.
With the moving of Team O to the Smith School, one unit was vacated. £ There is now a central Art Room at the end near- est the main building and a Team G homeroom at the other end. The two middle rooms have provided excellent flexible classroom and multi-purpose space. Uses of this space range from class- es in physical education, large group lessons and team assem- blies, to regular reading and math groups for Team G children. The nearly one hundred five year olds and three teachers who comprise Team R are housed in the newest Hartwell unit.
The Middle School consists physically of the major por- tion of Smith School. Two hundred and forty students in Teams O and Nare housed in ten classrooms. In addition, the South lobby has been remodeled to serve as a classroom and large- group teaching area.
The Middle School and Brooks Upper School share cer- tain facilities: Library, gym, auditorium and lecture hall, and on certain occasions, the music and art facilities. In addition, one sixth grade classroom functions as a part-time pre-library for Team O.
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In terms of building use at Brooks School there is consid- erable sharing of facilities between Brooks and Smith Schools. In the Smith building there are four sixth grade homerooms, plus the Home Economics Rooms, Shop, Gym, and French rooms used by grades six, seven and eight. In the Brooks building, the Auditorium and Music Room are used by all classes including those from Smith. Grade six, which is part of the Upper School, is being handled like a departmentalized grade rather than as a team.
ORGANIZATION
The team teaching pattern that has characterized Hart- well School for the last few years is still in effect. Numbers of children in each team range from ninety-nine in Team R, one hundred and six in Team Y, one hundred and seven in Team B, and one hundred and twenty-three in Team G. Mrs. Jane Stew- art is Team Leader for Team R, Mrs. Julia Cole for Teams Y and B and Mrs. Ann Lessard for Team G.
Within each team there are three distinct groupings - het- erogeneous homerooms and homogeneous reading and arithmetic groups. This is so because the basic skills seem best taught by homogeneous groups. Since an individual child may not be equally competent in both reading and math, this flexibility as to group placement is advantageous to the child. Each team has two teacher members working closely with the art and music specialists in order to better coordinate these important areas of each child's development.
Cooperative planning is of utmost importance in this or- ganization, and teachers meet together informally and formal- ly several times a week. Team leaders and the principal meet weekly also.
A team-teaching pattern continues as the basic organiza- tion of teams in the Middle School. Leadership in the teams is provided by the principal, and two senior teachers: Mr. Rob- ert Cummings in Team O and Mr. Joseph Lessard Team N. Certain other faculty members act as curriculum chairmen in the teams for subjects in which they have a major strength and
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experience. A degree of specialization is obtained in that all teachers instruct in reading and spelling and no more than two other subjects. Thus they are freer to concentrate on these strengths and provide better planned lessons to more children than they would ordinarily meet under the traditional system.
Children are grouped in many ways in the Middle School. They are grouped by achievement in the basic skills of reading, mathematics and language arts, as it is believed that provision of a wide range of instructional levels better enables staff to place children appropriately. Instruction in these groups tends to be more effective as the range of differences between children is lessened.
Children benefit by the experience of working and living in heterogeneous, or mixed achievement, groups; therefore, all other classes are taught in these groups. As a result children are taught in both kinds of arrangements in the Middle School.
Teams hold weekly meetings and teachers in each curri- culum area meet once a week during the school day to coordin- ate plans. A great deal of communication about children and their progress takes place formally and informally because of the team pattern.
At Brooks School there are four home rooms in each grade, but for instruction, grades six and seven are split into six groups, and grad eight into five. The result is that, ex- cept for French, all but six of the thirty-four classroom groups number twenty-three or fewer pupils. The practice of having homogeneous groups has been retained only for French and math- ematics. In all other subjects, instruction has been on only two levels, standard and honors. The Sixth and Seventh grades have three equal standard groups each, and three equal honors groups. The eight grade has two honors and three standard. Pupils can be, and are, changed at any time during the year.
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INSTRUCTION
Summer Session
A total of fifty-seven children benefited from receiving extra help in the 1965 summer session. Instruction was given in reading, spelling, mathematics, handwriting and English. In addition the faculty worked in the following curriculum areas which were discussed and/or revised and implemented.
Hartwell School
1. Team R, five year olds, curriculum - Mrs. Jane Stewart of the Hartwell staff worked very closely with Mrs. Mary Small of the Hanscom Primary School staff to develop cer- tain Montessori-type materials which were incorporated in the program.
2. Language Arts curriculum, which had been revised during the summer of 1964, was evaluated and further refined.
3. Math - Mrs. Betty Bjork and Mrs. Diane Nockles worked together to build an in-service course which is current- ly being given to all Hartwell and Smith School teachers involved in math teaching. In addition, certain experimental and control groups were set up for the school year 1965-1966 in order to use and evaluate additional math programs.
4. Science - A group of Hartwell teachers worked with Mr. Joseph Fallo, Science Co-ordinator for the Lincoln Schools, to write additional units.
5. Social Studies - The program used during the school year 1965-1966 in Team Y was evaluated. Since the material was so rewarding to both children and teachers it was decided to use the program for Team B also. These materials are being published one grade level per year, therefore the Team B mater- ials were not available until this September. The Team G ma - terials will be available in September of 1966. Further evalua-
tion will be done next summer.
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Smith School
Faculty members of the Smith School covered the follow- ing areas during the 1965 summer session:
1. Development of instructional steps in:
Language Arts Reading Handwriting Spelling
2. Revision of:
Social Studies curriculum Science curriculum
Brooks School
The following faculty members from the Brooks School worked during July: Mrs. Helen Horn, Mr. Albert Reed, Mrs. Catherine Jones, Mrs. Ann Paranya, Mrs. Ruth Mahoney, Mr. Lance Berger, Miss Elizabeth Thompson and Dr. Barbara Ben- nett.
Mr. Reed worked on the relocation of outdoor athletic fields and on the outdoor education program. Dr. Bennett re- viewed and coordinated the entire music operation. Mrs. Par- anya and Mrs. Mahoney with Mrs. Ruth Sundberg from Hanscom School, prepared a complete unit of literature, and an outline and critique of current methods of instruction in composition. Mr. Berger and Miss Thompson worked on a rationalization and ordering of instruction in the mechanics of writing, and Mr. Ber- ger worked with Team N teachers to eliminate overlap and make room for a term of sixth grade American History to be devoted to current issues. Mrs. Jones arranged a sequence of units in teaching library skills. And Mrs. Horn revised the art cur- riculum to incorporate new developments in art education.
In addition, a group dynamics seminar for the faculty was conducted by Dr. Elmer Van Egmond, Professor at Lesley
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College and Assistant to the President. Key staff participated in this seminar which was designed to advance the principles of dynamic leadership in working with groups.
IN-SERVICE EDUCATION
As in the past the Lincoln administration and faculty con- tinues to keep abreast of the changes in subject matter and teach- ing methods. A continued endeavor is made to help educate new and regular staff members as well.
In-service education conducted during 1965 and in some cases continuing in 1966 is as follows:
1. All teachers new to Lincoln participated in a Spald- ing Workshop directed by Mrs. Adrienne Rubin prior to the open- ing of school in September. All faculty meet periodically to discuss reading methods.
2. Mrs. Betty Bjork and Mrs. Diane Nockles are con- ducting semi-monthly in-service math meetings for all primary and middle school math teachers during the school year.
3. A most stimulating week in November was spent with Mrs. Grace Nash, Music Consultant from the State of Ari- zona, who conducted an "Orff" Workshop under the auspices of the Music Department. Several teachers from all of the schools met every afternoon for approximately four hours during the week of the workshop.
4. A course in Linguistics given by Dr. Thomas De- vine of Boston University met twice in December and will con- tinue during the second half year. This is available to teach- ers from Primary School through eighth grade, and is an oppor- tunity for teachers to "stretch" themselves professionally right here on the campus. This is a decided advantage to the indi- vidual teacher and for the schools themselves.
5. The Smith School staff meeting with teacher-spec- ialists at least once a month in reading, spelling and mathema- tics serve to provide a consistency and improvement in instruc- tion.
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6. Study committees at Smith are working on three projects: the improvement of reporting to parents; development of library skills in relation to the language arts program, and the development of improved continuous progress (non-grading).
7. Teachers continue to visit one another's classes, - visit other school systems, and attend various workshops, con- ferences and institutes.
8. During the spring of 1965, Dr. Kenneth Sheldon from Boston University School of Liberal Arts offered a basic course in Economics to all interested Lincoln teachers.
CURRICULUM STUDY GROUPS
Representative teachers from all schools are serving on three school-wide curriculum study groups, - mathematics, so- cial studies and English.
FUTURE PLANS
The Hartwell School faculty is constantly seeking more varied ways of meeting each individual child's needs. Visiting other schools, reading current professional material and dis- cussion are a few of the avenues we are exploring. Work on individualization of instruction in certain areas will be started shortly after the first of the year. We are looking at the over- all organization of faculty and pupils to see if there are better ways of providing improved instruction.
At Smith School plans are being made to continue work to find ways in which the notion of continuous progress for each child will become more and more an actual fact. The principal and staff are actively engaged in planning for the future. A fur- ther step toward non-grading may be possible through breaking down the age barriers between the teams; this is being serious - ly studied with the hope that if this idea is feasible a beginning may be made in September, 1966.
Contemplated for next year at Brooks School is a change in the content of at least one of the Social Studies courses.
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Mathematics is being currently reviewed by the Lincoln and Sudbury Schools cooperatively and it is anticipated that a re- vised mathematics curriculum K-12 will be an outcome.
The principals would like to add their appreciation and thanks to the Superintendent of Schools and the Lincoln School Committee for their deep commitment to quality education and the many opportunities provided for administrators and faculty to constantly grow professionally. Thanks are also due a ded- icated faculty and the many volunteers (particularly those who help in the school libraries) who work together with the school staff to provide high quality education for the children.
PRINCIPALS, HANSCOM SCHOOL
Robert A. Leach, Head Principal
Timothy Graves, Principal, Primary School
This year Hanscom School is evolving from a one-build- ing school to a complex of four buildings and two separate schools. This complex, which will house over nine hundred students, approaches in size of student body and faculty, the "parent" campus in Lincoln Center.
Two hundred additional housing units were constructed and occupied on schedule at the end of November, 1965, result- ing in an increase of approximately two hundred sixty students.
STAFF
A total of fifty-four full and part time instructors are currently meeting the educational needs of the Hanscom child- ren in this complex.
The Hanscom Primary School is now under the direct supervision of a new principal, Mr. Timothy Graves.
The teaching staff of the Primary School consists of twenty classroom teachers, a librarian, and four specialists
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in art, music, physical education and reading. Nineteen of these were new to Hanscom, and all except six were experi- enced teachers. This new staff has shown an enthusiasm and willingness to participate in improving the instructional pro- gram.
In addition to the regular staff, there have been assigned student teachers from Boston University and Lesley College. With proper guidance, these young women have become fine begin- ning teachers.
BUILDING UTILIZATION
Both the primary school and the intermediate upper schools started this year in dispersed locations. Team 3 is currently housed in the Center School, while Team 4 has had quarters in Building 1728, a renovated office building on base. Teams 1, 2, and 5, and the upper school, have remained in the original Hanscom school building. This dispersal has serious- ly limited the school's program of continuous progress by abili- ty levels; however, the staff has done an excellent job in adapt- ing to temporary locations during this period of construction of the primary unit. The use of temporary educational facilities is not a new experience for the Hanscom staff.
INSTRUCTIONAL
The instructional program this year has been character- ized by an intensified program in science and math for interme- diate levels, and an expansion of the conceptual approach in the area of social studies. This refining of instruction represents many hours of productive work by the summer school staff.
A developmental approach to the teaching of language arts and the introduction of remedial reading and math classes in the upper school have been instituted this year, along with a modular schedule for grades six through eight. Again, these innovations are products of the summer school workshop of 1965.
A guidance program for the elementary and upper school was started in November on a part-time basis. Primarily de- signed for individual therapy, it is hoped that this program, if
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it proves effective, may be the forerunner of a full time guidance service for the school.
Transition Level
A new group has been formed this year to bridge the gap that had existed between kindergarten and Team I. This trans- ition level consisted of pupils who had not previously had a kind- ergarten experience, and those who were deemed not fully pre- pared for formal first grade work. The main emphasis of this program has been reading readiness. After varying lengths of time most of these children have moved into Team I.
New Role for Team Leaders
The team leaders of Team I, II, and III, have been given released time for observation and supervision of teaching, mod- el teaching, and needed planning and administrative duties. They have only had regularly scheduled reading and mathematics groups. All other teaching duties were scheduled depending on the specific needs of the pupils either by small or large groups, or by individuals. This increased flexibility has appeared to be most effective and successful.
Grouping of Children
The homeroom groups in Teams I - III have been hetero- geneously grouped for social studies, science, art, music, and physical education. Reading and math have remained homogen- eous by ability groups. This arrangement has created a less closed and rigid learning environment.
Summer School
Tutoring in reading and math was conducted each day for two hours. Scheduling for 1965-1966 was also accomplished. Social studies curriculum development was cooperatively achiev- ed by Teams 1 - III whereby new units were prepared and mater- ials were gathered. The Hanscom kindergarten, in conjunction with Hartwell School, planned their new curriculum which has proven most successful.
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PARENT-TEACHER ACTIVITIES
The Hanscom School Association has shown excellent growth with the influx of new parents and has held two general meetings thus far. Continued support for our schools has been most appreciated, particularly the fine efforts of room mothers and volunteer lunch supervisors. Currently the HSA is plan- ning a joint meeting in May with the Lincoln School Association at which tirne Lincoln residents may tour the new facilities.
An afternoon orientation meeting for parents enrolling children for the first time was held on Tuesday, September 14. A slide presentation on Lincoln and its schools was presented. A special kindergarten orientation was held on September 15. Over one hundred parents attended. Open house for Teams I - III was held in October. Mathematics and reading workshops are now being conducted in the evenings for interested parents.
FUTURE PLANS
The future building needs of the Hanscom Complex must reflect a continuously increasing enrollment, which has thus far held closely to predicted estimates. It is apparent that the new- ly completed primary units will not be adequate for a rapidly in- creasing primary enrollment. Thus planning is to be submitted soon for one or more additional units. Conversely, as the up- per school receives the present input from the intermediate lev- els, some provision will be made, in the near future, for addi- tional classroom and special subject teaching areas, involving an enlargement of present library facilities. Thus, within the next few years, a complex of at least six, and possibly seven, separate building units with a total enrollment approaching 1200 students may be developed. £ In the background of this project- ion lies the possibility that more housing units, already request- ed, may be authorized, as national defense and space efforts con- tinue to escalate.
It is hoped that Hanscom Primary School will house all of its students in one central location for the next school year. This will mean the possibility of a more flexible educational program which will benefit all of the children. The resulting
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schedule will give first priority to reading and language as it is felt that these subjects are of utmost importance for primary grade children.
SCHOOL NURSE
Alice E. Garrison, R. N.
In September and October all children were weighed and measured with the assistance of our physical education instruct- ors, Mrs. Torode in the Hartwell School, Miss Yeamans, Mr. Reed and Mr. Saia in the Smith and Brooks Schools. There are no children suffering from malnutrition in the Lincoln Schools, but we see a number of cases of obesity in boys and girls espec- ially in the upper grades. With medical supervision and with determination on the part of mothers there have been some very successful results in weight reduction, and the beneficial effect on the child's personality and outlook cannot be measured.
Children entering kindergarten had the state required physical examination including smallpox vaccination. The ma- jority were seen by their own family doctors. Twenty-one kindergarten examinations were done by Dr. John Davies at the Well Child Conference.
In the fall, school wide dental screening was done by Dr. William Tingey. Three hundred and ninety children were re- ferred to their own family dentists for treatment or orthodontia. There were no requests for special financial assistance referred to Dr. Calkins.
In October, November and December, with the help of volunteers trained by the Department of Public Health, the annu- al hearing testing program was completed. All initial failures are retested by Mrs. Garrison. There were twenty-seven final failures. Of these, fourteen were children with known hearing loss and were already under medical supervision. The new cases were discussed with their parents and further testing by an ear specialist advised. These children are now under medical
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supervision and have preferential seating in the classroom when this is necessary.
In December, January and February, the annual vision screening was done with the help of the same group of volun- teers. There were sixty final failures. Many of these child- ren already wear glasses and are seen at regular intervals by eye specialists. The new cases were referred for care and ob- servation.
In April, the annual tuberculin testing at the six year old level was done by Dr. John Sisson. The Tine test method was used, and seventy-seven children were tested with the approval of their parents. There were no positive reactors.
Mrs. Torode, Miss Yeamans, Mr. Reed and Mr. Saia have excellent after school sports programs which are open to any boy or girl wishing to participate and are not geared only to the star players. It is a tribute to our enthusiastic coaches that a large number turn out for after school sports in all seasons. At Smith and Brooks Schools, girls play hockey in the fall, bas- ketball in the winter, and softball in the spring. The boys have soccer, basketball and baseball. Mr. Robert Duncan, history teacher at Brooks School, coached the boys seventh grade soccer team last fall. In five games with Sudbury, Concord and Lexing- ton, the only game lost was to Lexington High School freshman team. This team was so enthusiastic they put on a cake sale to help pay for uniforms. George Saia continues his interest in calisthenics, and it is a great sight in fine weather to see child- ren exercising and tumbling out of doors on the grass and doing track around the ball field. These programs are continued in the gym in winter but there is great competition for basketball practice space. Mr. Reed feels that we have one of the strong- est basketball teams ever this year, and although soccer is al- ways our best game, baseball also is improving greatly in re- cent years due to the interest of parents, police and the recrea- tion committee. Miss Yeamans reports a successful fall turn- out for girls' hockey, with a large group participating and the teams winning three out of four games. Mrs. Dorothy Ander- son helped coach girls' hockey and was a great addition.
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