USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > Town annual report of Braintree, Massachusetts for the year 1944 > Part 14
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and carried out, but when you consider that the school property today is valued at $1,662,000.00 and that for the last ten years the appropria- tion for repairs and maintenance has been slightly more than 1%, while an average percentage would be about 3%, it will be seen that we can- not set up or proceed on such a program. If the School Committee were given $30,000.00 for current repairs, maintenance, and a rehabilitation program, this would be slightly less than 2% of the value of the school property, and experts in this field assure us this would be a modest appropriation.
We have already brought this matter of renovating the school buildings and class rooms 'to the attention of the sub-committee on schools of the Finance Committee, and we believe that it is of such importance that the individual town meeting members should give it their earnest consideration and, we hope, approval so that a program could be set up, approved, and put into effect.
The matter of building the addition to the High School to provide the necessary facilities for the post-war educational program has been reported to the Town Post-War Planning Committee as post-war plan- ning for education-a program to be either completely financed by the town or assisted by the Federal Government.
We would refer you to the Superintendent's report for a more de- tailed explanation of the operation of the school system during the past year, and we take this opportunity to assure the citizens of our earnest and sincere desire to fulfill our obligation to them and to their children.
We also want to thank all of our associates in administration, super- vision, teaching, operating, and maintenance capacities for the splendid service that they have rendered under the very trying conditions that we. have experienced during this past year.
Respectfully submitted,
ARCHIE T. MORRISON, Chairman, ALIDA N. STEVENS, Secretary, HOWARD B. BLEWETT, SOPHIE G. BLUNT, G. RALPH YOUNG, ELMER G. DERBY,
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Report of the Superintendent of Schools
January 2, 1945
To the School Committee:
I present herewith, as Superintendent of Schools, my twenty-fourth annual report. The same type of report as previously requested omitting statistical tables and the complete reports from the various departments, follows.
Until after the closing of schools in June, this past year presented serious problems in the securing of the necessary personnel for the care of our school buildings. Now, however, very satisfactory conditions seem to prevail due in no small measure to the greater return given our janitors. I feel that with the present salary schedule maintained as time goes on, we shall be able to fill vacancies if and when they occur in a most satisfactory way.
Our teaching force shows many changes but considering conditions in the field of education Braintree has been more fortunate than most communities. In our High School the same personnel began the school year for 1944-1945 that closed the year of 1943-1944 with one exception. Miss Margaret C. Kirby who for the last twenty-one years had "faith- fully and efficiently served as a teacher in our Commercial Department, retired because of her health. I am sure all of her associates and the many, many pupils who received their training in her classes will wish for her many years of pleasure and the greatest possible comfort and satisfaction in the knowledge of a life of efficient service to youth. It was found unnecessary, however, to fill this vacancy occasioned by Miss Kirby's retirement because of the reduced enrollment in the High School's Commercial Department although the school did have the largest freshman class ever recorded.
Last April the draft took David Ward, Jr., our High School teacher of Physical Education for the boys and Stanley P. Laski took his place filling in most satisfactorily and returned to us with the opening of school in September. Another teacher of Physical Education, John H. Stella, who taught the upper grades in the elementary schools responded to the draft with the opening of schools in September and his place was taken by Myron A. Myers. The service flag for our teaching force, which is in the School Committee offices, shows seventeen stars, thir- teen men and four women, and one gold star representing Lieutenant Donald E. Ross who was killed in action September, 1944. Lieutenant Thomas J. Corrigan is a German prisoner of war and has been since June, 1943. The great majority of these teachers in service are com- missioned officers, the highest rank being Lieutenant Colonel.
In the East District the only change in teaching personnel was be- because Purdie K. Rice was granted a leave of absence because of her health and Mrs. Mildred S. Klay, whose husband is in the service, is substituting for her. Before her marriage Mrs. Klay was, for a num- ber of years, one of our teachers.
In the North District at the Penniman School we have Roberta R. French because Frances E. Ryan was transferred to the Monatiquot School as assistant principal to fill that vacancy occasioned by the mar- riage of Mary E. Gordon. At the Penniman School, Catherine Mc- Gloin, formerly the regular substitute in this district, was elected be- cause of the resignation of Ilo L. Sullard and Ann H. Corbett was elected because of the resignation of Margaret A. Millican. Christine K. Moore's resignation as seventh grade teacher at the Monatiquot
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School was provided for by the election of Vivian A. Dyer and the resignation at the Hollis School of Katherine D. Foley by the election of Winifred A. Collins. The vacancy caused by the transfer of Cather- ine McGloin was filled by the transfer of Mary P. Inkley from Hollis School and this vacancy was filled by the election of Hope C. Bancroft.
In the South District resignations of Gladys M. Dukeshire and Flora I. Donald caused vacancies in grades Seven and Six at the High- lands School which were filled by the elections of Christie C. Hayden and Pauline E. Patterson. At the Noah Torrey school resignations of Helen IM. Stone and James I. Allen caused vacancies in Grade Seven and the shop work which were filled by the elections of Edna R. How- land and John C. Lax. The resignation of the science teacher in the South District, Mary M. Page, created a vacancy which was filled by the election of Dorothy F. Woods.
It was necessary because of the resignation of June D. Tabor to have a new secretary in the North District and Elizabeth R. Britton was elected to fill this position.
There are seventeen positions filled by substitutes and there are seventeen living teachers on leave of absence. Of these seventeen sub- stitutes two are men and fifteen are married women of whom six have husbands who are in the armed service and four others also formerly successfully taught in our schools before they were married. All sev- enteen of these teachers with substitute ratings are trained and expe- rienced teachers and although married yet are so situated as to their responsibilities that they can give of their time to the work of teaching without handicapping their effectiveness.
After schools had opened in September it was found that the en- rollments in the kindergarten and first grade at the Noah Torrey, the first grade at the Hollis and the kindergarten at Lincoln were too large to expect one teacher to effectively handle the work and it therefore became necessary to use a part of the office, which is small, for a small group of first grade children at the Hollis School but there were class- rooms available for use by these classes in the other buildings.
Next September at the Hollis School, some other arrangements should be made and I would recommend that the room now used for the maintenance department be used as the room for the special class which would place this class right beside the shop which is frequently used by the members of this special class and thus much going up and down stairs would be avoided by them. The room now used by this special class would then be available as a regular class room.
The machines, tools, stock, etc., used by the maintenance depart- ment could be transferred to the basement of the Pond School where the School Department offices now are located. The ground to the south of the, building slopes to the south and by a little excavating, nearly full-sized windows could be provided which would give a well lighted and much larger shop than the department now has and with plenty of storage space.
The adoption of the single session plan for the grade schools made it desirable to have some facilities for the preparation of food that the children might have the opportunity of securing something for a lunch if they did not bring one with them and even if they did they might wish to supplement what they brought by some purchases. Electric stoves. cups, spoons, pans, etc., have been secured and facilities have been pro- vided and as time goes on it is hoped that increased equipment and conveniences may be installed. However, there can not be provided a
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regular lunch-room where the children may go to eat but it is necessary for them to use the classroom. This procedure has introduced a prob- lem requiring care in the looking after crumbs and papers which have been wrapped around food. Here is presented possibly an opportunity for the training of children in establishing habits of neatness and care in the handling of food-stuffs.
A study of enrollment figures and their distribution makes it seem quite likely that there will not only be the need of arranging, as pre- viously stated for another classroom at the Hollis School but it will also be necessary to re-open the Colbert School in September, 1945. All the indications are that there is today a sufficiently large enough number of children in that neighborhood to warrant having the build- ing open now but these children are for the present school year being cared for at the Noah Torrey Primary building where we now have two rooms of each the Kindergarten, Grade I and Grade IV with one room of each Grade II and Grade III and this uses all eight rooms which is all there are. For the school year of 1945-1946 there is the possibility that we could get by but just a few more than we now have coming into a fourth grouping would necessitate the continuance of two fourth grade rooms instead of one and then we would not have adequate accommodations. Furthermore, there are undoubtedly child- ren of Kindergarten and first grade age levels who are not in school this year because of the distance to the Noah Torrey Primary building where they would have to go this year if they went to school at all. I feel that the petition drawn up and signed by a large number of resi- dents in the section of town accommodated by the Colbert School should be favorably acted. To have this building ready for use next September will require the purchase of a new boiler and oil burner and the installation of the same. To open this building will also re- quire securing two more teachers.
A great deal of work has been done this year in maintenance and ini- provements and it is unfortunate that the Finance Committee can not be made to realize that twelve school buildings and grounds can not be kept in good condition without the expenditure of a considerable sum of money and if conditions of the school grounds are to be improved and facilities provided within the buildings are to be enlarged or made better by intro- ducing new facilities still more funds must be supplied to the department than has been done in the past.
An extensive program of macadamizing all drive-ways on school grounds and around the foundations of all school buildings for a distance of 30 or 40 feet from the building would yield good return in savings 011 the wear and tear in a building as there would be much less dirt, sand, and gravel tracked into the building because it would, most of it, get scuffed off before entering the building. Then too, it would be easier for the janitor to keep his building cleaner for there would be much less dust and dirt drawn into the building through our pervent heating units which by means of a motor driven fan draws fresh air from out of doors to pass over and through heating coils thus circulating heated fresh air through the classrooms. Naturally this air drawn from around the build- ing where the ground is not surfaced carries a large amount of dust which creates a condition which is far from being for the best interests of the health of the children. Then too, the wear and tear on motors, armatures, brushes, etc. is unreasonably excessive and expensive. Another saving would undoubtedly be made by having less broken glass in our schools because when stones are not too handy to be thrown there is less likeli- hood of their being thrown and not only breaking glass but ruining curtains. Take the stones off of our playgrounds and keep them off and
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there will be fewer stones thrown. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure but these call for money and the problem of labor today is about as difficult to solve as is the getting of favorable action on the question of providing funds.
There is not a building but what should be painted on the outside except one and that one was painted late this fall. Most of our classrooms, except those in the Penniman School, would be very much improved in appearance by a coat of paint and many of them are seriously in need of paint. The provisions made for artificial light in our schools are not up to the standards . which should be maintained and building phone sets in some cases have completely broken down and are useless. Many of these things which should be remedied it is today impossible to provide for since the materials necessary can not be secured and conditions as they exist will have to be tolerated and "make the best of it" until such time as the materials are again on the market and can be secured as well as the labor. The school department can however, consider these needs and be prepared to move immediately with the first signs indicating the possi- bility of securing the necessary materials and labor for making improve- ments.
I feel that it is not out of place to call attention to the fact that in spite of the Finance Committee's failure to approve and recommend for appropriation the amount requested for maintenance work and then most inconsistently criticizing the department for not doing more, yet we have accomplished a great deal. The Finance Committee kept faith with the department in the matter of making a transfer from their reserve fund of $2500 as they agreed to do if it was found possible for the department to secure the necessary materials for a long needed and most decided im- provement in the boys' toilets at the Watson and Noah Torrey Primary Schools. This work was done and now there remains but one boys' toilet needing attention and all will then be of the most modern and sanitary type. That one is at the Noah Torey Grammar building and it is to be hoped that this work can be completed by the time for the opening of schools in September.
At the Lincoln, Jonas Perkins, Penniman and Noah Torrey Grammar School buildings there has not been an adequate supply of water for drinking purposes and for proper sanitary conditions. These conditions have been remedied and the very material improvements are most notice- able and much appreciated by all concerned. It was a big job to run into the building a sufficiently large service pipe, 6", to anticipate at some future date the installation of a sprinkler system and have a 2" water meter to meet the demands for the present conditions at the Lincoln School. The difficulty was that almost the entire distance from the water main on Hobart Street into the building ran through a ledge which had to be blasted out.
Practically all curtains in the Watson and Hollis Schools were replaced and this made a very material improvement in the appearance of the class rooms. New floors were laid in four rooms at the Jonas Perkins School and one room at the Monatiquot School. The fire escape at the Penniman School was completely and thoroughly over-hauled and painted and put in first class condition. When work was actually started on this it was found to be really in a very serious condition much more so than was realized from a superficial examination. Also the fire escape at the High School and the iron balconies on the north, south and west sides of this building were thoroughly over-hauled and painted. Wir fences at the Penniman, High, Pond, and Noah Torrey Schools received some needed attention more particularly at the Penniman Schol where much malicious damage had been done.
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The special appropriation of $3819.50 for expenditure under the direction of the School Committee on the Penniman School Grounds resulted in the laying of cork asphaltum over a considerable area, the planting of many trees and the installing of a concrete retaining wall along a part of the northern boundary where the abuttor's grounds were considerably above the level of the school grounds. When schools opened in September the evergreen trees which had been planted seemed to be in excellent condition and looked fine but when that heavy wind of almost if not quite hurricane force came along, it tipped almost all of these trees way over and although they have many times been straightened up I am fearful that more than half of them will not take satisfactory root and live. There is a very strong wind which frequently sweeps across this area and I am of the opinion that it will be a very difficult job to get evergreen trees grown there which will be sturdy and strong enough to withstand those winds.
In addition to the painting of the outside of the Noah Torrey Primary building a considerable amount of work was done at the Monatiquot School in corridors and stairwells and the entire basement was painted which materially improves the appearance of this part of the building. The Auditorium at the Lincoln School was completely painted and it needed it badly. The entire basement of the Penniman School was painted and the results are most pleasing. The painting of school basements tends to make them lighter and encourages everyone to exercise a little more care in keeping them clean. The walls of corridors and stairwells and two classrooms in the High School were painted.
A great deal of the interior painting done this last year was by our janitors who put in a total of 1425 man hours of labor. Extra pay was given for this work which could be done in the summer time and during vacation without in any way interfering with their duties and responsi- bilities to their own building. This idea has accomplished so much in the ivay of improving the conditions in some of our buildings, and at a relatively low cost, to such an extent that I sincerely hope the practice may be continued.
We have had for two or three years more or less unsatisfactory heating conditions in three of our buildings where there is a vacuum system and this last year a really thorough job of replacing vacuum valves which had worn out was finished in the Lincoln and Penniman Schools and the High School at a cost of about $1000. If ONE vacuum valve fails to properly function there is serious interference with the effectiveness of the heating system and when you have 50 or 60 of these valves in a system it is no easy matter to find out just WHICH one is out of commission. These valves DO wear out just the same as your spark plug in the automobile gives out and you know how satisfactorily your automobile engine works under those conditions. The thing to do is to put in a new spark plug.
The base frame of one of our boilers at the Monatiquot School had to be replaced with a new frame as the old one had rusted out. This was not a small matter and yet it was one of those many things necessary to be done and frequently happening in our school plants. It was one of those many things requiring the expenditure of no small sum of money and at the same time things which the casual observer would not see or know about either before the work was done or after as it might not appear to LOOK any different. As another illustration of this may I remind you of the work which was done in the way of installing new automatic feeds to our boilers in two different buildings this last year. Things LOOK just about the same but the results are quite different being now effective and satisfactory.
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It is difficult for any one not familiar with a school building to realize the demands in time and material made in attempting to keep up the so-called smaller every-day requirement's of maintenance; window cords and curtain cords to be replaced; chairs, desks, and tables repaired; valves repacked; pipes and flush tank linings replaced; motors cared for and there is a large number of them; the list is almost endless and last, but not least, is the broken window glass which has to be replaced not because of accident's but because of malicious vandalism. I wish that the homes would organize a drive to see if we can not lessen this waste and assist the police department in apprehending those guilty parties. It does seem as though those living close by our schools must be aware of this break- ing of glass when it occurs and could notify the police department which could in turn, through the activity of its prowl cars, more successfully cope with this lawlessness.
There are no longer any outstanding school bonds the last having been retired in 1944 in spite of the fact that for about ten years the community found it necessary to go into the problem of prividing adequate school house accommodations to care for the enrollment. The serious- ness and magnitude of the problem had been created partly because of neglect to forsee and attempt to anticipate future needs. For about twelve years no school house was built but when a need for another class actually existed a portable school house was purchased until the Town found itself provided with five or six portable school houses and several of them two room ones. These portable school houses are at the best not very satisfactory and should never be looked upon as anything except a temporary emergency expedient and never a solution for any considerable length of time. These procedures built up a tremndous burden of school house construction to be met immediately for a school system which was still growing rather rapidly. Now it has again been fifteen years since the Town of Braintree has built any school house with . the exception of the Colbert School and this school was a replacement, and a much needed one too, but it provided no increased accommoda- tions. For thirteen years there has been a need for an addition to the High School and when the public became sufficiently aroused over the situation and took favorable action to provide an addition it was too late because of the war with its demands for material and labor. It will not be, relatively, very far in the future before there will be need for increased housing for the elementary schools too. It is unfortunate that these needs will undoubtedly pile up and come all at once as they have in the past because of the unwillingness, usually, of a public to appreciate the value of fore-sight and the economy of anticipating needs rather than waiting until they actually exist and then wait a while longer hoping that condi- tions will change so that nothing will have to be done.
I have previously stated how it was necessary because of the large enrollment in two kindergarten classes and two first grade classes to split each and make four more classes and also so the fact that we have the largest freshman class in the High School that we have ever had. I would like to also call your attention to the birth rate in this town and ask you to note the fact that a child is five years old in the kindergarten and six years of age in the first grade. Now in the following table make your own observations:
BIRTH RATE
1933 1934 1938 1939 1942 1943 1944
298
278
247
258
369
477
251
262 Enrollment in Kindergarten
315
323 Enrollment in Grade I
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How many will be enrolled in 1948 in the Kindergarten and first grade? You say families will move out of town after the war and our enrollment will drop off ? Well, that is what was said at the time of the other World War when the enrollment was going up. Let me present table of enrollment facts and birth:
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
Kindergarten
191
174
198
185
216
First Grade
307
267
261
300
289
BIRTH RATE
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920 ยท
1921
252
237
240
258
243
274
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I wish space would allow for repeating practically the whole of my report written January 2, 1930, and printed in the Town's Annual Report for 1929. It is pertinent to present conditions. Please read it.
The cost of education is undoubtedly the one biggest expense in every community and naturally therefore, it is apt to receive the most attention. Braintree has always shown a relatively low cost and even now with the increased salary schedule I feel that we shall not find ourselves materially changed in our relative position as to costs for education since practically every other school system has found it necessary to revise its salary schedule upward. This action of revising salary schedules is due in no small measure to the fact that our State Legislature raised the minimum salary for teachers in this State from $850.00 per annum to $1200.00 per annum. Exact figures for other communities of about the same size as Braintree should be of interest in comparing costs.
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