Town annual report of Chelmsford 1908, Part 5

Author:
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Town of Chelmsford
Number of Pages: 166


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900 00


1,046 10


146 10


Transportation .


1,000 00


964 75


35 25


Dog Licenses ..


594 83


594 83


Sale of Books and Rent of Room.


2 50


2 50


-


Medical Examination.


300


00


210 00


90 00


Highways


5,000 00


6,875 61


430 75


102


Receipts


2,306 36


Street Lighting


1,800 00


2,360 28


560 28


Trust Fund Receipts.


187 00


90 00


97 00


Indigent Soldiers and Sailors


300 00


387 21


52 21


Receipts


35 00


Town Officers and Committees .


3,000 00


3,635 12


635 12


Collection and Abatement of Taxes


700


00


670 36


29 64


Adams Library .


400 00


400 00


Loans and Interests


4,387 00


4,533 25


121 87


Interest on Account South School Loan.


24 38


Village Clock


30


00


30 00


Rifle Range .


100 00


50 05


49 95


Memorial Day.


100 00


93 34


6 66


Cattle Inspection .


100 00


150 00


50 00


Enforcement of Liquor Laws .


14 50


14 50


Tree Warden. .


200 00


204 26


4 26


Moth Work .


617 54


6,535 14


2,325 61


-


.


North Chelmsford Library Association


800 00


800 00


Receipts from State Receipts from Taxes . Grading, West Chelmsford School Stone for Cape Cod Monument.


$ 3,078 43


513 56


250 00


$ 324 82


74 82


45 00


45 00


School Lot, South Chelmsford


200 00


201 25


1 25


Miscellaneous Expenses


1,000 00


3,268 00


1,259 29


Receipts


1,015 71


Hydrant Service, Fire Apparatus, North


2,300 00


2,300 00


Set of Weights and Balances for Sealer


55 00


94 15


30 02


Receipts


9 13


Support of Poor ..


1,500 00


3,070 44


348 54


Receipts


1,221 90


Care and Improvement of Cemeteries.


400 00


548 52


75 52


Receipts


73 00


998 69


198 69


School House, South Chelmsford.


6,500 00


4,633 55


1,866 45


State and Military Aid Receipts


1,384 00


1,384 00


Widening West Chelmsford Road


690 00


690 01


01


$63,031 34


$66,798 42


$3,228 07


$6,995 15


3,767 08


3,767 08


$66,798 42


$66,798 42


$6,995 15


$6,995 15


Appropriations.


$50,839 04


Receipts. .


12,192 30


Expenditures . Deficit. .


$66,798 42 3,767 08


$63,031 34


$63,031 34


.


.


.


.. .


.


.


. .


.


.


...


. ... . .


·


.


· ......


...


... ......


..


. .


800 00


Repair of Public Buildings .


103


Net Deficit.


EBEN T. ADAMS, R. WILSON DIX, JAMES P. DUNIGAN, JOHN J. DUNN, WILBUR E. LAPHAM, Selectmen.


.


.


ANNUAL REPORT


OF THE


School Committee


AND THE


Superintendent of Schools


OF THE


TOWN OF CHELMSFORD


FOR THE


School Year Ending February 29, 1908


SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1907-08


JOHN J. MONAHAN -


Term expires 1908


CHARLES H. ELLIS


-


- Resigned in October, 1907


HERBERT E. ELLIS -


-


-


Term expires 1908


GEORGE F. WHITE - -


- Term expires 1910


SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS


FREDERICK L. KENDALL


REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1907-08


TO THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN OF CHELMSFORD :


We present herewith our report for the fiscal year ending February 29, 1908, together with that of our Superintendent of Schools, Mr. F. L. Kendall.


By careful examination of the report of your Superintend- ent, you will notice that in his opinion the present teaching force is doing good work. We too feel that the town of Chelmsford has a teaching force that, taken as a whole, will compare favorably with that of similar towns in the State. It will be our aim in the future as in the past to strengthen or eliminate whatever weakness or inefficiencies may develop ; but it is easier many times to locate a defect than it is to ad- minister a cure under the existing conditions. We believe that only by the payment of fair wages will it be possible for us, in filling vacancies, to secure those most competent to teach, and not only secure them, but hold them in the service of the town for a longer period than one year. Good teachers, like skilled employees in other branches of business, command a fair compensation for work performed and will go elsewhere if we refuse to meet the price offered by other towns. A poor teacher is expensive at any price. Let us then be as liberal as possible with our teachers and hold them responsible for results.


The school buildings, generally, are in good condition. At the South, the new building is nearing completion and the old house will soon be abandoned. At the North, the outer doors of the old building should be made to swing outward, and a porch should be built on the front. At the Centre, fire escapes should be provided in the rear of the new part.


108


Schoolhouse grounds should be improved from year to year, and after they are properly graded should be taken care of. Small sums of money are required during the coming year to continue the grading at the West school, and to make a be- ginning at the East and South schools. At the North school, the barns should be removed from the land recently purchased for school purposes, the lot graded, and the grounds around the old building put in better condition. Attention is again directed to the lack of playgrounds at the Centre School, and land should be acquired here with as little delay as possible.


The sanitary arrangements at the various buildings are fairly satisfactory, with the exception of those at the North village. A radical change is required here, and should be made at once.


With the completion of the new schoolhouse at the South, there will be ample school accommodation in all the villages, except at the North, where it has been necessary to fit up a room in the Town Hall to take care of the overflow, and it is probable that a new building must be provided not later than next year.


The amount of money received by your committee from all sources was not sufficient to pay for school expenses during the past year, and we are obliged to report a deficit, caused in part by the cost of fitting up an overflow room at the North and an additional teacher in the High School at the same vil- lage. For the coming year we recommend that sums of mon- ey be appropriated as follows :-


For Teaching


$15,200 00


Care


1,900 00


Fuel


1,950 00


Apparatus


100 00


Text books and supplies


1,200 00


Transportation


1,000 00


Furniture and repairs


1,200 00


Incidentals


250 00


Superintendent's salary


562 50


Medical inspection 300 00


$22,662 50


109


Upon recommendation of our Superintendent, the follow- ing regulation is approved by your Committee :-


HIGH SCHOOL


After the graduations of June 1908, diplomas will be granted only to those completing in a satisfactory manner a four year's course, as laid out. The course, with rules governing the same, will be printed later.


REV. C. H. ELLIS


After having served as Chairman of this Committee since his election in March 1904, Rev. Charles H. Ellis resigned the first of last October, in order that he might devote himself more fully to the work of his chosen profession.


His deep interest in the Schools, his love of justice and fair play, and his careful judgment, enabled him to render valuable service to the Town, the compensation for which must rest largely in the consciousness of work well performed.


JOHN J. MONAHAN, HERBERT E. ELLIS, GEORGE F. WHITE,


School Committee.


SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR 1908-09


Spring term, 1908, March 30 to June 19, twelve weeks.


The school year for 1908-1909 will begin September 8, 1908, and will end June 25, 1909.


The fall and winter terms in the High Schools will each be four- teen weeks in length and the spring term twelve weeks.


The fall and winter terms in the Common Schools will each be thirteen weeks in length and the spring term twelve weeks.


VACATIONS


High Schools: December 19 to 27, and April 3 to 11.


Common Schools : December 19 to January 3, and March 27 to April 11.


HOLIDAYS


Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday, February 12 in the afternoon, February 22, April 19 and May 31.


REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS


GENTLEMEN OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE :


I respectfully submit the following report concerning the schools of Chelmsford for the year ending February 29, 1908 :


STATISTICS


Population of the town, census of 1905 4,254


Valuation of the town, May 1, 1907. $3,298,410


Children between five and fifteen years of age, September, 1907 : Boys, 412; girls, 388; total 800


Children between seven and fourteen years of age, September, 1907 : Boys, 306; girls, 278; total 584


Illiterate minors over fourteen years of age,


September, 1907. 0


FOR THE YEAR ENDING IN JUNE, 1907


Different pupils. 917


Pupils under five years of age. 8


Pupils over fifteen years of age 65


Pupils between five and fifteen years of age. 844


Pupils between seven and fourteen years of age 629


Average membership in all the schools 775.2


Average attendance in all the schools.


696.4


Per cent of attendance. 89.8


Average length of all the schools .9 months, 6 days Average length of the [high schools. .. 9 months, 16}2 days Teachers now required . 29


112,


TEACHERS


A comparison of the list of teachers printed in this report with the list given one year ago will reveal the fact that twelve new names appear in this year's report, and that nine which were on the list in nineteen hundred seven do not appear in the list for nineteen hundred eight.


This means that there have been nine resignations for various causes and that there are three more teachers than last year, namely : one grade teacher, one high School assistant in the North school, and a supervisor of drawing.


With the exception of one teacher who had taught for several years, all of the new teachers hold either college diplomas or certificates from some normal school. And, with but two exceptions, all had gained some experience in teaching aside from practice work before accepting a position in Chelmsford.


The unusual number of changes in the teaching force, together with the transfers, has brought it about that only sixteen of the twenty-nine regular teachers are doing the same work that they were doing a year ago. Even this statement needs to be modified somewhat on account of programs partially different, so that, approximately, one-half of the teachers are engaged in new work.


HIGH SCHOOLS


During the summer vacation, Miss Lena R. Edmands resigned her position as assistant in the North high school. Miss Georgiana M. Clark, algraduate of Tuft's College, with three years of experience as a teacher, was elected to fill the vacancy. And in order that the work of the school might be carried on more effectively, Miss Irena M. Crawford, also a graduate of Tuft's College, was elected as a second assistant.


The teaching force at the Centre high school remains the same that it was last year.


The class graduated from the Centre high school last June consisted of four young ladies, one of whom, Miss Helen M. Knowlton, is now a student in the Lowell Normal School.


113


One of the two graduates from the North school, Miss Amelia B. Marinel, also entered the same school in September, but has since decided that other lines of work are more attract- tive.


A portion of those who were graduated last June, as well as a number of those who have been graduated in previous years, received three year diplomas. In looking over the list of subjects taken by the recipients of these diplomas, it seems to me that their courses are not well rounded out. Valuable subjects have been omitted in nearly every case. Some, recog- nizing this, have returned to school the next year and com- pleted the amount of work necessary to secure a four year diploma.


This brings us face to face with the question whether it would not be well to cease giving the short period diplomas, and give diplomas only to those who have completed four years of high school work.


All graduates would then be put upon the same footing, whereas, as it stands now, a three year graduate is just as much a graduate as one who has completed satisfactorily four years of work.


I would therefore recommend that after this year diplomas be given only to those who have completed in a creditable manner four years of high school work.


THE NORTH SCHOOLHOUSES


The room in the Town Hall formerly used as an armory is now being used for a schoolroom; and the upper hallway in the new building serves as a recitation room for some of the high school classes. This condition of affairs suggests that the present buildings are outgrown, and that inore room should be provided immediately if the pupils are to have suitable accommodations.


This may be brought about by adding four rooms to the rear of the present building or by building a new school- house in some other locality. Should the former plan be followed, the land available for a playground would be very small, even by including the lot recently purchased. By fol-


114


lowing the latter plan and putting up a building about half- way between the present buildings and the Lowell line to accommodate the smaller children who live in that part of the village; they would be separated from the larger child- ren, a desirable feature; nearly every child could go home for dinner; and the transportation from that section would be done away with, almost, if not entirely.


Therefore it seems to me that the latter plan is the more desirable.


NORTH ROW SCHOOL


The enrollment in this school has not exceeded twelve at any time since the beginning of the fall term. At the present time it is only nine. This small enrollment forces us to reflect upon the wisdom of keeping this school open after the close of the present school year. My recommenda- tion would be not to open it in September unless there should be a very decided increase in the number of children who would naturally go there for instruction.


EYE AND EAR TEST


The results of the eye and ear tests taken according to law are given in the table below. A few children who received treatment for poor eyesight because of the test last year, have normal or nearly normal vision now.


Number Enrolled


Defective Eyesight


Defective Hearing


Parents Notified


Centre


226


33


10


18


North


321


45


20


43


West.


87


11


6


6


East


61


13


3


10


South .


...


43


8


2


8


Golden Cove.


22


13


0


0


South Row ..


21


2


2


4


North Row ..


12


0


2


2


793


125


45


91


115


MEDICAL INSPECTION


Since the first of September, the school physicians, Dr. F. E. Varney and Dr. A. G. Scoboria, have visited the schools and examined the children to see if any were suffer- ing from disease that would interfere with their school work. They have also been subject to the call of the teachers whenever there seemed to be need of a physician's advice regarding the health of the children.


The physicians report that they have not found in the schools any cases of diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, whooping cough, or chicken pox. They have found three cases of eye disease, forty-one of adenoids and enlarged tonsils, nine of scabies, nineteen of pediculi capitis, three of ringworm, six of impetigo, two of spinal curvature, one of chorea, one of feeble mind, seven of anaemia, and many children who had not been vaccinated. Of this number, those that were troubled with a communicable affliction were excluded from school until they could return with safety to the other children.


As the school physicians do not have authority to treat the children unless requested by the parents, and as in many cases the school physician is not the family physician, it is not possible to tell just how many children have received medical attention because of the diagnosis of the school phy- sician. It is known, however, that one case of eye disease, three of anaemia, one of ringworm and six of impetigo have been treated. At least nine operations for adenoids have been performed, and a large portion of those who had not been vaccinated have attended to that.


Another duty of the school physicians is to examine the buildings to see if there are any unhealthy conditions. The physician for the North school reports that the sanitary arrangements for that school are poor, a statement that will not be questioned by those familiar with the facts.


SUPERVISOR OF DRAWING


The vote to engage a supervisor of drawing was one dis- tinctly in the line of progress. As a result of this vote, Miss


116


Bertha G. Bartlett, a graduate of the Centre high school, and also of the Boston Normal Art School, was engaged to fill the position.


Miss Bartlett has entered upon her work with intelligence and enthusiasm, and already the results of her instruction are clearly manifest. She has visited each of the grade schools once each week and has had entire charge of the drawing in the high schools. In response to my request, she has pre- pared an outline of the work, which is as follows:


In the first three grades the aim has been to develop the manual faculties by the use of lessons in paper cutting and coloring; after this, the imagi- nation, by illustrating stories previously given the children by the grade teachers.


In the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, the aim has been to develop the observation by nature draw- ing, drawing from objects, lettering, design and color, and to follow with the development of the appreciation, which is carried out more specifically in the higher grades.


In the seventh, eighth and ninth grades, the plan has been to develop appreciation by color draw- ing from nature, and drawing from objects. Special stress has been laid in these grades upon form, color and design.


The high school work has been more theoretical. The course has included light and shade drawings from nature, theory of color, applied design, as in leather work, advanced lettering, mechanical and architectural drawing.


The interest manifested by the children in this work, which is new to the majority of them, has been very gratifying.


The earnest co-operation of the teachers and the assistance rendered by them has been heartily appreciated.


BERTHA GREENLEAF BARTLETT,


Supervisor of Drawing.


117


INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION


There seems to be a strong and growing feeling through- out the United States that the schools, as at present admi- nistered, are too far away from the actual things of life, and that they do not train the children to a proper recognition of the dignity of labor, nor do they give the training which best fits the children to cope with the realities of life.


Although much is being done for the coming generation of men and women, yet the thought is insistent that more must be done, and that what is done must be done better, if we are to retain our eminent position among the nations of the earth.


The claim is made with good show of reason that the boy of fourteen is not prepared to enter the industrial world to advantage. If he does leave school at that age, and many do, but few opportunities are open to him whereby he may hope to rise to lucrative and desirable positions.


A remedy that has been suggested for this condition is the offering of industrial subjects in our schools to young people of that age. The bulk of the work would come in the high school, although the beginnings might appear in the grades.


The importance of this was recognized by President Roose- velt in his message to Congress at the beginning of the present session. An extract from that message reads as follows :


" Progress cannot permanently exist in the abandonment of physical labor, but in the development of physical labor, so that it shall represent more and more the work of the trained mind in the trained body. Our school system is gravely de- fective in so far that it puts a premium upon mere literary training and tends, therefore, to train the boy away from the farm and the workshop. Nothing is more needed than the best type of industrial school, the school for mechanical in- dustries in the city, the school for practically teaching agri- culture in the country. The calling of the skilled tiller of the soil, the calling of the skilled mechanic, should alike be recog- nized as professions just as emphatically as the calling of a


118


lawyer, doctor, merchant or clerk. The schools should recog- nize this fact, and it should equally be recognized in popular opinion. The young man who has the farsightedness and courage to recognize it and to get over the idea that it makes a difference whether what he earns is called salary or wages and who refuses to enter the crowded field of the so called professions, and takes to constructive industries instead, is reasonably sure of an ample reward in earnings, in health, in opportunity to marry early and to establish a home with a fair amount of freedom from worry. It should be one of our prime objects to put both the farmer and the mechanic on a higher plane of efficiency and reward, so as to increase their effect- iveness in the economic world, and therefore the dignity, the remuneration and the power of their positions in the social world."


Trial is being made of this idea in our own state at the high school in Petersham. As this school is located in an agricultural section, special attention is given to the needs of those who expect to gain their livelihood by tilling the soil. With that idea in mind, a course in agriculture has been worked out which proposes to teach the following subjects :


1. The wild flowers, birds, animals, and their habits.


2. The rocks, their chemical composition and the process by which the earth has been changed from a molten mass to a fit home for man.


3. The kinds of soil, their physical and chemical prop- erties, the crops best suited to each, and the proper methods of cultivating, improving and fertilizing them.


4. How to raise the best hay crop, and the culture of each of the standard crops grown on a farm.


5. How to raise, care for, and market both the large and small fruits.


6. How to conduct a market garden business, both in the open and under glass.


7. The noxious representatives of the insect world, harmful fungi and the methods of destroying them.


119


8. The principles of forestry and landscape gardening.


9. How to care for domestic animals, poultry and bees.


10. How to manage the dairy and the culinary depart- ments.


11 How to use the saw, plane, chisel, and keep tools in good order.


12. The cost, description and practicability of the most modern machinery for each kind of farm work.


That the small high schools may be enabled financially to offer industrial courses, an attempt is being made to put a bill through the present legislature which will provide for state aid to those high schools which maintain " Courses in agri- culture, mechanic arts, or domestic science, approved as to equipment, instruction and expenditure by the State Board of Education." According to the provisions of the original draft of the bill, towns like Chelmsford would receive aid to the amount of one-half the cost of maintaining such courses.


But whether this bill becomes a law or not, it is almost certain that the term education will soon include within its scope not only the historical three " R's," but a great many subjects hitherto untouched by the schools.


CONCLUSION


The helpful suggestions made by those interested in the welfare of the schools, and the hearty support of those who are doing the work have been sincerely appreciated.


FREDERICK L. KENDALL,


Superintendent of Schools.


-


COURSE OF STUDY


ALL GRADES


Physiology and Hygiene .- Once a week during the winter term.


Nature Study .- Once a week during the fall and spring terms.


Drawing .- From sixty to eighty minutes a week.


Music .- From sixty to eighty minutes a week.


Morals -See Revised Laws, Chapter 42, Section 18.


Insist upon neatness, order and politeness at all times.


GRADE I


Reading .- Follow the instructions in the Ward Manual. The Ward Primer and other primers.


Writing .- The letters and short sentences from the black- board and from slips.


Language .-- Oral reproduction of stories read or told by the teacher. Short pieces memorized. Teach each pupil to write his name, the name of the town, etc. Spelling.


Arithmetic .- Counting and reading of numbers to one hundred. Writing of numbers to twenty. Teach incidentally.


GRADE II


Reading .- Follow the instructions in the Ward Manual. The Ward First Reader and other readers.


Writing .- Use copy books in this grade and in the follow- ing grades until the eighth.


Language -Oral and written reproductions. Dictation exercises. Memory selections copied and learned. The use of the period or question mark at the end of the sentence and of capitals at the beginning. Spelling.


121


Arithmetic. - Numbers to twelve for operations ; }/2, 1/3, 1/4 ; inch, foot, yard ; cent, nickel, dime ; pint, quart; + and -. Smith's Primary, Chapter I.


GRADE III


Reading. - See Course in Reading.


Language .- Frequent composition and dictation exercises. Give attention to abbreviations, punctuation, capitals, choice of words, forms of words, spelling. Continue memory work.


Arithmetic .- Numbers to one thousand for counting and for writing. The forty-five combinations; multiplication to ten times five; 1/2, 1/4, 18, 1/3, 16 ; ounce, pound ; pint, quart, gallon; quart, peck, bushel; making change to one dollar. Smith's Primary, Chapter II.


GRADE IV


Reading .- See Course in Reading.


Language. - Frequent composition or dictation exercises. Give attention to punctuation, capitals, spelling, modifying words, choice and forms of words, clearness and conciseness of expression. Continue memory work. Dunton and Kelley, Book I


Arithmetic .- Numbers to 10,000. Multiplication tables to and including tens ; multiplication by two order numbers, long division begun, simple work in fractions. Smith's Primary, Chapter III.




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