USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Ipswich > Town annual report of Ipswich 1939 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
27
WATER DEPARTMENT
water supply both for domestic uses and for fire hydrant pur- poses. This was especially valuable at the time for the reason that we had been through a very long drought and most of the wells in that area were dry.
As noted from all reports in the records and newspapers last summer we had the least rainfall in this section of the State for the last fifteen years and yet at no time was the Town of Ips- wich concerned about a water shortage. For this we believe all should be thankful.
JAMES E. COLE, JR., Chairman. WALTER J. BROWN, Clerk.
CHARLES A. MALLARD, Manager. Water and Electric Light Commission.
TOWN OF IPSWICH
Annual Report
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
MA
34
THE BIAI MPLACE of AMERICAN
FOR THE YEAR 1939
STANLEY A. HULL PRINTING CO.
2
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
BESSIE F. DAWSON
Term Expires 1940
WILLIAM F. HAYES
HERMAN KYES 1940
1940
(Appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of Frank W. Kyes) EARL EWING 1941
DR. FREDERICK WILDER 1942
PAUL RAUPACH 1942
WILLIAM F. HAYES Chairman
FRANK L. COLLINS, M.D.
School Physician
MURIEL E. RILEY, R.N. School Nurse
GEORGE W. TOZER Attendance Officer
SUB-COMMITTEES OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Playground Dr. Wilder
Athletics
Mr. Ewing and Mr. Raupach
Finance Miss Dawson and Mr. Ewing
Teachers and Textbooks Miss Dawson and Mr. Kyes Supplies Miss Dawson and Mr. Kyes
Buildings and Grounds Dr. Wilder and Mr. Raupach
Transportation Mr. Raupach and Dr. Wilder
Insurance
Mr. Ewing and Mr. Kyes
The Chairman of the School Committee is ex-officio a member of all sub-committees.
HARRY S. MERSON
Superintendent and Purchasing Agent
GEORGE W. TOZER Clerk OFFICE Manning School Building
OFFICE HOURS School Days from 3.30 to 5.00
IN MEMORIAM
DR. FRANK W. KYES School Committeeman 1932 - 1939 Died March 6, 1939
He was a man who looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to pinciples inherent in larger issues; and he exerted his influence and his best talents to promote the welfare of the schools of Ipswich. By his death the School Board, on which he served without ostentation over a period of years, has lost a valuable member.
5
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Citizens of Ipswich :
Your School Committee has the honor of submitting the following, its Annual Report.
While your School Committee is charged with the education of all children within the boundaries of the Town, it is, by everybody, now recognized that the daily routine, continuity and co-ordination of studies is directly under the administration of the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent will submit to you a report of the academic pursuits of the schools. Therefore the School Committee will confine itself to a brief resume of the financial and material aspects of the school system.
The School Committee, during the past year, has ef- fected some changes in the personnel of the teaching staff. Most notable of the changes was that of Superin- tendent occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Love, our former Superintendent, and the appointment of Mr. Harry Merson, a life long resident of Ipswich and formerly of the English Department in the Ipswich High School, as Superintendent of Schools. Your Committee felt that Mr. Merson's continued residence in Ipswich and past teaching experience in our local schools, coupled with his extra curricula studies at Harvard University well fitted him to cope with such school problems as might be pe- culiar to Ipswich. The confidence of the School Com- mittee in Mr. Merson's ability to administer the School System of Ipswich is, according to all reports to the vari- ous members of your Committee, well merited.
6
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
We were obliged during the past year to diminish the teaching staff by one. In 1938 a teacher was shifted from the so-called "Grade Schools" to the High School. This action is the result of the decrease in the number of pupils in the lower grades and the heavy load in the High School. This is a situation that may completely change the complexion of our School System in the next few years. During approximately the last ten years the num- ber of pupils entering the first grade has been diminish- ing, while, during the same period, the number of pupils attending the Ipswich High School has been in- creasing. This causes the number of pupils in the High School to be out of proportion with that of the Grade Schools.
The School Department contracts on transportation expired during the year and it was necessary to request new bids from those wishing to transport pupils. The sub-committee of the School Committee made a thorough study of this problem, and by making a revision of the routes and a careful analysis of the problem, the Commit- tee was able to make a substantial saving to the taxpay- ers. The money saved on transportation and the diminu- tion of the teaching staff was used after a consultation with the Town Finance Committee in making very neces- sary repairs on the school property.
The school buildings are in a real need of major repairs. These repairs should be made at the present, otherwise the expense at some future date will be great. During the Depression the School Committee has made only emergency repairs and the general upkeep was rath- er neglected. This was done to keep expenditures as low as possible. However a further postponement of these repairs may result in the obligation to make large replacements at a future date. In this connection, we wish to report that the local co-ordinator of the W. P. A. has been most helpful with assistance and we have his
7
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
assurance that he will continue to obtain such projects from Federal Authorities as their rules will permit. We are very grateful for this assistance. This co-operation should be appreciated by the taxpayers as it relieves them from the cost of these necessaries. We are also ap- preciative of the assistance which has been given by the Town Welfare Department as a great deal of labor has been furnished by this Department, in the upkeep and maintenance of the School Property.
The Committee is at the present time making ar- rangements to place all school insurance upon a sched- ule. We hope to notify the voters at Town Meeting that this has been done. By scheduling our insurance, we are able to secure a lower rate on school property, particu- larly on the contents of the various schools. Heretofore no exhaustive study has been made of the insurance in the schools. We have found, however, in certain instances we were over-insured and in others under-insured. A report by competent insurance engineers has caused us to rearrange our insurance and properly distribute it.
Another feature of our insurance program will be that in the future our insurance costs should be prac- tically the same each year instead of fluctuating as it has in the past.
The financial responsibility of the School Commit- tee. in handling the largest single department budget in the town is a duty of which we are fully conscious. How- ever, we feel that this budget is none too large. The American people from the earliest days of history wil- lingly submitted themselves to a vast and costly educa- tional program and then went further and passed laws forcing children between certain ages to take advantage by compulsion of the schools made public. Our present State Laws compel us to teach certain subjects in our schools. In order to fulfill the obligations imposed upon the Town and carry out the mandate of State Laws, we
8
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
have attempted to arrange our educational policy to the same standards set by other schools and at the same time curtail our costs wherever possible. However, the com- mittee wishes to call attention to the voters that a further curtailment at this time in the expense of education may seriously impair the standard of the Ipswich Schools.
Respectfully submitted, IPSWICH SCHOOL COMMITTEE, William F. Hayes, Chairman.
Comparative Statement of School Department Expenditure. Years 1930-1939 inclusive.
General Expense
$
1930 5,301.62 $ 69,174.55
1931 4,961.99 $ 69,907.84
1933 5.068.20 $ 5,058.03 $ 70,486.13
1934 4,951.03 $ 68,022.54
1935 6,035.10 $ 66,782.28
1936 5.815.19 65.540.27
1937 6,905.62 67,960.18
1938 5.242.99 68.635.44
$
1939 5,155. ,0 67,399.01
Americanization Classes
274.00
238.00
232.00 3,919.65
236.00 4,661.41
296.00 5.895.90
264.30 4,054.04
3,317.42
3,716.7.)
Libraries
79.79
269.00
96.97
Tuition
1,562.20
1,501.61
1,518.46
978.72
1.054.42
1,419.47
809.21
384.80
831.86
516.83
Transportation
6,116.50
7,689.31
9,527.34
9,192.00
9.007.7 .
8,966.33
3,166.01
7,874.50
8,075. (.)
7,587.11
Janitor Service
4,296.40
4,465.99
4,510.60
4,452.19
4,522.60
4,491.00
4,738.85
6,778.40
6,796.00
6,796 00
Fuel and Light
3,146.66
3,777.41
1,584.94
2,987.49
3,105.57
4,597.91
5,360.94
4,885.61
5,460.20
5,644.7'
Bldgs. and Grounds
4,103.67
4,471.09
1.764.98
4,048.22
4,772.67
1,901.62
3,467.94
4,809.50
3.048.12
3,065.74
Furniture and Fur.
597.77
202.03
75.95
27.40
192.15
92.20
1,728.91
1,225.12
644.84
626.35
Diplomas and Grad.
162.25
. 117.45
119.45
112.94
114.97
120.50
143.17
155.41
71 36
121.08
Insurance
1,721.04
1,954.87
795.50
888.05
986.03
1,100.02
1,646.59
1,993.13
279.70
1,697.14
Athletics
693.55
714.67
556.99
533.14
188.91
Fire Alarm
983.81
Health
1,696.34
1,622.65
Total Expend.
$104,928.26 $108,176.02 $100 3 :5.45 $100,899.14 $102.084.12 $100.500.45 $103.882.65 $107,958.50
Receipts :
Mass. Inc. Tax
9,580.00
9.410.00
9 570.00
16,695.00
17,858.30
14,920.00
14,663.20
14,720.00
14.950.00
12,500.00
Mass. Income Tax Rebate
11,605.00
Tuition-Hamilton
112.50
Tuition - Rowley
4,411.50
3.719.00
3.755.00
4,236.47
2,163.25
3,837.75
3,298.00
3,383.00
4.633.00
4.046.00
Mass. Voca. Edu.
598.79
920.71
629.57
652.85
736.89
306.92
491.88
423.50
284.25
137.05
Feoffees
1,500.00
1,500.00
1,500.00
1.250.00
Manning
500.00
500.00
500.00
250.00
Manual Training
141.77
1,541.25
Salem Music
Women's Club
5.75
Miscellaneous
0
127.56
134.00
965.97
Refund
8.68
36.10
2.00
Mass. Amer. Classes
121.00
110.00
90.00
128.00
99.00
159.00
127.59
Boiler Sale
50.00
Tuition-State Wards
265.03
Total Receipts
$14,590.29
$14,177.27
$14,088.57
$33,310.32
$20,868.44
$20,120.64
$20.787.28
$22,315.35
$22,114.16
$18,575.58
Unexpended Bal.
108.23
14.72
$22,207.12
$22,128.88
Net Cost
$90,337.97
$93,998.75
$86.206.88
$67,588.82
$81.215.68
$80,379.81
$83.095.37
$35,751.38
$82.265.09
$85,880.38
Number of Pupils Enrolled
1,510
1,504
1.507.
1,425
1.409
1,400
1,326
1,267.00
* 1.240.00
1,237 00
Pupil enrolled
59.82
62.50
57.27
47.43
57.64
57.41
62.66
67.68
66 34
69.42
'Enrollment as of Oct. 1, 1939.
1932
Teachers Salaries
0 7,992.05
8,137.76
252.00 4,134.91
3,391.88
190.20
342.7
Text Bks. & Sup.
$
$
368.29
375.14
163.14
Supp't of Truants
76.00
96.91
194.28
$104.362.53
$104.455 95
85.91
Burley Insurance
Net Cost per
68,915.03
10
IPSWICH GROSS AND NET COST 1930 - 1939
Year
Total Cost
Pupils Enrolled 1501
Gross Cost Per Pupil $62.69
Net Cost $81,564.90
Net Cost Per Pupil $54.34
Pupil Cost * for State $134.88
1926
96,490.24
1521
63.44
83,239.40
54.73
110.40
1927
97,073.93
1570
61.83
83,851.90
53.41
114.26
1928
93,335.29
1544
60.45
79,615.79
51.56
114.05
1929
97,777.94
1516
64.49
83,534.80
55.10
112.08
1930
104,928.26
1510
69.48
87,735.36
58.10
117.44
1931
108,176.02
1504
71.92
94,289.89
62.50
117.37
1932
100,395.45
1507
66.62
86,306.88
57.27
112.44
1933
100,899.14
1425
70.81
67,588.82
47.43
97.86
1934
102,084.12
1409
72.45
81,215.68
57.64
92.51
1935
100,500.45
1400
71.99
80,379.81
57.41
93.74
1936
103,882.65
1326
78.34
83,095.37
62.66
96.41
1937
107,958.50
1267
85.21
85,751.38
67.68
108.41
1938
104,362.53
1248*
83.62
82,265.09
65.91
104.68
1939
104,455.96
1237
84.44
85,880.38
69.42
107.62
1925
$ 94,102.47
The State report of 1939 gives comparative statistics for 35 1 cities and towns in the Commo
monwealth. Of these, 122 are communities with a population of 5,000 or more. . In the listing, Ipswich is credited with $5,709 worth of valuation for each pupil in the Public Schools in 1939. In this respect the town ranked 222nd among the 351 communities.
In expenditure for school support per $1,000 of valuation, Ipswich ranked 108th. In per capita expenditure of local taxes for support of schools, Ipswich ranked 227th. In total per capita expenditure Ipswich ranked 270th.
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
11
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
To the School Committee of the Town of Ipswich :
In the five months that have elapsed since I assumed the office of Superintendent of Schools in Ipswich I have had time to do little more than carry on the ordinary ad- ministrative work of the office; familiarize myself with the classroom objectives of the various teachers; survey our educational equipment; and on the basis of this information, formulate plans in long range, some meas- ures of which could be inaugurated with the acceptance of our 1940 budget. The co-operation which I have re- ceived from teachers, principals, and members of the School Committee has been a source of real inspiration to me.
We have learned as classroom teachers that partici- pation in activities brings growth and interest to pupils. We are convinced that the same principle applies to teachers. When the teachers participate in the formu- lation of plans and in curriculum making ; when they have freedom to offer up their own ideas; when they under- stand the problems to be met and subscribe to the method of meeting them - then, we feel, the administration will be doing its part to create an atmosphere which will lend itself to maximum teacher and pupil development.
In this spirit we have held a dozen or more sectional meetings to discuss a variety of problems which we face in our educational scheme today. Out of these meet- ings have come many suggestions and tentative plans. We cannot report that we have settled a great many
12
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
educational issues. For that, however, we are not sorry, for we have learned that settled issues are dead issues. Nevertheless, we have managed to open up certain ques- tions on which we shall keep our minds focused during the year and to which we hope collectively to offer some constructive solutions.
COURSES OF STUDY
One of our major difficulties is that of establishing a certain uniformity in the work presented in the various primary and elementary grades in our schools. In meet- ing the difficulty we are challenged with the problem of developing a course of studies, flexible enough to allow for enormous individual differences in both pupils and teachers and yet specific in its statement of general ob- jectives and in its definition of minimum essentials to be acquired. The solution of the problem is of necessity a co-operative enterprise. It cannot be arbitrarily super- imposed on a school system. It must have its roots in the traditions of the community in which it grows. and its limitations are those of the personnel of the school system and of the educational equipment in the community.
READING PROGRAM
Academically our most important single innovation during the past four months has been the introduction of a graded, basal reading system in all the first three grades of our schools. This innovation is by way of at- tacking our most comprehensive task - that of teaching reading. This task, especially in the primary grades, is a highly technical one, the intricacies of which we have no space to discuss here. Suffice to say that we must do more than teach merely the mechanical ability to make sounds at the sight of the printed word. We must first create a desire for knowledge, a curiosity about lands
13
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
that lie beyond distant intellectual horizons. Having ac- complished this end, we must teach, among other things, how to use books to satisfy this curiosity.
Obviously our effort should be directed toward pro- viding in all our schools visual and auditory stimuli to assist in this motivation, and to supplying a sufficient quantity of texts and reference books to which the child can be directed in his learning. In this process we must avoid the danger of forcing the child into learning situa- tions for which he is not psychologically or physically prepared, and thus build up in him a sense of inferiority that comes with failure. To avoid this danger we must be supplied with objective testing devices which will assist us in ascertaining the stage of development to which each child has arrived. When our analysis has been made and checked with the teacher's estimate, there must be provided many books - not one or two - scientifi- cally graded to the level of each child's progress.
That in essence is our "reading system." Of itself, it is no panacea; but applied as it will be by a group of excellent primary teachers of long experience, it should return to us substantial educational dividends. It is, however, but a beginning ; it must ultimately be extended into the upper grades.
Besides adding this reading equipment, we have worked out together tentative minimum essentials in language in all the elementary schools. On the basis of our common exploratory experience with them we hope later to standardize and revise them according to our needs.
A similar list of minimum essentials, based upon re- searches that have been tested in classrooms, is being formulated in number work.
Another group of teachers has examined our pro- gram of social studies throughout the grades. In this
14
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
field we have discovered a considerable duplication of materials and of point of view in successive grades. We have set as one of our objectives the elimination of this repetition so that the materials presented in each year, while they are related with those of the previous year, will have for the pupil the freshness and vitality that comes of seeing old materials as if for the first time. One of the criteria by which we shall choose our new material in this field will be the extent to which it can be corre- lated and integrated with our reading program.
In preparing this program, we have been required to canvass our textbook and library deficiencies in all our schools, tabulating in the order of their importance fields in which we could find opportunities for improvement. With this information we have worked out a program, some measures of which have been discussed before the School Committee, whereby we may, within what would appear to be the limits of our budget, gradually replace our out-moded material and introduce new equipment where it is now lacking.
However far we are allowed to progress in this mat- ter, our work has already had one salutary effect. It has given each of us who has participated the opportunity to discover what precisely are the objectives in schools other than those in which we teach. Only when each of us has this understanding can we hope to promote a school program graded in difficulty and in maturity to the capability of the child. To gain this end our best efforts shall be directed during the ensuing year.
TESTING PROGRAM
Of our success in these matters we shall report in more detail later; for we expect, during the third quar- ter, to institute a rather comprehensive testing program in the second through the ninth grades. The program
15
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
will be divided into two parts. A general ability test that has been standardized against the achievements of 50,000 children in all parts of the country will be first administered to each child in our schools. This test will be followed by a similarly standardized achievement test in all the academic fields. The composite result of these tests will provide us with an objective means of evaluat- ing our curriculum and our teaching techniques.
Of even greater value to us - especially if the tests are administered annually - is the objective data which they supply concerning the progress of each child. This data, together with the information derived from physical check-ups, the audiometer and visual tests, and the sub- jective ratings of the classroom teachers, will give us a very complete picture of the child's abilities and of the physical and emotional handicaps which might prevent him from developing his talents. The composite picture will be valuable, not only to the classroom teacher but also to the supervising elementary principals in their work of providing "opportunity instruction" for retarded children.
Some years ago information derived from such a program would have been superfluous to the teacher. Classes in the elementary school were so large that educa- tion necessarily consisted of dishing out doses of subject matter which could be consumed by the average pupil. With notable exceptions the dull became discouraged ; the brilliant, bored; and those who suffered from emo- tional or physical handicaps (and who doesn't ?) worked out their own compensations or fell by the wayside. If the teacher had time to minister to the needs of any one of 45 or more clamoring individuals that made up a class, it was miraculous.
Today our classes in the elementary schools average about 30 pupils. Because of this condition teachers can
16
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
base their instruction on the civilized premise that their task is to teach not merely subject matter, but human beings. To assist in this task, supervisory officers are present in each of the schools. They see the child as he enters school; watch him grow from one year to another ; interpret to the classroom teacher and to the parents of a child the adjustments he has made and the difficulties he is likely to encounter; create educative activities for the retarded and advanced pupils ; mold a school with a single philosophy out of a group of separate classrooms ; and attempt to insure for each child a program for his continuous growth over a period of years.
THE HIGH SCHOOL
In order to evaluate fairly the policy of the High School during recent years, it is necessary to make passing men- tion of at least one social condition that has influenced it. The 1930 Census indicated that 41% of all employable youth in the nation have failed to find employment. This fact has been emphasized through recent surveys in many parts of the country. What is true of the youth of the country at large, has been doubtless true of the youth in Ipswich. Their failure to find productive outlets for their energies, has tended to breed in them disillusion- ment and a sense of inferiority.
To find some constructive remedy for this condition is the manifest duty of every one of our social agencies, of which there is a notable dearth in Ipswich. Much of the responsibility, however, has naturally developed upon the high school; for into it have gravitated large numbers of these young people, a few because of legal compulsion, but most of them because of a sincere desire to prepare themselves for jobs which they would other- wise be denied. Thus over a period of years when the total school enrollment dropped 30%, the enrollment of the high school doubled.
17
IPSWICH SCHOOL REPORT
To meet this new challenge the high school has ex- panded its offerings and liberalized its curriculum. It still insists upon proficiency in certain subjects. It places a high premium upon the pupil's ability to make social adjustments and to accept social responsibilities. It at- tempts to insti) standards of taste and conduct and cri- teria of good workmanship. It expects each student, as he approaches graduation, more and more to take indi- vidual responsibility for the decisions that come with maturity. With these broad objectives the activities of the high school, academic and otherwise, have for some time been organized; and to the school administration, the value of any course - of any recreational activity - is proportionate to the influence it exerts toward these ends.
The school frankly makes no invidious distinctions between the activities which it offers. Each is carefully designed to develop in the youth his latent abilities and interests. In fairness to the student, the school does ad- vise anyone even contemplating attending an institution beyond the high school level to take the College Course. In this respect the school merely repeats the demands of the colleges. Furthermore, the high school, justifiably proud of its record of maintaining over a num- ber of years its Class "A" rating and the privilege of certifying its pupils without examination to any college in the country, demands that each pupil maintain a "B" average if he is to have any guarantee of admission into college. Experience has shown that without such a record the student has little chance of academic success.
To say this, however, is not in the smallest measure to detract from the value of the Commercial, Domestic Arts, and Manual Arts courses, in which more than 75% of the students are enrolled. Though the objectives in this work are necessarily different from those of the col- lege course, the standard of achievement required of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.