USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > Town annual report of Saugus 1937 > Part 26
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The other way is to erect a new and modern Senior High School building on another site. Such a building should in- clude a gymnasium, shops and an auditorium. It should be constructed with vision towards the future and not simply for the immediate needs of the present.
The present Senior High School building is very inade- quate particularly in the following respects :
(a) Study rooms.
(b) Laboratory facilities.
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(c) Library facilities.
(d) Ventilation and sanitation. :
(e) Artificial lighting.
(f) Auditorium facilities.
(g) Cafeteria space.
(h) Storage space.
(i) Locker facilities.
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SALARIES OF TEACHERS
I have recommended to the School Committee the fol- lowing in respect to the salaries of teachers :
(a) Restoration of the annual one hundred dollar sal- ary increment until the maximum salary is reached.
(b) The establishment of a salary schedule for the male teachers in the Senior High School.
(c) The raising of the present maximums in the grades, junior high schools and for the women teachers in the Senior High School.
Further salary raises beyond the maximum salary should be granted to those teachers who have professionally im- proved themselves to warrant such consideration.
I have talked so much relative to the low salaries paid our teachers that I am not going to repeat again everything said in my report of 1936.
RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) The maintenance of a staff of teachers in the Sen- ior High School to at all times insure a ratio of not more than thirty pupils to one full time teacher.
(2) Better classroom facilities for the children in the special classes.
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(3) A reduction in the size of classes to permit of bet- ter teaching.
(4) The equipping of the two upstairs rooms in the Old Roby School to relieve the overcrowded condition in the Roby School.
(5) More adequate salaries for teachers.
(6) Replacing of the present costly heating system in the Ballard School by a centralized heating system.
(7) An adequate schoolhouse repair appropriation.
(8) New housing facilities for the Senior High School.
(9) Completion of the basement area in the Sweetser School to furnish a recreation area during the winter months as well as a place for the eating of lunches by the pupils.
(10) Improvement of play areas particularly at the Sweetser, Emerson and Oaklandvale Schools.
(11) The appointment of a special teacher to relieve the elementary school principals thus giving them an oppor- tunity to more closely supervise the work of their teachers. This teacher to work on a schedule designed to enable her to equally relieve each principal during the school year.
(12) The inauguration in 1938 of a seven year pro- gram for the outside painting of schoolhouses-two build- ings to be repainted each year.
(13) The establishment of a Department of Guidance in charge of an educational officer, this department to also take over the duties now performed by the Attendance Of- ficer.
(14) The continuance of the plan already started of establishing libraries in the elementary schools.
(15) The introduction of vocational courses by one method or another for Senior High School students.
This list of recommendations could well be much longer but I have listed many of the most important.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
On January 5, 1933, the then President of the United. States, Herbert Hoover, said as follows:
"There is not safety for our public without the educa -- tion of our youth. That is the first charge upon all citizens and local governments."
I often wonder whether or not the education of our youth has always been the first charge in many Massachusetts com- munities.
Too many people simply look upon a school budget as a huge sum of money. They forget the vast services which result from educational expenditures. No one can honestly say that educational costs in Saugus are excessive. The truth is that they are exceedingly meagre. In fact they rank very low in comparision with other towns and cities in the Com- monwealth. Any citizen can check the facts for himself. The time is near at hand when Saugus must expend more money for her public school systems if she wants her children to have the educational opportunities offered the children of other communities. It is absurd to expect our children to enjoy equal opportunities with children of communities whose expenditures for education exceed $100.00 per pupil.
The School Committee, the Superintendent of Schools and all teachers welcome constructive criticism at any time. We are not interested in destructive criticism. The former seeks to build up-the latter to tear down. The former is beneficial-the latter is cheap and useless. We are not interested in political fortunes or in political figures but we are sincerely interested in the schools of our town. Three members of the School Committee and the Superintendent have children in our public schools. Naturally we are in- terested, as are all citizens, in the education they receive .. Our efforts have been and will be towards the continual building of the best possible school system.
Remember, however, that you are the people who vote. the school appropriation. We can give you just about what. you feel you can afford to pay for.
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A PEEP INTO THE FUTURE
I have an abiding faith that the Town of Saugus is go- ing to undergo a considerable growth between the period 1937-1947. Such a growth if it occurs means an increased' school population. This growth is almost certain to be in the western and northern sections of the town. Fortunately" we have at the present time an unused classroom in both the Oaklandvale and North Saugus Schools. A real develop- ment of home building in Oaklandvale, however, would shortly result in a pupil housing problem in that section of the town. At present there are double grades in each of the three classrooms being used in the Oaklandvale School. A perceptible pupil increase would mean the abolishing of the double grade system and the establishment of single grades in each room. Since there are only four classrooms in this building it would most certainly mean the erection of a new six room elementary school building replacing the present wooden structure. The only alternative would be: temporary and poor from an administrative viewpoint.
The North Saugus situation would not develop so acute -. ly or be so critical in my opinion.
Any sizeable home building development in the Saugus Centre section of the town would also present a serious pupil housing problem. Both the Roby and the Felton Schools are already harboring classes larger than we desire they should be. We still have, however, two rooms on the second floor of the Old Roby School which could be utilized if the building could be put into proper repair. Any sizeable de- velopment in real estate in the Columbus Avenue, Hesper Street and Unity Camp areas would most certainly create a serious housing problem in these two schools-especially in the Roby and Old Roby Schools.
The remodelling and the building of additions to the present Central Senior and Junior High School plant would have a direct effect on this latter pupil housing possibility. It would allow the present seventh grade in the Sweetser School to be housed in the Central Senior and Junior High School building. This would release five classrooms in the:
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Sweetser School which would allow of relieving two large grades in the Felton School as well as providing much better housing facilities for the opportunity classes.
An ideal elementary school condition would of course be to have no single grade comprise more than thirty pupils and no double grade more than twenty-five pupils. This ideal condition does not exist today and never will unless additional housing is provided.
It is well to think of the future for the future has a way of creeping up on us rather suddenly.
THANKS
(1) To the School Committee members for their tire- less energy and work without pay.
(2) To the principals and teachers in the system who have labored in the vineyard of educaton.
(3) To Chief John T. Stuart of the Police Department for his cooperation and interest.
(4) To Superintendent Ernest Merrithew of the Pub- lic Works Department for sincere cooperation at all times.
(5) To the members of the various Parent-Teacher As- sociations for their accomplishments during the year 1937.
(6) To Chief William R. Salsman, Jr.,of the Fire De- partment for his ever present cooperation.
(7) To everyone else who has really sincerely inter- ested himself in the cause of education.
(8) To the Trustees of the Public Library who have cooperated with the School Department in loaning books for students.
CONCLUSION
To those who believe in my work, my ability and my frankness I am deeply grateful. Their faith and their loyal assistance sheds a rare fragrance. I extend to them a sin- cere and true appreciation.
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To the boys and girls, big and little, who comprise our school population may I pledge renewed efforts to give to you the best in education that the town can afford to pay for.
Respectfully submitted,
VERNON W. EVANS, Superintendent of Schools.
January 6, 1938.
Mr. Vernon W. Evans, Superintendent of Schools,
Saugus, Mass.
Dear Sir :-
Herewith I submit my annual report as school physician for the year 1937.
Pupils in the Armitage, Cliftondale, Felton and Sweet- ser schools were examined and the following bad defects noted.
Decayed teeth 138 Pediculosis 9
Adenoid and Tonsils 78 Acne vulgaries 1
Deflected septum
2 Spinal curvature 2
Many of these can and should be corrected.
The sanitary conditions are good.
A condition did exist at the Sweetser School which has been corrected. The lunch counter was conducted in a class room in which classes were being held with no provision for ventilation or cleansing dishes with hot or cold running water. The lunches were eaten from the desks used by pupils during sessions. It was impossible to keep the floor clean. As con- ditions existed the room was not adapted for use as a class room or lunch counter.
Upon recommendation of the Board of Health the coun- ter was discontinued.
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In my opinion this is a very unfortunate condition and some solution should be worked out to provide space where nutritious hot lunches can be served at the Sweetser School under sanitary conditions.
Very respectfully,
LEROY C. FURBUSH, M. D.
December 22, 1937.
Mr. Vernon W. Evans, Superintendent of Schools, Saugus, Mass.
Dear Sir :-
At this time I wish to recapitulate my year's activity as school physician to the Oaklandvale, North Saugus, Roby and Junior High Schools.
Examination of the pupils in the aforesaid schools dis- closed the following defects.
Cervical glands 109 Nutritional disorders 2
Enlarged tonsils 229 Cardiac disease 1
Defective teeth 294 Spinal deformity 1
An epidemic of impetigo occurred at the Oaklandvale School. Sporadic cases were noted elsewhere.
The sanitary conditions have in the main been satisfac- tory.
I wish at this point to commend the various principals and the school nurse for their cooperation in expediting the examination of the children and for their alertness in detect- ing the communicable diseases in their early stages.
Very sincerely yours,
J. O. WARD, M. D.
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Mr. Vernon W. Evans, Superintendent of Schools, Saugus, Mass.
Dear Mr. Evans :
I herewith submit my annual report for the year 1937 :
On examination of the pupils in the Ballard, Emerson, Lynnhurst and Mansfield Schools the following defects were found :
Ballard
Enlarged tonsils
73 Poor posture (defective) 1
Cervical glands
4 Defective heart 2
Defective teeth
4
Emerson
Enlarged tonsils & glands 44
Poor nutrition 1
Defective teeth 2 Pediculosis 1
Defective posture
1
Lynnhurst
Enlarged tonsils
36 Defective teeth 2
Enlarged glands 8 Defective heart 1
Mansfield
Enlarged tonsils
16 Defective posture 1
Slightly enlarged tonsils
Defective spine 1
and glands
4 Defective feet 1
The very keen vigilance of the school nurse and the whole hearted cooperation of teachers and parents has been tremendously effective in reducing the number of cases of impetigo and scabies.
A second examination was made at the Ballard School after a case of scarlet fever had been reported. We are very thankful to our Public Health Nurse, as well as to the school nurse for their checking up on all cases of scarlet fever.
At the Mansfield school I would suggest that a drink-
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ing fountain be placed on the first floor. In all the other buildings conditions are satisfactory.
Respectfully submitted,
MARY M. PENNY, M. D.
Mr. Vernon W. Evans, Superintendent of Schools, Saugus, Mass.
Dear Sir :
I herewith submit my report as school physician for the year 1937.
Following are defects found in students of the Senior High School after examination.
Enlarged tonsils 81 Heart defect-severe 2
Slightly enlarged tonsils 62 Heart defect-moderate 1
Palpable cervical glands 20 Skin (severe) 1
Infected glands 4 Curvature spine 3
Hygienic conditions in general are about the same and the increased amount of infected tonsils seems our most ser- ious problem. However, I believe this to be a result of pres- ent economic conditions.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES A. CLARK, M. D.
Saugus, Mass., December 23, 1937.
Mr. Vernon W. Evans, Superintendent of Schools, Saugus, Mass.
Dear Mr. Evans :-
I herewith submit my annual report for the year 1937 as attendance officer of the Saugus public schools.
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The past year has been a busy one for me . I have had a large number of calls and have investigated them thor- oughly. The principal cause was lack of discipline and co- operation at home, a few were absent on account of not hav- ing proper clothing and shoes, which was remedied by get- ting in touch with the Parent-Teachers and other welfare or- ganizations.
I have had to bring a few parents into court, as repeated calls did not bring the desired results ; these for the most part are satisfactory at present.
With an enrollment of about thirty-five hundred (3500) pupils I think the attendance has been good.
Respectfully submitted, GEORGE I. HULL, Attendance Officer.
Mr. Vernon W. Evans, Superintendent of Schools, Saugus, Mass.
Dear Mr. Evans :-
I am herewith presenting my third annual report as prin- cipal of the Saugus High School.
School opened on September 8th with the largest en- rollment in Grades 9-12 in the history of the school-1020 pupils. To accomodate the increased enrollment of some over 100 pupils it was necessary to make use of one of the seventh grade rooms and the typewriting room as additional freshman home rooms. To do this it was necessary to redis- trict the town and send approximately 40 pupils to the Sweetser Junior High School. This large enrollment makes the building more crowded than ever.
For several years now it has been necessary to use the Assembly Hall every period in addition to the Study Hall to accomodate the study pupils. The Assembly Hall is a very poor place to accommodate study pupils. A large percentage
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of high school class preparation is written work but in the Assembly Hall there is absolutely no place to write. With the large enrollment this year there are as many as 300 pu- pils assigned to the Assembly Hall some periods under the supervision of one teacher. This is a very bad situation and is one that should be remedied as soon as possible.
Since school opened in September we have started the plan of having four lunch periods instead of three as we had last year. Two years ago we had only two. To do this it meant cutting down on the length of the period. This is not ideal by any means but it has relieved the congestion in the cafeteria. We have noticed an increase in the number of sales since this plan was put into operation.
Mrs. Hammond has been in charge of the Saugus High 'School cafeteria for a number of years now. We feel that we are very fortunate in having a person of her ability to manage it. It was possible this fall to have a woman to as- sist her in preparing and serving the food. It has also been possible to give her student helpers every period throughout the school day. I wish that it were possible for more girls to receive this training.
The Student Council was organized a year ago under the direction of Mr. Davis. The Study Hall has three represen- tatives in the council and the other home rooms one each. Mr. Davis has been proceeding slowly with the work of the council but it has shown its usefulness on several occasions. 'The council has sponsored two very successful "College Days" during the Christmas vacations. Talks on various phases of college life were given by alumni who are now at- tending higher institutions of learning.
The Senior High Girls' Club was organized as you may recall during the fall of 1936. This past year has been one of progress in this organization under the direction of Miss Hayward and Miss Motherwell. Meetings have been held on the second Tuesday of each month throughout the school year. Programs of various kinds have been given at these meetings, some by outsiders, others by club members Last
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spring a reception was held for the girls in the incoming class. This fall the senior members of the club held a tea for their mothers in the Community House. The girls sold refresh- ments at the home football games this past fall to earn money for their treasury. The Wednesday before Christmas the Girls' Club held their first annual semi-formal dance. This affair proved to be one of the best social events that has been held during the past two and a half years. Any girl is eligible for membership who was in the high school at the founding of the club, and any girl upon her entrance becomes a mem- ber having subscribed to the club code, and having signifled her willngness to work for the best interest of the club.
This past fall a Junior High Girls' Club was formed un- der the direction of Miss Borys and Miss Priest. This club has held several very interesting meetings since its organiza- tion. Many of the activities of the club will take place out of school time in the form of hikes, skating and skiing parties, and historical trips.
This past September Mr. Davis succeeded Miss Mother- well as faculty advisor of the school paper-the Focus. The staff has been enlarged as well as the paper and is now com- posed of an Editor-in-chief, two Associate Editors, an Art Editor, a Busness Manager, four Circulation Managers, four Class Reporters, a Movie Editor, a Sports Editor, a Contest Editor, and an Exchange Editor. The paper is mimeo- graphed and assembled by the members of the Sahico Club. The Focus without doubt has become one of the best school papers in this district.
Just recently Miss Goss organized a glee club in the Senior High School. Already this club has become very pop- ular. Tryouts were held for several weeks in order to de- termine who should be members as only a limited number can be accomodated. Each class has representatives but the senior class has the largest number. The group meets once a week on Thursdays. Plans have already been made to stage an operetta this spring. Plans also have been made to have this group sing at graduation.
The Sahico Club-a club for Senior girls taking the commercial course-is still very active in the school. This
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club is the oldest one in the school, and is very ably directed by Miss Marison, head of the Commercial Department. The girls in this club learn by doing. For example, they learn how to apply for a position by actually doing it at a club meeting.
The school band made its first public appearance in "full dress" at the Marblehead football game in September. In May the band conducted a campaign for funds to pur- chase uniforms. Mr. George McCarrier, chairman of the School Board, headed the committee that had charge of this affair. His leadership together with Mr. Hammond's and the boys' fine cooperation made this campaign a great finan- cial success. Mr. Hammond, as you know, was appointed last year to organize the band. He has proved to be extreme- ly conscientious in the performance of his duties. He and the boys met to practice one day a week throughout the summer in order to have the band ready for the opening game. The band has played at all the football games this fall in- cluding the game played at Plymouth on the Saturday be- fore Thanksgiving. It is the consensus of opinion among band leaders that Saugus has one of the best first year bands in the state.
Our athletic teams have done well during the year 1937, especially the football team. Seven wins, a tie, and two de- feats is Mr. Harvey's record for his first year as coach of Saugus High School football. The boys played a stellar brand of football all season but the win over Marblehead, the first in the history of Saugus High School football, and the win over Gloucester were the highlights of the season. Mr. Har- vey deserves a lot of credit. This past season proved very conclusively that Saugus is a football town.
The Saugus High School Athletic Council is composed as follows: The chairman of the School Board, the Superin- tendent of Schools, the Principal of the High School, the two athletic coaches, the faculty manager, and the faculty treas- urer. At a recent meeting of this council it was voted to award letters in the future in the three school sports as fol- lows: Football-participation in four games and completion of the season; basketball -participation in six games and completion of the season; baseball-participation in eight
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games and completion of the season. At this same meeting it was voted to drop out of the Northeastern Conference at the end of the present school year. In the opinion of the writer this was a wise action for this conference is controlled by one or two coaches and the majority of principals whose schools are members of the league have little or no interest in athletics and consequently very seldom attend any of the meetings. To be a strong organization it should be con- trolled by the principals.
It is the opinion of the writer that the Athletic Council should hold regular monthly meetings during the football season and bi-monthly meetings during the rest of the school year. In so doing many of the problems that frequently arise could be handled much better than they are at present. The policy of having the principal approve all athletic purchases should be continued. Also the policy of having him approve all athletic schedules should be continued. The duties of the faculty manager and the faculty treasurer should be very carefully defined and their salaries should be commensurate with what is expected of them.
Some of the athletic needs are here given:
1. Adequate space in the school building for keeping equipment.
2. More locker space. At present two or three boys must must necessarily use the same locker.
3. More showers are needed. At present there are only four showers for a football squad of 40 or 50 boys.
4. We shall need the following football equipment be- fore another season : New practice pants, new hip pads, new shoulder pads, a complete set of game helmets, two dozen practice jerseys and new shoes.
5. We shall need the following baseball equipment for this spring : New game uniforms.
6. At present we are in need of sweat-suits for the basketball squad.
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It is also the opinion of the writer that we should reor- ganize the school athletic program somewhat along the fol- lowing lines :
1. Organize football, basketball and baseball for the boys in Grades 7-9 under one coach.
2. Limit athletics for boys in the Senior High School to Grades 10-12.
Football should be under one coach and an assistant.
Basketball should be under one coach.
Baseball should be under one coach.
Introduce track athletics under one coach.
3. Introduce girls' athletics in Grades 10-12.
Field hockey and basketball are two sports that they might engage in.
The principal expects the heads of departments to visit the teachers in their departments at least once every marking period. He also expects the heads of departments to hold at least one department meeting a month.
During the school year 1937-1938 the teachers in the school have been working under the direction of the heads of departments in preparing Courses of Study in the several subjects taught in the school.
The curriculum advisers for the past year were:
College Preparatory Curriculum-Miss Lavin.
Scientific Curriculum-Mr. Watson.
Commercial Curriculum-Miss Marison.
Social Arts Curriculum-
Class of 1941-Mr. Davis. Class of 1940-Mr. Taylor. Class of 1939-Mr. Haley. Class of 1938-Miss Towle.
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These teachers did splendid work in helping pupils when they made out their Elective-Guidance cards last May.
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