USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > Town annual report of Saugus 1949 > Part 3
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The best way is to offer them salaries above present maxi- mums upon proof of such accomplishments &s:
8 The receiving of additional degrees.
b) The completion of courses in education.
Travel (national and foreign) .
Research work in the field of education.
Outstanding actual accomplishment.
Perhaps the establishment of such supermaximum salaries can- not be realized immediately. As State-aid to local education becomes greater, however, and as Federal Aid to local education becomes a reality, our School Commitee should ever have this goal in mind.
Reduction in Class Size
Educational experts throughout the country agree that twen- ty-five pupils should be the maximum teacher load per classroom for most effective teaching.
I do not disagree with their conclusion but I do believe
that. all things considered, a maximum teacher load of thirty
pupils per classroom would be satisfactory. Two of the reasons for my conclusion are as follows:
(a) The Town does not have unlimited finances. ) We do have a very high percentage of excellent strong teachers.
Our present situation is not good. In our elementary school system we have very few classes with as low as thirty pupils. Many are forty or over even in classrooms housing double grades. This is again a situation which is not peculiar to Saugus alone. The same condition exists in many other Massachusetts communities. In whatever community, it is caused by the fact that most communities have failed to provide their school sys- tems with adequate school housing facilities.
The question of a reduction in the size of classes is impor- tant and should not be lightly brushed aside as it is being done by some of our local political luminaries.
It may be impossible of realization at the moment but it should be corrected as fast as possible in the interest of bet- ter teaching for our children.
Seating Unit Replacement
Many of our pupil desk and chair seating units are of ex- tremely ancient vintage. We have initiated a yearly program of replacement. Funds should be continually appropriated each year in order that this important project can be carried through to completion.
Special Class Quarters
Through necessity, not desire, our Special Class for mental-
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ly retarded children is housed in a basement room in the Sweet- ser School. The room is unfit for classroom use and especially unfit for Special Class use.
These children, handicapped through no fault of their own, should have excellent room accomodations since handwork is taught, as well as academic subjects. Their present quarters are shabby and totally unsuited to the needs of these children. In whatever new school building the Town plans to build, consideration for these children should not be lost sight of.
These pupils have an excellent teacher with special training for this type of teaching. They deserve decent school housing.
School Housing
This subject of School Housing is indeed important. We need many things in our school system which I have enumerated year after year. However, to have a place to house your pupils is of paramount importance.
As stated before, successive School Committees have believed that a new Senior High School Building is the initial core of the whole problem of school housing. Twice, in recent years, the School Committee has asked the Town Meeting to authorize the construction of such a building. Each time the worthy project has been defeated.
One thing is certain. Sooner or later this building has got to be constructed. It can be postponed year after year but ul- timately it must be constructed. Each year its construction is postponed is another year that our youth of high school age are denied a broad program of secondary education.
Had this new High School Building been previously construct- ed there would be no serious school housing shortage at the mo- ment. The present Central Junior High School Building plus six rooms of the Sweetser Junior High School Building would today be housing our elementary school children.
You never solve a problem by postponing it. In most commun- ities citizens have been willing to tax themselves willingly when housing facilities for their children are a necessity.
In my 1948 report to the School Committee and citizens of the Town, I cited sanely and clearly the urgent need of addi- tional school housing. My report was printed in the annual Town Report which unfortunately was not made available to the citi- zens until approximately September 1, 1949.
So I repeat again:
One of the most pressing of the serious needs of our Town is the urgent necessity of additional school housing facilities for our school children. Although the members of the School Commit- tee and I have repeatedly pointed out this fact, not much of anything tangible has yet been done by the Town towards the solving of this problem at least at the time this report is written.
It is very evident that Saugus is face to face with an acute shortage of school housing facilities.
The Town constructed its last school building in 1933, six- teen years ago. In spite of repeated warnings nothing has been done since. Now the problem of where to house our school chil- dren is upon us.
During the next ten or twelve years it appears almost cer- tain that the school population of Saugus will very nearly dou- ble from the enrollment of January 1, 1949. That enrollment was about 2,971. By the school year 1959-1960 it could be between 5,000 and 6,000.
Two factors are slowly but surely working to cause this tre- mendous increase in our school population.
(a) An unprecedented increase in the birth rate of the Town since the year 1937.
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(b) An equally unusual growth in home building in the Town which, it is predicted, will continue for the next ten years.
Let us examine figures and see what has happened to the birth rate in Saugus during the past twenty years. The follow- ing table shows the birth rate by years from 1928 to 1948 inclu- sive.
Year
Births
Year
Births
1929
264
1939
205
1930
276
1940
233
1931
256
1941
275
1932
237
1942
317
1933
225
1943
327
1934
226
1944
294
1935
221
1945
323
1936
216
1946
352
1937
203
1947
396
1938
232
1948
354
From even a casual examination of these figures it is readi- ly apparent that our Town faces a very large increase in school enrollment.
In the year 1937 there were exactly 203 births in the Town of Saugus. Ten years later, in 1947, there were exactly 396
births in the Town of Saugus. This is an increase of almost 100% in approximately ten years.
Our present first grade enrollment (school year 1949-1950) is approximately 380. Our present second grade enrollment is approximately 370. In past years our ordinary first and second grade enrollments would range between 225 and 275 children in each grade.
During the next ten years our entering first grades will doubtless range from 370 to 400 children. Personally I believe that some will be well over 400, perhaps as high as 440. And it must always be remembered that these first grade children pro- ceed grade by grade through our school system at least until they are sixteen years old.
The above explanations should convince most anyone of the obvious effect that the increased birth rate will have on our school population.
The second factor, which is going to cause our school popu- lation to soar upwards, is the tremendous growth of new home construction in our Town. I am not going to bore the readers of this report with detailed figures. Suffice it is to say, however, that for the past two years building permits valuing between $1,000,000 and $1,500, 000 have been issued each year.
The families living in these homes are going to have children and it is the duty of the Town to provide facilities to educate these children.
Because the constant warnings of the school authorities have gone
unheeded, we are now facing a serious situation in respect to school housing facilities. w℮ Already have overcrowded
grades in most of our elementary school buildings. This situa- tion will get progressively worse during the coming ten year period unless a building program is authorized and carried out very soon. If such is not done, conditions in our elementary schools will become intolerable. The children of Saugus are the ones who will pay the penalty for the short-sightedness of their elders.
Let us examine briefly our elementary school pupil seating capacity as of today. I am figuring this seating capacity on the basis of thirty-five pupils to a room which is five more pupils per room than I believe desirable.
Below listed are the schools housing elementary school pu- pils with the seating capacity of each building based on a maxi-
29
mum of thirty-five pupils to a room.
Ballard School
280
Emerson School
140
Felton School 210
Sweetser School (two rooms only)
70
Cliftondale School
140
Armitage School
210
Oaklandvale School
140
North Saugus School
140
Lynnhurst School
105
280
Roby School Centre School 123
The above school buildings, as now constituted, thus afford us a maximum proper seating capacity for 1,938 elementary school pupils. Actually this figure is far too high since it is predi- cated on perfect elementary school pupil distribution through
the various areas of the Town. Such perfect pupil distribution. of course, never happens. It is also high since it is figured on a basis of thirty-'five pupils to a room rather than thirty pupils to a room which is more desirable.
A rather cautious and careful estimate places our probable
elementary school enrollment at somewhere between 2,200 and 2, 400 pupils perhaps as early as the school year 1952-1953.
Now by a very simple process of arithmetic we know that 2,000 to 2,400 children cannot be accomodated in from 1,700 to 1,800 seats. In short --- either the Town builds additional school hous-
ing facilities or we adopt, of necessity, the ugly two session system or other subterfuges, all of which are dangerous and deadly to the cause of sound education.
A similar situation will eventually come to pass in relation to our Senior High School
enrollment. This will be much slower
coming, however, since it will take some time for the present large first, second and third grades to affect our Senior High School enrollment. In other words, increased enrollment in the Senior High School will take place later and probably more grad- ually.
Our present Senior High School enrollment varies (school year 1949-1950) but is approximately 775 pupils.
In the school year 1958-1959 a rather careful estimate would place our Senior High School enrollment at somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 pupils.
The present building cannot house any such number of pupils and still function as a Class "A" high school.
Expanded enrollments are also going to occur in our seventh and eighth grades both at the Central Junior High School and the Sweetser Junior High School.
It should be noted in passing that all of our estimates are based on normal conditions and do not consider war, depressions, unforseen events, etc.
What should these facilities be and what, all things con- sidered, is the best solution?
I list them for the purpose of simplification:
(1) The construction of a new and modern Senior High School Building with a minimum capacity for at least 1,500 students. This building should be as centrally located as possible and the site should be purchased now while the land is still available. The construction of such a building will provide a modern and up-to-date High School for our youth of high school age. It will also automatically eliminate all of the existing inade- quacies of the present High School Building. It goes without saying that a modern gymnasium should be an integral part of this structure.
(2) Planning for the construction of a modern six classroom in the Oaklandvale section of the elementary school building
30
Town. The present building is more than one hundred years old and will soon not be able to house the elementary children in this area.
(3) The construction of an addition to the present Ballard School Building since it is now agreed by all that the rehabili- tation of the Mansfield School is out of the question. It ap pears almost certain that additional housing facilities will be needed to care for the elementary children in the East Saugus section of the Town.
School housing needs in the Saugus Centre and Cliftondale sections of the Town would be automatically solved for at least some time to come by the erection of the new Senior High School Building. Such construction would release the present Senior
High School Building and permit the housing of all Junior High School pupils in this building. This would in turn release six rooms in the Sweetser School Building which would in turn allev- iate future pupil enrollment in the Emerson, Felton, Cliftondale
and Armitage Schools. The entire twelve room Central Junior High School Building would also be released to house elementary school pupils. This building would relieve the Roby, Felton, Ballard and Armitage Schools. It would also enable us to aban- don the present Centre School Building which would certainly be a step in the right direction.
It is difficult to say at this time when new housing facili- ties will be needed in the Lynnhurst and North Saugus sections of the Town. Looking ahead it appears almost certain that new facilities will be needed in the not too distant future.
A consolidated elementary school building could be the solu- tion for these two sections if the Town did not choose to pro- vide facilities in each section. It should be borne in mind,
however, that consolidated schools usually involve transporta- tion problems which can be costly.
I have discussed this whole problem under the caption of "School Housing" in the hope that our citizens will realize the seriousness of the approaching situation. I do not claim to be infallible and I'appreciate that others may desire to solve the problem differently. I have submitted my suggestions after much thought and study. They are sincere and for what I consider to be the best interests of the community.
The only other real solution, as I see it, is the spot building of elementary school buildings throughout the various areas of the Town.
Increase in School-Aid
As a result of legislation recently enacted by the General Court of Massachusetts, Saugus received back from the Common- wealth in State Aid to Education in 1949 the staggering sum of $83,054.81. This is in contrast to the sum of $25,134.75 in the year 1948 and to the sum of $25,320.00 in 1947. In other words the Town of Saugus received the huge sum of $57,920.06 more in 1949 than in 1948. The legislation was enacted through the ef- forts of School Committees, Superintendents of
Schools and friends of public school education throughout the Commonwealth.
Of this huge financial gain of $57, 920.06 your School Com- mittee used only approximately $30, 000 in 1949. The balance, or about $28, 000, was not used in 1949 for school purposes. The $30,000 increase in the 1949 General School Budget, therefore, did not cost the taxpayers of Saugus one cent and the 1949 net educational cost to Saugus taxpayers was less than it was in the years 1947 and 1948.
It should also be mentioned that this huge gain in State Aid to Education for Saugus will more than cover the entire cost of the increases in both the 1949 and 1950 General School Budgets of the School Department.
31
In short, while others were talking of increased revenue for Saugus, the school men were hard at work convincing the Legisla- ture that cities and towns needed additional State financial aid to lessen the cost of local education to local taxpayers. This the school men accomplished and the Town of Saugus reaped the harvest.
A Survey
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools the School Committee in 1949 unanimously voted to request the State Department of Education to make a survey of our entire school system.
The State Department of Education has agreed to do such, without any financial cost to the Town, and will start on or about March 1, 1950.
The survey could not be made sooner since the Department was busy making similar surveys in four or five other Massachusetts communities.
The State Department of Education surveys are made to point out ways in which public school systems can be improved. It is hoped that, when the report is received, all citizens will coop- erate to carry out their recommendations. Some of their recom- mendations will doubtless cost money.
What greater investment, however, have we as citizens, than the investment we make in our boys and girls?
Scholastic Standing
Our Senior High School has again been given a Class "A" rat- ing by the State Department of Education.
In our High School students are given the right to pursue one of four courses. These courses are as follows: (a) College, (b) Scientific, (c) Commercial, and (d) General.
The purpose of the college and scientific courses is to pre- pare boys and girls for successful college work. That this goal is accomplished is attested to by the record. I cannot recall an instance of failure in the past eighteen years. In compara- tively recent years three of them have virtually led their col- lege -graduating class in scholastic attainment. One graduated from Harvard University, one from Northeastern University, and one graduates from Middlebury College this coming June.
Our Commercial Course students are particularly well trained under the direction of Department Head Miss Hazel C. Marison and an able corps of teachers. Many of these students obtain excel- lent positions even before graduation and many firms are exceed- ingly anxious to engage the services of our commercial gradu- ates. In recent years we have been unable to fill all requests for the employment of these commercial students.
Our aim in the General Course is to give a broad general ed- ucation which is an asset throughout life. We could offer a much broader education to this group had we a modern Senior High School Building with adequate physical facilities. There is no evidence to show, however, that graduates of this course have any particular difficulty in securing gainful employment. Quite a few boys in this group enter the Apprentice Course of the Gen- eral Electric Company in Lynn, Massachusetts. The records of our students graduating from this course compare extremely fav- orably with graduates of other high schools.
Our 1949 Football Team
No report for 1949 would be complete without mention being made of the Saugus High School football team.
Composed of boys, willing to work hard day after day, this team compiled a record of which every Saugus citizen should be justly proud. Their season culminated with a 7 to 6 victory
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over highly-touted Weymouth. This game will live in the memory of Saugus fans long after most things are forgotten.
There is little question but that this 1949 Saugus High School football team, plus the crack Saugus High School band with its twirlers, cheer leaders, etc., provided the Town of Saugus with its best advertising.
In Conclusion
In conclusion may I be pardoned if I state a conviction of the past ten years. I believe that our community needs many im- provements throughout its large expanse of physical territory. On the other hand, I also believe that we, in Saugus, have much to be thankful for. I believe that our blessings could be much greater if all our leaders could forget their personal and petty jealousies and pool their God-given assets in cooperative effort for the good of the whole community.
May I thank all who have helped me in my work during the year 1949. I refer especially to the five members of the School Committee, the teachers, other school employees, and the boys and girls who comprise our school system. May I also thank all Town officials and citizens in general who in many ways have con- tributed to the cause of education.
To those who have done otherwise I hold no bitterness. Time, as always, will judge who was right and who was wrong.
Vernon W. Evans Superintendent of Schools
4.000
PUPILS
3.000
2,000
SCHOOL
ENROLLMENT
1.000
1930
40
50
'70
33 !
Report of the High School Principal
To the Superintendent of Schools:
I am presenting at this time my fifteenth annual re- port as Principal of Saugus High School.
I have been making a study for the past several weeks of Saugus' share of the football receipts covering a five year period. Here it is:
Year Total Receipts
1945
$11,556.00
1946
10,079.40
1947
12, 161.13
1948
6,604.30
1949 7,465.05
At the present time we are paying the sum of $3,075.00 in salaries out of our athletic treasury. Unfortunately football is carrying 95% of the "load" for basketball,
hockey, baseball and track. It is no wonder that on Sep-
tember 1, 1949 we had a deficit in the athletic treasury of $1, 335.17 and we had outstanding bills to the amount of $1,321.93. With only an income of $7,465.05 from the 1949 football season you can readily see that our deficit on September 1,1950 will be far greater than what it was
last September. To further complicate matters we shall need to spend at least $1,500 for new football equipment
this spring. I suggest that when the next School Budget is made out that the salary item of $3, 075.00 be added. I am making this suggestion because I have found that the majority of school systems handle this matter in this way. During the year 1949 we lost the services of the fol- lowing people : Mr. Gordon George, Head of the Science De- partment and teacher of Chemistry, resigned to accept a
teaching position
in Shrewsbury High School; Miss Frances McFarlane, teacher of first and second year English, re- signed to be married; Mr. Walter Germaine, Band Director, resigned so that he could give full time to his private ior High School, resigned of ill health. The
pupils. Mrs. Erdine Muise, teacher of English in the Jun- School
Committee elected the following people to fill the vacancies : Mr. Hubert Kelley, as teacher of Chemistry; Miss Charlotte Nute, as teacher of English; Mr. Jerome Mitchell, as Band Director; and Mr. William Robinson, as teacher of English in the Central Junior High School.
The "high lights" of 1949 were as follows: A champion- ship hockey team, an excellent
senior play, an excellent spring concert participated in by the band and girls' glee club, an exceptionally fine graduation program, a champi- onship football team, an excellent Vocational Guidance
Institute, a Christmas Concert participated in by the girls' glee club and the newly-organized boys' glee club, and a colorful, well-attended Girls' Club Christmas Dance. In my school, writes a fellow principal in a report to
34
our annual meeting of the Massachusetts High School Prin- cipals' Association, it has become increasingly more dif- ficult during the last two or three years to get pupils to do the expected amount of studying. This situation is especially true in Saugus High School. This same princi- pal has come to the conclusion, after careful study, that
the apparent lack of study on the part of many pupils is due to the general deterioration in the reading ability of our boys and girls. He points out that twenty years ago young people were obliged to read for their own entertain- ment to a much greater extent than is now necessary. Dur- ing this period we have seen the rapid development of the sound movies, the radio, and now television. Each of
these instruments has provided entertainment which re-
quires no ability to read and
very little ability to
think. He also points out that not only do we have this seeming lack of reading ability in our pupils, but we are also faced with the wide use of television sets at a time when home study should be in order. Here in Saugus
we are also faced with the problem of pupils allowing outside interests and activities to inter- fere with their school work. During
the past two years
we have had far too many drop-outs among the boys. The reason for this, as I see it, is because the pattern among the boys is to do as little school work as possible. They do not strive for good marks like most girls. A passing mark is satisfactory for them. When they do not get pass- ing marks, not because they can't do the work, but because they won't do the work, they succeed in getting their par- ents' permission to drop out of school.
John A. W. Pearce Principal
35
r
PLAYGROUND COMMISSION
Doris J. Driver Frederick Rockett Rev. Wilbur Ziegler
The Town of Saugus opened four playgrounds for the
summer season of 1949. . They were Stackpole Field, Anna Parker, Stocker Street, and Bristow Street. At each play- ground a competent instructor handled the program activi- ties of the day.
The Y.M. C.A. worked helpfully with the Playground Com- mission and sponsored our playground director, Mr. John Fawcett, who is experienced in the field of recreation and physical education. Mr. Fawcett planned a daily program for each playground which would make the greatest contri- bution to the childrens' play life. A variety of games, team sports, instruction, skills. tournaments, contests, races, achievement tests. table games, and arts and crafts were offered. Mrs. Elizabeth Fleuriel assisted Mr. Faw- cett in the development of arts and crafts.
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