USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1912 > Part 14
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 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
To care for them in proper manner we recommend the con- struction of a brick vault in the basement, 5 feet by 9 feet, which would be built fireproof ; that steel drawers to hold record plans be installed in vault on top of those already there, and that steel bookcases with cupboard and drawer facilities be placed on north side of Selectmen's rooms. The estimated ex- pense for this work is $1,000.
Permits.
The following permits were granted by the Board to do Town work under Section 4 of Chapter 6 of the by-laws : Loring H. Grimes, George C. Webster, John B. Cahoon, Charles G. Rowell, S. Perry Congdon, Peleg Gardner, William H. Bates, Clarence B. Humphrey.
The following permits were granted by the Board to sell ma- terials or supplies, under the by-laws : Elias G. Hodgkins, Benjamin O. Honors, Nathan G. Bubier, J. Henry Welch, Oscar G. Poor.
The following permits were granted by the Board to deliver liquor in the Town, under the statute : Portsmouth & Lynn. Express Company, North Shore Express Company, Edward B. Roberts, Jr., Widger's Express Company. (Permit surrendered).
In conclusion your Board desires to call the attention of the
175
SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
1912]
citizens to the fact that in the near future the Town must have a new Town Hall, or enlarge and renew the present build- ing. In all probability the wisest course will be to erect a new Town Hall. The present quarters are already crowded and inadequate, and are becoming more so each year. It is not the purpose of this Board to advise the building of a Town Hall this year, or next, and considering the indebtedness of the Town, and that the indebtedness will necessarily have to be greater before it is less if the Town is to pursue its present policies, this Board is fully aware that the building should not be undertaken sooner than is absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, the Town is con- fronted with this condition of affairs. We therefore recommend that a Committee be appointed to study the matter of a new Town Hall in all its phases, including the best method for financing the same.
Appropriations.
The following appropriations are recommended by the several departments for the current year :
DEPARTMENTAL.
I. GENERAL GOVERNMENT.
Legislative
$300 00
Selectmen
1,500 00
Auditing
1,000 00
Treasury
950 00
Collector
950 00
Assessors
1,800 00
Town Clerk
300 00
Law
800 00
Election and Registration
800 00
Engineering
1,500 00
Town Hall
2,200 00
$12,100 00
II. PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY.
Police
$10,000 00
Fire
·
16,900 00
Sealer of Weights and Measures 125 00
Moth
5,000 00
Tree Warden .
.
1,700 00
Dog Officer .
. . .
175 00
.
.
$33,900 00
I76
TOWN DOCUMENTS. [Dec. 31
III. HEALTH AND SANITATION.
Health
$3,396 00
Sewer Maintenance
.
5,500 00
Sewer Connections ·
1,000 00
Refuse and Garbage
3,450 00
$13,346 00
IV. HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES.
Highways $24,000 00
Sidewalk and Curbing Maintenance, 1,100 00
Street construction
1,100 00
Street watering and oiling
4,300 00
Street lighting
. 10,900 00
$41,400 00
V. CHARITIES.
Poor
$3,500 00
VI. SOLDIERS' BENEFITS.
State aid
$3,000 00
Soldiers' Relief
. .
3,000 00
$6,000 00
VII. EDUCATION.
School .
$48,000 00
VIII. LIBRARIES.
Library maintenance
$1,400 00
IX. RECREATION.
Parks and gardens .
$4,400 00
Monument lot
50 00
Memorial Day
200 00
Metropolitan Park Maintenance as-
sessment (estimated) .
3,000 00
$7,650 00
X, UNCLASSIFIED.
Printing Town Reports . $800 00
Contingent Fund .
2,000 00
Heat and Light G. A. R. Hall
75 00
$2,875 00
19[2]
SELECTMEN'S REPORT. 177
PUBLIC SERVICE ENTERPRISES.
Cemetery
$1,600 00
INTEREST.
Temporary Loans (estimated)
$4,000 00
General Debt
·
10,608 00
Sewer Bonds
7,238 84
Metropolitan Park Interest assess-
ment (estimate) .
.
3,000 00
$24,846 84
MUNICIPAL INDEBTEDNESS.
General Debt
$26,500 00
Sewer Bonds
10,596 00
Metropolitan Park Sinking Fund
(estimated)
1,000 00
$38,096 00
AGENCY.
State Tax (estimated) ·
$17,000 00 ·
County Tax (estimated) . .
15,700 00
$32,700 00
$267,413 84
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES F. CATON, CLARENCE B. HUMPHREY, ELIAS G. HODGKINS,
Selectmen of Swampscott.
SWAMPSCOTT, MASS., January 1, 1913.
12
.
178
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
OFFICE, HADLEY SCHOOL . Telephone 2067
S. PERRY CONGDON, Chairman . 1911-1914 41 Thomas road.
ARTHUR W. STUBBS, Secretary 1912-1915 74 Paradise road.
J. HENRY WELCH · . 1910-1913 38 Sheridan road.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
ELDRIDGE SMITH. 54 Boylston street, Cambridge, Mass.
OFFICE, HADLEY SCHOOL; TELEPHONE 2067
OFFICE HOURS : 3.45-4.45. P. M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
179
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1912]
Legal Holidays.
The words " legal holiday " shall include the twenty-second day of February, the nineteenth day of April, the thirtieth day of May, the fourth day of July, the first Monday of September, the twelfth day of October, Thanksgiving day and Christmas day, or the day following when any of the four days first men- tioned, the twelfth day of October or Christmas day occurs on Sunday; and the public offices shall be closed on all of said days. Chapter 136, Acts of 1911.
Observance of Flag Day.
Resolved, That the governor shall annually set apart the fourteenth day of June as Flag Day, that date being the anni- versary of the adoption of the national flag by the continental congress in the year seventeen hundred and seventy-seven ; and shall issue his proclamation recommending that the day be observed by the people of the commonwealth in the display of the flag and and in such other ways as will be in harmony with the general character of the day. Chapter 5, Resolves of 1911.
No School Signal.
If the signal, " 2-2" is sounded on the fire-alarm at 7.20 A. M., the High School will open at 8.30 A. M., and the other schools at 9 A. M. If the signal is repeated at 7.50 A. M., no schools will be open for the forenoon. If " 2-2" is sounded at 12.50 P. M., no schools will open in the afternoon.
180
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Report of the School Committee.
To the Citizens of Swampscott :
Your School Committee probably never has been compelled to spend a busier year than the one which has just closed. This largely was due to the rapidly increasing congestion which was not relieved until the new Hadley school building was opened for use on the first day of January. Then and not until then did your Committee feel that it could properly look after the interests of the children. The new school year opened in September with the usual two additional classes in the grades and all the available room for school purposes exhausted. With the Odd Fellows' Hall, W. C. T. U. building, the Con- gregational church, the Methodist church, the People's church, Grand Army hall and the Beach School, all sheltering pupils destined to enter the new building upon completion, the Com- mittee found itself facing the proposition to care for the two new classes which a constantly growing population had brought to it. The Committee was obliged to hold double sessions in two of these buildings. There was no alternative. The con- stant attention given to these various and widely scattered grades by the principal of the Hadley school, Mr. Whitman, with the cooperation of the teachers, resulted in bringing the pupils into the new building with but very little, if any, loss of the atten- tion which they would have received under more advantageous circumstances.
Though the new building has been opened but a few weeks the results have been very gratifying, and are already indicating the benefits that will accrue from the administration of a large number of grades under one roof and amid surroundings that serve to promote the interest, health and happiness of the children. These benefits, your Committee feels sure, will be more highly appreciated as time goes on. The Hadley school building contains all the essentials of a modern elementary edu- cational structure. Well heated, lighted and ventilated and practically fireproof in its construction, the citizens of Swamp- scott have every reason to be proud of its latest addition to the
181
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1912]
school buildings of the Town. The structure contains sixteen class rooms, twelve of which are already occupied. Another September and it is probable that two more will be placed in use.
Five years ago four rooms in the Redington street school and one in the Beach school were all that were necessary to care for the population in the district that now requires twelve class rooms. Thus may be seen the rapid growth in the school population of the Town, and there are no indications of a cessa- tion. Indeed, it seems probable that the population will increase with even greater strides than ever before. However, the Town is prepared to care for the increase for two or three years, when steps will have to be taken to locate a smaller building in such a part of the Town as shall then most require it.
Your committee desires to impress upon your minds that above all other things in which you have a common interest properly belong the schools. Neglect the schools and you remove the foundations of our advancement. We can go no farther than the point at which we have provided that our children shall take up the work, and according to their training will be the main- tenance and future development of all of life's problems. Your committee has found the citizens ready and willing to cooperate in placing our educational system second to no other of the smaller towns of the Commonwealth. This disposition has been exemplified in the splendid new school building which has just been opened. It will stand as a monument to your public spirit and an everlasting mark of your desire to educate your children under such conditions as they have a right to expect.
In the Hadley school building there is an assembly hall capable of seating about 700 persons. It is the largest and best equipped hall in the Town. It is on the ground floor and easy of access from the street. Though the primary purpose of this hall is its use for school purposes, your committee hopes it will be put to wider public use for any purposes that have as their object the general good of the community. Your committee hopes that parents will make it a point to visit the new building during the school sessions and give teachers and principal the encourage- ment that their work deserves. This practice should obtain also with relation to the other schools in the Town.
The work of the schools has been progressing during the past year, notwithstanding the obvious difficulties. Several changes were made at the end of the school year in June, and these went into effect in September. Miss Alice L. Shaw, who was
182
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
principal of the old Redington street building, was made prin- cipal of the Clarke school and Miss Edith Gardner principal of the Machon school on Essex street. They succeeded Miss Frances Gould and Miss Mabel F. Verry, who are now teachers in the new Hadley school building under W. H. Whitman, the principal. Mr. Whitman was selected from a number of appli- cants after a thorough investigation of their qualifications had been made. He is a graduate of Harvard University, and at the time of his election here was administering with marked success the affairs of a large grammar school in the town of Attleboro.
Marriage and other considerations took away several teachers at the end of the last school year. This made necessary a search for new teachers, and the entire summer was taken up in the effort to get what Swampscott wants and should have-the best teachers it can get for the money it has to expend. The teacher problem is one of the greatest your Committee has to meet. There are plenty of teachers, but few who teach. Your Com- mittee is striving to raise the standard among the teachers, and in some degree believes that it has been successful. In two or three cases teachers have left us because of their ability to ob- tain much higher salaries elsewhere. As a whole we believe the teaching staff is better to-day than ever before.
With a view of facilitating the school work and preventing a considerable amount of wasted time, your Committee has adopted a plan of eight years in the grades and four in the high school. This abolishes after this year the so-called sub-freshman class in the high school, and will enable the graduates of the grammar schools to enter immediately the freshmen class of the high school. This plan is rapidly being adopted elsewhere and means no loss of educational advantages, but a greater economy of time. The double promotion system, inaugurated a year ago, has made it easier to inaugurate the new plan.
Another project which your Committee proposes to put into practice, providing sufficient funds are made available, provides for the introduction of manual training into the eighth grades. Manual training interests the boys, quickens their wits and trains their hands. It has been taught in the High School with marked advantage for a number of years. Sewing classes for girls are being considered, and later your Committee hopes to establish a more elaborate system of domestic science in which cooking shall be taught.
The High School building is rapidly becoming inadequate for the increasing attendance, and your Committee would advise the
183
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1912]
Town to take steps at once toward looking into the situation and recommending such alteration and enlargement as is needed to meet the requirements that are sure to be put upon it in the next few years. As there is plenty of land surrounding the school building, it will not be a difficult matter to plan for such enlarge- ment as may be needed or deemed advisable. The question of providing school room is an arbitrary one over which the Com- mittee has no control. There is a limit to school accommoda- tions, and when that limit has been reached there is nothing to do but ask the Town for more room. The High School building now is practically taxed to its utmost, with out-of-the-way corners and side rooms of small capacity filled with pupils who should be comfortably seated in large, airy class rooms.
Your Committee has watched closely the affairs of the school, both from a financial and educational point of view. It has always sought to get the most and the best for the money it has had to expend. With the schools doubling in population in less than ten years, it must be readily seen that the expenses of con- ducting them must double likewise, or at the rate of increase of about 10 per cent a year. Your Committee has carefully scruti- nized all expenditures, no matter how trivial in nature, and has endeavored to prevent any waste. It believes thoroughly in economy when economy goes hand in hand with efficiency and progress.
During the past year the teachers have shown a large degree of enthusiasm in carrying forward the work of the schools. The Committee appreciates all their efforts and feels sure that the Town will cooperate with them in their work. Physically, morally and educationally the schools are capable of doing more for our boys and girls than any other factor except the home. Parents and teachers must cooperate for the very best results. Notwithstanding a general impression the teachers in the schools are not antagonistic to the home. They want to work in har- mony with the mothers and fathers, and the greater the number of conferences that parents hold with teachers the more satis- factory will be the results obtained and better the understanding between parent and school.
The School Committee and the schools have no other purpose than to educate the children, to give them every advantage that possibly can be obtained for them, to surround them with the best of influences and provide them with every opportunity to develop along lines of useful manhood and womanhood. To do this the Committee is obliged to impartially administrate the
184
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
affairs of the schools. There can be no rule for one that does not apply to another. Political influences nor personal friend- ship must not, can not, enter into school affairs. Your Com- mittee has striven to do what is right for the greatest number, and trusts that the citizens of the Town have been satisfied with its efforts.
It begins the new year with the determination to apply its knowledge of past conditions to the benefit of the future, and hopes to bring such results as will add to the prestige and value of the school system of the Town. In closing, your Committee again urges you to make more frequent visits to the schools, and thereby get into closer and more intimate touch with the work that is being done.
Respectfully submitted,
S. PERRY CONGDON, Chairman. ARTHUR W. STUBBS, J. HENRY WELCH.
185
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1912]
SECRETARY'S REPORT.
To the School Committee of the Town of Swampscott :
I beg to submit the following statement of financial conditions at the end of the fiscal year, December 31, 1912 :
General High Elementary
School Committee . · $468 15
Superintendent
. 1,146 85
EXPENSES OF INSTRUCTION.
Supervisors ·
1,220 00
Principals
$2,000 00
$2,460 00
Teachers
6,153 75
15,228 00
Text books
464 33
730 14
Supplies
589 34
832 79
EXPENSES OF OPERATION.
Janitors
Soo 00
2, 816 00
Fuel and light
SS9 36
2,212 83
Miscellaneous
.
139 45
364 56
EXPENSES OF MAINTENANCE.
Repairs, etc.
509 65
1,003 13
AUXILIARY EXPENSES.
Health .
5 00
Transportation
300 00
MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES.
Tuition
60 00
Sundries (Rent, etc.)
1,639 77
OUTLAY EXPENSES.
New equipment 494 15
$5,333 92 $11,545 88 $25,647 45
Total
$42,527 25
.
.
186
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
The average attendance at the elementary schools for the year was 938. This would make the cost of educating each pupil in the elementary schools $27.34. The average attendance at the High School was 211. The average cost per pupil in this school was $54.72. Taking the entire cost of running the schools, including expenses of administration, operation and new equipment, at the average total attendance of 1, 149, the average cost for each pupil was $37.01.
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR W. STUBBS, Secretary.
187
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1912]
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the School Committee of Swampscott:
GENTLEMEN,-I have the honor to submit for your con- sideration my second annual report.
In the list of teachers found at the end of this report, several new names appear. Many of the teachers resigned during the year and were replaced by others. The faculty has been increased by three new members. Two changes are of great importance and certainly mark a step forward, namely the election of a sub- master in the High School and the introduction of a man into our elementary system. For a long time it has been felt by educators that more men as teachers were needed in our schools. There is no doubt that above the sixth grade there should be as many men as women. It is to be hoped that the day is not far hence when this will be the case, and that the salaries will be remunerative enough to keep men in elementary and secondary educational work.
The Hadley School.
The Building Committee and the Town are to be congratu- lated on having built one of the finest (if not the finest) elemen- tary schools in the state. It is the custom for many towns to spend money out of proportion, even sometimes extravagantly, on High School buildings and equipment and to neglect their elementary schools. The elementary schools are primarily the people's schools. I am glad that Swampscott has felt that no building and no equipment was too good for her elementary pupils. The burden now rests upon the teachers, the principal and superintendent to make this school educationally second to none in the state.
Of course we were disappointed when in August it was learned that the new building would not be finished for the opening of school. We were embarrassed by the fact that we had two extra grades for which we had no accommodations. It was decided to use the old quarters and run on part time where neces- sary. We were compelled to have the fourth and seventh grades come half sessions. In these grades music and drawing were omitted and the emphasis placed on English and arithmetic. To
188
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
be sure these grades did not get as much as we wished they had. Mr. Whitman is giving the problem of making good this loss his special care. I do not believe that in the long run the loss will be felt.
Semi-annual Promotions.
In the last annual report under Grading, the scheme and advantages of semi-annual promotions were explained. The results during a year and a half of its operation have amply shown its value. The whole of the elementary work has been rendered more flexible. One case from many will illustrate this. A girl who had been unfortunate in that she was compelled to enter school at eight years of age, was in the 3rd grade in September, 1911. She is now in the advanced section of the fifth. Under the old scheme of yearly promotions, this would hardly be possible. Again, last February, we had an entering class of fifteen, who under the former organization would have been com- pelled to wait until the next September.
High School.
Such a radical change as the introduction of semi-annual promotions must of necessity have an effect upon the high school. Two classes will graduate from the eighth grades each year, one in June another in February; hence there will be two classes each year entering the High School. It is easy to be seen that this means a reorganization of our High School. At present, the courses are arranged as year courses ; under the proposed scheme, the courses will be arranged as half-year courses. This is nothing new. Our college and universities have long used this method. Many high schools in our neighborhood have adopted it. It is and has been for years the universal practice through- out New York state, both in the small towns as well as in such large cities as New York, Buffalo, Rochester, etc.
The advantages of this method are :
I. The pupil who for some reason is not able to keep up with his group will have an opportunity to go over the work each half-year. Suppose a boy has failed either through his own indolence or misfortune. It would be a waste of his time and a waste of the teacher's energy to require him to repeat the year's work as a whole. It is very probable that he could do the work in a half-year if given an opportunity.
2. Pupils who are capable of doing high school work in February (at present it looks as if there would be a large class
189
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1912]
of such in February, 1914) will have a chance of leaving the grammar schools and of taking up the first year's work of the high school.
3. Pupils who can complete the work of the high school in less than four years will not be forced to spend the full four years. There is no good reason for demanding a pupil to spend four years at a kind of work which he can do in three or three and a half. The colleges long ago recognized this. Many students in Harvard College spend only three and a half years in earning the regular degree. Our high school courses certainly should be flexible enough to allow the bright pupil to advance as fast as he can.
Certification of Teachers.
It has been your general policy in the hiring of teachers for the grades to demand Normal School training of the candidates. The value of such training nobody questions to-day. On the other hand, in the matter of hiring High School teachers, the only requirement has been graduation from a reputable College, and more or less teaching experience. We have never been able to demand special pedagogical training such as the Normal School gives grade teachers. Yet there is just as great a need. The attitude of the State Board of Education can be seen from the following :
" In building up its system of secondary schools, Massachusetts should look forward to the time when the standards now apply- ing to California aad other states may prevail here. Educators are generally agreed that the requirement of a year of graduate study as a prerequisite for teaching in the High School-the standard now maintained in California - is a fair one, and tends to a marked improvement in High School teaching." (Report of State Board of Education 1910-II.
During the past year important state legislation has been passed bearing on the subject. From now on teachers in the state-aided High Schools must hold certificates issued by the State Board of Education. Those teachers who had taught six months in the State previous to July 1, 1912, were granted cer- tificates on application. All others who wish to teach in these schools must have special training. This means that College students who seriously intend to follow the profession of teach- ing in our High Schools will devote part of their time in College to a special pedagogical training. I would recommend that henceforth you extend the policy which you now use in hiring
190
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.