USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1914 > Part 14
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Your Committee desires to express its thanks to the people of the Town for their many manifestations of cooperation in the school work and renews its appeal to the parents to make frequent visits to the schools and teachers in order that they may become thoroughly acquainted with the work and thereby aid in its development. The loyalty and interest exhibited by the principals and teachers has been an aid to the Committee in promoting the best interests of the schools, and the Superintendent has been indefatigable in reaching for higher standards and better results.
J. HENRY WELCH, Chairman. EDWARD TILLOTSON, ARTHUR W. STUBBS.
124
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
SECRETARY'S REPORT.
To the Members of the School Committee :
The expenditures of the School Department for the last fiscal year amounted to within a few dollars of the appropriation of $53,250 voted by the Town at the last Annual Town Meeting. This appropriation was divided into two parts, one embracing $52,250 from the taxation receipts, and the other of $1,000 for new equipment to be raised by an issue of bonds. A classification of the various expenditures as required by the state board of education is as follows :
GENERAL EXPENSES.
General
High
Elementary
School Committee
$499 88
Superintendent
1,933 48
EXPENSES OF INSTRUCTION.
Supervisors
3,575 98
Salaries-Principals
$2,100 00
$3,080 00
Salaries-Teachers
8,390 00
17,767 80
Text books
603 96
687 46
Supplies
859 36
1,117 74
EXPENSES OF OPERATION.
Janitors
820 00
2,770 00
Fuel
.
811 18
2,472 64
Miscellaneous
.
209 73
973 90
EXPENSES OF MAINTENANCE.
Repairs, etc.
457 42
1,081 37
AUXILIARY AGENCIES.
Libraries
5 30
Health
.
259 00
Transportation
500 00
MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES.
Tuition
10 00
Sundries
692 94
OUTLAY EXPENSES.
New Equipment
569 55
Totals
$8,047 13
$14,251 65 $29,950 91
Regular appropriation
$52,250 00
Expended for year
52,249 69
Balance unexpended .
$ 31
Equipment appropriation
$1,000 00
Expended for year
1,012 38
Overdrawn .
.
$ 12 38
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR W. STUBBS,
Secretary.
.
·
1
125
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1914]
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
I have the honor to submit herewith my first Annual Report, together with the reports made to me by the heads of the various departments.
When I was given last June the responsibility of the educational leader- ship of the schools under your charge, I faced the following situation : As Principal of your Hadley School for two years, I appreciated the excellence of the teaching staff and their willingness to follow the directions of the Committee; I knew that the parents of the children in our schools were most satisfactory people among whom to work, because of their sympathetic cooperation and their high expectations of what the schools should be,- both valuable factors; and I knew that the School Committee could be depended upon to provide adequately, though not extravagantly, to maintain a proper standard in our schools, both as to teachers and equipment. Any Superintendent in a situation of this sort should consider his lot as fortunate.
Upon taking this office, I was instructed by the Committee that my task was primarily to be one of organization. In accordance therewith, the summer months were given to working out a system of office routine and equipment. The Superintendent's office now is the central office of the system. We have all records necessary concerning pupils, invoices and stock accounts of all supplies and books, and all records required by the laws of 1913 respecting the employment of minors. The rule of the Com- mittee that all ordering of supplies and repairs should be done through the Superintendent's office has been enforced to the letter. Principals, Teachers and Janitors are to be commended for their carefulness in cooperating to bring about this necessary condition.
In order to properly conduct the business of the Superintendent's office it was found necessary to have a stenographer as office assistant. The proper selection seems to have been made for this position in a graduate of the commercial department of our High School.
Course of Study.
Another task which the Committee has been desirous of having accom- plished was the making of a course of study for the elementary schools which should be suited to our division of grades caused by the system of semi-annual promotions. A course of study was drawn up this summer and is now being worked out by the teachers. Nothing at all radical was embodied in this work but an attempt was made, and successfully, to standarize the work of our schools so that different grades in various parts of the Town should have the same requirements and the same opportun- ities. The teachers will be asked for criticisms'and suggestions at the close of the year, so that the course may be revised if desired, to better suit the needs of all.
In order to maintain the same standard as to the amount and kind of work accomplished in the grades, an additional factor has been a series of
126
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
conferences of teachers of corresponding grades with the Superintendent ; and in order to keep the same standards of school spirit, school policy, and professional ideals, general meetings have been held, requiring the attendance of all teachers and supervisors in the department.
Changes in Teaching Staff.
The changes among the teachers during the past year have been some- what fewer than in preceding years. The principal of the High School indicates in his report the changes that have been made there. Three teachers left the High School and five new teachers have been employed. In the grades, two teachers resigned and one was granted a leave of absence. Three new teachers were secured for these positions.
As a general rule the work of the department is handicapped by a change of teachers. It is obvious that adequate salaries for satisfactory teachers are the best means of overcoming the weakness caused by such changes as referred to above. In the matter of salaries, Swampscott is taking a middle course. Salaries here are higher than a great many smaller and larger towns, but on the other hand they are not so high but that a dozen of the best educational communities in the state can take our best teachers.
The raise of $50 for elementary teachers during the last year and further raise to $750 as recommended by the Committee this year will strengthen our position in the state.
Census and Attendance Statistics.
SEPTEMBER, 1913 -JUNE, 1914.
Number of boys between 5 and 15 years
588
Number of girls between 5 and 15 years
. 572
Total
1,160
Number of boys between 7 and 14 years
. 444
Number of girls between 7 and 14 years
. 398
Total
842
Total enrollment in the schools
1,316
Average membership .
1,180
Average attendance
.
1,116
Per cent of attendance
. 94%
ATTENDANCE, FALL TERM - 1914.
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Per Cent
September
.
.
1,250
1,220
97.6
October
.
.
1,272
1,231
96.8
November
.
.
.
1,252
1,196
93.5
December
1,260
1,193
94.6
Average for Fall term .
1,258
1,210
95-3
Increase in average membership over September, 1913, 65.
The distribution of school membership for the Fall term of 1914 follows, showing a comparison with the same term of 1913 : School
1913
1914
Gain Gain %
High .
.
.
229
233
4
1.7
Hadley
.
.
.
.
474
517
43
9.1
Clarke
.
.
288
290
2
.7
Machon
.
.
.
·
123
14I
18
12.6
Palmer
.
.
.
63
71
8
12.7
·
.
.
127
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1914]
An increase of seventy-five theoretically would mean an increase of two rooms both in equipment and teachers' salaries. However, by the will- ingness of the teachers to assume extra duties, the present school accommodations have been made to take care of this increase.
A number of school problems and changes are connected with the above figures. The increase of forty-three at the Hadley School is a normal increase considerably inflated by the transferring of the eighth grade from the Clarke School. The slight increase at the Clarke School is due to the same action.
The large increase at the Machon and Palmer Schools is due to the growth of those districts. Within three years both of these schools will be inadequate to accommodate the children of their districts.
Another attendance problem is that of punctuality. The number of cases of tardiness in our schools averages far above a satisfactory record. The following data show that the per cent. of punctuality, although fair in some schools is very low in others. Superintendent, principals, teachers, parents and pupils should endeavor to reach higher rate of punctuality this year.
Cases of tardiness for the Fall Term, 1914: High, 237; Hadley, 140; Clarke, 94; Machon, 102; Palmer, 32.
Ranking of schools with respect to punctuality, Fall Term, 1914 :
School
Average Membership
Average Monthly Tardiness
Per cent of Punctuality
Hadley
.
Clarke
.
517 290
23
92.1 per cent
Palmer
71
8
88.8 per cent
Machon
141
25
82.3 per cent
High
233
59
74.7 per cent
35
93.2 per cent
Centralized Eighth Grades.
This change was made for both physical and educational reasons. - Physically - a much larger number of First Grade children enrolled at the Clarke School or lived in the district which that school should accommo- date than could find quarters in the one room given there to the beginners. It was necessary, therefore, to send some children to the Hadley School, where plenty of room was wisely provided when the school was built, and it seemed wiser to transfer the larger children.
In order to minimize the inconvenience caused to the children who come from the further sections of the Town, the centralized Eighth Grades were given one session with hours from 8 A. M. to 1 P. M. This removed the necessity of two long trips for the children at noon. This however, is not a radical change. Many communities leading in educa- tional progress have adopted the system of having one session for all Grammar grades. Brookline, Newton and Milton are examples.
The educational advantages in this change are due to the fact that under our system of semi-annual promotions, a separate room is given in the Hadley School to each half grade. In an eight-room building with eight grades, such as is the Clarke School, it is necessary to have two grades in a room. While there is but a minimum of disadvantage in this fact in the lower grades, yet when it comes to preparing children for the transition trom grades to High School, a change which at best is fraught with dangers and hardships, there is a handicap in favor of the school more definitely divided.
128
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Extension of the Scope of our Work.
During the past year the manual training was wisely extended to the boys of the seventh grades in the elementary schools. It is to be hoped that the Committee, after looking over all the demands upon the depart- ment for this year, will find it possible to further extend the opportunity for manual training to the boys of the sixth grade in the grammer school.
When the Hadley school was built a room was provided for Manual Training. It has never seemed wise to equip this room, because it did not seem a justifiable expense to duplicate the equipment of the High School for so small a number of boys. But with the growth of the grammar grades in the Hadley school, and the increased demands upon the Manual Training department in the High School, it would seem to be desirable, in the course of a few years, to equip the Manual Training room at the Hadley school with simple work benches, such as would be suitable for the beginners in this work. No machinery, of course, would be required.
Opportunity for practical training for the girls of the grammar school has been provided during the past year by the introduction of a course in cooking. I believe this work has met with the approval of the public in general. With a further extension of Manual Training for the boys, it will probably be possible to have either cooking or sewing for a larger number of girls. A further extension of this work will be made in the freshman course in the High School in February, unless the difficulty of rearranging a program of studies at that time of the year should appear to be too great.
A further legitimate extension of the scope of the work of this depart- ment has been the exercising of supervision over the physical training of the children. This has been accomplished by employing on the teach- ing staff a supervisor of physical training. His duty is to interest as large a number of boys of the grammar grades as possible in the various forms of gymnastic activities which he may organize, to organize a moderate course of physical culture in the upper grades, and to be the coach of the various forms of organized athletics. As the work starts out for the new year, there are about eighty boys in the grades and fifty in the High School who are taking advantage of this opportunity.
Condition of School Yards.
People of self-respect are usually particular about their personal appear- ance. The man who owns his home is as jealous of the physical appear- ance of his property as the good housewife is that her home shall be clean and comfortable within. The physical appearance and condition of the school yards of this Town is consistent in no way with the interior of the schools, the educational standards and practices of the schools, or with the standards set by the citizens of this Town in caring for their own property. The yards of the Machon and Clarke schools are in a broken up condition and the mud in the yard of the Hadley school is a nuisance both in its effect on the clothing of children and on the appearance of the schoolrooms into which the children track the mud.
The superintendent, therefore, recommends that the citizens at Town Meeting be asked by a special article to appropriate a sufficient amount to put these yards in suitable condition.
129
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1914]
Conclusion.
The outlook for the year is encouraging. In looking ahead the most pressing problem for the Committee is the provision of adequate accom- modations in the High School for the opening of the fall term in Septem- ber. In February the principal will have to crowd in 260 pupils. A class of twenty-five graduates in June ; a class of fifty enters in September, and forty in February. In other words, unless accommodations are provided during next summer, we shall have no seats for some fifty pupils or more ; and what is more significant, no space into which to put seats for them.
This pressing need, together with the warning given us by the State Building Inspector, surely makes this probem the most important matter that the Committee presents to the Town for consideration.
At a recent meeting of the Superintendents called by the State Board of Education, an agent of the Board reviewed the difficult situations and unbusiness like methods which many Superintendents reported as having to battle. It was with a great deal of satisfaction that your Superintendent was able to compare even with the best communities in the State, the pro- gressive attitude of this Committee and the healthy relationship which exists here in Swampscott between the public, the Committee and the schools.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLARD M. WHITMAN.
I30
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
Report of the Principal of the High School.
Mr. W. M. Whitman, Superintendent of Schools :
DEAR SIR,-I herewith respectfully submit my eighth annual report of the Swampscott High School :
During the past year, there have been several changes in the corps of teachers. When the first class to be graduated from the Grammar school in the middle of the year entered the High School, Miss Edith L. Knights and Miss Theodora A. Gerould were secured to assist in conducting the work of these new pupils. In June, Miss Sarah L. Bell and Miss Eleanor D. Clement resigned to retire from school work. Mr. Gilbert C. Walker tendered his resignation at the same time in order to enter business.
Miss Carrie J. Fish of the High School in Palmer was elected to succeed Miss Bell as head of the Commercial Department. Miss Marion D. Munsey, a graduate of the Swampscott High School and of Mt. Holyoke College, after three years' experience in other towns, has now become a teacher in her home school. Miss Leita A. Kinsman, who had had several years' experience, was elected to teach German and English. These new teachers have entered upon their duties with earnestness and enthusiasm, and they with all the other teachers are showing such loyalty and devotion to the interest of the school that the year promises to be one of the best in its history.
For the first time there has been sufficient teaching force to make it possible to devote one room to study pupils only. While this room is not so large as might be wished, it has made it possible for over fifty pupils to study under the direction of a teacher, without the distracting influences of a recitation. It is to be regretted that when the new class enters in February, this room will have to be given up on account of crowded con- ditions and the lack of teachers. However, both pupils and teachers are looking forward to the time when the building will be remodeled; when the Commercial Department and Library may enjoy commodious quarters, and there be suitable and sufficient rooms for recitation and study, in addition to those for gymnasium and teachers' room. That these and many other needed improvements will soon be secured is most earnestly desired.
In regard to the school curriculum the need of several changes has been noted. The course of study should be enriched to allow for a course in Physics in the sophomore year. The work of this class would follow somewhat the plan of the senior year Physics, but with less mathematics and would fit especially the needs of those pupils who are not planning upon entering college. In the senior year a course in office training should be added for the pupils in the Commercial Department. I would suggest that there be included in the annual budget of the School Depart- ment a definite amount of money to be expended for laboratory equipment and lantern supplies in connection with the Sciences and Commercial Geography. There is also need of a similar fund for the extension of the library. If from year to year, a certain amount could be relied upon, pro- vision could be made for extending the equipment in a systematic manner.
Last year a change was made in the form of graduating exercises in June. Certain strictly class parts were eliminated from the program and
131
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
1914]
a speaker of note delivered an address. On this occasion Mr. Benjamin N. Johnson of Lynn favored the class, and his words of advice and encouragement were most heartily received. On the night following graduation, the class enjoyed a banquet in the High School hall, after which Miss Ruth McCarty delivered the class prophecy, Miss Olive Flagg gave a history of the class, and Master Leon Abbott read the class will.
Of the graduates of 1914, over one-third were admitted to college either by certificate or examination. These have maintained their rank credit- ably. Many of the graduates of the commercial department were placed in business positions. The success of a school in so placing its graduates depends upon the pupils' attention to their work in the class and their ability to excel in their chosen line of High School work. The High School graduate who has shown through his course that he possesses ability and has devoted his best efforts to his commercial studies, always meets with greater favor from business men than a graduate of a business college. Thus the citizens of the Town should expect definite and tangible results from the commercial department of the High School. I am happy to say that the present work of the pupils in this department is showing a very gratifying and satisfactory improvement.
In general, the High School is a place for work, and pupils who throw away their opportunities through lack of study are wasting their time. Parents ought to realize that pupils must devote at least two hours every day and, college preparatory pupils at least three hours, to home study. In order to supplement the work of the school, at least one teacher is in attendance at the building every afternoon of the week to assist pupils in their work, to hear lessons missed by absence, to enforce discipline and to supervise preparation of lessons. Many a failure might be avoided by attendance at this afternoon session.
In conclusion : I wish to express to the parents my appreciation for their hearty cooperation, and to the teachers for their loyalty and devotion to their work.
Respectfully submitted,
HAROLD W. LOKER.
Report of Supervisor of Manual Training.
Mr. W. M. Whitman, Superintendent of Schools :
DEAR SIR, -The year which closed with the Christmas vacation was a very satisfactory one in the Manual Training Department, and the results obtained clearly demonstrate the value of this kind of work in the schools. The pupils who have chosen to participate in this training have evinced a desire to give the best that is in them, and this has resulted in obtaining, almost without exception, a maximum of efficiency. In conse- quence of these conditions, it has been a year of pleasure for both pupils and instructor.
During the summer vacation, new machinery was added to the equip- ment, and this has facilitated the work. The department is now equipped with modern machinery in all its branches and its use by the pupils is giving evidence of rapidly growing proficiency. The advanced classes are accomplishing particularly difficult work, and the problems which many of them solve would do credit to a wood worker of many years of experience.
J32
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Dec. 31
The relations of the instructor with the faculty of the High School, in the building of which the Manual Training Department is located, with the Superintendent and the School Committee and with the pupils them- selves, have been pleasant and helpful. I feel that the beginnings which have been made in this department in the few years in which it has been established must gradually develop into important influences in deter- mining the future of a great many boys - at least to be a valuable asset in whatever occupation they may see fit to follow. The training which they are getting quickens the eye, sharpens the mind, trains the hand, encourages concentration and develops character.
Very respectfully, S. P. CONGDON, Supervisor of Manual Training.
Report of the Supervisor of Drawing.
Mr. W. M. Whitman, Superintendent of Schools :
There is satisfaction in the knowledge that the pupils' work as a whole for the past year has improved. The freshmen classes of this year are better prepared to take up the work with efficiency than those of previous years, and with few exceptions the same is true of the lower grades.
The general aims and plans of the work are as follows :
In the primary grades, centers connected with the home, community life, games and stories are chosen for illustration. This is the symboliz- ing age and the child has great willingness to make and draw things. Hence in selecting material the aim has been to find subjects which will require manual work in connection with the object, pose drawing, and color. The elements of a story are studied separately and all the ideas then combined in picture-making. This work has been carried out well and the results have been good.
I- the intermediate grades the work is more formal, for this is the period of habit forming and drill. Emphasis is given to object and group drawing for the purpose of developing the ability to see pro- portion and relation of objects. The design work progresses from orderly arrangements of given units to simple original designs applied to useful objects. Accuracy and the use of the ruler is developed by cardboard construction. In the sixth grade, the making and reading of simple working drawings is begun. The pupils are much interested in this, because they see its value in manual training.
The work in the upper grammar grades seems to be progressing some- what slowly. The children at this age are sensitive to praise and blame, and their power of appreciation is beyond their power of expression. This seems the proper time to develop ideas of beauty and to study the laws and theories underlying the subjects taught. In the study of color. the Munsell theory is found to be most satisfactory. Simple color har- monies, including a knowledge of color analyzed and problems worked out according to the analysis. The design work has included the study of balance and rhythm and all designs made have been applied to a con- structed object. In representation, laws of foreshortening and con- vergence are taught by the use of rectilinear objects. There has been a great improvement in object drawing in these grades, but there is still a
I33
SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
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