USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1940 > Part 14
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We intend that this plot be so maintained as to bring credit to our town and every effort was made this year to provide attractive and colorful plantings.
169
REPORT OF PARK DEPARTMENT
1940]
Early spring rains did much damage to the beds, but as the summer progressed, the vari-colored beds were most attractive.
Due to the war, the spring display of tulips will be curtailed, as no bulbs could be obtained from Holland.
Phillips Park
New Horse Shoe Courts were constructed on the easterly side of this park and were in constant use until the equipment was stolen.
More fill has been put in this park and it is now at such a point that one grand filling job will have to be done to release much- needed play space.
The practice field in the rear of the football field was used throughout the year. We intend to enlarge this area during the coming year and resurface it.
The football field came through the year in excellent shape, so well in fact, that it is now publicized by various seed and fertilizer firms in their catalogues.
A W.P.A. project is on file to increase the facilities of this park by constructing a skating area, a playground area for small children and a parking space.
JOHN HOMAN, Chairman, RALPH I. LINDSEY, Secretary, FREDERICK C. BURK, Board of Park Commissioners.
170
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
School Committee, 1940
Philip H. Stafford, Chairman LYnn 2-5973
26 Banks Road
Marion D. Morse
LYnn 2-5470
7 Millett Road
Edgar U. Burdett
LYnn 2-3853
56 Elmwood Road
Bernard F. Carey
LYnn 3-3696
Amos E. Russell
85 Kensington Lane
LYnn 3-6464
Regular meeting, second Wednesday of each month.
Superintendent of Schools and Secretary of the School Committee Frank L. Mansur
88 Banks Road LYn 3-2193
The office of the Superintendent of Schools is open on school days from 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M .; Saturdays from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 M.
School Calendar 1941
Winter term begins Thursday, January 2
Winter term closes Friday, February 14
Spring term begins Monday, February 24
Spring term closes Thursday, April 10
Summer term begins Monday, April 21
High School Graduation Friday, June 13
Fall term begins Monday, September 8
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
The School Committee submits the following report for the year 1940:
Use of School Buildings
The chief function of the school system, as all will agree, is to provide educational training for the boys and girls of the commu- nity. The term educational training is used not in a limited sense but with the wider meaning of a well rounded development of the mind, body and character of the student. The Committee feels that constant progress is being made towards the attainment of this goal.
There arises the question, however, as to what profitable use may be made of the school buildings at such times as the school rooms and other facilities are not being utilized directly for school purposes. Since school property represents a considerable investment on the part of taxpayers, the Committee considers that the school buildings should be made available to the community to the fullest extent practicable. This is being carried out in a variety of ways which it may be of interest to enumerate.
Last April permission was granted to the Town Librarian for the use of a room in the Machon School as a branch library to be open one afternoon a week during the year under Public Library supervision. As no cross town transportation is available to resi- dents of Upper Swampscott and the Foster Dam section, this provides opportunity for the securing of reading material with less difficulty than heretofor.
63 Orchard Road
171
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1940]
With Committee approval, the Swampscott Visiting Nurse Asso- ciation uses the domestic science room in the Junior High School one afternoon a week for community work.
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are also permitted the use of school buildings for troop meetings.
The W.P.A. has been granted permission to use the school facili- ties to a considerable extent. W.P.A. recreational classes for towns- people are held in the High School gymnasium in the late afternoon and on several evenings a week. This fills a real need since there is no other gymnasium in town. A W.P.A. class for instruction in Italian meets at the Machon School one evening a week. Previously space was provided for the W.P.A. bookbinding project.
The High School gymnasium is also made available on certain evenings to clubs of local young people. The Committee is of the opinion that it is better to provide an opportunity for young folks to work off their surplus energy under proper supervision than for them to spend their spare time in less profitable ways.
In addition, adult classes in Americanization are conducted at the Machon School three evenings a week. These consist of courses in English and direct preparation for naturalization. At a time when American citizenship is an especially prized possession, this school trains many of our alien residents to qualify for becoming citizens.
Military Training in Schools
In the report of the Superintendent of Schools, the matter of trade schools in connection with National Defense and the subject of patriotism have been dealt with. A related question is that of military training in public schools through the establishment of a Junior R. O. T. C. unit. This subject was taken up with the Com- mander of the First Corps Area of the Army, from whom it was learned that no further units of this type are being established in public high schools. In the present emergency, officers are not avail- able for this purpose and the methods of mechanized warfare now employed do not lend themselves readily for training in public schools.
No School Signals
Since the No School Signal needs to be sounded only a few times a year, it is not easy for parents to keep in mind the procedure which is followed. Consequently the following bulletin was recently sent to all parents of school children:
"The official signal for "no school" in Swampscott is given by radio announcement over Station WNAC, and whenever possible over Station WESX, on the various broadcasts from these stations between 7:00 A.M. and 7:45 A.M. on stormy mornings. These announcements always indicate what grades are to have no school.
"The arrangements indicated above have been in effect for about five years. The Swampscott fire whistle is blown as a matter of convenience to call attention to the fact that some grades are not in session. This whistle does not and has not for several years indi- cated what grades are affected, and any statement on fire alarm cards is to be disregarded."
Relation Between Parents and Teachers
Parents have been enabled to become acquainted with teachers and to visualize the surroundings of their children during school hours through the Open House Evenings held at the Junior and Senior High Schools as well as at special gatherings held in the elementary schools. The Parent-Teacher Association has also helped in this regard. Friendly contact between parents and the teaching staff is to be desired. It is often the means of straightening out misunder- standings and of lending encouragement to both teachers and pupils.
172
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
In conclusion, the Committee agains desires to commend all con- nected with the school system for their interested and loyal service.
Respectfully submitted,
PHILIP H. STAFFORD, Chairman, MARION D. MORSE, EDGAR U. BURDETT, BERNARD F. CAREY, AMOS E. RUSSELL.
FINANCIAL REPORT OF THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Appropriation
$199,700.00
Expenditures
General Control
$7,062.12
Instruction Service
155,509.38
Operation of Plants
26,573.70
Maintenance
4,443.09
Capital Outlay
145.15
Auxiliary Agencies
4,477.70
Adult Alien Education
754.85
198,965.99
Unexpended balance
$734.01
Credits to the Department
General Receipts
$117.20
Tuition Received-General
808.53
Tuition, State Department Public Welfare
154.00
State Refund, Adult Alien Education
312.50
State Refund, Trade and Vocational Schools
213.62
State Refund, General School Fund
15,229.00
$16,834.85
Net Cost of Schools
$182,131.14
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
To the School Committee of Swampscott
I submit herewith my annual report as Superintendent of Schools, the tenth such report that it has been my privilege to submit.
For the first time in a number of years our school census, taken annually as of October first, shows an increase in the number of children of school age residing in the town. The comparison with 1939 is given herewith:
1939
1940
Boys,
5 years of age or over, but under
7 106
72
Girls,
5 years of age or over, but under
7
112
96
Boys,
7 years of age or over, but under 16
655
712
Girls,
7 years of age or over, but under 16
618
662
Totals
1,491
1,542
However, an interesting peculiarity of this comparison lies in the number of children between 5 and 7 years of age. This is the smallest number in this group over a long period. From this group must come many of our entrants to grade one next September. It is,
173
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1940]
indeed, the only set of figures available that will give any hint as to the number of probable entrants. In 1939, with 218 children in this group, 99 enrolled in grade one in the following September. In 1938 the ratio was 103 out of 187, and in 1937 it was 116 out of 203. In other words the percentage of entrants in grade one has regularly been less than 60% of this group. We may, therefore, anticipate a first grade of about 90 pupils under normal circumstances next Sep- tember. This would be the smallest first grade for a great many years past. It will be interesting to note whether expectations are to be fulfilled.
Present industrial conditions in the country under the spur of the national defense program have given great impetus to the trend towards vocational training. This tendency, together with the stimu- lated interest in world events, has had interesting effects upon our high school organization. There has been a definite, though probably temporary, swing away from certain commercial courses, and a well defined flow into courses in science, mathematics and mechanical drawing. The mechanical drawing room, which had never been used to full capacity, has proven too small to accommodate the demand, and we have moved the equipment to the only larger room available, made some expansion of facilities, and now are just able to meet requirements. Fortunately we were able to overcome the congestion in mathematics classes when a vacancy made possible reassigning classes among teachers by securing a teacher able to teach in the mathematics department as well as in English. Enrollment in classes in Current History and World Problems is thirty per cent above what we anticipated it would be.
Queries have reached the School Department as to the advisa- bility of instituting a program of vocational training. This subject has been thoroughly investigated, and advice has been obtained from those best qualified to advise us in the State Department of Educa- tion, and especially from the head of the Division of Vocational Edu- cation who has been serving in an advisory capacity with the govern- ment as well as administering the government program in this state. His advice is specific: "It is my opinion that you should not under- take any program."
The reasons for this statement lie in the fact that the outlay would be out of all proportion to the returns. A program which would provide adequate opportunity to learn the trades intended must provide on-the-job equipment and opportunity. It must turn out a graduate who is able to perform his work according to trade standards, and who is accustomed to working with actual job ma- terials under conditions as they exist in industry. To set up, for example, a machine shop which would have state or federal approval as adequate for the purpose would cost us close to $30,000 for equip- ment alone, under normal circumstances. To consider setting up a program not deemed adequate would be an absurd waste of money. Under present circumstances of government priority it is doubtful if sufficient equipment could be obtained for either love or money. But assuming we could obtain it, we should then have no housing for it, and that problem would then have to be solved at further expense.
The question of securing government money has been gone into. All such government money in the state is being expended under the supervision of the State Department of Education. It is available only in established Trade and Vocational institutions that have satis- factory equipment, most of which exist in Massachusetts under the Independent Industrial School statutes. Only thirty-one schools in the state, all of this type, are participating. They are running both preparatory and refresher courses, and in certain courses must take
174
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
at least half their students from W.P.A. rolls. None of this money would be available for us.
"The government has likewise allotted $8,000,000 for equipment. However, the specific requirements for this appropriation are that it shall be used only to replace worn out equipment in established plants, or for new equipment in established plants that are being expanded for defense purposes. We have no claim there.
There is at present a move underway that is of particular inter- est from this vocational training standpoint, namely, a move to establish an Essex County Industrial School on much the same basis as that of the Essex County Agricultural School. The demand is coming from those communities in the county which are feeling the same need for an outlet into the industrial training field as does Swampscott, and which encounter the same obstacles to setting up their own program that we do. There seems no doubt that enabling legislation for this school will be presented to the next General Court. It will have strong support. It may be that if there is a real demand for industrial training among our people, the best interests of our town may lie in supporting such a project. And certainly with such a project in the wind, we cannot well consider, for the present at least, setting up a program that might well be only a limited dupli- cation of a few of a county school's best features.
I would recommend that maintenance on the school buildings be continued along the same lines as in the past. The policy has been to keep roofs tight and the exterior woodwork well protected by paint, and then to do consistently as large an amount of redecorating as the appropriation will allow.
On this program we have done the following work during the year:
Painted exterior of the Machon School.
Repaired roof of the Hadley Elementary School.
Repaired gutters and roof at the Clarke School.
Pointed a section of the brick wall on the Junior High School. Redecorated two classrooms and a corridor at the Stanley School. Refinished the ceilings of four rooms and the upper corridor at the Clarke School.
Painted a stairwell and the boys' toilet in the Hadley School.
Repaired roof of the Stanley School.
Repaired roof of the old section of the High School. .
There have, of course, been the usual and regular items of upkeep and maintenance of plumbing, heating and lighting that are normal in such plants as ours, but nothing of an unusual nature.
For next year, I especially recommend the following items to your attention:
Paint the wood trim of the Junior High and Hadley Elementary School exterior.
Redecorate four classrooms and accessories at the Stanley School. Repair plaster and repaint three rooms in the Junior High School.
Point exterior walls of entrance to Hadley Elementary School. Repair artificial stone trim in parts of Junior High facade.
In connection with the last two items, I believe this type of repair will be necessary each year for some years to come in these two buildings. The work we have been forced to do during the past
175
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1940]
three summers indicates that the trim of the Junior High School is gradually going to pieces. Water has penetrated in sections to the extent that the reinforcing is rusted out and winter frosts are dis- integrating or cracking up many of the blocks. We are trying to keep the situation under observation, and have made repairs as need has occurred, but much of the trouble does not reveal itself until well developed. The budget apparently must carry a regular allowance for such troubles for a number of years.
The Chief of the Fire Department has called our attention to the fact that the Clarke and Machon Schools are not protected by up-to-date fire alarm systems, in that they are not connected with the town fire alarm. It is his recommendation that they should be so connected in the interests of safety, and doubtless he is right, although the present situation is not new. On the contrary it has existed for many years. Apparently the original intent was to con- nect each building with the town alarm at the time of construction, for conduit and "break-glass" stations were installed. However, if the connections were ever made they were broken some time in the past.
There should be no confusion in the minds of anyone as to whether a fire signal can be sounded within each of these buildings. It can. Pupils can be notified of danger instantly, but the town department can be called only by pulling the box outside the building.
The problem is more than one of connecting the present equip- ment with the town system. If that were done an auxiliary system for ยท fire drills would be needed as well. The out-of-date apparatus was not designed to serve the separate purposes of signalling drills and calling the town department. Completely solving the problem calls for new equipment.
The Chief further notes that if the public service current should fail the Hadley School would be without any power to sound an alarm within the building during the emergency. He recommends that this be overcome by the proper installation, and that all school alarm systems, be placed under the supervision of the Fire Chief, a recom- mendation with which I heartily agree.
We have made some small beginning in the formation of a place- ment bureau in the High School for graduates and other students seeking employment. This work is being gradually brought into shape by Mr. Howard Batchelder of the Commercial Department. It is not our intention to set up an extensive or costly organization. It is our hope to know who among our graduates are available for employment, what kind of employment they desire, and how success- ful they have been in past employment. Then we hope to place them where they may succeed. It is our intent to keep in touch with prospective employers and to open up new contacts. As a beginning, last June five members of the graduating class were placed through direct contacts made by the school either just before or soon after school closed. Several others were put in touch with the Massachu- setts Employment Service, a federal agency, a move that led to securing positions for them. A contact made by Mr. Batchelder has been instrumental in locating in the Finance Division of the Army three boys who volunteered for defense service.
The State Commissioner of Education is proposing legislation to place this placement work on a permanent basis in the state. If adopted, the legislation will provide a full-time member of each high school faculty who will devote himself to guidance and place- ment. His duties will be the periodic check-up of drop-outs, guidance of drop-outs into appropriate training, and an active program of co-operation with all agencies to locate or even create work oppor-
176
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
tunities for young people. The person chosen as director would be required to meet state requirements, and the community would be partly reimbursed for his salary by the state.
There have been two resignations from our regular teaching force. Miss Helen Lewis of the Clarke School and Miss Virginia Tague of the High School resigned to be married. Miss Lewis's posi- tion was filled by the promotion of Miss Louise Cerica, who had served successfully as a building assistant. Because of diminished enrollment Miss Cerica's place was not filled, so that we have now one teacher less than last year. Miss Tague's place has been filled by the election of Mr. Donald Lowe. At Thanksgiving time Miss Janice Halvorson, secretary at the Junior High School, resigned to accept another position. Her place has been taken by Miss Constance Foley.
From the Americanization Evening Class staff Miss Catherine Lane, the director, resigned early in the fall, after having served for two years. Her work had been eminently satisfactory. She had conducted her work with enthusiasm and had held the confidence of the people who were her students. Her place has been filled by the election of Mrs. Ethel Gilles who was recommended to us by the State Department of Education, and who is carrying on the work with the same spirit that Miss Lane exhibited. The classes are hold- ing well in attendance. The work this fall has made unusual demands on the time of the director because of the rush for naturalization papers due to the Alien Registration Act.
On August 16th we lost Mr. John Wilson, janitor of the Clarke School, through death. Although Mr. Wilson had been ill and on leave of absence since October, 1939, his death came unexpectedly as his condition was not known to be critical. Mr. Wilson had been in the service of the School Department since 1929. In his passing the town has lost a capable and loyal employee. His position has been filled by the promotion of Mr. Frank Coletti, formerly an assistant at the High School.
National defense and recognition of the blessings which this nation enjoys as a result of its heritages and form of government are subjects which the schools must consciously and forcefully keep before pupils. Directly, of course, we cannot actively participate in material accomplishment, but in developing and stabilizing a state of mind and attitudes we may have far-reaching influence. Our teachers have this fact constantly before them, and I believe they are fully alert to their responsibilities. We can, of course, and do conform to all the requirements laid upon us by statute and custom, but patriotism and love of country are not matters of form. They are emotional states of mind and not teachable through the usual formulae for the multiplication tables. They must be acquired as traits of character-as elements of a person's make-up which are as inherent and fundamental to him as honesty and modesty and righteousness, or they are insincere.
As I read of crime waves and civic corruption and cynicism in the high place of public affairs I sometimes feel that the tendency of our recent years has been to place too great a reliance on mere form. I have made clear to our teachers that, as for my children, I wish them, indeed, to salute the flag, to understand such funda- mental documents as the Declaration of Independence and the Con- stitution, and to know the workings of our government in its essen- tial parts; but I wish them to do so consciously and with a sense
177
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
1940]
of veneration, and to understand what underlies them, not super- ficially but profoundly. And above all I desire that they shall be aware of their moral responsibilities when the time comes for them to participate in civic matters. I believe no parent will object to that doctrine. There can be little question where the choice should lie if it must be between learning to know impersonally the machinery of our democracy and learning to comprehend and practice the principles of honesty and faith that inspired its founders to establish it. Our aim will be to attain both ends.
Respectfully submitted,
FRANK L. MANSUR, Superintendent of Schools.
SWAMPSCOTT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
Cash Report *For Period-July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1940 Receipts
Cash on hand, July 1, 1939
$769.50
Football:
Gate Receipts
$4,456.25
Guarantee and Contract
645.80
American Legion Canvas Rental
20.00
Sale of Equipment
1.50
Total Receipts (Football)
5,123.55
Boys' Basketball:
Gate Receipts
$113.15
Guarantee and Contract
62.50
Sale of Equipment
3.25
Total Receipts (Basketball)
178.90
Baseball:
Sale of Equipment
$16.50
Refund-Officials (Cancelled Games)
10.00
Total Receipts (Baseball)
26.50
Total
$6,098.45
Expenditures
Football:
Cleaning
$308.20
Equipment
528.50
Officials
251.00
Police
224.00
Transportation
216.90
Medical
209.39
Guarantee and Contract
729.81
Field Expenses
3.64
Student Prizes
156.50
Special Honorarium
10.00
Band
150.00
Armored Car Service
15.00
Films
56.00
Agawam Travelling Expenses
135.05
178
TOWN DOCUMENTS
[Dec. 31
Sweater Awards
200.60
Miscellaneous Expense
103.92
Total
$3,298.51
Baseball:
Cleaning
$41.16
Equipment
215.33
Officials
40.00
Transportation
122.00
Awards
60.65
Field Expense
,
2.88
Total
482.02
Boys' Basketball:
Equipment
$37.25
Officials
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