USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1958 > Part 8
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Term Expires 1959
50 Sherwood Rd.
George A. Chadwell
Term Expires 1960
96 Stetson Ave.
William H. Rothwell, 2nd
Term Expires 1961 Little's Point
Theodore C. Sargent
Term Expires 1959
9. Clarke Road
Regular meeting, second Thursday of each month. Public is welcome.
Superintendent of Schools Robert D. Forrest
Office
Residence
24 Redington Street LY 2-2067
57 Rockland Street LY 8-9015
Administrative Assistant
Philip A. Jenkin
The office of the Superintendent of Schools is open' every week-day fi nm 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
best SCHOOL PRINCIPALS
James,H. Dunn, High School LYnn 2-2574
Jane To Gifford, Stanley School
LYnn 2-1954
Esther K. Heikel, Machon School
LYnn 2-5730
Keith L. Jordan, Hadley School
LYnn 3-7973
Madelaine M. Murphy, Clarke School
LYnn 8-2659
SCHOOL CALENDAR 1959
Winter term begins Monday, January 5
Winter term closes Friday, February 20
Spring term begins Monday, March 2
Spring term closes Friday, April 17
Summer term begins Monday, April 27
Fall term begins
Wednesday, September 9
To the Citizens of Swampscott
Ladies and Gentlemen:
"For Better or Worse-Here's Where America's Future is Being Written! -Our Schoolrooms." This caption for a recent newspaper illustration might be called the creed of every forward-looking school committee in the nation.
Your School Committee believes that Swampscott needs and deserves the best possible educational system; our town, as well as our country, will be superior if our children are taught by master teachers, are offered a full cur- riculum, are strengthened by a sound sports program, and are guided into
79
Town of Swampscott
healthy social activities. We took a major step in our salary schedule this year in order to compete for high calibre teachers-the search is for quality not just the necessary quantity.
We look forward to arranging programs for the gifted child so that his talents will be developed in a democratic and competitive manner. We must give consideration to foreign language instruction at the elementary level. These are but two of the many needs to be met so that we of Swampscott may take pride in our public schools.
In 1958 we met 28 times in order to accomplish all that we did; we shall be equally busy this year. We want you, our fellow townspeople, to feel free to attend our meetings at the High School Library. Our regular meeting night is the second Thursday of the month, and all meetings are announced in the press. Also, our records of meetings are available to the public; they are kept in the Superintendent's office. We welcome your continuing interest in our schools.
Lillian I. White, Chairman O. O. Keiver, Jr., Vice-Chairman George A. Chadwell William H. Rothwell, 2nd Theodore C. Sargent
To the Members of the School Committee:
The year 1958 was, educationally speaking, the year of Federal aid, of new storms of controversy over public schools and, for Swampscott in par- ticular, of the start of a long delayed building program.
Yet neither government money nor new construction had direct impact. The new junior high school, though moving rapidly into the early stages of its construction, bore little effect in 1958 other than on the lives of those of us involved primarily in the planning of it. For most Swampscott people, the project on the Whitney Estate would have little meaning before 1959. Sim- ilarly, Federal aid. The National Defense Education Act spent 1958 enmesh- ed in administrative procedures on the State level with no windfalls locally.
Not so, however, the controversy. This, to one degree or another, has ruffled the feathers of nearly everybody. Those of us in school work grew accustomed to, if neither quite delighted nor convinced by, irresponsible at- tacks appearing in popular publications. With distortions of logic never taught in any self-respecting educational institution, a certain breed of critic blamed our public schools for all the evils of the age-particularly the Rus- sian challenge, but also taxes, inflation and juvenile delinquency. For any- thing that went wrong in the race for scientific supremacy, the school was the scapegoat, never military priority and planning or the level of work in graduate colleges. For some reason, that one physics course in high school had more to do with missiles that didn't go off than all the many courses de- signed to train the professional scientist or the administrative road blocks designed, at least seemingly, to frustrate him.
But, in general, Americans did not follow the rabble-rousers. Citizens were concerned about their schools, yes, but they also had faith in them. They wanted certain improvements, but they wanted also to retain the basic frame- work of our universal, democratic education. Without a doubt, the voice which gained the respectful ear of educators and public alike was that of
80
1958 Annual Report
James Bryant Conant, who continued his study of the American high school with periodic reports throughout the year. His findings constitute a vote of confidence in the existing pattern of our secondary schools, with the rec- ommendation that "more imuscle" be put into the present program to require our better students to achieve high levels of scholarship.
Though the Conant study focuses mainly on high schools, its stres on "comprehensiveness" has implications for every stage of public education. Schools today offer many different services to many different kinds of pupil. In a sense, education is the process of helping a youngster overcome whatever obstacles may block the fullest possible development of his own best abilities. The obstacles are of many different kinds. Occasionally, they are of a na- ture to require extremely specialized treatment; and many people, attentive mainly to the bigger business of getting pupils ready for college and work, are perhaps only remotely aware that our schools are providing services of this kind.
Special Services
Let me indicate the areas in which the Swampscott schools are providing specialized instruction to certain of our pupils.
First, there are youngsters confined to their homes but nevertheless able to study. In 1958 we installed a school-to-home direct line which enabled a bed-ridden pupil to participate actively in her high school classes, keep up in her studies and achieve honor grades. Though absent many months, this girl will have profited greatly from a year which, as far as schoolwork is con- cerned, might well have been nearly a complete loss. A second installation is being made in January of 1959 for another pupil in similar circumstances. Still other pupils, absent for somewhat less prolonged periods than the two just mentioned, receive personal instruction from teachers who go directly in- to homes with the work of the classroom.
Other youngsters attend schools regularly but receive supplementary in- struction. For years we have given special teaching to pupils with hearing difficulties; this we continue to do. In 1958 we enrolled in our junior high a boy with a visual difficulty. Here too, a special program permits him to profit from attendance at school and from association with other boys and girls. Some youngsters require speech correction. This we provide through skilled therapy that for a long time now has proved its value to Swampscott children. There are other pupils who cannot be expected to progress through a regular school program. For these we provide an ungraded class in which work related to their individual requirements will help them take their places in society as useful and happy citizens. Whenever we could not supply spec- ialized services from our own resources, we made arrangements to transport pupils to centers in Lynn, Salem or Boston where their needs could be met.
I would find it hard to believe that any responsible person might feel that these youngsters with special problems have no claim upon our attention or that education should in no way concern itself with them. Curriculum
The greatest single development in our curriculum in 1958 was the intro- duction of a new course of study in physics. We are enthusiastic about the change and proud to be among the first schools in the nation to make it. This program already reported in the Focus, represents an abrupt shift from tra- ditional memory-cramming to a modern emphasis on concepts and basic prin-
81
Town of Swampscott
ciples. A great deal of credit is due to Mr. Held, head of our science depart- ment, for his efforts in bringing this new course to Swampscott.
While we have always taught science to all pupils in grades 8 and 9, we have not until now included it in the course of study for grade 7. A faculty science committee, reporting after a three-year study, included among its rec- ommendations that a program be developed for the first year of junior high school. Since September of 1958, all pupils in the 7th grade have been receiv- ing two periods a week of science lessons. This program may be expanded if we find we can do so without curtailing unduly other phases of the junior high course of study.
Last year I commented that elementary report cards were under study and that revisions were planned for 1958-59. Recommendations of the study committee were adopted and the new card will be issued for the first time in February of 1959. These cards represent a return to the ABC type of mark- ing, with grades based on performance rather than on the combination of achievement, effort and ability that has determined marks for years past. Crit- icism of the former system was that it lacked clarity, that there was little agreement on what any given grade meant. This card, of course will have its critics, too. And, unfortunately, some pupils will still take home low grades under any system of reporting. We hope, however, that the new sys- tem will at least leave lines of communication uncluttered for teachers, par- ents and pupils.
The year 1958 saw the formation of two new committees of elementary teachers. One group undertook to consider whether or not Swampscott schools have a need to provide some special kind of new program for the pupil variously described as gifted, talented or academically able. The other set out to investigate the advantages and methods of modern language instruc- tion in the elementary grades. Both committees will report in the spring of 1959.
We were able in the fall of 1958 to free Mrs. Beatrice Hutchinson from a few of her teaching periods each week so that she could devote time to guidance at the Junior High School For years we have been keenly aware of the need for more guidance than we have had on this level, but not until now have we been able to make anything like a major stride forward. There can be no doubt as to the benefits of counseling these early adolescent pupils and it is our hope to develop a broad and thorough program as we move into our new building.
The Class of 1958
It is interesting to compare the high school class that graduated last June with the six that preceded it. Here are a few figures our guidance di- rector, Mrs. Cooper, has gathered together:
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
Number in class
110
119
111
115
140
123
147
Percent continuing education
52
61
67
64
76
67
80
Percent attending college
46
48
39
43
52
39
47
The percentage of our graduates who attend degree-granting institutions remains verv nearly constant but there has been a gradual increase in the number of other graduates who choose to take some other type of post-sec- ondary school education.
82
1958 Annual Report
People frequently inquire about what kinds of colleges our graduates at- tend. In the spring of 1958, 8 different boys received 10 final acceptances from the colleges usually designated as Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Prince- ton, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth); 5 of the 8 boys went to those schools. Currently we have graduates in 88 different colleges; the record includes M. I. T., Williams, Wellesley, - in fact, nearly every college and university in New England. Scholarships won by these Swampscott grad- uates will total some $40,000 during their college. years. Faculty
Several grants and scholarships became available to teachers in 1958. Dur- ing the summer three of the secondary staff-Mr. Enos Held, Mrs. Lois Roy and Miss Katherine Townsend-won fellowships for study at Science Insti- tutes at Bowdoin College, Colby College and Wesleyan University. During the current year two of our high school mathematics teachers have received scholarships: Miss Marjorie White, Department Head, and Mr. James Mur- phy were selected for special work in their field at Boston College. Mr. Wal- ter Drogue of the High School English Department, on funds made available by the Ford Foundation, spent a week in July at Brandeis University in a workshop devoted to a new television course in the humanities soon to be of- fered to high school pupils.
New things are happening in education-both in subject matter and in techniques of teaching. We are pleased that our teachers in 1958 had the qualifications and the initiative to participate in these programs. Our staff and our various courses of study will be strengthened as a result.
A substantial number of Swampscott teachers are always engaged in graduate study. This year 65 of our total of 126 hold a Master's degree or more. I believe this to be a new high in the educational attainments of our staff.
For the past three years the rate of teacher turnover has remained fairly constant. After an abnormally high number of new teachers. in 1955, we be- gan 1956 and 1957 with fourteen each and 1958 with ten. All of these ten have at least Bachelor's degrees and five have Master's degrees. All but two had previous teaching experience. Two filled newly created positions and eight replaced teachers who had submitted their resignations.
Teachers who left at the end of the 1957-58 school year r.ere Sophie Polansky, Sally Limpitlaw, Raymond Antell, Harriet Clark, Laura Pringle, Bradford Wright, Bette Davis, John Cooper, Anthony Terenzi and Katherine Townsend. Beatrice Cook, who taught for forty years in the Hadley Junior High, retired in June. Exchange Teachers
In 1958 we experienced what we hope is only the beginning of a contin- uing process of bringing to our schools teachers from other countries.
In January Miss Phengsy Mamaroth, a native of Laos, came to spend five weeks in our schools. Under a program administered by our national gov- ernment through the various state departments of education, Miss Phengsy is spending two years in the United States observing American schools. We enjoyed her stay, finding her a charming ambassador of her country. While with us, she visited each of Swampscott's elementary schools and addressed several local community groups.
In September Miss Olive Jakes, from Croydon, England, arrived to teach
F 83
Town of Swampscott
second grade at the Clarke School for the entire year. Under the Fulbright program, she has exchanged assignments with Miss Frances Mitchell of our regular staff, who is now at Miss Jake's school in England. We hold Miss Jakes in very high regard. Her candor and comments about schools and our ways as compared to those in England we have found to be a challenge to our complacency and a stimulation to a fresh analysis of much that we take for granted.
I feel strongly that exchange programs of this sort are extremely worth- while. Our youngsters, our teachers and our community benefit from the experience of an outsider in our midst. We should encourage an expansion of the policy that already has done much for us. Adult Education
The evening school program which began in the fall of 1957 with 241 adults taking courses went into its second term in January of 1958 with only 135. Initial enthusiasm apparently fell victim to winter weather and the pressures of busy lives. The second year of the program began in October of 1958 with 200 registrants, all enrolled for one long term covering the same number of weeks as the former two. Experience indicates that 200 is a good working figure for which to plan a year's program of 15 to 20 weeks.
The homemakino and practical arts program reached its climax April 16 with an open house that featured a colorful exhibit in the High School caf- eteria of work done by Swampscott men and women in their classes in dec- orated ware, clothing, knitting, rug hooking and home repair. The popular- ity of the event encourages us to plan for its repetition in the spring of 1959.
The 1958-59 curriculum includes courses which proved successful during the previous years and others in which substantial interest had been ex- pressed. The current offerings are convesational French, sketching and painting, public speaking, typewriting, woodworking, rug braiding and rug hooking, pottery and first and second year clothing. Building Program
For several years a major portion of the annual report has been devoted to the serious condition of overcrowding in our schools and the many futile attempts to get necessary action to provide Swampscott with a new senior high school. One of the final town meeting actions of 1957 was to approve the appointment of a new committee to restudy the problem. This committee, reporting in January, 1958, recommended abandonment of the campus high school and, in its stead, erection of a junior high school. Although we still felt the proper solution to be a senior high school and so advised the Town Meeting, approval was voted for the junior high school project. A: another meeting in June, $1,650,000 was appropriated for construction of the new building.
The Building Committee, working conscientiously and speedily, prepared plans and submitted the project for bids in October. Fortunately, the bids were within the budget. Contracts were negotiated and construction began at once. We have been assured by the contractor and the architect that the 700-pupil building will be available at the opening of school in September, 1959. We are now purchasing equipment and organizing our program and staff and expect to have 650 pupils enrolled in the new building this fall.
After years of operating under extreme difficulty, we are looking for- ward to a period of relatively relaxed condition". Without a doubt, the new
84
1958 Annual Report
building, which we feel is well planned, will enable us to strengthen our junior high program considerably. Our senior high, too, will benefit as the enroll- ment drops back from 760 to approximately 550. We would remind our pub- lic, however, that as the enrollments increase in the senior high school in the years ahead, some improved and additional facilities will be needed there.
The Hadley School Building Committee has been reactivated and is plan- ning to complete the renovation and remodeling of that school during the coming summer. The Hadley will then serve as an elementary school only. Classrooms will be adapted for that purpose, and better facilities will be pro- vided for the central administrative staff and for the staff of the school it- self.
Enrollments
The accompanying table summarized the enrollments in the public schools since 1950.
Date
K-6
7-12
Total
1950
1070
725
1795
1952
1256
806
2062
1954
1388
932
2320
1956
1433
1078
2511
1958
1441
1168
2609
It will be seen that our elementary enrollment, after increasing rapidly un- til 1957, has now levelled off at approximately 1450. We expect it to remain at about that figure. Further increases are expected at the secondary level but the rate of increase will be considerably less than in recent years.
During the current school year the ninth grade has again been platooned on a staggered basis at the senior high school. Their school day begins and ends approximately 11/2 hours later than the upper three grades.
With initiative and co-operation provided by the Hadley PTA we trans- ferred last summer approximately thirty pupils from that school to the Clarke and Stanley Schools. We were thus able to avoid elementary platoons, ex- cept in the kindergartens. True, several of our grade divisions are too large, but we hope to remedy this condition next fall. Maintenance
In 1958 we were able to bring our maintenance program pretty well ur to date. I feel we no longer have any emergency type of projects and, with the completion of the Hadley renovation, our physical plant will be in its best condition in many years. Now we must embark on a continuous program of preventive maintenance and up-grading of our plant to insure that we never again find ourselves with so many delayed projects. The most expensive maintenance is postponed maintenance.
The High School and the Machon School received the greatest attention this year. At the High School we completed the exterior painting that was be- gun in 1957. The auditorium was redecorated with new paint and new draper- ies. Two classrooms received new lighting fixtures and the locker rooms were painted. A new water storage tank and a new master clock were install- ed. New tile flooring was placed in the corridors, and the exterior cast stone was rebuilt and given a protective coating.
At the Machon, a new electrical service was brought into the building.
85
Town of Swampscott
The front yard was graded and seeded, making an attractive lawn where be- fore we had only weeds and stones. An old bathtub was removed from a small room upstairs and the room itself converted so that it can be used for remedial reading instruction.
Boilers were rebricked in the Clarke School. At the Stanley, the exterior of the old portion was painted. The roof of the new addition, which has giv- en us so much trouble, was again repaired and we hope this time the work will be successful in preventing any further leaks.
Financial Statement
Total Appropriation
$921,355.85
Adjustments
110.14
$921,465.99
Expenditures:
General Control
$23,780.86
Instructional Service
708,614.81
Operation of Plant
106,459.16
Maintenance
27,433.18
Auxiliary Services .......
39,430.68
Capital Outlay
.. 2.
4,708.29
910,426.98
56.
Balance at close of year
$11,039.01
Credits to the Public Schools:
State Aid General School Fund
.... 01.60,138.00
State Aid, Special Services
6,084.00
7
Tuition Received
na1, 094.008 33
General Receipts
[rv895.00$68,211.00} ;...
Conclusion
The year 1958 brought new honors and recognition to almost all of our' school organizations-to the band, our athletic teams, our senior yearbook, and to the Swampscotta, our student publication. Many of our students and teachers also received special honors in the course of the year. While we have reason to be proud of our accomplishments, we must not be satisfied. In 1959, we look forward to entering our new school, making further curriculum revisions, and realizing higher levels of achievement by our young people at all grade levels.
Respectfully submitted, Robert D. Forrest Superintendent of Schools
Pupils Enrolled-October 1, 1958
Elementary
Kind.
1
2
3
4
5
6
SP.
Total
Clarke
58
56
63
56
62
58
60
413
Hadley
41
36
35
38
31
46
42
269
Machon
41
45
36
22
38
36
41
259
Stanley
59
69
58
68
91
78
64
13
500
Total
199
206
192
184
222
218
207
13
1441
Grade 7
Grade 8
Junior High
212
196
408
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12
High
206
192
184
178
760
Total
2609
...
86
1958 Annual Report
The Planning Board
Harold M. King, Chairman
James R. Maddock, Sec. Alexander B. Way, Jr.
John F. Milo Ralph L. Williams
The Planning Board held twenty-one meetings during the past year at which seventeen plot plans were endorsed "Approval under sub-division con- trol not required," seven public hearings were held, one sub-division was ap- proved and one rejected and conferences were held with the Board of Health and the Tax Revenue Committee.
Members of the Board attended the Annual Meeting of the State Fed- eration of Planning Boards and one Region 5A meeting. The Swampscott and Nahant Boards arranged for and were hosts at the Annual Meeting of Region 5A of the State Federation of Planning Boards. This was a self liquidating affair which cost the town nothing.
In addition the board co-operated with the Selectmen on the disposition of tax title holdings, attended the ten of thirteen meetings of the Board of Appeals at which matters regarding the application of the Zoning By-Law were discussed, co-operated closely with the Board of Public Works and at- tended hearings at the State House by the Department of Public Utilities and the Legislative Committee on Mercantile Affairs.
Board of Health
E. Wallace Donald, Chairman Robert H. Bessom, M.D.
Edward L. Cashman, Jr., M.D. John E. LaPlante, Health Officer
A change was noted in the Board of Health members this year with the election of E. Wallace Donald to Chairman and Dr. Edward L. Cashman, Jr. to the unexpired term of Dr. Robert C. Thomson, who moved out of Swamp- scott.
Resident deaths total 140 for the year making a crude death rate of 10.7 per thousand with the average life span of 68.2 years. Diseases of the heart and circulatory system continue to lead the causes of death with 95 followed by cancer with 24 and pneumonia with 11.
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