USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1960 > Part 21
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The disabilities represented were: 6 rheumatic fever, 5 fractures, 3 operations, 4 infections, 4 mononucleosis, and 2 each of the following: hepatitis, spinal fusion, nephritis, congenital heart, auto accident, appen- dectomy, cystic fibrosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, pneumonia, and 1 each of: spina bifida, allergic reaction to drugs, slipped epiphysis, heart opera- tion, acute lymphocytosis, coasting accident, hyperthyroid, kidney infection, and hemophilia.
Of those in the class in June, one graduated from high school, eleven were promoted and returned to their schools in September, two are still in the home class, and one was not promoted due to illness. After ten years in the home class. Katherine Melville transferred to the State Hos- pital School in Canton, where she is in the tenth grade.
These handicapped children deserve much credit for successfully car- rying on their studies under adverse conditions and we appreciate the co-operation of their parents who are happy that their children have the opportunity to keep up with their classmates.
10. DRIVER EDUCATION
The course is divided into two parts. The first, driver education, consists of 30 hours of classroom instruction. This includes a study of the rules and regulations as formulated by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, discussions as to the cause of various types of accidents, studies of various attitudes prevalent in automobile driving, car insurance, car maintenance, etc. There is also available a large number of appropriate films and film strips.
The second part of the course is on-the-road training in the dual- control school car. This program makes use of study periods of the student. It does not interfere with his regular schedule of classes. There is some difficulty at times to make the teacher's free time coincide with the study periods of the student, but with two teachers available at differ- ent times, this has worked out quite satisfactorily. This time on the road has been supplemented during the past year by after hours work by one of the instructors. It is hoped that the School Committee will continue with this phase of the work at least until the end of the present school year.
A brief statistical review follows:
1. Students enrolled in Driver Education classes 1959-1960-453
2. Licenses issued through Weymouth High School, not including those issued by the summer session-140
3. Number of qualified students who were not given on-the-road training during the year due to lack of adequate facilities-265
4. Total enrolment for the year 1960-1961-380
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11. AGRICULTURE
The opening of school in September 1959 showed a total enrollment of 32 students. These students, according to classes, were divided as follows: Seniors 12, Juniors 9, and Sophomores 11.
The students may be geographically located as follows: South Wey- mouth 9, Weymouth 8, East Weymouth 4, North Weymouth 2, Hingham 4, Norwell 2, Abington 2, and Rockland 1.
Twenty-four of the above boys reported summer agricultural projects (seven left and one did not furnish a final report) as follows: Vermont 6, East Weymouth 3, Wollaston 3, Abington 2, Weymouth 2, Hingham 2, Norwell 1, South Weymouth 1, North Weymouth 1, Lexington 1, New Hampshire 1 and New York 1. These projects represent 7 dairy farms, 4 landscape services, 3 nurseries, 1 ice cream plant (3 employed), 2 tree services, 1 estate management, 1 greenhouse, 1 landscape and tree work, 1 greenkeeper and 1 in the preparation of food.
12. SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Changes of several kinds were noteworthy in our libraries in 1960. Paperbacks were given a big push in two libraries. The Tufts Library stopped providing books for junior high schools, mostly because the need for this service no longer exists. At South Junior High, Mrs. Margaret E. Rains is the new librarian, replacing Mrs. Jeannette P. Tovet, who resigned in June. In connection with National Library Week in April, three authors appeared at a "Meet the Authors" program at Central Junior High, with guests invited from other junior highs, including seventh graders located in elementary schools. All four librarians attended the New England Library Association Conference on October 7.
During the week of November 28 to December 2, the High School Library was the site for a paperback book fair operated by the Student Council under the supervision of Mr. Horrigan, the advisor, the English teachers, and Mr. Adams. English divisions each had a period in the library. The Fair sold about 5,000 books worth about $2,000 and provided $400 for the Student Council scholarship fund. More important, it stirred up new interest in good books and in the reading of books. At South Junior High, 149 paperbacks aroused equal enthusiasm: 125 were borrowed the first day!
Double sessions at the high school continued to have an adverse effect on almost every quantitative aspect of library use. In the junior high schools, circulation increased slightly over 1959.
Library clubs continued to provide vital services, charging books, cata- loging, preparing books for shelves, preparing displays, etc. These clubs had some social activities, including visits with groups from other libraries.
Instruction on how to use the library is very necessary. This was done in seventh grade classes, in eighth grade classes, and also in the high school, where a number of English teachers brought classes to intro- duce the library to many students who would not otherwise have used it, and to enable other students to use it more efficiently.
Statistics:
School
Number of Books
Added 1960
Total Circulation
Weymouth High
5,281
251
5,364
Bicknell Junior
2,966
245
15,634
Central Junior
4,803
816
15,999
South Junior
4,701
186
16,619
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13. EVENING SCHOOLS
Evening classes in Weymouth schools continue to interest and serve a growing number of adults, a situation similar to the one that prevails all over our nation. Each man or woman attends a two or three hour class one night per week for twenty weeks, developing skills and competencies in a wide range of areas. A total of 999 people registered in September, the highest number yet.
The greater portion of the classes is in the practical arts area and is under the supervision of the Division of Vocational Education of the Massachusetts Department of Education. Teachers of these classes must have the approval of the Division, and their salaries are paid half by the State and half by the Town. Classes in commercial subjects, woodworking, oil painting, adult civic education and the social sciences are not under State control and are paid for in full by the Town.
The annual exhibition of items produced in the practical arts and woodworking classes, along with style shows, took place at South Junior High on March 28 and at the High School on March 29, As always, appreciative friends came in large numbers to admire the results of the winter's efforts.
Classes and instructors are as follows:
WEYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL
Tuesday Courses
Enrollment
Instructor
Beginning Clothing
20
Mrs. Alice M. Cullen
Cake Decorating-two half-year classes
28
Miss Louise E. Watts
Decorative Art
15 Mrs. Clara M. Taylor
Beginning Rug Braiding
20 Mrs. Helen T. Jordan
Beginning Rug Braiding
20 Mrs. Anna M. Emond
Rug Hooking
16
Mrs. Leona M. Cook
Woodworking
30
Mr. Wallace T. Driscoll
Beginning Typewriting
35 Miss Olive E. Hackett
Beginning Typewriting
40
Mr. William J. McCarthy
Beginning Shorthand
26 Mrs. Norma E. Dever
Beginning Office Machines
20 Miss Louise J. Hill
Adult Civic Education
5 Mrs. Edna L. Gloster
Thursday Courses
Advanced Clothing
20 Mrs. Alice M. Cullen
Cake Decorating-two half-year classes
28 Miss Louise E. Watts
Copper Tooling
22 Mrs. Eleanor M. Aikens
Decorative Art
21 . Mrs. Clara M. Taylor
Furniture Refinishing
20 Mr. Wallace T. Driscoll
Advanced Rug Braiding
25 Mrs. Anna M. Emond
Rug Hooking
15 Mrs. Leona M. Cook
Advanced Typewriting
32 Miss Olive E. Hackett
Advanced Shorthand
17 Mrs. Jane Gillis
Advanced Office Machines
15 Miss Louise J. Hill
BICKNELL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Tuesday Courses
Enrollment Instructor
Beginning Clothing
22
Mrs. Marion R. Rideout
Copper Tooling
20
Mrs. Eleanor M. Aikens
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Thursday Courses Advanced Clothing
23 Mrs. Marion R. Rideout
CENTRAL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Tuesday Courses
Beginning Clothing
20
Mrs. Belva Furlong
Beginning Upholstery
18 Mr. Mario Comunale
Cake Decorating-half-year class
15 Mrs. Bessie Starkie
Oil Painting
14
Mr. Brian J. Doherty
Thursday Courses
Advanced Clothing
20
Mrs. Belva Furlong
Advanced Upholstery
17 Mr. Mario Comunale
Oil Painting
15 Mr. Brian J. Doherty
SOUTH JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Tuesday Courses
Enrollment
Beginning Clothing
20 Mrs. Christine M. Gardner
Cake Decorating-half-year class
17 Mrs. Bessie Starkie
Oil Painting
17 Mr. Philip S. Dolan
Woodworking
24
Mr. Albert B. Noyes
Thursday Courses
Advanced Clothing
20
Mrs. Christine M. Gardner
Decorative Art
18
Mrs. Alice B. Shields
Fabric Painting
20 Mrs. Marjorie Margeson
Furniture Refinishing
24 Mr. Albert B. Noyes
Rug Braiding
23 Mrs. Kay A. Hall
Rug Hooking
18 Mrs. Frances L. Clifford
Civil War Period
15 Mr. Thomas C. Higgins
Oil Painting
19 Mr. Philip S. Dolan
Mr. Francis X. Kelly continues as Principal of the classes at the High, Bicknell Junior High and Central Junior High Schools, and Mr. Thomas E. Lambe as Principal of the classes at South Junior High School.
The Evening Vocational program includes three Trade Extension courses, as follows: Architectural Drawing and Blueprint Reading, taught by George H. Klay, with 28 enrolled; Printing, taught by John F. Collins and Herman F. Perry, with 22 enrolled; and Sheet Metal Layout and Pattern Drafting, taught by William E. Sullivan, with 16 enrolled. These classes meet both Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mr. Ray G. Parker is the Director for these classes.
14. SUMMER SCHOOL
The Weymouth Summer School completed its second session on August 5, 1960 and had an enrollment of 295 students. Of this number, 140 students came from junior high schools, 154 from senior high schools, and one from a college. Of the total 295, thirteen students were from nonresident families. This number included five from Abington, six from Cohasset, one from Everett, and one from Marshfield. Nonresident students paid a tuition fee of $30.00 per course. Resident students paid a registration fee of $10.00 per course.
289
Two hundred twenty-nine students each enrolled in one subject and sixty-six students each enrolled in two subjects. The subject enrollment was as follows:
Algebra 35 General Mathematics 21
Chemistry 13
Latin
17
Driver Training 54
Plane Geometry 7
English
49
Remedial Reading 29
French 22
Typewriting
114
The summer school is open to students in Grades 9 and 12. However, this year for the first time, as a result of many requests, the school offered remedial reading to students in Grades 7, 8, and 9. Twenty-nine students enrolled in this reading program.
Also, in connection with junior high students, it should be noted that, without including the remedial reading classes, the summer school en- rollment of ninth grade students from all the junior high schools in- creased 29% over last year. In recognition of this fact, probably more summer school opportunities should be offered for junior high school students in future years.
THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAM
In September 1945, at the end of the war, there were 4,617 pupils enrolled in the Weymouth Schools. Ten years later in 1955 the enrollment had nearly doubled at just over 9,000 pupils. In September 1960 the en- rollment was 10,629. Recently the rate of increase has slowed and this year we have 9 fewer pupils than in 1959. This decrease was due to a fall off in the elementary schools and in the high school.
The decrease in the high school was anticipated, and it will exist for this school year only. In September 1961 we expect an increase of 140 to 150 pupils, in 1962 160 to 170 pupils, and in 1963 over 200 pupils. From then on the increase in high school enrollments will be gradual.
In 1950, the year before the South Junior High School opened, the enrollment in grades 7-9 was 1,116 pupils. By 1955, the year the Central Junior High School opened, it had increased to 2,014. This year the junior high enrollment, grades 7-9, has reached 2,838; in 1961 we anticipate 2,880 junior high pupils. Thereafter the increase will be gradual. Next year nineteen 7th grade classes will be housed in elementary buildings. As is true this year, ten of these classes will be in old buildings, five at the Jefferson School and five at the Shaw School. Nine classes will be as- signed to the Hunt, Nash, Nevin, and Pond Schools. Every classroom in all our buildings will be in use.
When the present high school plant becomes the 4th junior high school in September 1962, the junior high attendance districts will be reorganized and over 600 7th, 8th, and 9th grade pupils from East Weymouth and the Pratt School district will be assigned to that school. This building will also house the overflow 10th grade pupils which the new high school will be unable to accommodate.
The increase in enrollments in the elementary grades appears to have slackened off and no sizable increase is expected in the next few years except in East Weymouth. Present plans provide for transporting two classes from the Washington district to the old John Adams School at Weymouth Heights in September. In 1962 when the Jefferson School
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will no longer be needed for 7th grade pupils it will be used to house elementary pupils. The Humphrey and Pingree Schools, together with the old Washington and Jefferson Schools, have a total of 37 classrooms. These will all be needed by September 1962 and it may also be necessary to continue to use the old two-room John Adams School.
The leveling off in elementary enrollments has resulted from two factors: (1) the decrease in new house construction from an average of 468 in the eight year period from 1948 through 1955 to an average of 165 in the four year period from 1956 through 1960. (In addition permits for 146 apartment units have been issued in this period.) (2) the increase in parochial school enrollments. In 1955 the parochial school enrollment for Weymouth pupils in grades 1-6 was 488. In September 1960 it was 1,279 and by 1963 when the newest school, St. Francis, and the enlarged Sacred Heart School extend through the 6th grade, it will approximate 1,550 pupils, an increase of about 1,060 pupils in eight years.
The School Committee has voted to sponsor an article for the Annual Town Meeting to authorize the appointment of a Building Committee to prepare plans for the altering and renovating of the present high school plant in order that these buildings may be used effectively to house junior high school pupils. The original high school building was built in 1898; additions have been as follows: south wing 1923, north wing 1927, cafe- teria 1931, and three additional classrooms in 1937. The first vocational building was built in 1926, the auto mechanics garage in 1934 and the carpentry shop in 1949. If this old high school plant is to be used for another thirty to forty years as a junior high school, it should be com- pletely renovated and the necessary alterations should be made to fit the different needs of an up to date junior high school curriculum. It is planned to do this work during the summer of 1962.
THE 1961 SCHOOL BUDGET
The estimates for the school budget will be found following the report of the School Committee. The budget is 6.6 per cent larger than last year. This is the smallest percentage increase in fifteen years and the dollar increase of $251,000 is the smallest since 1954. About $200,000 of the increase, or 80 per cent, is in salaries.
On December 6th the School Committee adopted a revised teachers' salary schedule increasing the minimum salaries $200 and the maximum salaries $500 at all three levels. The maximum will be attained in ten annual increments of $200 and two annual increments of $150. The present schedule has four increments of $200 and eight increments of $150. The addition of six $200 increments added to the $200 increase in the minimum accounts for the $500 increase at the maximum (viz .: $50 X 6=$300 -- $200- = $500).
The School Committee also voted to provide merit increases of $500 for teachers at maximum, with not more than 10 per cent of the teachers at maximum to be eligible. It was agreed that for September 1961 the awards would be limited to a cost of $2,000, viz .: twelve teachers.
As pointed out last year, increments of at least $200 are needed to be in a competitive position with other school systems. Quincy now has three increments at $250 and five or six at $300. Braintree, Hingham and most other South Shore towns have all $200 increments. At least twenty-eight Massachusetts communities now have all or some increments in excess of $200.
291
Our new minimum salary of $4,400 for the bachelor's degree should be adequate to recruit outstanding beginning teachers selected from the top graduates of the various colleges preparing teachers in the metropolitan area. The new schedule will be less adequate in securing experienced teachers for the high school. There is still a short supply of capable, fully qualified and experienced secondary school teachers of the calibre needed to maintain the high quality of instruction which we should maintain.
At the maximum level our salaries will continue to be lower than most good school systems in the Boston area. For example a few of the new maximums at the master's level for September 1961 are as follows: Newton, women $8,150, men $8,350; Needham $8,000; Framingham, Women $7,750, men $7,950; Dedham $7,650; Wayland $7,600; Quincy $7,500; Sharon $7,500; Scituate $7,470; Braintree, Norwood, Walpole $7,300; Westwood $7,200; Weymouth $7,000; Hull $6,900; Canton $6,800; Abington $6,350; Rockland $6,200.
In a six-year period from the school year 1953-54 to 1959-60 average staff salaries in Weymouth increased from $4,151 to $5,622, but in that period our rank among forty-five towns and cities with a population over 20,000 and less than 90,000 dropped from seventeenth to twenty-first and the average salary dropped from $126 above the State average to $102 above the State average. In other words, an increase of $1,471 in average salaries fell just short of maintaining our relative position among com- parable communities and in relation to State-wide average salaries.
The 1961 budget provides for only four new positions in September as compared with eight new positions in 1960 and thirty-four in 1959. As noted last year, the academic staff for a fourth junior high school will be provided by the nineteen junior high teachers who will be located in elementary buildings next year. Special teachers for guidance, library, art, music, industrial arts and home economics will have to be added in 1962.
Comparison of Instructional Salary Budgets
1960 Budget
1961
Plus
Minus
October payroll previous year
$2,490,150 58,170
Budget $2,635,910 59,587
$145,760
Special items
1,417
Step-up, master's degree, etc. increments
17,375
17,158
$ 217
Additional teachers
21,317
. . 7,000
14,317
General increase, September
29,799
58,767
28,968
$2,616,811
$2,778,422
$176,145
$14,534
2,616,811
14,534
Increase 1961 Budget over 1960 Budget
$ 161,611
$161,611
Weymouth's per pupil cost remains low among the large communities of the State. Of the fifty-five cities and towns with a population over 20,000, only fifteen have a materially lower per pupil cost and many of these are industrial cities such as Fall River, New Bedford, Attleboro, Brockton, Chicopee, Peabody, Chelsea and Malden.
292
The Old and the New
A technological revolution has occurred in the last fifty or sixty years that has transformed our society from a predominantly simple rural culture to a complex urban civilization. It is difficult for us to imagine what the next revolutionary changes in our culture and civiliza- tion brought about by automation and atomic power will be like and how vast and far reaching will be their influence on our standard of living.
While these changes have been occurring, what has happened in our schools? Has it been possible for the schools to keep abreast of the rapidly changing civilization for which they are supposed to prepare the next generation? Yes and no.
The school of 1960, housed in a recently built plant and staffed by well-prepared college graduates, has changed considerably from the simple structure and program of the 1900-1910 era. If this school of fifty years ago was located in a city or large town it probably had central heat, very likely one or more hot air furnaces or possibly steam with the enormous radiators located on the inside walls. These furnaces would be hand fired with coal in the urban areas but possibly' in the rural areas large chunks of wood would be fed the hot air furnaces at least in the spring and fall. If the school was new or recently remodeled, it would have inside toilets with unsanitary slate urinals located in an inadequately ventilated basement room. This universal location of sani- tary facilities still persists in the pupils' vocabulary of today, "May I go to the basement?" The school may have had gas lights, or no lights at all, though here and there in a new building electric lights were appear- ing, using the old tungsten bulb, which gave very little illumination. The natural light from individual windows was insufficient and probably came from two sides of the room. The pupils' desks were screwed to the wooden floor which was oiled once or twice a year to keep the dust down when the janitor swept. (The term custodian had yet to be invented.) The dados, door frames and other trim were usually varnished a dark color and to- gether with the slate blackboards added to the dingy, drab and desolate quarters to which pupils were assigned for five or six hours each school day.
But these meagerly equipped, poorly designed schoolhouses had a striking resemblance to the factories, offices, stores and houses of this era. They reflected the sanitary and simple mechanical advances of the period and the standard of living enjoyed by adults in their homes and places of work and recreation.
Today's grandparent who visits a modern school for the first time mar- vels at the gleaming, spotless, colorful atmosphere. The well-lighted, well- ventilated classroom with light colored walls, chalk board and furniture, ample tack board and generous storage spaces impresses him as an ideal environment for learning. Here is a setting where the minds of children, replete with the wonders of a scientific age which they have viewed on the ever present television set since their earliest memories, may be guided and inspired by an enthusiastic modern teacher who is a product of the same age in her education and in her training in the latest methods of instruction.
Again the school is reflecting the great changes in architecture, meth- ods of heating and lighting, furnishings and sanitary standards which can
293
be found all about us in the factories, offices, stores, restaurants and homes of the new era.
Nevertheless, with all that has been learned about the laws of learn- ing, child growth and the most effective teaching methods, we can well ask: "Is the curriculum and the program of the school being revised and adjusted sufficiently to meet the needs of students who will be living in an ever more rapidly changing world?" We view and appraise new de- partures: teaching by audio-visual means - films, slides, tapes, overhead projectors, television, language laboratories; team learning, team teach- ing, teaching machines, the ungraded primary, programs for gifted pupils, new programs in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, etc. Which of these should be adopted now, which rejected, and which given further study and thought?
But with all this necessary consideration and emphasis on new pro- grams, practices and gadgets, the good educator knows that nothing will take the place of the good teacher and his personal relationship with his pupils. Also, the good educator knows that a good education is based on a sound mastery of the old fundamentals and that a good school system is built on the firm foundation of a sound academic program.
Conclusion
I should like to express my appreciation to teachers and all members of the staff for their cooperative spirit, their hard work on curriculum and other committees, and their general devotion to duty. To the office staff, I express my thanks for their wholehearted cooperation and hard work. To the School Committee for its friendly counsel and support and for its conscientious devotion to its civic responsibilities, I extend my full appre- ciation.
Respectfully submitted, ELMER STEPHENS MAPES Superintendent of Schools
SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM CONSTRUCTION
REPORT OF FLORA H. MCGRATH Director of Instruction
In keeping with the rapid growth of school population, a needed and salutary change has been made which transfers the heavy burden of tests and measurements from the program of Director of Instruction to the newly appointed School Psychologist and Elementary Guidance Counsellor. This makes it possible to devote more time and attention to the field of instruction and to the curriculum designed to guide that instruction.
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