USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts for the year ending 1927 > Part 14
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CONCLUSION
The condition in the schools is a fact and not a theory. The condition will grow worse rather than better. All pupils are not receiving that type of education which will best fit them for their life work and make them worthy citizens.
To remedy these conditions Plymouth should erect in the immediate future a building between the Junior and Senior High Schools to contain the necessary classrooms to meet the needs of these schools, an assembly hall, a gymnasium, a principal's office and a lunch room.
This is the most economical plan in cost of building and in operating. It provides the best educational pro- gram for these six grades. With this additional accom- modation and the reorganization of the six-year program under one administrative head, Plymouth's educational system at a reasonable expenditure of money will rank high among those in the state.
Respectfully submitted,
ANSON B. HANDY.
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REPORT ON A SURVEY OF THE EDUCA- TIONAL AND BUILDING NEEDS OF THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN PLYMOUTH
To the School Committee of Plymouth, Mass.
Gentlemen :-
I, herewith, submit the following report regarding the educational and building needs of the Junior and Senior High Schools in Plymouth.
THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
Before undertaking any project looking forward to a. school building program, it is necessary to study care- fully the present situation, the evident educational needs of the community, and the essential reorganization of the program of studies planned to meet these needs. It is also essential to study the administrative organization in the light of these educational needs with the view of securing the desired results with the greatest economy and with the highest teaching efficiency. Upon this basis the following study has been made leading to cer- tain recommendations for a building program.
THE PRESENT SITUATION
The School Population :- A study of the enrollment in both the Senior and Junior High Schools presents some facts which have a direct bearing upon the situation. The proportion of the pupils now enrolled in each of the secondary school grades shows where the pupils begin to leave school and where we find the greatest loss. The following graph will illustrate the situation.
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PERCENTAGE OF ENROLLMENT IN EACH GRADE
No. 1
7th
20.8% 36%
8th
9th
15%
10th
11%
11th
9.2%
12th
8%
Special attention is called to the fact that of all the pupils enrolled in both the Junior and Senior High Schools 36 percent. or over one-third, are to be found in the sev- enth grade. The falling off in the eighth and ninth grades is very heavy. Once the pupils enter the tenth grade they hold on very well toward graduation. There are several reasons for this particular situation. The compulsory school law holds all of the pupils until they become from 14 to 16 years of age. Many of them reach this status in the seventh, eight, and ninth grades. However, not all of these pupils leave because it is necessary for them to go to work to help support the family. The large pro- portion of these pupils leave because they prefer to do so. They are not interested; they do not like the work; they canot see that the work they have to do is going to be of any real value to them in earning a living. This calls for revision of the program of studies to meet the needs of those who might continue in school if the training of- fered were of a more practical type.
Another study of the nationalities represented in the Junior and Senior High Schools is of interest.
School Report 3
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PERCENTAGE OF NATIONALITIES COMPARED
No. 2
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
American 65.2%
Italian
25.2%
Others 9.6%
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
American 51%
Italian
25%
Others
24%
In the Junior High School 51 percent. are classified as American, 25 percent. as Italian, and 24 percent. are scat- tered among several other nationalities. But in the Senior High School the children from American homes have re- mained to the extent that they represent 65.2 percent. of the total. This is evidently due to the great loss from the scattering nationalities who make up only 9.6 percent. of the pupils. The most noteworthy fact shown in this study is that the Italian pupils have maintained their ratio of 25 percent. in both the Junior and Senior High Schools. This speaks well for the ambition and ability of the Italian population in Plymouth. Again the evidence shows that the Senior High School program of studies does not at the present time offer sufficient inducement to retain the children of these scattered nationalities.
THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENTS OF HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS
From a study made by Mr. Marsden, principal of the Senior High School, showing the intelligence quotients of the pupils in each of the four years, we have further
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evidence of the need for more of the practical work in the curriculum. Among the first year pupils are to be found 30 percent. with an intelligence quotient of less than 90 with a school median for that year of 98. In the second year 15 percent. have a quotient of less than 90 and the median is 101. The third year class holds the same median of 101 but only 8 percent. remain with a quotient of less than 90. Then, in the senior year the median quotient is 103 and only three percent. of those with a quotient less than 90 remain. The intelligence quotient is merely an index of the ability of the pupil to do the kind of academic work now offered in the High School. Many of these pupils of the low "intelligence" quotient will become very successful men and women out in the work-a-day world. They are simply not of the academic or "professional" type. And at present the High School curriculum is planned largely for those who would prepare for college to enter the professions. Again if this 30 percent. of the first year pupils are to be given a fair chance to graduate from the High School, they must be offered the type of training which will fit them for the work which they are capable of doing and which they will do in life. The following graph, No. 3, will serve to illustrate how the pupils of this type fail to survive in the succeeding years of the High School with its present curriculum.
PERCENTAGE OF PUPILS OF LOW "INTELLI-
GENCE" QUOTIENT IN THE FOUR YEARS OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
No. 3
1st yr.
30%
2nd yr.
15%
3rd yr.
8%
4th yr.
3%
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THE PROGRAM OF STUDIES
The planning of a new school building has been called the "Housing of the program of studies." This phrase is truer today than ever before. In the past we have con- sidered a school building as a place in which we can seat a certain number of pupils at school desks. Such a plan is now very inefficient. The reorganization of the sev- enth, eighth, and ninth grades into a Junior High School with its enriched curriculum, its departmental teaching, its courses planned to explore the aptitudes and abilities of the pupils, its health program, and its practical train- ing in character and citizenship, is now demanding build- ing facilities definitely planned to meet the needs of these activities. The same is true of the modern Senior High School, which is no longer merely a preparatory school for the few who would go to college to prepare for the professions, but is an institution for all the children of all the people, offering such training as will better fit them for the work which they are to do in all walks in life.
Therefore, this study presents a suggested reorganiza- tion of the program of studies for both the Junior and Senior High Schools. This reorganization is not as radi- cal as the word may sound, for Plymouth has been work- ing in this direction for several years. Your leaders have been wise in moving slowly and carefully in bring- ing about these changes. It is assumed that the same good judgment of your Superintendent and teachers will be used in carrying out the changes proposed in this report.
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PROPOSED FUTURE PROGRAM OF STUDIES FOR THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Seventh Grade
English 5 Activities 1
Mathematics
5
Sp'l English
Social Stud.
5
Sp'l Arith. or
Gen'l Sci. 2
Study Per.
Boys' Shop
2
Girls' Pr. Arts
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Gymnasium
2
Music
2
Sp'l Opportunity
Drawing
2
Class for Slow Group
Assembly
1
Eighth Grade
English 5
Group A.
Mathematics
5
General Lang.,
3)
Social Stud. 5
Prac. Arts,
2[
Gen'l Sci.
Group B.
Gymnasium
2
Music 2
Prac. Arts,
2
Drawing 2
Group C.
Assembly
1
Pract. Arts,
7
5
Activities
1
Boys-Girls,
25
- 30
Group D. Opportunity Class
Ninth Grade
English
5 Req.
Gymnasium
Mathematics
5
Music
2|
Social Stud. or
Drawing
2 Req.
Eur. History 5
Assembly
1
Activities
1
Business Trng.
5
Study-Library
or Guidance
..
2
Girls' Pr. Arts
5
Opportunity Cl .-- Sp'l
Boys' Man'l Arts .. 5
General Science
5
Latin I
5
2
Business Tr.,
31
. 5
.
5
3
Library Work
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PROPOSED FUTURE PROGRAM OF STUDIES FOR THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Tenth Grade
English
5
Household Arts
4-2
Eur. Hist. I
5
Shop Work
4-2
Geometry 5
Mech. Drawing
2-4
Latin II
5
Free Drawing
2-4
French I
5
Music
1 or 2
Biology
5
Gymnasium
2
Bookkeeping I
5
Assembly
Typewriting 4-2
Eleventh Grade
English
5
Stenog. & Type. .. 10
Eur. Hist. II
5
Hshld. Arts
2-4
Adv. Alg. & Geo.
5
Com'l Law & Com.
5
French III 5
Shop Work 2.4
French II 5
Mech. Drawing
2-4
Spanish I
5
Free Drawing
2-4
Chemistry
5
Music
1 or 2
Bookkpg. I
5
Gymnasium
2
Assembly
1
Twelfth Grade
English 5
U. S. His. & Civ.
5
Hshld. Arts
2-4
Solid G. & Trig 5 Shop Work 2-4
Latin IV 5
Mech. Drawing 2-4
French III 5
Free Drawing 2-4
Physics 5
Music
1 or 2
Off. Practice 5
Gymnasium
2
Stenog. & Type.
10
Assembly
1
Bus. Org. & Sal. 5
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
The Administrative Organization-There is a tendency in many communities today to develop the Junior High School along modern and progressive lines and at the
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same time to leave the Senior High School to drift along in its traditional ways without a complete reorganization of the whole secondary period,-or seventh through twelfth grades. This mistake is very apt to create two serious breaks in the twelve grade public school system, and should be avoided. The whole scheme should be worked out as a unit. The course in English from the seventh grade through the twelfth should be worked out as a cumulative and progressive unity. The same should be true of each subject, and of the administrative organi- zation as well. This also means there should be no "graduation" from the eighth or the ninth grade to em- phasize a break in the complete 12 grade system. Ideally there should be one administrative head with an assist- ant in charge of the Junior High School. Teachers should be interchangeable between the junior and senior grades without loss of pay. To illustrate this need, the teacher of Latin or of any other special subject should receive the same pay for a class of 35 pupils in the eighth grade as for a class of 15 or 20 pupils in the twelfth grade. In other words the teacher should be paid on the basis of her preparation and experience and not on the basis of the grade of the pupils taught. This plan makes for greater unity and efficiency from every point of view.
The Daily Schedule of Hours-The modern program of studies calls for a longer class period and for a longer school day. In years gone by the High School pupil had but four studies to recite from as many books each day. With perhaps one or two brief periods for study in school he was expected to go home to prepare these lessons for the next day's recitations. These conditions no longer meet the situation in a modern secondary school. Besides these four major subjects the pupils will be given, to- gether with some combination of these same studies, an opportunity for training in the manual arts, for sys- tematic physical education, and for activities to develop character and to train in civic leadership. Furthermore, he is trained in the use of the library and is taught how
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to study under the supervision of the teacher of the sub- ject. These are all improvements over the practice of former years and, if they are to be accomplished, time must be provided. The following schedule of hours for both the Junior and Senior High Schools is recomended for consideration when the proper facilities of buildings and equipment are provided.
PROPOSED SCHEDULE OF HOURS
8.15 to 8.30 Home room period.
8.30 to 9.30 1st Class period.
9.30 to 10.30 2d Class period.
10.30 to 11.30 3d Class period.
11.30 to 12.30 4th Class period for one-half of school. Other half of school at lunch during this period.
12.30 to 1.30 5th Class period for second half of school. First half of school at lunch during this period.
1.30 to 2.30 6th Class period.
2.30 Close of regular session of the school. A total school day of five and one-quarter hours with one hour for lunch and recreational activities.
This schedule is merely suggestive of the longer period and longer day, and should be adapted to local needs. The time for the passing of classes will be taken out of the full hour period. Recitations will occupy on the average only half of the period and the remaining time is to be devoted to directed study on the advance lesson. The time given to the lunch period can be shortened to one half hour, if so desired, bringing the closing of the school day at 2.00 o'clock instead of 2.30. Other adapta- tions may also be made to provide for an activities period and an assembly period as the local situation may de- mand.
THE BUILDING SITUATION
The present High School Building. Viewed from the street the present High School building has the appear- ance of being a good building. However, this is the best
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that can be said for the plant. The interior of this build- is very badly planned for high school purposes. Some of the unsatisfactory features are listed below: -
1. Rooms are oversized, seating from 35 to 42 when the average class is less than 25 pupils.
2. Most of the rooms have windows on two sides causing cross lighting which is injurious to the eyes of the pupils.
3. The auditorium is poorly lighted yet it is used for a library, a study hall, a music room, and an assembly hall, and serves none of these activi- ties satisfactorily.
4. The large room on the third floor is used as a science laboratory and recitation room, but is very wasteful of floor space, and is none too safe in case of panic or fire."
5. No adequate provision is made for the adminis- trative offices.
6. It now requires eight furnaces to heat this plant, increasing the fire risk in a building constructed of wood.
7. The lunch room is in the basement which was never intended for such use.
8. There is no gymnasium or provision for health education.
9. Toilet facilities are not modern, nor properly distributed in the building. Also wardrobe fa- cilities are not properly provided.
10 No proper equipment nor place is provided for the teaching of biology and general science.
11. No satisfactory provision is made for the teach- ing of practical arts for boys.
12. The halls and stairways are poorly lighted and are an actual menace in case of fire.
13 The ventilating system is not satisfactory.
*This has since been remedied by a fire escape.
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Dr. Strayer of Columbia University has prepared a. standard scale of 1000 points for the measurement or- rating of high school buildings. By this scale the Plym -- outh High School building rates 442 out of the possible. 1000 points.
The Junior High School Building-According to the Strayer standard scale this building rates a little better than the High School building, scoring 528 out of the possible 1000 points. The chief criticisms of this build- ing are the following :-
1. Enormous waste of space in corridors and stair- ways.
2. Rooms oversize and cross lighted.
3. Inadequate office facilities.
4. No adequate provision for a health program and. physical training.
5. No lunch room.
6. No library.
7. No special room for the teaching of elementary science.
8. No auditorium for assembly, for music, and for- pupil activities.
The General Building Situation .- Both the Junior and Senior High School buildings are now housing more pu- pils than the buildings were ever intended to accommo- date. At the same time the educational facilities are not. satisfactorily meeting the needs of all of the pupils. The enrollment of pupils in these grades, seven through twelve, has increased from 723 in 1917 to 897 in Septem- ber, 1927. There has been no great gain in the popula- tion of the Town during this same period. So far as can be estimated at this time there is no reason to expect. more than a normal growth. The increase for the past ten years has been about 24 percent. If this continues for the next ten years we would have in these grades about 1,100 pupils. This would mean from 600 to 650 pupils in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades, and from 400 to 450 pupils in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth
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grades. It is with this forward look that the following recommendations are made.
Schedule of Rooms for Junior High School to accom- modate 600 to 650 pupils. Upon the basis of the pro- gram of studies, and the schedule of periods recommend- ed in this report the Junior High School should have the following schedule of rooms :-
Class rooms to seat 35 pupils each, 14
General Science rooms,
2
Library and study hall (equivalent),
2
Cooking,
2
Sewing, 2
Manual Training Shops,
3
Mechanical Drawing, 1
Freehand Drawing, 1
Music, 1
Gymnasium with accessories,
1
Auditorium,
1
Lunch Room,
1
Administrative suite,
1
Medical and Health suite,
1
Pupil lockers in corridors.
Toilets, storage rooms, etc.
Heating plant, janitor's quarters, etc.
Schedule of Rooms for a Senior High School to accom- modate 400 to 450 pupils. With the proposed program of studies outlined for the Senior High School and the suggested schedule of hours, a building to house these pupils would demand the following rooms :-
Class rooms to seat 25 to 30 pupils, 10
Science laboratories (Biology and Phys. and Chem. combined),
2
Commercial studies,
3
Domestic Science, 1
Domestic Art,
1
Manual Training Shop,
1
Mechanical Drawing, 1
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Freehand Drawing,
1
Music,
1
Library and study hall (equivalent), 2
Gymnasium and accessories,
1
Auditorium,
1
Lunch Room,
1
Administrative suite,
1
Medical and health suite,
1
Pupil lockers in corridors.
Toilets, storage rooms, etc.
Heating plant, janitor's quarters, etc.
Recommended Combination of Junior and Senior High School Buildings-For many reasons it is desirable to keep the Junior and Senior High schools in the closest cooperation. As stated earlier in this report the ideal plan would place all six grades, from the seventh through the twelfth, under a single administration. Such a plan works for greater unity and efficiency in teaching. How- ever, in a community of the size of Plymouth, it is the most economical precedure. By such a combination it would not be necessary to duplicate many features which could be used in common by both the Junior and Senior High School pupils. The most evident of these would be the auditorium, gymnasium, library, lunch room, health and medical rooms. By a proper lay-out and lo- cation of rooms the space devoted to the following activi- ties could be reduced : - domestic science, domestic art, manual training, drawing, music, etc.
TWO POSSIBLE PLANS SUGGESTED
A New Junior-Senior High School Building-From the fact that both of the present buildings under consid- eration are unsatisfactory, and that it would take consid- erable renovation and alteration to modernize them, it might be well to divert these old buildings to the use of the elementary grades and to build a new combination Junior-Senior High School building on a new site. The chief argument for this plan is that it would provide ade-
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quately and ideally for the entire Junior and Senior High School grades for many years to come. It would not be a compromise with two old buildings which can with difficulty be made entirely satisfactory for high school purposes. While this would involve more money to com- plete the plan, the present situation could be relieved by building immediately only such portion of the proposed building as might be afforded by the town at this time. By this is meant that either the Junior High School sec- tion or the Senior High School section would be built now, and the remaining section at some future date.
From studies made of the home locations of the pupils now attending the Junior and Senior High schools, and considering the problem of transportation and the future trend of population, the site for a new Junior-Senior High school should be somewhat to the north of the present center of the town.
The Second Suggestion is to build a new structure between the two present buildings and connecting with the Junior High School, and to make necessary altera- tions in both old buildings. This new building would then contain the needed extra class rooms and the addi- tional features which can be used in common by both junior and senior groups. This section would include the auditorium and the gymnasium with the necessary locker rooms, shower baths, etc.
The exact assignment of rooms in this new section will depend upon the determination of the best uses to which the rooms in both old buildings can be adapted. The following schedule of rooms for such a new section is based upon a more or less arbitrary assignment of rooms in the old buildings, but at the same time on a basis of economy in using the old portions to the greatest advan- tage.
If this plan should be adopted a new central heating plant to heat all three buildings,-present junior, present senior, and the new section should be considered in the plan.
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Schedule of Rooms for New Section-It is suggested that the proposed new section face the street looking to- ward the old high school building. This structure would then contain the following :
Auditorium to seat at least 750, 1
Gymnasium to be divided by moveable partition (60x80 minimum), 1
Boys' showers, lockers, toilets, 1
Girls' showers, lockers, toilets,
1
Offices, storage, etc., for instructors,
2
Lunch room to accommodate 300,
1
Kitchen and supply rooms,
1
Principal's office suite,
2
Men and Women Teachers' rooms,
2
Domestic Science, 2
Domestic Art, 2
Freehand Drawing,
1
Manual Training Shops,
2
Mechanical Drawing,
1
Toilets,
4
Class rooms, 7
Nurses' and Doctor's health suite, 1
Alterations in Old High School Building-No exten- sive or costly changes are recommended. However, the following are deemed essential.
1. Remove cooking and lunch rooms from basement. Place girls coat rooms and toilets here, relieving one class room space on first floor.
2. Provide better lighting for old assembly hall and use for study hall purposes only. Partition off two class rooms if possible.
3. Equip one room on second floor as a biological laboratory.
4. Use small room at front of second floor for a men teachers' room.
5. Properly equip the commercial department in four rooms on second floor.
6. Abandon present heating arrangements for new central plant.
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Alterations in Old Junior High School Building-The following suggestions are made with the idea of improv- ing the situation in the present Junior High School build- ing, and of using the space to the greatest advantage.
1. Equip two of the large class rooms as general science laboratories.
2. Use present boys' shop in the basement for spec- ial opportunity class work for boys.
3. Use present domestic science rooms for the special opportunity class work for girls or as a printing shop.
4. Remove lunch room equipment to new section. Suggestions for Procedure-Two possible solutions of the problem have been suggested. Before a sound judg- ment can be given in regard to either proposal, it is nec- essary to know approximately what it would mean in cost to the town. This can be determined only by employing an architect to prepare sketches of these plans with es- timates of cost. Then the town and the committee can determine the most desirable solution.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
The following brief statements will summarize the more important recommendations of this report.
1. That the program of studies suggested for the Junior High School, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades be adopted as building the future cur- riculum policy, and that such steps be taken toward this goal as conditions will permit from time to time.
2. That in the same manner the Senior High School work out its curriculum policy keeping in close co-operation with the Junior High School in the revision of the courses of instruction and in pupil guidance.
3. That as a general policy of administration and for the purpose of raising the standard of school work, the class periods and the school day be
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gradually lengthened until a more satisfactory school day is reached.
4.
The following building conditions have been found to exist :-
a. The present High School building rates only 442 points out of 1000 on the Strayer standard scale.
b. The present Junior High school building rates 528 points on the same scale.
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