USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > Town annual report of the offices of Fairhaven, Massachusetts 1927 > Part 4
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For the first time in at least fifteen years, the number of children in town between the ages of 5 and 16, as as- certained by the annual school census, was less than that of the preceding year. The apparent decrease was 53. Despite the loss shown by the census returns, the membership of the schools has increased. In December of this year, the actual membership was 2078 as compared with 1982. The gain is apparently due to the fact that more children are remain- ing through the upper grades and high school. It is possible, however, that in some way children have been missed in the taking of the census. Below is found a compilation of the annual census returns, the average membership, and the actual membership of public and private schools from 1919 to the present :
12
Census Returns of
be-
Children
tween 5 and 15.
Average Member-
ship of Public Schools
for year
June.
Actual Membership
on December 15.
Number in Parochial
Schools.
1919
1509
1175
. 1352
no figures
1920
1762
1257
1455
380
1921
1948
1422
1602
431
1922
2142
1582
1732
415
1923
2248
1697
1859
499
1924
2367
1796
1858
507
1925
no census*
1829
1956
498
1926
+2441
1936
1996
515
1927
2388
1976
2078
441
* A new law changed the time of the census from April
to October, omitting that of 1925.
+ Erroneously reported in 1926 as 2511.
SCHOOL PLANT
It is a rare pleasure to state that it is unnecessary to ask for additions to the plant this year. In almost every preceding year for some time there has been need of a new building, the completion of rooms, or of a portable. The school population in East Fairhaven shows apparently no increase; the fifth room completed in the summer and oc- cupied in September will, therefore, be sufficient as long as present conditions continue. In North Fairhaven the two schools, Oxford and Anthony, while now comfortably filled can, if necessary, house about fifty more pupils than they have. At the Rogers school, the portable opened in Septem- ber relieves the present need. An increase of 50 or 100 pupils in the Center will produce congestion. It is here and in the high school that we have nearly reached our max- imum capacity.
ending in
YEAR
School
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The School Department expends more money than any other. Out of a total Town Appropriation for 1927 of $441,115, there was voted for schools $124,100, slightly over 28% of the total. This fact, in itself is sufficient to induce a keen interest in that part of the town's business which the Department conducts. The following questions and answers do not indicate all that every citizen should know, but it is hoped that they give information along some lines of interest.
What is the population of Fairhaven?
10,827, Census of 1925.
How many children of school age, i. e., between 5 and 15? 2,388 on November first.
How many children at present in the public schools ?
There were 2,078 on December fifteenth. Some of these were over sixteen.
What children does the law compel to attend school ?
Those between 7 and 16, but a child of 14 may leave to go to work if he has completed the 6th grade.
At what age can a child enter in Fairhaven?
At five. Not all do. This is younger than in most towns. In 85% of the towns and cities in Massachusetts, a child must be over five.
How many children in the parochial schools ?
There were 441 in September.
ADMINISTRATION
How many members on the School Committee ? Six; two being elected each year.
When does the Committee meet ? Regularly the second Wednesday of each month.
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What are the duties of the School Committee?
It has charge of the schools. It adopts the budget, de- termines how it shall be expended, elects teachers, authorizes repairs, considers and approves changes in school organiza- tion and courses of study, and is the controlling authority, under the law, on all matters pertaining to the schools. It appoints the superintendent of schools as its executive officer and holds him responsible for carrying out the poli- cies of the Committee and for directing and supervising the work and conduct of all persons employed by the Com- mittee.
How many persons are regularly employed by the School Department ?
The following :
Superintendent of Schools 1 Clerks (High School 1, School office 1) 2
Teachers and supervisors 79
School Nurse 1
School Physician (Part time) 1
High School Lunchroom 3
1
Janitors, High and Elementary schools 10
Barge Driver 1
Truant Officers 3
101
How many elementary school classes are there?
- Forty-nine.
How many high school teachers, excluding the Principal ?
Including the Secretary to the Principal, seventeen, full time and two part-time.
How many supervising principals are there, i. e., principals who do not teach full time?
There are five.
How many and what supervisors or special teachers are employed ?
Seven ; in music, drawing, manual training, physical train- ing, and sewing.
15 ORGANIZATION
How are Fairhaven schools organized ?
Under the 8-4 plan, i. e., 8 years in the elementary schools and 4 in the high school.
What other plan is rapidly displacing this ?
The 6-3-3 plan, i. e., 6 years in the elementary grades, 3 years in the junior high school, and 3 in the senior high school.
Are there many junior high schools in Massachusetts? 111,624 pupils were in junior high schools last year.
What plan of promoting children to the next grade is fol- lowed in Fairhaven?
Promotions are made annually.
Isn't this out-of-date ?
No. Only eight towns and cities in Massachusetts out of three hundred and fifty-five give semi-annual promotions. The tendency is to return to the annual plan.
What subjects does the law require to be taught in the elementary schools ?
Reading, Writing, Spelling, English Language and Gram- mar, Geography, Arithmetic, Drawing, History and Con- stitution of the United States, Civics, Physiology, and Hygiene, Good-Behavior, Indoor and Outdoor Games and Athletic Exercises.
What other subjects are now taught in practically all school systems ?
Thrift, Safety-First, Manual Training, Sewing and Cook- ing, Vocal and Instrumental Music.
What subjects may be offered in the high school ?
Legally, any subject the School Committee wishes. Prac- tically, however, colleges, technical and normal schools, by their entrance requirements, exercise a dominating influence on what shall be taught. Fairhaven High offers college, technical and normal preparatory courses, a general and a commercial course.
,
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What type of high school does Fairhaven maintain ?
The so-called comprehensive type. In such a school, the chief aim is to offer an educational opportunity to all. The goal is not merely preparation of pupils for higher institu- tions, but also, preparation of the large majority who go directly from school into life work. The Commercial De- partment is directly vocational. Woodworking, printing, mechanical and free-hand drawing, cooking and sewing have distinctly practical values. The general course offers a practical and cultural education.
Does Fairhaven make any provision for mentally retarded children ?
Yes. One special class is maintained. The recent annual State Clinic examined thirty children in Fairhaven and recommended the formation of a second class as required by law, but there is at present no room for it.
Does Fairhaven make any provision for training children under five years of age?
No. It hopes sometime to have the room and the financial support for kindergarten training, but this is impossible at the present time.
Are kindergartens found in most school systems?
No. The number is growing but a survey in Massachusetts shows that only 45 out of 355 towns and cities maintain this type of school.
How many weeks are Fairhaven schools in session?
Forty weeks each year.
Does Fairhaven maintain an evening school?
Yes. An evening school is held twice a week for twenty weeks, beginning in October. This is to meet the law re- quiring that every person between 16 and 21 who has not completed the sixth grade shall attend evening school.
Is there an evening high school?
No. Maintenance of one is required only in cities of 50,000 population or over.
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Does Fairhaven maintain an Americanization Class ?
No. A few are, however, being taught at the regular evening school.
Does Fairhaven provide for vocational education?
Yes, through the New Bedford Vocational School. The State reimburses half the tuition paid for pupils by the Town. The expenditures for this and for Continuation school pupils are made through the Board of Selectmen.
SCHOOL COSTS
Who determines the amount of money to be spent for. schools ?
The people, through their appropriation at the annual meeting.
What proportion of the total expenditure for schools, high and elementary, is for teaching?
In 1927, 69%.
How much is this per pupil in Fairhaven?
$55.25
What is the average per pupil cost of teaching for the State ?
$65.27
How much did it cost per pupil in Fairhaven in 1927 for books and supplies ?
$4.39
What was the average for the State during the fiscal year just closed ?
$4.52
What does general control cost per pupil in Fairhaven? (This includes salaries and expenses of superintendent, school committee and attendance officers).
$2.64
What is the average for the State?
$3.53
What did operation of the plant cost per pupil in 1927? (This includes janitor service, fuel, etc., for both high and elementary schools).
$10.48
What is the average for the State ? $10.52
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What did repairs, replacement, and up-keep cost in Fair- haven during 1927 ?
$2.66
What was the average for the State during the last fiscal year ?
$5.05
What was the total per pupil cost of high school education in Fairhaven in 1927?
$143.71
What was the total per pupil cost of elementary school education in 1927 ?
$66.03
What was the total cost per pupil in Fairhaven during 1927, including all pupils, high and elementary, and the use of all funds, appropriations and gifts ?
$79.86
What was the average cost per pupil for Massachusetts ? , $114.26
Is Fairhaven's relatively low per pupil cost secured by having more than the average number of pupils per teacher ?
No. A few rooms are crowded, but the average number per teacher in the elementary schools is almost exactly 35.
What was the total sum spent by Fairhaven for mainten- ance of high, elementary, and evening schools during the fiscal year just closed ?
$157,807.17
Was all of the above raised by local taxation ?
No. The following income was received from various funds left for the schools :
H. H. Rogers Trust Fund for high school $26,100.00
H. H. Rogers Trust Fund for elementary schools 5,177.15
E. Anthony, Jr. Fund for elementary schools 455.06
Pease Fund for
elementary schools 350.47
Total from Funds $32,082.68
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Does the State pay any part of the cost of schools in Fair- haven ?
Yes. The State General School Fund returns annually to every town and city a part of the income tax. The amount depends upon the number of years of training, the experience and the salaries of the teachers employed by the community. The fund is paid to the Town Treasurer and goes into the General Treasury. Though it is not directly credited to schools, it is on account of schools and its effect is to diminish local taxation for schools.
What was Fairhaven's share of the State General Fund in 1927 ?
$13,061.42
Are there any other annual payments to the General Treasury which were formerly credited directly to the schools and which now reduce the local taxation cost of schools ?
Yes; money received for high school tuition, for the edu- cation of State Wards in our schools, and from sundry sources, such as the sale of car tickets, etc.
What was the net cost of schools, high and elementary from local taxation in 1927?
The following statement answers the question :
Total cost of schools $157,807.17
Received from funds $32,082.68
Received from State
General School Fund 13,061.42
Received for education
of State Wards 700.04
Received for high school tuition
(Mattapoisett ) 3,481.22
Received from incidentals 215.87
Receipts from sources other than local taxation . . $49,541.23
Net cost from local taxation $108,255.94
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What measures, in a degree, how much a town can afford to pay for public schools ?
Its valuation per pupil.
How does Fairhaven rank in valuation per pupil ?
It ranks 226 among 355 towns and cities in Massachusetts.
How does Fairhaven rank in expenditure per pupil from local taxation ?
It ranks 290 among 355 towns and cities.
How does Fairhaven rank in expenditure per pupil from all sources including special funds.
It ranks 252 among 355 towns and cities.
TEACHERS
In September, twenty-two teachers began their work in Fairhaven. Eighteen of these filled vacancies created by resignations ; four were for new positions. The percentage of loss from resignations was but slightly above the average for ten years, which has been between twenty and thirty percent of the corps. Of the eighteen resignations, one was because of unsatisfactory service, two because of prospective marriage, while fifteen were to accept positions paying higher salaries.
Until within a few years, the majority of the teachers left to accept appointments in New Bedford schools. Such is not the case at present. Brockton, Belmont, Haverhill, Everett, Malden, Watertown, Hartford, Conn., Ridgewood, N. J., Westboro, Franklin, Hull, and Winchendon were the places this year to which our teachers went.
It encourages us to know that discriminating selection of young teachers and careful training in our system creates a demand for those who come to us. It assures us that we have good material in our teaching corps, and that school departments elsewhere recognize the merits of our system. There is a reverse side to this, however,-it is extremely
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discouraging to begin again each year the process of adjust- ing so large a new group to the requirements of our schools. Under such conditions, the level of progress rises slowly.
Among the resignations were those of two principals of elementary schools, an assistant to the principal, and the sub- master of the high school. It is difficult to find the right persons to fill such important positions. As a matter of fact, despite the surplus of candidates for teaching positions, it is no easier to secure people who have the natural qualifications for teaching than it was when trained candidates were less plentiful.
Despite the frequency of changes, the corps as a whole retains a substantial proportion of experienced teachers. It has at present :
8 Teachers with 25 years or more of experience
9 7
from 15 to 25 years of experience
66 10 to 15
23 66
66 5 to 10
66
11 66
12
66
66
1 year of experience
10
66
no experience
If the total experience of the corps could be distributed equally, each teacher would have begun her work last Sept- ember with the maturity, judgment and skill which comes from nine years of teaching. Unfortunately this cannot be done. Since a chain is as strong as its weakest link, the lack of experience in a teacher is felt by each pupil some time or times during his school course.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WORK
In general, the work of the year has followed lines es- tablished three years ago when the new course of study be- came effective. Changes have been made here and there as experience, new knowledge, and new demands have required,
2 to 5
22
and such modifications must continue to be made. It is our desire to have progressive schools, but our organization is not such as to make it wise to be, in any large degree, an experiment station. With a large group of young teachers to be assimilated each year, consideration must be given to their training. Time and careful attention must be given to the problem of helping them apply the fundamental prin- ciples of their profession. In the beginning, they lack the perspective, the skill, and the time to separate the wheat from the chaff of many of the educational plans being off- ered. They can achieve successfully, i. e., for the welfare of their children, only under plans which are based on suf- ficient experience to enable clearness of aim and thorough organization.
THRIFT
Three years ago, the school Savings Bank System was introduced in the schools. Its object is to develop habits of thrift and saving. Emphasis is laid not so much on the amount of individual deposits as on having, as nearly as possible, every child deposit something each week. The re- sults indicate increasing success in this respect, although business conditions have tended to reduce the amount saved. Following are the sums deposited by each school during the years 1926 and 1927 :
School
Amount 1926
Amount 1927
Oxford
$ 346.85
$ 361.73
Edmund Anthony, Jr.
1,082.11
1,304.82
Job C. Tripp
767.56
1,067.03
Washington Street
548.82
496.03
Rogers
691.18
1,055.11
East Fairhaven
234.50
101.87
High
325.87
231.47
Total
$3,996.89
$4,618.08
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SAFETY EDUCATION
The Junior Safety Councils organized last year are doing effective work. Each grade above the fourth follows a general plan, but each building emphasizes details in different ways. The Council usually meets weekly, carries out pro- grams relating to Safety, awards points for safety work, gives specific information and tries to develop in pupils responsibility for the safety of others. At the Oxford school markedly efficient patrol work is done by members of the Council.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
For several years an effort has been made to increase in- terest in instrumental music. Small orchestras were organiz- ed in buildings and these were trained through the voluntary efforts of an interested teacher. Some of these did remark- ably good work, taking into consideration opportunities for training, and the instruments available. There has been apparent for a long time the possibility of developing a more general interest in instrumental music and of reaching a higher standard of attainment in it, but not until this year was it possible to make any effective effort in this direction. In September, a consolidated elementary school orchestra, composed of representatives from each building, was or- ganized. Through great good fortune it was possible to secure Mr. Clarence W. Arey, Director of Instrumental Music in New Bedford schools, to give one hour each week to the training of the combined orchestras and, through this work, at the same time, give instruction to the teacher-lead- ers of the respective buildings. Progress has greatly exceed- ed anticipation. Not only is the consolidated orchestra improving rapidly and the building orchestras becoming much more effective, but a very great interest in instrumental music has been aroused among pupils and parents. Res- ponding to the demand for them, classes have already been formed for clarinet, violin, cornet and drum. About forty
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children are now enrolled in these. If the interest continues to grow, within two or three years, as these children go into the high school, it will be possible to have a school band as well as a splendid orchestra.
Instrumental music may be as valuable in the promotion of school spirit as athletics, and it also has very great edu- cational value. It is worth while, also, as pre-vocational training. Many professional musicians, including some of the best, were led to enter this work through the training and encouragement received in the public schools.
For many years, vocal music has been well taught in Fairhaven schools. While instrumental music has been re- ceiving in recent years a rapidly increasing amount of at- tention in many systems, good opportunity to forward it, in connection with our schools, seemed to be lacking. The progress that has been made in four months this year under enthusiastic, skilfull leadership, even though handicapped by the small amount of time available, has been so great as to arouse high hopes for the future.
The importance of music education, whether vocal or in- strumental, is being increasingly recognized everywhere.
"In music education in the public schools the purposes are to give an insight into the abiding spiritual power of music; to awaken the enjoyment and understanding of the aesthetic in music; to perfect the adequate utterance of music; to give a medium of self-expression through voice, body, and instrument ; to quicken the mental powers and cultivate the creative instinct; to control the emotions and motive power.
"This makes for ideals, right action, character- building and citizenship, thus producing an ap- preciation for the relative values of life. This makes possible an interest and love for the best music of all people, and an intelligent appreciation of it by the masses."
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HIGH SCHOOL
The total enrolment for the high school for the year ending in June 1927 was 349; the average membership 333. The total membership since September has been 374; the actual present membership 359.
Three resignations have occurred, in each case the teacher accepting a more remunerative position. One full time and one part time teacher have been added to the corps because of increase in number of pupils, and to relieve the principal of teaching so as to give him needed time for administrative and supervisory work.
COLLEGE ENTRANCE
The New England College Certificate Board has placed the school on the approved list for three years more. For fifteen years it has received this approval without a lapse. A glance through current school reports of other towns and cities indicates that an outstanding problem of high schools in general is that of preparing pupils for college. These higher institutions have many more applicants than they can possibly receive and, being private institutions, they deter- mine their own standards of selection. Several types of pupils usually have difficulty in reaching the standards set up. There is the boy or girl who enters high school with no clearly defined purpose. In the senior year a desire to go to college is aroused. The school record of such a pupil is usually only fair and does not include all the subjects necessary for entrance. He cannot be certified, nor is he prepared to take examinations. If desire had awakened sooner, and more purposeful work had been done, success would undoubtedly have crowned his efforts. The real reason for failure is that the pupil has drifted too long, has been aroused too late. The remedy is not just a post- graduate year in school, but a post-graduate year of hard, intensive study.
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Then there is the pupil who knows he is going to college and who chooses the right subjects early enough, but who is unwilling to pay the price of success. Evenings are wasted or given to social life. There is failure to realize what this means until the senior year. Parents and pupils have been repeatedly warned by the school of prospective failure, but nothing is done until too late to be effective. The school has offered the opportunity and urged its acceptance, but has not compelled the study, in and out of school, which is necessary to success. It can never compel this study. Under present conditions, success in reaching the standard set up for entrance to college can be attained only by the most active and hearty cooperation of the school, the parent, and the pupil. Teachers must be, and are, ready and willing to give outside time to coaching pupils, but pupils must be ready to sacrifice other interests in order to receive the help offered. Furthermore, the daily work must be done well throughout the course. The result of a National Survey indicates that the minimum amount of daily home study necessary for pupils preparing for college is three hours. This estimate is based on examination of thousands of re- cords of the time spent by pupils in preparing daily work. This time must be given if the desired end is attained. The school has no control of pupils after school hours. Sincere cooperation of parents is shown by provision of a place for undisturbed study, and by insistence that the studying be done.
Another type of pupil is the intelligent young man or woman who works hard but who is unable to make the re- quired grade in some one subject. It may be Latin or mathematics, or even college preparatory English-most pupils find at least one subject difficult to master. This type of boy or girl would undoubtedly profit by a college educa- tion. The high school would be glad to overlook the single deficiency and recommend acceptance, but it cannot change the record, and the college of the pupil's choice will not lower
27
its requirement. The remedy is to select a college with a less rigid requirement in the subject.
Needless to say, there are occasional students whose parents wish them to enter college, but who are not naturally fitted for this type of education. It is no disparagement of their intelligence to say this. There are different kinds of intelligence, and the boy or girl who has not the kind that will lead to success in college work often has other kinds equally admirable and useful. From an educational point of view, it is relatively useless to go through college unless the college can go through the student.
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