USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > Town annual report of the offices of Fairhaven, Massachusetts 1963 > Part 5
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1,039.82
Insurance
197.23
Water
20.00
Annual Report
175.00
School Bus
10.00
Library and Office Supplies
2,376.51
New Equipment
163.10
Repairs to Equipment
86.40
Building Maintenance
2,475.15
Bookmobile Maintenance
1,312.27
15,212.47
BALANCE ON HAND December 31, 1963
$ 80.93
Investments
1600 shares of Fairhaven Water Company
Endowment with Commonwealth of Massachusetts
$100,000.00
Fairhaven Institution for Savings
$ 11,931.87
155 shares of First Safe Deposit National Bank of New Bedford
Examined and approved
RAYMOND MCK. MITCHELL
J. B. BUCKLEY ARTHUR R. KNOX
MARY D. SILVEIRA, Treasurer
94
SCHOOL REPORT
OF THE
TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN
MASSACHUSETTS
FAIRHA
V
E
N
NM
M
TO
K
ASS,
INCORPOR
TOWN HALL
22-1812.
T
ED
FEB
FOR THE
YEAR 1963
School Committee
Term Expires
Albert M. Gonsalves, 145 Washington St.
1966
Antone C. Martin, Jr., 32 Huttleston Ave. 1966
Vice-Chairman
Rupert V. Wunschel, 252 Sconticut Neck Rd. 1965
Morris R. Furtado, 5 Evergreen St. - Appointed 1964
George R. Graves, 74 Hedge St. 1964
Chairman
Frank Marujo, 258 Alden Rd. - Appointed 1964
SUPERINTENDENT AND SECRETARY TO THE COMMITTEE
Lynwood P. Harriman, 128 Pleasant Street Office: 993-1241 - Residence: 993-8977
OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
128 Washington Street
Beatrice M. DeCoffe, 212 Main St., Secretary to the Superintendent Elaine M. Marshall (Mrs.) 477 Main St., Financial Clerk Nesta M. Oliveira, 90 Huttleston Ave., Correspondence Clerk (Resigned November 15, 1963)
Geneva T. Burke (Mrs.) 18 Rockland St., Correspondence Clerk
Personal appointments with the Superintendent may be made by calling the office.
96
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Helen R. Porter (Mrs.), Rounseville Road, Rochester Co-ordinator of Elementary Education
Charles C. Entwistle, 93 Laurel Street Principal Fairhaven High School
Elizabeth I. Hastings, 210 Main Street Principal Fairhaven Junior High School
Mary S. Toledo, 27 Union Street Principal Oxford School
Edythe Rankin (Mrs.), 53 Huttleston Avenue Principal Tripp School
May K. Bennett, Rounseville Road, Rochester Principal East Fairhaven School
Ellen E. Rex (Mrs.), 52 Massasoit Avenue Principal Anthony School
James R. Francis, 66 Seymour Street, New Bedford Principal Rogers School 4
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Charles P. Sykes, M. D., 5 Morelands Terrace, New Bedford
SCHOOL NURSE AND SUPERVISOR OF ATTENDANCE
Louise F. Dennie ( Mrs.), R. N., Water Street, Mattapoisett
ASSISTANT SCHOOL NURSE
Barbara F. Keith (Mrs.), R. N., 101 Washington Street
97
School Calendar
1963-64
Weeks
Open
Close
Days
First Term
16
Wed., Sept. 4
Fri., Dec. 20
74
Second Term
7
Thurs., Jan. 2
Fri., Feb. 14
32
Third Term
8 Mon., Feb. 24
Fri., Apr. 17 39
Fourth Term
8
Mon., Apr. 27
Wed., June 17 38
39
183
1964-65
Weeks
Open
Close
Days
First Term
16
Wed., Sept. 9
Wed., Dec. 23
71
Second Term
7
Mon., Jan. 4
Fri., Feb. 19
35
Third Term
7
Mon., March 1
Thurs., Apr. 15 34
Fourth Term
9
Mon., Apr. 26
Wed., June 23 42
39
182
There will be no sessions on the following days which occur during the scheduled terms for the school year 1964-65: ( Holidays )
Mon., October 12
Columbus Day
Fri., October 20
Teachers' Convention
Wed., November 11
Veterans' Day
November 26-27
Thanksgiving Recess from noon Nov. 25
April 16
Good Friday
Mon., May 31
Memorial Day
NO-SCHOOL SIGNAL 22
7:00 A. M. Indicates no school for all day.“
11:30 A. M. Indicates no afternoon sessions for Grades 1-8.
School will be held in the High School on all days regardless of weather conditions unless special announcement is made over the radio stations WBSM and WNBH. Parents are urged to use their own judgment in sending students to school when the weather is inclement.
It is the policy of the School Committee to order the no-school signal only in the most severe weather conditions or when road conditions are such as to make transportation extremely hazardous or impassable with respect particularly to Grades 1-8.
98
Annual Report of the School Committee
To the Citizens of Fairhaven:
The primary purpose and responsibility of any school com- mittee is to act as a liaison body between the general public and the professional and civil service staff of the school system. The school committee serves as a policy-making body of the public schools, charged by law with certain responsibilities for the adop- tion of policy and regulations to enable the school administration to operate the school system. A school committee serves two important functions in the exercise of their responsibilities. They, first, establish a budget for the operation of the schools, consistent with progressive and modern educational practice and supervise the expenditure of the funds allotted within the budget as provided for under the general laws of the Commonwealth. Secondly, the school committee is charged with the responsibility of employing and supervising the activities of an administrative, supervisory, and professional staff.
History, tradition, and experience illustrate that discerning school committees must of necessity direct their attention to their broad policy-making responsibilities as charged by the General Laws. Effective policies provide good continuity of school com- mittee leadership from election to election as the membership of a committee inevitably changes. Discriminating members of school committees contribute directly to the effectual issues of an edu- cational system, when they confine themselves primarily to policy and to the evaluation of the effectiveness of their policies, thereby providing for the development of a continuous school-system personality. Furthermore, the establishment of effective policies provide operating guide-lines for capable administration for many years after their adoption. Also, effective policies release school committees from problems of administration, allowing time within school committee meetings for the study of budgets, curriculum, staff organization, and other significant broad fields of school committee interests, which are essential to competently and efficiently operated school systems.
99
PROBLEMS OF CONCERN
The school committee has found themselves in the midst of many problems throughout the year, most of which were a part of the general problems of the community. It became concerned along with the rest of the community with the increasing hazards of school-children crossing busy traffic arteries with the resulting concern for the safety of these children. The school committee was frustrated, as were other town bodies, in trying to find an im- mediate solution to this problem. The School Committee feels strongly that funds must be provided within the 1964 appropria- tions for the establishment of a program of school crossing super- vision, under the control of the Police Department, in order that the hazards to school children may be kept as far as possible to a minimum.
The attention that has been focused by this community upon the proper channeling of youth activity in out-of-school time has become, due to an unfortunate occurance at the High School, a problem of us all, and particularly of your School Committee. The School Committee has been increasingly more conscious of the possible effects of improperly channeled juvenile activity, in the past few years, which has been evidenced by an increased amount of vandalism in the area of school buildings, as well as the amount of increased time required by the staff in working out youth problems with the various social agencies who are concerned. The problem is not a problem peculiar to the town of Fairhaven, as it is widely felt throughout the whole nation. This problem appears to be a sign of the times with which all people, parents as well as educators, must be concerned. The increasing speed of everyday life for most of the population, the easy availability through television of expensive entertainment (some of which may be of questionable moral nature), the desire on the part of many parents to provide for their children "the things that I did not receive as a child", as well as the laxity of us all in providing channels of creative and well directed activity of all young people, has resulted in all of us being concerned with the solutions to these problems. The establishments of new programs of athletic activity, the inclusion with the school curriculum of more creative and interesting curricular programs, and the establishment within the minds of young people of respect for law, order and direction
100
to human lives, are all a part of the solution to these problems, to- ward which we must all bend our untiring efforts.
Your School Committee has held 32 meetings during this calendar year. Notices of these meetings were posted at the Town Hall, and we have been pleased to hold open meetings at which interested members of the public were invited and encouraged to attend. If for any reason, a citizen or group of citizens wish to be heard or wish to consult with the School Committee, the School Committee would be very happy to entertain their discussion and they request only that a notification be given the Superin- tendent of Schools at least five days prior to an intended visit, in order that the matter to be discussed may be included upon the School Committee agenda.
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT AND FACILITIES
The enrollment of all schools increased by 121 pupils between October 1, 1962 and October 1, 1963. Of these, there was an in- crease of 61 pupils in the elementary schools, 22 pupils in the Junior High School and 38 pupils in the Senior High School. The most significant area of increase was in the East Fairhaven School where there was a total increase of 23 pupils during this year's span, which has further increased by 17 additional since October 1. This school is becoming increasingly more crowded, with the resulting inability to provide the amount of individual attention to each pupil's needs, as it has been our custom to provide. The need for the erection of the new school at Sconticut Neck is an undisputed fact, as we could have easily made use of this facility during this present school year and it appears that we must wait at least for another school year before this building is completed.
We are gratified that the addition to the Junior High School is now under way, with expected completion by September of 1964. The completion of this structure will allow relief from the crowded conditions at the Senior High School and provide the opportunity for expanding curriculum offerings and diversification of program.
101
CONCLUSION
We would like to express our appreciation to the entire staff, both professional and civil service for the fine cooperation and dedicated service of its members to the educational needs of children. We would call your attention to the report of the Super- intendent of Schools and other staff members, which are included herewith as a part of the annual report of the Fairhaven Public Schools.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE R. GRAVES, Chairman
ANTONE C. MARTIN, JR., Vice-Chairman MORRIS R. FURTADO ALBERT M. GONSALVES
FRANK MARUJO
RUPERT V. WUNSCHEL School Committee
102
Report of the Superintendent of Schools
To the Fairhaven School Committee:
I am pleased to submit herewith my sixth annual report as Superintendent of the Fairhaven Public Schools.
MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE
The following is the statistical analysis of membership and attendance for the past four years:
1959-60
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
Average Membership
2,502
2,554
2,521
2,608
Percent of Attendance
94.45
94.71
94.70
94.79
Further information concerning school attendance and enroll- ment by grades and schools may be found in the tables of supporting information contained within this school report.
TEACHER CHANGES
School
Began
Resigned
Memo
Mary Ellen Curry
Anthony
9-60
6-21 -63
At Home
Claire Y. Leary
Anthony
6-62
8-30.63
Mello, Kansas
Carol J. Xifaras
Anthony
9-58
6-21-63
New Bedford
Ann K. Lopoulos
E. Fhvn.
6-62
6-21-63
Fall River
Mary Agnes Caron
Oxford
9-62
6-21-63
New York
Janet C. Hart
Oxford
9-58
7- 2 -63
Dartmouth
Ruth B. Wilbur
Rogers
9-46
6-21-63
Retired
Stanley J. DeVoyd
Tripp
9-62
7-16-63
Unknown
Cynthia R. Sylvia
Tripp
9-62
6-21-63
AtHome
Daniel E. Dunwoodie, Jr.
High
9-62
6-21-63
Unknown
Priscilla Doran
High
9-61
8- 2 -63
At Home
Joseph Guay
High
9-62
6-21-63
Worcester
Priscilla P. Hiller
High
2-56
8- 2 -63
At Home
George E. McGaw
High
9-61
6-21-63
Portsmouth, R. I.
Diana M. Oliveira
High
9-55
6-21-63
At Home
William S. Schimmel
High
9-61
6-21-63
Unknown
LEAVES OF ABSENCE
School
Began
To Return
Memo
Ronald E. Leary
Oxford
9-63
9-64
Military Leave
Edith M. Moore
High
9-63
9-64
Illness
Dorothy F. O'Neill
Oxford
9-63
9-64
Maternity Leave
103
STAFF VACANCIES
The problem of filling teacher vacancies this year has been complicated by the number of vacancies, which we have been required to fill. This year we have been required to fill twenty- seven positions and we feel that we have been fortunate in secur- ing personnel of exceptionally high caliber. We have had some difficulties in finding qualified teachers in such fields as lower elementary schools, industrial arts, homemaking, mathmetics and science, but we have found that the problem of finding teachers has been a great deal less difficult in the past two years due to the fact that we have been able to offer competitive beginning salaries, personnel policies and working conditions. Our teachers' pay schedule for the past two years has been equal to the pay schedules of the surrounding communities, and as a consequent result we have been able to be more selective in our appointments than would have been otherwise the case. With very few exceptions, our group of new teachers appears to be excellent material, well trained and professionally prepared to do the job for which they have been selected. Fairhaven is fortunate indeed to have on its staff 57 teachers on maximum salary, who have been in teaching for over ten years. The majority of these teachers have had their entire experience within the Fairhaven School system. We point with pride to these personnel as the backbone of our school system, without which we would be unable to provide the high quality programs that we have provided to date.
CURRICULUM AND STAFF ORGANIZATION
This has been another in a series of years in which we have been concerned with the up-dating and revision of curriculum fields. We have increased our emphasis this year on both elemen- tary and secondary levels in the field of reading and the language arts. The application of the latest methods in both remedial and developmental reading has been fostered with significant improve- ment in many areas of reading skills, as exhibted in the results of of our standarized testing. The increased emphasis, on all levels for original composition research, and other methods, which pro- vide opportunities for increased individual development in lang- uage arts areas, should eventually exhibit itself in the increased ability of more students to think well and to express themselves
104
both written and verbally in an organized treatment of all subject matter with which they may deal.
The elementary schools have extended the program of hand- writing under the Rinehart Functional Handwriting System, which should bring back the ability of individuals to write with a closer approximation of the clear fluid, classical type of writing which was in vogue, when most of us were learning to write.
Improvements in the areas of science and social studies in both elementary and secondary schools have been going forward with increasing rapidity. The adoption of a new text in elementary science has obviated the necessity for change in the secondary schools to provide a more advanced type of science, since increas- ingly, the elementary school student has been exposed to areas of science which were formerly taught in the Junior and Senior High Schools. In the expansion of courses in sciences to provide for offerings to advanced groups of PSSC physics, CBA chemistry, and new programs of biology, we are providing for greater individual experimentation in science and individual development of personal interests in specific areas.
The social sciences have increased their offerings by providing materials more nearly aimed at the individual reading level of students thereby making their studies more attractive and more self-satisfying. Included in new curriculum areas of study are the history and development of Latin America, South America, and Asian countries, more effective contrasts in the study of Com- munism, contrasting our way of life with that of our Communist protagonists.
The emphasis intended by the School Building Committee, toward the erection of new facilities for expansion of the indusrial arts department, has stimulated the development of new units of curriculum offerings particularly in the area of metals. Unit offerings in welding, wrought iron, bar metal work, machine lathe work, as well as sheet metal, are among the significant expansions, which the industrial arts program will feature with the increase in facilities. We are attempting throughout this expansion to provide areas of greater interest to our students with the hope that we will be able to keep students in school longer and provide them with skills and knowledges which they will find useful and saleable to a prospective employer.
105
The problem of school drop outs is an increasingly more complex and difficult problem as time goes on, and it is a problem of national concern as well as local concern. We have felt that many students would stay in their schools for a longer period of time, if we provided more attractive programs, of which the students themselves could see the importance and in which they would exhibit an interest. Students on the levels of lower academic achievement must have some area in which they can achieve their highest potential and perhaps exceed the ability of their more gifted classmates in areas other than the academic.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF EDUCATION
As I mentioned in my last annual report, there is an increasing need for increased State and/or Federal support for local education. The General Court, in its wisdom, has seen fit, repeatedly, to legislate salaries, curriculum areas, and ancillary services, which provides additional financial burdens upon the town, which has only the property tax base from which to secure monies. The increased amount of home building, which each year is adding over 100 extra pupils to our school system, is creating a severe financial problem to the town, which I feel cannot help but get worse as time goes on. It is obvious, or it should be, that as you build more and more homes, you get more and more children. As a result, you are also faced with the need for additional school housing, teachers, supplies, etc., which of course, means that you must spend increased amounts of money for your public schools. This seems to be very difficult for many people to understand - either that, or it is a straight refusal to attempt to understand the situation. Increased enrollments, expansion of school plant, and the rising costs of each commodity that we purchase, as well as the increased cost of salaries, each year adds to the problem of providing for an adequate educational system for our children.
The local property tax base is insufficient to adequately meet the demands of a community where the majority of these taxes must come from home owners rather than from industry or summer residents. The property tax as it exceeds $100.00, becomes more and more confiscatory in its character and thereby creates increasing resentment on the part of many members of the public we must serve, since the public schools expend more than half of the tax monies raised.
106
Generally speaking, the rapidly expanding school enrollments have an effect upon the organization of the school system. In our case, here in Fairhaven, the change will be to a 6-3-3 system in September of next year. The removal of the ninth grade from the Senior High School by the expansion of twenty additional rooms at the Junior High School, will provide for a greatly, diver- sified program of education within our schools, but will add an increased burden upon the taxpayer from the point of view of additional maintenance, as well as additional personnel needed to staff these facilities. We must continue to pursue a course of educa- tion, which keeps the pupil-teacher ratio below 30 to 1, in order to provide an adequate educational effort.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
As I have many times indicated in my previous reports, the increasing amount of administrative detail, paper work, and routine office chores, make it increasingly more difficult for me as your Superintendent of Schools, to increase the efficiency with which this office carries out the responsibilities entrusted to me. In addition to my normal duties as Superintendent, I am now serving as the Secretary to the Building Committee and as the purchasing agent for this committee in the equipping and building of two new school facilities. The duties of building maintenance, purchasing, financial and business matters, greatly exceeds in time, the per- centage of concentration which I should be spending, with the consequent result that I am finding myself neglecting those areas for which I am primarily responsible and for which I have primarily been trained. I refer to the primary duty of the Superin- tendent of Schools, to be the chief instructional leader within the school system. I feel that I should spend in excess of fifty percent of my time in instructional leadership and supervision. At the present time, I am able to spend less than twenty-five percent in those areas for which I have the specific primary responsibility. I strongly recommend to the School Committee and to the town the acquisition of an administrative assistant in this department, to handle the more routine details of school administration, par- ticularly in these areas of business, budgeting, building, grounds, maintenance and routine reports, which could be handled by a person with less experience and responsibility, under my direction. These duties are not of a clerical nature, as I have pointed out many times and, therefore, could not be delegated to clerical
107
personnel. They could be handled, however, by a person with a background in business administration or preferably with a back- ground in both business administration and public school teaching. Many of the areas of competency would be increased as time goes on by training on the job, in actual experience. It is not my intent to have a position created as an assistant superintendent, but an administrative assistant, to cut down on the volume of paper work and routine decisions which I act on personally.
CONCLUSION
The reports of the Principals of the High School and the Junior High School, Coordinator of Elementary Education, the School Nurse and Attendance Supervisor, which are incorporated in this school report, point out, in a great deal more detail, some of the other areas of strengths and weaknesses, which should be brought to your attention as citizens of the town of Fairhaven. I sincerely appreciate the fine cooperation shown me by the members of the School Committee, and the able staff of the school system, which have greatly aided me in trying to provide a program of education of which we can be justly proud. We are all proud of the schools that we have in the town for which we provide and we are equally proud of the professional ability with which the staff has been able to handle the problems of educating our youth. It would be impossible for me to give specific credit to those persons who have been responsible in any way for the improvement of education within Fairhaven schools. Suffice it it say, that with- out their help, support, and encouragement, my administration of your schools would have been impossible and poorly done. I am extremely grateful to them for this support and fine dedication to duty.
Respectfully submitted, LYNWOOD P. HARRIMAN Superintendent of Schools
108
Report of the High School Principal
To The Superintendent of Schools:
I submit herewith my fifth annual report as Principal of Fairhaven High School.
The past year, 1963, was one of growth and change. The student population enrolled in the four classes of the high school reached a new peak. The demand for classroom space increased proportionately. The demand for more variety and new approaches in course offerings to satisfy the needs of an increasingly complex student body became more acute. In short, 1963 was a year in which it became increasingly clear that an educational program for today cannot be based entirely on the programs of other years. We hope that this report will reflect some of this change.
On June 12, 1963, Mr. George R. Graves, Chairman of the Fairhaven School Committee, presented diplomas to 137 Seniors. The feature of the graduation program was the presentation of a panel discussion under the direction of Mrs. Paul L. Knipe, Head of the English Department. The topic, "Homes for the Future" dealt with the importance of the American Home in the develop- ment of a strong citizenry.
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