USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > Town annual reports of Acton, Massachusetts 1921-1925 > Part 7
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Rule VII. Schools in the different buildings shall be five and one-quarter hours long, including one 15 minute recess. Primary rooms shall have an out door recess each afternoon: other rooms shall have a recess of sufficient length to allow pupils to go to base- ments or out houses. Deviation from these hours shall be made only with the consent of the superintendent, and shall be reported by him to the school committee at its next monthly meeting.
Rule VIII. Doors shall not be opened before the principals arrive. Pupils may be allowed to come to their rooms with the permission of their room teachers, and pupils coming in barges may enter the basements, if weather conditions make it advisable.
Rule IX. The fire drill shall be given at least once in two weeks.
ORGANIZATION
School Committee
Bertram E. Hall, Secretary Term expires 1922
Mrs. Elsie F. Parsons
Term expires 1922
Allen C. Flagg, Chairman Term expires 1923
Mrs. Lily C. Case
Term expires 1923
Frank Merriam
Term expires 1924
Mrs. Alice M. Carlisle Term expires 1924
Superintendent Herman C. Knight, Littleton, Mass. Telephone, Littleton, 12-5 Attendance Officers
Thomas Scanlon . West Acton
I. Edward Laird
South Acton
Oliver D. Wood Acton, Mass.
Herman C. Knight, Supt.
Littleton
Teachers in Service, December 31, 1921
School
Teacher
Appointed
Where Educated
Home Address
Centre
Martha F. Smith ... 1902|Lowell Normal
Marion Towne
.1921
Ella L. Miller
.1899 Framingham Normal
Acton Concord Acton
West
Doris M. Look 1919 Fitchburg Normal
Catherine Wrenn ... 1921 Lowell Normal Helmi Myllykangas 1920 Fitchburg Normal
Leominster Lowell Fitchburg
4
South
Florence Moore .... 1920 Fitchburg Normal · Julia L. McCarthy .. 1906 Fitchburg Normal ·
Lucy Lamkin ...... 1921 Lowell Normal Mrs. Helen Cummings '19 Simmons College (Summer Session)
Fitchburg South Acton Waltham Warner, N. H.
5
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE
We submit herewith our report of finances for the year 1921, showing the total receipts, total expenses and our estimate for 1922 needs.
Following these figures will be found the annual report of Super- intendent Herman C. Knight covering the activities of this Commit- tee and the schools in general, which report this Committee has ac- cepted and voted to adopt as its own.
ESTIMATES FOR THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1922
For general expenses :
Salaries and other expenses of the com-
mittee
$175.00
Salaries and other expenses of the Super- intendent and truant officers 1,100.00
For expenses of instruction : Tuition of pupils attending out-of-town schools 13,750.00
Salaries of elementary school teachers 13,000.00 For text books :
Elementary schools 1,000.00
For stationery and supplies :
Elementary schools 250.00
For expenses of operating school plants :
Wages of janitors, fuel and miscellaneous expenses 3,500.00
Maintenance and repairs
1,000.00
For auxiliary agencies :
Health
1,250.00
For transportation :
High school scholars
4,000.00
Elementary scholars
3,100.00
$42,125.00
School Receipts, 1921
Interest on Mass. School Fund $33.87
Industrial School Fund
247.75
Superintendency Fund 531.67
Income tax 1,913.60
Not available for use of School Committee . $2,726.89
Appropriation at town meeting, March, 1921 $37,475.00 Dog tax 397.99
Tuition, out-of-town pupils
54.00
Rebate on R. R. tickets 55.74
Rebate on telephone tolls
2.68
Total amount available for committee
$37,985.41
6
DISBURSEMENTS General Expenses School Committee
Salaries :
B. E. Hall, salary 1921 Other expenses :
$100.00
Milton Bradley Company, cards
$10.68
Wright & Potter Printing Co., blanks for school
4.10
B. E. Hall, telephone and postage 5.54
Underwood Company, typewriter for super-
intendent 25.36
Arthur F. Davis, taking census
25.00
Samuel Ward Company, stationery
7.00
Huntley S. Turner, printing, rules for barges
6.00
$83.68
Superintendent of Schools and Enforcement of Law Salaries :
Herman C. Knight
$825.12
Thomas Scanlon, truancy
2.00
Walter M. French, truancy
11.22
$838.34
Miscellaneous
Herman C. Knight, telephone, stationery,
postage, travel, etc. .
$169.17
Marion C. Flagg, clerk for superintendent
10.12
Nellie M. Scanlon, clerk for superintendent 37.50
Huntley S. Turner, printing cards
1.75
Kenney Bros. & Wolkins, table for typewriter
10.58
New England Tel. & Tel. Company
13.09
Town of Littleton, stationery
6.20
$248.41
Expenses of Instruction
Town of Concord
$11,994.58
City of Lowell
326.16
City of Boston
4.50
-- - $12,325.24
Elementary Schools :
$1,200.04
Doris M. Look
969.73
Florence Geary
605.36
Ella L. Miller
1,109.19
Martha F. Smith
544.76
Florence M. Williams
1,412.35
Julia L. McCarthy
969.73
Florence Moore
355.28
Katherine Wrenn
378.94
Lucy Lamkin
969.73
Helen H. Cummings
1,009.18
Helmi Myllykangas
7
Marion Towne
434.18
Maud Green, substitute
10.00
Mrs. Forest K. Howe, substitute
565.00
Alice Hartwell, substitute
5.00
O. H. Howe, substitute
2.50
A. L. Saben, substitute 25.00
Maud Priest, substitute
5.00
Ruth Dix, substitute
5.00
Mabel Howd, music
211.83
Blanche Millard, drawing
161.00
Eleanor Clark, music
. . . . .
$11,056.80
Fuel
S. A. Coal & Lumber Co., coal
$946.07
Geo. H. Reed, coal
464.20
Wm. H. Kingsley, wood .
26.00
Hall Bros. Company, wood
52.00
H. Prescott Burroughs, wood
50.00
H. Hartford, sawing wood
7.00
J. R. Priest, sawing wood
8.75
$1,554.02
Miscellaneous
M. E. Taylor & Company, supplies for 1920
$7.22
Finney & Hoit, supplies for 1920 16.50
J. S. Moore, supplies for 1920
2.11
S. A. Coal & Lumber Company, supplies for 1920
1.17
H. I. Dahlman Co., janitors' supplies
12.06
I. G. Dwinell, janitors' supplies 5.13
H. C. Doughty, floor oil 32.50
4.83
West & South Water Districts, water
37.31
American Woolen Company, electricity
6.50
B. F. Townsend, sewer work
7.50
Richard Freeman, water in pit, So. Acton
2.93
Jas. R. Cole, water in pit, So. Acton
5.25
Theron F. Newton, extra cleaning
30.33
$171.34
Maintenance Repairs
F. Z. Taylor, carpentering
$14.97
E. A. Phalen, carpentering
7.00
S. A. Coal & Lumber Co., lumber, South School 9.76
10.72
S. A. Coal & Lumber Co., lumber, Center School O. D. Wood, repairing flag pole
5.80
O. D. Wood, work on blackboards
25.05
Kenney Bros. & Wolkins, blackboards
158.69
E. Z. Stanley, overhauling heating plant, Centre B. F. Townsend, overhauling heating plant,
32.30
·
108.00
.
Masury, Young & Company, floor oil
8
South 92.54
Chas. J. Kelley, overhauling heating plant, West 64.25 A. J. Wilkinson & So., chains for ventilators .. 1.63 L. F. Fullonton, painting Center School outside 368.00 R. J. Rodday & Company, painting Center School inside 270.00
R. J. Rodday & Company, painting West School inside 75.00
Penn Metal Co., steel ceiling, Center School. . 130.00
Geo. H. Guttridge, repairing clock 2.00
H. R. Strand, repairing clock 2.50
A. C. Flagg, freight, etc., on blackboards
12.82
Thomas Scanlon, miscellaneous repairs
5.80
Wm. Johnson, repairing bubblers
1.50
J. S. Moore, springs
. 40
T. F. Newton, springs . .
.10
$1,290.83
Text Books
American Book Company
$352.16
Little, Brown & Company
10.30
Silver, Burdett & Company
22.51
Theo, Presser Company
24.04
Milton Bradley Company
7.23
Benjamin H. Sanborn Company
16.95
C. C. Birchard & Company
7.88
J. L. Hammett & Company
20.65
World Book Company
96.53
The Gregg Publishing Company
3.31
J. B. Lippincott & Company
26.01
Edward E. Babb & Company
3.94
Ginn & Company
7.29
The MacMillan Company
17.11
Theron F. Newton, express
.50
. .
$616.41
Stationery and Supplies
Ryan & Baker
$68.24
Milton Bradley Company
236.13
J. L. Hammett Company
80.69
National Child Welfare Association
17.25
Edward E. Babb Company
26.55
Library Bureau Company
2.56
Nonantum Pack Paper Company
4.18
Underwood Typewriter Company
1.00
Thomas Scanlon, freight and express
1.89
Theron F. Newton, freight and express
1.00
F. W. Green, teaming .
.
.50
$439.99
9
Expenses of Operating School Plants
Wages of Janitors
Theron F. Newton, janitor
$532.00
Thomas Scanlon, janitor and supervisor 697.00
George Little, janitor and supervisor
608.00
Mrs. C. B. Goodearl, supervisor at So. Acton ..
165.00
$2,002.00
Auxiliary Agencies
Health
Dr. Ernest Mayell
$100.00
Dr. T. Bryden Annis
54.25
Geo. B. Robbins Dis. Co.
50.00
F. W. Green
10.50
W. T. Merriam, freight and cartage
1.49
Theron F. Newton, freight and cartage ..
1.24
$217.48
Transportation
High School :
B. & M. R. R. Co., from West and South Acton
$1,608.01
Geo. L. Noyes, from A. C.
1,484.00
Fred E. Brill
33.40
Geo. E. Murphy
2.64
Lowell Industrial
B. & M. R. R. Co., from S. A.
$79.20
N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co. from C. Junction. . 129.36
$208.56
Elementary :
$380.00
A. Christofferson
760.00
Charles Edwards
950.00
J. D. Smith
950.00
$3,040.00
Total for transportation
$6,376.61
Miscellaneous Expenses
Wm. H. Kingsley, gravel for Center School. $16.00
Reformatory for women, flag
6.39
Carter Lafters Company, tuning pianos
8.00
$30.39
$3,128.05
Walter M. French
10
New Equipment
B. H. King, wiring West School $75.00
Total disbursements
$75.00 $37,426.54
Respectfully submitted, ALLEN C. FLAGG, Chairman BERTRAM E. HALL, Secretary WM. T. MERRIAM
LILLY C. CASE
ELSIE F. PARSONS ALICE M. CARLISLE
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the Committee of the Acton Schools :
Ladies and Gentlemen :- The following report will aim to cover the work of the year, and to acquaint the citizens with the policies of the school authorities, and also to enlist their support in the man- agement of the schools for the boys and girls.
In that clever volume "Mirrors of Washington," the author fearlessly and perhaps truthfully reflects the strong and the weak points of men prominent in public affairs at Washington.
Last Spring, at the meetings held to consider the High School question, your superintendent was afforded the opportunity of ob- taining reflections of the school situation in Acton as some of the towns people saw it. The meetings were held in the several precincts of the town in as many successive weeks, and at a majority of the meetings apprehension as to the ability of the school officials to suc- cessfully manage a high school was expressed, because of the alleged failure to successfully carry on the work of the grades.
With these educational reflections of the school problem in mind, this report will aim to give the towns people an accurate, and as far as possible, comprehensive but brief discussion of the school problem as a whole, as it exists in Acton.
Any school system may be divided into several parts from a pure- ly abstract view, and first in order is that which has to do with the GENERAL CONTROL and which is the part that the school com- mittee, chosen by the voters, through their executive, the superin- tendent, is responsible for. As the caption indicates, the general control has to do with the situation as a whole, and presupposes that, since the committee is responsible for the welfare of the schools, they shall manage impartially all school affairs in the best interests of the boys and girls of the town, and that they shall recommend the appropriation of sufficient sums of money for the successful car- rying out of the same.
In order that this might be done, the committee decided to hold meetings at regular times, so that constructive policies could be worked out after routine business had been attended to. This was a forward step, and one that the public has apparently appreciated,
11
and has taken advantage of several times. Rules outlining the duties of the school committee, the superintendent, principals and teachers have been adopted, and from a standpoint of General Control, the reflection tells a hopeful story.
INSTRUCTION
The next general subject covering several subdivisions, is that of instruction.
The teachers are the most important part of the educational sys- tem of any town or city, and in Acton we have two groups of teachers --- those giving all their time, and those who are part time teachers of special subjects of music and drawing. Obviously the former group is of prime importance, and will receive our consideration. The teachers of Acton in point of training have always ranked high. In experience this has not been uniformly true. Occasionally a girl teaching her first year has failed or has made mistakes incidental to inexperience. This is quite likely to continue as long as the sala- ries for elementary full time teachers are as low as they have been in Acton, and criticism of a teacher as weak or inexperienced can be met only when an increase of salaries is provided, so that the teacher with successful experience can be obtained. Last year two of our suc- cessful Intermediate teachers were hired by Lowell and Lexington. In one case the boarding problem was the reason, in the other a much higher salary played an important part. A liberal salary schedule for service and ability, I believe, should be adopted. The school com- mittee made a generous offer to the teachers of the town when they were re-elected, by offering an extra raise of $50.00 for one year to each teacher who did accredited work at a Summer school. Another offer of $50.00 was made to any one who received a Palmer Writing Diploma. Two teachers, Mrs. Cummings and Miss McCarthy did Summer school work at Simmons and Fitchburg respectively. These offers should be made again at the next election.
The quality of instruction in our three buildings must necessarily vary. At the Centre and West there are only three teachers. At the South there are four. The number in a grade is a determining factor, but more important is the number of grades in a room. Miss Smith and Miss Look have the three first grades at the Centre and the West. The time for each class must be short. The third grade should have a great deal of time given it for number work, for language, oral and written, for reading, oral and silent, for music, for hygiene, and this work can not be grouped successfully with that of the other grades, if it has to be adapted to the ability of the pupils of any one grade. One more teacher at the Centre and West would help to make it possible for each teacher to have only two grades, and that would do much to meet the reflection that our schools are not managed ably. The extra expense, except for the teachers themselves, would be com- paratively small, as only movable furniture and blackboards would be needed, and $500.00 would probably meet the necessary outlay, including seats and blackboards.
It is customary to regard one teacher in each of the buildings as principal. According to the State Board of Education, our princi-
12
pals are teaching principals, since they give more than half of their time to class room instruction. I believe that so far as possible, male teaching principals should be hired. In two of the towns in this su- pervisory union men have been hired to teach the grammar grades, and with marked success. Should this be tried in Acton, I am sure good results would follow.
The text books and supplies are important items of instruction. During the year new geographies, new spelling books, and new music books, as well as supplementary readers have been placed in the schools, and here it would seem as though the schools have gained rather than lost ground.
OPERATION OF SCHOOL PLANT
This heading has to do with the janitor service, fuel, and the mis- cellaneous items of water and electricity.
Next to the teacher in many ways, the most important person connected with a School Plant is a competent and conscientious jan- itor. It is he who is the first person in a building in the morning and the last one to leave it at night. He must be able to see more things to do than he is paid for, and be willing to do them. He is a friend of the pupils in the building, and their guardian. He must eat his break- fast late and his dinner early so that he may be on duty during the noon hour. He must keep the building warm and not be extravagant with fuel. He must keep the school well ventilated, clean and the toilets sanitary, and he must make many small repairs and not con- tract bills. He must do all these things for such time as school is in session, clean floors and wash windows for a week or more when school is done, and then find some other work for the remaining weeks of the summer vacation. From the very nature of the case, it is a hard position to fill to the satisfaction of all, and one that has been underpaid. The committee have arranged with the janitors at the Centre and West to be in the building during the noon hour, and to take charge of those pupils who bring their dinners. At the South a woman has been hired to take charge of the lunch period, as the janitor of that school could not be in the building during the noon hour. The supervision of the lunch hour, with all that it involves, is an important one here in Acton and it is worthy of the study which we are all giving it. That the mirror does not reflect the sort of picture that we wish is true, but it is the desire and aim of us all to find a better solution to the dinner hour problem.
As a part of the study of the operation of the School Plant, it seems desirable that some systematic plan be adopted for the pur- chasing of fuel for all the schools. Wood should be delivered early in the summer vacation, so that it may be well seasoned for Fall use.
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS
"A stitch in time saves nine" is a truth about school houses as well as in the home. Buildings many times are allowed to go to rack and ruin because they are public buildings.
During the past summer the Centre school was painted on the outside, and the walls and ceiling were painted and tinted on the inside. New slate blackboards were put into this building, but not
13
enough to fully equip the rooms. With buildings as old as the school buildings are in our town, many dollars should be expended annually for upkeep, and with this in mind it is recommended that special appropriations be made for suitable sanitary conditions at the Cen- tre and West Schools, and that the basement of the South Acton building be drained. The State Police Inspection Department re- quirements for Fire Alarm should be carried out. This as a part of a well defined program for repairs and upkeep, is necessary, and will be a step in keeping with wise administration.
The last comprehensive part under which the remaining school problems are grouped may be known as
AUXILIARY AGENCIES
This includes school libraries, the health work of the schools, transportation and tuition, and miscellaneous items. The agency which is the most costly in Acton is the one that in many towns is almost negligible in amount-tuition. This as a financial problem is one for which those concerned with General Control are in no way responsible. Transportation easily takes second place in expense, and to the school committee and superintendent of any town it is by far the most vexatious problem of all.
When the mirror is turned upon the problem of transportation as it exists in our Acton school system, the reflection is a picture glaring with local color. Our barges are crowded, and we do not have accommodations for all the children who come from a distance. Our barges are drawn by horses with one exception, and in cold weather the driver is apart from the pupils, so that they lack super- vision. The transportation, as it now exists, is not what it should be, and with the foregoing statement, I shall temporarily dismiss the problem.
The health work of the schools, previous to this year, has been done wholly by the school physicians. Last Spring, through the kindness of the local Red Cross, we had a nurse in addition to the school physicians, and the work done in the short time that the nurse visited the schools was truly surprising. The Massachusetts towns of more than a million dollars in valuation are required by law to hire a school nurse for either part, or full time, and it is safe to say that when we have the school nurse the health of the child will be stressed to its advantage.
Because of its location but few of the pupils of the town are able to use the public library, and this necessitates the purchase of some reference books for the West and South schools.
The State Department of Education says that before leaving the elementary schools every child should know the following :
Minimum Library Essentials
1. Intelligent use of the printed parts of any book; such as the table of contents, index, appendix, preface, etc.
2. Complete use of an unabridged dictionary.
3. Complete use of an encyclopedia.
4. Use of an atlas.
14
5. How to find books in a library. Card catalogue Classification.
6. How to reach material in magazines. Reader's guide to Periodical Literature.
Emphasis should be placed on; Behaviour in a library and on Civic responsibility in handling of books.
As superintendent of schools I am in full accord with the impor- tance of these essentials, and I should like to see library work done in our public schools.
In summarizing the school survey which is obviously made by an interested party, and as was indicated earlier in this study, it must of necessity be brief. It seems fair to remind the tax payer that, while there are many satisfactory features, and as we have frankly admitted, there are some features that can and must be improved, this can be done only with his support and co-operation.
Male teachers receive more wages than we are paying. The skilled teacher cannot be kept on a low salary schedule. The teachers, too, in some of our centers find it difficult to obtain boarding places. It is quite clear to me that there is a responsibility that can- not be ignored by those families in a Community who can furnish comfortable living conditions to our teachers. The teacher cannot commute and do her best work for her school, for she cannot know all of her problem. From this time on, regular teachers will be asked to, live during the week in the community where they work, and the assistance of the citizens in making this possible is earnestly solicited. The extra teacher previously suggested, probably would mean more than any one thing toward making our schools what we think they ought to be.
Again, repairs, insurance and maintenance in general · cost money, and here again we make the appeal.
Proper transportation means added expense. Some towns own the bodies of their barges, and the contracts are given to the person who will furnish the remainder of the equipment. In this way it is possible for the town to have any special feature that its committee sees fit to designate as desirable. Here the initial cost is considera- ble, but the advantages over the present system need no mention.
Finally let me remind the citizens that the schools of Acton are their schools. That in the last analysis they will have in the future, as they have had in the past and at the present, the kind of schools that they really want. The school committee this past year for the first time for several years was granted the amount of money original- ly asked for. The expense for the pupils attending high school has been so large that it has overshadowed that of the pupils of the ele- mentary schools, and estimates that have seemed liberal have proved to be inadequate. But with the parents, the committee and the super- intendent all working for the same things, the schools are bound to improve, and with improvement, pride and confidence in them will increase.
15
I want to express my appreciation of the helpful interest in our schools shown by so many of our towns people.
Special mention should be made of the service rendered by the Acton Branch of the American Red Cross. For nearly half a year they were financially responsible for the work of Miss Marshall, a Public Health nurse, who came to Acton schools two days a week. The good work which she begun was of just the type that our town is in need of.
Again the schools acknowledge the splendid service of Mr. Doo- little and Mrs. Tucker at the Centre, and Mrs. Chas. Howe of South Acton, and the interest and helpfulness of Miss Myllykangas and Mrs. Cummings as leaders and advisors of the boys' and girls' achievement clubs.
Mr. Trask, County Club leader, reports as follows :
ACTON
ENROLLMENT-Home Economics 37
Poultry
25
Canning
20
Garden
11
Pig
3
Potato
1
Corn
1
ORGANIZED CLUBS
12
CLUB MEETINGS
94
HOME VISITS
67
"Acton has the largest enrollment and best club organization of any rural town in the county. This is due to the splendid co-operation of the teachers and men and women in the community who give much time without pay. Acton Fair stimulates the interest which is going to be greater now that they have practically turned their junior de- partment over to the club organization.
Charles Howe won second honors in the county garden club.
Margaret Rayner won a two day trip to the College for her canning and club leadership.
Lewis Whitney won a two day trip for his work in the corn and poul- try clubs."
I am heartily in sympathy with this work, and I appreciate the part that the Acton Fair management has taken in the educational work of the Acton boys and girls.
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