USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > Town annual reports of Acton, Massachusetts 1956-1960 > Part 24
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The return to a normal school day was appreciated by all concerned and the transition was not difficult because the faculty and administrators had been planning the numer- ous changes for the past two years.
The student enrollment of the Regional High School in September showed an increase of 47 over the population of September, 1956. In fact, in two years there has been an increase of 88 students. The enrollment by grades is now as follows:
Grade 7 92
Grade 8 100
Grade
99
Grade 10 9
76
Grade 11
53
Grade 12
52
Total 472
We are most pleased with the new facilities which permit us to offer a well balanced curriculum. It is gratifying to
205
watch junior high girls sewing in a room which is spacious and well equipped and to see girls of grades 9 - 12 cooking in the modern foods area. The Home Economics Department has been well received by the students and we anticipate a growth in demand for courses in this field.
In the Industrial Arts wing the skills taught will help many boys to earn a livelihood in the future. The large area has lathes, drill presses, sheet metal machinery, forges, milling machines and welding equipment. The projects made by boys range from lawn chairs, desks, wastepaper baskets to wrought iron ornaments.
The school library has become a focal point in the school picture. The circulation figures are convincing proof of the fact that our high school students enjoy reading good books and that, in carrying out research assignments, they are taking advantage of the new reference materials.
Another facility which we are using to meet the needs of students is the auditorium. The senior play was most suc- cessful financially and it provided dramatic experiences for the participants. It was pleasant, too, just before Christmas to sit in comfort and enjoy a music-department assembly in which more than a hundred youngsters participated. We intend to provide in the future a variety of cultural and intellectual experiences for the students by a well organized assembly program.
Five new courses were added this year to our curriculum. They are Psychology, Speech, Health, Mechanical Drawing, and Secretarial Practice.
In September a Program of Studies was distributed to all students. This booklet was prepared to help the student in understanding the academic offerings, the activities, and the special services available at the high school. It is hoped that parents and students will use this Program of Studies to provide a basis upon which a wise selection of subjects may be made.
The Students' Handbook and Teachers' Guide were revised last summer due to the fact that the move to a new school building necessitated some changes in rules and regulations.
Five times per year News Letters are sent home with the report cards. In the News Letters we attempt to bring to the parents items which will be of general interest and which will answer important questions.
206
Our immediate objectives are two-fold and may be de- scribed as follows:
1. We are examining our science and mathematics courses. A committee of teachers will survey what other schools are doing in these fields and submit recommendations to the administration. In order to spur more interest in science we shall conduct a science fair in February. Students will exhibit science projects which they have constructed and the projects will be judged by teachers and scientists who are not connected with our school. These student projects may be in the fields of biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics and general science. Our three top contestants will enter their projects in the Science Fair sponsored by the Lowell Technological Institute.
2. For membership, or for continued membership, in the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, which is the accrediting agency for New England, all schools must undergo periodic evaluations.
The first step in the self-evaluation of Acton-Boxborough Regional High School is to formulate a statement of the school's philosophy, based upon the community and the needs of youth. This is important because the school will be evaluated not by comparing it with other schools but in the light of its own understanding of its purposes.
The second step is the actual self-evaluation by the faculty. This generally takes from three to six months because each department in the high school is scrutinized by the staff to determine its strength and weaknesses. The guide used by the faculty is the "Evaluative Criteria." This book is published by the Cooperative Study of Secondary School Standards. The school personnel should find this study of their own school a rewarding experience.
The third step is to ask for a visiting committee of teachers and administrators to consider the evaluation made by the school staff, and to make its recommendations. The New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools sends this visiting committee to spend three or four days in the school.
It is sincerely hoped that this study will make a vital contribution to the improvement of education at the Acton- Boxborough Regional High School and that it will be a most stimulating experience.
207
It has been a source of great encouragement to have the citizens show such active and tangible interest in the Acton- Boxborough Regional High School. I should like to extend my sincere appreciation to the School Committee and Mr. William O'Connell. I am also grateful to the faculty for their cooperation and to the student body for their under- standing.
Respectfully submitted, RAYMOND J. GREY
REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF GUIDANCE
Guidance services for the Acton schools were initiated in September, 1952, following the appointment of a part-time Director of Guidance. At that time the school population totaled approximately 700. The five years since 1952 have witnessed rapid growth in student body and faculty and changes in almost every aspect of school organization and functioning; and the guidance department has shared in the experience of growth and change. The Director of Guid- ance, working on an eleven-month schedule, has been relieved of teaching duties so that full time may be devoted to activities concerned with the adjustment and progress of individual students and to related research contributing to the continuous evaluation of the curriculum being carried on by other administrators and staff members. For the past two years Miss Joan Capitell has been a valuable co-worker, assuming the responsibility as teacher-counselor for group guidance and counseling of students in grades 7 and 8.
September, 1957, with the opening of the new regional high school and the partial consolidation of the elementary grades, marked for the entire school system the beginning of at least a short period of relative stability and adequate space in which to operate. The student body numbered about 1200. For the guidance department ideal facilities now pro- vide the privacy desirable for individual conferences, a loca- tion for student records easily accessible to all members of the high school staff, a cubicle for individual testing, and a spacious library designed to attract students to the use of educational and occupational information.
The services of the local guidance program, categorized
208
under five headings, were described briefly in the 1953 re- port. Perhaps it is permissible at this time to parallel that report and to review the developments of the interim.
Individual Inventory. A cumulative record is maintained for every student. It begins in grade 1, continues in an active status through grade 12, and is frequently taken from storage thereafter to provide information requested by em- ployers or authorities of other schools. In grades 1 -6 teachers enter all data on the record cards and refer to them when necessary in the offices of the Principals. The cards of entering seventh graders are transferred to the high school where they become part of a larger folder and guid- ance counselors accept the responsibility for keeping them up to date. High school faculty members, the school nurse, parents, and the students themselves are the contributors of information.
The results of testing form one major area of the individ- ual inventory as well as providing group pictures and class analyses of value to teachers and administrators. During the past year the local testing program has been expanded. Intelligence and readiness tests are given to all first graders ; students in grades 2 through 12 take achievement tests each fall; intelligence is measured at the third, fifth, seventh, and tenth grade levels, and interest inventories are given to eighth and eleventh grade pupils. For purposes of grouping and evaluation of progress it is planned this spring to re-test achievement in grades 5 and 6. In special cases the Director of Guidance administers individual tests, including the Stanford-Binet test of intelligence. The Principal of the Blanchard Memorial School has been cooperative in coor- dinating his testing program with that of the Acton elemen- tary grades and in conferring periodically with the Director of Guidance so that entering seventh graders from Box- borough may be more easily compared with those of Acton.
Educational and Occupational Information. Guidance per- sonnel and other school people must aim not only to aid students in understanding themselves but also to acquaint them with information about opportunities and demands in advanced schools and in the working world. The guidance library has already been mentioned; it has filled a serious need for a place where students may find attractively dis- played for their use such materials as reference books about colleges and specialized schools and scholarship and loan opportunities, school and college catalogues, booklets about
209
personal and social adjustment and study habits, and pam- phlets about occupations and job fields.
Occupational information is disseminated directly in spe- cial units of the civics and problems of democracy classes on the high school level and in orientation in grade 7. The grade 8 occupations course, yielding to the need for more counseling time, was omitted from the program this year. It is hoped that in the future it may be placed at a higher grade level where the detailed content will be most meaning- ful. Other methods which have been utilized to provide information are the following: programs led by armed services representatives, conferences about careers, visits by school and college admissions officers, evening programs for parents, and the school News Letter.
Counseling. Individual conferences are the core of every guidance program. In grades 1 - 6 these have been handled generally by teachers and principals. The Director of Guid- ance is available to discuss with these persons the back- ground of individual cases and to cooperate in seeking the answers to problems. In grades 7-12 the two members of the guidance department interviewed all students at least once last year and held several conferences with some individuals. Frequently the students initiated the interviews. It is pleasing to note, too, that many parents have wanted to discuss matters with the guidance counselors.
Placement. Since placement was the subject of the 1956 report, it may suffice here to say that although there is an increasing pressure to direct attention to college preparatory students and their placement, an effort is made to work also with non-college students and to place them in jobs after graduation. The current employment picture is such that there are usually more job openings than the school can fill with its graduates, particularly those with secretarial train- ing.
Follow-Up. In 1953 and 1954 a questionnaire survey was made of Acton High School graduates of the classes 1948 - 1953 inclusive. Its purpose was threefold, namely, (1) to acquire local occupational information, (2) to determine the need for full-time guidance services, and (3) to utilize one source of evaluation of the high school curriculum. The results of the survey were compiled in formal study and have been influential in school and curriculum planning. For example, the expressed need for more varied offerings for the non-college student was at least partially responsible
210
for expanded shop and home economics facilities in the new school. Among the suggested additions to the curri- culum were: typewriting for college preparatory students, a secretarial practice course, speech classes, introductory psy- chology, mechanical drawing, and Latin. These have now become reality in the high school program.
To the responses of members of the classes 1948- 1953 have now been added those of students who graduated in 1954, 1955, and 1956. Space does not permit the inclusion here of the detailed results, but charts are available showing the status of our graduates, their locations, schools and col- leges attended, and entry occupations. Questionnaires will soon be sent to 1957 graduates, because follow-up and evalua- tion must be continuing processes.
This fifth annual report may conclude on much the same theme as that of 1953. Guidance is the obligation of every educator and of all parents. Organized guidance services are the responsibility of certain school personnel. Cooperation of all concerned should result in happier, more successful young citizens. Appreciation is here expressed for the interest which the School Committees, the Superintendent of Schools, the Principals and staff members of the several schools, and many parents have shown in the endeavors of the local guidance department.
Respectfully submitted,
RUTH R. PROCTOR
REPORT OF SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
I herewith submit my annual report as school physician for the Town of Acton.
The annual physical examinations were completed in October. Special examinations were held early in the school year for those participating in athletics. Parents were in- formed of medical, orthopedic, and dental problems and remedial measures suggested.
In conjunction with the Board of Health, Schick Tests and immunization with Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoid were given to the children in the lower grades as requested by parents. All third or booster injections of Salk poliomyelitis
211
vaccine were completed in the Fall. Two injections of Type A influenza virus vaccine (Asian type) were given to all school personnel.
I wish to thank the townspeople, teachers and school and Town nurses for their cooperation and assistance.
Respectfully submitted, PAUL P. GATES, M.D.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL NURSE January 1, 1957 to September, 1957
Eye and ear examinations were completed in all grades. All corrections have not been completed as yet.
Dental clinics were held at Dr. Albright's office each month except for the month of August. The average number of children seen at a clinic was ten per morning.
Pre-school clinics were held at the Julia L. McCarthy Pri- mary School in May. Ninety-one (91) children were regis- tered by the school personnel and the physical examinations of the children were done by the school physician, Dr. Paul P. Gates.
A diphtheria clinic was held in May with one hundred seventy-six (176) children in the first, third and fifth grades receiving the Schick test. Twelve (12) children needed complete immunization, and six (6) received booster inocula- tions.
During March, April, May and September, 1957, all the chil- dren, teachers and school personnel received their three Salk Polio vaccine inoculations. One thousand five hundred and sixty-four (1564) injections were given in five clinics.
Daily visits were made to the schools in checking for com- municable diseases, sickness and accidents.
I wish to thank Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Grey, and all the teachers and school personnel who have helped me in various tasks in my duties at the school. I am very grateful, but more grateful that a full-time nurse was appointed to the faculty in September to carry on the many varied duties and follow-up calls that are necessary in a well organized
212
health program. Miss Clemence will take good care of your children.
Respectfully submitted,
EILEEN F. HALE, R.N.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL NURSE September 1, 1957 to December 31, 1957
My report is for the latter half of the 1957 school year as I assumed the duties of the school nursing program in September.
Physical examinations of the children in the first, fourth, and fifth grades of the elementary schools were completed in October, 1957. Students entering competitive sports in the junior and senior high school, plus grades seven, eleven, and twelve were also examined by the school physician. A total of 547 students received physical examinations and slips have been sent to the parents regarding physical, dental, or orthopedic defects found. It is hoped that correction or treatment of such defects will be cared for.
A dental clinic with Mrs. Ingraham, dental hygienist of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, was held for grade three in November. 101 children received dental examinations and slips were sent to parents whose child was in need of dental attention. The response to this clinic was favorable and most of the children are receiving the dental care needed.
In September the Lions Club presented the Acton schools with a new Massachusetts Vision Testing equipment. We appreciate this gift and interest shown us by the Lions and the equipment will be used in the eye testing program to be started in January, 1958.
Chest X-rays were arranged for the new members of the cafeteria staff as well as cafeteria staff members who have not been X-rayed in the last three yars.
Daily visits are made to the Regional High School, Julia McCarthy and Elementary Schools; the South School is visited twice a week and more often as necessary. To date an average of 15 children are seen for first aid, illness and
213
referrals to their own doctors. Arrangements for all sick children to go home are made with the parents, and we urge the parents to tell the children if they are going to be away during school hours and where the school can reach them in case of accident or illness. No child is taken to a doctor without the parents' permission except in extreme emergencies. Medication is not given to children while in school; and students should not bring medication to school except as ordered by a physician, and arrangements made with the school nurse regarding such medications.
The teaching of health in grade eight has been one of my duties. The course is based upon health needs and interests for this grade level as determined by health inven- tories and tests given in September.
In the future more stress needs to be made on accident prevention. The majority of illnesses and physical defects are adequately cared for by the school and parents but the area of accident prevention needs our attention. Happier school living will be enjoyed if children, school personnel, and parents encourage children to be more safety conscious en route to and from school, and in the class room, on the playground, and in athletics.
I wish to thank Mr. O'Connell, the school principals, Dr. Gates, Mrs. Hale, R.N., the teachers, Mrs. Felt, Miss Erkkinen, Mrs. Von Idersteain, and the parents for their cooperation.
Respectfully submitted,
BARBARA A. CLEMENCE, R.N.
214
GRADUATION EXERCISES JUNE 14, 1957
Salutatorian Valedictorian
Ronald E. Noftle Russell A. Nylander
Scholarship Awards:
West Acton Woman's Club Edith Anderson
Cornell University
Acton Center Woman's Club Charles Bartlett University of New Hampshire
Acton Parent Teachers Association Edwin Anderson Cornell University
Maynard Rotary Club Madeline Koh
Jackson College
Acton Firemen's Association Madeline Koh Allen Christofferson
Jackson College Clark University
Acton High School Scholarship Fund
Ronald Noftle University of New Hampshire
Russell Nylander University of New Hampshire
Acton Lions Club Edwin Anderson
Cornell University
Acton Teachers' Association Madeline Koh
Jackson College
Other Awards:
Bausch and Lomb Medal Russell Nylander
Rensselaer Medal
Russell Nylander
Daughters of American Revolution Award Madeline Koh
Outstanding Senior Madeline Koh
American Legion Medals for Scholarship, Loyalty and Achievement Allen Christofferson Sonja Nelson
Harvard Club of Concord Book Prize David Roth
University of Massachusetts Mathematics Award Edwin Anderson
215
National Honor Society Members:
Seniors :
Edwin J. Anderson, Madeline Koh,
Ronald E. Noftle, Russell A. Nylander
Juniors :
Bonnie V. Banks, Roberta Davis,
Donna Hollowell, Caroline V. Kangas,
Ralph Parsons, Gregor Prentice,
David Roth, Jeanne Steele, Joanne Steele
CLASS OF 1957
Edwin Joseph Anderson
Louise F. Murray
Jackson Robert Baker
Faith Adelaide Nelson
Janet E. Barker
Sonja Marie Nelson
Charles Merritt Bartlett
Ronald E. Noftle
John J. Brown
Russell Alan Nylander
Allen Martin Christofferson, Jr. John Stephen O'Neil
Linda Ann Christofferson
John F. Culkins
Joan Nelson Grantmyre Richard N. Howe
Paul Deane
Waino J. Kangas, Jr.
Karen Elizabeth Erkkinen
James A. Kazokas
Marcia Furbush
Ernst A. Knippel, Jr.
Gerald A. Gaebel
Madeline Koh
Linda Darryl Gothorpe
James W. Laffin
Ann Elizabeth Landry
Patricia Perkins
Charles Anthony Lukas, Jr.
Georgina R. Phelps
Donald Earl Macleod Marilyn Manosh
Davis Owen Ringland
David Spinney
Corinne Mae Massie
Jane Marlene Stevens
Martha McLaren
Jane Elizabeth Way
Valerie Elizabeth Medlar
Douglas W. Whitcomb
216
ACTON-BOXBOROUGH REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
District Superintendent, William L. O'Connell
Name
Professional Training
Tufts College
AB, MS
Principal
Radcliffe College
AB
Boston University
M.Ed.
Director of Guidance
MARGARET BOORNAZIAN
Burdett College
Business
MARY BOYLE
Framingham Teachers College
BS
Home Economics
MARY CAMPBELL
Immaculata College
AB
Social Studies
JOAN CAPITELL ROSALIE CATANZANO
Boston University
BS, M.Ed.
Guidance
Boston College
BS
Mathematics, Science
WILLIAM CLEARY
Union College
BS
Social Studies
BARBARA CLEMENCE
New England Deaconess Hospital
AA
Nurse
JAMES DADOLY
American International College
BA
Science
HELEN DAILY
Regis College
AB
Boston College
MA
English, Latin
HELEN DAVIS
Tufts College
AB
Librarian
HELEN DETSCH
Boston University
BS
English
MARY EMERSON
University of New Hampshire
BS
Home Economics
DOROTHY FERRY
Radcliffe College
AB
English
ESTHER FOLTS
Syracuse University
BA
English, Social Studies
Position or Teaching Field
RAYMOND J. GREY RUTH R. PROCTOR
217
North Park College
JANICE HAGGERTY EDITH HATCH ARTHUR HAYES
EDWARD JAMES MASON KING
WILLIAM LUBOLD
ERNEST MANDEVILLE
JOHN NIONAKIS
LOUISE OLASKA
218
ANTHONY PAPPAS MORA RAWLINGS
CAROL SPAULDING
Art
University of Maine
BS
Physical Education
Northeastern University
Industrial Arts
Boston College
BS
Mathematics
Smith College
AB
English
University of New Hampshire
BS
Science
Salem Teachers College
BS
Boston University
M.Ed.
Business
Smith College
BA
University of Cape Town
MA
English
Boston University
BA
Art
Reading Improvement
Social Studies Physical Education
Boston University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard University
AM
Science
Boston University
BA, MA
Mathematics
University of Massachusetts
BS
Industrial Arts
University of Massachusetts
BA
Middlebury College
MA
French, Spanish
Boston Conservatory of Music
B.Ed.
Music
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BS
Mathematics, Science
Brooklyn College
BA
New York University
MA
Social Studies
Massachusetts School of Art
BS
ISADORE STEARNS
RALPH STETSON
ROBERT SULLIVAN
MARION TOWNE
JON THUNBERG
HENRY WALL
MARIE YATES CHARLES BATTIT
Massachusetts School of Art Fitchburg Teachers College
University of Mississippi Stanford University
BA
MA
BS
BS
Science
BS
PROGRESS REPORT OF THE PERSONNEL BOARD
January 15, 1958
The Board is making a limited number of recommendations for consideration by the Town at the Annual Town Meeting in March 1958. A full salary classification plan and a set of associated policies will be presented to the Town in 1959.
The recommendations herein are based upon data concern- ing rates of pay, hours of work, and general personnel practices from two sources: (1) the various departments of the Town of Acton, and (2) other Massachusetts towns from which such data are available. It is necessary, to insure fairness, that similar kinds of work in different Acton Town Departments receive comparable wages and benefits. It is further necessary, both in the interest of fairness and to enable the recruitment of competent people, that rates of pay, hours of work and other benefits for employees of the Town of Acton be similar to those in comparable towns.
The Board has found wide variations in pay and in other benefits within the departments of the Town of Acton. In addition it has found that Acton Town employees in certain departments are markedly below comparable employees in other Massachusetts towns with respect to pay, hours of work and other benefits.
The recommendations below are designed to remedy the most serious of these inequities. Other inequities, obvious but less extreme, have been permitted to remain pending the full report of the Board a year hence.
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