USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Leicester > Town annual reports of officers of the town of Leicester, Massachusetts 1961 > Part 8
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172
ANNUAL REPORT
William J. Shilale B.S.Ed. Fitchburg State Industrial Arts 1961 Teachers' College
E. Jay Tierney
A.B. St. Michaels College Guidance
1957
Ed.M. Worcester State Driver Training Teachers' College
James A. Tivnan A.B. Holy Cross College History Ed.M. Worcester State Teachers' College.
1955
Paul J. Zambarano B.B.A. Clark University
Business,
1961
Mathematics
MEMORIAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
James G. Reidy
A.B., Holy Cross College Principal Ed.M. Fitchburg State Teachers' College
1946
John H. English, Jr. B.S.E., Fitchburg State Vice-Principal Teachers' College Industrial Arts
1955
Ed.M. Worcester State Teachers' College
Mary M. Beauregard B.S.E. Worcester State Grade 1 1960
Teachers' College
Ruth Emmett
Worcester State Grade 2 1945
Teachers' College
Ireen B. O'Connell
B.S.E. Boston University Grade 3 Ed.M. Worcester State Teachers' College
1955
Eva B. Hurd
B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 4
1960
Joseph J. Rollins
A.B. Clark University Ed.M. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 5
1954
Lillian R. Chaffee A.B. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 5
- 1959
Dorothy W. Butler A.B. Earlham College Columbia University
William J. Jerome
Ph.B. Holy Cross College
Grade 6 & 7 Science
1961
Catherine M. Carey B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 6 & 7 English
1959
William A. Sipos
B.S. Holy Cross College
Grade 6 & 7 1961
Literature Grade 6 & 7 Geography
1960
Bernard D. Clifford
B.S. Holy Cross College
Grade 6 & 7
Mathematics
1955
-------- ----
Jane L. Jackson
A.B. Clark University
Grade 5
1953
1
ANNUAL REPORT
Robert G. Kane A.B. Holy Cross College Grade 6 & 7 1960
History
Normand W. LaPlante B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 7 & 8 1960
Geography
William J. Gannon B.S.E. Holy Cross Col- lege
Grade 7 & 8 1961
Literature
William J. Reidy
A.B. Providence College
Grade 7 & 8 1959
Mathematics
Joseph M. Carlomagno B.S.E. Fitchburg State Teachers' College
Grade 7 & 8 1960
Science
Ronald W. Hurd B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 7 & 8 1959
History
William C. Madaus
B.S. Holy Cross College
Grade 7 & 8
1961
English
Mary C. Monahan B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Mary St. Onge B.S.E. Framingham State Teachers' College
Household Arts 1961
Daniel G. Gearin, Jr.
A.B., Assumption College Physical Ed. M.A., Worcester State Teachers' College
CENTER SCHOOL
Barry J. Argento
B.S., Fordham University Principal Ed.M., Clark University
1956
Mary A. McDonough
B.S.E., Worcester State Grade 1
1955
Teachers' College
Elizabeth C. Murphy
Worcester State Grade 1 1960
Teachers' College
Pearl Stuart A.B., Atlantic Union Grade 1 1961
College
Ann M. Richmond A.B., Newton College of Grade 2 the Sacred Heart
1961
Eugenie M. Dickinson B.S.E., Worcester State Grade 2 Teachers' College
1961
Dorothy A. Brosnan A.B., Our Lady of the Grade 2 1960
Elms
Ruth H. Sprague B.S.E., Worcester State Grade 3 Teachers' College
1953
Mildred I. Gedrites B.S.E., Worcester State Grade 3 Teachers' College
1961
Ann S. Brooks A.B., Tufts College Grade 4 1954
Special Class
1956
1961
173
174
ANNUAL REPORT
Lucia J. Holdroyd
A.B., Mt. Holyoke
College
Columbia University
Grade 4
1948
Joseph J. Monfredo B.S.E., Worcester State Grade 5 Teachers' College
1961
Gertrude M. Miller A.B., Emmanuel College Special Class 1958
CHERRY VALLEY SCHOOL
Ruth M. McDermott
Worcester State Normal Principal School; Worcester State Grade 1 Teachers' College
1928
Frances M. Conway Worcester State Normal School; Worcester State Grade 2 Teachers' College
1945
Anne M. Thompson Perry Kindergarten Normal School Boston University
Grade 3 1944
Lillian M. Foxhall B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 4
1960
Eva T. Doyle B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Ernest J. Pantos
B.B.A. Clark University
Grade 6
1961
Richard H. Brierly
B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 7 1961
ROCHDALE SCHOOL
Irvine E. Eldridge
B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College Ed.M. Worcester State Teachers' College B.S. Wheelock College
Principal Grade 4
1956
Judith F. Brennan Mary G. Bergin
Agnes M. Toomey
A.B. Emmanuel College
Grade 3
/
1953
M. Christine McPartland
Mary E. Miller
Worcester 'Art Museum A.B. Clark University
Mass. School of Art
B.M. Boston University M.M. Boston University
Art Supervisor 1940 High School Art Elementary Art 1959
Elementary Art 1961
Music
1958
Supervisor
Ruth B. Wentworth
Joseph Oneschuk
SPECIAL TEACHERS
Worcester Art Museum
Grade 1 1959
Grade 2 1945
B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College
Grade 5
1957
175
ANNUAL REPORT
Eleanor M. Courtney B.M. Anna Maria College Elementary
1960
Music
Richard A. Yucatonis
B.M. Boston University Music 1961
Thomas F. King, Jr. B.S.E. Worcester State Teachers' College Ed.M. Boston University
Psychologist 1954
Director of Guidance
CAFETERIA
Jean Melendy
Supervisor
Helen Fox
Manager
High School
Dora Culver
Worker
High School
Edna Spinney
Worker
High School
Dora E. Anderson
Manager
Memorial School
Albina Kovaleski
Baker
Memorial School
Mary A. Donahue
Assistant Cook
Memorial School
Eleanor M. Jordan
Worker
Memorial School
Rita Smith
Worker
Memorial School
Loretta Neiderer
Manager
Center School
Rita Margadonna
Worker Worker
Center School
Gertrude M.' Desautels Manager
Cherry Valley School
Leah Nelson
Worker
Cherry Valley School
Elizabeth M. Bomba Manager
Rochdale School
Winifred Weir
Worker
Rochdale School
CUSTODIANS
Samuel Best
High School
1952
Carleton Burlingame
High School
1958
J. Herbert Williamson High School
1961
Robert J. O'Hare
High School
1961
Albert R. Melendy
Memorial School
1955
Leo A. Cormier
Memorial School
1961
Norman Bergeron
Memorial School 1961
Ernest S. Finney
Cherry Valley School
1959
Robert L. Perry
Rochdale School
1958
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
George P. O'Donnell
1955
Kenneth Culver 1952
ATTENDANCE DEPARTMENT
Frederick B. Cunningham
Center School
Eleanor Drohan
176
ANNUAL REPORT
BUS CONTRACTORS
Frithiof A. Anderson Francis Dube L. Hugh Dykas Forrest Irish, Jr. Forrest Irish, Sr.
Harold Neiderer C. Harold Patricks Laurence St. Denis William Sielis, Jr. John G. Wright
Mrs. Doris Lemerise, Special Class
LEFT EMPLOY
Marlene Bober Mary Clifford
Gail Dillon
Memorial School Memorial School, Homemaking Memorial School
Resigned June, 1961 Resigned July, 1961
Resigned June, 1961
Mary Flagg
Rochdale School
Deceased, April 5, 1961
Robert Joblin
PM Session
Resigned June, 1961
Everett O'Keefe
Special Class
Resigned Jan., 1961
Spencer Potter
High School
Resigned June, 1961 Resigned Aug., 1961
Anthony Santaniello Mary Shea
Rochdale School
Resigned June, 1961
Edward Sullivan
Memorial School High School
Resigned June, 1961
Christopher Barney George Dube
Mary E. Styren
Memorial School Janitor Resigned Sept., 1961 Memorial School Janitor Resigned Sept., 1961 Memorial School Leave of Absence
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177
ANNUAL REPORT
Report of the Superintendent of Schools
To the School Committee of Leicester :
Herewith, I submit my sixteenth annual report as Super- intendent of Schools of Leicester, Massachusetts; it is the sixty-ninth in a series of similar reports.
HIGH SCHOOL
June 7, 1961 saw sixty-seven seniors receiving diplomas in the following program :
Processional : "Pomp and Circumstance"
National Anthem
Invocation
Reverend Willard L. Mckinstry Judith Ann Gervais
Salutatory Address
Chorus: "This Is My Country"
Class Oration Marilyn Joan Clarkson
Chorus : "Where'er You Walk"
Class Oration Caroline Anderson Riegel Chorus: "Medley of Civil War Airs"
Valedictory Address Richard Barton Kennedy
Chorus : "Let There Be Music"
Presentation of Awards
Mr. Edward L. Skelley, Principal Presentation of Diplomas Mr. William A. Campbell Auditor of the School Committee "Leicester High School Alma Mater" Senior Class and Chorus Benediction Reverend Jeremiah M. Reardon
Recessional : "Connecticut March" Accompaist Susan Griffith '62 William Kennedy '62
Class Marshal
CLASS OF 1961
Richard Barton Kennedy, President George Henry Albro, Vice President Carolyn Ann McCaffrey, Secretary Kathleen Frances Barnes, Treasurer
---------
178
ANNUAL REPORT
Liberal Arts Diplomas
George Henry Albro *Margaret Elizabeth Beck *Lillian Carol Brooks Margaret Ann Culver William Robert Daoust *Judith Ann Gervais *Linda Ruth Harris Nancy Ethel Johnson *Kathleen Marie Kane *Marilyn Jean Kennen *Cynthia Jane Larson Jean Ellen Leake Robert Arvid Lekstrom Judith Fay Manthorne *Donald Grant Munson *Carol Ann O'Connell * Joan Stanton Phipps Cynthia Alice Piper Robert Joseph Riedl
*Caroline Anderson Riegel Kathleen Snay Jo Anne Turner
Commercial Diplomas
*Kathleen Frances Barnes
*Margaret May Biscornet
*Kathleen Marguerite Blouin *Marilyn Joan Clarkson
*Beverly Jeanne Desautels Sandra Joyce Doane
*Pauline Antoinette Forgit *Janet Ethel Going Shirley Ann Herring Christina Ann Jezerski Shirley Marie Letourneau
*Gloria Charlotte Mason *Carolyn Ann McCaffrey Cheryl Ann Peace Nina Jean Snow
Technical Diploma -
*Richard Barton Kennedy * Anthony Peter Sacovitch
General Diplomas
Susan Louise Bailey Norman Allen Bergeron Gordon Clifford Berryman Susan Irene Best
Daniel Howard Bindhamer
Russell Arnold Dodds William Edmund Easte, III Dolores Kay Gordon Linda Ellen Grant Donald Michael Guerra Roger Allen Hunt Christina Barbara Hyland Donald Edwin Johnson Roy Franklin Johnson Linda Mae Latour Harold Edwin Lindberg, Jr. William George Lyon Arthur Herman Marois Leonard Ulric Millette Arthur Joseph Nollette *Leslie Anne Page Sandra Mae Peace Philip Joseph Rock Thomas Francis Shivick Norman Alfred Soucie Victor Michael Taylor Edward Joseph Thompson Barry Milton Wood
*Indicates Honor Student
Class Motto Ad Novas Regiones
Class Colors Blue and White
----- -- ---
179
ANNUAL REPORT
AWARDS
D.A.R. Good Citizenship Award Best All Around Girl Award Best All Around Boy Award Leicester Teachers' Scholarships
Kathleen Marie Kane Kathleen Marie Kane Richard Barton Kennedy Kathleen Marie Kane Cynthia Jane Larson Jean Ellen Leake
Leicester Mothers' Club Scholarships
Judith Ann Gervais Lillian Carol Brooks George Henry Albro Carolyn Ann McCaffrey
Class of 1954 Scholarship Arthur D. LaMotte Memorial Award
Richard Barton Kennedy
Beacon Pharmacy Inc. Scholarship Award No applicant
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY AWARDS
Margaret Biscornet Marilyn Clarkson Pauline Forgit
Judith Gervais Richard Kennedy Leslie Page
Caroline Riegel
ELEMENTARY
On June 14, 1961, a class of one hundred and one students was graduated in appropriate exericses in the Memorial School Auditorium.
Class of 1961
Susan Lee Allen John Robert Anderson Rose Marie Anderson Roger Alan Baker David Mitchell Barnes
Harry Irving Barney, Jr. Ellen Agnes Barrett Evelyn Jane Barrus Russell Eugene Barrus Christine Ellen Bercume Joan Carmen Bergeron Linda Marie Bergeron
Hope Susan Lachance Joseph Edward Raymond Lamprey, II Patricia Ann Langlois Linda Karon Larson
Sharron Christie LaTour Ronald James Leno Paul Cornelius Letsky Janet Anne Martin Jeanette Maznick Sharon Ann McCue Chester Earle McDonald
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180
ANNUAL REPORT
Barbara Ann Biscornet Barbara Ann Chaffee Mark Frederick Connolly David Arnold Cooper Ernest John Cooper Maryjane Eleanor Cooper Susan Jean Cooper Sandra Lee Cote
Kenneth Alfred Desautels
Donald Richard Doe, Jr. Brian Andrew Doyle David Alan Dudley David Francis Dufault Ronald Gary Dunlop Gerald Dennis Dziejma
Sandra Lee Erickson
Sandra Mae Erickson
Marian Elizabeth Fitts Kathleen Mary Flynn Mary Anne Fontaine Donna Lynne Forsman Sharon Rita Gagnon Felix Sebastian Giuffrida Marcia Ruth Going Edward Lewis Griffith, Jr. Michael John Guerra Paul Lee Gustafson Nancy Ann Hager
William Elden Halley
Kathleen Marie Harrington Carl Leroy Hewitt
Susan Hickey
Linda Frances Horne
Gail Kathleen Hultman
Paul Richard Israelson
Karen May Johnson
Robert Mills Kennedy Ruth Knight
Rachel Ann McFerrin Paul Lawrence McNamara Patti Joan Mercer Doreen Meyer Arthur George Moulin, Jr. Dianne Munson Alice Susan Murtaugh Wayne Lewis Nelson Ann Marie O'Connor Karen Jane O'Donnell
Kathryn Rita O'Keefe
Charles Bedford Page James Arthur Parish James Paul Pietro Diane Marie Repekta Paul Robert Richer
Raeburn Lenford Ring, Jr. Mary Ann Robidoux William Joseph Robidoux Bruce Wayne Rolander Donald Alfred Rudman
Glenda Grayce Salminen
Donald Frederick Sandell Donna Margaret Serwecki
Elaine Seskevich Donna Marie Shivick
Deborah Slattery
Irene Mary Snay Diane Lee Spalding
Gerald Theodore Stefanski James Mitchell St. Germain Miralyn Harriette Stuart
John Edward Thomas David Stanley Tibbetts
Lynne Dominique Tuttle Ruth Libbie White
David Paul Whitworth Kean Edward Wilcox
Suzanne Jane Zachowski
AWARDS
Edward Lewis Griffith, Jr. Marian Elizabeth Fitts
Best All Around Boy Award Best All Around Girl Award D.A.R. Essay Contest-First Prize Glenda Salminen
181
ANNUAL REPORT
Second Prize Karen Johnson
CLASS OFFICERS
President Vice President Secretary Treasurer
Robert Mills Kennedy Karen Jane O'Donnell Sandra Mae Erickson James Paul Pietro
CLASS MARSHAL
Bruce Stephan Phipps
Class Colors: Blue and White Class Motto: Service Through Achievement
--
182
ANNUAL REPORT
ENROLLMENT GRAPH - 1941 -1961
1600
1580
1560
1540
1520
1500
1480
1460
1440
1420
1400
1380
1360
1340
1320
1300
1280
1260
1240
1220
1200
1180
1160
1140
1120
1100
1080
1060
1040
1020
1000
980
960
940
920
900
880
860
840
820
800
780
760
740
720
700
680
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
183
ANNUAL REPORT
AGE-GRADE CHART
October 2, 1961
Grade
5
6
7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 38
Total
-
25 123
9
157
2
27 104 24
-
15
3
.17 104
15
4
2
142
4
27
97
19
4
7
154
5
34 75
20
3
143
6
132
7
34
70
22
15
7
1
149
8
1
35
48
28
11
3
126
Sp. Cls.
2
I
4
2
1
2
I 2 1
17
25 150 130 155 149 116 145 143 87
48
20 5
2 1 1176
9
40 78
8
138
10
-
40
54
17
8
122
1
21
35
12
I
70
12
20
39
14
1
74
PG
1
1
41 119 86
80 60
16
2
I
405
25 150 130 155 149 116 145 143 128 167 106 85
17
2
1581
Grand Totals
DISTRIBUTION BY SCHOOL
October 2, 1961
Grade
Memorial
Center
Cherry Valley
Rochdale
High School
Totals
I
30
72
33
22
157
II
32
72
26
26
156
III
24
66
28
24
142
IV
25
63
35
31
154
V
91
30
22
143
VI
111
21
132
VII
123
26
149
VIII
126
126
Sp. Cls.
12
5
17
574
308
191
103
1176
IX
138
138
X
122
122
XI
70
70
XII
74
74
PG
1
1
Totals :
574
308
191
103
405
1581
17 80
18
13
3
1
62
-
184
ANNUAL REPORT
SUMMARY OF SCHOOL CENSUS
October I
Birth-5 yrs.
5-7 yrs.
7-16 yrs.
Total
Yearly, Increase
1957
997
351
1433
2781
99
1958
961
386
1474
2821
40
1959
952
414
1553
2919
98
1960
961
396
1678
3035
116
1961
954
410
1684
3048
13
A public school and its programs should offer its stu- dents a series of varied experiences that will enable them to mature mentally, normally, socially, and physically; enable them to the full extent of their potential abilities in terms of their aptitudes and interests; and prepare them to assume their full responsibilities as students, parents, homemakers, wage-earners, and citizens.
It is only through the full development of the child in all his aspects that the matured adult will be able to offer con- structive contributions to his home, to his community, and to his country and thereby realize the satisfaction and happiness that comes from the full and complete assumption of his responsibilities.
The school is a secondary area of education that supple- ments the guidance, the training and the development that the student receives from his parents in his home and it is specifically responsible with the formal training of the child.
As a man must respect the authority of his community and his state, the child must be trained to respect the author- ity of his home and his school.
To be trained to live in a democratic state, a student must be taught under a democratic system of education, under democratic standards, and directed by a school committee that is elected to office by a democratic process by the citizens of the community.
Living under a school program gives a student experi- ences of living in a society in which he is an integral part of the entity. He must have a full understanding of the rules of his school, an awareness that these rules are properly enforc- ed, and a realization that violators of these rules must be pun- ished fairly and indiscrminately.
185
ANNUAL REPORT
The programs must challenge his ability but they cannot overtax his comprehensions ; they must be exploratory for one terminal in its vocational nature to another, and preparatory to the third. Flexibility in their nature and demanding in their content; these programs require the closest supervision of the pupils by the teachers, an adequate program of guidance to advise the student on the selection of courses that will best serve him and prepare him for his post-high school plans, and the availability of a diversified curriculum that will serve the many plans, abilities, and interests of its students.
His school house must be fundmentally sound in con- struction where a suitable repair program prevents physical deterioration and adequate maintenance offers clean and sanitary facilities and areas.
No program, behavior, or activity should support, en- courage, permit or condone any word, spoken or implied, or any act, demonstration, or gesture that is offensive to the basic principles of any religion, creed or spiritual belief. No pro- gram, behavior, or activity can be allowed that would be em- barrassing to an individual or violate his moral standards. All activities must be conducted in accordance with acceptable social graces and behavior.
There must be some harmony between the end develop- ment sought by a student and the sustained effort that he is willing to direct toward this development. There must be the same pride in acceptable social graces, for civic achievement, for moral integrity, and for physical appearance that there is for popularity. A student must have the same prestige ac- corded him for honor roll recognition, public awards, or out- standing achievement that he gains from his physical accom- plishments. There must be the same compatibility between the education a teacher, supervisor, or principal claims he provides and the programs, activities, and projects that he plans for his classes and individual students. There must be a relationship between the interest a teacher expects of his students and the time, effort, and direction that he is willing to devote to develop this interest. There must be the same ratio between the administrative regulations that are an- nounced and the support the administration gives to the rules the principals and teachers enforce to comply with these regu- lations. There must be the same balance between the policies the school committee adopts and the support it is willing to give to these policies in the face of criticism and complaint.
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186
ANNUAL REPORT
There must be some common identity between the effort a parent expects the child to devote in preparing his school activities and in developing proper school attitude and the amount of time and effort the parent is willing to devote in supervising home study and objectively discussing and sup- porting the school programs, their purposes and their values.
To assume its full responsibilities, the school should estab- lish a placement testing program that will enable the guid- ance staff to interpret these test results and advise the stu- dent on the selection of his course or in grade placement that will challenge his abilities and serve his ultimate vocational and avocational interests.
In the elementary area, children are selected for grouping according to their achievement records, beginning in the inter- mediate grades. (If there are two classes for one grade in this area, these are divided into an upper and lower level; if there are three classes, there is one advanced class and two of equal abilities ; if there are four classes, there is one class of the most advanced students, one of the next most capable stu- dents, and two of equal abilities.) This arrangement must enable the better students to participate in programs that are in keeping with their abilities while the remaining students can be allowed more time for problems that are general to that particular group.
The secondary school must offer a variety in its curricu- lum that will enable the student to participate in a school program that is satisfying yet challenging. This is accom- plished through the following curricula:
a.) Liberal Arts
b.) Technical College
c.) Commercial Secretarial
d.) Commercial Clerical
e.) General Academic
f.) General Vocational
A testing program must be conducted and the results must be properly evaluated in all areas to determine whether or not our school programs serve the needs of our pupils and to learn if our pupils are gaining the benefits from our school pro- grams that their abilities will allow.
187
ANNUAL REPORT
To adjust our programs of to permit our pupils to gain these full benefits, our guidance effort extends itself to develop the proper attitudes and determinations on the part of the students and to offer recommendations for curriculum devel- opment that will enable our school programs to meet current and changing pupil or community needs.
The parent should be notified of his child's school prog- ress through a series of communications. Telephone calls, let- ters, personal discussions, unsatisfactory progress reports, and report cards attempt to keep the parent informed about his child's successes, failures, interests and problems. The re- port card formally evaluates the pupil's success and efforts in various subjects in terms of the general requirements de- manded by the courses of studies and those assigned by the teacher.
School attendance is a privilege more commonly enjoyed in the United States than in many sections of the world. This privilege assumes that the pupil will participate fully and in keeping with his ability in the programs that are offered and thereby gain the benefits that are intended. He must conduct himself in a manner that will allow his classmates the oppor- tunities of growth and development that the classmates are capable of obtaining from the school programs and activities. When he denies his classmates their rights to the benefits of the school programs through misconduct or lack of application or interest, his privilege of attending school must be revoked.
This, in theory and application, is my fundamental be- lief that should be included in our planning educational pro- grams and activities, and in considering rules and regulations that must be forcefully adopted and strictly enforced in order to make this philosophy of education a living reality in the Leicester Public Schools.
With the opening of the new high school in September, 1961, many of the placement problems of the public schools could be corrected and changes in the high school curriculum were made possible. Previously the lack of space and facilities necessarily limited the opportunities to offer subjects aside from the basic subjects of the courses. Consequently the re- quirements in each area of the high school programs are so numerous, little or no time was available for students to elect courses that satisfy a personal interest rather than an academ- ically required study .
188
ANNUAL REPORT
It is hoped that by this revision, our curricula and courses of study can be improved and expanded to utilize to a maxi- mum the new facilities and additional areas that were made available when the new high school opened.
This is being accomplished by the department heads in the high school under the direction of Mr. Edward L. Skelley, Principal. In the elementary schools, Mr. Barry J. Argento, Principal, Center School, is coordinating a restudy and re- vision of subjects and programs in grades one through four and Mr. James G. Reidy, Principal, Memorial School, is ser- ving as chairman of the study groups in grades five through eight.
A great deal of attention has been recently devoted to the school drop-outs. These are pupils, who, for the most part, either cannot or do not wish to satisfactorily achieve within the areas offered in the school academic program.
These pupils and the schools usually endure each other until the pupils reach the age of sixteen when they withdraw from school and seek employment.
When the employment market has a shortage of workers, these pupils can find jobs that will offer them incomes that make them self-supporting. However, when there is a surplus of manpower and as automation replaces the semi-skilled em- ployees, the school drop-out, who usually is an unskilled work- er, not only finds it increasingly more difficult to find employ- ment, but is usually the first to be laid off during a slack period.
Programs in the new high school are planned to dis- courage a student from dropping out of school and the place- ment of the pupils allows him to select programs that are in keeping with his ability, interest, and his post-high school plans.
This encouragement toward the students to remain in school until graduation is not done with a sacrifice in the quality of education. When pupils are placed in the proper courses, the quality of instruction can be improved and main- tained at a high level.
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