USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Longmeadow > Town annual reports of the officers of Longmeadow Massachusetts for the year ending 1956 > Part 13
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The story of growth extends very extensively into the elemen- tary schools. Our school system has a new school known as the Wolf Swamp Road School, which opened in September, 1956. This school provided only a minor relief to the over-all elementary school enrollment. In studies which have recently been made, it would clearly indicate that when the elementary school now in the process of being constructed, known as Blueberry Hill School, is completed, we are only keeping up with current growth. The town has not pro- vided any leeway in the number of class rooms for future growth. This situation will require, in the very near future, additions to our elementary school capacities probably in the form of an addition to the Blueberry Hill School, which is scheduled for occupancy in Sep- tember of 1957. The exact timing of this will have to be determined in the relatively near future. In addition, this extra loading in our elementary schools may well make it necessary for us to continue some transportation of elementary pupils this fall so as to assure relief to the overcrowded Converse Street School. With an eye to the future, I believe the School Committee, in conjunction with the Planning Board and Selectmen, should select sites for additional
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elementary schools. This is for the long-range future, but should be carefully planned in the very near future. Growth also exists in the Junior High School, and further studies and recommendations will have to be made at a later time. Since 1955, the Junior High School contains only grades 7 and 8, but these more than fill the present Junior High School building.
In the last twelve years, the total school enrollment has in- creased by more than 1,000. Because of the growth in population, building, larger families, etc., we are assured of a total school en- rollment of over 1,000 more in our present enrollment in the next six years. The addition of a thousand pupils in a five to six-year period creates a very positive need which must be faced by the citizens of Longmeadow. This is not theory; this is actual fact, and education must be provided for these additional 1,000 pupils. The result of increased population in the Town of Longmeadow, additional houses being built at the rate of about one hundred a year for the past five or six years, and the fact that there are larger families moving into our town results in unusually large and growing school enrollments. All of the studies made indicate that Longmeadow must provide additional classrooms, more teachers, administrative staff, and maintenance.
Much attention has been focused on our three new school buildings; Wolf Swamp Road, Blueberry Hill School, and the High School. You should know, however, that the remaining build- ings in the system, while older, are generally in good condition. There is a certain amount of refurbishing going on, particularly in connection with the displacement of outmoded equipment in the ele- mentary schools. This has been going on for several years on a gradual basis and should be concluded in the year just ahead. Some of the flooring in the Converse Street School has been giving out. We have done some experimental work as to the most effective and economical method for correcting this situation but recognize that some floors will have to be replaced. Our maintenance staff has done an excellent job in preventive work, taking care of things quickly before they reach major proportions; and in general, all of our buildings and grounds look well-groomed.
Everything in connection with the operation of the school sys- tem has been done with an eye to economy. Purchases of paper, for instance, have been made on a centralized basis and with bid prices. This is also true of the janitorial supplies which are used by all of the schools. They are purchased at bulk rates and distributed when needed to the schools involved.
It was quite a challenge operating a high school which was new to the system. From the observations and tests which we have made, we feel that the High School has gotten off to an excellent start. This reflects upon the Superintendent, the Principal, and upon the
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teaching staff. It is the intent of the School Committee to keep standards high in our Longmeadow schools, and to that end we wish to have a program which will attract the best teachers possible to our system and to maintain the teachers who are already in our system.
It is not customary to mention specific members of the School Committee as they have all done splendid work, particularly in de- votion to duty as reflected by the many, many hours of time which the job has taken this past year. However, I want to acknowledge the commendable work done by Mr. Scobie, who found it necessary to resign because he left the town of Longmeadow. It was with regret that his resignation was accepted.
I am happy to report that the School Committee has received nothing but the finest of co-operation from the Superintendent of Schools, the administrative staff and all of the teachers. The Com- mittee is also appreciative of the good work performed by the Su- perintendent of Buildings and the maintenance staff.
During the past few years, it has been necessary for the School Committee to act as members of the High School Building Com- mittee, the Wolf Swamp Building Committee, and to be represented on the Blueberry Hill Building Committee. This has enabled us to work with other townspeople who had been appointed to these com- mittees by the Moderator. The entire School Committee, I know, joins me in expressing our utmost appreciation to these townspeople who have served on these committees. It has taken a lot of time, but the thoughtful consideration and analysis of all the problems resulted in three new buildings in which the town can feel just pride. These buildings have been constructed economically, are ex- tremely functional, and can be operated economically. They are the type of construction which will last for a long period of time with hard usage. The judicious use of color has made them ex- tremely attractive.
There is an infinite amount of detail and many administrative problems in our school system. For more of these details, I com- mend to you the reading of the reports of the Superintendent of Schools, the Principal of the High School, and the Principal of the Junior High School which follow.
Respectfully submitted, JAMES GREENWOOD Chairman, School Board
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Report of the Superintendent of Schools
TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND CITIZENS OF LONGMEADOW :
In this, my ninth annual report as your Superintendent of Schools, I shall attempt to suggest briefly some of the activities of the department during the past year.
Since January 1st of 1956, we have completed the first year of operation of the high school, finished the construction of the Wolf Swamp Road elementary school, and have begun the building of the elementary school on Blueberry Hill Road. Each of these new situations has presented its own problems which have been excel- lently handled by the committees appointed by the Town Meeting Moderator. These civic minded and devoted individuals deserve much credit for the many hours of work and thought applied to these most pressing town problems.
The completion of the first year of operation of the High School and the initiation of the full four year program have been very smoothly undertaken. I shall leave to Mr. Macfarlane the more complete development of the problems faced and their solu- tion. I must emphasize here, however, that the sustained growth of the community presents us with a continuing shortage of class- room space which will have to be considered immediately and resolved. This appears to be particularly true in the case of the High School where the anticipated enrollments now appear to be much larger than originally projected. You will recall that in our initial studies the department submitted to the committees a direct projection of the then existing enrollments in the Junior High School and the elementary grades. We also had for our use the pro- jections made by the School Building Assistance Commission and the consultants employed to assist in the planning of the High School. The growth of the town has proceeded at a more rapid rate than any of these studies indicated as a probability. The current rate of building suggests that this growth shows no signs of abat- ing. As of this date, a direct advancement of the existing grades in the Junior High School gives us a crowded condition at the High School this coming year and an untenable situation in 1958. This being true, it seems necessary that steps be taken immediately to provide for additional classroom space in the High School as soon as it can be constructed.
The opening of Blueberry Hill School, scheduled for the fall of this coming year, will demand considerable redistricting of pupils in the Converse Street and Center School areas. We trust that this can be done with a minimum of inconvenience to parents and children. Our experience this year has indicated that the adequacy of the facilities at Wolf Swamp Road School more than
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made up for some inconveniences imposed on a number of people.
The continuing necessity for additions of staff for replace- ments and for maintaining new facilities presents us with major problems. Teachers are in increasingly short supply since Long- meadow is not alone in facing the problem of expansion of its pupil population. The market for teachers is more competitive than ever. We have been very fortunate in finding good teachers for our staff and trust that we will find it possible to continue to attract such individuals. Since good teachers are as scarce as they are at present, our only possibility of persuading them to come to this community is directly related to our being able to offer them excellent working conditions, a sound philosophy of education, as well as capable and congenial fellow workers. The final, and in some senses, basic factor is that of having an adequate salary schedule. The parents of children of this community can and should expect to continue to have available a teaching staff of out- standing abilities. This can only be assured as all the conditions mentioned above are adequately met.
While the department continues to be faced with the many problems related to a growing situation, we must not lose sight of other fundamental educational problems. Our very excellent staff of principals continues its good work of stressing the fundamentals of the learning processes and are constantly checking the quality of the work being accomplished. The standardized testing we do from time to time is carefully evaluated by them and their teachers in order that we continue to keep the instruction and methods com- pletely attuned to the educational need of the children of this com- munity. Here again we find the continued emphasis on the need for adequate facilities. There is bound to be a relationship between the number of pupils in a room and the degree of satisfactory work done by the pupil. The most acute learning problems are individ- ual in nature and can only be dealt with by direct work between the teacher and the child in difficulty. In these often repeated situations, group instruction is of no value unless the particular difficulty is widespread among the class membership.
For two years we have employed a Superintendent of Build- ings who devotes his full time to the supervision of the mainten- ance staff, undertaking special projects as they arise, and organiz- ing and conducting all of the summer repair work within the scope of the abilities of the men at his disposal. The net result has been an appreciable saving in the cost of this important aspect of our work. We are continually receiving compliments for the way in which our buildings are maintained. The credit for this situa- tion is due to the Superintendent of Buildings and his staff. Much expense is saved by the thoroughness with which these men do their work. It is important to remember that school buildings are, by their very nature, subject to hard use, particularly when crowded conditions exist as they have here for some years past. In view of
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the value of the properties and the use to which they are subject, our maintenance costs are well below all accepted standards.
In this general connection, I wish to emphasize strongly a point that I have raised with the Committee on several occasions. In order to keep good control over the use of materials, we are centrally stocking at the High School all those expendable items which, without good care, can add up sizeable costs in the course of each year. The distribution of these, disposal of certain wastes from the cafeteria operation, and obtaining of fuels, oil and anti- freeze for the tractor, the hauling of surplus food obtainable from government storage, the hauling of equipment used throughout the maintenance program, the obtaining of war surplus materials from distant depots have, in total, presented us with a real problem. Up to the present we have met this situation by several means. We have had to contract for extra rubbish disposal; we have presumed on certain citizens in town for the loan of a truck on many occa- sions; our custodians have used their own cars and utility trailers and, in certain emergencies, we have had to use the driver training car. As a practice, none of these solutions is excusable. In view of substitute procedures followed, it would not be possible to show that a small truck available to the department would result in any financial saving. My only reason for calling attention to this matter is to make clear to the citizens of the town that we have here another problem that will have to be reconsidered as the department grows. The addition of the school building on Blue- berry Hill Road this year aggravates this situation still further.
The addition of Wolf Swamp Road School gave us the facili- ties for providing the special instruction needed by a number of our pupils. This service, required by law, is made available for those who find the large group situation difficult in meeting their particular needs. Since such classes are of necessity very small, we find their operation very expensive. Fortunately the enact- ments that make this service mandatory also provide for State participation in the necessary costs. As long as this class is re- quired, the annual returns from the State should reflect this in the amounts returned to the Town Treasurer.
As a final note, you may be interested in a summary of our personnel activity through the last few years. In 1948, when I assumed the Superintendency, there were forty-three teaching staff members, six custodians, and one secretary. As of January 1, 1957, we have ninety two members on the teaching staff, thirteen custo- dians, four cafeteria workers, and five office staff, a total of one hundred and fourteen. During the intervening years, we have em- ployed a total of ninety-seven different individuals for various responsibilities. The turnover has been quite acute among the custodians where we find that none of our present staff was employed by the department in 1948. Twenty-four have been em- ployed at one time or another in the period to date. For the year
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to come, it will be necessary to add eleven members to the teaching staff and two custodians.
With the shortage of teachers, as well as custodians, this pro- curement program has been a difficult one. Every effort has been made to obtain people capable of doing the kind of work for us so characteristic of this department through the years. We intend to continue our diligent search for those of whom the department and community can continue to be proud. We sometimes tend to think that the continuing of expansion is our major problem, and it is, but not only from the point of view of mounting expense. A department of education is no better than the people by whom it is staffed. You will recall that in our search for the original twenty members of the High School staff we processed the applications of two hundred and eighty candidates. It is on this point that I wish to conclude my report. We trust that we may continue to find out- standing people to carry on this most important activity ; the train- ing, with your help and support, of your children. We only wish that more fine young people would become interested in this field of activity. We need them.
Respectfully submitted, HOWARD G. HERRSCHAFT Superintendent of Schools
To MR. HOWARD G. HERRSCHAFT, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS :
On September 5, 1956, Longmeadow High School opened its doors for 413 students to start its second year of operation and its first year as a full unit. The class sizes as of October 1st were as follows : 63 Seniors, 86 Juniors, 130 Sophomores, and 134 Fresh- men. It has been necessary to add more teachers. Fully realizing that a school is no better than its staff, we have spent considerable time searching for the finest teachers we could locate. We have added the following : 2 English, 1 Mathematics, 1 Science, 2 Lang- uage, and 1 Commercial. We filled replacement vacancies in Science and Household Arts.
With the collaboration of the staff, a new booklet on "General Information and Program of Studies" has been written. It de- scribes more fully the specific courses offered. We have revised and added information to our "School Rules and Regulations." "How to Study Successfully" materials have been prepared and distributed to all students and parents. Teachers have discussed the study materials with all the students.
Setting up our library has been a prodigious task for our librarian. We have over 100 students using the library daily. At
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the present time our library contains approximately 1500 volumes, fully catalogued and registered in the Library of Congress.
Our academic program has gained balance and full scope with the addition of the senior year. The activity program has grown according to student needs and interests. We are in our second year of a planned three-year's growth period for athletics. Last year was an informal one. This year our schedules include fewer games than anticipated for the future. Our fields and outside facilities will be ready to enable us to increase the number of games to full complement next year. We believe school spirit and morale has been higher with the growth of our activity and athletic pro- grams.
Our guidance program has rapidly developed into the pivot around which the individual student program is planned. We have been extremely busy administering, evaluating, and holding indi- vidual student and parent conferences on the results of tests this past year. Iowa Tests of Educational Development were admin- istered to all students this fall for the second year. Last winter California Tests of Mental Maturity (I. Q.) were given to all stu- dents. This fall we gave this test to all freshmen. Last spring Co- operative tests (achievement) in English, mathematics, social studies, languages, and sciences were administered to most stu> dents. Approximately 65% of the junior class wrote the aptitude section of the College Entrance Examinations Boards last spring. Approximately 29% of the senior class wrote the National Scholar- ship Qualifying Tests this fall. From 166,581 writing this exami- nation throughout the United States and its possessions, about 5% of our senior class are entered as finalists. In both above mentioned aptitude tests, most of the students did a commendable job. The results of all the standardized tests combined with the classroom achievement will give the students and teachers a clearer under- standing of individual strength and weaknesses.
We are members in good standing of the New England Asso- ciation of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the accrediting agency in the northeast states. This fall we were granted a charter for a Longmeadow High School Chapter of the National Honor Society. Twenty-one juniors and seniors have been elected by the faculty as charter members of this organization. Membership in the Edu- cational Testing Bureau has enabled us to keep abreast of the best standardized testing materials, procedures, and information.
Before Longmeadow High School opened, we promised to maintain a school of high standards, in keeping with the high standards established by the elementary and junior high schools. Institutions of higher learning, business, and industry are con- stantly searching for the best qualified people they can find. Since this is a society that is highly competitive, our product, students,
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must be among the best qualified and prepared. Our aim is to offer the finest secondary education obtainable anywhere with the exception of "trade" and "agricultural" areas of study.
Specifically, how do we approach the problem of realizing our aim? One, we obtain the finest teachers and staff possible. Two, we set up a program of offerings with electives broad enough to take care of individual selections and comprehensive enough to prepare each student for the future in his choice of endeavor. Three, we mark students on their report cards for ACHIEVEMENT as set up by course standards and for EFFORT put forth. The letter represents the achiev ment and the number represents the effort "A" and "1" represent excellent, outstanding work: "B" and "2" represent good, commendable work; "C" and "3" represent fair work; "D" and "4" represent poor, barely passing work; and "E" and "5" represent unsatisfactory work. Any combina- tion of letters and numbers may appear in rating a student. Four, we keep classes at a reasonable size. Five, we administer two-hour examinations at mid-year and in June to test a student on how much he has retained over each half-year period of time, and to give him experience of examination conditions. Six, we offer ad- vanced courses in English, mathematics, social studies and science to stimulate the growth of able students in one or more of these areas. Seven, we administer enough standardized tests to discover more about the individual student. Eight, we offer a wide choice of activities in fine arts, clubs, and athletics. Nine, we aid the stu- dent in developing good study habits and practicing good citizen- ship. Ten, we guide the individual student to a better understand- ing of his intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth, and his strengths and limitations in these areas. These are practices on which we are constantly working to maintain high standards for our students at Longmeadow High School.
Approximately 50 college admission people have visited the school over the past two years. Many people from business and in- dustry have been our guests. Local colleges have conducted classes in our school. Many public, private, and parochial school authori- ties have paid us official visits. They have been interested in our program, equipment, and fine building. Many letters of inquiry have been received asking for information. In every instance, school authorities have been tremendously impressed with our standards and program. In my humble opinion, Longmeadow High School has assumed a position of leadership among secondary schools, although we have been in operation for such a short period of time.
We wish to take this opportunity to thank the Albert T. Wood Legion Post, Number 175, and Legion Auxiliary, Springfield- Connecticut Valley Williams Alumni Association, Springfield Civi- tan Club, Boston Globe, Longmeadow Men's Club, Longmeadow
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Teacher's Club, United Aircraft Corporation, Walter S. Barr Scholarship Committee, Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, Longmeadow Maternal Association, Connecticut Valley Princeton Alumni Association, colleges, and citizens representing many organizations for considering our students for various awards and scholarships. We are grateful to the many adults in Longmeadow who have supported and attended our various activi- ties. It has been most heartening to receive so much encouragement from so many Longmeadow citizens. Our school will be open for thirteen activities this year excluding athletic games.
Both last year and this year have been filled with "firsts." I wish to express my appreciation for the co-operation and under- standing of the Building Committee. I also wish to thank the School Committee and the Superintendent of Schools for their leadership and support. The staff has worked extremely hard since our opening. I feel certain that they will continue to dedicate their every effort to maintain high standards and to be of service to the youth of Longmeadow.
Respectfully submitted, HUGH O. MACFARLANE, Principal Longmeadow High School
LONGMEADOW JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Howard G. Herrschaft, Superintendent of Schools
Probably our chief concern for the future at the Junior High School stems from a study of enrollments. In my report of last year I presented the future enrollments anticipated in this school through 1962. At that time I pointed out that the figures indicated through 1962 our building should be adequate to house grades seven and eight, though in certain years it would be difficult to schedule for the large membership expected. These figures were based upon actual enrollments in our lower grades, with no esti- mate of possible growth from transfers into the system. Analysis of figures on the increase in class sizes from kindergarten to Junior high school does give concern that in the quite immediate future we may find this building inadequate for the two grades. For ex- ample, at the time of writing my annual report last year we ex- pected a September enrollment of 316 pupils. In May when our class schedule was drawn up I found it necessary to plan for 330. In September actual enrollment was 342 pupils.
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