USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1910 > Part 10
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We have rewired the basement and attic of the Library, includ- ing the art gallery, thus completing the task begun some years ago of substituting an entirely new system of electric lighting in place of the old one which was worn out and no longer safe. We are now able to open to the inspection of the Town in our well-lighted art gallery the splendid collection of engravings presented to the Library by the late Winfield Robbins. The pictures which have been framed and hung upon the walls are only a part of Mr. Rob- bins's gift, and will excite the gratitude and pride of every citizen.
Arlington is indeed fortunate to be the owner of this magnificent ·collection. Mr. Robbins's death, at Nice, November 5, 1910, removed a warm and generous friend of the Library, but it made
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
known to the citizens of the Town his splendid munificence in the gift of a Town Hall.
On the 6th of June the Trustees voted, as a vacation privilege, that two-week books might be drawn for four weeks from June 20 to August 31 without returning the card, provided that the intention of using this privilege is given when the books are taken. One hundred and nineteen books were thus taken.
On the 6th of September, 1910, our janitor, Mr. Edward Mears, passed away after a long and faithful service of nearly eighteen years. Mr. William T. Canniff was appointed in his place.
During the summer the Library was thoroughly cleaned by the new vacuum process, under the direction of Mr. John L. Ennis.
The Library has been enriched by gifts of Miss Ethel Wellington of the plaster cast of the Madonna and Child, and of bronze busts of Washington and Franklin from Mr. Winfield Robbins; also by the gift of several books by Mr Robbins, twenty volumes from the Arlington Heights Study Club, and other books from Miss Caira Robbins, Mrs. E. C. Turner, Mrs. Peter Schwamb, N. C. Lombard, J. D. Greene, J. C. Melvin and others.
The editors of the Advocate have continued to send us a file of that paper.
Exhibitions of photographs, etc., have been given in addition to those reported hitherto:
January. No. 105. Old Boston.
January and February. No. 106. Famous Pictures, No. 3.
February. No. 107. Ireland, No. 1.
March. No. 108. Representative Art of Our Time.
March and April. No. 109. Boydell's Illustrations of Shake- speare, Part II.
April and May. No. 110. Norway, No. 2.
May. . No. 111. Medici Women in France, England and Spain.
May and June. No. 112. Concord and the Concord Fight, April 19, 1775.
June and July. No. 113. Modern English Photogravures.
July. No. 114. Italian Fountains.
September. No. 115. Etchings by William Unger. No. 1 Dutch Art.
September and October. No. 116. Historic Dress in America.
October and November. No. 117. Jamaica.
121
TRUSTEES ROBBINS LIBRARY
November. No. 118. Town of Amesbury, Mass.
November and December. No. 119. Naples, No. 1. From Naples to Paestum.
Respectfully submitted, SAMUEL C. BUSHNELL, E. NELSON BLAKE, CYRUS E. DALLIN, CHARLES E. KEEGAN, JAMES P. PARMENTER, ARTHUR J. WELLINGTON, Trustees.
LIBRARIAN'S STATEMENT.
LIBRARY HOURS.
SUNDAY .- Reading Room, 2.30 to 5.30 P.M.
MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY .- Reading Room, 10 to 12 A.M., 1 to 6, 7 to 9 P.M. Book Room and Children's Room, 10 to 12 A.M., 1 to 6 P.M. WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY .- Reading Room and Book Room, 10 to.12 A.M, 1 to 9 P.M. Children's Room, 10 to 12 A.M., 1 to 6 P.M.
AUGUST HOURS.
WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY as usual.
Open on other days, except Sunday, for readers only, from 2.30 to 5.30 P.M.
Closed on holidays.
LIBRARY HOURS, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS READING ROOM. TUESDAY AND SATURDAY .- 1.30 to 6, 7 to 9 P.M. THURSDAY .- 3 to 6, 7 to 9 P.M.
AUGUST .- Open on Saturdays only. Closed on holidays.
Books left at the Reading Room on Tuesday and Saturday be- tween the hours of 1.30 and 3.30 P.M. will be exchanged, and books will be ready for delivery from 7 to 9 P.M. of the same day.
A limited number of books are now kept at the Heights Reading Room and may be circulated from there.
122
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
STATISTICS.
Volumes in the Library, January 1, 1910
23,774
Added during the year 1910:
Circulation and reference departments in Central Library 608
Public documents, bound volumes
20
Arlington Heights Reading Room
174
802
24,576
Volumes withdrawn
42
Volumes missing
23
65
Volumes in the Library, December 31, 1909
24,511
Periodicals subscribed for
77
Periodicals given
17
Newspapers subscribed for
6
Delivery of books and periodicals to adults for home use
29,238
Delivered from Children's Room 12,498
Total, including delivery to Arlington Heights
44,179
Single numbers of periodicals delivered
2,578
Largest delivery in one day, November 5
365
Average daily use of the Reading Room
56
Average daily use of the Children's Room
25
Average Sunday use of the Reading Room
44
Average Sunday use of the Children's Room
37
New names registered during the year
561
Volumes in Arlington Heights Reading Room, December 31, 1910 859
Periodicals subscribed for
24
Newspapers subscribed for
1
Books and periodicals received by basket from Central Library in 1910 2,443
Periodicals delivered belonging to Heights Reading Room
1,622
Books delivered from Heights Reading Room
1,478
Average daily use of Heights Reading Room
24
Fines paid to the Town Collector in 1910 $261.90
Amount paid to the Town Collector for the sale of cata- logues 2.70
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TRUSTEES ROBBINS LIBRARY
LIST OF PERIODICALS AND NEWSPAPERS.
A. L. A. Booklist*
American Boy.
American Forestry .*
American Primary Teacher
American Review of Reviews.
Architectural Record
Arlington High School Clarion.
Atlantic Monthly.
Bird Lore.
Book Buyer .*
Book Review Digest.
Journal of Ethics.
Bookman.
Keramic Studio.
Boston Cooking-school Magazine. Ladies' Home Journal.
Cassell's Little Folks.
Library Journal.
Life.
Lippincott's Magazine. Literary Digest. Little Folks. Living Age. McClure's Magazine.
Massachusetts Magazine. Mayflower Descendant .* Modern Electrics.
Munsey's Magazine. Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. Musical Courier.
Nation. National Geographic Magazine .* New England Historical and Genealogical Register. .
New England Homestead. New England Magazine.
Nineteenth Century and After. North American Review. Official Gazette, U. S. Patent Office .* Our Dumb Animals .* Outing.
Cosmopolitan. Craftsman. Current Literature Delineator. Education. Educational Review. Electrician and Mechanic. Etude. Evening Sky Map. Forum. Garden Magazine .* General Federation Bulletin.
Good Housekeeping. Good Roads Magazine. Harper's Bazar. Harper's Monthly Harper's Weekly.
Harvard Theological Review. Harvard University Gazette .* Hibbert Journal.
Historic Leaves.
Home Needlework Magazine. House Beautiful.
Illuminating Engineer .* Illustrated London News. Independent. Indian's Friend.
Century. Chautauquan. Child Lore. Christian Endeavor World.
Congressional Record .*
Cook's American Traveller's Gazette .*
124
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Outlook.
Scribner's Magazine. Spectator.
Photo Era.
Popular Science Monthly.
Studio.
Practical Engineer .*
Suburban Life.
Public Libraries.
Success.
Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature ..
Technology Review.'
Tuftonian .*
St. Nicholas.
Tufts Weekly .*
School Review.
World's Work.
Scientific American.
Young Idea.
Scientific American Supplement.
Youth's Companion.
NEWSPAPERS.
Arlington Advocate. Current Events.
Boston Daily Advertiser.
New York Times, with Saturday
Boston Evening Transcript. Review of Books. Springfield Weekly Republican.
*Given to the Library.
We have received reports or bulletins, or both from the public libraries of the following places : Andover (Memorial Hall Library); Baltimore, Md. (Enoch Pratt Free Library); Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Canton, Chelsea (Fitz Public Library); Clinton (Bige- low Free Public Library); Everett (Shute Memorial Library); Hartford. Conn .; Helena, Mont .; Lexington (Cary Memorial Library); Malden; Manchester, N. H .; Massachusetts (Free Public Library Commission); Milton; Monmouth, Ill. (Warren County Library and Reading Room Association); Natick (Morse Institute Library); New York; Newton; Northampton (Forbes Library); Philadelphia, Pa .; Providence, R. I .; Salem; Somerville; Stone- ham; Syracuse, N. Y .; Taunton; Wakefield (Beebe Town Library); Watertown; Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Osterhout Free Li- brary); Winchester; Woburn; Worcester.
Respectfully submitted,
ELIZABETH J. NEWTON, Librarian.
Arlington, December 31, 1910.
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Town of Arlington:
The condition of our schools at the close of the year covered by this report, is such as to furnish occasion for congratulation. Though seriously hampered by lack of accommodations for our rapidly growing school population, marked progress has been made in unifying the whole course of studies so as to economize space in the buildings and the time of both teachers and pupils, thus accomplishing a financial saving to the Town, without any sacrifice of efficiency. It will take at least two years more to successfully work out these plans, but in the end they will be justified.
The school buildings are generally in excellent condition, and the Town has reason to be proud of its equipment, and with the completion of the new Crosby School addition, which will be available by next September, it will be possible to meet fully the needs of that growing section for several years.
But while we may congratulate ourselves on the present achieve- ments, we can not overlook the fact that the current of events is sweeping toward us many new problems, some of which are already at hand.
ACCOMMODATIONS.
The development of property in the centre of the Town promises serious embarrassment in accommodating the pupils of the Russell and Parmenter districts. Already these buildings are filled to their capacity, and the relief which will come to the Russell from the addition to the Crosby is slight, and at best, but temporary.
With the removal of a large part of the ninth grade from the High School building, it has been possible to accommodate the regular High School classes during the present year, but next year, with the ninth grade entirely removed, it is going to be difficult if not impossible to provide for all in the present building. The situation will be made clear by a study of the following
126
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
figures, showing the growth of our High School in the last six years, including the present.
1906 1907 1908 1909 1910
1911
Average membership: 162.9 169.3 195.6
239.7 291.3 340 Showing a gain of more than one hundred per cent in the sixth year.
We have accommodations in the building for seating 382 pupils, · and if the same rate of increase is continued, and the probabilities are that the rate will be enlarged, with the opening of new transit facilities, we can not expect less than 400 applicants next Sep- tember, and the following year we shall be overwhelmed.
To meet these conditions, it would seem that the next step must be the generous enlargement of our High School building, which, if properly done, could be made not only to provide for the demands of the High School, but would place at our disposal several rooms which could be used until the High School required them, for the relief of the Russell and Parmenter districts.
So pressing is this matter, that the Town; at its coming annual meeting, should arrange for the preliminary steps leading to an enlargement of our High School building, to be ready for occupancy not later than September 1912.
EXPENSES.
With the growth of our schools both in number and efficiency, there must of necessity be a growth in the expense of maintaining them. What may be called a revival of interest in the public schools, which is now taking place, makes new requirements upon teachers, and tends to increase their needs and just demands in the way of increased salaries. It is the policy of the Board to secure and keep the best possible teaching force, and to do this it is necessary to meet the movement of other places, by a gradual enlargement of pay, and by showing to our teachers a disposition to give them fair and generous treatment. This is only just to this class of most devoted and valuable public servants. They deserve much at the hands of the community which entrusts to them its most valued possessions, the lives and characters of its children. Still further, the policy of the Board in placing over the larger Grammar Schools male principals, adds to our tax. But this policy has so completely justified
127
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
itself, that it should be continued as opportunity offers. With the opening of the new Crosby addition and the increase in the High School, at least five new teachers will be required, at an estimated expense of thirty-four hundred dollars, and with the establishment of evening schools of which further mention will be made, there will be a further demand of one thousand dollars.
While it appears that there has been a very rapid increase in the expense of our schools to the Town, we desire the citizens to consider the fact that the gain has been due entirely to the enlarging population and not to extravagance in administration. This will appear in an examination of the figures for the past five years. While our school population has increased 23,3% per cent, the per capita cost per pupil for education is less to-day than it was five years ago, in spite of the fact that we are giving better accommodation, better teaching, and producing better results.
Cost per pupil in average membership, including administra- tion, teaching and repairs on buildings.
1906 1907 1908
1909 1910
$34.28 $34.40
$34.18
$34.05
$34.12
And this cost is just about that of the average of the. other towns of approximately the same size, throughout the State.
EVENING SCHOOLS.
Arlington, having reached a population of over ten thousand inhabitants, is now,obliged under the law of the State (Sec. 11, Chap. 200, Acts of 1906), to "maintain evening schools for the instruction of persons over fourteen years of age in orthography, reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, industrial drawing, both free hand and mechanical, the history of the United States, physiology, hygiene, and good behavior. Such other subjects may be taught in such schools as the School Committee consider expedient."
This matter has been under advisement, and preparations are being made to open such school next October.
VACATION SCHOOLS.
Through the generosity of some of our citizens, a Vacation School was provided last summer, which our superintendent
128
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
.
generously took charge of, and the results, some of which appear in the Superintendent's Report, fully justified the experiment. Other towns and cities are giving much attention to this important matter, and making the necessary appropriations to establish these schools as a part of the system of education, and finding that there can be no more wise expenditure of money and effort than in grasping this opportunity to shape the character as well as to drill the minds of our future citizens. It is desirable that at the earliest possible date, these schools be made a part of the educational plans of the Town.
USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
Wider and wider extends the demand on the part of the people for the larger use of the school buildings for the benefit of the community to which they belong. In many cities and towns the buildings are in almost constant use, for study, lectures, experi- mental work, gymnastic exercises and amusements of the better kind, and it is found that in general the public takes very good care of its own property, and gets much good from it. There is not the occasion in Arlington for such use of our buildings as in places where the population is more congested, or made up of those who have been deprived of the advantages of the schools and homes; at the same time, it is the policy of the Board to give due consideration to this matter, and so far as is possible, allow the buildings to serve public needs.
THE SPY POND ATHLETIC FIELD.
The playground which the Town is so fortunate as to possess has proven a most valuable asset in the development of the young life of the community. In the report of our superintendent appear some of the details of its management and results. That it has proven a success has been due not so much to its own ex- cellence and opportunity, as to the careful supervision which has made it a means to a moral uplift as well as the physical development. The Town should get the most out of this fine plant, by placing over it a trained director, and giving it an adequate financial support.
The committee desires to repeat its invitation to all the citizens of Arlington, to co-operate with the committee, the superintendent,
129
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
-
and all the teachers, in the work we are trying to do for the com- ing generation of citizens. We welcome suggestions, and urge a keener interest on the part of parents especially in the training of their own children.
FREDERICK A. BISBEE, Chairman.
REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
To the School Committee of Arlington:
The rules of the School Committee require that the Superintend- ent shall prepare and present at the January meeting of the Board for publication, an annual report of the condition of the schools for the year preceding, together with such suggestions and statis- tics as he may deem worthy of consideration. In compliance with these rules, I hereby present this, my sixth report, for the school year, 1909-10.
The year just closed has been distinctly one of achievement. Far reaching changes in the courses of study and in administra- tion in the High School have been made; the athletic interests of the school have been reorganized; the new playground has been dedicated, and work upon it, in a measure, organized; manual training has been extended into the High School; a vacation school has been maintained under the patronage of the school department, though supported wholly by private funds; the system of marking report cards has been changed and made uni- form; increased accommodations in the Crosby district have been secured; increased interest in the physical welfare of school children has been aroused; fruitful efforts to administer to the needs of individual children have been made; and the intelligent and sympathetic interest in the schools on the part of the com- munity has been strengthened.
SCHOOL' ENROLLMENT.
Because of the demands for additional school accommodations which must be considered at once, I present this table, showing the growth, year by year, both in total membership and average membership.
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
The tables, in so far as they show growth in districts, are some- what misleading because of changes in district lines and the removal of a large part of the ninth grade from the High School to the Locke School, which occurred last year.
The terms, total membership and average membership, may bear a word of explanation. The total membership includes all the different pupils who have attended the schools of the Town during the school year. A pupil transferred from one school in the Town to another would be counted but once in the total en- rollment. When a pupil has been absent for ten consecutive days, for any reason, he becomes a non-member, and is therefore cast out in reckoning the average membership. A pupil leaving school, while counted for the year in the total membership, is at once counted out from the average membership.
TOTAL MEMBERSHIP.
1905-1910.
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
High
168
174
188
218
264
305
Ninth Grades
115
100
137
132
127
77
Crosby
300
293
308
322
350
393
Cutter
292
323
355
350
358
316
Locke
359
420
354
399
399
507
Russell
524
502
502
531
544
543
Parmenter
103
118
125
141
124
121
1861
1930
1969
2093
2166
2262
AVERAGE MEMBERSHIP, 1905-1910.
In-
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
crease
High
153
162.9
169.3
195.6
239.7
291.3
90.4%
Ninth Grades
99.8
91
124.4
123.2
120.9
45.4 *14.4%
Crosby
260.1
255.5
267.3
283.1
308.4
342
31.5%
Cutter
270.1
293.6
324.4
320.3
322.8
270.3
Locke
315.1
353.6
313.2
346.6
344.1
455.6
44.6%
Russell
469
455.2
466.2
486.8
495.2
502
7%
Parmenter
94.9
107.4
113.6
128.7
111
111.4
17.4%
1662.0 1719.0 1778.2 1883.4 1942.1 2048.0
*Loss.
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE
From this table it appears that the net gain in the entire Town for the past five years, based on the average membership, has been 386 or 23.3%. To this gain the High School has contributed 138, or 38%; the Locke 140, or 39%; the Crosby 82, or 21%.
The Cutter district has grown, but this does not show in the table because of the transfer of certain streets from the Cutter into the Locke district. The apparent decrease in the ninth grade is due to the opening of two rooms for grade nine in the Locke which are included in the Locke School numbers.
In this connection it is interesting to note that while the elemen- tary schools as a whole have increased 16.4%, the High School has gained 90.4%.
The average membership for the month of December, 1910, shows a further increase of 125 pupils over that of a year ago, proving that our growth is at a constantly increasing rate.
SCHOOL ACCOMMODATIONS.
Your chairman has spoken of the numbers and needs in the High School. Next year, there can be no ninth grade pupils in the High School building, so the pupils from the Russell School will be obliged to go to either the Locke or Crosby for their last year of grammar school work. This is unfortunate but unavoid- able. It is the result of the wise decision of the committee, appointed by the Town to look into the matter of additional school accommodations, that the greatest present need is in the Crosby district. This arrangement will continue until there are additional school accommodations in the Russell district or in the High School building.
Because of the congestion in the Russell School, we have a fifth grade in the Parmenter School this year. This has made it necessary to divide one class so that two teachers have large classes and two grades. These conditions make the most effective work difficult. With the growth in the Parmenter district so marked, it is doubtful if we can continue this arrangement another year.
In the Locke building all of the rooms except two are now used by classes. It is but a matter of a very few years when the Arlington Heights Branch Library will have to find other quarters. The first graduation of a grammar school class from the Locke
132
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
School occurred in June, and was the occasion for much local appreciation. The program may be found appended to this report. At the end of the present school year the Crosby School will have its first graduation exercises, while at the High School will be held probably the last of these exercises, at least until we have a much enlarged High School plant.
The furnishing of suitable school accommodations is an obliga- tion which no town can escape, and the better the town the more alert it is in anticipating demands which are unavoidable.
PROMOTIONS.
In my report for the year 1906 I wrote as follows:
"In the nine grades in our Grammar Schools, two hundred and twelve children failed of promotion last. June (1906). That means that two hundred and twelve children actually lost a year . of their school lives. This is very serious. On giving the matter careful thought you will doubtless agree that there is something radically wrong with a system in which fourteen and four tenths per cent of the children fail of promotion. Either the standard is too high or children get too little individual help. The standard is not too high, but the latter charge is true, and it seems, under our present system, to a certain extent unavoidable.
"The most just criticism of our graded school system is its deadly uniformity. 'Forty to fifty pupils are in lock step, and the rate of advance is determined by the average third. The bright pupils who might do double the work are repressed, while those whom nature has not so highly favored are either forced beyond their natural capacity or left at the end of the year hopelessly behind. The individual is lost sight of in the mass.'
" If all the children who were kept back this year (1906) remain in school an extra year, as will result to all those who go through the grammar grades, it means a cost to the Town for their instruc- tion of over $6000. Not all, however, do remain. Many drop out discouraged. If any plan can be devised to save this extra year for the pupil and for the school, it would be not only of im- mense value to the slow child, but a great saving in expense to the Town.
"It is apparent that our schools need a plan of some sort to
133
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
secure the promotion of pupils when they are ready for it and to prevent the deadening repetition of a whole year's work."
Since then, we have made every endeavor to reduce the number of repeaters with the following results; held back: In 1906, 14.4 per cent; 1907, 13.4 per cent; 1908, 12.5 per cent; 1909, 11.8 per cent; 1910, 10.5 per cent.
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