Town of Arlington annual report 1926, Part 18

Author: Arlington (Mass.)
Publication date: 1926
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 842


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Inspections


Stores and Markets


747


Fish Markets


190


Lunch Rooms


312


Bakeries


185


Ice Cream Parlors


112


Fruit Stores


118


Soda Fountains


173


Chain Stores


560


Miscellaneous


22


Total 2419


326


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


Other Inspections


Barber Shops


92


Theatres, etc. 37


Manicuring Parlors


52


Miscellaneous


32


Total 213


Two hundred and eight complaints requiring investi- gation were received and adjusted.


Upon requests of physicians, hospitalization for per- sons afflicted with communicable diseases were provided as follows :


Scarlet fever


17


Measles


1


Mumps


1


Patients placed in State Sanatoria


9


Total


28


Tenements inspected upon completion of renovation after recovery or removal of persons afflicted


with communicable disease 4


Legal settlements investigated 32


2


Respectfully submitted,


WILLIAM H. BRADLEY,


Agent.


REPORT OF MILK INSPECTOR


To the Board of Health, Arlington, Mass.


Gentlemen: I herewith submit my report as Milk Inspector for the year ending December 31, 1926. At a meeting of the Board of Health held April 5, 1926, the following regulation relative to milk was adopted:


-


Infant Boarding Houses inspected


327


BOARD OF HTEALTII


OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH


Arlington, April 5, 1926.


Chapter XIX of the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Health is hereby amended by adding the follow- ing regulation thereto and said regulation is hereby made and adopted :


REGULATION 21


No person, firm or corporation shall sell, exchange or deliver or have in his or their custody or possession with intent to sell, exchange or deliver in the Town of Arling- ton, milk drawn from any cows that have not been tested within a period of one year by a tuberculin test as ap- proved by the Director of Animal Industry, and found not to react thereto. This regulation shall not apply to pas- teurized milk or milk intended for pasteurization, and shall take effect on and after January 1, 1927.


A True Copy, Attest :


WILLIAM H. BRADLEY, Clerk.


As a result of the adoption of this regulation 90% of the 13,000 quarts of milk consumed daily in Arlington is Pasteurized. The remaining 10% is from tuberculin tested cows and is sold raw. The per capita consumption is practically one pint, which corresponds favorably with the average of other milk consuming areas in the country. High solids and fat content together with low bacterial counts have prevailed throughout the year. In connection with my position as Milk Inspector I attended the Annual Meeting of the International Association of Dairy and Milk Inspectors held in Philadelphia, also legislative hear- ings on matters pertaining to milk held at the State House in Boston. A summary of the year's work follows :


328


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


Licenses issued :


For sale of Milk from stores 175


For sale of Milk from vehicle


48


For sale of Oleomargarine


45


Total


268


Taken from vehicles on street


253


Taken from schools


10


Samples of Milk


Analyzed.


Total 267


Samples of Ice


Taken from Manufacturers and


Cream Analyzed


Ice Cream Parlors 11


Inspections of Milk Plants 24


Respectfully submitted,


ALFRED W. LOMBARD,


Inspector.


REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING


To the Board of Health, Arlington, Mass.


Gentlemen: 'I herewith submit my report as In- spector of Slaughtering from January 1 to March 31, 1926.


Number of Calves slaughtered 668


Number condemned


28


Number of Goats slaughtered


41


Number condemned


0


Number of Sheep slaughtered


145


Number condemned


0


Total 882


Twenty-seven inspections, requiring eighty-two hours and fifteen minutes.


Respectfully submitted,


CHESTER L. BLAKELY, M. D. V., Inspector.


4


Left at Laboratory


329


BOARD OF HEALTH


REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING To the Board of Health, Arlington, Mass.


Gentlemen: I herewith submit my report as In- spector of Slaughtering for the year ending December 31, 1926.


Number of Calves slaughtered


202


Number condemned


15


Number of Goats slaughtered


38


Number condemned


0


Number of Sheep slaughtered


58


Number condemned


0


Total 313


Seven inspections, requiring twenty-two hours and twenty minutes.


Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM H. BRADLEY,


Inspector.


REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING


To the Board of Health, Arlington, Mass.


Gentlemen: I herewith submit my report as In- spector of Slaughtering from April 26 to December 31, 1926.


Number of Calves slaughtered


2481


Number condemned


58


Number of Goats slaughtered


12


Number condemned


0


Number of Sheep slaughtered


351


Number condemned


0


Total 2902


Seventy-three inspections, requiring two hundred and eighty-two hours.


Respectfully submitted, ARTHUR TAYLOR, Inspector.


REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE


The School Committee organized for the year, ac- cording to its rule of procedure, on March 3, 1926. For the first time in a period of over seven years, the Com- mittee began its work for the year without the presence and help of one of its most valued members, Mrs. Dallin. Her talents and her singularly fine equipment for service to the schools were recognized by all of us, and it was with the keenest personal regret that we recognized her right to retire because of the pressure of other duties. The Town will always be in her debt on account of a long and faithful service, distinguished by insight and intelligent understanding of school problems. The place left vacant by Mrs. Dallin's re- tirement was filled by the election of Mr. M. Norcross Stratton. In June, 1926, Mr. Bradford E. Swift, whose term of service on the Committee began in March 1925, resigned: At a meeting of the Joint Committee of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, held in September, this vacancy was filled by the election of Mrs. Joseph W. Downs.


During the year progress has been made in the re- organization of the school system and this work is going on as fast as means and circumstances will permit. It is a result of a thorough analysis of the schools and courses of study by the Superintendent. Last year we gave a great amount of time and discussion to the re- modeling of the school rules. At present the Committee is preparing a similar revision of courses of study, with a view to the elimination of non-essentials. In schools, as in business organizations, periodic stock-taking is necessary for efficiency.


330


331-


REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE


The no-school signal on stormy days, discontinued by vote of the Committee last year, has recently been restored, because of the general desire on the part of citizens for such a signal. It is likely, however, that the Committee will have to ask the Town to provide additional apparatus in order to give fair notice to all parts of the Town alike. A recent test appeared to show that of the homes represented in the schools an average of about 16% in the whole Town failed to hear. the no-school signal while in the Locke district there were 116 families or about 35% of the school registra- tion that failed to hear the signal.


The School Committee during the year 1926 has had a busy year, as is inevitable in the conduct of a school system that includes 203 teachers, 5058 pupils, and thirteen school buildings, including two portables in temporary use. The recent growth of the population of the Town-nearly 50% in the last six years-has been nowhere more evident than in the increase in the work of the School Committee and the Superintendent of Schools. The increase in school enrolment in the last five years has been 1500-an average of 300 per year; the total increase in the preceding five years was only 327. It is clear that so constant an enlargement of all our classes has meant an equally constant demand for more teachers, more class rooms, and more equip- ment. We are still in arrears of the demands upon us in point of equipment, of necessary repairs, of accommo- dations for pupils, and of adequate salaries for our teachers. We believe that the citizens recognize this fact and will meet any reasonable program intended to guarantee to the children of Arlington the sort of teach- ing and educational opportunities to which they are entitled. We ask that citizens, who wish to be assured that the school system is being economically conducted, compare the figures in the record of the growth of school enrolment for the past five years with those of the budget for the schools in the same period.


. 332


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


So far as new school buildings are concerned, it is evident that we must expect to provide each year for several years to come one new building or one addition to some one of our buildings now in use. There are no present signs of abatement in the growth of the popu- lation of Arlington, and we cannot with safety let the school enrolment get a bit farther ahead of the schools and seats provided for it than it is at present. This, our most pressing problem, is in the hands of the Com- mittee on Additional School Accommodations, ap- pointed last March by the Moderator. Great relief will come to us as soon as the Junior High East is ready. Within the next three years an addition to the High School will be necessary. The Committee urges upon the citizens the desirability of providing separate High Schools for boys and for girls.


Respectfully submitted,


/


ALEXANDER H. RICE, For the School Committee.


-


REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS


January, 1927.


To the School Committee and


Other Citizens of Arlington:


Herewith is respectfully submitted the fourth an- nual report since the duties of Superintendent of the Arlington School Department were assigned to me. During the last four years the annual reports have not been burdened with many tables, graphs and statistics as is often the case with such reports, but an effort has been made to confine them to statements of the progress, accomplishments and needs of the depart- ment, including only the attendance records required by Town vote. For this reason it is believed that an at- tempt to show by a few comparative tables just what the recent rapid growth of the Town has done for the School Department and what has been accomplished in spite of such conditions will be met with some toler- ance, if not with considerable appreciation and interest. In general the statements in this report will be grouped under the following five topics :


I. Recent Rapid Growth of the School Department.


II. Economy in the School Administration as Re- flected in Comparisons of Enrolment and Appropriations ..


III. Overcrowding and the Retarded Building Program.


IV. Other Unfinished Work and Immediate Needs.


V. Progress and Improvements Resulting from Changes and Additions to the Work


333


334


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


I. RECENT RAPID GROWTH


What has happened to the School Department as a result of the rapid growth of the Town during the last five years can be learned from the ten-year enrolment table shown below. This indicates that the increase in enrolment from 1921 to 1926 was 1496 students against an increase of 327 during the previous five years from 1916 to 1921-nearly five times as many additional students in the same length of time.


1


TABLE I. TEN YEAR TABLE SHOWING ENROLMENT INCREASE


Schools


Fall of 1916


---


Fall of 1917


Fall of 1918


Fall of 1919


Fall of 1920


Fall of 1921


Fall of 1922


Fall of 1923


Fall of 1924


Fall of 1925


Fall of 1926


-


Crosby


617


699


696


710


689


616


701


800


- A911


547


560


Hardy


389


496


Cutter


327


345


354


354


334


385


426


475


488


540


573


Locke


613


643


638


632


623


676


D594


B667


522


535


577


Peirce


191


226


255


Russell


324


334


321


326


323


321


316


336


389


393


408


Parmenter


195


199


215


226


208


218


191


203


197


193


185


Parmenter Junior High


264


Junior High Center


495


441


452


508


484


E342


496


488


505


C617


429


Junior High West


225


378


367


370


424


510


High


664


654


623


639


674


779


F564


562


647


763


801


Totals


3235


3315


3299


3395


3335


3562


3666


3898


4220


4627


5058


A Prior to building of Hardy School


B Prior to building of Peirce School


C Prior to organization of Parmenter Junior High Unit


D Decrease due to transfer to Cutter


E Decrease due to organization of Junior High School West


F Decrease due to transfer of 9th grade to Junior High School


1


.


TABLE II-ECONOMY IN ADMINISTRATION TEN YEAR TABLE COMPARING ENROLMENT WITH APPROPRIATIONS


1916


1917


1918


1919


1920


1921


1922


1923


1924


1925


1926


Enrolment at


time of Budget making


.3235


3315


3299


3395


3335


3562


3666


3898


4220


4627


5058


Appropriation Exclusive o f Outlay


$116670


$140845


$163109


$184084


$257309


$289839


$324524


$331569


$351845


$400410


$456820


Percent of increase in Enrolment from 1916 to 1921 is 10%


Percent of increase in appropriation from 1916 to 1921 is 148%


Percent of increase in Enrolment from 1921 to 1926 is 42% Percent of increase in appropriation from 1921 to 1926 is 58%


337


REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE


The above tabulations are planned to show the com- parisons of two five year spans, but a better idea of the work and results of the present administration can be obtained by a comparison of the enrolment and cost of 1926 with the same items for 1922, at which time the work of the present Superintendent began in Arlington.


FOUR YEAR TABLE (1922-1926)


Enrolment


Cost Exclusive of Outlay


1926


5,058


$ 456,820.00


1922


3,666


$ 324,524.00


Increase


1,392


$ 132,296.00


Percent of Increase


38


40


The above tabulation shows that for the last four years the increase in appropriations has been only slightly more than the increase in enrolment.


To many this may not seem like an unusual accom- plishment, but its force can be appreciated by a study of the following tabulation for the four year period im- mediately preceding, in which it is shown that the cost increase was nine times as great as the enrolment in- crease.


FOUR YEAR TABLE (1918-1922)


Enrolment


Cost Exclusive of Outlay


1922


3,666


$ 324,524.00


1918


3,299


$ 163,109.00


Increase


367


$ 161,415.00


Percent of Increase


11


99


There is a great deal of comment at present in many localities on increasing school costs and the extrava- gance of school administrations. It may be that much of it is justified, but it is important that Arlington realize that what many other places are now beginning to think and talk about was actually undertaken by the Arlington School Department four years ago and has since been continued.


338


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


III. OVERCROWDING AND BUILDINGS


1. Elementary Schools :


TABLE SHOWING OVERCROWDING TENDENCIES IN SPITE OF RECENT BUILDING OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS


Schools


No. of regular class rooms


year


No. of class groups. school 1926-27


No. of Prosp. class groups fall of 1927


Minimum Maximum


Crosby


16


16


18


or


19


Cutter


16


17


19


or


20


Hardy


16


16


16


Locke


16


17


18


or


19


Parmenter


7


7


7


Peirce


8


9


11


or


12


Russell


12


13


13


or


14


91


95


102


or 107


The above tabulation shows that we already have four more classes than regular class rooms in the ele- mentary department of the school system, and that next Fall we will have from eleven to sixteen more classes than class rooms. It will be observed, however, that the condition is such that an addition to the Peirce School would relieve the crowding at the Peirce, Cutter and Locke Schools. I would recommend, therefore, that plans which would make available for use an eight room addition to the Peirce School, not later than the fall of 1928, be undertaken immediately.


The relief to the Cutter School from the Peirce School addition will be only temporary, because of the fact that the Cutter School district is building up so rapidly. It will probably be necessary, therefore, to arrange for the building of an eight room school in the Brattle Street section, not later than September, 1929.


339


REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE


2. Junior High Schools :


TABLE SHOWING OVERCROWDING IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS


Schools


No. regular Class rooms


No. Class Groups Fall of 1922


No. Class Groups Fall of 1926


No. Class Groups Fall of 1927


Junior High Center


13


15


12


14


2 (portable)


2 (Indus.


Class)


3 (Indus. Class)


Junior High Parmenter


-


-


8


9


Junior High West


12


12


15


18


27


27


37


44


In the Fall of 1922 there was an even balance be- tween the number of Junior High School class rooms and the number of class groups, there being at that time twenty-seven available class rooms and twenty- seven classes. At that time the Junior High Schools were understood to be well filled, and the principal was in the habit of referring to them as crowded. Since that time there has been an increase of ten class groups, and for the Fall of 1927 there is already in sight an in- crease of sixteen class groups over 1922, with no addi- tional rooms provided except the extremely temporary makeshift at the old Parmenter property. This means that next Fall there will be sixteen more Junior High School class groups than we have proper class rooms to accommodate. By the Fall of 1928, when we may reasonably expect Junior High School East to be ready for occupancy, the total number of Junior High School groups, according to the number of classes already in our elementary schools, will be at least forty-six, which is nineteen more than regular Junior High School class rooms available. This will serve to show without doubt the imperative need of a twenty class room Junior High School in East Arlington.


The above statements make obvious the fact that the Junior High School situation must be distressingly


340


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


overcrowded. In Junior High School West there are fifteen groups in a twelve room building and one-room portable. This means that every available space, whether suitable or not, must be used for class rooms. Academic classes are being taught in the cooking room and the wood working shop, amid surroundings and equipment not adapted to the work, and without needed equipment which cannot be accommodated under the conditions. Use must be made also of the auditorium and teachers' room for academic classes. None of these rooms is adapted to academic class work.


In Parmenter-Junior High School, a branch from Junior High School Centre, use is being made of rooms in three different buildings, none of which is adapted to a Junior High School program. A two room port- able, four rooms and two basement rooms in the old frame. building,-a basement room, a second floor room and an attic room in the New Parmenter building are all needed to accommodate the work of this Junior High School unit. This sounds bad enough, but a better con- ception can be obtained of the conditions under which students and teachers work if this organization is likened to a seven story building with two rooms on each of four levels and one room on each of the other three. The amount of climbing in such a building would illustrate exactly what the Parmenter Junior High School pupils have to go through each school day. These facts together with the fact that the equipment of these rooms and all other accommodations in this organization are sadly inadequate, cause us to insist' that Junior High School East should be made available for use as soon as it is possible.


Since Junior High School West will be so badly overcrowded next Fall that it will be necessary to have a double organization with the upper classes in the morning and the lower class in the afternoon, and since this school will doubtless be overcrowded even


341


REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE


after the erection of Junior High School East, it will be necessary to arrange for an eight room addition to this building, not later than September, 1929, which is in the. same year as an eight room building in the Brattle Street section will be needed. This doubling of building projects in 1929 is due to the nearly two year delay in the Junior High School East building.


3. High School :


An idea of what is to be expected in the High School organization within the next few years can be obtained from the following facts :


The present enrolment at the High School is 800;


The capacity of the present High School is be- tween 850 and 900 pupils;


The present enrolment in the Junior High Schools is 1200, the lowest grade of which is only three years removed from the sophomore year of the High School. If it is fair to expect that the additions from out of town will balance the number of pupils leaving school, there will be 1200 students in the High School by the Fall of 1929, or certainly by 1930, which will force a double organization, with the upper classes in the morn- ing and the lower class in the afternoon, unless addi- tional High School accommodations are provided by that time.


IV. UNFINISHED WORK AND IMMEDIATE NEEDS:


In the last annual report attention was called to several needs under the heading of unfinished work. Unfortunately, little progress in these items has been accomplished since the necessary appropriation or au- thorization has not been obtained. The following needs sound, therefore, much like repetition of a portion of last year's report, but since they are important it is necessary for me to bring them forward :


342


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


1. Addition to the Corps of Supervisors :


We have full time supervisors for Art, Music, Phys- ical Training and Special Classes, also part time super- visors for Household Arts, Mechanic Arts and Penman- ship, but the Superintendent of Schools, in addition to his other numerous duties, is expected to supervise all other subjects in all the schools. The size of the de- partment requires, in order that this general supervision may be carried on effectively, that a supervisor for ele- mentary school work be provided to assist the Superin- tendent; and later a supervisor of secondary school work should be appointed to attend to the correlation of all the subjects between the Junior High Schools and High School, as well as the uniformity of work between the Junior High Schools themselves and later, between the two High Schools, when another is in operation.


It is not relief from the supervisory work that the Superintendent wants but assistance in supervision so that after the needs of a certain class or grade have been discovered and a program to improve the situation has been outlined by the Superintendent, some of the details can be cared for by an assistant in order that the Superintendent's attention can be turned to discovery of other needs and to formation of a helpful program to fill those needs.


2. Improvement of Salary Situation for Teachers :


Some progress has been made along this line re- cently but not enough has been done to avoid the danger of which warning was given in last year's report: "Un- less something is done to improve the situation, the re- sult will be reflected in the teaching personnel and the Arlington School Department will be in danger of being forced into a back seat from its present position among the foremost school departments of the Common- wealth."


343


REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE


We believe that our present maximum salary figures of $1600 for Elementary, $1800 for Junior High School and $2000 for Senior High School teachers are adequate general maxima, but we believe also and we recommend that some plan of salary payment beyond the maximum should be established by which teachers may earn an advance in salary beyond the general maximum rate and by which Arlington may retain the services of the most desirable teachers in spite of higher maximum rates elsewhere.


3. Improvement of Playgrounds :


Last year a beginning was made on the improve- ment of the lot back of the High School building and it is hoped that a larger amount may be appropriated this year as the space is greatly needed by the High School Physical Training and Team groups of both girls and boys.


The Junior High School West playground is not only in unsatisfactory condition, but it is in dangerous condition and should be put in order as soon as an ap- propriation can be made for the purpose.


The Peirce School is sadly in need of an adequate playground and the Locke School is even more in need of better playground space. An appropriation should be made each year until these schools have play spaces fit for the play activities of the pupils.


V. IMPROVEMENTS FROM CHANGES AND ADDITIONS


1. The work of attendance has been greatly im- proved by the acquisition of the services of a Super- visor who is splendidly equipped by training, initiative and judgment to render unusual service to the Depart- ment. She is giving great assistance, not only in the supervision of attendance, but also in the allied fields of guidance and adjustment.


344


ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT


2. The course of the Junior High School Indus- trial Class has been improved and extended by the as- signment of several additional teachers for this work, one for academic subjects, a second for industrial work for girls, and a third for industrial work for boys.


3. The last step in revision of the Household Arts course has been taken-instead of sewing being re- quired as formerly in grades IV, V and VI, and elective for the remaining six years, instead of cooking being re- quired in grade VII and elective thereafter, we now have sewing required in grades VI and VII, elective for the remaining five years, and cooking required in grade VIII and elective for the remaining four years. This plan not only makes a course with better continuity but it tends to retain the interest of the girls in the upper years of the work, where there is the better equip- ment for teaching the subjects.




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