USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1953 > Part 14
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Annual Report of Inspector of Animals
January 8. 1954
Subject: Annual Report of Inspector of Animals To. Town Manager
1. A total of 155 animals in Arlington were examined and quarantined for biting during the past year.
2. There were no cases of rabies in Arlington in 1953.
3. It was necessary to remove the heads of two animals, and deliver them to the Wasserman Laboratory in Jamaica Plain to be examined. Both specimen were found to be free of rabies.
4. The Inspector of Animals wishes to express his appreciation, to the Board of Health, and the Police Department for their excellent cooperation.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN J. MURPHY, JR., D.V.M.
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR THE YEAR 1953
To the Citizens of Arlington:
The School Committee is cognizant of the school growth espe- cially in the elementary grades, the age of many of its school build- ings and the need for new construction, additions and renovations. Based on a recommendation from the State Building Assistance Commission the School Committee arranged for a survey of its building needs. In the spring it signed a contract with the Harvard University Center for Field Studies which would provide us with an Arlington school building study. This report due in October was unfortunately not available until December which has short- ened our time for study and consideration. Much work was put into this study by the Harvard people with the ground work being done by our administration together with many members of our Parent-Teacher groups conducting a door to door canvass of every home in Arlington making a record of all children from birth through high school age.
Dr. Cyril G. Sargent, Director of the Harvard Center for Field Studies opens the report with the following preliminary statement to the School Committee:
"The Center for Field Studies herewith transmits as author- ized by you with specifications on April 28, 1953 the final report of the School Building Study. This report makes specific recom- mendations towards the improvement of the school plant in Arling- ton on the basis of an evaluation of the present school buildings, an analysis of the present and future school age population and considerations of the financial implications of recommended new construction.
"The Staff is appreciative of the extensive assistance furnished by the School Department, several of the town agencies, the Parent- Teacher Association and others too numerous to mention who have aided the study group in a variety of ways.
"The final recommendations of this report are designed to serve as a guide for the immediate future. The staff is hopeful that the citizens of Arlington will carry out this program towards the improvement of the structures housing the community's school children."
May we respectfully call your attention to details of the report, including recommendations, to be found in the following report of the Superintendent of Schools. It is urgent that the town take im- mediate steps to provide the additions and new buildings recom- mended by the Survey Group and the School Committee to make possible adequate facilities for the present overcrowded schools and for the increased enrollment predicted for the immediate future.
169
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
The following teachers, all of long service in Arlington schools have retired. The Committee expresses its appreciation for their contribution to the Arlington schools:
Miss Leola B. Harlow, High School teacher-1921-1953 Mr. Charles R. Campbell, Head of English Department-1937-1953 Mr. John Sexton, High School teacher-1943-1953
Miss Lura M. Wakefield, High School teacher-1919-1953
Miss Mary F. Forrest, Junior High Shool West teacher-1924-1953 Mr. James A. Smith, Junior High School West teacher-1927-1953 Miss Ellen E. Sweeney, Elementary School teacher (Hardy)-1906- 1953
Mrs. Una G. Beebe, Elementary School teacher (Peirce)-1928-1953 Miss Grace L. Snow, Elementary School teacher (Peirce)-1926- 1953
Resignations were received from the following teachers:
Mr. Bernard A. Courtney, High School teacher-1946-1953
Mrs. Margaret Heaps, pt. time Librarian, High School-1952-1953 Miss Dorothy M. Valentine, Junior High School East Teacher- 1941-1953
Mr. Edward R. McKenney, Junior High School West teacher- 1951-1953
Miss Ruth B. Cullen, Elementary School teacher (Hardy)-1951- 1953
Miss Elsie M. Burbank, Elementary School teacher (Hardy) --- 1946-1953
Miss Gloria Gallant, Elementary School teacher (Hardy)-1947- 1953
Miss Reta May Mills, Elementary School teacher (Cutter)-1952- 1953
Mrs. Helen Leary Cusack, Elementary School teacher (Peirce)- 1931-1953
Miss Phyllis Nevins, Kindergarten teacher (Brackett)-1947-1953
We regretfully list below the names of two faithful members of our staff who passed away during 1953:
Miss Mary Forrest, who retired in April, passed away within the next month.
Miss Harriet R. Pennell, Supervisor of Household Arts and teacher in the Arlington School System from 1917 to 1946 passed away in December.
It should be noted that certain items in the School Budget are in part reimbursed by the State although such reimbursements do not reflect as credits in the School Budget but rather become Gen- eral Funds of the Town.
The following schedule reflects receipt of funds from the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts.
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Receipts for 1953
Estimated Receipts for 1954
State Aid of Public Schools
$168,556.
$181,492.
Arlington Vocational School
22.726.
26,694.
Arlington Evening Trade School
1,581.
1,570.
Arlington Evening Practical Arts
4,808.
6,171.
Vocational Tuition
1.739.
1,950.
Americanization Program
328.
328.
Tuition & Transportation of State Wards
5,243.
5,582.
School Construction Claims for State Aid
43,648.
43.649
$248,629.
$267,435.
The Committee appreciates the cooperation and assistance given by officials, boards, and employees who have assisted us in carrying out our responsibilities to the town and to the children in our schools. We urge you to read the detailed report of the Super- intendent of Schools.
Respectfully submitted,
(Signed) M. NORCROSS STRATTON Chairman
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE YEAR 1953
To the School Committee of Arlington
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is my privilege to submit for your consideration the follow- ing report of the schools for the year 1953. I am including in my report excerpts from the annual reports submitted to me by various principals, supervisors and committees.
HARVARD SCHOOL SURVEY
In my report for 1952 I noted that each year the School Com- mittee has reported to the Committee on Advanced Programming and Budgeting its estimated future capital expenditures over a six year period. The six year estimates and the report of the Harvard Survey just received does not vary extensively in the aggregate nor do the estimated capital expenses for this period vary greatly in the two reports. The Harvard Survey emphasizes the need for consideration of the general modernization of our school plant. May I quote from the report:
"The cracker barrel general store and yard goods department store with similar fixtures of this era have passed from the scene- but the same conditions live on in our schools. Adults will not buy - or even enter these dark, drab, unattractive stores of a by-gone age. so the merchant must modernize and provide a bright, warm, attractive environment or wilt before competition. A similar circumstance can be found in the industrial world, where
171
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
well lighted, attractive working places with modern and conven- ient toilets and hand washing facilities must be provided to main- tain a stable labor group. Adults demand these types of modern facilities where they work, shop and play. It is unfortunate that adults do not demand similar environments for their children to learn and grow. If the citizens of Arlington had done so, the majority of the school buildings would not have rated so low with the McLeary Guide for Evaluating School Buildings.
"If we may continue our comparison of the schools and the commercial and industrial sphere, competition should have closed the schools down long ago and strikes, labor disputes and demands for better working conditions would have depleted the working force. However, the children do not turn to a competitor or voice their objection to the environment. It is the responsibility of the citizens to provide a school environment for their children, similar to that which they require in their everyday adult life.
"Arlington has shown an awareness of this problem in recent years by the construction of additions to the Hardy and Junior High West Schools, and by building the new Bishop School. Further evidence is presented in the extensive renovations in certain of the schools in recent years. The Study Staff cannot believe that the people of Arlington will be satisfied with anything less than having all of their children, from kindergarten through high school, in all sections of the city, in a modern, safe, attractive environment to learn and grow.
"The present school plant in Arlington has five buildings con- structed before 1901: The Russell in 1872, Junior High Industrial Arts in 1894, Locke in 1895, Crosby in 1896, and the orginal section of the Cutter in 1900. The staff gave consideration to this group of buildings on the basis of their age, non-fireproof construction, height of two of three stories, and in general the excessive amount of renovation needed to restore these buildings to house an edu- cational program."
Under new construction the Survey recommends the imme- diate acquisition of a site for a new elementary school in the Crosby area. Projections for 1958 indicate that there will be an excess, over present classroom capacity of more than 500 children.
The Survey did not recommend the continued use of the Rus- sell elementary school as was expected. They did recommend, how- ever, the construction of a smaller building in the area away from the Center which would house the primary grades now attending the present Russell building.
The next step recommended was the construction of a six room addition to the Bishop School. This proposed addition does not preclude the potential necessity of a primary unit in the future toward the Winchester line.
The Report did not recommend any additional expenditure of funds on the Locke elementary building. This building is one
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
of the older school buildings in Arlington and funds that might be expended on this questionable structure might well be placed in a building closer to the center of present pupil population for this section of the town.
In reference to our Junior High Schools the Report noted that if the enrollment continues to increase appreciably some additional classroom space would be necessary. An examination of the pre- sent buildings and sites indicates that neither of the present Junior High plants would lend themselves to an addition of any size. Although not definitely included in the recommendations the Report specified that consideration might have to be given to additional Junior High facilities. It appears quite essential that almost im- mediately the Junior High West will need an addition along with a study of the Junior High East facilities for 1955. The Parmen- ter School will need an additional room by next September. The only available space remaining in the building is the so-called assembly hall on the fourth floor. However, construction is re- commended by the Survey at the Senior High School which will include the addition of a wing to provide auditorium, vocational and cafeteria facilities. Conversions of the Lowe Auditorium present cafeteria and old auditorium to provide additional facil- ities are also recommended.
PUPIL PERSONNEL SERVICES
Pupil Personnel Services may be defined as those special ser- vices provided by the school which have as their purpose the adapt- ation of formal education (or schooling) to the needs interests and abilities of individuals as they adjust to themselves and to society.
The activities of Pupil Personnel Services encompass -
Pupil Census. This involves knowing who the pupils are and where they are from the time they enter school to the time they graduate. It is more than just counting pupils for it involves knowing them and attempting to make certain that their educa- tional needs are fully met.
Attendance. Our attendance service in the past few years has developed from a policing action of chasing truants back to school with threats into one of studying causes of individual truancies and attempting to eliminate contributing factors. The effective- ness of this procedure may be gleamed from the fact that requests by schools for home visits to truants was reduced by about fifty per cent from last year. During the present school year, from the cases referred by all the schools, there are not more than twelve pupils who may be regarded as serious attendance problems. Of these, three are now active with social agencies or clinics and the others are being worked with by the staff of our public schools.
Drop-Outs. The sensitivity of a school system to the needs of its pupils may be demonstrated, in part, by the number of pupils who leave school before graduating. Every effort is made to pre- vent pupils from leaving school but if they finally. do, efforts are
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SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
made to locate them on jobs and contact is maintained with them until they are fairly well settled. A number are persuaded to re-enter school the following school year.
According to national statistics, from a survey made by the New York Times, October 12, 1952, "fully 50% of all students who enter high school as freshmen do not remain to graduate." From a study carried out at the Center for Field Studies of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, 30 % who enter high school from Massachusetts, fail to graduate. For the Arlington public schools this figure runs just about 9%. Although this rate is com- paratively low, it still may be improved upon.
Special Education. Pupils who deviate markedly from the aver- age because of physical or mental handicaps are studied in order to provide them with the best education possible.
As an innovation this year a sight-saving class for elementary school pupils was established in conjunction with the special class at the Cutter School. Previously such pupils were sent to neigh- boring communities which had sight-saving classes and their tui- tion was paid for by the Townl. Wherever possible these pupils now take part of their work in regular classrooms but their read- ing instruction, which requires special books and equipment, is done individually.
There were twenty-two different pupils who were instructed in their homes for a period of two months or more during the past school year because of illness. This phase of our work for these pupils is extremely important because otherwise these pupils would have had to repeat the year. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by the fact that in only two of these cases has this become necessary.
The adjustment of those who returned to school has been very good. The articulation between the home teacher and our ele- mentary, junior and senior high schools is excellent.
In the Industrial Arts class in the high school there are 14 retarded pupils who are taking part of their work in the high school and the remainder with their special teacher who provides indivi- dualized instruction. Every attempt is made to place these pu- pils in employment when they are ready to leave school. In the same way, the ten pupils in the elementary school special class receive, for the most part, individualized instruction and their pro- gress is carefully supervised.
It is hoped that in another year the speech correction program in our schools can be revamped and that a psychologist with spe- cial training in speech be employed. The number of pupils who need such attention warrants the services of a full-time specialist.
Mental Health. A unit of instruction concerned with human relations is now included from grades one to nine. It is practically impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of this program on the men- tal health of pupils, but it would seem reasonable to assume that discussions of problems common to particular age and grade groups with proper leadership by the teachers could help resolve some of the anxieties of these pupils.
During the past school year twenty-seven families out of thirty-one who were contacted by the Pupil Personnel Staff were
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
willing to seek help from clinics and social agencies for their chil- dren who had presented serious emotional disturbances. Therapy for eight pupils was provided by staff members of the public schools without calling in other agencies.
For the first time, to our knowledge, no pupil enrolled in our public schools during the past academic year was committed to a mental institution for a mental or emotional breakdown. It might be possible that our alertness for early symptoms and contacting of parents for appropriate therapeutic action, might have helped somewhat in this decrease of commitments. This record is par- ticularly significant since on a national basis four youngsters out of every hundred school children are committed to a mental hos- pital. (Quoted from survey made by New York Committee on Men- tal Hygiene ).
Gifted Children. It is our feeling that the most seriously re- tarded children in our public schools today are the gifted children. Our schools are geared to the average and slow pupils. No work- able solution to this problem has yet been presented by educators for public school adoption. However, as a first step we are attempt- ing during the present school year to identify these pupils within our own system in grades 4, 5 and 6; and then with their parents we hope to determine how their individual educational needs may best be met.
Guidance-Elementary. In the elementary schools 134 pu- pils were referred by principals and teachers for study and for testing. Referrals involved grade placement adjustment, poor achievement, personality and behavior problems.
Pupils with reading problems throughout the year have been referred to the Reading Consultant for study and analysis of diffi- culty. However, rather than having her spend all her time with a few individual remedial cases, it was found that her services could be most valuable with teachers in demonstrating over-all techniques and procedures in the teaching of reading. This is par- ticularly valuable with new teachers.
In April, 1953, a testing program was carried on in all of the third grades by the elementary principals and the Department of Pupil Personnel Services. The Metropolitan Reading Achievement Test Elementary Form S was administered to 476 third grade pu- pils. The purposes of the testing program were:
1. To determine the achievement status of the school sys- tem in reading in comparison with the national norms.
2. To determine the possible need for curriculum change.
3. To identify the students with reading disabilities.
The test results indicate that Arlington compares favorably with the national norms. The test was administered in April and the national median score for the test given at that time is 3.7.
A special study was conducted this year on grade repeating in the elementary school. It was found that approximately 2 % of our elementary pupils repeat each year and over three-fifths of these repetitions are in grades 1 and 2. It is only after very care- ful consideration and study, with all factors taken into account,
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SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
that it is advised that a pupil repeat a grade. This usually involves a conference between parent, teacher, principal, and a member of Pupil Personnel Staff. There has to be fairly definite evidence that the pupil will benefit by repetition.
Guidance-Junior High. In each of the junior highs an effort is being made to allow for more time for individual conferences between pupil and counselor whereas until now all guidance was conducted in groups. It is just as important that educational guidance and school adjustment problems be handled by individual counseling in junior highs as in the Senior High School. The com- prehensive ninth grade testing program is one of the most valuable adjuncts to the entire guidance program for, along with school marks, it provides the subsequent path which a pupil should take to obtain his educational and vocational goal.
Guidance-Senior High. The only effective method of eval- uating the intensive counseling done at the high school level is through a follow-up of the graduates in order to determine whether they are attaining their educational or vocational goals and how well they are adjusting in their post-high school careers. For this reason a follow-up of the class which is out one year and the class which graduated six years previously is conducted.
An analysis of the Class of 1953 reveals: 47.9% went on to further education 45.8% went into employment 5.1% went into the Armed Services
1.2% are at home because of illness or marriage
Of the 134 pupils who graduated from the college preparatory curriculum -
115 are attending schools and colleges 15 went into employment 3 joined the Armed Services 1 married
From the business curriculum
92 went into office work
1 went into retail work
1 went into factory work
29 went to junior or business colleges
2 married
From the general curriculum
43 went into semi-skilled employment
15 are attending schools
14 joined the Armed Forces
Returns of the follow-up from 79% of the Class of 1947 are most gratifying in that they indicate that these graduates are for the most part, carrying along successfully with their educational and vocational plans formulated in high school. Here and there where one of our former pupils has had to change a career ob- jective, an opportunity is provided for us to examine whether this could have been predicted while the pupil was in high school. Such
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ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
an examination of our graduates one and six years after they leave high, is invaluable for evaluating our counseling.
Effective vocational assemblies were held for high school pu- pils with carefully selected professional speakers. The topics covered were:
Your High School Record
Preparation for College
Employment opportunities
for
High
School Graduates
Careers in Tool Designing and Drafting
" Fashions Chemistry
Careers in Home Economics and Nutrition Jobs for High School Graduates in Industry
As an indication of the rapport that is being constantly de- veloped between counselors and parents, 84% of the parents of the present graduating class have had one or more conferences with a counselor.
Twenty-Five Year Follow-Up. As an experiment, a follow- up was made of the Class of 1928 which had graduated 25 years ago. Replies were received from 46% of the class. For the most part, they put a great deal of thought into the replies and specific recommendations were made by them. These recommendations are serving as a basis for discussion during a part of each of the week- ly meetings of elementary and secondary school principals. It is significant to note that the majority of the replies recommend more emphasis in study of community problems, teaching children to get along with others, mental and physical health, family budgeting, and helping pupils in educational and vocational choices.
Summer Institute. The fourth Institute this summer includ- cd an enrollment of 225 pupils with 212 who completed the en- tire six weeks. Because of limited facilities 133 applicants could not be accommodated. Activities included crafts, radio, electricity photography, printing, nature study. dramatics, and remedial reading.
There is considerable interest among elementary pupils in science, stimulated by that which is offered them in the classroom. A project using the facilities of the high school laboratories would seem to be a worthwhile addition to the Institute in another year. It is also recommended that a group in remedial arithmetic from grades 5 and 6 be established, which would answer a most im- portant need for a number of pupils whose arithmetical handicaps could be remedied over an intensive six weeks period.
THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
The combined enrollment of the comprehensive High School and the Vocational High School in September was 1296. This was an increase of only 18 from the past year, but it marked a change in the trend which has been a decrease of about 50 pupils a year since 1946. The Vocational High School numbered 162, an increase of about 30, which caused a decrease of about 15 in the Comprehensive High School. There is a fairly uniform relation between the High School enrollment and grades 7, 8 and 9 three years previously, or with grades 4 5 and 6 six years previously. The totals of
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