USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Hamilton > Town of Hamilton Annual Report 1960 > Part 11
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Income,
403.89
Cash in general treasury December 31, 1959,
140.00
Cash in general treasury, Jan. 1, 1959, 100.00
$1,463.89
$1,463.89
1959
179
TOWN OF HAMILTON Balance Sheet - December 31, 1959 GENERAL ACCOUNTS ASSETS
Cash :
General,
$272,426.89
Accounts Receivable :
Taxes :
Levy of 1958:
Personal Property, $ 20.80
Levy of 1959:
Poll,
16.00
Personal Property,
1,002.40
Real Estate,
13,541.30
14,580.50
Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise:
Levy of 1958,
$ 96.65
Levy of 1959,
14,497.62
14,594.27
Special Assessments:
Moth 1959,
9.30
Tax Titles,
233.84
Departmental:
Health,
$ 218.00
General Relief,
19.82
Aid to Dependent children,
184.51
School,
60.00
Cemetery,
96.00
578.33
Water:
Liens Added to Taxes:
$ 464.30
Rates,
12,942.93
Services,
360.67
13,767.90
Aid to Highways:
State,
$ 6,620.46
County,
3,303.75
9,924.21
Unprovided For or Overdrawn Accounts :
Overlay Deficits:
$ 1,580.80
Levy of 1958,
4,936.47
Levy of 1959,
6,517.27
$332,632.51
Levy of 1959,
180
LIABILITIES AND RESERVES
Employees' Payroll Deductions :
Federal Taxes,
$
5,255.04
State Taxes,
1,373.16
Retirement,
679.13
$
7,307.33
Tailings:
Unclaimed Checks,
41.18
Cemetery Perpetual Care Bequests,
400.00
Trust Fund Income:
Cemetery Perpetual Care,
654.14
Recoveries :
Old Age Assistance,
2,657.30
Federal Grants:
Disability Assistance:
Administration, $ 335.46
Assistance,
4,187.60
Aid to Dependent Children:
Administration,
921.37
Aid,
8,872.28
Old Age Assistance :
Administration,
3,012.36
Assistance,
26,400.02
43,729.09
Revolving Funds:
School Lunch,
$ 1,794.04
School Athletics,
1,179.02
2,973.06
Appropriation Balances:
Revenue :
General,
$ 21,215.73
Water,
4,926.86
Non-Revenue:
School Construction,
61,078.37
Reservoir, Pumping
Station and Land,
4,537.55
91,758.51
181
Overestimates 1959 Assessments:
State:
Recreation Areas,
$ 242.95
Mosquito Control,
2,878.00
County :
Tax,
451.56
Tuberculosis Hospital,
254.76
3,827.27
Sale of Real Estate Fund,
3,350.00
Sale of Cemetery Lots Fund,
140.00
Reserve Fund - Overlay Surplus,
7,147.99
Revenue Reserved Until Collected :
Motor Vehicle and Trailer Excise,
$ 14,594.27
Special Assessment,
9.30
Tax Title,
233.84
Departmental,
578.33
Water,
13,767.90
Aid to Highway,
9,924.21
39,107.85
Surplus Revenue:
General,
129,538.79
$332,632.51
182
DEBT ACCOUNTS
Net Funded or Fixed Debt:
Inside Debt Limit:
General,
402,000.00 $
Outside Debt Limit:
General,
$ 597,000.00
Public Service Enterprise,
119,000.00
716,000.00
$1,118,000.00
Serial Loans:
Inside Debt Limit:
General:
School,
$ 346,000.00
Municipal Building,
56,000.00
$
402,000.00
Outside Debt Limit:
General:
School, $ 597,000.00
Public Service Enterprise:
Water, 119,000.00
716,000.00
$1,118,000.00
183
TRUST AND INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS
Trust and Investment Funds:
Cash and Securities : In Custody of Treasurer,
$53,606.32
$53,606.32
In Custody of Treasurer:
Library Funds:
Dr. Justin Allen, $ 768.19
H. Augusta Dodge,
1,334.51
$ 2,102.70
Cemetery Funds :
Maxwell Norman,
$ 659.61
Perpetual Care,
38,178.67
Sale of Lots and Graves,
12,665.34
51,503.62
$53,606.32
REPORT
of the HAMILTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE 1960
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
School Committee
3
Administrative Office
3
Report of the School Committee
4
Report of the Superintendent of Schools
5-10
Hamilton-Wenham Schools Organization Chart 1959 11
FINANCES :
Appropriations, State and Local Reimbursement for Hamilton Public Schools 12
How Was Our School Money Spent?
13
From Where Did Our School Money Come?
13
Public Law 874 Revolving Fund
14
Cafeteria Revolving Fund
14
Athletic Revolving Fund
14
National Defense Education Act
15
Pupil Enrollments-October-1950-1960 15
How Many Personnel Work in Our Schools? 15
PUPIL STATISTICS
Membership by Age and Grade, October 1, 1960 16
School Census as of October 1, 1960 16
SELECTED REPORTS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Hamilton High School Principal 17-19
Manasseh Cutler School Principal
20-21
Winthrop School Principal 22-23
Guidance Director
24
MISCELLANEOUS
School Staff Directory
25-28
Resignations and Retirements
29
Commencement Exercises
30-31
Regulations :
Age of Admittance 32
Vaccination 32
No-School Signal 32
School Calendar 32
3
"We should all be concerned with the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there."
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Members
Terms Expire
Donald L. Miller, Chairman, 351 Bay Road, South Hamilton 1962
Morley L. Piper, Vice Chairman, 428 Essex Street, Hamilton 1961
Mrs. Louise Bick, 114 Linden Street, South Hamilton 1963
Frederick J. Caldwell, Sr., 118 Linden Street, South Hamilton 1962
James E. Hall, Rock Maple Road, Hamilton 1963
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
WINTHROP SCHOOL Mail Address: Bay Road, South Hamilton, Massachusetts Telehone: Howard 8-2422
John H. Lawson, Ed.D Superintendent of Schools
Elizabeth P. Edmondson Secretary
Hazel Anderson Clerk
Madeline Ricker Census
Irene Dankowski Truant Officer
4
REPORT OF THE HAMILTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Voters of Hamilton:
The past year has been most gratifying to your school committee because of the continued improvements effected by the staff. The guid- ance programs instituted several years ago are now bearing fruit. The opportunity to measure and compare the effectiveness of our program is enabling the school committee and the faculty to mold the curriculum so as to achieve the highest standards. This has resulted in a larger per- centage of our graduates each year going on to further education of their choice at the college level. While the overall cost of education to the town of Hamilton has increased due to our steady growth in numbers, the per pupil cost of education has shown only a relatively slight increase and still remains low in comparison to similar communities.
The school committee wishes to express their appreciation to the voters and taxpayers of the town of Hamilton for the excellent support which our program has received both within our own system and in our effort to combine our educational program with the town of Wenham. It is our belief that the educational needs of Hamilton can best be served, both from the standpoints of economy and efficiency, by combining our program with the town of Wenham. Recognition of this fact has been voiced by the town at the several town meetings which have overwhelm- ingly approved regionalization at the high school level. To further parallel the two systems a superintendency union has been formed in the lower grades. With the approval of the voters we hope to continue our joint educational effort to the logical conclusion of one school system serving both towns. It is our belief that by so doing we may offer an educational program of the highest quality at the most economical cost to the taxpayers.
We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the staff for the ex- cellent cooperation which has been exhibited in putting into practice the program as set forth by the school committee. It is our feeling that special mention should be made concerning the initiative of the staff in the programs which they have developed resulting in many valuable contributions to the overall program.
Respectfully submitted, HAMILTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
DONALD L. MILLER, Chairman MORLEY L. PIPER, Vice-Chairman LOUISE M. BICK FREDERICK J. CALDWELL, SR. JAMES E. HALL
5
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
December 31, 1960
To the Members of the School Committee:
It is with pleasure that I submit my fourth annual report as Super- intendent of the Hamilton Public Schools. This year's report will confine itself to a brief review of the major accomplishments of 1960 and will also present the important needs which must be considered in the coming years.
School Building Needs
As it has in the past ten years, the number of children to be provided for in the Hamilton Public Schools is continuing to rise. A review of past annual reports will show that the enrollment has increased an average of 100 each year since 1950. This represents an increase of over 200 per cent during this period. When will it end? Pupil projections made in 1957 indicate that a leveling-off point has not been reached yet. As long as birth rates grow and home construction continues at its present rate, the number of pupils will increase for the foreseeable future. In 1960 our school enrollment was 1,345, while it will be even more, or approximately 1,500, in 1961. When the Regional High School facilities become avail- able in 1962 all public-school students will be housed comfortably in regular classrooms for the first time in many years. The present junior- senior high school building will be available for the seventh and eighth grades and also for an overflow of elementary pupils for a few years. Projections show that there will be a need for additional elementary classrooms in the future, but the actual need will depend upon the tempo of the birth rate and home construction during the next five years. Staff
Your superintendent is very proud of our total school staff. It is a hard-working, dedicated group of professionals and non-professionals, all working for the common goal of giving the best-possible education to the youth of Hamilton. During this year we were most fortunate in being able to add several well-qualified teachers to our existing fine staff. Much time and effort is expended by our teachers and administrators in plan- ning and improving the total curriculum of our schools. We must remem- ber, however, that future improvement will be determined by the quality of teachers and administrators retained by our school system. We can insure this quality by continuing to keep our good teachers and by at- tracting qualified replacements to our town. This can be done by offering competitive salaries and by presenting favorable working conditions. Unfortunately, favorable physical conditions do not exist at the present high school which is overcrowded and lacks many facilities essential to an adequate secondary education.
6
In addition to continuous efforts in their daily work, many staff members are studying at nearby colleges and universities, while others are taking an in-service course in Mathematics offered by Mr. Roy Lane, Head of the Hamilton High School Mathematics Department. It has been through their outstanding efforts that our schools have continued to improve. Our teachers are to be commended for their loyalty, cooperation and desire to see the Hamilton Public Schools become second to none.
Regional School
The decision of the townspeople on July 25th to approve of the Regional bond issue will have the greatest effect on the town's future educational development. By approving the Regional High School the citizens have agreed to provide the necessary facilities for an outstanding secondary program. This will offer many facilities not available to the present high school students, such as science laboratories, library, audi- torium, shop, home economics rooms, music and art facilities. It also will free rooms in the present high school for the surging junior-high enroll- ment. The present high school will be adequate, with slight renovations, as a junior-high school plant. It will provide space for a limited time to handle extra sections of elementary pupils due to reach the upper grades by 1962.
Since July 25th, the Regional movement has progressed rapidly. The Welldon site on Route 1A has been purchased, an architect selected, and final drawings are being developed. These events have taken place after many meetings of the Regional School Committee and its Subcommittee on Construction. Present high-school staff members have been given the opportunity to make suggestions on the plans and layout of the school.
It is expected that bids for construction will be secured in February, with awards being made in March. Construction should start in late March or early April. Meanwhile, the many details of the plans, bonding procedures, insurance coverage, State and Federal aid, Civil Defense help and the procurement of a principal and staff are but a few of the many details to be completed. The September-1962 opening date for classes is still the goal of the Regional School Committee. Over two hundred meet- ings of the Regional School Committee and its various subcommittees have been held during the past year in the planning of the new high school. Every detail that goes into giving the citizens the finest high school building at the most economical cost is being pursued but takes time. A high school must serve a community for a long period. Every- thing possible is being done to see that the Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School serves the communities well, both educationally and finan- cially.
School Costs
School costs are increasing everywhere, including Hamilton. Citizens sometimes question whether or not school spending is planned carefully and conservatively. This can be answered best by making reference to
7
some figures which are listed in the annual state reports and the Massa- chusetts Municipal Manual of last year. Hamilton in 1960 increased its budget over 1959 by $49,969.37. However, it also increased its pupil population by 76 students. The per-pupil cost in 1960 was $307.34. The 1961 budget, which is $55,046 over 1960, provides for a per-pupil cost of $317.84. During the same period, the neighboring communities of Wenham, Ipswich, Topsfield, Essex and Manchester had per-pupil costs of $408.24, $341.09, $465.34, $371.68 and $450.30, respectively. Hamilton is spending less per pupil than any other town on the North Shore and $42.16 less than the state average of $360.00.
These annual budget increases are offset in part by an increase in state and federal reimbursements for schools. The total reimbursement in 1960 was $79,323.33, while in 1961 it is estimated at $100,385.93. Since 1957, the amount of school reimbursement has increased from $55,388.82 to $100,385.93. All reimbursements are turned over to the Town Treasury and applied toward the annual tax rate.
School costs will continue to represent the Town's greatest expense in the future. We can only pledge our every effort to keep school costs reasonable while giving the Town the kind of educational program that it demands.
1960 Test Results Study
As this was the first full year that the Hamilton Public Schools employed a system-wide and balanced testing program, a few of the findings as reported by our guidance director, Mr. Donald MacDiarmid, would be worth relating. The first sampling was of our elementary results (based on Stanford Achievement Test battery medians) for the spring of 1960, with the aim of comparing these figures with results of two years ago and four years ago. In 1956 our first six grades had a total of 17 months above the national norms or an average of less than three months per grade. In 1958 this "plus" figure had increased to 25 months above national norms for an average of slightly over four months per grade. The 1960 results showed an accumulation of 43 months above for a grade average of slightly over seven months above national norms per grade. On the Gates Reading Tests our Grade Two average was one year and two months above the national norms, our Grade Four was a year above and our Grade Six was a year and a half above.
Our junior-high results (based on 1959-1960 Science Research As- sociates Achievement Tests) showed our seventh grade to be a year and five months above national norms and the eighth grade, one year and two months above.
Our high school study was based on the scores our students received on the Iowa Tests of Educational Development, perhaps the most widely used test battery of its kind in the country and one which Hamilton High School has used for many years. In analyzing our 1959-1960 senior-class results so that its various achievements in four years at Hamilton High School could be reviewed, we saw that from an irregular freshman per-
8
formance (with "highs" in English areas and "lows" in Mathematics) , this senior-class average was at the 70th percentile (or 20 percentile points above the national average of 50). Further evidence that above- average scores have been turned in by other grades, as well, is had from the SRA publication (March, 1960) entitled "Frequency Distribution of ITED School Averages for High-Scoring User Schools." On page two of this booklet it is stated that "these distributions contain scores of most schools that obtained a composite-score average above the 90th percentile for any of four semesters' testings. These semesters were spring 1958, fall 1958-59, spring 1959 and fall 1959-60." On page nine Hamilton is listed as one of these high-scoring user schools.
General results are increasingly better. The above-mentioned figures indicate that our staff members are employing sound educational prac- tices. This has not relaxed the staff's attitudes that we must continue to strengthen our program, as there have been occasional scores in the low- average and average ranges in such areas as Spelling, Mathematics and Reading.
Summer School
There were 132 class registrations in nine different summer-school classes in 1960. The courses offered were: Reading and Mathematics for primary grades, intermediate grades and junior-high school grades; Sci- ence Enrichment for the junior-high school grades; Dramatics and Typ- ing. The second annual summer session, under the supervision of Guidance Director Donald L. MacDiarmid, was five weeks in length. The whole program was enthusiastically received by students, teachers and parents of those who participated. However, as yet many parents do not understand fully the opportunities offered by summer school. In the elementary grades, 149 notices were sent to parents recommending that summer-school reading or arithmetic help was highly desirable or neces- sary for their children, and 89 notices were sent out at the high school level. Only 24 per cent of the elementary parents and 31 per cent of the secondary-level parents took advantage of this special schooling.
It is our hope that future summer-school opportunities will be ac- cepted by more parents of students in need for remedial help. In addition we desire to see the program expanded to offer more enrichment courses, especially for junior and senior high school students.
Major Accomplishments of 1960
The accomplishments of 1960 are so numerous that I will attempt to list only a few at this time. At the high school, curriculum guides were completed for Reading and English, and summer and fall reading lists were issued to all students. Under the direction of Roy Lane, Hamilton High School Mathematics Department Head, a mathematics league was organized for high schools in this area, and a debating team was initiated by Paul Staples, Science teacher. The cross-country team under Richard Connolly completed its second undefeated season and finished second in
9
the state meet, while the high school basketball team won the Class "E" Bay State tournament under Nat Federico, Director of Athletics. An alumni follow-up program was initiated by Guidance Director Donald MacDiarmid. More high school graduates were placed in institutions of higher learning than in previous years.
The School Committee again sponsored a banquet for members of the National Honor Society, recognizing those students who attained the highest scholastic averages during their high school years.
Participation was effected in the National Defense Act, under which federal funds were received for the improvement of the mathematics, science, foreign-language and guidance programs.
At the elementary level a reading curriculum guide was completed and a science outline started. Homework was increased and reading lists issued at the various levels. Grouping of the above-average stu- dents from Grade Three was continued and expanded at this level to include two sections as there were too many students for one section. Many group and grade-level parent conferences and meetings were held and efforts were made to provide parents with numerous opportunities to learn more about their schools.
Outstanding efforts by members of the professional staff helped the fifty-two physically or mentally handicapped students in our system to receive special instruction or help in such areas as Remedial Reading, Arithmetic, Speech Therapy and Counselling. These efforts are a part of our total structure to offer the best-possible education for all of our public-school students, the retarded, the handicapped, the average and the brilliant.
All teachers in Hamilton and Wenham participated in a four-day pre-school workshop conducted by members of the staff. The purpose of the workshop was to review our curriculum, to evaluate teaching pro- cedures, to discuss recent developments in education and to bring the staff and program of studies in the two towns together. The success of the workshop is a reflection of the high calibre of professional staff mem- bers in the towns.
In three years the academic attainment as measured by nationally developed achievement tests has increased by more than 100 per cent at some grade levels and has grown substantially at all grade levels and in all subject-matter fields. This growth has come about because of the general high level of teaching which is developing in our schools, coupled with an over-all "beefing up" of standards at all grade levels. We are very pleased with the progress being made and look forward to seeing Hamilton continue to hold and improve its place in educational circles.
Most of the recommendations which have been made during the past three years have been incorporated as a part of our improving school system. However, it would be in order to mention the following which should receive attention in our future planning:
10
1. The introduction of educational television at all levels ;
2. The continuation of French instruction at the intermediate level and its inclusion in the junior high school;
3. The employment of principals on an eleven-month contract year;
4. The development of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School Dis- trict to encompass all grades with one school committee to administer the educational programs of both towns.
In 1960 the citizens of Hamilton continued their total support of the town's educational program by approving the Hamilton-Wenham Re- gional High School and by giving their endorsement of the over-all direction of the school program. Recognition should be given to our teachers and principals who are the backbone of our system and to the students who have accepted the ever-increasing challenge of a better and more difficult academic program. The P.T.A. and its officials, as well as the town officers, also deserve credit for their help and guidance. Special recognition must be given to the Chairman, Mr. Donald L. Miller, and the members of the Hamilton School Committee for their patience, courage and leadership in providing the town with a first-class school system. We are always very sensitive to their outstanding contributions and unselfish efforts in behalf of the children of Hamilton. As this report indicates, 1960 has been another fruitful year in the educational progress of our schools. Continued effort and cooperation by all is essential for the best interests of our children and town.
I look forward to the development of our total school program with enthusiasm and with the knowledge that we are proceeding rapidly to- wards high-level academic goals.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN H. LAWSON
Superintendent of Schools
11
HAMILTON - WENHAM SCHOOLS
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART 1960
CITIZENS OF HAMILTON
LOCAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE
LOCAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE
REGIONAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
SECRETARY AND CLERK
FISCAL MATTERS
-
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OF STAFF
2 Managers
14 Workers
4 Lunch Programs 5 MIlk Programs
FEDERAL AND STATE REGULATIONS
ADVISOR TO ELEMENTARY BUILDING COMMITTEE
HEALTH PROGRAM
2 Nurses
2 Part-time Physicians
I Cooperating Dentist
GUIDANCE
1 Guldance Director Hamilton K -- 12
SUPERVISORS
2 Part-time vocal Instructors ..
2 Instrumental ยท
2 = .. art
= = Physical Education Instructor -
Elementary French instructor
PUPIL PERSONNEL
CERTIFIED PERSONNEL
5 Administrative Personnel
74 Teaching Personnel Consultant Personnel
Hamilton High School
Manasseh Cutler School
Winthrop School
Bessie Buker
Wenham Junior High School
Regional High School
1 Super. Prin. 21 Teachers 1/2 Clerk
1 Super. Prin. 18 Teachers 1/4 Clerk 2 Custodians
12 Teachers
1/4 Clerk
1/2 Clerk
2 Custodians
1 Custodian
2 Custodiens
480 Students Cafeteria
537 Students Cafeteria
328 Students Cafeteria
325 Students Cafeteria
161 Students
In Planning Stage
15 Teachers
I Teach. Prin. 8 Teachers
1 Super. Prin.
1 Super. Prin.
1/2 Clerk
2 Custodians
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS
Prepare and control 3 budgets Prepare payrolls for 2 towns Schools and Regional Purchasing Agent for towns and regional
Preparation of contracts
MAINTENANCE MATTERS
MEMBER HAMILTON BUILDING NEEDS COMMITTEE
Supervise repairs in 5 schools Preparation of repair specifi- cat lons
SECRETARY TO HAMILTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
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