USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Hamilton > Town of Hamilton Annual Report 1960 > Part 12
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PUBLIC RELATIONS
Charge of 9 janitors
TRANSPORTATION
Preparation of bus routes for 1200 children
Make arrangements with contractors Educational trips
Preparation of specifications
Annual Examinations and Cansus Individual Records
CITIZENS OF WENHAM
IMPROVEMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM
12
FINANCE
Appropriation, State and Local Reimbursement for Hamilton Public Schools
Appropriated at Town Meeting:
1960 Budget
1961 Budget
Regular Budget
$431,263.00
$485,509.00
Specials
1,500.00
2,500.00
Plus Transfers
1,000.00
$433,763.00
$488,009.00
Returned to the Town from:
Unexpended Budget
$ 3,604.81
$ 5,000.00
Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
General School Fund
48,196.72
58,978.00
Vocational
411.75
345.00
Transportation - Regular
11,425.50
11,425.50
Special Class
2,697.43
Public Law 874
8,938.30
10,000.00
National Defense Act
2,279.38
1,500.00
Tuition:
Town of Wenham
3,000.00
10,000.00
Town of Essex
420.00
Other
486.25
240.00
Miscellaneous
560.62
200.00
$ 79,323.33
$100,385.93
Net Cost to the Town
$354,439.67
$387,623.07
Actual Returns for 1960, Estimated for 1961
Actual Net Cost for 1960, Estimated for 1961
13
HOW WAS OUR SCHOOL MONEY SPENT?
Categories
Budget 1960
Expended 1960
Percent of Total
Budget 1961
1. General Expense
$ 15,402.00 $ 14,370.37
3.3
$ 15,402.00
2. Expense of Instruction
304,451.00
304,440.17
70.7
353,530.00
3. Textbooks and Supplies
19,193.00
19,140.73
4.5
22,430.00
4. Operation of Plant
43,785.00
42,904.54
9.9
46,982.00
5. Maintenance of Plant
8,200.00
7,582.64
1.8
5,000.00
6. Auxiliary Agencies
34,842.00
33,965.18
7.9
36,824.00
7. Outlay
5,390.00
5,375.14
1.3
6,141.00
8. Special Appropriation Transfer
1,500.00
2,379.42
0.6
2,500.00
1,000.00
2,500.00
Totals
$433,763.00 $430,158.19
100.0
$488,809.00
FROM WHERE DID OUR SCHOOL MONEY COME?
Sources
1960
1961
1. Commonwealth of Massachusetts
$ 60,033.97
$ 73,445.93
2. United States Government (Includes $2,279.38 NDEA)
11,217.68
11,500.00
3. Local Taxation
358,044.48
393,423.07
4. Tuition and Miscellaneous
4,466.87
10,440.00
$433,763.00
$488,809.00
The portion from the Commonwealth is based on the number of children attending school between the ages of seven and sixteen on Oc- tober 1st of each year.
The portion from the United States Government is based on funds received under Public Law 874 and the National Defense Education Act. Public Law 874 money is determined from the daily attendance of chil- dren whose parents are employed on federal properties. A minimum of three per cent is necessary for a community to be eligible. Approximately $220.00 is received annually for each pupil in this category. National Defense Education Act funds are received on a matching basis for the improvement of foreign languages, mathematics, science and guidance.
14
PUBLIC LAW 874 REVOLVING FUND 1960
Balance, January 1, 1960
None
RECEIPTS during 1960:
$2,284.06
474.00
5,830.00
350.24
Total Cash
$8,938.30
Transferred to "E and D" Fund Town of Hamilton
$8,938.30
Balance, December 31, 1960
None
CAFETERIA REVOLVING FUND
Cash Balance, January 1, 1960
$ 1,794.04
Receipts during 1960:
Sale of Meals
35,413.17
Federal Subsidy
14,980.61
Expenditures during 1960:
Labor
$12,092.00
Food
35,988.32
Miscellaneous
1,894.94
$49,975.26
Cash Balance December 31, 1960
$2,212.56
Accounts Receivable December 31, 1960: Commonwealth of Massachusetts: November Claim
$ 1,698.00
December Claim
1,244.57
$ 2,942.57
Accounts Payable, December 31, 1960: Food for December Miscellaneous for December
$ 3,665.71
154.56
$ 3,820.27
ATHLETIC REVOLVING FUND 1960
Balance, January 1, 1960:
$1,179.02 803.90
Total Expenditures during 1960:
$ 1,982.92
282.28
Balance, December 31, 1960
$ 1,700.64
Receipts during 1960:
$52,187.82
15
NATIONAL DEFENSE EDUCATION ACT REVOLVING FUND 1960
Balance
Receipts
Payments December 31, 1960
1. Guidance
$ 707.20
$ 707.20
None
2. Language
424.75
424.75
None
3. Mathematics
177.95
177.95
None
4. Science $710.31
259.17
969.48
710.31
$259.17
Totals
$2,279.38
$2,020.21
$259.17
PUPIL ENROLLMENTS OCTOBER 1, 1950-1960
Year
K-6
7-12
Total K-12
Increase
1950
275
177
452
11-2%
1951
334
189
523
71-16%
1952
386
186
572
49-10%
1953
486
195
679
107-19%
1954
539
224
763
84-12%
1955
609
263
872
109-14%
1956
695
283
978
106-12%
1957
749
305
1054
76-8%
1958
794
365
1159
105-10%
1959
853
416
1269
160-9%
1960
865
480
1345
76-6%
HOW MANY PERSONNEL WORK IN OUR SCHOOLS?
1958
1959
1960
No. of Administrative Personnel
3
4
4
No. of Secretaries
1
1
1
No. of Clerks (full-time)
1
1
No. of Clerks (part-time)
2
2
No. of Custodians (includes a part-time maintenance man)
4
5
6
No. of Teachers
45.4
50.4
53.3
No. of Cafeteria workers
9
9
10
No. of Non-degree teachers
13
12
11
No. of Bachelor degree teachers
20.4
23.4
27.3
No. of Master degree teachers
11
14
15
No. of students
1165
1269
1345
-
16
MEMBERSHIP BY AGE AND GRADE
AGE
Grade
4
5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12
13
14 15 16 17 18
20 Total
Kdg.
23 94
1
118
1
28 113
9
150
2
18 108 12 2
140
3
16 95 6 2
119
4
16 80 10 1
107
Special
1 2 22 66 16 1
2 3
2
2
10
5
107
6
23 67
17
6 18 3 1
127
8
30 53
10
2
95
9
22 56
10
5
94
10
55
11
19 29
1
54
12
17 33
3
1
54
Post Graduates
1
1
Totals
23 122 132 134 123 110 102 117 126 101 88
64 55 43
4
1 1345
SCHOOL CENSUS AS OF OCTOBER 1, 1960
Boys
Girls
Number between five and seven years of age
148
142
Number between seven and sixteen years of age
585
499
Totals
733
641
Total Census
1374
Distribution of the above minors, October 1, 1960: In the Public Day School 1247
In Vocational School
1
In Private School
125
In State and County Institutions and Special Schools for Defective Delinquents
1
Not enrolled in any day school
0
Total (should equal corresponding totals in the above registra- tion) 1374
1
114
7
31 74
1 16 32
4
3 5
17
SELECTED REPORTS TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
REPORT OF THE HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
To the Superintendent of Schools:
DEAR SIR:
It is with pleasure that I submit my sixth annual report as principal of the Hamilton High School.
During the preceding school year the faculty of Hamilton High School has spent a considerable amount of time attempting to determine the most effective and efficient way of improving the overall pattern of instruction so that the product of the school would be measurably im- proved in academic achievement and personal responsibility. This in- volved a redefinition in the minds of the teachers of what should be expected of a good student and a good school citizen. To be brief it con- cerned a new look at standards.
To meet the competition in the business and academic world today, a high school student must be very well prepared in many areas. Hamilton High has always had the means to properly equip its graduates to meet this competition. We have had a generally superior staff of teachers and an able student body plus a capable, hard-working, school committee and interested and cooperative parents. Even so we have never felt that opportunity and encouragement alone has made our students exercise their abilities as well as they might.
Part of the problem could be attributed to the fact that in a small school with classes of 20 to 30 graduating, the person who was to any great degree different from the rest stood out like a sore thumb. This is poison to most teenagers. We have had many potentially fine students admit a fear of high grades as removing them from group approval. An- other factor has been the lack of competition from within the group for the above average student. It is hard to build up a competitive atmos- phere between two students when the majority are plugging along at a level below them. Fortunately time has taken care of both of these factors to some degree. Our classes are now running between 50 and 90 and there has developed a degree of respect for the good student. We now find a small group of excellent students coming along with each class so that a spirit of competition and pride in intellectual achievement can be built. We all know that there is no fun in doing well if there is no one to ap- preciate it. We now have enough students who appreciate what a fine scholastic record means.
18
No school can stand still today and seek improvement only by natural increase in numbers. The schools that try to do this will be left far behind for all alert school men are striving day and night to lift their school systems and their schools up to meet the demands of our age. In the course of their consideration of these problems the members of the Hamilton staff have made two major recommendations to themselves in terms of raising the general standards of the school and thus improving the quality of the final product.
1. An "A" student should be something more than a perfect me- chanic who can give back what the book says or what the teacher has said. The "A" student must have a depth of understanding and an ability to analyze a situation and apply his knowledge to it. Our "A" student must have power and we should be able to recommend him to most colleges of his choice. Thus in re- evaluating what we must expect of our best students we also effect a re-evaluation of our good and our average students. Dur- ing the first marking period of 1960-61 the results of this re- evaluation have been significant. The students themselves have recognized the greater demands that have been made of them and they are meeting the challenge with encouraging maturity of purpose.
2. The development of responsibility and good work habits are essential to success in any field. The school can be of great serv- ice to all students by instructing them in the proper handling of both these areas. Instruction is not enough, however, the school must insist that the students practice responsibility and use good work habits. One means of approaching this goal is to insist that all homework be passed in daily with rare excuses for failure to do so. Strict deadlines on all long term assignments can also help to increase the importance of work habits and responsibility.
Each teacher naturally has small ways in which students can be encouraged to produce higher quality work and to take a greater interest in their work. In the mathematics department we have been most pleased to find an enthusiasm and an interest for delving deeply into the theory of mathematics without the necessity for or the fear of a mark. This is the ultimate aim of any teacher actually, to have his students study for the joy of the intellectual exercise, to seek knowledge, rather than just for a mark. This is also something that we seldom expect to see. However, one development of the past year has had encouraging results. At the sug- gestion of Mr. Roy Lane, head of the mathematics department, we pioneered in the organization of the Massachusetts Mathematics League. We tried to include schools with high standards as we believe that it is better to be last of the best than first of the poorest. This venture has been most successful. At the present time contests are held seven times during the school year. There are eight teams in the league representing the following high schools: Andover, Concord-Carlysle Regional, Hamil- ton, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional, Masconomet Regional, North Andover, North Reading, Pentucket Regional, and Story High of Manchester.
19
These contests have been a real inspiration to our mathematics students who comprise the team. They have learned the value of what they have been taught for they must use it under pressure to achieve an immediate and worthwhile goal. At the same time they have to learn how to accept the fact that many others are able also and may at one time or another be more successful than they. Our students have been most successful in these contests finishing generally among the upper four and presently occupying fourth place in the league.
Another extra-curricular activity organized this year has been the debating team. Under the direction of Mr. Paul Staples these students have developed their speaking, reasoning, and research abilities to the point where they now can meet with other schools and expect to make a most satisfying showing which they have done to date. In the past we could not find interest in these essentially intellectual activities but it is a sign of the growth and progress of the school and of the leadership of the teachers that the values of such pursuits are now recognized by our students. This is perhaps the most significant area of growth in this past year and to me it is the most important area in which a school can grow.
May I express my sincere appreciation for your help and leadership this past year. My sincere thanks also on behalf of the high school staff and myself to the school committee for its dedication and support, to the town officials who in so many ways throughout the year have made our task more pleasant and easier, and particularly to the parents of Hamil- ton who have given us such fine young men and women to work with.
Respectfully submitted,
PETER N. COFFIN
Prinicpal
20
REPORT OF THE MANASSEH CUTLER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
To the Superintendent of Schools:
DEAR SIR:
I herewith submit my yearly report of the Manasseh Cutler School.
School opened in September with an enrollment of five hundred thirty-four pupils. This figure includes two Kindergarten classes running on double sessions; five sections of Grade One; five sections of Grade Two (an additional class was added this year); and four sections of Grade Three, plus a small Tutorial class.
Open House was again held this year during Education Week. On November 8th, over three hundred interested parents and friends came to observe the children working at their regular daily program.
We are continuing the plan this year of inviting the parents to meet with the teachers of each grade. Grades one and two have already held such a meeting. At this time parents have an opportunity to see some of the work their children have already accomplished, to examine texts, workbooks, and other materials that are being used. This examination period is followed by a talk by each teacher during which she outlines her program of work for the year and explains some of the aims she hopes to accomplish with the children. After this explanation the parents are given an opportunity to ask questions. Grades three and the tutorial group are planning their meeting in the near future.
In order to further acquaint the public with what is going on in our school, news items are being printed weekly in the local papers.
The Committee that worked on revision of our "Reading Guide" presented us with a fuller, more complete outline of work which we feel will be of great help to us in our reading program throughout the grades.
Audio and visual aids play a large part in any educational program. We have added to our supply this year an opaque projector and a tape recorder with a reel for each classroom. These two machines, added to the film and slide projector, the movie projector, and a record player for each classroom, pretty well fill our needs. We do need to add to our film library which is still quite small.
Exhibition Night, which was held on the evening of May 20th, at- tracted a large gathering of interested parents and friends who viewed the work in all subject areas which was displayed on the corridor walls and in the "all purpose" room. The interest shown by the townspeople lead us to think it a worthwhile project which we will make a yearly affair.
21
In order to improve our curriculum and to give the teachers at their own grade level an opportunity to exchange ideas and to discuss grade problems, group meetings at each grade level are planned monthly in ad- dition to the regular monthly faculty meeting.
The Dental Clinic is still operating on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Twenty boys and girls are treated weekly at this clinic.
Our lunch program, under the direction of Mrs. Clara Lane, is serv- ing on an average of three hundred pupils a day a very adequate and well-balanced meal. It is our hope that more pupils will take advantage of the opportunity to partake of a hot lunch.
"To give or not to give" homework in the primary grades is a ques- tion we have given much consideration. We, at the Cutler School, are striving to answer this question.
The types of homework assigned in the first grades are as follows: gathering material and information for classroom discussion, experiment- ing at home and reporting at school, finding illustrations for phonic work (initial consonants and blends), doing "extra help" work sheets for areas in which children are having difficulty, studying word lists for mastery, practice in writing correct forms of letters and numbers, and reading to improve oral reading and for oral reports.
In the second grades such assignments as the following are given: practice in telling time, studying money and measure, collecting pictures for beginning and ending consonants, blends, and long and short vowels, looking up specific information and material for bulletin boards, lists of words to be studied for spelling, poems to be memorized, collecting of pictures, materials and stories for unit work, practice reading for certain skills, and reading assignments for book reports.
Homework in the third grades repeats many of the assignments listed for the lower grades, plus extra reading on a higher level, research from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other references. Children are also encouraged to read many books for enjoyment and information.
Teachers at the Cutler School are continuing to work for the better- ment of each child, and are striving continually to guide him along the right path toward the building of a good citizen.
In conclusion, I would like to express to you, the School Committee, parents and teachers, my appreciation of their loyalty and support.
Respectfully submitted,
MARIAN C. JOSEPH
Principal
22
REPORT OF THE WINTHROP SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
To the Superintendent of Schools:
DEAR SIR:
It is with pleasure that I submit to you my second annual report.
Curriculum
A. The area of reading has received a great deal of attention this year. The evaluation of our needs has been based on teacher judgment and practices, our standardized testing program and our Gates reading test program. We have defined more clearly a child's needs or a group's needs. A refinement in the use of books and workbooks plus the added use of phonics books has served to strengthen our reading program.
B. The remedial reading program has been again clearly outlined to the teachers with better correlation between the remedial teacher and the classroom teacher. Continuing communications between these people will insure the best use of time for pupils needing this added small group instruction.
C. Our arithmetic program for the year is putting a great deal of stress on computation, for it was this area that did not show well on our testing program. However, in fairness to all, it must be recalled that no scores (arithmetic included), for our combined grade scores, fell below the norm expected. In relation to other areas, our arithmetic computation was weaker.
D. French for all students is now in its second year, on a basis of a half hour weekly for most students and a half hour every other week for some. No formal evaluation has been made at this point, nor do I feel that one can be made until the conclusion of this school year. Perhaps our best indication of the value of these lessons will come from the secondary people who teach foreign languages.
Community Relations
One of our objectives this year has been a sincere effort to keep the parents in the community aware of the importance of their schools and what we are doing to measure up to this thinking.
In the past year we have conducted various types of activities for parents and interested citizens. These have come in the form of a testing discussion, an educational buzz-session, a science fair, grade level meet- ings, and a news bulletin. Additional activities would include three dif- ferent types of open house programs, regular news items in the news-
23
papers, and welcoming 275 parents in on personal invitation during American Education Week. Many varied activities have allowed a large number of people to know what their schools are doing.
Parent Conference
Added emphasis has been put on the parent-teacher conference this year. It has been pointed out to parents at every opportunity the value of a personal talk with the teacher. In turn, many parents have accepted requests for conferences with teachers and many others have requested teacher time for conference. Both types of arrangements have proven very beneficial to the child's educational progress.
Instruction
A. Classroom teachers and special service teachers have been pro- vided with the material requested by them through requisition procedures. In no case has a teacher been denied basic educational material which he deems necessary to good teaching and learning. For this, every mem- ber of our staff is grateful to those responsible for supplying our basic needs.
B. An orderly program of teacher observation has been carried on by the principal to insure that our children receive quality instruction by competent teachers. As a result of these observations, techniques and procedures are evaluated in the hope of making them better. The many commendable methods and ideas in use by our teachers are also brought to that teacher's attention.
Conclusion
My sincere gratitude goes to you, the School Committee, the teaching staff, the parents and many others who contribute so much to the success of our school system. Continued effort and fine attitudes by adults and students will insure the on-going process of quality education for Hamil- ton's young people.
Respectfully submitted,
EDMUND E. DODGE
Principal
24
REPORT OF GUIDANCE DIRECTOR
To the Superintendent of Schools: DEAR SIR:
The major emphasis in the Hamilton Public Schools guidance pro- gram continues to be counselling. At least one individual conference is scheduled with all pupils in grades 8-12 inclusive, annually. Naturally the number of conferences has increased each year, not just because the enrollment has steadily grown but also as an increasing number of stu- dents have further-education plans and need more than one or two interviews (parents and graduates are requesting counselling time more frequently each year, as well).
Space does not permit more than an outline of certain activities in our school system in which the guidance director has had special responsi- bilities and interests. These follow :
The directorship of the summer school program; advanced-classes coordinator; Special Education class counselor; counselling in the two elementary schools when special needs exist; the summary of system-wide testing data (with the purpose that recommendations can be made for the improvement of the instruction program) ; re-evaluation, with the administrators of all schools in both Hamilton and Wenham, of the two towns' testing programs, with the aim of providing uniform data for the new regional school; service as a school system representative on the Community Service Emergency Aid Committee; the preparation of a comprehensive alumni follow-up study to learn what have been the experiences of our graduates, the attitudes they hold toward their back- ground at HHS, and their recommendations for the additions to or modifications of our future secondary program; coordinator of the Work- shop Science Committee (composed of Wenham Jr. High and Hamilton Jr. and Sr. High science teachers), which has the aim of integrating the various science courses of the two towns to prevent unnecessary duplica- tion and to provide the best possible preparation for the regional school science program; annual study of the academic achievement of the pre- ceding year's HHS graduates who have gone to further education (by contacting the registrars of the respective institutions) ; Hamilton- Wenham Teachers Workshop Committee, which directed the 4-day pro- fessional workshop at the beginning of the 1960-61 school year.
Guidance activities are unusually wide-ranging, with no limited emphasis at just one school level, or in one subject, or with one type of student. Again, these activities are somewhat changing from year to year, and although the core of the program is the individual conference, the time and activities of the guidance person must change proportion- ately as good reasons arise. The summary of guidance-related activities mentioned above illustrates how increasingly complex an up-to-date school must become to meet our society's needs.
Respectfully submitted, DONALD MACDIARMID Guidance Director
SCHOOL STAFF DIRECTORY TEACHERS - HIGH SCHOOL
Subject or Grade
Appoint- Yrs. Ex- ment
Education
Degree
Peter N. Coffin
Principal
1955
10
Tufts College
Ruth Austen
English
1945
16
Radcliffe College
Boston University
Mary Bergman
Business
1954
25
Salem State Teachers College
B.S.E., Ed.M.
Edna Berry
Home Economics
1957
4
Framingham State Teachers College
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