USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1875-1877 > Part 12
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No pupil shall be detained for punishment more than fifteen minutes after the morning session, nor more than one hour after the afternoon session. No pupil shall be deprived of a recess of the prescribed length.
At the discretion of the teacher, there may be a recess of a few minutes at the end of each recitation, to be spent in marching and calisthenic exercises. One such brief recess each day is enjoined in the Grammar and Primary grades.
SECT. 4. All the schools shall be opened, and the teachers shall be present, twenty minutes before the beginning of the morning session, and fifteen minutes before the beginning of the afternoon session. No pupil shall be admitted to the rooms before the times above stated, unless the teachers are present.
CHAPTER II.
DUTIES OF TEACHERS.
SECTION 1. All teachers in the Public Schools are required to make themselves familiar with these Regulations, especially with those which relate to their duties and to the instruction and discipline of their schools, and to see them faithfully observed.
SECT. 2. It shall be the duty of each teacher to read the rules relating to pupils, to the class, at the beginning of each term.
SECT. 3. All teachers are required to respect the authori- ty of the Superintendent as the executive officer of the School Committee, and to give ready obedience to his sug- gestions.
SECT. 4. All teachers connected with the Public Schools
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shall, according to the requirements of law, "exert their best endeavors to impress on the minds of children and youth committed to their care and instruction the principles of piety and justice, and a sacred regard for truth, love of country, humanity, and universal benevolence, sobriety, industry and frugality, chastity, moderation and temperance, and those other virtues which are the ornament of human society, and the basis on which a republican constitution is founded."
SECT. 5. Teachers shall aim to practise such discipline as would be exercised by a kind, judicious parent in his family ; avoiding all indiscreet haste, and employing corporal punish- ment only as a last resort. They shall keep a record of all cases of corporal punishment, specifying the pupil's name and age, the date and the nature of the offence. Assistant teachers shall report difficult cases of management to the Master or Principal.
SECT. 6. The ordinary modes of punishment for violations of rules, disorderly conduct, neglected lessons, disobedience to the proper directions of a teacher, &c., shall be, detention after school hours, a written report of delinquency sent home to parents, or temporary suspension from school privileges ; provided, that no pupil shall be suspended by an assistant teacher. The Master or Principal alone shall have authority in such cases, acting under the advice of the District Com- mittee. The period of suspension, and the conditions under which a pupil may be restored to his place, shall be deter- mined by the District Committee.
SECT. 7. The duties of the Masters shall be grouped under the two general heads of Supervision and Instruction, as hereinafter described.
Each Master's supervisory duties shall be, to assist the Superintendent in the general oversight of the instruction and discipline of the pupils in the schools in his district, to have the general care of the school buildings and grounds, to preserve order in the halls, rooms, and grounds, to see that the buildings and grounds are kept in a cleanly condition, that each room is properly ventilated and warmed, and that the janitors perform their duties with fidelity.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
The Master shall obtain from the Secretary of the Board whatever articles of stationery, &c., may be supplied by the Board ; and, when text-books and other appliances are needed by pupils, he shall see that they are supplied upon such terms as may be prescribed by the Board.
Each Master's duties as an instructor shall include the giving of three hours of each day to teaching, dividing his time to the best advantage among the several classes, particularly among those of the upper grades. And whereas it is impos- sible to prescribe definitely the routine of each day's work, it shall be understood, that, acting under the general direction of the Superintendent and District Committee, he will use all diligence to render his efforts most effectual for the full and accurate training of the pupils in his district in the studies prescribed. It shall be considered that his position is that of chief teacher in these studies, and that he will labor to inspire a love for learning in all committed to his care, and to keep the schools of his district up to the standard required by the Board.
SECT. 8. The head assistant or principal teacher in each school building shall have the immediate charge of the grounds and buildings under the supervision of the Master.
SECT. 9. All teachers shall be required to co-operate with the Master in the discharge of his general duties. They shall offer him every facility for noting the proficiency of the classes in the studies prescribed, and shall ask his assistance in all difficult cases of discipline. .
SECT. 10. In cases of doubt or difficulty in the discharge of their official duties, the Masters shall apply to the Superin- tendent or to the District Committee for advice and assist- ance.
SECT. 11. In case of temporary absence or disability of a teacher, the Master of the District, or the Principal of the school, shall immediately notify the District Committee, who shall appoint a substitute.
The Master in each District shall notify the Chairman of the Committee on Accounts, in writing, when a teacher
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REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
leaves a school by resignation, transfer, or temporarily ; giving the name of the substitute, when one is employed, and the date when her service begins. He shall also notify the same officer of the date of the teacher's return, if she returns.
SECT. 12. Masters shall report to the District Committee any case of incompetency, neglect of duty, or failure of any teacher to perform her duty in a satisfactory manner. The District Committee shall make inquiry into the matter, and may at their discretion bring the same to the notice of the Board.
SECT. 13. Masters of Grammar Schools shall make monthly returns to the Superintendent of the condition of their schools, in accordance with blank forms to be provided by the Board.
Each teacher shall keep a register of his class as may be prescribed in blanks provided by the Board, and, on or about the first of each month, shall forward to the parent or guar- dian of each pupil a report of the standing of the pupil for the preceding month. The blanks for this purpose shall be such as the Board may prescribe.
SECT. 14. It shall be an essential part of the duty of all teachers to give attention to the ventilation of their school- rooms both in winter and summer. They shall see that the air in the rooms is changed at each recess and at the end of each session. By watchful care over the postures, habits, and occupations of the pupils, they shall aim to secure their continuance in good health.
SECT. 15. The books and stationery used, and the studies pursued, shall be such, and such only, as the Board may authorize. No teacher shall require or advise any pupil to purchase, for use in the schools, any book, pamphlet, or pub- lication, or article of stationery, not contained in the list of articles directed or otherwise authorized by the Board to be used in the schools.
Pupils will in no case be allowed to carry into the school- room any other book or pamphlet, &c., except by express permission of the teacher; and such permission shall not be given, except said books, pamphlets, &c., are used for refer- ence, or other purposes connected with the school studies.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
SECT. 16. No teacher shall allow any subscription or con- tribution to be taken in school, or any public notices to be given, or advertisments to be circulated, or any books, tracts, or publications of any sort to be exhibited, or any person not connected with the schools to give instruction on any sub- ject, or to make any address to the scholars, without the con- sent of the Committee in charge of that school, given to the teacher personally or in writing.
SECT. 17. The morning exercises in each room shall begin with the reading of the Sacred Scriptures by the teacher, or responsively by the teacher and pupils, without note or com- ment; and be followed by the repeating of the Lord's Prayer, and by appropriate singing.
SECT. 18. On the last school day preceding the twenty- second day of February in each year, the teachers of the High and Grammar Schools may cause to be read to their pupils extracts from the Declaration of Independence, or Washing- ton's Farewell Address ; and there shall be such other exer- cises as may cultivate patriotic sentiments, and stimulate a genuine love of country, and loyalty to its government and its institutions.
SECT. 19. Meetings of the teachers with the Superintend- ent shall be held as he may direct, for the purpose of confer- ence and instruction respecting the studies and modes of teaching. Once each year, at the option of the Board, a general meeting of the teachers with the Board shall be held for the consideration of the interests of the schools.
CHAPTER III.
PUPILS.
SECTION 1. All children over the age of five years, resid- ing within the limits of the city of Newton, are entitled to attend school in the district where they reside; or the High School, if properly qualified.
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REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
No child who has only a temporary residence in the city shall be received as a pupil without a special arrangement to that end made with the District Committee.
Children from outside the city's limits may, by permission of the District Committee, attend the schools of the Primary and Grammar grades, in whichever classes they may be found qualified to enter, by paying tuition at the rate of fifty cents per week, for periods of not less than six weeks at a time, in advance. Those qualified may attend the High School, by permission of the High School Committee, upon paying tuition at the rate of one dollar per week, for periods of not less than six weeks at a time, in advance.
SECT. 2. No child shall be admitted as a pupil in any school until a physician's certificate or other satisfactory evidence has been furnished the Master of his having been vaccinated, or otherwise secured against the full effects of small-pox.
Any pupil who is exposed to the influence of any conta- gious or infectious disease, and whose presence would en- danger the health of others, shall be suspended from school for the time being by the Master, or, in his absence, by any teacher, who shall report the fact to the District Committee ; and the said child shall not be again received until satisfac- tory evidence is furnished that all danger of contagion is passed.
SECT. 3. No pupil, without change of residence, shall change his relations from a school of one district to another without permission of both District Committees, or from one class to another of the same grade without permission of the District Committee.
SECT. 4. Whenever a pupil, by change of residence, or with the permission of the Board or both District Committees, passes from the school of one district to that of another, or from one class to another of the same grade, he shall be required, before admission, to present to the Master or Prin- cipal of the district which he enters a certificate from the Master or Principal of the district which he leaves, or, if
2
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
there be no change of district, a certificate from one teacher to the other, stating his standing at the time of leaving, speci- fying the grade and class to which he belongs, and containing a record of his attendance.
SECT. 5. Every pupil must come to school cleanly in his person and dress, and with his clothes properly repaired : in case of neglect in this respect, it shall be the duty of the teacher to send him home to be properly prepared for school.
SECT. 6. Pupils shall be required to attend constantly and punctually the schools to which they respectively belong. In all cases of absence or tardiness, they shall furnish to the teacher, in writing or otherwise, a satisfactory excuse from their parents or guardians ; and absence or tardiness, without being satisfactorily explained, shall subject the pupil to disci- pline. Nor, without satisfactory excuse, shall any pupil be dismissed from school during school-hours, except in case of sickness or sudden emergency : provided, nevertheless, that, whenever teachers shall judge that the welfare of their pupils will be promoted, they may dismiss pupils within the last hour of school ; and teachers of the lowest primary class may dismiss the pupils of that class when they have finished their recitations.
SECT. 7. Whenever a pupil is absent from school, without sending a proper excuse, the teacher shall, the following day, notify the parents or guardian by written or printed notice, which may be sent by a pupil. If the absence con- tinues for three days, and no excuse is received, the teacher shall investigate the case, seeing the parents or guardian in person, if practicable ; and for still continued absence, with- out satisfactory excuse, shall report the case to the Master or Principal and to the District Committee.
SECT. 8. Cases of habitual truancy of children between the ages of seven and sixteen, wandering about the streets, without attendance upon school, and cases of the commission of any crime by pupils, coming to the knowledge of teachers, shall be reported, through the Master or Principal, to the District Committee.
REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. £ 115
SECT. 9. The teachers are expected, as far as practicable, to have a general oversight of their pupils while going to and from school.
SECT. 10. When a pupil is absent from school more than five consecutive school-days, for sickness or any other cause, his name shall be stricken from the roll of the school at the end of the five days ; and the absence shall, in all such cases, be recorded while the name remains on the roll. If absent for such a period for any other reason than sickness, before admission to the school again, he shall furnish to the Master or Principal a statement from his parents or guardian, in writing, of the reasons for such absence; and he may be required by the Master or Principal to make up the lessons omitted, to the satisfaction of his teacher.
SECT. 11. In cases of continued absence from school for sickness or other cause, if the pupil be unable, in the opinion of the teacher, to keep up with his class or the prescribed course of study in his room, such pupil may be kept from promotion, and, if the Master or Principal deem it best for the pupil or school, may be dropped to the next lower class with the approval of the District Committee.
SECT. 12. Whenever a teacher has satisfactory evidence that a pupil has left school without the intention of return- ing, such pupil's name shall forthwith be stricken from the roll : but any absences recorded against the name of the pupil before the teacher receives this notice shall be allowed to remain ; and, in making up the average attendance, such absence shall be regarded the same as any other absence.
SECT. 13. For violent or pointed opposition to authority in any particular instance, for flagrant misconduct of any kind, for larceny, or the commission of any other crime, and when the example of any pupil is very injurious, and ref- ormation appears hopeless, the Master or Principal may suspend the pupil, reporting the suspension and the reasons in writing immediately to the parents or guardian, and to the District Committee. The District Committee may continue the suspension, and the Board may finally expel the pupil.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
A pupil so expelled shall not again be admitted to any school in Newton without a vote of the whole Board.
SECT. 14. When a pupil is suspended from school under any of the rules of the Board, his name shall be stricken from the roll.
SECT. 15. No pupil in the classes below the sixth shall be regularly required to prepare lessons at home. In the four upper classes of the Grammar Schools there may be given out each day one lesson of ordinary length, to be studied at home. In the High School, such lessons shall be assigned for study at home as the Principal with the approbation of the Committee on the High School may direct.
SECT. 16. The regular promotions of pupils in the Pri- mary and Grammar Schools shall be made in the last week of the school year.
SECT. 17. The standard of scholarship qualifying a pupil for unconditional promotion shall be an average of seventy in a scale of one hundred ; but the pupil's standing must not be below fifty in any branch of study.
SECT. 18. Pupils who obtain an average of sixty-five in a scale of one hundred, and do not fall below forty in any branch of study, may be promoted with the consent of the Superintendent, subject to this condition : that unless they maintain an average of at least sixty-five, and a standing of at least forty, in every study, in the higher class during the first three months of their connection with it, they must return to the class from which they came. The names of pupils who shall fail of promotion after remaining two years in the same class shall be reported to the Board for their action.
SECT. 19. Any pupil, with the approbation of his teacher and the Superintendent, may apply at any time to the teacher of the next higher class to be examined in the work of that class ; and, if found to be prepared to enter the class, he shall be immediately promoted. A pupil studying for this ex- traordinary promotion may, when convenient, sit with the higher class, but he shall recite regularly with his own class until promoted; and he must have maintained for three
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REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
months before promotion a rank in every study not lower than fifty, and an average rank not lower than seventy.
SECT. 20. Promotions from the ninth class of the Gram- mar Schools to the High School shall be made only at the end of the school year ; and no pupil shall be promoted to the High School who has not the qualifications of scholarship prescribed in Section 17 for unconditional promotion in the Grammar Schools.
SECT. 21. Pupils of the ninth class whose rank is below seventy may apply to the Superintendent of Schools for admission to the High School by examination, at the begin- ning of the school year.
SECT. 22. No pupil in the High School shall be promoted from a lower to a higher class unless his average of scholar- ship for the preceding school year is at least sixty in the scale of one hundred ; and if his rank falls below fifty in any study, his continuance in his class shall be conditional upon his immediate and permanent improvement in that study.
SECT. 23. Pupils intending to pursue the classical course, in preparation for college, may be admitted to the High School at such time as the Committee on the High School and the Superintendent of Schools may recommend after consul- tation with the parents of the pupils applying.
SECT. 24. Diplomas signed by the chairman of the Board, the chairman of the District Committee, and the Master of the School, shall be given to those pupils who satisfactorily complete the prescribed course of study in the Grammar Schools. In the case of every pupil whose scholarship rank entitles him to promotion to the High School, the diploma shall bear record that he is graduated " with honor, and is entitled to enter the High School without further examina- tion ; " and, in the case of every pupil who has maintained an average of seventy or higher in scholarship throughout his course, the diploma shall, in addition to the above, bear record of the fact that the pupil was " a scholar of dis- tinguished merit." These commendations shall not appear in the diplomas given to others.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
SECT. 25. Diplomas of graduation, signed by the Mayor, the Chairman of the Committee on the High School, and the Principal of the School, shall be given to those pupils who satisfactorily complete the prescribed courses of study in the High School. These Diplomas shall specify which course of study - whether the English, the Classical, the Commercial, or the Eclectic- has been pursued by the pupil. In every case where the pupil's average scholarship rank during his whole course has been seventy, or higher, his diploma shall bear record that he is " a scholar of distinguished merit, and is graduated with honor."
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
TRUSTEES
OF THE
NEWTON FREE LIBRARY,
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DEC. 31, 1876.
EWT
LIBERTY AND UNI
FOUNDED 163
87
79.A CITY1
INC
N
JM.
R
ATO
BOSTON : E. H. TRULAN & CO., PRINTERS, 166 CONGRESS, COR. FRANKLIN STREET. 1877.
-
OFFICIAL ORDER.
CITY OF NEWTON.
IN BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN.
January 29, 1877.
Ordered, That the Joint Standing Committee on Printing be, and hereby are, authorized to have five hundred copies of the reports of the Trustees and Superintendent of the Newton Free Library printed, for the use of the City Council.
Sent down for concurrence.
EDWIN O. CHILDS, Clerk.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, February 5, 1877.
Concurred in.
HOSEA HYDE, Clerk.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 1876.
AT LARGE.
J. WILEY EDMANDS,
TERM EXPIRES, 1881.
JOHN S. FARLOW,
66
66 1880.
BRADFORD K. PIERCE,
66
66
1879.
JULIUS L. CLARKE, .
66 66
1878.
JAMES F. C. HYDE, .
66
66
1877.
From the Board of Aldermen.
WILLIAM W. KEITH, TERM EXPIRES, 1877.
From the Board of Common Council.
WILLIAM I. GOODRICH, TERM EXPIRES, 1877.
ORGANIZATION FOR THE YEAR 1876.
President. J. WILEY EDMANDS.
Secretary. FREDERICK JACKSON.
Committee on the Library.
PRESIDENT, ex-officio, BRADFORD K. PIERCE,
JOHN S. FARLOW, JULIUS L. CLARKE.
Committee on the Building.
JAMES F. C. HYDE,
PRESIDENT, ex-officio,
WILLIAM W. KEITH,
WILLIAM I. GOODRICH.
Superintendent. FREDERICK JACKSON.
Librarian. HANNAH P. JAMES.
Assistant Librarian. CAROLINE B. JACKSON.
NEWTON FREE LIBRARY. January 22, 1877.
HIS HONOR ALDEN SPEARE, Esq.,
Mayor of the City of Newton.
SIR,- I have the honor to transmit to you, herewith, the first Annual Report of the Trustees of the Free Library, prepared in obedience to the third section of article second of the Ordinance of 1876, relative to the Free Library.
Very respectfully,
FREDERICK JACKSON,
Secretary of the Board of Trustees.
TRUSTEES' REPORT.
To His Honor the Mayor, and the City Council of the City of Newton :
The Trustees of the Newton Free Library have the honor of presenting their first annual report, made up to December 31, 1876, the close of its official year, and also the report of the Superintendent hereto ap- pended.
In order that the published records of the library statistics may be continued complete, it embraces the time elapsing since the last report of the old corpora- tion, and covers a period of fifteen months.
We refer to the report of the Superintendent for the details of the work during this term; and we con- gratulate the library that we are able to present it in so flourishing a condition, in all respects.
In carrying on the business of the library the Trus- tees have had the benefit of the seven years experience of their predecessors under the old organization, whose systems and methods have been followed without material changes. This first year's report to the City Government is therefore a statement of results of well tried plans and arrangements, rather than the operation of experimental measures and rules incident to a new enterprise.
We have every reason to believe that there will be
S
no diminution of the library's usefulness so long as the conserving influences of the past prevail in shaping its administrative policy.
Its present prosperous condition, and the large and rapidly extending use made of the library during the first year of its existence as a city institution are most interesting, as indicating the indefinite extent of its good influences prospectively.
If its greatly increased business, as exhibited in the Superintendent's report, was the result of any deteri- oration in the character of the books issued, the work of the year would be the subject of criticism and offer no occasion for gratulation, as the extended business of the library, considered singly, forms no criterion of its utility. It is progress in the wrong direction, and the library has no condition of success when it becomes subservient to the lower tastes of the community. We aim to raise the character of the collection higher each year as it passes, by increasing the proportion of works of merit as additions are made; and the extent to which restrictions on the supply of unedifying books can be carried, must depend upon the practical results observed in the course of the change.
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