USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1930 > Part 8
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LAURA S. GORDON, CARL M. SPENCER, Chairman. SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
REPORT TO THE TOWN OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS, ON A SCHOOLHOUSE BUILDING PROGRAM
To the School Committee,
Reading, Massachusetts,
Gentlemen :
I, herewith, submit the following report on a schoolhouse build- ing program for the Town of Reading :
Plan of the Study
Every community is faced with the problem of erecting a new school building from time to time. The location, size, and plan of such a building is too often determined only by immediate needs and con- veniences. A few years later it becomes evident that the location, size, and plan of the building is not meeting the growing and changing con- ditions of the town. To avoid such costly mistakes, it is wise to make a thorough study of the future possibilities of the community and its needs, to locate approximately the future sites of the school build- ings and playgrounds and to estimate the time when such buildings will be needed.
In order that the Town of Reading may have a forward looking program, studies have been made to estimate the growth of the fu- ture population of the town, the increase of enrollment in the several divisions of the schools, and the trends of home building. The present school plants have been inspected, and the entire town has been cov-
96
ered in studying possible sites for future school locations. As a result of these studies, a definite program of procedure is suggested for a future schoolhouse building program.
CHAPTER 1 The Present School Plant
The Town of Reading now has six elementary schools, a junior high school, and a senior high school. The elementary schools, with but one exception are small two to four room buildings of the rural type. These buildings are all frame structures and as soon as possible should be replaced by modern fire-proof buildings. A detailed report on each of the present school buildings is presented.
The Center School
The Center School was built in 1867 and served as the original high school building. There are five school rooms seating about 48 pupils each. These rooms are mostly over-sized, with windows on two sides. For a building as old as this it has been well cared for and ap- pears to be in fair condition. Its service is merely that of school room seating.
The lot, not much more than 100 feet square, does not provide ade- quate or suitable playground area for these children. A standard playground for an elementary school should provide about 100 sq. ft. per pupil. This lot does not provide one-third of the required space for the number of pupils enrolled.
The location at the center of business and traffic congestion is increasingly dangerous for the younger children in these grades, two through four.
The building is of wooden construction and is a constant fire and panic risk. These pupils should be housed in a modern, fire-proof building, located away from the business center and with suitable playground area.
It is recommended that this building be used as the administra- tive headquarters of the School Department. This would give proper space for the offices of the superintendent, secretary, committee meet- ing room, offices for the supervisors, director of research and guidance, dental and medical clinic, etc. It would also provide needed space for the central storage of school supplies and equipment. This in turn would give some additional space in the Senior High School Building.
The Union Street School
The Union Street School is also a wooden building and was erected in 1886. It has a seating capacity of about 150 pupils in four rooms. Its present enrollment is 133 children in the first and second grades.
This building is located near the business and traffic center of
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the town. The lot is very small and provides insufficient space for playground purposes. The present yard is filled with sharp stones. A large cement cover of the old cesspool stands out in a way to interfere with play.
While present conditions might be slightly improved, it would be a waste to spend money at this location. This building should be abandoned as soon as a modern building with adequate playground can be provided for this district.
The Lowell Street School
The Lowell Street School is housed in a wooden building at least twenty years old. The building appears to be in the poorest con- dition of any of the schools. The heating plant is completely gone, and considerable repair is necessary to put the building into good con- dition.
This building consists of four school rooms with a normal seat- ing capacity of about 168 pupils. At present there are 177 pupils in grades one through four assigned to this building.
Again playground facilities have not been given due consider- ation. There is some vacant area about the building, but it is not graded or laid out for play or health work purposes.
The building has very little to commend it, although the loca- tion is quite near to the center of a growing residential district. Defi- nite recommendations for this building will be considered in connec- tion with the future provision for the district as a whole.
The Highland School
The Highland School building was opened in January 1897. The exterior is of brick, but the interior construction is of wood. The cost was only $55,000.00. During the thirty-three years of use it certainly has paid for itself. While the building looks well from the outside, it is a very poorly planned building according to modern standards. Each room is 28 feet by 32 feet in floor area. The corridors are very wide with coat room areas blocked off in a manner to interfere with the passing of the pupils to and from and spoiling the appearance of the building.
There are 10 classrooms seating 48 pupils each in this building, or a total of 480. An auditorium on the second floor seats about 400 pu- pils. The enrollment this last year was 355 pupils in the grades five and six, with one room for each of the first four grades. The total enroll- ment was 444. A frame house on the lot is now used as an "oppor- tunity" school.
The lot is of fairly good size for the present building. However, this building with all its faults is too good to abandon. Before any re- pairs are made to the worn floors or stairways, it would be best to have an architect prepare plans for a remodelling of the building. I believe this could be done to advantage, modernizing the building and increas-
98
ing its capacity at the same time. If this proves too costly, it is recom- mended that an addition of six rooms be erected.
While the location is not near the center of the future school population in this section of the town, its retention is undoubtedly the best solution of the problem. This means that a more 'adequate play- ground should be provided in this neighborhood as near the school as possible.
The Chestnut Hill School
The Chestnut Hill School on Hopkins Street is a little two-room building of the rural school type. The building is in very good condi- tion, and the little playground has just been improved. There were 45 pupils in grades one through four enrolled last year. This school will serve the younger pupils in the district until a larger building with modern educational advantages can be provided for this section of the town.
The Prospect Street School
The Prospect Street School is one more wooden building erected at least thirty years ago. The older portion is now the second floor, as at one time it was raised, and the lower floor added to increase the capacity. These are two large rooms on each floor seating 48 pupils each. The floor areas in rooms and corridors are very wasteful of space. At the present time there are about 172 pupils from grades one through four assigned to this school. This building is centrally located with respect to the homes of the pupils. This would make a good location for a future building could sufficient land be secured. However, it is always best to sacrifice geographic location for adequacy of site. A proper site for a school in this section should be located at once.
The Present Elementary School Districts
The result of locating school buildings without a forward look- ing plan is well illustrated by the accompanying map No. 1. A standard elementary school district should approximate a radius of a half-mile circle with the school building as the center. This map shows the half- mile circles for each of the present elementary buildings. From this it will be seen that on the south side, the Prospect Street School and the Chestnut Hill School are very well located. However, the districts of the other schools north of the railroad are very badly overlapping. The future location of school sites should avoid any such needless con- gestion.
99
Map No. 1
WILMINGTON
5
5
PUMPING
Low
DISTRICT
G 7
yy
1
0
B
C
M
R
Map showing overlapping of present elementary school districts N. 1.
STONEHAM
The Town of Reading is divided into east and west sections by Main Street which runs approximately north and south. Also the rail- road running in a general direction southeast and northwest makes a northern and southern section of the Town. With this crossing of Main Street by the railroad we have three districts which naturally suggest appropriate elementary school districts, as it is not desirable to have small children forced to cross a main thoroughfare or a railroad track if it can be avoided. These three districts are designated on the map No. 2, and in this report, as "west," "northwest," and "east" districts. This is due to the fact that it has been the custom to refer to the dis- trict southwest of the railroad as the "west" side. The small area. south of the railroad and east of Main Street is so small that it will be con- sidered as a part of this "west" district. The "northwest" district may then be described as that section north of the railroad and west of Main Street, commonly known as the "Highland" district. The "east" district is that section east of Main Street and north of the railroad.
LYNNFIELD
100
Map No. 2
5 Papilo
WILMINGTON
North West
District
Pupils
East District 304 Pupils
LYNNFIELD
0
7
District
0
C
1.0 2
F
South District 415 Pepino
Map Showing Losel'on of +
Homes of Popils in Grades
Jane 1930
STONEHA
The Present Location of the Homes of Elementary School Pupils A map No. 2 has been prepared with pins indicating ap- proximately the home location of all the pupils enrolled in the elementary grades at the present time.
There is still sufficient area to the north within the town to form three more districts, one east and one west of Main Street and one to the north. However, there are now only 25 pupils living in this entire area, and the building trends are such that we do not need to consider these districts within the scope of the immediate needs of the schools.
The West District
The west district, in that section of the town south of the railroad, now has living within its borders 413 pupils enrolled in the first six grades. Fifty of these children live east of South Main Street.
At the present time all children from this district in the fifth
101
and sixth grades, about 196 of them, go to the Highland School, a long distance from many of these homes. Transportation is provided for those living farthest away. The children in the first four grades attend the Chestnut Hill and the Prospect Street Schools.
If all of the elementary school children in this district were housed in one modern building it would provide a school of 413 pupils. This would warrant a school of sufficient size to afford not only a modern program of studies, but a small auditorium, gymnasium, and a playground which would serve both the school and community as well.
The Northwest District
The Northwest District forms a large triangle limited on the north by Forest Street, on the south by the railroad, and on the east by Main Street. This district is served by three elementary schools, the Center School, Lowell Street, and Highland School. There are now 473 elementary pupils living within this general section of the town.' Again this number suggests the advisability of providing one modern building of sufficient enrollment to warrant a modern program of studies, health education, and auditorium facilities.
The East District
The East District includes all of that part of the town lying north of the railroad and east of Main Street. At present this district is more poorly served with school facilities than any other part of the town. But one little school, the Union Street School, exists within its bounda- ries. This school houses only the first and second grades, or 133 pupils out of 366 elementary grade pupils living in the district. With a nucleus of this number a centralized elementary school is also strongly recom- mended for this division of the town.
Centralized Schools
The elementary schools of Reading, with the exception of the Highland School, are typical rural schools. This statement applies to the buildings and grounds with their limitation; without a doubt these schools are provided with better teachers, supplies, and supervision than the typical rural school. However, the physical conditions of build- ings and grounds interfere seriously with the educational advantages of these children compared with those of the town who are housed in larger and more modern buildings. Three schools, such as have been recommended with one in each of these natural sections of the town, would give to Reading a thoroughly modern elementary school organ- ization. Map No. 3, on next page illustrates the approximate placing of such schools as have been recommended to house the pupils in the first six grades.
102
WILMINGTON
VININO
Lars Distric
LYNNFJELL
North Heat. Elistrict
DISTRICT
V
w
1
.
3 X Y M
FL
- South District
Map Showing Ideal -
Elestatary Scnosl
Disir ch3
HEHAM
S
Consolidation is the trend of modern school administration. The transportation of pupils living outside of a proper walking distance has many advantages to offset the objections to the plan. Some of the arguments in favor of consolidation are stated as follows :
1. It makes for greater equality of educational opportunity. Pupils from poorer districts have the same advantages as those from the more wealthy sections.
2. It provides better school rooms, light, heat, ventilation, and equipment.
3. It provides greater motivation of school work by offering wider opportunities in courses such as music, drawing, manual train- ing, domestic science, library, health, and auditorium activities.
4. The contact with a larger number of children broadens the child's vision and gives a more enlightened viewpoint.
5. Pupils can be grouped into classes to greater advantage.
6. More efficient supervision is made possible for the superin- tendent assisted by a competent supervising principal.
7. The consolidated school forms a civic and community center for the entire district in which the citizen can be justly interested.
- .
C
LOWELL ST. SCHOOL
CE
1
UNION ST SCHOOL
中年建》学
5
-
12
PLAY
ASSEMBLY HALL
5
P
AC
2
=
PLAYGROUND
PLAYGROUND.
3
N
P
10
4
5
6
7
8
SCHOOL .
. ELEMENTARY . F . TYPE .
106
Pictures have been shown of each of the small elementary school buildings of the rural school type. These buildings are all of wooden construction and are on restricted sites without sufficient playground area. To compare these pictures with the one shown in page 109 will give some idea of the possibilities to be found in the recommended con- solidated elementary schools. This picture shows a single story in "bungalow" type of school with a ground floor to house the toilets and the practical arts rooms for boys and girls. This ground floor is not shown in the picture, but the sketches of the floor plans will indicate the essential rooms, auditorium, and administrative offices. The draw- ing also shows a minimum playground area for a school of the size illustrated. Such a building as this is an asset to any community and will enhance the value of the surrounding property.
Small Primary Schools
Small primary schools are justified when in any outlying dis- trict there are a sufficient number of pupils living within a half-mile radius to form a separate class for each of the primary grades, one, two, and three. It may prove best to provide a few such schools as the growth of the town may demand.
The Junior High School Building
The Junior High School building is the only strictly modern school house in the town, and it is one of which the citizens may well be proud. The children of Reading enrolled in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades have advantages far beyond the rest of the pupils. It is to be hoped that a forward looking program will eventually provide similar opportunities appropriate to all of the grades of the public schools.
Unfortunately, at the time this building was erected, the appro- priation did not prove to be quite enough to complete the plans as recommended by the school authorities. A compromise was finally agreed upon, and the building committee cut off from one end of the main structure, the equivalent of six standard rooms, thereby materially reducing the capacity of the building. An addition to this building will be necessary in a very few years.
The immediate need of the Junior High School is the comple- tion of its playground and athletic field. More land than that now owned by the town will be necessary to serve as an adequate field. However, steps should be taken at once to secure such land as may be available and to prepare it for use.
The Senior High School Building
The Senior High School was built in 1905. It is of a type that does not well meet the needs of modern high school education. This building has been rated by the scale prepared by Professors Strayer and Engelhardt of Columbia University. The rank arrived at, after
107
careful inspection, gives only 511 points on a scale of 1,000. In other words, this building is only about one-half of what it ought to be, ac- cording to present day standards.
A few of the major lacks of this building may be listed among the following :
1. The site is not sufficient for future additions and playgrounds, or athletic field.
2. The building is not of fire-proof construction.
3. The heating and ventilating systems are not of the modern type.
4. The lighting system and windows are not up to standard re- quirements.
5. The toilet system is antiquated.
6. Class rooms are all oversized and wasteful in administration.
7. The equipment in the laboratories could be greatly improved.
8. There is no opportunity for the proper teaching of home eco- nomics, of manual arts for boys, or for music.
9. The auditorium on the second floor, prohibiting by law the use of moving pictures for visual education, etc. It is not adapted to school dramatics, is too small for community uses.
10. There is a very inconvenient cafeteria.
11. The gymnasium is not worthy of the name, and no suitable locker or bathing facilities exist.
These items are sufficient evidence of the many unsatisfactory ' features existing in this building. There can be no great relief until a new building, erected as an addition to the present plant together with certain remodelling of the old building, can be provided.
It is, therefore, recommended that steps be taken to secure addi- tional land at this central location, looking forward to the building of a modern senior high school including a gymnasium and auditorium suitable for community uses on the present site. Ample fields for ath- letic practice and recreation should be located not too far away from the high school building.
CHAPTER II The Growth of the Reading Schools
In order that we may look ahead in planning a school building program, we must first study the past growth of the community and its schools. From these trends we can then prophesy with some degree of accuracy what we may expect by way of school needs in the near 'future. For this purpose we will study the growth of the population, the enrollment of the elementary schools, the junior high school grades, and the senior high school.
Growth of Population
The Town of Reading has had a very normal and steady growth since 1895. The following table will give an idea of the growth of pop- ulation at five year intervals.
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Figure No. 1
Growth of Population
5 year
Year
Population 4717
Increase
1895
1900
4969
252
1905
5682
713
1910
5/818
136
1915
6805
987
1920
7439
634
1925
8693
1254
1930
9747
1054
35 year increase, 5,030.
This table shows how steadily the town of Reading has grown during the past thirty-five years. Within this period the population has more than doubled. The increase for each five year period has varied from 136 to 1,254, yet the progress is increasingly upward.
It is impossible, and perhaps it is presumptuous to attempt to prophesy what the population of Reading will be by 1940 or 1950.
Many unknown factors may enter into the future development of any community. However, for our study it may be safe to assume that the apparently healthy and normal growth of the past ten to twenty-five years may continue. The following figure is an attempt to show this in graphic. form.
Growth of Population
Fig. No. 2.
17000
1 6000
Estimated increase by
15000
1940 = 12 768
/4000
13000
1950= 16726
12000
10000
9000
8000
7000
Rate of growth
6000
31%
5000
4000
-
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
1925
1930
1935
1940
1945
1950
109
This graph shows in the heavy line how the population has grown for the last thirty-five years. The dotted line shows the estimated growth on the assumption that the rate of 31 per cent for the past twenty-five years will continue for the next twenty. This estimate, which I believe is a very conservative one, would give us a population of 12,768 by 1940 and of 16,726 by the year 1950. The present popula- tion is 9747 and the total school enrollment, as of December 1929, was 2167 pupils. If this same ratio of pupils in school to the total popula- tion of the town continues, we should expect, according to this esti- mated population by 1940, about 2836 pupils and by 1950 at least 3512 pupils. However, this ratio is constantly changing as the schools in- variably grow faster than does the population. To illustrate this point : The school enrollment in 1920 was 1586 and the population was 7,437 This ratio applied to the present population would have given us only 1945 pupils while we actually have 2167 as of December 1929. There- fore, we must expect more than the estimated 2836 by 1940 and 3512 by 1950. Let us now see what a study of the growth of enrollment of the schools will indicate.
Growth of Total School Enrollment
In making a study of the enrollment of pupils in the public schools, it has been found best not to go back to the years included in the period of the late war. Attendance at school, especially in the high school, was so influenced that for the purpose of this investigation data will be used beginning with the school year 1919-20. The following table will show the figures taken from the annual school reports since that date.
Figure No. 3
Year
Total Enrollment
Annual Loss Or Gain
1920
1586
+66
1921
1548
-38
1922
1701
+153
1923
1749
+39
1924
1806
+66
1925
1927
+121
1926
2082
+155
1927
2025
-57
1928
2042
+67
1929
2167
+125
Net increase for 10 years
631
Percentage of increase 39.7
110
It will be noticed that there has been an actual loss of enroll- ment in only two instances during the ten years. Each of the other years shows a positive gain of from 39 to 155 pupils. The net gain for the ten years is 631 pupils or a rate of 39.7 per cent.
For purposes of approximating the number of pupils who may have to be housed within the next ten and twenty years, we will as- sume that the same rate of growth in enrollment will continue. This estimate can best be shown by the graph printed below as figure 4.
Growth of Total School Enrollment Fig. No. 4
4400
4200
10 year Rate of Increase 39.7%
4 000
3800
Estimated Enrollment 1940 - 3027 Pupils
3600
3400
3200
1950- 4228 Pupils
3000
2800
2600
2400
2200
2000
1800
1600
1 400
11920
in 1921
51922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
.1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1745 11949
1950
As the rate of increase in school enrollment is greater than the rate of increase in population we find that the estimated number of pupils in 1940 is somewhat larger than the ratio of pupils to population predicted. It has also been found that the rate of increase itself tends to grow with the years. This is easily understood when we stop to consider the constant improvement of the schools. The junior high school movement has kept pupils on the average in school one year longer than before. Prosperity, industrial conditions, and the belief in the value of education are all important factors in the problem.
Therefore, it does not seem unreasonable to assume that by 1940 the town of Reading will have to provide for the housing of about 3027 pupils and by 1950 for approximately 4228 pupils.
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