USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1935 > Part 13
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General Control:
$ 350.00
Supplies-Supt's. Office
$ 345.63
350.00
Research and Professional Study 630.70
160.00
Printing
157.23
1,000.00
Other Expenses
1,259.87
6.00
Post Office Box
6.00
$ 1,866.00
TOTAL GENERAL CONTROL $ 2,399.43
Instruction:
$ 600.00
Supervision Expenses
$ 387.97
383.00
Prin. Office Expenses 411.43
2,915.00
Textbooks
3,324.28
5,384.00
Supplies 6,704.63
330.00
Supplementary Books
807.85
355.00
Commencement 331.61
990.00
Other Expenses of Instruction
1,239.34
-
$ 10,957.00
TOTAL INSTRUCTION
$ 13,207.11
166
Expended 1935
Est. Appro. 1936
Detail
Operation of Plant:
$ 1,445.00
Janitor's Supplies
$ 1,456.05
5,701.00
Fuel
7,271.21
1,113.00
Water and Sewer
1,108.34
1,631.00
Electricity
1,617.5.
425.00
Gas
419.37
493.00
Telephone
492.32
67.00
Freight and Drayage
65.52
300.00
Other Expenses of Operation
174.82
500.00
Grouard House
504.53
$ 11,675.00
TOTAL OPERATION
$13 110.21
Maintenance of Plant:
1,400.00
Grounds
$ 463.07
3,073.00
Buildings
3,624.83
647.00
Service Systems
2,403.76
373.00
Plumbing
924.71
320.00
Instructional Apparatus
479.52
55.00
Furniture
217.48
1,275.00
Other Expenses
690.15
190.00
Grouard House
1,478.59
4,385.00
W. P. A. work-Materials
$ 11,718.00
TOTAL MAINTENANCE OF PLANT $ 10,282.11
Capital Outlay:
$ 1,740.00
Alterations and Additions $ 1,393.10
830.00
Furniture
260.86
380.00
Instructional Apparatus
200.00.
Other Outlay
1,150.57
$ 3,150.00
TOTAL CAPITAL OUTLAY
$ 2,804.53
167
Expended 1935
Est. Appro. 1936
Detail
Auxiliary Agencies:
$ 8,000.00
Transportation $ 6,290.09
342.00
Tuition to other schools 208.00
$ 8,342.00
TOTAL AUXILIARY AGENCIES
$ 6,498.09
Co-ordinate Activities:
$ 125.00
Compulsory Attendance $ 48.15
39.00
Medical Service 35.49
280.00
Nurse Service 291.91
$ 444.00
TOTAL CO-ORDINATE ACTIVITIES $ 375.55
Fixed Charges:
$ 2,862.00
Insurance
$ 3,013.44
$ 51,014.00
TOTAL GENERAL MAINTENANCE $ 51,672.97
$235,676.05
GRAND TOTAL
$217,217.31
AGRICULTURAL ACCOUNT :
$ 2,951.08
Salaries
$ 2,389.44
150.00
Expenses
114.53
-
$ 3,101.03
TOTAL AGRICULTURE
$ 2,503.97
$ 1,100.00
INDUSTRIAL TUITION
$ 471.72
168
CHANGE IN PERSONNEL-1935
-
Left :
Josephine M. Barlow (deceased) E. Frances Greenhalgh (deceased)
High School-English
March
High School-Commercial March
Addie A. Copeland (deceased)
Center School May
Henry J. Downes
High School-Coach June
Mercie V. Nichols
Art Supervisor June
Raymond W. Blaisdell
Jr. High Principal June
A. Louise Fogg
Highland School June
Elizabeth Larkin
Highland School June
A. Louise Breeze
Center School June
Helen L. Frost
Abigail H. Mingo
Ida C. Lucas (deceased)
Ethel S. Williams (deceased)
Jr. High-Commercial Nov.
Beatrice Bryden
Highland School-Sec. Nov.
Josephine Carleton
Chestnut Hill School Dec.
Appointed :
Miriam Tilden
Jr. High-Science Jan
Highland School Jan.
Sec. to Superintendent August
Josephine Fowler
Attendance Supervisor
Sept.
Edward P. Batchelder
High School-Coach
Sept.
Blanche Dufault
High School-Comm'1 Sept.
High School-Comm'1 Sept.
Robert F. Perry
Jr. High-Principal Sept.
Margaret Leviston
Jr. High-Art Sept.
Louise Borden
Highland School Sept.
Pauline D. Farrell
Opportunity School Sept.
Mary L. Macken
Highland School Sept.
Esther Hallington
Center School Sept.
Jeanne Sweetland
Center School Sept.
Jean Wiens
High School-English Sept.
Hildegard Goranson
Jr. High-Commercial
Nov.
169
Jr. High-Art June Sec. to Supt., Attend. Super. July High School-Comm'1 Geog. Nov.
Anne Gutman
Ruth C. Roberts
Elizabeth MacIver
TEACHERS IN SERVICE, DECEMBER 31, 1935, WHERE EDUCATED, YEAR APPOINTED Showing Attendance and Enrollment for Year Ending June 22, 1935 and Enrollment for October 1, 1935
School
Name of Teacher
Appointed Year
Grade or Subjects Taught
Graduate of
Total
Membership
Average
Average
Attendance
Per cent of
Attendance
Enrollment
Oct. 1, 1935
Arthur E. Pierce .
1934
Superintendent of Schools.
*Mass. State, B.S .; Harvard, Ed.M.
2,496
2,281.47 2,102.22
91.20
2,340
Josephine L. Fowler
1935
Supervisor of Attendance .
Buffalo Normal School . B. U., A.B ..
Ruth C. Roberts .
1935
Sec'y to Superintendent ..
Hope R. Williamson
1931
School Committee Clerk.
B. U., Sec. Cert.
Verna L. Wadleigh
1927
Dir. Research and Guidance
*B. U. 3 yrs; Harvard Grad. School.
Philip W. Althoff.
1927
Dir. Phys. Ed. and Athletics
Mabel M. Brown.
1921
Director Health .
Springfield College, B.P.E ... B. U., B.S.Ed; Mass. Memor. Hosp. Reading High School
Ruth Froberg.
1935
Clerk
Charles R. Henderson, M.D
Medical Inspector
583
528
494.35
93.19
573
Rudolf Sussman.
1917
Principal
Myrtle W. Tilton. .
1926
Secretary.
Edward P. Batchelder
1935
Coach, History
Elizabeth A. Batchelder.
1915
Com. English, and Type.
Clarissa I. Brown.
1924
English
Elva A. Buckley .
1924
Shorthand and Type. .
*Bay Path Inst ..
A. Imrie Dixon.
1930
History
Ohio Wesleyan, A.B .; Harvard, M.A.
Alberta F. Drury.
1917
*Posse Normal, Salem Normal
Blanche M. Dufault
1935
Helen M. England. .
1929
Helene M. Ernst
1931
German, History
*Radcliffe, A.B. .
Joseph F. Fitzgerald .
1929
History, Geometry
Luke Halpin.
1922
Mathematics.
Mildred Holden .
1934
Latin .
Mt. Holyoke, A.B .. Univ. of Missouri, A.B.
Lillian H. Jenkins
1930
Biology, Physics, Science.
Elizabeth J. MacIver
1935
Arith. Shorthand, and Type.
Florence G. Nichols.
Physical Ed. High and Elem.
Samuel A. W. Peck.
Music-High and Jr. High .
Frederick J. Pope .
1922
Chemistry and Physics. French.
*B. U., A.B., A.M .. Colby, B.S .; Harvard, Ed.M. Wellesley, A.B ..
Marian T. Pratt. ..
1919
Carmen Simon
1928
French and English
*B. U., A.B., M.A. Mass. State College, B.S.
Hermon T. Wheeler
1924
Jean M. Wiens. .
1935
Agriculture . English and Public Speaking.
*Ripon College, Univ. of Wisconsin, A.B., Emerson College of Oratory, B.L.I ..
602
569.92
521.08
92.03
591
Jr. High . .
Robert F. Perry.
1935
Doris Skinner.
1925
Principal Secretary
United States Naval Academy, B.S. Chandler Secretarial .
High
Conn. Ag., B.S. Agr .; B. U., B.S.Ed .. Reading High School.
*Tufts, B.S. Salem Nor .; B. U., B.S.Ed. Gorham Nor .; B. U., B.S.Ed.
Bookkeeping and Penmanship. Shorthand and Type. .
*Plymouth Normal, B.E .. Radcliffe, A.B., A.M.
English .
*Boston College, A.B .. Bowdoin, A.B .; B. U., A.M
*B. U., P. A. L., B.S.
1929 1931
Sargent School; B. U., B.S.
Membership
School
Name of Teacher
Year
Appointed
Grade or Subjects Taught
Graduate of
Total
Membership
Average
Membership
Average
Attendance
Per cent of
Attendance
Enrollment
Oct. 1, 1935
Jr. High.
Natalie Cate.
1935
Clerk .
Reading High School.
*B. U. Grad. School, S.B., A.M.
34
32.02
30.32
94.71
Helen B. Bean ..
1931
English .
Wellesley, A.B ..
35
33.31
30.87
92.67
Marian D. Day ..
1925
Science.
Beverley High .
Lyman E. Fancy.
1918
Woodworking, Sketching
Mass. Normal Art
Hildegard E. Goranson.
1935
Bus. Training, Type., Spelling
32
30.68
29.28
95.60
Grace M. Harriman .
1928
Soc. Studies, Guidance
*Radcliffe, A.B .; Harvard, A.M.
28
26.97
25.31
93.73
Grace Heffron.
1930
English .
Tufts, A.B.
34
33.67
30.16
89.58
Genevieve P. Hook
1931
English, French, Latin
32
28.66
26.68
93.02
Louise B. Jenkins.
1920
Bridgewater Normal; B. U., B.S.Ed.
35
31.39
29.45
94.28
Margaret Leviston.
1935
Art
*B. U., B.S. Ed ..
35
33.99
25.52
87.75
Inez H. Lewis.
1923
Mathematics.
Gorham Normal
34
32.46
30.57
94.09
Helen T. McGill.
1928
English .
Wheaton, A.B.
31
30.05
28.17
93.72
Claudia Perry.
1928
English
29
28.63
26.42
93.16
Victor E. Pitkin.
1933
Social Studies.
*Clark Univ., A.B., A.M.
33
31.05
28.66
92.41
Dorothy Randall
1929
Mathematics.
Radcliffe, A.B.
29
28.76
26.07
90.62
Anna M. Reck ..
1928
Special Class.
Radcliffe, A.B.
Home Room
28
26.64
26.84
91.60
Special Class.
21
19.38
16.10
82.82
18
William A. Rich
1928
Mathematics.
*Salem Normal; B. U., B.S. Ed ..
31
28.51
26.50
92.09
Frances K. Shelly . .
1933
Home Economics.
Juniata College, B.S ..
37
33.37
29.24
89.32
Margaret E. Tyacke
1926
Phys. Ed. and Hygiene.
Girls High Sch., Boston; Harvard Summer.
34
31.87
29.50
92.00
John M. Woodbridge, Jr.
1930
Social Studies, Bus. Practice
30
28.51
25.42
95.35
Halden L. Harding
1927
Grades 3 and 4. .
Salem Normal.
*39
37.53
34.29
91.56
M. Grace Wakefield .
1890
Prin. Hld., Center, Union
874
802.67
742.45
91.80
Alice Arsenault.
1935
Secretary.
Reading High School.
39
35.95
35.42
98.52
41
Louise Borden
1935
Grade 6.
Bridgewater Tchr. Col., B. U., B.S.Ed., M.E.
36
32.83
32.93
94.15
29
Lillian F. Brann.
Grade 5.
Farmington State Normal, 1 year
37
33.93
29.50
86.92
32
Marjorie Buckle.
1927
Physical Education
*Posse-Nissen School of Phys. Ed.
40
36.43
33.40
92.40
41
North Adams Normal.
37
34.00
31.33
92.07
34
Anne Gutman.
1935
Grade 5
*Bridgewater and Salem Teachers College
39
38.10
35.69
93.65
42
Mary T. Macken.
1935
Grade 5
*Emmanuel College, A.B. .
32
30.23
26.51
87.54
29
George D. Anderson
1926
Mathematics
Walter E. Hawkes.
1933
Phys. Ed. and Hygiene
Springfield, B.S ..
Univ. Vermont, A.B .; Radcliffe, A.M.
Social Studies
Miriam Tilden ..
1935
General Science .
*Bridgewater Normal, B.S. Ed.
Salem Normal. .
Dorothy Allard .
1927
Hist., Sci., Reading
Salem Normal.
1930
Matilda J. Gamble
1920
Grade 5
*Woburn High School.
Carolyn C. Grace.
1919
History
*Harvard, A.B., Ed.M .; Harv. Bus., M.B.A.
36* 809
Highland . . . .
Radcliffe, A.B.
B. U., C.L.A., B.S.
TEACHERS IN SERVICE, DECEMBER 31, 1935, WHERE EDUCATED, YEAR APPOINTED
Showing Attendance and Enrollment for Year Ending June 22, 1935 and Enrollment for October 1, 1935
School
Name of Teacher
Year
Appointed
Grade or Subjects Taught
Graduate of
Total
Membership
Average
Membership
Average
Attendance
Per cent of
Attendance
Enrollment
Oct. 1, 1935
lighland ....
Helena Markham.
1934
Grades 3 and 4.
*Framingham Normal.
30
27.37
25.66
92.39
31
Florence Potter . .
1925
Grade 5.
Plymouth, N. H. Normal.
39
35.36
32.40
91.63
42
Annie W. Quillen.
1916
Grade 6.
Salem Teachers College .
35
34.36
31.42
92.20
34
Margaret Scullane.
1934
Grade 6.
*Lowell State Teachers College.
38
35.52
33.45
94.04
36
Florence Thackleberry .
1931
Grade 6.
*Plymouth Normal, Boston University.
31
28.29
25.81
91.36
24
*Not
includ-
ed in
602
above.
Mary M. Walsh ..
1934
Grade 6.
*Westfield Normal; B. U., B.S. Ed ..
32
30.05
28.67
95.10
33
Margaret Whittier
1916
Music Grades 1-6.
*Salem Normal.
Pauline D. Farrell.
1935
Lower Opportunity
*Salem Normal. .
21
19.31
17.35
89.85
16
Center.
Dorothy L. Cronin .
1933
Grade 2.
*Lowell St. Teachers College, B.S.
43
37.33
34.88
93.44
23
Helen Donnelly .
1933
*B. U., B.S. Ed., Ed.M .
36
34.10
32.45
93.18
26
Esther Hallington
1935
Grade 1.
33
29.88
26.64
89.13
27
Edna Lounsbury
1930
Grade 3.
45
39.54
35.95
90.89
36
Norma Perkins ..
1928
Grade 4.
*Salem Normal.
40
37.41
34.07
91.10
34
Jeanne Sweetland
1935
Grade 3.
45
37.49
34.82
91.98
39
Winifred Cochrane.
1920
Plymouth N. H. Normal .
41
37.35
33.82
90.57
38
Glenna Dow.
1919
Grade 2.
33
29.44
24.70
86.61
35
Alberta Mathieson.
1924
Grade 2.
Salem Normal. .
33
30.88
27.70
89.99
36
owell St ....
1920
*Danvers High School
36
32.67
30.71
93.83
30
Dorothy Burgess.
1926
Grade 1
52
38.26
32.75
85.16
39
Doris Cleary.
1927
Grade 2.
40
34.55
31.28
90.83
30
Isabel Winchester
1928
Grade 3.
36
34.44
31.19
90.69
38
Prospect. St ...
Ada Dow.
1908
Grade 3, Principal.
Emerson, Lowell Nornfal
33
29.40
26.54
91.64
38
Jessie Goddard.
1926
Grade 2.
Bridgewater Normal .
45
39.66
36.17
91.06
43
Velma Herrick
1927
Grade 1.
Perry Kindergarten Normal
48
40.30
35.16
89.39
29
Olive Perry.
1916
Grade 4.
40
36.32
34.09
93.68
27
Irene Royea.
1928
Grades 1 and 2, Principal.
*Aroostock State Normal, 1 yr ..
40
33.84
29.86
88.35
26
tJosephine Carleton
1932
Grades 3 and 4.
Lowell Normal; B. U., B.S. Ed. .
28
23.91
22.30
93.54
31
Total Elementary .
1,311
* Have taken extra courses for credit in 1935.
Resigned December 31, 1935.
nion St. ...
Alice D. Berry .
1927
Grade 1.
Wheelock School; B. U., B.S. Ed.
39
37.52
37.88
94.41
36
Bridgewater Normal .
Grade 1
*Caribou High, Emerson 1 yr.
Nellie Beaton .
Grade 4, Principal.
Lesley Normal ..
*Salem Normal.
*Salem Normal.
Wheelock Kindergarten School.
Chestnut Hill
1,176
Opportunity
*Framingham Nor .; B. U., B.S. Ed.
15
Helen D. Stockwell
1930
Opportunity
Grade 4.
R. I. State Teachers, B. Ed.
*Salem Normal
above.
*Not in- cluded in 591
ni
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, 1935
To the School Committee,
Reading, Massachusetts
Dear Sirs :
I present herewith my second annual report, it being the forty-third of the series of reports issued by the superintendent of the public schools of this town.
The year for me has been a happy one. The pleasure of working with the people of Reading, the school staff, and with yourselves has more than fulfilled my anticipations. I said in my last report that the schools of Reading are good schools. The past year has made me even more sure of that statement. Weaknesses do, of course, exist. Some of them have been discovered and at least partly overcome. We are at work on others.
The year has also had its sorrowful aspect, for the death of the teachers mentioned elsewhere was a sad blow to all their associates and to the children and people of the town. We who worked with them can but take further inspiration from the monument of unselfish ser- vice that they erected during life.
In the remainder of my report I shall attempt to set forth what I believe to be the state of the schools. In so doing, I shall incorporate the essential elements of the reports of the other supervisory and depart- ment officers. As a measure of economy, their reports will not appear as such.
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Our tests early in the school year of 1934-1935 revealed a weakness in arithmetic fundamentals. An intensive remedial program was put into operation with the result that the tests given in April, 1935 showed all grades to be up to standard and all except one grade to be well above standard. This one grade, the fifth, had, however, in ten months gained eleven months over the April, 1934 test. The present seventh grade, last year's sixth, made much better scores on the Junior High School tests given in September than have previous groups. The Junior High School teachers report the group better prepared.
The reading test showed all but one grade to be above standard, and that grade was at standard.
This does not mean, of course, that all children were up to stand- ard, but that the median marks for each grade were. A program of remedial work in reading and in arithmetic is in operation, and through it we hope to overcome many of the weaknesses of those children who are behind.
173
An English test given to the sixth grade in September showed that grade median to be well up to standard. Some of the groups were surprisingly high. The principal weakness was found to be in punctua- tion, and steps have been taken to overcome that weakness.
Arithmetic
It has long been felt that many phases of arithmetic have been placed too early in the grades to be at the level of the mental maturity of the children. Recent scientific investigations have borne out this be- lief. Because of this and because of the arithmetic weakness mentioned above, a committee on arithmetic was appointed in November, 1934. That committee made a thorough-going study of grade placement, methods, and textbooks. Its study was completed early in the present school year. Its conclusions resulted in the stepping-up to a higher grade of certain phases of the work; i. e., long division from the fourth to the fifth grade, division of fractions from grade five to grade six, etc. The function of grades one and two will be to provide, through inform- al teaching, a background of understanding that will make numbers have real meaning, and, so, not be mere abstractions.
The study also resulted in the selection of a new basal book which fits in with the revised course of study. It is hoped that with the aid of this book and the new course a better mastery of the fundamentals will result, and that it will come with less strain to the children.
Reading
There was also appointed a committee on reading to deal particular- ly with the first three grades. The primary purpose was to choose a new basal text. The book in use was too heavy in its vocabulary and held little interest for the children. Some of its methods were open to question.
The reading committee completed its study in November. A new basal series for grades one through three was selected. The book is attractive to children, has interesting reading material, and a lighter, yet adequate, vocabulary. The teachers are all enthusiastic about the new book. Good results should come from it.
I wish here to pay tribute to the members of the reading com- mittee under the chairmanship of Miss Wadleigh, and of the arithmetic committee under the chairmanship of Mr. George Anderson of the Ju- nior High School, for the long hours of painstaking and thorough work they did in arriving at their conclusions. You will be interested to know that the charts they prepared in analyzing various textbooks have since been used in education classes at Harvard and Boston University as examples of good textbook analysis. A list of the members of the various committees appears elsewhere.
A great deal of work has also been done on the social studies, and an English committee is now at work.
174
General
It became necessary in September to reopen the class that was closed several years ago in the Opportunity School. This means that a larger number of children are now getting an opportunity to do work commensurate with their ability. It means, also, that the regular class- raom teachers do not have to spend such a disproportionate part of their time in attempting to help those same children do work for which they are not ready.
In the Highland School, a new curtain that has very much im- proved the appearance of the auditorium has been purchased for the stage. It was paid for almost entirely with money earned by the school. Mr. Everett Hall of Reading deserves our thanks for his help in getting this curtain.
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Raymond Blaisdell's resignation, to accept a position in Newton, deprived Reading of the services of a fine personality and a splendid educator. He has built well and soundly. The good repute of the Read- ing Junior High School is due largely to his understanding and fore- sight. What was Reading's loss was Newton's gain. Mr. Blaisdell has the sincere best wishes of his fellow-workers and townsmen of Reading for his success and happiness in his new work.
What was Nashua's loss is Reading's gain, for we are most fortu- nate in having secured Mr. Robert F. Perry, formerly of Nashua, to succeed Mr. Blaisdell. Mr. Perry is well fitted by training, experience. and, most important, by personality, to carry on and forward the work of our Junior High School. He has already won a place in the respect and admiration of his associates and of his pupils.
Typewriting
All information that we can get indicates that typewriting is of little value in the junior high school, particularly as most pupils now go on to the high school. Efficiency in typewriting demands continual practice. It has been offered but twice a week in our Junior High School to the commercial pupils of the eighth and ninth grades. This is not sufficient time to make for proficiency in operative skill. It has been found that the typewriting pupils in the High School who have not had the work in the Junior High School become just as proficient as those who have had it. No added time for the work can be justified in the Junior High School, for the work in the introductory course in general business training demands the time and is of more ultimate value. Furthermore, the upkeep of typewriters and equipment makes the work too expensive for the results it obtains.
175
Upon my recommendation, you voted to eliminate the typewriting in grade eight for this year. I now recommend that it be eliminated. from grade nine for the school year 1936-37.
Committees
The school staff has, since September, been organized into com- mittees to study the following questions :
1. General administration, particularly as it relates to pupil ac- counting, business accounting, the extra-curricula program, the home- room organization as it relates to guidance, and the administration and supervision of the school building as it relates to traffic, discipline, etc.
2. English-a part of the committee on English for all of the schools-with particular reference to reorganization of the course of study and a choice of new basal texts, and to making good English function at all times, as well as in the English class.
3. Social studies, for the purpose of further revision of the guide sheets, units of work, and methods of procedure. It is hoped that where the work has, in some instances, been too heavy for some of the pupils, it will be possible to simplify it.
Guidance
Further efforts are being made to improve the system of guidance as carried on by the homeroom teachers. With no full-time guidance specialist, a large part of the work must be handled by the teachers. Good work is being done, and it will be improved. The vocational as- pect of the guidance is playing an increasingly minor part in the junior high school. It belongs more properly in the high school where the students are more nearly ready to enter into regular employment.
Arithmetic Fundamentals
The Junior High School does not neglect the fundamentals. In connection with our arithmetic study, we found that the class entering that school in 1934 was well below norm in arithmetic. Through work in the remedial and regular classes, the teachers in one year brought this class to a medium norm that indicated three year's growth in mas- tery of the fundamentals.
HIGH SCHOOL
College Preparatory Work
We recognize the need for offering to the pupils of the high school who are not going to college a broad and varied program of studies in order to meet their various needs and interests. At the same time, we must be sure that those who are going to college have adequate and proper preparation. Apparently, such is the case, for all college board examinations attempted in June were passed, in one instance with honor
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grades. Those colleges that admit on certificate have not hesitated to renew our certification privilege. The record in college of last year's graduating class is a creditable one.
College entrance requirements are changing. In many instances, the number of specified subjects has been lowered, and some colleges have done away with all subject requirements and admit pupils on the basis of demonstrated power. This trend should have beneficial effects, for it will broaden the scope of subjects that college preparatory pupils may take and still fulfill college requirements.
Social Studies
The social studies, those studies such as geography, history, civics, economics, sociology, etc., that deal with the efforts of men to get along economically and socially in their respective enviroments, are neces- sarily, in this age, coming to play an increasingly important part in the work of the schools. The High School program of studies in this field has been in process of development over a period of about five years. Further work is still necessary, but the students now have a rather wide scope of courses to choose from in making their elections. Each stu- dent is required to take some one of the social studies each year. They may now elect from the following : Ancient Civilization, World History, Modern History, American History and Government, Problems of Democracy, and Commercial Geography. It is hoped that further work in economics and sociology can be made available either by broadening the scope of the Problems of Democracy course or by adding other courses.
It is interesting to note that in our High School and in all schools the pupils have indicated over the past several years a decided increase in interest in the social studies. The elections in that field in our school have shown a marked trend upward.
Employment -1
Eventually we should have as an integral part of our program, work in vocational counseling, carried on by a trained worker and em- bracing employment aid to our students and graduates. Even without such a person, the High School is giving substantial help. I quote from Mr. Sussmann's report to me: "The school has placed many boys and girls in good positions during the past year. Time was when we had more demand for our young graduates, especially commercial students, than we could meet. The past year has shown an increase in student employment. The school keeps a fairly complete file of available stu- dents and jobs, for the use of employers and students."
The Building
The High School building is becoming increasingly inadequate, both from the point of view on housing the pupils and, also, of provid-
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ing facilities for work in physical education and in vocational or pre- vocational fields. Many pupils who used to drop out of school cannot now get employment. They are remaining in school. If present pro- posed legislation to raise the compulsory school age is enacted, it will, even in Reading, tend to keep other pupils in school. Our present High School offering is inadequate to their needs or interests. They are not academically minded. We must give consideration to providing facili- ties for a program of practical arts and other work that will be profit- able for them to pursue.
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