USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1939 > Part 19
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systems. The Junior High School is satisfactorily meeting the very difficult challenge of teaching and guiding young people in perhaps the most difficult period of youth and one which calls for the highest type of leadership.
PROGRESS IN THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
The Reading Senior High School enrolls the pupils from the Junior High School and those coming from North Reading. The faculty pro- vides for these students as rich a program of studies as is possible under the restricted facilities found in the building. When a student enters, he chooses a curriculum for which he has been prepared during the Junior High School years. Often he finds, during the first year in the Senior High School, that he wishes to change to another cur- riculum or to take certain general subjects that will meet his particular needs. Fortunately, the program of studies in our Senior High School is sufficiently flexible so that through the guidance of the Principal and homeroom teachers, a program for an individual student may be constructed which will give him the best educational opportunities we can provide.
Increased Enrollment
The facilities are becoming more restricted and limited year by year, due to the increasing numbers who come to the Senior High School. At present, the enrollment is 635 students, and by September the school will house over 700. Below will be found a table indicating the present enrollment for grades and also the enrollment estimated for 1940-41.
Senior
Feb. 1, 1940
1
High School
(Actual)
Sept. 1940 (Est. Minimum)
Post Grad.
22
30
.
Grade XII
177
220
Grade XI
220
216
Grade X
216
248
Total
635
714
A study of the above table will show that no allowances have been made for increases beyond the present student body. These increases are occurring in most of the secondary schools throughout the country. No longer is elementary or grammar school education believed to be a minimum essential for adulthood. The high school is rapidly giving an educational opportunity to all students. Thirty to forty years ago, most high schools enrolled between twenty and thirty per cent of the grammar school graduates. The rest went to work or became apprentices. Today one hundred per cent enroll in the high school,
262
and since this level of education is the most expensive, it has made a difficult financial problem for most communities in this country. In many places, particularly in the West, two educational years are being added to the senior high school. There, public education is offered through the junior college years at full public expense. Therefore, the problem which meets the taxpayers in Reading is a normal one and must be dealt with in the very near future.
Survey Indicates Increase
In the building survey made by Dean Jesse B. Davis of Boston University in 1930, there will be found a table indicating the growth of high school students in Reading. This table is reproduced below in order that we may appreciate the growth which has actually oc- curred over the last ten years and the significance of providing for future development.
GROWTH OF THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
1500
1400
10 year rate of increase 85.7%
1300
1200
Estimated future enrollment
1100
1000
900
800
1950 - 1394 pupils
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
1920
1921
1922
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
1948
1949
1950
The black line between 1930 and 1940 has been added to show the actual figures compared with the estimated ones made on Dr. Davis' graph. If the prediction in the next ten years is anywhere near as faithful to the actual experience as his prediction in the last ten years shows, the people of Reading face a serious problem in hous- ing the Senior High School students.
Limitations of the Present School Building
The present high school building was built to take care of 425 pupils as a maximum. Even by subtracting the 90 students from North Reading, our problem will not be solved. The assembly hall is inade- quate, and assembly programs have to be given on shifts. Until this years students had to be seated in the back of classrooms while reci-
263
Conservative Estimate 1000 pupils by 1950
1940 - 749 pupils
tations were conducted by another class in the front of the rooms. With a transfer of money to the Maintenance Budget the School Com- mittee was able to purchase 150 study chairs which were placed in the auditorium. The school administration then assigned to this audito- rium-study hall pupils who had formerly been trying to study in the back of the classrooms, thus aiding both the students who wanted to study and the students who then obtained the teachers' undivided attention in the classroom. This move, however, did not solve the assembly room problem. On the other hand, it did not restrict greatly the numbers who could get into the auditorium. The cafeteria facili- ties are entirely too small. Both boys and girls have to roam around the building eating or sit down on the gymnasium floor in order to find places in which to eat. The one small gymnasium in the school building has to be used by both boys and girls, and the program must be restricted to a minimum because of the lack of available time in which to conduct the number of classes which would give all the stu- ` dents an adequate physical development. Perhaps one of the great- est problems is the lack of facilities for domestic science and arts for girls and shopwork for boys. At present, these courses in a some- what limited form are being taught in the Junior High School build- ing. Senior High School pupils on the whole are more interested in staying with their companions in the Senior High School building- though they are taking courses which do not directly meet their needs -than to return to the Junior High School where the domestic arts rooms and the shops are at present. Their presence in the Junior High School also restricts the flexibility of the program in this school. There should also be a place adequate for music instruction. At pres- ent, it is conducted in what was once a library room. The instructor is working under a very limited program because of the restriction of both the building and the possible offerings which the students elect. There are no library facilities in the High School and there is no place to develop them. This is a serious drawback and necessarily restricts the assignment of supplementary and reference reading ma- terials which should be available in any modern secondary school. The classes are more crowded than will be found in the surrounding towns or in the State as a whole. There are twenty-five pupils in each class on the average, as compared with twenty-three in the nine towns which have been compared with Reading, and twenty-four which is the average of the State of Massachusetts as a whole. The High School Principal asks for a full-time library teacher, another practical arts teacher, an art teacher, and some additional teaching service in the field of music. The physical restrictions are important, but not as important as the restrictions placed upon the curricula and courses offered in the school program. The advantages of working with indi-
264
vidual differences among pupils can be adequate only when done in smaller classes.
A School Day in the High School
It is interesting to follow the pupils in the Reading High School to see how their time is distributed over an average day. Our largest enrollment this year was 660. Each pupil carries from four to five studies, making a total of around 3,000 pupil hours in classwork per day. Pupils are distributed so that 660 will be found in English classes, 232 in mathematics, 327 in languages, 693 in social studies, 246 in natural sciences, 836 in commercial subjects, 41 in industrial arts, 220 in art and music, 350 in physical education, and about 100 in athletic activities. Beyond this, the school supports a dozen organizations which absorb the interests of many pupils who wish to join them. There is no member of the High School staff or administration directly responsible for a unified program of guidance outside of the Principal of the school, whose many duties rob him of time and effort in this field. Last year a director of guidance or counselor was suggested but not hired. This year, four of the teachers are freed one period a day to consult with students on the various problems they meet. In the near future, there should be developed a guidance program ad- ministered by one person who will take full responsibility for its devel- opment. To an assistant or vice-principal should be delegated the necessity for checking the administrative routines in the building. This person could also give a large portion of his time to teaching. An arrangement of this sort would leave the Principal free to study the problem of instructional improvement and to unify the entire existing educational program in his school, so that he can lead the faculty as a whole to study and pursue the best practices in secondary education.
Athletics Take Upward Turn
The High School is experiencing an upturn in athletic activities. A year ago, the first basketball team won four games and lost eleven, but the second team won thirteen and lost two, giving it the co- championship of the Middlesex League with Lexington. This second team has become the first team of 1939-40, and has won to date eight games and lost none. We all hope that it is well on its way to the championship of the league.
The baseball, golf, and tennis show signs of increased success during the coming year.
The football season for 1939 began in a rather discouraging man- ner. The captain had a severe injury, and the school authorities had
265
to place restrictions on certain members of the squad. The Coach had a heavy teaching program, and the whole situation indicated that some help had to be obtained, or football had to be given up as a sport. The Committee felt a certain amount of responsibility for pro- viding the school and the team with such aid as would preserve the physical and character training which at least a fairly successful sea- son would provide. In order to meet the situation, an assistant coach of outstanding experience was obtained, and under his leadership and that of the regular coach, the squad took new courage. This resulted in a steady improvement of the team and permitted it to end its schedule by a victory over Stoneham on Thanksgiving morning. The value of meeting the situation in this way was not basically the win- ning of a game, but a strengthening of the attitudes and morale of the whole student body. The total expense for coaching football and the other sports which the football coach also supervised was $2,400. This included the cost of the instruction by the assistant coach, which was $500, and also the classroom instruction by the regular coach five periods a day throughout the year. The amount spent, therefore, for this athletic leadership is far less than is found in many of the neigh- boring towns and is generally below what is paid for one athletic coach alone. Another year, it may be possible to make other arrange- ments for meeting this situation.
Appreciation should be given to Dr. Charles R. Wakeling whose services in the physical conditioning of the players has materially lessened the possibility of accidents and has taught each boy the value of keeping himself at the peak of physical fitness.
--
SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS
Beyond the regular work of the classroom and the curricula activi- ties in the various schools, Reading is fortunate in having a number of special departments which make more effective the service rendered to the students.
Health
Among these departments, the most important is that of Health. The School Physician, the School Nurse, and the Director of Physical Education are constantly working for the best health conditions pos- sible in the Reading schools. The milk sold in the cafeterias and in the elementary classrooms is tested regularly each month for butter fat, solid material, and bacteria count. These reports indicate that our children are obtaining excellent milk which is a basic food for
266
all growing children. Throughout the schools, a health inventory is made. Approximately 2,100 pupils have taken the yearly health exami- nation up to the present time. Audiometer tests have been given from the third grade through the ninth, and those found with defective ears on the first test have been retested. Eye tests as usual have been given by the teachers, and children showing defective vision have been retested by the nurse with the aid of the Harrington machine. The need for, and value of, such a comprehensive check-up of every pupil each year is at times questioned. The health workers in Reading, however, feel that it is excellent health insurance and pays for itself in the end many times. On March 8 and 9 was conducted the annual registration of pre-school children,-those who would enter for the first time in September, 1939. Of these children, 116 were registered at the Pre-School Clinic. One hundred twenty-nine requested exam- ination and returned their physical record cards prior to school en- trance. The number of children entering school with physical defects corrected shows appreciable increase over last year. Absence due to contagious disease has been very small. Chief among these diseases, however, have been: scarlet fever, three cases; mumps, thirty cases ; and chicken pox, seven cases. The school nurse during the year has been giving health talks to the fifth and sixth grades and has super- vised the promotion of health habits in the first four grades. The work in the Junior High School is centered around physical hygiene in the seventh grade, physiology in the eighth, and physiology as it applies to daily living in the ninth. Though the Habit Clinic was dis- continued at the beginning of this school term, considerabld help has been obtained from the Chadwick Clinic. This clinic provides the tuberculum test. In February, seventy-two per cent of the Junior High School students were tested and eighty-two per cent of the Sen- ior High School students. One hundred and sixty-one were X-rayed and only one found to have a positive diagnosis. This case was recom- mended for sanitarium care. During the year, forty-two of the teach- ers availed themselves of the opportunity to obtain X-rays. Six diph- theria prevention clinics were held from March to May, and a total of 117 children made 351 visits to the clinic. There were forty-three or thirty-five per cent of the pre-school children recommended for tonsillectomy care at the summer tonsil clinic.
Dental Clinic Gives Important Service
The Dental Clinic under the auspices of the Reading Good Health Committee has given valuable aid in providing dental care at very low cost. Last year, with an additional day per week, 293 children were cared for. The Dental Clinic is very important, and since there is no dental association in Reading, the Good Health Committee has ren-
267
dered an outstanding service to the community in supporting this. worthwhile project.
Children Sent to Camps
During the summer, through the recommendation of the School Nurse two children were sent for six weeks each to Sharon, seven for two weeks each to the Salvation Army Camp, five for three weeks each to the Farrington Memorial Camp, and two for four weeks each to the Boy Scout Camp. The School Nurse has a full schedule of home visiting which is one of the most important phases of the school health program. On these visits, she acquaints parents with the spe- cific problems relating to their own children, Throughout the year, cooperation has existed between the School Nurse and the Visiting Nurse Association which has been of very valuable assistance.
Report of Physical Examinations
Dr. Charles R. Henderson, M.D., School Physician, has made the following report with reference to examinations he has conducted dur- ing the school year.
Physical Examinations 2,137
Toxoid Inoculations
School Children 74
Pre-School Children 43
117
Inoculations (Three Per Child)
School Children
222
Pre-School Children 129
351
Inspection (Calls at Schools)
1,307
Exclusions for Contagious Diseases
85
Examinations for Work 20
Art Department
During the year, the Supervisor of Art has attempted to make his subject an important part of pupils' activities throughout the ele- mentary school, and, in the Senior High School, has developed stu-
268
dents with special talents in art. The work of the High School Art Department has been of great value to young people going on in art courses. During the spring, High School students competed for art prizes and have been very successful. The Junior High School art instructor has adapted her work to the philosophy of the Junior High School in such a way as to make it possible for students who have any art talent to procure skilled guidance in the most formative period of youth. The Manual Training Department has also cooperated with the Art Department and has been of great assistance in combining design and an appreciation of form with the manual side of shopwork. There is need of an expansion of art experience in other media than painting and design. In a community which appreciates craftwork, our Art Departments should look forward to instruction in tool leather, hammered brass, aluminum spinning, jewelry, and ceramics.
Music Work Growing
The problem confronting the Director of Music is the develop= ment of tone and note reading in the elementary schools and that of instrumental and vocal music throughout the Junior and Senior High schools. For many students, music is a recreational experience and this has been taken into account in the excellent assembly programs. The High School program needs expansion and arrangements are being made to accomplish it. There should be offered not only instru- mental, glee club instruction, and appreciation courses, but a course in harmony and a capella singing included in the regular High School program. In other words, Reading schools have grown to the point where they need an organized music program under one head so that the most effective results may be obtained. During the year, students from the Reading High School have gone to youth concerts in Boston, and have cooperated in the programs of the Civic Symphony Orchestra.
Attendance Department
The Attendance Officer has performed excellent service in collect- ing data relative to school absences. If a child is absent more than two days, he is reported to the Attendance Officer. If, however, the absence is due to illness, a report is made to the School Nurse. One or the other visits the child and gives what aid is needed. The At- tendance Officer reports that the chief reasons for a child being out of school are illness and certain psychological difficulties. These diffi- culties include misunderstanding of the work to be done in school.
269
combined with the timidness which prevents asking for an explanation ; absence due to lack of food or clothes; and far too often an indiffer- ence and careless attitude toward the need of coming to school. The Attendance Officer reports 18 calls a week in the interests of getting pupils in school. Eighty-five boys and fifty-two girls have received working certificates during 1939. The Supervisor reports that many of the boys and girls need domestic science or industrial arts training. The less book-minded students should be in classes which are organ- ized to meet their individual needs. The Welfare Department and the Reading Visiting Nurse Association are to be complimented for their cooperation with the Attendance Officer.
1
Cooperating Agencies
During the year, the W. P. A. officers supervised many valuable projects which have been important in the physical development of the school plant. This organization has always been most helpful and willing whenever it could do something for the schools. The grounds at the east of the Highland School were remade and resown by this organization. They have helped at carpentry work in the High School, painting in the various elementary schools, and have been of valuable assistance on the school grounds. The Welfare Department has co- operated with the school administration whenever they have been called upon and have given valuable assistance.
The picture of the Reading schools which I have tried to draw for you and for the citizens of the Town has been rather general in nature, but I hope it brings to you a record of what has been done though it had to be made by one who has had only four month's ac- quaintance with the Reading school system. I wish to thank you as mem- bers of the School Committee for the helpful suggestions and hearty support you have given me in understanding the common problems we are meeting in the interests of educational service to the children of the taxpayers of this Town. I hope I shall, as time goes on, become of increasing value to the school system and help bring about a con- tinuingly increased service to the youth of Reading.
Respectfully submitted, E. C. GROVER
270
Age-Grade Table-October 1, 1939
Age
Opportunity
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
P. G.
Total
5 Years
64
64
6
97
53
150
"
14
105
40
159
8
2
3
17
92
45
159
9
2
4 14
92
48
1
161
10
3
3
22
91
46
1
166
11
4
7
29
89
53
182
12
3
1
9
25
89
55
1
183
13
1
1 15
22
69
88
7
203
14
1
2
14
35
79
94
4
229
15
"
1
3 13
24
85
100
2
"
3
7
28
82
77
1 198
17
1
1
2
8
26
74
16
128
18
"
3
7
23
8
41
19
"
1
1
1 3
20
"
21 and over
1
1
Total
15
178
179
149
168
179
178
183
176
201
225
220
177
27
2,255
"
7
"
"
"
"
"
228
16
COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES READING HIGH SCHOOL Class of 1939
Shepardson, Hall, Reading, Mass. WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE SEVENTH Eight O'clock
OVERTURE-"Pomp and Chivalry" Roberts
High School Orchestra
AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL Bates
Audience and Senior Class
PRAYER-Rev. E. Leslie Shaw
Salutatory "DARE TO BE A DANIEL" Jean Eleanor Marstaller TORCH ORATION Richard Belgrade Knudson, Class President
PIANO SOLO-Impromptu in C Sharp Minor Rheinhold
Marjorie T. Jewett ESSAY Tercentenary of Reading Dorothy Evelyn Macmann Faculty Honors ESSAY Building Ethical Standards in a High School Richard Earle Stratton Class Honors CONFERRING SCHOLASTIC HONORS Rudolf Sussmann, Head Master VIOLIN SOLO
Allegro Brilliante
Tenhave
Dorothy Margaret Harrow Valedictory "Initiate-Don't Imitate" Ruth Pollitz CONFERRING DIPLOMAS Frank D. Tanner, Chairman of School Board GOD BLESS AMERICA Berlin
Audience and Senior Class BENEDICTION-Rev. E. Leslie Shaw
Mendelssohn
RECESSIONAL-Priests' March from Athalia" High School Orchestra
272
Accounting Course
Albert V. Blasi Everett W. Brown
Frederick Jackson Burrows Louise May Clarke Charles Richard Dacey
James Arthur Heselton Ralph Thomas Meuse George Francis Powell Phillip Frederick Sears Richard James Snyder
John Roy Tebbetts
Civic Preparatory Course
Benjamin Gerry Beaudry Austin Fred Bennett, Jr.
Annette Murray Benton
G. Cleveland Blaisdell, Jr. Francis Gordon Brennan Edith Phyllis Brown Alfred J. Burbine Harriett Claire Cahill
Orrin Lloyd Chisholm
Albert Levi Dinsmore
Frank Bean Dinsmore
Eva Mildred Doucette Guy Wilbert Ellison, Jr. Thirza Alice Fisher Dorothea Ann Galvin
Carl Edward Gilman Lawrence Amory Goodwin Warren Dabney Goodwin Doris Jenny Gray
Beatrice Mary Griffin Aileen Agnes Herrick Arthur F. Hopkins, Jr. Astrid Linnea Johnson Lennart Anders Johnson
Ruth Ellen Johnson Raymond Lloyd King Marjorie Elizabeth Mack Newell Grant Mac Kenzie Theresa Mary McGrath Myles O'Donnell Irene Reattia Orben
Robert Wilson Pratt Harold Allen Richardson Margaret Rigione Mary Vera Robbins
Catherine Elizabeth Tebeau
Kenneth Raymond Turner Edward Howard Watson
Classical Course
Dorothy Evelyn Macmann Ruth Pollitz
Clerical Course
Blanche Veronica Koptuck Gertrude MacMillan Mildred Marie Murphy
Jean Marie Nichols Effie Grace Wildon
College Course
Andrew James McLaughlin Edith Marie Olson Carl Walker Pinkham, Jr. Polly Parker Stembridge Irene Louise Sztucinski
Damon D. Van Buskirk Frank Haynes Weeks
Kenyon Irving Hicks
Carmela Cannuli Claire Irma DeLong Alice Gertrude Gill Marion Eleanor Gray Dorothy Margaret Harrow
Pauline Hussey Bertocci Marion Louise Call Norma Esther Charles Kenneth Melzar Coombs John Duncan Hilchey Lawrence Ashley Macleod Jean Eleanor Marsteller
273
Fine Arts Course
Richard Belgrade Knudson Elizabeth Mary Merrill Bertha Olive Page
Normal Course
Gordon Abbott
Richard Charles Austin
Edward Paul Bradley
Marjorie Redfield Clarke
Dorothy Emilene Colburne
Eleanor Mae Madden
Helen Mary Connelly
Marjorie Crosby
Barbara Francina Marshall Robert H. Morrissey Roger Calvin Mussells
Marian Goodridge
Edward Winslow Greenlaw
Marjorie T. Jewett
Alma Elizabeth Putnam
Jane Morrison Tanner
Linda Twombly
Practical Arts Course
Joseph Edward Arsenault
Mildred Mary Arsenault Marion Bassett
Harold Alfred Melendy
Edward Joseph Perry
May Evelyn Peters
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