USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1944 > Part 11
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Ada E. Dow Principal, Grade 3 Lowell Normal; Emerson Col .; Boston Univ. (1909)
Alice D. Berry Grade 1 Bridgewater Normal; Boston Univ. (1927)
Doris R. Cleary Grade 2 Salem Normal; Univ. of Maine; Hyannis T. C .; Mass. Univ. Ext. B.S. Ed. (1927)
Grace Gifford Grade 1
Wheelock School; Boston Univ. (1943)
Helena Markham Grade 4 Framingham Normal; Boston Univ. (1934)
Chestnut Hill School
Irene Royea Principal, Grades 1 and 2 Aroostook State Normal; Boston Univ. (1928)
Clara A. Anderson Grades 3 and 4
Gorham Normal School; Boston Univ. (1944)
144
ANNUAL REPORT REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, 1944
To the School Committee, Reading, Massachusetts
Mrs. Earley, Mrs. Milton, and Gentlemen :
Herewith please find my sixth annual report as Superintendent of Schools, which is the fifty-second of a series of annual reports relative to the work in the Public Schools of Reading.
HERITAGE AND TRADITION
The 300th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Read- ing has given us cause to reflect upon the rich traditions of our com- munity and the unique heritage which is ours. This is particularly significant when we take into account that educational institutions are primary factors in keeping this heritage alive and making it a firm foundation for building wisely both in the present and future.
The schools of Reading have taken a major part in the develop- ment of the community. Though not one of the first communities to establish free public schools, Reading, nevertheless, has supported edu- cation since 1693. The School Committee of today, employing a full time Superintendent to carry out its policies, is a long way from the Committee of that earlier day composed of men who inspected all the grades in the schools of the Town. The present high standard of the schools would have been impossible had not the Town appreci- ated the need of electing outstanding citizens to the School Committee. Such men as Horace G. Wadlin, Walter S. Parker, Dr. Hunt (who later became Superintendent of Schools of Portland, Maine) continu- ally brought to Reading, teachers and principals of the best training and scholarship available at the time. A study of the School Reports before 1893, written by the School Committee, reveals a strikingly modern point of view running through the pages of each volume. These people devoted much time to studying and evaluating educa- tional procedure, and their findings furnished a guide of the highest order to the teachers and the Town.
145
THE SCHOOLS TODAY
Reading Schools today are serving the educational needs of 2,189 pupils as recorded for state statistics on October 1, 1944. These pu- pils are distributed as follows :
High School 508
Junior High School
524
Seniors 138
9th Grade 150
Juniors 170
8th Grade
183
Sophomores 200
7th Grade 191
Elementary Schools .... 1156
All Schools
2189
Schools
Grades 1
2
3
4
5
6 Total
Chestnut Hill
13
23
12
15
63
Highland
40
33
28
34
103
100
337
Lowell
43
27
27
32
129
Pearl
Opp. 33
92
75
70
62
65
61
458
Prospect
71
39
35
24
169
TOTAL
33
259
197
172
167
168
161 1156
At the opening of school, September 1944, the first grade in High- land School enrolled 40 pupils, the first grade in Lowell Street 43 pupils, and the first grade in the Prospect School 67 pupils. The fourth grade in the Prospect School had to be transferred to the Con- ference Room in the Junior High School and an additional first grade teacher had to be added to the Prospect School faculty. If the rapid growth of younger children continues in this district, another room must be opened (probably in the Junior High School) which means that the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades will have to be more closely organized than at present. This cannot go on indefinitely without loss of educational opportunity for the Junior High School youth.
Staff Studies School Problems
The Superintendent's Staff during the year has held meetings and discussions for improvement of instruction in the Reading Schools. Among the subjects at staff meetings were the following: Develop- ment of leadership, Expansion of health services, Effective learning procedures, The teaching of inter-racial and inter-cultural relationships, and an analysis of post war needs of youth.
Conditions of Physical Plant
Strict economy has been observed in the operation and maintenance of the school plant. This has been done partly because of high labor and material costs and partly because of the need for increasing salaries to meet the ever mounting cost of living which the teachers face. Build- ing maintenance, however, will not stand still. There has been little painting since the days of WPA and the outside of many school build- ings are much in need of paint to preserve them. Further delay will
146
be costly. Unless the football field is repaired, it will deteriorate rapidly. The surface of the driveways and parking place at the Junior High School has broken up so that major repairs are necessary im- mediately. Educational furniture must be bought for the increased number of pupils in the elementary schools. The stress on vocational education by the Government necessitates the purchasing of machines and equipment which will make it possible for our youth to enter the Armed Forces prepared so they may compete with pupils from other secondary schools. Any surplus of supplies has been used up and much equipment needs to be repaired. These things cost more money today than formerly but they hold their value by their use in the edu- cation of our youth.
Teacher Turnover
Sixteen new teachers have been employed this year and the resig- nations of two more teachers have been received recently. This turn- over is due partly to the inability of the Reading School Salary Schedule to hold teachers when they are offered more elsewhere. This schedule is over 20 years old and was adequate between 1923 and 1931 to hold good teachers in our schools. Other school systems our size and some with lower per capita valuation have passed new salary schedules to meet the present cost of living needs of their teachers. During the last three years, temporary adjustments have been made on the old schedule so that teachers' salaries today are approximately 15 per cent above what they were in 1941. The Read- ing Teachers' Club made a thorough study of teachers' salaries in Reading and suggested a new schedule which absorbed the temporary adjustments made. The School Committee approved paying teachers in 1945-1946 on this schedule at the next step above the salaries which the teachers are now receiving. On this salary schedule, which is known as a "Preparation" Schedule, all women teachers with the same preparation will be paid alike whether they teach in the Elemen- tary or Junior or Senior High Schools.
In the 1923 schedule, the maximum salaries for women ranged from $1500 without a degree and $1700 with a degree in the elemen- tary schools, to $1900 for senior high school women. The new schedule calls for a maximum of $1900 for all women teachers who have only a two-year normal-school training, $2100 for those who have had three years' training, $2300 for those with Bachelors' Degrees or equivalent, and $2500 for those with Masters' Degrees or equivalent and $2700 for a full year's training beyond a Master's Degree. Men teachers will receive $500 additional on any of the salary steps mentioned. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the most important factor in the education of youth is the quality of teachers guiding that youth. Without efficient teaching our pupils will be handicapped in meeting the complicated problems which will face the citizens in the post war
147
period. The future of our town rests upon our youth and the educa- tion they receive. This is well expressed in "The American Char- acter" by D. W. Brogan. Mr. Brogan states that the school does "more than it can (which is very American) and is doing much more than it seems to do (also very American). If these millions of boys and girls are to be judged by their academic accomplishments, they will be judged harshly. But they are not to be so judged and their schools are doing far more than instructing them: they are letting them instruct each other in how to live in America." This sort of instruction needs wise leadership and skillful guidance on the part of teachers.
New Progress Report
Throughout the year, elementary teachers have been working through a committee to bring a more intelligent and helpful under- standing of the growth of children under their supervision in the Read- ing Schools. The chief means of accomplishing this has been to de- velop a new Pupil Progress Report on which teachers inform parents of the progress of each individual child. It is hoped these reports will give a clearer picture to the parent of the development of his child as he goes along in the school system. Emphasis has been placed on development of good habits in health, both mental and phy- sical, social and work habits and special interests and abilities which are observed in the classroom work. Information concerning the child's progress in reading, language, arithmetic, music, art, and phy- sical education are also described by the teachers. The new reports are based on the fundamental idea that parents desire to be informed of the progress of their particular child.
W. F. A. Lunches
In the fall of this year, the School Committee approved making a contract with the Massachusetts Department of Education, thereby participating in the War Food Administration lunch project. The object of this project is to get children to drink more milk and to eat better balanced meals at noon time. Until this project was put into operation, elementary children paid 41/2 cents for a half pint of milk at recess in the elementary schools and 1/2 cent for cookies and a straw. Under the project, two cents is contributed by Federal funds distributed by the State and two cents by each child. The volume of milk business permitting a drop from 41/2 cents to 4 cents on the total cost of the milk. Some schools continue to add a cent for cookies and straws. In the Junior and Senior High Schools balanced meals are now served for a cost of 15 cents to the student. This includes a half pint bottle of milk. The cost to produce this lunch is 24 cents. The War Food Administration funds contribute the additional nine cents for each lunch. The purchase of milk in the elementary schools and the subsidized lunches in the Junior and Senior High Schools
148
has grown to the extent that the recommended school lunches budget for next year is $30,000 against $15,000 for 1943. It is estimated that between nine and ten thousand dollars will be contributed by the Gov- ernment. In all lunches in our schools, the additional funds make possible a larger, better, and healthier meal than could have been ob- tained under former regulations.
$143,300 in E Bonds
During the Fifth War Loan Drive, the schools became a large factor in selling Series E War Bonds. Each building had its own organization and it sought to fill a given quota. The children demon- strated good salesmanship techniques before assemblies, developed War Bond songs, made art posters, and kept records of the progress of the campaign. The Superintendent's Office edited the "Bond Booster" on mimeograph paper to distribute the ideas of one school to other schools and to record the progress of the collections. The school children sold $143,300 worth of E Bonds which materially aided not only the Reading Quota but the War Effort as well.
PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE
The members of the Reading School Organization are studying the imminent changes in education in the period following the war as are most other institutions. The High School Faculty is taking this opportunity to review its curriculum with special reference to the planning of a new high school and meeting the needs for greater ser- vice to youth and to Reading members of the Armed Forces. There is a definite feeling in most educational circles that unless our secondary schools meet more fully the needs of youth, there will be provided under Government supervision and at Government expense youth organizations similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Na- tional Youth Administration. Our faculty is, therefore, studying ways and means of making the high school curriculum more flexible and more practical. As teachers see youth in the secondary school years, they realize that there are educational and civic needs which should be more fully met. It is predicted that the schools in the post war world will meet the needs of individual interests, abilities, and talents more adequately than we are meeting them today, there will be pro- vision for developing greater competence in reading achievement, higher accomplishments in effective speaking and writing, a better understanding of how to solve one's own problems, and practice in accepting responsibility as a member of a family group and being a good neighbor in the community. Teachers are more and more realiz- ing the need of youth to learn some vocational or professional skills and there will be preparation for these to an increased degree in our secondary schools after the war. From the low rate of physical fitness shown by examinations taken by inductees, health and physical fitness
149
will receive increased emphasis in the post war world. The cultural subjects of literature, languages, history, etc., will still form a portion of the high school curriculum, but there will be some shift of emphasis to offer instruction in those courses which will bring about high compe- tence in the industrial and social world which our youth must tace.
The study and planning to make a better educational program for our youth is the first step in the consideration of the building facilities in which to house it. To provide facilities for this program, the Committee has had made a school survey with reference to build- ing construction over a period of time. This survey recommends a senior high school at Birch Meadow, which is the approximate geogra- phic center of the town. As the population of the center and northern portions of the town increases, there may be need of admitting junior high school pupils to this building. This will permit one senior high school and two junior high school units in the town. The plan further suggests that ultimately we should plan for six elementary schools to take care of the younger children. With a plant of this sort the town will have buildings for a school population of approximately 5,000 students by 1975. If, however, there occurs a rapid development of transportation facilities after the end of the war, this growth may be more rapid.
Not only is a high school building a necessity, but at least one elementary school should be built as soon as possible. The population of young children is increasing rapidly and we must have more facili- ties to meet it, particularly in the primary grades. The Town should, if at all possible, look forward to Kindergartens as part of the school system. It is in the Kindergarten where early adjustments are made, where health and social habits are acquired, and reading readiness developed. A well planned building program, such as has been sug- gested in the survey, will be of major importance to the town, not only in better facilities for education of its youth, but will be an asset to attract substantial people for future citizens. Vision and courage at this time, combined with the appreciation of the value of schools to the community, will return excellent profit on the investment. Pur- chase of land and development of plans and specifications for building a high school and one elementary school now would make it possible to take advantage of any Federal or State funds available at the end of the War.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the teachers, principals, supervisors, and especially the School Committee for the cooperation which they have given me during these three difficult war years. Their counsel and encouragement have made it possible for me to continue meeting the complex problems of this period. With such cooperation and aid, all of us working together can improve our present school organization to the end that it will give greater service to our youth and will be the pride of the civic and educational life of our town.
150
AGE-GRADE TABLE - OCTOBER 1, 1944
Age
Opportunity
I
II
III
IV
V VI VII VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
Total
5 Years
96
96
6
"
136
54
190
7
2
26
122
53
203
"
6
1
17
90
50
164
"
4
4 23
80
52
1
164
10
"
11
6 29
74
49
1
170
"
7
5
26
82
57
177
12
2
1 9
21
100
47
180
13
"
2
5
6
16
96
39
164
14
"
1
2
2
12
27
79
55
178
15
"
5
11
24
104
48
192
16
"
1
8 35
91
54
189
17
1
5
27
72
105
18
"
1
4
8
13
19
"
3
20
"
"
1
1
21
and over
Total
33
259
197
172
167
168
161
191
183
150
200
170
138
2189
8
9
11
"
READING HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES Class of 1944
Program RAISING OF FLAG and PLAYING OF COLORS PROCESSIONAL MARCH
High School Band Smith
AMERICA
Audience, Senior Class, and Band
PRAYER-Rev. William E. Billingham
Salutatory "Frontiers in Science for Youth" Charles Hutchings Field, Jr.
TORCH ORATION
Edward Sheldon Knudson, Class President
ESSAY-"Vocational Education in the Future" Ruth Arline White, Faculty Honors ESSAY-"Your Home in 194?"
Barbara Jeane Fienemann, Class Honors
ESSAY-"New Frontiers for Youth in Art" Janet Mildred Bird, Faculty Honors
ESSAY-"Frontiers in Medicine" Richard A. Condon, Class Honors
Valedictory "New Frontiers in Social Work" Elizabeth Lou Galley
CERTIFICATION OF CLASS ACCEPTANCE OF CERTIFICATION OF GRADUATES Dr. Elbridge C. Grover, Superintendent of Schools CONFERRING SCHOLASTIC HONORS Rudolf Sussmann, Headmaster
CONFERRING DIPLOMAS Irving C. Austin, Chairman of School Board
SALUTE TO THE FLAG
Led by Class President Edward Sheldon Knudson STAR SPANGLED BANNER Smith
Audience, Senior Class, and Band BENEDICTION-Rev. William E. Billingham RECESSIONAL MARCH
High School Band
152
GRADUATION CLASS READING HIGH SCHOOL 1944
Jessie Scott Althoff
William Jackson
Donald Thomas Ahearn *
George Weld Jewett
George Paige Albee
Marguerite Loretta Jones Carol L. Knight
Elaine Austin
Edward Sheldon Knudson
Ruth Janet Batchelder
Edward Anthony Koptuck
Marilyn Jean Bates
Gloria Mildred Lake
Robert Edward Lander
Charles Harris Lench, Jr. *
Parker L. Bogan
Marion L. Lent
Roland James Boyd, Jr.
Henrietta M. Lewis
Warren N. Lewis
Dorothy Evelyn Libbey
Elsie Jeannette Libbey
Alma Lindberg
Phyllis May Lindquist
Lillian Aileen Lowell
Donald Stevens Lydstone
Peter Daniel MacDonald *
Jean Macleod
Marie C. MacPherson
Velma Lee Mason
Margaret G. McGrath
Edna Winifred Menchions
Paul Mich, Jr.
Penn Knox Michelini
Frieda Elaine Murray
Helen Anna Nigro
Margaret T. O'Keeffe
Winston Cornell Oliver
153
Wesley L. D. Chisholm
Shirley Marie Clancy
Barbara Dawn Coan
Richard A. Condon Louise Davis
Lawrence George Desmond
Anna Marie Dickinson
Alice Rose Dickson
Gerald Richard Domin *
Anne Theresa Donahue
James Stephen Doran
Dorothy Joan Doucette
Patricia Anne Bradley
Ellen Lorraine Broderick
Muriel Jane Brotherton
Robert Harry Bryant
Shirley Genevieve Campbell
Thomas Lothrop Chadwick
Constance Chesley
Rose Mary Arancio
Janet Mildred Bird
Florence Edith Bogan
Arthur E. Doucette Patricia Phelps Dow Theresa Lucienne Dube Walter Manning Earley, Jr. Jean Dorris Eisenhaure Elizabeth Vaughan Fairclough Charles Hutchings Field, Jr. Barbara Jeane Fienemann
Josephine C. Pacillo Gail Packer Marie Theresa Palumbo
Jean Pestana Alice Marie Reardon
Muriel Reebenacker
Dorothy Jane Roberts
Richard Ernest Rogers
Dorothy Catherine Runge Rodney James Rust
Violet Louise Frye
Carl F. Ryan
Michael C. Gaffney, Jr.
William Roland Schofield
Arthur Edward Gallant
Richard P. Shaw
Elizabeth Lucy Galley
Virginia A. Snow
Laura M. Gillis
Donald Frederick Spindler
Edward Homer Stanley, Jr.
M. Elizabeth Guild
Robert D. Stevens
Bernard James Hagan, Jr.
Arlene L. Surette
Drusilla Harding
Allan H. Teel
Janet Harris
Norma Lee Titcomb
John Woodbury Harrison, Jr.
Richard A. Turner
Alice Irene Harvey
Joan T. Twomey
Claire Irene Henderson
Francis Hennessy
Jean Elizabeth Wakeling
Roland Winterton Higgins
Leslie Greenleft Hodgkins, Jr. Janice Winifred Humphrey
Margaret Ruth Hunt
Ruth Arline White
James Earl Ireland, Jr.
Merrill B. Wilmot *
Mary Elizabeth Irons
Nerses Zeytoonian
* In the Armed Services.
154
Jeanne M. Foley Jean Ann Frongillo
Ruth G. Graupner
Edith Elaine Gray
Nancy Marie Steber
Lorraine A. Valido
William Morton Warren Donald Webster Alice Diane Wheeler
SCHOOL PLANT SURVEY AND LONG RANGE PLANNING PROGRAM
TOWN OF READING MASSACHUSETTS
WILLIAM K. WILSON Albany, New York 1944
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
157
Introduction 158
The Need for Long-range School Plant Planning 159
The Existing School Plant 160
Chestnut Hill, Prospect, Lowell
161
Highland
163
Pearl Street 165
Junior High School 165
Senior High School
166
The School Plant Planning Program 167
Determining the Educational Job 178
Outlining a Complete School Plant
182
Using the Existing Facilities
183
Setting up a Schedule of Development
184
Summary of Conditions and Recommendations
186
Conditions in Elementary Schools 186
Conditions in High Schools 187
Recommendations on Elementary Schools
189
Recommendations on High Schools
190
Financing the Program
192
156
FOREWORD
This study was made at the request of the School Committee of Reading, and is an attempt to assist that Committee in improving school plant conditions in Reading. The request was made through Dr. E. C. Grover, Superintendent of Schools, and all the work was done with the able assistance of Dr. Grover and his secretarial staff. Data used were secured from the files of the Superintendent, and from other offices of the town government, particularly from the Engineer's office and the town Planning Board. All assistance is gratefully acknowledged; the report is submitted with the sincere hope that it will be of real service to the youth of Reading.
157
SCHOOL PLANT SURVEY
for the
TOWN OF READING, MASS.
Introduction
There is grave danger that a school plant1 survey report, prepared by one not officially connected with the school district being studied, may contain a mass of statistical data, technical language, and educational philosophies and theories of little value to the average layman who may wish to know what are the school plant conditions in his community, and what improvements, if any, should be made. And it is "the average lay- man"-the butcher, the baker, the laborer, the minister, the parents of children-who should glean from such a report information that will en- courage him to cooperate in supporting a good system of public educa- tion for all the children of his school district.
This report is an attempt to follow, for the town of Reading, the same procedure that the writer follows daily in his work with the many school districts in New York State - that is, to present in as clear and simple language as possible an evaluation of the present school plant, and to suggest a plan of improvement and expansion that not only will provide a complete, safe, and adequate school plant for immediate needs, but also will permit the gradual expansion of the plant to accommodate possible and anticipated changes in enrolment, school organization, the educational program, and methods of teaching.
1Throughout this report the term "school plant" includes all the buildings and sites that are used in administering the complete educational program of the district.
158
The Need for Long-Range School Plant Planning
No school committee, board of education, or educational group - in fact, no community - can render its best service in education unless it realizes that public education is the foundation of our form of govern- m'ent and our way of life, and that it is a permanent institution that must be protected, nurtured, expanded, and kept vitally alive to the changing needs of the society which it serves. In so doing, those to whom the edu- cation of youth is entrusted must make many decisions in matters of policy, both educational and financial. Especially in reference to the school plant must these decisions be weighed carefully, and made with vision and foresight. A course of study adopted, a transportation contract made, a method of teaching experimented with, can be changed in a relatively short time or with comparative ease; but a building located and constructed will remain for many years either to bless or to plague both those who were responsible for it, and those following who must carry on with it. Expediency followed under the guise of economy today can become very, very expensive tomorrow. It is for this reason that a well-developed long-range school plant planning program is the safest insurance against future waste, for it will permit the expansion and development of the school plant to keep pace with the growth and changes in educational practices, with a minimum expenditure for dupli- cation or replacement of school buildings poorly planned or incorrectly located.
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