USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1948 > Part 12
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When viewed in its entirety, the Reading School System is better than average, and associated with it are certain features which are outstanding and worthy of comment. Among these features are the calibre of the supervisory staff and the teachers, teacher morale and professional spirit, specific parts of the educational program throughout the System, the enthusiasm of janitors in maintenance of buildings, the unusual interest of the Parent-Teacher Associations, and the general positive attitude of the townspeople toward the Reading Schools.
INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF. In an era when high wages in business have taken prospective teachers from colleges and teachers from class- rooms, and when the lot of the teacher has been unusually difficult be- cause of economic situations, it is unusual to find in one system so many teachers of excellent training, of wide experience, who have a real en- thusiasm for teaching and who show evidence of a professional zeal which would be heartening even to a cynic. In spite of the fact that the Reading Salary Schedule has been only competitive and not unusual, Reading has in general, a superior corps of teachers whose enthusiasm for teaching extends beyond the classroom hours, and who readily de- vote much time in the afternoons and evenings to work for the improve- ment of education in Reading.
THE SUPERVISORS of Reading Schools are also unusual in their training, intelligence, professional spirit, initiative, and grasp of the educational problems which concern us today.
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THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM is marked by extremes which have spread confusion, but spotted throughout the system in all of our schools are unusually fine classrooms where the best in education is available to the Reading pupils. In some instances this is due solely as the result of unusual work of superior teachers; in other cases it is due to the excellent supervision and administration. The absence of consistency in the instructional program of the System will be discussed later.
JANITORIAL STAFF. Another feature of the System is immediately apparent and that is the care which is given to the school buildings by the janitorial staff. The pride which the men and women have in their school is evident in the cleanliness of buildings and in the willing- ness of these men and women to assume responsibility beyond the regu- lar requirements of the job.
PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS. Reading is blessed with active Parent-Teacher Associations in all parts of the town and now has a vigorous Council which will serve to coordinate the work of the inde- pendent units. The attendance at meetings, the large proportion of men who attend meetings, and the widespread interest in the educational program and not just in the social functions, all indicate that parents in Reading are alert to their responsibilities and are definitely concerned about the educational program in the schools.
CITIZENS' ATTITUDE. In many ways it is apparent that the citi- zens of the Town of Reading are alert to their responsibilities and are concerned that their schools be at least as good as schools in other good systems in Metropolitan Boston. A school system can be no better than the financial and moral support permits. Evidence of this support may be found in the readiness of the Town to underwrite the cost of a desir- able educational program. Only last year the Town extended itself to meet the present need for adequate housing by authorizing the con- struction of a new elementary school and the Town has further author- ized the purchase of land for a high school which can provide the type of educational program impossible in a building built for the program of 1890.
Problems In The School System
INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM. The outstanding problem in the Reading School System is found in the instructional program in its lack of coordination between grades on the same level and between the three major levels in the System - The Elementary, the Junior High, and the High Schools. Partly because of a difference in basic philosophy, partly because of an unwillingness to unify the program, and partly because of
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external circumstances, the instructional program as now organized can result only in confusion among teachers, dissatisfaction among the supervisors, and inadequate training for pupils. This fact has been apparent to the School Committee, to teachers, and to supervisors, and this fall a program to analyze and eliminate the worst faults was initiated. Because teachers are a vital part of this system, and because it is they who will make the program eventually conceived operate, a council of seven teachers has been elected by the faculty who, with the Superintendent of Schools, ex officio, make up a steering committee for the teachers who are investigating this problem. All teachers in the System are involved in this study, which seeks to answer three questions:
1. What are present practices in guidance, civic education, and in the teaching of Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies and Science?
2. What is desirable practice in these areas?
3. What steps must be taken to develop these desirable practices in Reading?
It is estimated that a minimum of three years will be necessary for the completion of this work.
CITIZENSHIP TRAINING. Related to the problem of curriculum improvement are the strengthening of the work of the schools in train- ing for a better understanding of the government in a democracy and the expansion of offerings for the non-academic or non-college pupil. Most of our schools are already broadening the program for the study- ing of the democratic way of life and in some cases the school program is modified to foster in the day-to-day living of the pupils opportunity for practicing what we, as teachers, have so long preached.
HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM. Fifty years ago when almost all students who went to high school studied only those subjects which would prepare them for study in college, the curriculum established was. designed specifically to meet the goal of college preparation. Since that time, however, all the children of all the people assume as a matter of course that they are going to high school and too frequently are confronted with a program designed for the needs of boys and girls fifty years ago. In Reading a definite attempt has been made to adjust to the changing needs of youth in the world today, but invariably when a weakness in the program is recognized, it develops that the weakness cannot be overcome because of inadequate facilities. If we are to be realistic about the education we offer, we must prepare our boys and girls for home-making and the skilled and unskilled trades. Trans- lated into the curriculum this would mean the offering of extensive courses in home-making for girls, salesmanship, the vocational arts in shops properly equipped and located, and in an extended program in courses relating to business and commerce.
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SCHOOL BUILDINGS. An educational program today is dependent in large measure upon adequate housing facilities. The present High School building utilizes all rooms above the basement level and boys and girls waste time and travel in bad weather between the High School and the Junior High School buildings. Steadily mounting enrollment in the High School must rapidly bring citizens to realize that the con- struction of an adequate high school must be undertaken in the not too distant future. The problem of an adequate high school building has already been recognized to the point where the Town has authorized purchase of land for a new building. Proper housing of pupils in the elementary schools has also been recognized in the construction of the Summer Avenue School. A problem still exists, however, in the ele- mentary schools; first, in the proper distribution of pupils in the different sections of Town, and secondly, in finding adequate accommodations for the ever increasing elementary school population.
The Pearl Street School is now very much overcrowded and the Highland School is at capacity, as is the Lowell Street School. Re- aligning of district lines and sending some of these pupils to the Summer Avenue School will relieve all three of these units temporarily. The fact remains, however, that Reading is a growing community and that most of the people moving into Town have children of elementary school age. Also this year, for the first time, the schools felt the influx of babies born during the war years and this increased population must be absorbed into our schools for at least four years more. We anticipate that the Summer Avenue School will open with 16 of its 18 classrooms filled. It is quite evident, therefore, that the elementary school housing situation has not been settled for all time with the construction of the new building.
RELATED SERVICES. All problems which concern the administra- tion are not strictly educational in nature. Two major areas in which problems arise and which draw disproportionately upon time of the administration are the school cafeterias and the supervision of main- tenance of existing plants. The Town of Reading and the adminis- tration is in the restaurant business. It is in this case a $50,000 a year enterprise which is not, however, reflected in the annual tax bill because moneys collected from the children and through State assistance are returned to the general treasury. However, the system does involve the employment of seven full-time and three part-time workers who buy, prepare, serve, and collect money for lunches for most of our children in the school. At present we have four cafeterias in operation and next fall, with the opening of the Summer Avenue School, there will be five. Each of the cafeterias today operates independently- some at a profit and some at a loss. Purchasing done by the cafeteria workers frequently is done uneconomically and there is no consistency
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from one school to the next. A solution to this problem can be found by the employment of a supervisor not only for the Summer Avenue School cafeteria, but for all the cafeterias in town, who will be a dietitian trained in purchasing and accounting. Such a step will insure con- sistency in the operation of the various cafeterias and should provide better food.
The Town of Reading owns and the School Committee controls school property valued at nearly $2,000,000. The physical operation and maintenance of these buildings represents an annual outlay of about $70,000. As presently organized the Superintendent of Schools is re- sponsible for the drawing of specifications and contracts, and must supervise jobs in progress to insure, if possible, an adequate return for the dollars spent. All of the time which he devotes to these activities should be given to supervision and administration of the educational program. It would be very much to the advantage of the Town to employ a man trained in the trades and in business practices to do much of the work now contracted for and to supervise that work which had to be let out to contract. The Superintendent could then devote much more of his time to the work for which he was specifically trained.
PUBLIC RELATIONS. While it is true that Parent-Teacher organi- zations in town are vigorous, flourishing associations, it is also true that too little is now being done to help the public to understand the nature of the educational program and its financing. While it is also true that education today is highly complex and has many ramifications, it is not so complex that the average parent and citizen of the Town cannot at least understand what we are trying to do and how we proceed in our endeavors. Nor is the financing of the educational program so highly involved that this problem cannot be understood by the average citizen. It is, however, essential that to understand the financing of the program the citizen must understand the needs of the educational program. It is the policy of this Committee and the Superintendent to make every effort to arouse the interest of the citizens and to convey to them as much information as possible. The primary source of such information may be obtained through the Parent-Teacher Associations, and in the past we have had excellent cooperation from the Reading Chronicle.
PRUDENT FINANCING. As in every school system today, Reading is faced with a serious problem which is only too well recognized by those associated with the schools. We must maintain our present standards in our classrooms; we must eliminate differences in the edu- cational offerings, and we must be prepared to educate more children than we have previously. In the face of these demands, we are con- fronted by an economy of rising prices and the knowledge that taxes
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imposed by State and Federal governments are increasing the burden on the same taxpayer from whom we derive our support. If the Reading Schools are to continue to provide education of high quality and meet the needs of our young people, and at the same time educate more children, it would seem obvious that the total cost of the educational program is going to rise. The only way in which these costs may be controlled under these conditions is through greater prudence in the expenditure of money. In view of the fact that School Committees of the past have exercised considerable prudence in this matter, it is ap- parent that it will be difficult to make any highly significant savings. The alternative method of meeting rising costs in the Reading Schools can only be through the elimination of services which School Committees of the past considered essential and which the Town has consistently supported through the appropriation of money.
Educational Legislation
Education in the 48 states of the United States has always been conceived as a State function. Thus we have acts of the legislature establishing minimum salaries for teachers, compulsory attendance laws, and laws relative to the employment of minors which are imposed upon all communities in the state because the state's welfare is in large measure governed by the type of educational program which exists in all communities. Secondly, legislation by the State or by the Federal Government directly affects the schools in the Town of Reading, and with this in mind I review some recent legislation.
STATE LEGISLATION. The State Legislature passed two laws which are particularly significant as far as Reading is concerned. The first law relates to state support of education in various towns and cities, and the second relates to the financing of new school house construction.
For over 30 years Massachusetts has contributed from State income tax moneys toward the support of schools in the local communities, in Reading last year to the amount of something over $18,000. Even with this support, poorer communities have found that in order to pro- vide a minimum program of education, it has been necessary for them to raise their tax levies, in some cases to $60.00 or more. The bill orig- inally proposed would have relieved the local property tax payer. The bill which has been passed by the Legislature will cost the local property taxpayer in Reading more than has been spent in the past because income tax money paid by citizens of this town will be allocated to poorer communities in the State and because while the amount to be disbursed to Reading on account of schools has been increased from
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$18,000 to $45,000, other income tax moneys usually returnable to the Town on account of equalized valuation have been proportionately reduced. The net effect to the local property taxpayer will be of no significance.
The other bill approved by the Legislature established a School Building Assistance Commission and a formula for disbursement of state moneys to towns which, since 1946, have constructed schools or will do so before 1951. Under the formula the Town of Reading appar- ently is entitled to approximately 33% of the total cost of the Summer Avenue building. The legislative Act, however, appropriated only $25,000 for the organization and administration of the Commission and future legislators will be called upon to appropriate such money as is required under the terms of the Act. In the light of the experience of the bill mentioned above it is possible that legislatures will simply take income tax money normally distributed to towns on account of equal- ized valuation and earmark this money to support the School House Construction Bill. Even if this were the case, however, the Town of Reading would very much profit by such a move.
FEDERAL LEGISLATION. For several years there has been con- certed action to have the Congress in Washington approve a bill which would provide several hundreds of millions of dollars from Federal funds for the support of schools throughout the country. Such legis- lation, while desirable in the educational sense because it would help poor states to provide adequate education for their children who are also citizens of the United States, would draw money from Massachu- setts in greater proportion than it would return it. The Town of Read- ing because of its relative wealth in the State and National picture, would provide more than it would receive.
In conclusion I would urge all citizens and particularly parents to know at first hand by visitation, by attendance at educational functions, and by participation in such fine Parent-Teacher studies as are being made at the Pearl Street School, the unusual work which so many of our teachers and supervisors are doing in training our boys and girls for the years ahead. I would further urge that our citizens learn of the unusual civic-mindedness of the Reading School Committee, which has devoted many hours every month to examination of the problems and merits of the Reading School System.
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR B. LORD, JR., Supt. of Schools
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Explanation of Charts
The charts presented herewith are designed to show a trend so that we may have perspective over a 10-year period. All the charts are projected on the same scale and in all cases the year 1939 is taken to represent 100%
Increases in the general budget have occurred as the result of the following factors:
a. Increase in the cost of living.
b. Increase in staff membership as a result of increased pupil enrollment.
c. Increase in salaries.
It has been necessary to increase salaries for the following reasons:
1. Teachers have been underpaid in the past.
2. The increasingly limited number of teachers available has in- creased competition for their services.
3. In 1946 the Town voted to establish "equal pay for equal work" and salaries of women teachers were increased in 1946 by $26,521 and in 1947 by $8,121 in compliance with the vote of the Town.
Gross Budget
1939
$235.891
1940
239,783
1941
241,810
1942
270,444
1943
272,104
1944
295,455
1945
303,479
1946
329,727
1947
412,336
1948
431,565
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Salaries
1939
$188,539
1940
194,696
1941
195,990
1942
214,183
1943
224,303
1944
238,748.
1945
248,188
1946
278,107
1947
326,951
1948
355,255
Cost of Living
1939
100%
1940
104%
1941
1072
1942
1193
1943
122%
1944
1247
1945
1263
1946
1453
1947
155%
1948
167%
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Enrolment
1939
2255
1940
2282
1941
2216
1942
2175
1943
2155
1944
2189
1945
2189
1946
2233
1947
2296
1948
2411
Total Staff
1939
114
1940
116
1941
119
1942
120
1943
118
1944
122
1945
124
1946
121
1947
124
1948
125
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READING HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES Class of 1948
June 9, 1948
PROGRAM
PROCESSIONAL MARCH
High School Band RAISING OF FLAG and PLAYING OF COLORS
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG Led by Class President, Robert Holstrom Kroeck
STAR SPANGLED BANNER Key-Smith Audience, Senior Class, and Band
PRAYER-Rev. Myles J. McSwiney
SALUTATORY "Youth Organizations" John Winship Lyons
TORCH ORATION Robert Holstrom Kroeck, Class President
ESSAY-"A Choice With A Future"
E. Margaret Blood, Faculty Honors ESSAY-"Our Graduation Present" Edward A. Ryan, Jr., Class Honors
THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER William Scholin GOD IS A SPIRIT
A Cappella Choir * *
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ESSAY-"Streamlining Education"
Arthur Herbert Peterson, Faculty Honors
ESSAY-"And That's How Ragtime Grew" Pauline Marie Surette, Class Honors
VALEDICTORY
"Our Payment On An Investment"
Carl Hill Stephan
CONFERRING SCHOLASTIC HONORS
Rudolf Sussmann, Headmaster
CERTIFICATION OF CLASS
ACCEPTANCE OF CERTIFICATION OF GRADUATES Dr. Elbridge C. Grover, Superintendent of Schools
CONFERRING DIPLOMAS
Alexander P. Glover, Chairman of School Board
AMERICA Smith-Carey
Audience, Senior Class, and Band
BENEDICTION-Rev. Myles J. McSwiney
RECESSIONAL MARCH
High School Band
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CANDIDATES FOR DIPLOMAS
Dorothy Marguerite Abbott Joseph Peter Aglio
Audrey De Patie James E. Desmond
George A. Anderson
Ruth Elinor Dodge
William E. Anderson
Lawrence J. Doucette
Shirley Marion Arnold
Paul E. Dube
Roy Joseph Arsenault Peter J. Attarian
Philip S. Eisenhaure
William Enos
Paul Fyfe Babcock
George A. Flibotte
Dana Hamlin Barber, Jr.
James N. Flood
Karl F. Barrett
Kenneth Edwin Forsberg
Kenneth Clemons Foster, Jr.
Wendell D. Bates
Paul Vernon Fuller
Shirley Anne Beaumont
Audrey June Galley
Mary Ann Bella
Clifford J. Gibson, Jr.
Lois Edith Bennett Ruth E. Berry
Robert Edwin Gillies
E. Margaret Blood
Constance M. Gonzalo
Harold Gerald Bolton
Grace C. Gonzalo
Richard E. Brown
Lawrence Charles Grant Richard A. Grant
Robert P. Butler
Loraine Eleanor Guile
Christina Carney
Richard Lincoln Gunn Ruth Elaine Hall
Nancy B. Chadwick
Richard Webster Ham
Lois M. Clarkson
Barbara Florence Coppinger
Marilyn Irene Corke
Grace Catherine Hanley Elizabeth Harrison Robert Alan Heffernan
Stanley E. Cullington
Richard Francis Holbrook
Robert Edward Dacey
John William Hovey Joan Carolyn Iverson
Lloyd B. Dame, Jr. Ann Drocey David
Robert H. Johnston Emery O. Knight
Robert Holmstrom Kroeck
Texas Lee
Laurence Lyle DeLong Dorothy DeMar Judith A. De Matteo
Alan F. Lent
170
Shirley Batchelder
Barbara Lillian Gifford
Barbara Ann Buck
Jean Carter
Mildred Louise Dalton
Shirley E. Lord Edgar Roger Louanis Joyce Elizabeth Loud Carol Joan Loughlin R. Philip Lyle, Jr. John Winship Lyons Marilyn Lois Macleod Shirley Elizabeth MacMillan Shirley Magison June L. Maine Dorothy Maxwell Paul J. McDonald
Charles B. Reed W. Eleanor Richardson Elaine Thelma Roberts Jean Marjorie Rogers Jo Ann Rowell Edward A. Ryan, Jr. Nancy Sawin Barbara Ann Seifred
Claire Evelyn Selfridge
Emily Mildred Sheldon
Barbara Sherrod Dorothy Rose Skelton
Jeanette M. McKenna
Marion Ruth Skinner
Joan Mary McLaughlin
Frederick J. McMahon, Jr.
Philip Warren Spencer
Richard W. McSheehy
George Thomas Standbridge, III
Robert S. McSheehy Alvin Arthur Meier Natalie O. Merrill
Carl Hill Stephan
Donald Chester Stevens
Raymond J. Meuse
William Stewart
Robert Edwin Moores
Mark Stone
Anniemay Margaret Mudie
Dana H. Sullivan
Virginia Elizabeth Murphy
Pauline Marie Surette
Helen Louise Tarr
Roger F. Nelson Shirley Ellen Nelson
James W. Trainor
Phyllis Frances Nicholson
Lorraine Turner
Eugene R. Nigro
Richard E. Van Horn
Neil F. O'Brien
John F. Walsh
Philip H. O'Brien, Jr.
Richard F. Webb
Norma Oldfield
Glennalee Wedge
Edward A. Welch
Arthur Herbert Peterson
Joyce Marie White
Patricia Joyce Wilkie
Louise Christine Peterson Ralph Douglas Powell
Frederick W. Williams
Karl J. Proctor
David B. Young
Domenick Zanni, Jr.
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I. John Palumbo
John Morton Raymond Maurice O. Reebenacker, Jr.
Nathan E. Smith
Joan Patricia Steele
Reading Public Library
Report of Board of Trustees
In the three preceding annual reports the Board of Trustees has pointed strongly to the need for an addition to the Public Library build- ing. Nothing has occurred in the past year to cause us to abandon that position and it is expected that the annual meeting in March will be asked to consider the matter of providing the proposed new wing.
The trustees are aware that building costs are high and that the future in the building trades is quite uncertain. Although our plans are complete on paper, it is not possible at this time to give too clear a picture of how much we would have to pay for the proposed stack room. Certainly it will be more than when the first set of specifications came out.
The town may see good reason for rejecting any building proposal during the coming year. The trustees are leaving the way open for ac- ceptance, however, with the reminder that the plans await only the appropriation and the official authority for hiring a contractor.
The statistical report of the librarian will indicate the extent of ser- vice given by your Public Library. There has been a definite gain over last year in circulation. The use of the children's department has been greatly increased but the need for more room in the adult section is un- questioned. There have been fewer acquisitions during the year just past than in 1947 but since we have taken on no more storage space there is still a problem of what to do with books which, while used but little, are still standard reading material and must be kept on call.
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