USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1886-1895 > Part 44
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23d. By request of W. F. Balch, to see if the Town will appro- priate the sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25) for the purpose of distributing books from the Public Library in the south part of the Town, and act in relation to the same.
24th. By request of the School Committee, to see if the Town will adopt the By-laws relating to truants and disorderly children, as published in the report of the School Com- mittee, and act in relation to the same.
86
25th. By the same, to see if the Town will raise and appropriate money for the transportation of scholars and to consolidate the three schools, as recommended in the report of the School Committee, and act in relation to the same.
26th. By the same, to see if the Town will change the time of holding the annual Town Meeting from the third Monday in March to the first Monday in April, to take effect next year, and act in relation to the same.
27th. By request of John W. Abbot, to see if the Town will instruct the School Committee to have the sessions of the Public Schools limited to five hours each day instead of six hours, as now established, and act in relation to the same.
28th. By request of Thomas E. Symmes, to see if the Town will instruct the School Committee to dispense with recesses in our Public Schools, and act in relation to the same.
29th. By request of Melbourne F. Hutchins. to see if the Town will vote to make the salary of the Town Treasurer One Hundred Dollars ($100) per year, and act in relation 10 the same.
30th. By request of the Building Committee of the J. V. Fletcher Library, to see if the Town will appropriate a sum of money for the purpose of dedicating the new Library building, wben completed, and to take any other action necessary to carry out a celebration that will be a credit and honor to the Town, and act in relation to the same.
And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting up true and attested copies at the Town House and each Depot in said Westford, eight days at least before the time of holding said meeting.
HEREOF FAIL NOT. and make return of this warrant with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, at the time and place of holding the meeting aforesaid.
Given under our hands and seals, this second day of March, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred ninety six.
SHERMAN H. FLETCHER, GEORGE W. HEYWOOD, JULIAN A. CAMERON,
Selectmen of Westford.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
Town of Westford, Mass.
FOR THE
SCHOOL YEAR ENDING MARCH 1, 1896.
WESTFO
TOWN
RD
1729.
CORPORATED
3
SEPT.
LOWELL, MASS .: COURIER-CITIZEN COMPANY, PRINTERS. 1896.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR; 1895=96.
A. J. ABBOT, Chairman
Term expires 1897
A. R. CHOATE
IS98
FRANK H. HILDRETH 66
66 1896
W. J. SLEEPER, Secretary
66 1897
MRS. ALTA M. TAYLOR
..
1898
ALFRED WOODBURY
1 896
EDMUND P. BARKER, Superintendent of Schools. Residence, Ayer, Mass.
ANNUAL REPORT.
Citizens of Westford :
The membership of the Board for this year has been the same as for the year previous and was organized with Mr. A. J. Abbot, Chairman, and W. J. Sleeper, Secretary.
During the year, in accordance with the vote of the town at its annual meeting in March, 1895, the names of the schools have been established legally, thus replacing the numbers formerly used. No change was made from the previous general designa- tions with one exception, and that the school numbered 9, which was usually spoken of as the Lyon School. This was designated the Wright School, on account of its being the original Wright district and the school established by that family. The present names and the former numbers are given : -
Centre
No.
I
Stony Brook
66
2
Forge Village
66
3
Nashoba
66
4
Parkerville
66
5
Minot's Corner
. .
6
Nabnassett
.
7
Long-Sought-For
8
Wright
66 9
Graniteville
IO
No great changes have been made in the various buildings, merely where new blackboards were needed or old ones to be redone, slate blackboards have been introduced and will gradually supersede the former kind, being in the course of time more economical and making a great saving in dust. New blackboards are demanded at the Centre School, and will have to be added this year. The upper room here is far from a proper room for school children, and the light especially notoriously poor, so that during the winter afternoons the sessions should be shortened, unless the light can be differently arranged, to save the eyesight of the pupils. Some change in the building will have to be considered very soon. Other closets are needed at the Graniteville School. The addition
1
of music to the course of instruction has been beneficial and the progress made very satisfactory, as will be seen by the report of the special teacher.
The most important action of the year was the arranging with the Westford Academy Trustees for furnishing High School instruction to the pupils of our town according to Chap. 94, Acts 1895, and by indenture as accepted by a meeting of the voters of the town, held June 1. 1895. By this we have paid the tuition of our scholars during three terms, and the Trustees have taken steps towards erecting a more suitable building and fully equipping the same. Certain changes have been made by the Supervising Board in the course, as suggested by the Superintendent of Schools, and the time is yet too short to show the full results to the town, which we have no doubt but that time will fully show to be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Your Committee elected as a member of the Supervising Board, which has charge of the educational matters of the Academy, W. J. Sleeper, and the Trustees chose George T. Day. The third member who was selected by them was Henry M. Wright of Quincy, who holds a position on the staff of the English High School of Boston, and who is a son of Westford as well as an alumnus of the Academy.
By Chap. 498, Acts of 1894, entitled an act relative to the attendance of children in the schools, certain previous laws were codified and some sections added. We call your attention to Sections 19, 20, 21 and 22, as appended : -
SECT. 19. Each town shall make all needful provisions and arrangements concerning habitual truants, and children between seven and fifteen years of age who may be found wandering about in the streets or public places therein, having no lawful occupation or business, not attending school and growing up in ignorance, and such children as persistently violate the reasonable rules and regulations of the public schools; and shall make such by-laws as shall be most conducive to the welfare of such children, and to the good order of such town; and shall provide suitable places for the confinement, discipline and instruction of such children.
SECT. 20. The school committee of each town shall appoint and fix the com- pensation of two or more suitable persons, to be designated truant officers, who shall, under the direction of said committee, inquire into all cases arising under such by-laws, and shall alone be authorized, in case of violation thereof, to make com- plaint and carry into execution the judgment thereon; and who may serve all legal processes issued by the courts in pursuance of such by-laws, or of sections fifteen to twenty-four inclusive of this act, but who shall not be entitled to receive any fees for such service.
SECT. 21. Any minor convicted under a by-law made under section nineteen of this act of being an habitual truant, or of wandering about in the streets and
5
public places of a city or town, having no lawful employment or business, not attend- ing school, and growing up in ignorance, or of persistently violating the rules and regulations of the public schools, shall be committed to any institution of instruction or suitable situation provided for the purpose, under the authority of said section or by-law, for a term not exceeding two years.
SECT. 22. Whoever, after notice from a truant officer to refrain from so doing, offers a reward for services to any child, in consequence of which reward such child is induced unlawfully to absent himself from school, or whoever, after notice as aforesaid, in any manner entices or induces any child to truancy, or whoever knowingly employs or harbors any truant or unlawful absentee from school, shall forfeit not less than twenty nor more than fifty dollars to the use of the public schools of the city or town in which said offence occurs, to be recovered by com - plaint.
No prosecutions have yet been made under the provisions of this law, but th re are a considerable number of parents who are criminally neglectful of the welfare of their children and the laws of the state. It is proposed to have the new law tested upon some of them, not in any spirit of spite or bitterness but in the interest of the children, in the belief that one or two convictions will have a good influence on those who are disposed to be careless, or worse in this respect, and a conscientious belief that the greatest favor that can be done a child is to see that he has, even against his will if need be the advantage of an education. The truant officers will be supplied with warrants and arrest and detention in the truant school will follow for those who presistently violate the rules of the schools. Hitherto boys so bad as to be suspended from school have been held to be practically beyond the reach of any law, because being willing to attend school they could not be proceeded against as truants while the school law could no longer affect those who were debarred from school privileges. Such can now be proceeded against under the above law and to the advan- tage of both boy and school. To conform with the above law the following are recommended.
BY LAWS.
ARTICLE I. The Town of Westford hereby avails itself of the several provisions of the statutes of this Commonwealth now in force relative to habitual truants, absentees from school, and such children as presistently violate the reasonable rules and regu- lations of the public schools.
ARTICLE 2 The County Truant School at North Chelmsford is hereby assigned as the place for the restraint, discipline and instruction of children described in Article I.
6
ARTICLE 3 All by-laws heretofore adopted by the Town of Westford which are inconsistant with the above are hereby repealed.
By reference to the report of the truant officers it will be seen that of the 19 cases investigated only six were truants, and the re- mainder were cases in which the parents were entirely responsible, and in the majority of all cases of trouble in and with the schools which the truant officers are called to investigate, the parents are largely to blame and make extra expense to the town.
January 15, 1896, agents Geo. L. Walton, and J. W. Mac Donald of the State Board of Education visited us, examined some of the schools and Academy, and also met the people in a talk at the Town Hall in the evening.
The meeting was profitable and a report will be made by them to the committee of their visit with suggestions.
They should visit us each year.
In considering all questions of schools, and especially finan- cial ones, we feel that there are several points to be considered. First, the pupils, our children, they must have the best we can give them and as far as possible equal to others in accomodations, teachers and equipments. We must also consider their parents, and the expendature of their money, and get and give them as much as we can. We are also bound to consider equally the tax- payer who has no children, but who yet contributes to the school fund his yearly tax. Are we justified in using his money in ways not economical? It takes one merely long enough to answer to say, No. However, these are certain matters which are for the town to consider, and we only act as agents to make the suggestions and carry out the decrees.
When the tuitions at the Academy were paid by the parents of the pupils, the standard of admission was lower than that of the ordinary high school. This was because of a general desire on the part of parents to get their children into the Academy at as early an age as possible, and start them on a continuous course of training.
The schools of this town now have a course of study which corresponds closely with that customary in other towns. This covers a period of eight years, and the work of these years are known as grades, the eighth grade being the highest, and when properly completed the pupil of the eighth grade should be quali-
7
fied to enter a high school. Last year there was a number of pupils who had completed their seventh grade and who should have gone on to the eighth. We then found, as we have since learned that other towns have also, that schools having but one teacher could not instruct their scholars in this eighth grade. There is not time enough to do it, and we are also convinced that six grades are all that one teacher can reasonably look after.
These scholars were put into the Academy and have received instruction there during the past year, because there was no other place for them, but we cannot expect the Academy Trustees will long consent to give this instruction, which seems clearly outside their contract to give a high school education Neither will the high school course of study be equal to what it would be if the time of the Academy teachers was devoted strictly to the studies. belonging to that course, instead of being devoted in part to pre- paring scholars for it. For both these reasons it seems very neces- sary that some provision be made for teaching eighth grade pupils.
Knowing that the Trustees of the Academy were about to erect a building containing three school rooms, your Committee held a conference with the Trustees resident in the town, and received assurances from them that one of these rooms would be offered to the town free of rental, heating and janitor service if the town would furnish a teacher. Considering this a very liberal offer, your Committee now recommend that, beginning next September, when it is expected the new building will be com- pleted, another teacher be employed to instruct the eighth grade pupils from all the schools and the seventh grade pupils from all the schools now having but one teacher.
The effect of this would be that the schools at the Centre, Graniteville and Forge Village would continue to instruct their seventh grade pupils as now, and send their eighth grade scholars to this new school. All the other schools in town would send their seventh and eighth grade scholars to the new school, ex- cept it might be more convenient to send seventh grade pupils from Wright and Long-Sought-For schools to the Graniteville Grammar School.
If this plan is adopted we consider that the outlying schools will be relieved by about four classes per day, which will give so much more time for instruction in the first six grades, and the scholars left in these schools should get along faster and do more thorough work than they do now.
8
And we have to pay our tribute of appreciation to the teachers of the outlying schools who, we believe, are doing excellent work while engaged at a great disadvantage in trying to keep their scholars in line with the pupils of those schools where two or more teachers are employed. A suitable teacher for an eighth grade school could not be employed at less than $10 per week, perhaps more, which would mean an expenditure of about $375.
There are two ways by which this expenditure could be met.
One way is by increasing the appropriation for schools by the above amount and increasing taxation to that extent. This would mean an increase of the tax rate of about 33 cents per thousand dollars.
Another way would be by consolidating three smaller schools with others and transporting their pupils. The saving thus made would pay for maintaining the new school, and we believe that the plan as a whole will be highly beneficial, as it is in line with the plan of consolidation of schools which has been tried in many towns with excellent results, and is a change which seems to have come to stay.
The details of this plan are as follows: Minot's Corner School to be closed ; its pupils of the first six grades to go to the Centre Primary and Centre Grammar, and the seventh grade to go to the new school. Long-Sought-For School to be closed ; its pupils of the first six grades to go to the Wright School ; its seventh grade pupils to go to Graniteville Grammar. The Wright School will thus be increased by these pupils of Long-Sought-For, but on the other hand its seventh grade scholars will go to Graniteville Grammar. lessening its number to that extent and leaving it a moderate sized school, teaching only six grades of pupils. Parker- ville School to be closed ; its pupils of the first six grades to go to Nashoba and of the seventh grade to the new school at the Centre. Nashoba is thus increased by the pupils of the first six grades of Parkerville, and it will be decreased by its scholars of the seventh grade going to the new school, and as it is a rather small school now it will be a school only of fair size and teach only the first six grades. By the plan thus presented it will be seen that no new buildings are required to put it in operation.
We present some figures showing the saving we think could be accomplished by this latter plan. On page 15 of the School Report for 1895 answers from twenty towns showed an average
9
amount appropriated for transportation of $744, and the average number of scholars transported as 46. This gives an average cost for transportation of $16.17 per pupil. In order to be more on the safe side we have considered the cost at $IS, per pupil.
Memoranda of the cost of maintaining three schools for the year ending March 1, IS95, and the saving that would probably have been made by closing them and transporting the scholars to other schools : -
Cost of School.
Cost of Transportation. Saving.
MINOT'S CORNER SCHOOL.
Salary of teacher and cost of fuel and janitor. Also, extra labor and re- pairs amounting to $10.SS Total - $326 06
Cost of transporting 12 pupils at $18 each $216 00
ȘIIO 06
Saving by transportation - PARKERVILLE SCHOOL.
Salary of teacher and cost of fuel and janitor. Also, extra labor and repairs amounting to $8.28 Total -
329 03
Cost of transporting 10 scholars at $IS - ISO 00
Saving by transportation -
149 03
LONG. SOUGHT-FOR SCHOOL.
Salary of teacher and cost of fuel and janitor. Also, extra labor and repairs amounting to $34.84 .
360 65
Cost of transporting 11 scholars at $18 - 19% 00
Saving by transportation -
162 65
$1,015 74 $594 00 $421 74
The cost of a teacher for the seventh and eighth grade pupils would probably be : 36 weeks at $10 - 360 00
It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the saving by transporting the pupils would probably support a teacher for the seventh and eighth grades, and leave a balance over of $61.74.
In recommending the employment of a teacher for the seventh and eighth grades your committee particularly wish to help the schools which have but one teacher, and are accordingly at a dis- advantage by having a large number of classes. We should recommend this did it necessarily mean increased taxation, but it
10
will be seen by the foregoing statement that it does not. So many towns have tried transporting scholars, and it has so generally proved satisfactory, it can hardly be considered an experiment From motives of economy your committee have not recommended the transportation of seventh and eighth grade scholars, but only of the first six grades. The seventh and eighth grade pupils we con- sider can get to their respective schools without hardship, as they will probably average thirteen, fourteen or fifteen years of age.
We here give a table showing the cost of the schools in each part of the town, for the year ending March 1, 1895. Owing to the short time between closing the schools and the printing of the Town Report, it is impossible to tabulate from the statistics for the year ending March Ist, 1896, but the three schools referred to are no larger this year than last, and the conclusions arrived at are equally applicable to both years.
Name of School.
Cost of School.
Average Membership.
Cost per Pupil.
Long-Sought-For
$ 360 65
10.9
$ 33 09
Parkerville
329 OI
IO.I
32 53
Minot's Corner
326 06
12.1
27 00
Nashoba
358 35
16.9
21 20
Wright
324 72
15.8
20 55
Nabnassett
419 35
21.9
19 15
Centre
775 81
47 4
16 37
Stony Brook
412 62
26.7
15 45
Graniteville -
1,602 85
117.3
13 66
Forge Village -
804 52
61.4
13 10
Messrs. A. Woodbury and Frank H. Hildreth dissent from the section on consolidation and transportation.
A. J. ABBOT,
A. R. CHOATE, FRANK H. HILDRETH,
W. J. SLEEPER, MRS. ALTA M. TAYLOR,
ALFRED WOODBURY,
School Committee.
11
FINANCIAL STATEMENT, 1895.
INCOME.
Balance of Massachusetts School Fund -
$ 214 43 - Appropriation 5,200 00 -
From State, on account of Supt. of Schools - 200 00
Tuition from town of Groton 17 00
Income Massachusetts School Fund
269 20
$5,900 63
EXPENDITURES.
Teachers -
$4.931 00
Fuel
-
-
-
-
501 25
Janitor service
374 97
Balance
$5,807 22 $93 41
This shows a balance by using the income from Massachusetts school fund in order to balance accounts. This really should not be used until this coming year's account, and there is a real deficit of $175.79.
TOWN PUPILS IN WESTFORD ACADEMY.
Appropriation
726 00
Balance unexpended, but for use in paying tuition
next term - - -
$274 00
TEXT BOOKS AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
Appropriation
$450 00
Expended -
-
-
-
- 480 59
Overdrawn 30 59
But there is a credit to your account with Ginn & Co. of Boston for old books turned over to them of $13.31, making the amount overdrawn only $17.28
TEXT BOOKS AND SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR TOWN PUPILS IN THE
ACADEMY.
Appropriation -
-
- - $225 00
Expended
- - ISO 52 -
Balance - -
-
44 48
APPROPRIATIONS RECOMMENDED.
Schools - -
$5,200 00
Town Pupils in Academy 1,500 00 - - -
- Text books and school supplies - - - -
750 00
-
- - $1,000 00 Expended for Tuition -
-
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the School Committee of Westford :
My third annual report is herewith respectfully submitted, recounting the work of the year and discussing the needs of the future. The report of the Music Teacher, report of the Truant Officers, the program of the Common Schools Graduation Exer- cises, the roll of honor, list of teachers, and table of statistics, are appended.
ATTENDANCE.
In the table of statistics have been incorporated the statistics of the Academy for the fall term. So, too, pupils who attended the common schools in the spring. but the Academy in the fall, have been enumerated with those of the Academy. In these respects the statistics of this year differ from those of former years.
If we make allowance for these differences, a comparison of this year with last shows that :
I. The whole number of different pupils has been about the same.
2. An increase of twenty-eight is shown in average attend- ance.
3. The per cent. of attendance has increased one per cent. over last year, and two per cent. over the year before.
4. An increase of tardiness appears.
This increase, excluding the Academy, is one hundred and ten marks, and may be accounted for almost exactly by the increase reported in one small school.
In the following schools an improvement is shown per pupil : Centre Primary, Forge Primary, Stony Brook, Long-Sought-For, Graniteville Grammar, Intermediate, and Upper Primary.
Since the beginning of the fall term teachers have reported to the superintendent the time lost by reason of tardinesses and dis- missals. Taking all the common schools in town for a period of six months, there were 989 tardy marks, representing a loss of 8757 minutes ; and 367 instances of dismissal, whereby 18,977 minutes were lost.
In the total this is about eighty days of school time for one
13
pupil, almost entirely wasted and with very deplorable results to the schools.
It may not be without profit to compare the amount lost in these two ways The average time lost by each tardy mark was between eight and nine minutes; by each dismissal mark, about fifty-two minutes. Thus it appears that a dismissal interferes with the school work six times as much as a tardiness. Evidently teachers are warranted in being very strict in their endeavors to prevent unnecessary dismissals, and parents are in duty bound to leave their children at school up to the very close of the school ses- sion, except in cases of extreme urgency.
This exact record of time lost is made by direction of the state authorities, and furnishes accurate evidence of a serious loss to the school work. In accordance with this method of keeping the records, a pupil is given credit for just the time he is in school, be it five minutes, fifty minutes, or five hours. When the minutes lost amount to the time of one half-day, they appear as such in his per- manent record.
This marks the disappearance, it may be expected, of the once frequent custom of pupils who could not attend during the day coming to school in the morning "to get excused," or " to get their names on," as it was termed. Now, no pupil " gets his name on" as attending unless he actually does attend, and only for as many minutes as he is present. Every minute he is absent is recorded as absence. His polite expressions of regret at his enforced absence may very well be conveyed to the teacher upon his return to school.
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