USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1920-1926 > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51
You are hereby required in the name of the Commonwealth aforesaid, to notify and warn all the inhabitants of said Town qualified to vote in elections and also in Town affairs, to meet at the Town House, in said Westford, on Monday, February 14, 1921, being the second Monday in said month at 7.45 o'clock A. M. The polls will be opened at eight o'clock A. M., and may be closed at one o'clock P. M., and they are then and there to act upon the following articles, to wit :
1st. To choose a Moderator.
2nd. To bring in their votes for one Town Clerk, one Selectman, one Overseer of the Poor, one Assessor, two members School Committee, one Commissioner of Public Burial Grounds, one Trustee. of the Public Library, one member Board of Health, all for three years; one member School Committee (to fill unexpired term), for two years ; Town Treasurer, Collector of Taxes, Constable, Auditor and Tree Warden, all for one year; also to vote on the following question : "Shall licenses be granted for the sale of certain non-intoxicating beverages in this Town?"
3rd. To hear the report of the Finance Committee, and act in relation to the same.
4th. To hear the report of the Selectmen, and act in relation to the same.
5th. To hear the report of the Selectmen on Guide Boards, and act in relation to the same.
6th. To hear the report of the Overseers of the Poor, and act in relation to the same.
7th. To hear the report of the School Committee, and act in relation to the same.
8th. To hear the report of the Trustees, and raise and appropriate money to meet the expenses of the Public Library, and act in relation to the same.
80
9th. To hear the report of the Commissioners of Public Burial Grounds, and act in relation to the same.
10th. To see if the Town will accept the report of the Auditor chosen to audit the accounts of the Town Officers, and act in relation to the same.
11th. To see if the Town will determine the compensation of the Tax Collector, and act in relation to the same.
12th. To raise and appropriate money for Highway purposes, and act in relation to the same.
13th. To raise and appropriate money for Town Debts and Charges.
14th, To raise and appropriate money for support of Poor.
.
15th. To raise and appropriate money for the police department, and act in relation to the same.
16th, To raise and appropriate money for the support of the Public Schools, High School purposes, school text-books and supplies, salary of the Superintendent of Schools, repairs and maintenance of, and miscel- laneous expenses incurred in connection with the various schoolhouses and medical inspection, and act in relation to the same.
17th. To raise and appropriate money for destruction of gypsy and brown tail moths and elm tree beetles.
18th. To raise and appropriate money to meet the expenses of the Fire Department.
19th. To raise and appropriate money to pay all bills outstanding against the Town on December 31, 1920.
20th. To see, if the Town will appropriate money for the purpose of providing suitable headquarters for Westford Post 159 of the American Legion, and act in relation to the same.
21st. To see if the Town will appropriate money for the purchase of a stand of colors for Westford Post 159 of the American Legion, and act in relation to the same.
22nd. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate two hundred and eighty dollars ($280) to establish hydrant service at Brookside, and act in relation to the same.
23rd. To see if the Town will appropriate money for repairs and improve- ments of the cottage on the fire house lot, so called, located at Westford Centre, and act in relation to the same.
24th. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate three thousand dollars ($3,000) for the purchase of a motor hearse, and act in . relation to the same.
25th. To see what action the Town will take in regard to furnishing proper accommodation for the increased number of pupils at Forge Village and Brookside, and act in relation to the same.
81
26th. To hear the report of the committee chosen at the last meeting to investigate and report a plan for purchasing supplies and expenditures made by the various departments of the Town, and act in relation to the same.
27th. To see if the Town, in accordance with the provisions of Sect. 35 of Chap. 44 of the General Laws, will petition the Director of Accounts of the department of Corporations and Taxation for an audit of the Town accounts or for the installation of an accounting system.
28th. To see if the Town, in accordance with Sect. 55 of Chap. 41 of the General Laws, will authorize the Selectmen to appoint a town accountant.
29th. To see if the Town will vote to abolish the office of auditor.
30th. To see if the Town will authorize and empower the School Committee, acting on behalf of the Town, to enter into a new agreement with the Trustees of Westford Academy for rental of the Academy building for a high school and thereby cancel the present agreement, and act in relation to the same.
31st. To see what action the Town will take towards establishing by-laws. and act in relation to the same.
32nd. To see if the Town will vote to pay the assessors a compensation in addition to that now fixed by law.
33rd. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, or borrow money for construction of the Groton Road with macadam pavement or other road material under specifications approved by the Division of Highways, or act in relation to the same.
34th. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate money to meet the expenses of the Board of Health, including employment of a Public Health Nurse, and act in relation to the same.
35th. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate the sum of three hundred and fifty dollars ($350) to be expended for band concerts, and act in relation to the same.
36th. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate a sum not exceeding fifty dollars ($50) as compensation for and twenty-five dollars ($25) for the expenses of a Fish and Game Warden in the event one is appointed for the Town.
37th. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Treasurer with the approval of the Selectmen, to borrow money in anticipation of the revenue of the current financial year.
38th. To determine the manner of collecting taxes for the ensuing year, also the rate of interest on taxes remaining unpaid at a time to be fixed by vote of the Town, and when and how said taxes shall be paid into the treasury, and act in relation to the same.
82
39th. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate money to contribute to the cost of operation and fixed charges in maintaining the Branch Line, so called, of the Lowell & Fitchburg Street Railway Co., and act in relation to the same.
40th. To choose all other Town officers necessary to be chosen.
41st. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate money to commemorate Memorial Day, and act in relation to the same.
42nd. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate money for the construction and grading of sidewalks in the several villages, and act in relation to the same.
43rd. To see if the Town will raise and appropriate the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250), and elect a director for demonstration work in agriculture and home economics, the money to be expended by, and the director to serve in co-operation with the County Trustees for Aid to Agriculture of the Middlesex County Bureau of Agriculture and Home Economics, under the provisions of Sections 40-45 of Chapter 128 of the General Laws; it being understood that one hundred dollars ($100) of this amount shall be used to provide paid supervision of boys' and girls' club work, 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 due 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, this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-one.
OSCAR R. SPALDING, SHERMAN H. FLETCHER, FRANK L. FURBUSH,
Selectmen of Westford.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF WESTFORD, MASS.
WESTF
TOWN
R
C
1729. c
ORE
ORATED
SEPT. 23,
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1920
Lowell, Mass. COURIER-CITIZEN COMPANY, PRINTERS
1921
3
Organization, School Committee.
CHARLES O. PRESCOTT, Chairman
Term expires 1921
T. ARTHUR E. WILSON
66 1921
WILLIAM R. TAYLOR, Secretary .
.6 66 1922
FRANK L. FURBUSH
66 66 1922
ARTHUR E. DAY .
66 1923
*GEORGE D. WILSON .
66 66 1921
*Appointed by Selectmen and School Committee to fill vacancy caused by death of John Spinner, until Annual Town Meeting.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
HERMAN C. KNIGHT, Townsend, Mass.
Tel. Townsend 61-3 Mon .- Fri. Littleton 7-21
,
COMMITTEE ON TEXT BOOKS
CHARLES O. PRESCOTT
SUPPLY AGENT
HERMAN C. KNIGHT
TRUANT OFFICERS
EVA P. COURCHAINE JOHN A. HEALY SAMUEL H. BALCH
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
CYRIL A. BLANEY, M. D.
4
School Calendar, 1921.
HIGH SCHOOL.
March 18-Winter Term Closes
March 29 -- Spring Term Begins
June 24-Spring Term Closes 1921-1922
Sept. 5-Fall Term Opens Nov. 23-Fall Term Closes
Nov. 28-Winter Term Begins. Christmas Vacation, December 23 to Jan. 2, 1922.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
Same calendar as above, except closing date, June 10 for Win. E. Frost and Parkerville, and June 17 for Cameron and Sargent Schools.
Special Exercise Days and Holidays, 1921.
Feb. 11-Lincoln Exercises, one-half hour.
Feb. 21-Washington Exercises, one-half hour.
Apr. 18-Patriot's Day Exercises, one-half hour.
May 27-Memorial Day Exercises, one hour.
Oct. 11-Columbus Day Exercises, one-half hour.
Nov. 23-Thanksgiving Exercises, one hour.
LEGAL HOLIDAYS
January 1, February 22, April 19, May 30, July 4, First Monday of September, October 12, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day. (The day following when any of the four first days mentioned, the 12th of October or Christmas occurs on Sunday.)
Arbor Day falls on the last Saturday in April and is not a legal holiday.
Flag Day falls on June 14, and is not a legal holiday. It should be observed by proper exercises by any school in session on that day.
5
Teachers in Service Sept. 1920-Jan. 1921.
Academy
Teacher Grades taught Where Educated
Home Address
William C. Roudenbush
IX-XII
Williams
Westford
Etta Crane
Boston Univ. Natick
Mary J. Connors
Bryant and Stratton
Medfield
Mrs. H. W. Hildreth
Mount Holyoke
Westford
Cameron
Mary C. Bergstrom
I Salem Normal
Gloucester
Nellie B. McGovern
II Fitchburg Normal Ayer
Florence Wyeth
III Fitchburg Normal
Townsend
Abbie Nelson
IV Salem Normal
Somerville
Mary A. Garvey
Lowell Normal
Chelmsford
Elsie R. Richter
VI Lowell Normal Sum. Session Hyannis Normal
Lowell
Mrs. Letitia O'Clair VII-VIII
Forge Village
William E. Frost
Edith Wright
I Westford Academy Westford
Grace Ranney
II-III Framingham Normal Wayland
Ruth Tuttle
IV-V Lowell Normal Westford
Martha Crocker
VI-VII-VIII
Bridgewater Normal Bridgewater
Sargent
Veronia McNiff
I Fitchburg Normal
Ayer
Mrs. Lottie Blodgett
II Farmington Normal
Graniteville
Catherine Mulligan
III Lowell Normal Lowell
Lillian Wright
IV, part of V
Lowell Normal
Graniteville
- Issie A. Parker
Part of V, VI Westford Academy
Graniteville
Parkerville
Mrs. Dorothy B. Roach I-VIII Lowell Normal Lowell
Cooking
Ruth Sargent
Simmons Westford
Music
Mary B. Raynes
N. Y. School of Music Lowell
Drawing
Blanche Millard
Normal Art Haverhill
6
Financial Statement.
RECEIPTS.
Appropriation $25,000.00
Balance from 1919.
1,050.00
Mass. School Fund.
2,793.10
Received from State on account of Supt. of Schools .. 497.44
Received from Mass. Income tax School Fund .. 2.461.75
Received from Tyngsboro, for tuition
75.00
$31,877.29
EXPENDITURES.
Trustees of Westford Academy
$ 300.00
Teachers
16,677.77
Transportation
7,427.13
Fuel
1,449.10
Janitors
1,941.40
Cleaning
186.89
Supervisers
1,473.35
Superintendent
1.169.10
School Physician
100.00
Truant Officer
10.50
Text Books
1.034.45
Repairs and Miscellaneous.
3.836.66
$35,606.35
REPAIRS AND MISCELLANEOUS.
Ruth D. Willard, clerk for Supt.
$ 3.83
Ervin E. Smith, repairs.
29.25
A. M. Greer, repairs.
37.74
P. H. Harrington, repairs
697.33
Lowell Electric Corp.
62.31
Express and Freight.
8.25
Westford Water Co
222.00
Butterfield Printing Co, printing
54.25
C. E. Woodhull, tuning piano
15.00
J. H. Knight, repairs.
8.50
N. L. Cutter, labor
1.00
Furbush Garage, repairs.
4.56
E. H. Dane, painting
238.88
J. Herbert Fletcher, postage.
10.86
Amount carried forward.
$1,393.76
7
Amount brought forward. $1,393.76
W. E. Carkin, repairs
10.00
Underwood Typewriter Co, typewriters
140.00
Lexington Flag Staff Co., repairs 17.55
Ernest Beyer, wiring schools.
453.02
Kenney Bros. & Walkins, supplies
954.19
C. W. Mahan, supplies.
26.33
Ryan & Buker, supplies
12.71
Chemical supplies
12.50
Wright & Potter, printing
7.12
Carroll Bros., repairs
1.99
W. Wright, repairs.
7.60
Union Sheet Metal Co., repairs.
37.73
H. S. Turner, printing 50.75
H. C. Knight, supplies.
34.66
Oliver Ditson Co., supplies.
3.49
H. C. Doughty, supplies.
53.08
J. L. Hammett & Co, supplies
72.97
Milton Bradley Co., supplies.
224.46
Hobson & Lawler Co., repairs
94.82
Chas. O. Prescott, services
10.00
Town of Townsend, supplies
8.00
Wright & Fletcher, supplies.
54.20
J. W. Spinner, repairs.
5.63
Blodgett & Co., supplies.
19.01
A. W. Hartford, advertising
2.00
J. H. Fletcher, supplies
28.64
H. S. Stiles, repairs.
7.80
Titanic Orchestra
15.40
J. E. Knight, repairs.
73.97
Wm. C. Roudenbush, supplies.
3.28
$3,836.66
8
Superintendent's Report.
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE WESTFORD SCHOOL COMMITTEE :
I submit my first annual report, and the twenty-ninth in the series of reports presented by superintendents since Westford has been included in a superintendency union.
The report of a superintendent in a town like Westford has a dual aim : to the school committee it sums up the work of the year, and it also serves as an opportunity of acquainting the public with the school policies and the necessary program for carrying out these policies.
I shall divide the bulk of this report into four parts. The first will deal with the regular work of the year. In the second part I shall speak of the increase in school expense. The third part with some serious handicaps under which the schools are placed, while in the fourth part I shall make recommendations. Reports of Mr. Roudenbush and the special teachers will follow.
THE WORK OF THE YEAR.
The change in superintendents came at the beginning of the calendar year, with all the schools under the charge of regular teachers. The severity of the winter interfered materially with the ease with which a working knowledge of all the schools could be obtained, but the familiarity of the principals and teachers with their duties and their loyalty to their work were factors which were of material assistance.
During the spring the Cameron school lost the service of Miss Florence Blaisdell, who went to Billerica at an increase of salary. Miss Ruth Tuttle substituted for the remainder of the year. Miss Blaisdell was a faithful, hard working teacher and Westford's loss is Billerica's gain.
In June Miss Mildred Clevette, teacher of Grades Two and Three at the Sargent School, resigned, and Mrs. Lottie Blodgett was appointed to take her place. Other changes in, and additions to the force of regular teachers, may be noted in the tabulation given elsewhere in this report.
At the beginning of the school year there were changes in the drawing and cooking teachers. Miss Blanche Millard of Haverhill has taken charge of the drawing work, and Miss Ruth Sargent of Westford is teaching the cooking at the Academy, sewing to Grades Six, Seven and Eight of the Cameron School and Grade Six at the Sargent School, at which places the teachers were able to arrange work for the boys while the girls were sewing.
The music is still in the charge of Miss Mary Raynes, who, in addition to her regular work, is responsible for additional musical facilities at the Academy. Our boys and girls are having a splendid opportunity brought to their midst. The town is fortunate in their music supervisorship.
During the winter and spring tests in arithmetic and reading were given in different schools in the district. The results of these tests were
9
studied with interest. In Westford deterrent factors such as crowded rooms, old text books, in some cases over worked teachers, and a crowded session as at Parkerville and the Center were noted.
New English and geography texts for part of the grades have been supplied, while in September "Essentials of Arithmetic" by Wentworth and Smith were placed in all the schools. A new basal reader, "Progressive Road to Reading," has been introduced in the lower grades. During the summer vacation copies of the primer and the manual were placed where possible in the hands of the primary teachers.
To give the primary teachers an idea of the practical working of the new reading system, Miss Florence Eagan, an expert teacher in reading, was procured to give a demonstration in reading. She took pupils from the Cameron and Sargent Schools who had been to school for only a few days, and gave an exhibition of the possibilities of the system in the hands of the skilled worker. As a whole, creditable work is being done by the teachers with this new system. In the succeeding years the reading should be built up, and as a result the other work ought to improve, for reading is the key- stone to the whole structure of elementary education.
Crowded rooms constituted a more serious handicap than ragged and worn out text books, and this problem was studied. The solution was additional rooms for an increased teaching force, but this was not possible, and the two-platoon system seemed the next best solution.
Briefly, the plan is to have two groups of children and two teachers occupy one room at different times each day. Accordingly, three additional teachers were hired for the Cameron School at Forge Village, and one at the Sargent School at Graniteville. This particular type of organization necessitated a radical change in our school day. Where the teacher has one grade, the school begins at eight o'clock and continues till twelve, at which time another school begins at twelve and continues till four. The only exception to this plan is in the case of Grades Three and Four at the Cameron School where the change is made at the end of each two hours, beginning at eight o'clock and continuing on till four. In this connection I want to express my appreciation of the splendid co-operation of the parents in Forge Village and Graniteville in helping to make the plan a possible one. I trust that such a faulty makeshift will be only temporary, for, while it is an improvement over the conditions of last year, it is not fair to ask parents to accept such inconveniences for themselves, or to be willing to allow such unsatisfactory conditions to obtain for their children.
Another change in organization should be mentioned. Last year the work in Grades Four and Five of the Sargent School suffered because of the large number of children in the room, (the enrollment being over fifty), and the changes in teaching force occasioned by the illness of Miss Wright. In order to help the situation, Grade Five has been divided. One division is placed in Miss Parker's room and the other division is placed with Miss Wright. Grades Seven and Eight are sent to Cameron School and are placed in charge of Mrs. O'Clair.
The change in school hours necessitated the wiring for electric lights, various rooms at the Cameron School. This ought to be done in the Sargent School and in the one remaining room at the Cameron School.
10
The outside of the Parkerville School building was painted. The inside walls and ceiling were freshened, while at Sargent School the boys' base- ment has been painted.
Mention should be made of the excellent work done by various pupils as members of Boys' and Girls' Clubs. These clubs are not a part of the regular school work, yet because of their educational value your super- intendent is heartily in favor of the work, and he is glad to co-operate with the County Club Leader in any way that he can.
INCREASE IN SCHOOL EXPENSE.
Many items have contributed to the increase in cost of running the schools. Extra teachers, new furniture, installation of electric lights at the Cameron School, increase in cost of books and supplies, of transporta- tion and teachers' salaries, and painting of the Parkerville School explain the increase. Supplies that had been bought in sufficient quantity to last from before our participation in the war had to be replenished during the past year. This was true of books. Text books were advanced in price last January and again in October. Arithmetic paper increased 871/2% in cost during the summer of 1920. This is virtually true of all school commodities such as furniture, maps, supplies, and texts. Add to this the increase of transportation, as freight and express and the total is of con- siderable magnitude.
EDUCATIONAL HANDICAPS.
In pointing these out, the aim is not to criticize but rather to acquaint parents and tax-payers with conditions, so that they may understand why certain changes will be asked for.
At the Sargent and Parkerville Schools there is a great need of adjustable furniture and at the Cameron School there are still a few children who are using non-adjustable seats and desks. Non-adjustable furniture is sure to cause round shoulders, and curvature of the spine.
The walls and ceilings of the Cameron and Wm. E. Frost School should be retinted. The walls and ceilings of the Cameron School are so smoked that they should be freshened during the spring vacation.
New window shades are needed at the Cameron, Parkerville and Sargent Schools.
Unhygienic furniture, dark walls and ceilings in rooms that are in- sufficiently lighted, and faulty shades are obstacles that can be met, but the serious handicap is yet to be considered. The town has an actual elementary school enrollment of 560 pupils or enough for eighteen rooms, while it actually has to house these children in thirteen rooms. The potential enrollment is much larger, and the increase is quite likely to be considerably greater in the next ten years.
Again the crowded session such as we have at the Wm. E. Frost School can't help but be a handicap. Pupils of all ages have to eat an early breakfast in time to be gathered up and conveyed to the Center so that they may be at school at eight-thirty o'clock. With only half an hour for lunch, unsupervised, and with the prospect of reaching home by two o'clock or a little later, some children bring no lunch. The results are cumulative, and explain in part the failure to make satisfactory progress.
11
A FINANCIAL HANDICAP.
We have passed the two and one-half million mark in the town's valuation. Because of this Westford loses her participation in that form of state-aid called the Massachusetts School Fund. For the year ending December 31, 1920, this amounted to $2,793.10.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
I recommend that some action be taken to furnish the necessary accommodations for school children of Forge Village and Brookside. At Brookside there will soon be needed a four-room building, while at Forge Village there should be at least eight class rooms provided with a room for sewing and cooking and a room for manual training for the boys.
I further recommend that new furniture for all the schools be pro- cured as soon as possible. One or two rooms should be furnished for each year. At present the seating at the Sargent School is far from being the kind that parents want for their children.
I recommend increased janitor service at the Cameron School.
The problem of short hours and hurried lunch at the Wm. E. Frost School is so closely tied up to the transportation of the grade and Academy pupils that it is difficult to make recommendations that will not create a new as well as relieve an old situation. I recommend that some supervision of the lunch hour be arranged for, and that parents insist that children take a lunch to the school.
In conclusion, your attention is called to the report of Principal Roudenbush and the special teachers.
Your superintendent acknowledges the valuable service rendered to the schools by Miss Lord, our Public Health Nurse. The health of the children is fundamental and whatever affects it affects their education.
We appreciate the interest in, and generosity of, the local Red Cross in bringing the Middlesex County Farm Bureau Dental Clinic into the community last spring, for the express purpose of ministering to the school children of the town. Good results are sure to follow.
The work of the year has been the finishing of one school year and the beginning of another. It has been unusual in many ways. Weather conditions, to begin- with, lack of accommodations, a scarcity of teachers and high prices, have made a peculiar blend of complexities, but thanks to the courtesy and helpfulness of you as a body of committeemen and to the valuable experience of your chairman, the work has been made possible. The splendid spirit of the teachers and principals is appreciated.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.