USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1963-1967 > Part 42
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ARTICLE 33. To see if the Town will vote to acquire by purchase, eminent domain, or otherwise, in fee simple, all or any part of the premises known as "Brookside Park", as shown on plan recorded with Middlesex North District Registry of Deeds, Plan Book 22, Plan 12A, said land to be used for conservation purposes; and to raise and appropriate, or transfer from any available funds, a sum of money for the acquisition of the same and for all costs and expenses necessarily incidental thereto; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 34. To see if the Town will vote to transfer from the Town generally to the School Department the care, custody, management and control of that portion of the former Town Farm property shown as Parcel B on a plan recorded with Middlesex North District Registry of Deeds, Plan Book 105, Plan 20; or act in relation thereto.
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ARTICLE 35. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to acquire by purchase, eminent domain, or otherwise, in fee simple, seven parcels of land (1) situated southerly of but not adjacent to Brookside Road, (2) situated northerly of but not adjacent to River Street, (3) situated northwesterly of, but not adjacent to Newport Drive, (4) situated on the northwesterly side of Beaver Brook Road, (5) situated on the northeasterly side of River Street, (6) situated on the northerly side of Lawson Road, (7) situated on the easterly side of Brookside Road, together with any rights of way or easements necessarily incidental thereto, said lands, rights of way, or easements to be used as and for the sites of pumping stations, stabilization ponds or sewage treatment plants as may be required for the laying out, construction, maintenance and operation of a proposed system or systems of sewerage and drainage, and sewage treatment and disposal; and, for the purpose of acquiring said lands, rights, or easements and for defraying all proper and necessary fees and expenses in connection therewith, that a sum of money be raised and appropriated, to determine whether any portion or all of said sum shall be provided for by appropriation from available funds in the Treasury, by taxation, by borrowing under the authority of Chapter forty-four of the General Laws, or by any or all of said methods; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 36. To see if the Town will vote to amend its By-Laws by striking the Article entitled "Penalty", which now reads as follows : "SECTION 1. Whoever violates any of the provisions of these By-Laws shall be punished with a fine of not more than twenty dollars for each offense unless specifically provided otherwise herein", and in- serting in place thereof the following: "SECTION 1. Any person, firm, or corporation violating any provisions of these By-Laws shall be fined not more than fifty dollars for each offense, except as otherwise provided herein; and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues"; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 37. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate a sum of money for the repair, alteration, reconstruction or remodel- ling of the former Town Infirmary, said sum to be in addition to the amount appropriated under Article 29 of the Warrant for the Annual Meeting of 1967; the total sums appropriated for said project to be expended under the supervision of the School Committee; or act in re- lation thereto.
ARTICLE 38. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of Fifteen Thousand ( $15,000.00) Dollars, or some other sum, for the purchase and installation of an automatic fire alarm system in the Frost, Cameron, Sargent, Roudenbush and Old Nabnasset Schools, said sum to be expended under the supervision of the School Committee; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 39. To see if the Town will vote to adopt a by-law re- gulating the construction, maintenance or installation of private swimming pools; or act in relation thereto.
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ARTICLE 40. To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to install various street lights; or act in relation thereto.
ARTICLE 41. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate from available funds a certain sum to be deducted by the Assessors under the provisions of Section 23 of Chapter 59 of the General Laws, as most recently amended, from the amount required to be assessed by them; or act in relation thereto.
And you are directed to serve this Warrant by posting up true and attested copies thereof at the Town Hall and at each Post Office in said Westford, seven 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 first meeting aforesaid.
Given under our hands this tenth day of February, in the year of our Lord, 1968.
John J. Kavanagh
Mark W. Mulligan
Horace F. Wyman
Selectmen of Westford
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Annual Report
OF THE
School Committee OF THE
TOWN OF WESTFORD
OF
WESTF
1729. ยบ
ORATED
SEPT. 23
For the Year Ending December 31 1967
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ORGANIZATION - SCHOOL COMMITTEE
John E. Leggat, Chairman
Term expires 1969
Louie E. Davidson, Secretary
Term expires 1970
Patrick B. Mulligan
Mary R. Lambert
Term expires 1970 Term expires 1970 Term expires 1968
Francis Courchaine
Robert M. Welch
Term expires 1968
Rita M. Haley
Term expires 1969
OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS WESTFORD ACADEMY
Lloyd G. Blanchard, Superintendent
Telephone 692-6561
Francis A. Drolet, Plant Manager
Vera E. Bettencourt, General Secretary
Evelyn M. Herrmann, Business Clerk
Rita M. Tousignant, Financial Secretary
SCHOOL TELEPHONES
Westford Academy 692-6771 Nabnasset School 692-6233
North Middle School 692-6391 Roudenbush-Frost School 692-4051
Cameron School 692-6542
Sargent School 692-6553
Guidance Department 692-8825
Music & Physical Education 692-4031
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Medical Associates, 199 Chelmsford Street, Chelmsford, Massachusetts Telephone - 256-6511
SCHOOL NURSES
Ruth N. Hall, R.N., Westford, Massachusetts Dorothy Healy, R.N., Westford, Massachusetts Office Tel. 692-8431 - Academy
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REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
TO THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN OF WESTFORD, your School Committee respectfully submits its report for the year ending December 31, 1967.
SCHOOL HOURS 1967-68
Westford Academy Grades 9-12
7:45 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.
North Middle School
Grades 6-8 8:45 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
Elementary Schools Grades 1-6 8:15 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.
SCHOOL VISITS
You are welcome in your Schools to talk with the School Principal and staff whether or not you have children in the Schools. However, you are urged 1) to check in with the Principal before visiting a class, and 2) to make an appointment if you wish to discuss your child's progress with the teacher. Otherwise, the class is interrup- ted and valuable learning time is lost.
SCHOOL ADMISSION
A child is eligible for enrollment in Grade l if he reaches his sixth birthday prior to November 1 of the school enrollment year. Birth certificate and evidence of successful vaccination are necessary for registration of any child new in Westford. Those transferring from other schools should present transfer cards.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The School Committee meets in regular session the second Monday of each month at 7:30 P.M. in the Academy Cafeteria. On the fourth Monday of the month there is usually a Special School Committee Meeting. Meetings and agenda are published. Public is welcome.
SCHOOL CALENDAR 1967-68
Fall Term Winter Term
September 6 - December 22
January 2 - February 16
Spring Term
Summer Term
February 26 - April 11 April 22 - June 19
Total School Days - 184
Days Omitted: Columbus Day County Teachers Meeting Thanksgiving Recess Memorial Day
October 12
November 8 November 23-24
May 30
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REMARKS :
It is the policy of the School Department to keep schools in session on all days during which it is safe for buses to be operated. The widely varying conditions in the several parts of Westford make it difficult to reach decisions equally fair to all.
ON DAYS WHEN THE WEATHER CONDITION IS QUESTIONABLE, PARENTS ARE URGED TO EXERCISE THEIR OWN JUDGEMENT AS TO THE WISDOM OF SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL.
1967 IN REVIEW
The year 1967 provided many interesting experiences for the School Committee and staff in addition to the expected problems as- sociated with rising costs, changing patterns in instructional organi- zation and techniques growing accountability demands for the use of federal money, and steady growth of the school system. These experi- ences are organized below around the central themes "Personnel, " "Program," "Policy," "Plant and Planning, " and "Public participation." Budget is not included in this report as a special school budget release appears in the paper prior to Town Meeting and two copies of the budget are placed in the Library each year for public review.
PERSONNEL
The new salary policy, developed through the combined efforts of committees representing the School Committee and the Westford Teachers Association, cut in half the teacher turnover of the pre- vious year and helped retain all administrative and supervisory personnel. No doubt there were other contributing factors to the stabilization of staff, such as improved communications between all levels of the school organization, and staff interest and participa- tion in the development of some promising new instructional approaches which will be discussed in the next section. But a solid salary program beginning with a January catch-up schedule and following through with a September adjustment to maintain position, was basic- ally responsible for the very high percentage of staff retention this past year.
The Administrative Council has developed into an effective systemwide advisory board for the Superintendent. Meetings are held biweekly generally the Wednesday preceding School Committee meet- ings, with agendas distributed in advance of the meetings. Member- ship consists of school principals and director of special pupil services. Consensus is sought on all issues. Summaries are prepared immediately following meetings and both administrative council agendas and summaries as well as School Committee agendas and minutes are made available to staff, to School Committee, and to the public.
The Westford Teachers Association provided the school adminis- tration with an excellent teacher recruiting instrument this past spring in the form of a brochure, "Westford Offers Professional Opportunities in Education." This was a highly professional product,
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cut to folding size for mailing in regular envelope. The salary schedule insert allows continued reuse after substituting new insert as salary changes occur. The brochure was widely distributed and attracted many fine prospects to Westford.
The Boston Herald feature article on the North Middle School Speech Program was equally well prepared, reflecting great credit on staff and school system. The same article appeared in the March issue of "The Massachusetts Teacher." Our audio-visual director and secondary school speech teacher were actively involved in the preparation of both brochure and special speech article.
The success of Westford's "Cinderella" Faculty Basketball Team also helped bring Westford to the attention of area teachers. The team marched through all opposition to the final upset of the highly touted Medford faculty team last April.
As a result of the spring Town elections, Mr. Louie Davidson and Mr. John Kavanagh joined the School Committee replacing Dr. Maurice Huckins and Mr. Raymond LaPan who chose not to run. During the summer Mr. Kavanagh accepted a fellowship at the University of Maine, and in turn was replaced through a joint School Committee, Select- men meeting by Mr. Patrick Mulligan.
PROGRAM
During the school year four half day sessions were scheduled, two in the spring and two in the fall. Plans for these half days included general staff meetings, building meetings, departmental meetings, and parent-teacher conferences. Agendas were carefully prepared to assure maximum yield, and these conferences along with administrative council sessions had a substantial impact on the plan- ning of our school program. Staff members worked well into the sum- mer to complete the revision of the English and Science curricula, following exhaustive school year evaluation of the ongoing programs . During the two previous years both social studies and mathematics curricula were revised. The interschool departmental meetings cited above helped keep our program current. The next area scheduled for staff review and revision is guidance, counseling, and pupil records grades 1-12, an area which has become the more urgent because of growing concern for the adjustment of all our boys and girls, as well as the recent changes in our testing and reporting programs .
For several years now we have subjected every child grades 3-8 to the test battery, "Iowa Tests of Basic Skills." These tests consumed two or three days and for the most part merely confirmed what was already teacher knowledge of the child. As a result of conferences this past spring, test emphasis was shifted from general student body testing to testing for individual weaknesses. Group tests will continue to be given at grade five level to provide addi- tional placement information for middle school teachers, and at grade 8 level to assist Academy placement. But emphasis will be on indi- vidual testing to help provide information, not now available to
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staff, concerning pupils in need of special programs. These tests will generally be administered by testing specialists whose services will be provided on an "on call" basis. School principals, in con- sultation with teachers and guidance personnel, will request special testing services as the need arises, and test results will clarify needs for adjustment of the individual pupil's program. The adjust - ment may be accomplished in the regular classroom, or it may be necessary to refer the child to special pupil services. Testing em- phasis is shifting from academic evaluation to program guidance, from group to individual.
The reading program has also been undergoing changes. Over the past few years our reading approach has been shifting from group instruction through the use of basal texts to intensive individual- ized instruction by the teacher using a variety of texts to give pupils extensive experience in reading. Basic techniques involve "systematic instruction in sound-symbol relationships" and "rich and varied language experiences aimed at helping children to see the re- levance of reading and writing to their own lives, and developing in them, hopefully, a delight in books." The program was hampered by the scarcity of reading specialists. A reading director and three full time assistants were budgeted for grades 1-8, but the program has of necessity been carried by director and three part time assistants.
A new course, health education, was introduced in the North Middle School Curriculum, grade 6, as well as a personal typing course on a voluntary basis for seventh and eighth grade pupils own- ing portable typewriters. Speech was made a full year course for all sixth grade pupils and a semester course for grades seven and eight pupils.
The "Quality Point System" was introduced at Westford Academy for determining rank-in-class. This means that the value of the letter grade towards a pupil's rank in class depends upon the course in which the grade was awarded, the more difficult and advanced courses requiring the greatest amount of homework being awarded the higher point value.
Along with quality point adoption, the Academy promotion policy was revised as follows:
1. A student must pass four major subjects each year in order to be promoted to the subsequent year of second- ary schooling. One of the four major subjects must be English and at the appropriate level.
2. A student must accumulate a minimum of 80 credits to graduate as well as satisfying item 1 for a minimum of four years.
3. Yearly minimum standards include grade 9 to 10 20 credits 10 to 11 40 credits ll to 12 60 credits 12 to graduation 80 credits
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4. Successful completion of 4 years of English and one year of American History are mandatory for diploma.
Considerable interest was expressed for the inclusion of hockey in the Academy Interscholastic Athletic Program. The Westford Junior Hockey Club petitioned the School Committee for acceptance, pointing to the attendance at the School Committee meeting as evidence of interest, and the availability of equipment to hold down first year costs. School Administration objected on the grounds of limited size of school and cost of program, and urged a long range expansion plan for interscholastic athletics taking into consideration anticipated rate of enrollment growth. The School Committee first approved by split vote the inclusion of interscholastic hockey in the 1968 budget, but later reconsidered when the limited number of actual Academy participants in the Westford Junior Hockey Club was revealed. Further action on hockey was deferred until spring 1968 when a second survey will be made of students interested in hockey, including students moving to the Academy from the North Middle School.
In the meanwhile much interest has been expressed in the in- clusion of golf, tennis, cross country, and skiing in the Academy athletic program as well as football in the North Middle School pro- gram, further emphasizing the need for a study to guide the balanced growth of this phase of Westford's instructional program.
Federal money is playing an increasingly important part in the instructional program, providing incentive for extension of services to meet every need. But the lure of federal money is also making heavy in-roads on teacher instructional time as well as administrative and clerical time. If a need is recognized, and federal funds are available, then there is an obligation to go after these funds. This past year Westford qualified for a school planning grant under Public Law 815 because of the increase over the past four years of pupils whose parents were employed in federal installations. Much time was devoted to the preparation of the application. But Westford fell too low on the federal priority list to receive an award. (The original application was for $150,000, later reduced, according to federal standards of space allocation, to $35,000.)
Early in February an Elementary-Secondary Education Act Title I project was approved in the amount of about $13,000 to bring to selected Middle School pupils special instructional assistance, especially in the area of reading. (Only about $8000 was ultimately used because of inability to staff. ) Our Title II library project, under the same federal act, was approved in the amount of almost $4000. The money was used mainly for library books, all schools.
Under the National Defense Education Act, projects in elementary and secondary school history, geography, civics, science and guidance were approved in excess of $4000, but these programs, different from the above ESEA programs, were on a shared basis, 50% federally supported.
And finally there was a business project of almost $2000 totally
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underwritten by the federal government to provide necessary office machines for our Academy commercial department. All these projects were developed by our teaching staff to provide necessary equipment and supplies to make our instructional program that much more effect- ive. The cost in time of each and every project is considerable.
POLICY
Policy refers to the guidelines established by law and by School Committee action which assist the Committee in arriving at decisions. Issues frequently arise in areas where no policy has previously been established. Hence policy is a constantly evolving set of guidelines. Organizing and recording policy decisions is a major problem. During 1967 policy decisions were made in several areas.
Last June the School Committee recognized the Westford Custodian Association as the bargaining agent for all Westford school custodians. A contract was signed in October and all sections of this contract, just as all sections of the Westford Teachers Association Contract, became a part of the School Committee Policy Document .
A very important policy decision was rendered June 12 concerning elementary pupil reporting. Elementary report cards for all pupils in the system grades 1-5 were eliminated in favor of direct parent- teacher conferences. As our program became more and more oriented to individual pupil differences with the gradual adoption of the concept of continuous pupil progress, then the idea of pass-fail became less meaningful. Grade level expectations could no longer be accepted as a marking standard. In fact the only sensible standard could be the child's progress as compared with his potential, and to mark on this basis would be in effect rating the school's effectiveness rather than a child's achievement. The new approach to pupil reporting is as new for staff as for parents and adjustments will have to be made by both before this new plan can fulfill expectations.
PLANT AND PLANNING
With two building committees hard at work, elementary and second- ary, school construction is the central theme of this section of the annual report. The elementary Building Committee organized in February with Mr. Ronald Nolin, chairman, and selected the architectual firm of Korslund, LeNormand and Quann of Norwood in August. The interven- ing weeks were devoted to studying educational specifications and visiting new elementary schools in eastern Massachusetts. The educa- tional specification, approved by School Committee, Planning Committee, and Building Committee last May called for construction of an "open area" school, a new concept in Westford and relatively new to this area. The plan evolved directly from a staff study of the advantages and disadvantages of our newest elementary school, Nabnasset. That this plan is less expensive than the self contained classroom approach, and that this plan is well established elsewhere and has proven its effectiveness in providing more suitable space for the continuous
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progress type program, has been most encouraging.
A very compact design featuring open area classrooms and covered play area for 675 pupils was accepted at the November 28 special Town Meeting, and architects are currently working on final drawings in preparation for bid invitations in the early spring. Equipment speci- fications will be prepared by staff for Building Committee approval. Hopefully the new elementary school will open in September 1969 to lighten the burden of our rapidly expanding school population.
The high school building project has been delayed since annual Town Meeting 1965 pending review of enrollment projections and a feasibility study of a possible Academy addition rather than a re- placement school. A December 1964 proposal seeking Town financial support in advance of the January 1, 1965, deadline when Westford was to be reduced from a 50% to a 40% state reimbursement community, was defeated in special Town Meeting. At this time the building committee was planning on a September 1968 opening, in accordance with the Planning Committee's long range plan. The new high school site had been approved November 12, 1964. High School cost figures at this time were running about $2500 per pupil, or about $20 per square foot total costs.
A joint meeting of School Committee and School Planning Committee in October 1966 resolved that "the Planning Committee proceed with its plans for an elementary school, including site examinations and re- commendations for purchase, and appointment of a building committee, and that when and if the elementary building committee is formed the high school building committee will be requested to proceed with its plans with a recommendation that they reexamine the possibility of expanding the present Academy, which shall include discussions with the Permanent School Planning Committee."
April 27, 1967, the first of the feasibility studies was jointly scheduled by planning committee and building committee with the architect of Westford Academy, Mr. Irving Hersey, the featured speaker. He identified additional spaces required for a 300 pupil expansion, as well as interior modifications. He estimated $800,000 for an addition (exclusive of site costs and septic field extension). It was agreed such an addition could be outgrown in three or four years.
In September 1967 the firm of Metcalf and Eddy, under contract to the Town of Westford to set up a master plan, provided a consult- ant to discuss the feasibility of a 250 pupil addition to the Academy. A detailed plan was presented, but it would take three years to build such an addition which would be adequate only until 1972. So a year before the scheduled opening of the addition, it would be necessary to start building a new high school in order to have the school ready for occupancy September 1973. The conclusion was that a 250 pupil addition was not feasible.
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