USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wilmington > Town of Wilmington Annual Report 1925-1926 > Part 11
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The output of this course as graduates seem able to make use of their training to make a living. And as this seems to be a growing function of schools, this training to make a living, the extra expense is thereby justified. That the training is good is further attested by the awards annually won by pupils in certain speed contests given by typewriter companies.
Health Activities
A more extended treatment of this subject will appear in the report of the School Nurse. Mrs. Holliday has continued her effi- cient supervision during the year. To her and to Dr. Buzzell may be traced our freedom from serious inroads of epidemics in the past year.
It is hoped that the coming year may see this work supplemented
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by the work of a supervisor of Physical Education. The functions of this department have already been mentioned.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
1926
General Appropriation
$50,130.00
Vocational Education
$800.00
General Expenses .
School Committee:
Salaries
$00.00
Other expenses
00.00
Supt. of Schools and Enforcement of the Laws:
Salaries
1,915.00
Other expenses
397.58
Expenses of Instruction
Supervisors:
Salaries $876.00
Salaries -- Principals:
High
2,700.00
Salaries-Teachers:
High
6,880.00
Elementary
18,557.00
Text Books:
High 649.73
Elementary
1,091.17
Stationery, Supplies and Miscellaneous:
High
868.94
Elementary
1,051.70
Expenses of Operating School Plants
Wages of Janitors, etc .:
High
$1,500.00
Elementary
1,783.00
Fuel:
High
794.72
Elementary
1,591.44
Miscellaneous and Sundries:
High
253.71
Elementary
825.46
Maintenance
Repairs, Upkeep, etc .:
High
$245.14
Elementary
931.13
Auxiliary Agencies
Health
$879.36
Transportation
4,455.32
Miscellaneous
58.77
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Outlays
New Equipment:
High
$484.13
Elementary Office
669.48
90.25
Total Expenditures
49,546.03
Unexpended Balance
583.97
Recapitulation
General Appropriation
$50,130.00
Expended
49,546.03
Unexpended
$583.97
Special Appropriation for Vocational Education.
800.00
Expended
464.73
Unexpended
$335.27
To the Superintendent and School Committee of the Town of Wil- mington,
Ladies and Gentlemen: I have the honor to present the follow- ing report.
The High School building with an enrollment of 196 students is filled nearly to its capacity. We are offering a very high type of curriculum and requiring high standards along scholastic lines. The High School gives an indispensable preparation, but no pupil can hope to succeed in academic subjects unless he spends at least ten hours a week in home study in addition to the time spent in school.
I wish to make three requests:
1. A plea to the parents.
The writer makes a special request for parents to get in closer touch with the High School than seems to be the custom. 2. More books for the Library.
Quoting from the bulletin issued by the Department of Edu- cation on Library Lists, "A good Library is an essential fea- ture of every well-equipped High School. The newer methods of teaching, such as project and directed learning make the High School Library a vital part of the school work in Eng- lish, in History and the Social studies, and in Science, and if it is to be most efficient, must make large use of reference books. Schools of 500 pupils or less should have at least 4 vols. per pupil. The Library of even the smallest high school should have at least one good encyclopedia, an unabridged dic- tionary, a good gazeteer, or atlas, and copies of the most use- ful reference books."
Wilmington High School has attempted to comply with these requirements through the efforts of the organization known as the Library Council. The object of this association is "to co-operate with the students, to help them in a literary way, to promote scho- lastic interests and to increase the efficiency of education and in-
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struct them in the use of the Library." Students elect members to this organization whose rank in conduct and effort is at least B, and whose attitude is one of helpfulness both toward fellow students and the faculty. The Council has accomplished much in the past year. Student Librarians have had charge of the Library in school hours. The Council has acted in the capacity designated by its constitution, also by furnishing approximately $100 to equip the library with books and supplies. We now have a steel cabinet, which was purchased by the school committee and erected at the expense of the Class of 1926, who generously donated their class gift to the library. We feel confident that the Council will keep the library up to a high standard if the Town can make it meet the requirements as set forth by the State Department.
3. Domestic Science Training.
The Principal's third request is for the renewal of the Do- mestic Science classes. The engagements of a Domestic Sci- ence teacher for the teaching of the girls in the grades of the High School would be of inestimable value. We have a fully equipped laboratory, and a training in home-making could be introduced at a small cost. No small investment would yield the Town so quick and so great a return as the introduction of Domestic Science.
The extra curricula activities have not been neglected at the high school during the past year. Two plays were presented, one by the Senior Class and one by the Athletic Association. The weekly paper (The Alpha) in two years has increased its size from 114 column inches to 224 column inches. The orchestra and the Glee Club have made a splendid record for themselves, having given two public performances. Football and basketball have been introduced and the teams have been equipped by the student mem- bers of the Athletic Association. A start has been made by the girls in field hockey and basketball. The hockey team was equipped by the School Committee. An inter-school track meet was held under the direction of the State Physical Instructor. The number of young people who are participating in competitive games is growing steadily. In addition to these various activities one As- sembly a week has been held. These meetings have been varied in their contents. We have secured twenty speakers who have come from outside, and we have also presented one-act plays and musical programs. The pupils have had full charge of many of these assemblies. Our new moving picture machine has opened wide fields for visual education.
The eighth grade is now really a part of the High School. They are allowed to join in the activities of the school, and we try to make them feel that they are really sub-freshmen, so that they will be more at home in the High School in the Freshman year.
I feel that we have been able to accomplish a great deal at the High School during the past year because of the friendly spirit of co-operation that exists among the members of the high school faculty. I also wish to thank the School Committee and Super- intendent for their hearty co-operation.
Respectfully submitted, MELVIN C. KNIGHT.
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Mr. Stephen G. Bean, Supt. of Schools, Wilmington, Mass.
I beg leave to submit my second annual report. We regret that the clinic for the ten-year tuberculosis program had to be omitted this year, owing to the illness of the executive secretary at the time we had arranged to hold the clinic. We hope to have better luck next year, as this work of detecting incipient tuberculosis and watching those children who are designated as suspicious cases or as contacts is very important.
The Schick test was given this year by Dr. Lyman Asa Jones, District Health Officer. The results of the clinic are given in the tabulation at the end of this report. Several years ago, when the Schick test was first given, there were about two hundred children that received the test. This year there were only one hundred and eighty-two, which leaves too large a margin of children who do not submit to the test. It is a great mistake for parents to neglect this opportunity to immunize their children against diphtheria, and the number of cases of this disease in this town yearly could be reduced if all the children took the test. Since eight-one per cent of the children under ten years of age react positively to the Schick test, it would seem advisable to omit the test for children of that age and start right in with the immunizing doses. This has been done in a great many towns.
Parents seem to be realizing more and more the importance of eliminating foci of infection, and more than twenty children were operated on for diseased tonsils and adenoids during the year. It is found more and more often that many pre-school children are being operated on, with a consequent diminution in the number of children in the first grade for whom the school physician's notice to the parents is required. For the two grades that were examined this fall, the figures show that in one there were three children for whom the school physician recommended operation for their tonsils, and in the other there was only one, as compared with last year's figures for the same rooms of eleven and nine respectively.
An entertainment was given in June in which children from all the schools participated. On the program was a health play, "The Quest of the Fountain of Health," songs and recitations. The par- ents and teachers helped a great deal to make the play a success, and the children were very enthusiastic and faithful in their work. The proceeds, amounting to $50.61, were used to equip the schools with scales.
Two children, both of whom had close association with a tuber- culosis case, were sent to the Middlesex Health Camp, where they both gained in weight and were generally benfited by the camp life. This means a great deal for them, as they are underweight and need all help possible to fight against tuberculosis.
Arrangements have been made for hot lunches or rich soup to be served in at least four of the schools, which is a decided gain over last year. These lunches are valuable not only as a source of nourishment but also as a means of teaching table etiquette and neatness, and the value of eating the right kinds of food.
This fall the initial steps were taken toward forming a class for
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pupils that need special instruction. We hope that next year this class will be going full swing.
Number of classroom inspections
73
Number of individual examinations by nurse. 2,936
Number of times pediculosis was found. 101
Number of children weighed or measured. 1,258
Number of children 10% under 241
22
Number of individual examinations by school physician.
260
Number of pupils having defects
79
Number of notices sent
66
Number of corrections made
31
Number of home calls
62
Number of children receiving Schick test.
182
Number of children receiving primary Schick test
156
Number of children reacting positively
65
Number of children reacting negatively
53
Number of children receiving immunizing serum.
64
Number of children receiving re-Schick for previous immu- nization
36
Number of children reacting positively
4
Number of children reacting negatively
28
Respectfully submitted,
CONSTANCE A. HOLLIDAY, R. N.
AGE AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION
5
6 7 8 9
177
25
2
114
6
5.2
6
5.2
II
56
29 |15
3
103
0
18
18
III
8
41
29
12
6
1
97
8
8.3
19
20
IV
731
25
6
2
1
72
7
10
9
8.5
VI
1
8 20
21
6
7
2
1
66
9
13
16
27
IIA
15
34 |17 11
6
1
83
9
11
17
20
VIII
17
32
20
5
1
1
76
19
22
7
9
X
2
9119
4
3
37
11
30
9
8
XI
3
8
9
2
22
20
91
0
O
XII
5 9 | 0 1
15
5
33
116.3
T
6 77 94 36
91
78
60 89
73
70
59 22 17 | 0
1
812
119
15-
124|15+
Heavily leaded diagonal steps indicate normal age expectation for the different grades.
Numbers outside these limits show:
(a) To the left-children young for the grade, i. e., under age- U. A.
(b) To the right-those too old for the grade, i. e., over age- O. A.
This allows a spread of two years for normal entrance into school.
14
15
16
17|18
19
TO.4 % U.A.
%
5 13 30
13
14
3 3
81
18
22
20
25
1
8
11|18
6
2
45
9
21
8
18
10
11
12
13
O
Number of children 15% over
64
SCHOOL AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION
I
II
III
IV
V
VI VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
T
South
9
3
13
11
36
West
10
9
12
8
39
Walker
...
37
45
25
21
39
167
Center
..
66
83
149
T'wn Hall
58
58
Whitefield
46
47
43
22
167
High Schl ..
76
46
37
22
15
196
Total
114
103
97
72
81
66
83
76
46
37
22
15
812
Owing to sickness and attendant non-membership, neither of these tables show the full membership in the Wilmington schools. There are probably nearer 820 pupils in attendance under perfect conditions.
Conclusion
In conclusion of this report let me summarize our needs for next year:
1. A new eight room building for elementary grades.
2. A supervisor of Physical Education.
3. An opportunity class to help pupils catch up with their grades, or fit themselves for future occupational study.
4. An increase in aid to the High School Library.
5. Increased interest in instrumental music in the upper grades.
I appreciate fully all aid and co-operation received from com- munity, committee, and faithful teachers.
Respectfully submitted,
STEPHEN G. BEAN.
Superintendent of Schools.
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This article appeared in the January ismoe of the Merican school Board Journal
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w. C. HeCimnis, uperintelunt of schools Levere, lasnachusetts.
Now large should a Clasrood bol This is & voostion which has received considerable attention during the lost Bow yert. large a class should a teacher have to teach? This la a question which has been discussed more or less fur twenty yoru. .
In regard to the first of these two questione thore hes been a tendency during very roount yars for superintendmits to rece c And to school committees that the sise of classrooms in new build- ings be smaller than in the older buildi The reasons given for the superintendents' reco ndations are thet mull alistes do votter school work then large classes; that it is customary to fill ol, sos to capacity; and that in order to make it impossible to foist ore than 40 pupils on a teacher the maximum so ting empcity of should be kept at 40. school cumittues usually my porintendent as to the desira ility of small cleaves aud udi enother consideration which often lenda them to fever all sizes clips If it has been decided to build an 8, 6 13, or 6 16 015et Ruom school house the building will cost less ir built on a 40 pupil ap. city plen then if on & 48 pupil capecity plan.
The great majority of superintendente and torchers loli.ves that more efficient wert is done in all classes then in love onit, iLis belief is practically universal mong parents and people in gen- il. . prominent educators in all jerto of the country hume repeateds y sont on record as favoring small classes on the ground that Lure eficient results are obtained in the small el.b .. Difici 16 con- coted with various atnte dupertanto of ouncution have sovoer tod :11 classes, and some of them have recommended r alley clesroca llt for the sake of efficiency in results of teaching and voonmy R school House construction.
The ancients believed the earth was flet. This belief wos ot ondes on scientific Knowledge but was e univers 1 opinion. Veryone believed it because they luw been taught that it is sos
ith few exceptions terem re believe that mall clesses Todudo cere efficient results and they are very positive in their views. I mast been told frequently thet it is unremmonthle to Dupe pobe that a great body of opinion should exist among an enciou, well ir in , and experienced class of workers, such as tenchers, it were based on fret, and that the opinion regarding the re- lation of the size of the class to the efficiency of the results is so universal and so nearly unanimous that it chodid be cocertes #8 chund ed estional theory that has proved itself to be correct in practicel aplie tion through the experience of torchers. Later in this article it will be shown that the theory does not prove taue in practice. If it does not hold true when tested in actual practice. then, it is cere opinion.
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Probably the conditions under which teach rs receive their professional training explains to a considerable extent their preference for small classes and their opinion thet cla les should be small. In nearly all teacher training institutions the nu ber of pupils avrilable for practice teaching is small ball the maber of prospective teachers in training, is lire. Therefore it is necessary to have mmall classes. Icachers revive their fpractice teaching with small groups. The nerel schools have made s virtue of necessity and emphasise their belief in the desirabil- ity of the small class.
wine of classes vary greatly in the cities of the United states although educational authorities have accepted 30 pupils as the largest muabur that should be in a class. In 1020 the U. Bureau of education reported ( Denner, , Bulletin 1920, l'o. 24) for 1932 cities with populations of over 2500. This rowrt sheys the largest number of pupils per class to be ""over sixty" and the melleat fourteen. The 1922 report of a committee of theNational education Association reported on 726 cities having populations of 65,000 or more and found conditions about the La. reported by the Bureau of aducation. The size of classes veries greatly with- in a single city and also within a singl School. In Los Angeles the elementary school classes range from 15 to .4 pupils,
cvere, lass. (1923) the sise of classes rings from 8 to 43,
Enough studies of class site and efficiency have been conducted so that the data available inreliable. The evidence is strongly agudast the theory that mall c1 e3 0 wetter work. On the whole the conclusions are that the size of the class up to 45 or 48 pupils hes no relation to the quality of th.
Hice (1896) tested 6,000 pupils in arithetie cnd 8,000 in language. lle found that "there is no rol timnahij between the site of the class end the results." Iliot (1214) tested 40 classes in Arithmetic, nglich composition, apelli , and Lemen- ship. His experiment showed that the smaller classes did not do work superior to that of the large classes. iiliot ac, 8 #The re- sults show no correlation between clubu sire :d El. imsont." orlan ( 1915) tested 675 clesses using the Courtis crit's tio tests. Ile found that large classes (36 to 45 pupils) made the best record.
Bochman ( 1915) made a study of the annual es emotions and found that the percentage of practically the jeme for clauses of all aires up to while (1914) found the thing true in his study and states first "there is no relation. ship uf significance between siso of classes and the mubor of pro- Sotions."
Breed and Nocarthy ( 1016) carriedon an experiment in spelling with 80 classes. They used uniform Methods of daily drill em tasting. 'Leir large elasors hed an average onrolant of 45 and the mmall classes an average rrolment of 47. The large classes showed grester achievement than the smaller of.s.
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stevenson (19 %) coupures the comovement of pupils in arge classes with that of pupils in mor il cl sset. In this experi- ust large classes in sime fre. 42 10 54 054 11 01 848 ron 33 to 45. We found no significant differences in chasvement twoen small classes end 1000 Clase2.
In 19:0 the writer sady i study of the promotion rele of 11 classes, gradom ona to sicht inclusive, lo 6:110.s /11s, emmost, for m period of five ars from Meptomb p 1914 ta aune
$19. The rate of promotion did not vary cocorular io sire or 1 6808. The size of cisnes of an individu 1 tenuher virivo from ur to year. A fourth le cher, for 19stance, dice 11 1 .s one year and a large eles the dext. inere una nic signifi- mat difference in the percentage of fupile .romeise in the mall large classes by the sure toucher.
The proacti ne of leontez, or Junior hin mo col Mu- ij= 1 levere in June 1922 hond no sx ificent caxxoxe 0 buon the rate of promotion in will na lezze elbile. f classes ranged from 20 to 59 pupils mno the total number of rio ila involved was 6709.
In the fall of 1916 the writer tooted 000 el miGt 1 1um ils in arithmetic baim, the Courtis atomoerd touto, 1 ba size ixi Bu evident effect on sohlevement. trato gla in Ww Aprim, of 1017 under the @ conditions and With the curtis toots. apr 1. "Lo rate of
tie sus not conditioned by size of cleroel. I. 1922 60 fifth race classes in Nevro were tested in crime. tic, tu Courtis Mots oning wood. The classes ranged from 28 10 4 pupils. Intres showed am good resulte da me 11 onoe ...
lasses Groved no effect on the quality of the
The results of other experiments could be given tending to show that miall classes do not prasute effici ney in edveatin 1 results. In spite of evidence to the contrary De populer sotion isistu thet educationel efficience der nde w- 11 club es and it krsists to such on extent that school ooittres cro med ding th size of the standard cles room.
It is & wolf evident faet tort ra the sire or the class lucresses the pour pupil cost of inot. ustion ine.enlet. ministrraivo impossibility to sout the majority 6f claseroute to Sim capacity. if the room depacity 19 48 pupils to Veragero a me hrani for the school year is piroxi tel 44. od if the coperit Ou pupils.
Consider the following, case of two classes i: the male eyutom, one of 35 pupils and the ather of 44. The For pupil cont in the miller class is 4 .. 00 in the teaching it . in the lerpor elas 11 is 30.36. Fre thu aiff rende in cost of te ching por rupil is :b.49 b Foal. city loving 10,000 ele eutely pupils the me tien of a grup mm of 40 soute to a room instead of 48 would maire difference or ap rox- imately 64,900 a year in the item of terch is' polaries Elone.
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4. reduction in the size of classes automationily increases the number of teachers required. Teachers' salaries constitute from 05 to 75 percent of the toinl of current school expenditures. In Revere for the year ending June 30, 1923 to chers' salaries amounted to 70.4 percent of the total.
ith the tremendous increase in the total cost of schools It becomes the duty of every superintendent and school board member to consider carefully whether the increased expense involved in the adoption of a smaller clas policy in justifiable. The evidence (and it is reliable evidence) proves that it is not justifiable.
the fact that the cost of a single school house is lees on 40 pupil classroom tasig than on a 40 badis is not t od ar ment. A twelve room school building on a 48 pupil basis has a maximun orimcity of 576 pupils. fourteen room school house on a 40 pupil Inmie Mas a maximum canncity of only 560. Mr twelve room building will te care of more pupils than the fourteen room quatding, Aud onlaries of to torohere (about 3000) ill bo seved susily.
the fact that the weleit of opinion lavora the idea of small classes is likely to be given und consideration fall to have too much importance attached to it. The fact that an idea is voll estab ished by vide acceptance and long usage is not a valid argument in favor of it ben subjected to scientific treatment. The ancient belief in the flathene of the earth, thi poneraily necepten thousy :0110 / 1over mas spread by contact, and the almost unive dal belief the the lar of gravity made it impos ivlc for man over to perfect a flyin ochino are few of the n ny majority opinions thet i've had to ive way in the face of facts and investiga. ion.
Up to the preget tine toaoners :uid toluol administra tors have been concerned largely with problems of porfeetiny the ednonitounl processoo and of extending eduention 1 opporemtis. If this lis becu justifiable from an educational point of view on its cost lins beun justified unid amu been o unidered an investment. come which one other factor must receive consideration 0 0irt 1: 1.40 ability of the city to my.
Deonuse of the large percentage of the lotal dual of public Cumencion ut goes into un iton of teachers' evi.ent ant no other bingle reform will rest in outh bmediste md substantial Timeajal cavina at the adoption o policy of lorre clases. in the long run the lostened per ci Besuch cost of ommetmotion of small classrooms in o ouhool habe mikden progr M mit item man compared illi ihn greater poi upil Que1 cost tim continues for as many years as the schoolhouse in usode
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Leonard : . Ayers, one of the greatest Auctionn educators, offers the following suggestions
"The time is rapidly approaching when the expense of support- ing public education is going to eat up the income of our mo icio polities so that they will be wir bie to fline iti 8. The truth is that in la rou vo have determined to Live all people access to free public ducation me til they adults, but we have not thought of any Me to pay for it. search should be done in the flin ing of hildings um in their iu- mcssified use,"
Sul the Scheel comittees and school administrators are derenells
school depert ett bo usde financi. 12y Inder adent of the sily government, and in many parts of the United bastes the school department has been given financial independende. Tre fut. re wel- fate of public education in hericem bes it que party that every- Che connected with the public school system am li de bip part to sce that the public is given a hundred cante forth of efficiency for every dollar of the seroel baret.
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