USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wilmington > Town of Wilmington Annual Report 1935-1936 > Part 6
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Now we have full time sessions, not only in the High School where there has been this past season a substantial increase in at- tendance, but also in the Buzzell School where the seventh and eighth grades fill the present seating capacity of the six class rooms.
This year of 1936, under the W. P. A. projects, we expect to build modern toilet facilities for the district schools, the Center, White- field and Walker Schools. To Federal aid we are indebted for play- grounds at the High School and Whitefield School, and the elaborate and beautiful landscaping at the Buzzell Sche~l.
For the first time the department has been able to recognize this year officially the value of athletics in the High School, and to employ a highly qualified instructor to direct them. He has entered on his work with enthusiasm and we have every reason to expect ex- cellent results.
The committee can point to good efforts throughout the school organization and is grateful to every individual in that organization for his or her share therein. It desires, at this time, to record its ap- preciation of the cooperation of the other branches of the Town gov- ernment and of the generous way in which the citizens of the Town have supported the schools.
Especially, it is most happy to have the Wilmington Athletic Development Association support the physical training program and to the Association it extends its hearty thanks.
Most fitting is it that we have a lasting memorial to Dr. Daniel T. Buzzell in our new school house.
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In closing we would speak with reverence and affection of the passing into the other life of Miss Carolyn M. Swain, the senior in time of service of our teachers, noteworthy, not only for her skill as a teacher, but for her broad-minded American Citizenship.
JOHN W. HATHAWAY, Chairman,
OLIVIA H. NORCROSS, VELMA BEDELL, HARRY W. DeLOREIA,
EDWARD C. MANNING, PETER NEILSON,
Committee.
115
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
To the School Committee of Wilmington:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Subscribed please find my thirteenth annual report as Super- intendent of Schools. This report is of greater brevity than is com- mensurate with the importance of this department, but is deliberately made so because of the expense involved in printing. I am frequently reminded that nobody reads it anyway. This seems to me a short- sighted policy, since this department is the most expensive single activity supported by local taxation.
Appended to this report will be found the reports of the principal of the High School and of the various supervisors. In these will be found specific information as to aims and results in their various sec- tions.
GENERAL SURVEY
A report on the activities of the first six months of the fiscal year might well be found in the annual report of the 1934 edition. This is due to the fact that except for some statistical matter the annual report is usually influenced by the practices in the current school year which carry over into the next fiscal year.
Conditions last June compared to those in September and October are so different that it is impossible to report them as parts of the same thing. The addition of the Daniel T. Buzzel School to our hous- ing facilities has changed completely the character of the educational opportunity available to the children of the six upper grades of the system. As a mathematical problem, it would seem that the condition had been improved about forty per cent, in that we have added that much to the effective school day. In actual practical efficiency the increase is nearer a hundred and forty per cent. The time which was lost under the old part-time system was just that which makes the difference between a rough draft and a finished job. We were able only to sketch in the bare essential outlines of educational accom- plishment under the part time plan. Now we are able to add the color
116
and shadings which make a completed picture from what was a rough sketch.
Perhaps some will say, "Oh, yes, that sounds all right but it doesn't mean anything", I can assure these that it means even more than it says. I believe that any teacher who has been in the upper six grades during the past three years will agree that I have under- estimated the improvement in educational opportunity.
I trust that it will be noted that I have used the term educational opportunity. This has a significance. Annually we are striving to improve the effectiveness of the schools but we cannot claim that the influence on the children is in proportion. This is through no fault of the schools but is a direct result of changed and changing social and environmental conditions. As our mode of living has grown more complex there have entered into the lives of our children influences which have tended to so diffuse their interests that concentration on a few important lines of endeavor are increasingly difficult. Some of these influences, for example the moving pictures and the automobile, have decided possibilities for good if they could be properly regulated or employed. The cheapness of publication of books and magazines could and can be a power for mental growth if properly used or regu- lated. Unfortunately there is a laxity in the control of these which makes it possible for them to become enemies rather than aids to the educational development of children along desirable lines. One need only cast a glance over the display rack of any store which sells newspapers and magazines to see what a terrific force of educational material of a dangerous nature is freely offered for sale. Compared with many of these publications, the "dime novel" of the Jesse James -Nick Carter-Buffalo Bill type of the "gay nineties" seem almost like Biblical literature. Such magazines are evidently purchased by some- one and probably go into some homes where there are children. It is not likely that reading the career of Abraham Lincoln from a text- book in history can hold the interest of youngsters whose literary diet has been a mixture of gangster tales and Hollywood "dirt".
I feel justified in claiming that such influences as those men- tioned above are having a very definite effect on the social reaction of the generations now in our schools. These continual glorifications, or at least publicizations, of the lawlessness of a certain part of so- ciety renders the work of the school teacher increasingly difficult. If parents could only be convinced of the pernicious effects of these in- fluences they might be greatly aided in many of their own parental difficulties.
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Those of us who have contacts with children in large numbers frequently acknowledge to one another that the modern youngster is too "wise". The word "wise" used in this sense has very little to do with wisdom. Used thus it is a colloquial i. e. a slang expression meaning that they have too much misinformation of a nature far be- yond their years, or a smattering of knowledge undesirable because of their lack of judgment and experience. We cannot blame them for this condition. The responsibility rests with their elders who have permitted them to gain such knowledge before they are ready to assimilate it. This is not a criticism of local bearing. It is a fact of our national life. The condition applies no more to Wil- mington than it does to any other community in the nation. It is one of the many universal diseases of these times.
The significance of all this goes back to what was said earlier concerning educational opportunity. The point is that we have here now much improved facilities for training children as compared to several years past but it can be effective only in proportion to the advantage the children choose to take from it. To quote an old proverb, "You may lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Another great gain which has come since the close of the school year in June is in the field of Physical Education. Our program for several years has been superior to that of most towns of the size of this. In this program however there was little opportunity for the boys of the high school. The girls had their sports in which they were very successful, but the boys did not have any regular provision made for them. A member of the faculty has always done what he could to help them but without any definite financial backing and with little encouragement outside of the school. With the formation of the Wilmington Athletic Development Association under the initiation of Mr. James Gilligan and his associates all this has been changed. Financial backing of a very substantial kind made it possible for us to support football and plan for more active participation in basketball and other sports.
This assurance of financial support made it advisable for us to add to the high school faculty a man who had some definite prepara- tion for coaching the major athletic games. By a set of fortunate circumstances we were able to add not one, but three men to the high school staff who had training in one or more of the sports
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usually found on a high school program. The first chosen was for teacher-coach of the three major sports, football. basketball and base- ball. It is not necessary for me to report Mr. Grinnell's qualifications. They are now well known. In addition to Mr. Grinnell we have Mr. Charles Holbrook who had training at Springfield College before enter- ing Tufts. He has assisted Mr. Grinnell and is himself capable of coaching several sports as well as directing a formal program of phy- sical education. Mr. Richard Allen who was employed primarily to head the French department is also able to coach some of the minor sports such as hockey or tennis.
With a setup of this kind and proper financial support there is every reason to expect a very successful program of sports and phy- sical education for the boys of the high school. We must have that financial support and can hardly expect the W. A. D. A. to assume the burden permanently. It is to be hoped that the town will approve the item for this purpose which has been embodied in the school budget. Recent legislation has made it legal for money raised by taxa- tion to be used for this purpose.
In passing I wish to state that the effect of the new activities on the morale of the high school boys would justify an expenditure several times as great as is being asked for.
STATE AID OR REIMBURSEMENT
It is not generally known or at least receives little consideration that this town receives annually from the state treasury sums rang- ing from $13,000 to $16,000. This varies as the valuation of the town and the amount of money spent. While this is a great help it does seem that there should be some further aid for towns like this where the proportion of the school enrollment to the total population is so very high. In Wilmington 25% of the total population is being supported in its public schools. This is an extremely high percentage and places a heavy burden on the other 75%. It is true that by virtue of this pro- portion an extra allowance is received from the state but it does seem as though there should be further equalization for a town in such a situation. As a matter of fact if we were spending as much per pupil as in the average in Massachusetts, the town would be unable to sup- port it. It might be worth while for the local authorities to investigate the possibilities of further legislation to meet such unusual conditions as are here present.
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THE TEACHING CORPS
The principal of the high school has indicated such changes as have occurred in the six upper grades, especially in the high school. In the seventh and eighth grades Miss Groesbeck is the only new teacher.
In the elementary schools the turnover was small. Miss Alma Mason resigned to be married and was succeeded by Miss Nathalie Towle of Gloucester, a teacher of excellent training and a number of years of experience. Miss Towle is in charge of grades one and two in the Silver Lake School.
Miss Olive Littlehale formerly teacher in the South School was transferred to the fourth grade in the Whitefield School. She was followed at the South School by Miss Harriet Donehue of Lowell, who is a graduate of Lowell Teachers' College with a good bit of ex- perience in several towns, her last engagement being in Lexington.
In the Center School one vacancy occurred. Miss Helen Nelson was offered a decided increase in salary by Melrose. Her place has been taken by Miss Elizabeth Giles. By a strange coincidence there are now two teachers of that same name in this school. Miss Eliza- beth G. Giles was already a teacher in the sixth grade of this school. The new Miss Giles has charge of grade five. She is a graduate of Salem Teachers' College and is the daughter of a very successful teacher, her father, who is employed in the schools of Woburn.
A PRESSING NEED
The erection of the Daniel T. Buzzell School has solved our most serious problem but it has not removed the necessity for some form of assemby hall and gymnasium for the high school. An assembly hall is a very essential part of any well organized high school. It is an important factor in the building and maintenance of a school morale. Any principal who is deprived of this adjunct to his building is work- ing under a very serious handicap. There is no way in which he can pull his school together as a unit. Many chances are lost to give the school the benefit of influence which make for better character edu- cation and school citizenship.
Of equal importance in these days is a gymnasium. We have em- barked on an all round program of sports. Some of these are of necessity indoor games. The small floor and low ceiling of what is now called the high school gymnasium is a serious handicap. We find
120
that some teams hesitate to play games in Wilmington because of our poor facilities. Moreover our general program of physical edu- cation for the six upper grades is rendered very difficult because of lack of space and poor hygiene conditions.
It is wholly possible for one room to serve both of these pur- poses and in addition to provide an adequate meeting place for many town functions which are now cramped for space, notably the town meetings. Such a building need not be elaborate or expensive. It could be in part, self liquidating by the saving in rental of privately owned halls. That it would be of great advantage to the community spirit of the town is clearly evident. Its value to the school is greater than is realized by the average citizen who has had no immediate contacts with school administration.
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
The enrollment in the local schools was the largest on October first that the town has ever known. Tables showing the actual en- rollments and the distribution in various schools and grades will ap- pear later in this report. The total for all schools on October 1st. was 1155. Of these 285 are reported in the high school building. Nine years ago there were but 200 pupils in this building which was then operating at the full capacity for which it was built. It is interesting to note that in 1930 there were but 165 pupils in the high school. It is of further interest that in the 1932 report there were 406 pupils in the six upper grades. The number for this year on the same date was 493. It is evident therefore that contrary to the opinion of many, we have not reached the peak of the school load as yet. It is wise to examine carefully the enrollment tables as an index of what must be faced in the future. In 1930 there were but 998 pupils in all of our schools while in 1935 there were 1155. This is a growth of 167 pupils in five years or practically 34 pupils each year. A year ago 1114 were reported which is 41 less than are present just one year later. From these figures it is evident that on the basis of experience we must look for an increase of over thirty pupils each year. This is the ideal number to make a class and therefore calls for an added classroom each year. This pressure in the current year is being felt in the schools at Silver Lake. Here we have been making readjustment and transfers all of the year to keep the classes below the legal limit of fifty pupils to a teacher.
The mention of the problem at Silver Lake recalls the necessity for warning that in the near future conditions there are likely to come to the point where something must be done. We can accomo-
121
date some of these children in the Whitefield School but this means transporting children of the first and second grades by bus. This would give a very long day away from home with the possibility of minor bumps due to the thoughtlessness or carelessness of the older chil- dren who are at that age when they are not too considerate of the comfort of others. It seems that soon, if there is no change in the steady growth in population in the section served by the Silver Lake School, it will be necessary to provide a larger building in this locality. A building of at least four rooms is indicated. Such a structure would call for two extra teachers. It would give a vast improvement over present conditions in return for the extra expense involved.
IN MEMORIAM
I feel that I cannot complete this report without a few words concerning a great soul which has passed from our group to an as- sured future in that select company of her peers in the Great Be- yond.
For more than forty years Miss Caroline Swain gave of her best to the children of this state, and for most of that long period to those of this town. Her best was not that of the average of us. Hers was a higher type of character and devotion than the average ever at- tains.
Not only did Miss Swain teach what may be found in books. She had that spirit within her which goes out to others, especially impres- sionable children, in such a way as to affect their lives along lines with which mere book knowledge has little to do. She was a builder of character, not by precept, but by constant example. There were no bad boys or girls to her. They were just misguided children. She believed good to be always there, somewhere, and expected each child to be his best self. To a remarkable degree this expection was realized. .
Teachers of this type are few. She worked more for the love of teaching than for the money payment. In fact it is an interesting sidelight of her character in illustration of this, that she always avoid- ed receiving her salary checks in the presence of her class. It was always the custom for her check to be slipped underneath her blotter pad without calling attention to it.
Thus passeth a noble character, a true Christian gentlewoman, worthy of that high title borne by her Master, Great Teacher.
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CONCLUSION
In closing may I express my appreciation of the cooperation which I have received from all of my associates in the local schools. Such success as we attain in the training of your children is due to their example and efforts.
To the Committee I extend hearty thanks for the support and aid which they unfailingly render. Without this the task would be dif- ficult indeed.
Respectfully submitted,
STEPHEN G. BEAN,
Superintendent of Schools.
Jan. 31, 1936
123
AGE-GRADE ENROLLMENT October 1, 1935
5 6
7
8
9 10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
29
T
I
14 91
25
1
1
132
II
19
59
19
7
2
1
107
III
16
67
23
2
4
1
1
114
IV
11
49
25
9
4
98
V
12
59
17
5
3
96
VI
12
48
20
14
11
1
106
VII
19
52
23
6
4
1
105
VIII
3
16
37
29
12
5
102
S. C.
1
3
3
2
1
10
Total
14 110 100
98
91 102 101 101
81 48
18
6
870
IX
12
48
24
11
3
98
X
1
8
40
25
9
2
85
XI
1
9
26
15
3
3
57
XII
6
19
14
4
43
P. G.
2
2
Total
13 57
73
68
46
21
7
285
Grand Total 14 110 100
98 91 101 101 101
94 105 91
74
46
21
7
1155
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SCHOOL-GRADE DISTRIBUTION October 1, 1935
Grade
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
SC
9 10
11
12
PG
T
South
5
8 6
19
West
19
20
39
10
10
Silver Lake
32
19
24
17
Maple Meadow
17
11
11
10
49
Walker
34
27
46
32
23
162
Whitefield
25
22
27
39
36
149
37 106
143
105 102
207
98
85 57
43
2
285
Totals
132 107 114
98 96 106 105 102
10
98
85
57
43
2 1155
North
92
Center
D. T. Buzzell
High School
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ROSTER OF SCHOOL EMPLOYEES
NAME
POSITION
HOME
DATE APPOINTED
Stephen G. Bean
Superintendent
Wilmington
1924
J. Turner Hood, Jr.
Principal H. S.
Wilmington 1928
George G. Kambour
Mathematics
Wilmington 1930
Charles Holbrook
Science
Framingham 1935
William G. Grinnell
Social Science & Athletics
Wilmington
1935
Laura N. Marland
English & History
Ballardvale
1919
Edna Thorton
English & Dramatics
Amherst
1935
Alice Hathaway
Latin & English
N. Wilmington
1932
Richard Allen
French & English
Brockton 1935
Gladys Alexander
Commercial
Tewksbury
1923
Alice Stanton
Commercial
Worcester 1930
George C. Webber
Commercial Sub.
Wilmington 1933
Margaret Bradley
Phy. Ed. Supervisor
Brookline 1935
Shirley H. Gulliver
Drawing Supervisor
Newton
1929
Angelica Carabillo
Music Supervisor
Hartford, Conn. 1935
Sylvia Neilson
History and Geography
Wilmington
1933
Margaret Delaney
English & Geography
Lowell
1932
Myrtle Colson
Mathematics
Jamaica Plain
1934
Barbara Stuart
English
Melrose 1935
Thelma Roscoe
Mathematics
Everett
1934
Doris Groesbeck
Geography
Lawrence
1935
John W. Crediford, Jr.
Principal Center
Hamilton
1930
Lena Carter
Grade VI Center
Albemarle, N. C. 1930
Elizabeth G. Giles
Grade VI Center
Springfield 1932
Elizabeth Giles
Grade V Center
Woburn
1935
Henrietta Swain Olive Oman Sybil Weiberg Ellen Cannon A. Estelle Horton Lena Doucette
Principal Walker
Wilmington 1893
Grades III & IV Walker
Wilmington 1933
Grade II Walker
Reading 1927
Grade I Walker
Decatur, Ga. 1929
Principal Whitefield
Greenwood 1922
Grades II & III Whitefield
Wilmington
1918
Virginia Nodding
Grades I & II
Reading 1933
Olive Littlehale
Grade IV
Tyngsboro 1934
Lena M. Eames
West
Wilmington 1927
Ruth S. Maynard
Sp. Class
Pepperell 1929
Harriet Donehue
South
Lowell
1936
Mildred Rogers
Silver Lake
Lowell
1929
Nathalie Towle
Silver Lake
Gloucester
1935
Anne Merritt
Maplemeadow
Middleton
1935
Helen Patten
Maplemeadow
Reading
1926
Esther Nichols
Nurse
Wilmington
1922
E. C. MacDougall
School Physician
Wilmington
1932
Charles F. Perry
Janitor High School
Wilmington
Ernest Cail
Janitor Buzzell School
Wilmington
Robert Bump
Janitor Center
Wilmington
Wilson Thompson
Janitor Walker
Wilmington
Roland Hinxman
Janitor South
Wilmington
John Dooling
Janitor West
Wilmington
Walter A. Gebhard
Janitor Whitefield
Wilmington
Herbert F. Johnson
Janitor Silver Lake
Wilmington
Oliver Newcomb
Janitor Maplemeadow
Wilmington
Roger Buck
Janitor North
Wilmington
REPORT OF HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Mr. S. G. Bean, Superintendent of Schools, Wilmington, Mass.
Dear Sir:
I present herewith my eighth annual report as Principal of the Wilmington High School. In this report I have chosen to discuss the following topics: personnel; buildings; athletics and curriculum changes.
Personnel: Mr. S. F. Frolio resigned from his position as teacher of Science and has been replaced by Mr. Charles R. Holbrook. Mr. Holbrook is a graduate of Tufts College where he specialized in the laboratory sciences. Miss Dorothy Giles, teacher of French, re- signed to accept a similar position at Rockland, Massachusetts. Mr. Richard W. Allen, a graduate of Dartmouth College, Harvard Uni- versity, and special student in Paris and the Language School of Middlebury College, was engaged to teach French and English. Miss Stephanie Bean, teacher of English, resigned, due to her marriage. Miss Edna Thornton, one of our own graduates, was selected to teach the English classes formerly taught by Miss Bean. Miss Thornton studied at Boston University and State College, graduating from the latter institution. Mr. William G. Grinnell was added to the teaching staff, because of the increased number of pupils attend- ing school. Mr. Grinnell is teaching the Social Sciences and coach- ing football, basketball, and baseball. Mr. Grinnell was an out- standing athlete at Tufts College and was highly recommended as a teacher-coach by that institution. His work to date is ample justi- fication for his selection from a large field of applicants. Miss Doris Groesbeck was employed to fill the vacancy in the Buzzell School caused by the resignation of Miss Carolin Swain. Miss Groesbeck is a graduate of Colby College and has had considerable experience substituting in the Lawrence schools.
Miss Carolin M. Swain resigned in June, after forty-six years of teaching; thirty-four of which were served in the Wilmington
128
schools. Miss Swain did not live long to enjoy a wellearned rest. Her untimely death came in August. At this point I want to pay my respect to the memory of a master of teaching, a loyal fellow- worker, a noble Christian character, and a fine, true friend. The community has lost one of its outstanding citizens.
Buildings: The seventh and eighth grades moved from the High into the new Daniel T. Buzzell School in September. This building is most attractive outside and inside. Two hundred and ten pupils can be accommodated in the new building. The largest enrollment for the year was two hundred and nine, thus it would seem that additional seats would have to be provided in the near future.
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