USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wilmington > Town of Wilmington Annual Report 1939-1940 > Part 17
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This increase in enrollment is not a local phenomenon. It is a gen- eral trend all over this country. There is a definite movement out from the large cities into nearby small towns. Nearby does not mean four or five miles nowadays. With roads as they are and cars as plenti- ful, twenty-five miles is now as nearby as was five miles a few years ago.
A few figures in a simple table will show what has been happening in this town since the present high school was erected in 1914. At that time provision was made for a school of two hundred pupils in a four- year course.
Year
H. S. Enrollment
Total Enrollment
1915
120
560
1920
161
587
1925
172
766
1930
180
1018
1935
285
1155
1940
333
1321
It is evident that the high school enrollment has increased nearly 300% in the last twenty-five years, and almost 200% in the last ten.
Study of the two tables of pupil distribution appearing later in this report gives evidence that with no new arrivals the present level will continue for years to come. If the usual annual increases from outside the town continue at the present average rate a 500- pupil high school may prove too small. THE PROBLEM IS HERE. THE SOLUTION IS EVIDENT. ACTION IS IMPERATIVE.
The school department completed its fiscal year with an apparent balance of $542.41. I say apparent balance because this is really a part of a $703.44 which was budgeted for insurance. Since the town took
160
over all of the insurance on buildings the committee hoped to return to the town treasury the full sum budgeted less $22.50 paid for bur- glary insurance on high school typewriters. We were unable because of salary increases and the employment of new teachers, the expense of which had not been included in the budget, to turn back the full amount.
Because of the increase in enrollment it will be necessary to employ another teacher in the high school next September. This, to- gether with the payment of the salary of the extra teacher hired last September and the increase in the amount of books and supplies necessary for the increase in enrollment will call for an increase in the 1941 budget. Such increase should not be construed as depart- mental extravagance but recognized as the result of growth in the school population.
It is still as true as it has been for years past that Wilmington schools are operated at the lowest cost per pupil of any city or town in the State. The comparative figures for the last year as published by the Commonwealth are not yet available but I feel safe in stating that our schools cost. in the school year ending last June, not over five dollars more than one-half of the average cost for all other towns in the State Based on the number of pupils present on October 1, 1939, our per pupil cost was just over $59.00. The average for the State was probably well over $100. For the current school year on the basis of present enrollment figures, if our budget is allowed as presented, the per pupil cost will be $58.21 which is even lower than last year's very low level.
It should be realized that this town gets reimbursements from the Commonwealth of well over $20,000 each year on account of school expenditures. More than $17,000 of that amount is given back to the town from the proceeds of the State Income Tax. This is a reimburse- ment on account of salaries paid teachers and supervisors, and is sup- posed to help the town keep a salary schedule comparative to the com- munities of greater wealth. This money is paid directly into the town treasury and is not handled by the school department at all. In fact we do not maintain salary schedules adequate to hold our better teachers when they are offered positions in other places. The net result is that the net cost of the schools to the tax payers is over 30% less than the gross cost.
Sincere thanks is extended to all school employees and to the members of the School Committee for any and all aid and cooperation rendered during the past year.
Respectfully submitted.
STEPHEN G. BEAN.
January 15, 1941
Supt. of Schools.
161
WILMINGTON SCHOOL REPORT
Table I Age-Grade Distribution October 1, 1940
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
T
1
16
102
11
1
1
13
=
23
80
11
5
1
12
111
15
63
22
5
5
11
IV
25
70
24
11
1
1
13
V
27
54
27
6
4
1
11
VI
21
66
20
11
3
3
12
VII
16
56
30
13
3
1
11
VIII
25
59
19
13
4
12
S.c.
3
2
6
1
1
13
T
16
125
106
100
125
104
126
111
101
42
20
6
98
IX
1
13
57
31
9
6
11
X
15
48
25
10
4
1C
XI
12
28
5
7
1
1
5
XII
8
40
7
2
5
P.G.
2
1
T
1
13
72
91
70
63
19
3
1
33
G. T.
16
125
106
100
125
104
126
112
120
114
111
76
63
19
3
1
13.
162
WILMINGTON SCHOOL REPORT TABLE II. School-Grade Distribution October 1, 1940
School
1
=
IV
V VI VII VIII
S.c. IX X
XI XII P.G. T.
Walker
32
28
33
37
43
173
West
22
26
48
Maple Meadow
.. 25
14
17
22
78
Silver Lake
27
32
31
29
119
Whitefield
25
20
29
44
36
154
Center
40
124
164
Buzzell
119
120
239
North
13
13
High
117
102
54
57
3
333
Total
131
120
110
132
119
124
119
120
13
117
102
54
57
3
1321
163
ROSTER OF SCHOOL EMPLOYEES
Name
Position
Residence
Date Appointed
Stephen G. Bean
Superintendent
Wilmington
1924
J. Turner Hood, Jr.
Principal H. S.
Wilmington 1928
George C. Kambour
Mathematics
Wilmington 1930
Harold Driscoll
Social Science & Ath.
Lawrence
1936
Laura N. Marland
English & History
Andover
1919
Edna Thornton
English & Dramatics
Worcester
1935
Sylvia Neilson
Latin & History
Wilmington
1933
Baldwin Steward
French & English
Wilmington 1936
Gladys Alexander
Commercial
Tewksbury
1923
Marion Hume
Commercial
Melrose 1939
Carl Harvey
Commercial
Wilmington
1936
Bernard McMahon
Social Science
Wilmington
1938
Christine Carter
Science
Wilmington
1939
Evelyn Wells
Phy. Ed. Supervisor
Lynn 1939
Shirley H. Gulliver
Drawing Supervisor
Newton Highlands 1929
Angelica Carabello
Music Supervisor
Hartford, Conn.
1935
Margaret Delaney
English & Geography
Lowell 1932
Alyce O'Brien
Mathematics & Geography
Rockland
1936
164
165
Marjorie Chaput Samuel Frolio, Prin.
History & Geography
Haverhill
1940
Geography & History
No. Wilmington 1940
Mildred Wheeler
English & Music
Reading 1940
Elene Farello
Mathematics & History
Wilmington 1939
John W. Crediford, Jr.
Principal, Center
Hamilton 1930
Ruth Kidder
Grade VI, Center
Wilmington 1936
Grace Boehner
Grade VI, Center
Lawrence 1937
Vera Korobkoff
Grade V, Center
Boston 1939
Desire Goldsmith
Principal, Walker
Salem
1936
Olive Oman
Gr. III & IV, Walker
Wilmington
1933
Sybil Weiberg
Gr. II, Walker
Reading
1927
Harriet Donehue
Gr. I, Walker
Lowell
1935
A. Estelle Horton
Principal, Whitefield
Greenwood
1922
Lena Doucette
Grades II & III, Whitefield
Wilmington
1918
Olive Littlehale
Gr. IV, Whitefield
Tyngsboro
1934
Carol Brink
Gr. I, Whitefield
Woburn
1937
Lena M. Eames
West
Wilmington 1927
Ruth S. Maynard
Special Class
Pepperell
1929
Mildred Rogers
Principal, Silver Lake
Lowell
1929
Doriscey Florence
Gr. II, Silver Lake
Wilmington
1938
Barbara Purbeck
Gr. I, Silver Lake
Medford 1936
Ruth Conrad
Gr. III, Silver Lake
Billerica
1940
Helen Patten
Maple Meadow
Reading
1926
Name
Rita Doherty Esther Nichols E. C. MacDougall Charles F. Perry
166
Leslie Durkee
Position Maple Meadow, Gr. I & II
Residence
Appointed
Stoneham
1939
Wilmington
1922
School Physician
Wilmington
1932
Janitor High School
Janitor Buzzell School
Wilmington
Ernest Cail
Martin Nee
Wilson Thompson
Janitor Walker School
Wilmington
Roland Hinxman
Janitor Maple Meadow
Wilmington
Edward Lyons
Janitor West School
Wilmington
Harry Deloriea
Janitor Whitefield
Wilmington
James Fitzgerald
Janitor Silver Lake
Wilmington
Janitor North School
Wilmington
Wilmington
Date
Nurse
Janitor Center School
Wilmington
REPORT OF HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Mr. Stephen G. Bean,
Superintendent of Schools,
Wilmington, Massachusetts.
Dear Sir:
The emphasis in this report, my thirteenth, has been placed upon our needs for the coming school year rather than upon a recapitulation of past events which, probably, are well known to most of our citizens.
Beginning in September we shall need:
1. An additional teacher.
2. Increased Pupil accommodations.
3. An expanded curriculum to provide guidance and hand work for both boys and girls.
4. Larger and adequate facilities for assembly and gymna- sium purposes.
Our enrollment on October first was three hundred and thirty- three pupils and on December twentieth our enrollment remained at three hundred and thirty-one pupils. As far as I can discover, at no time in the past history of the high school have the enrollments on these comparable dates been so close together. This condition is due to the increasing number of families moving to Wilmington.
We expect to graduate some fifty-six to fifty-seven Seniors in June and to receive approximately one hundred and five pupils from the Buzzell School in September. This would give us an enrollment of about three hundred and eighty pupils at that time. However, it is true that some of the under classmen now in school will not return for another year but other pupils not now living in Wilmington will attend Wilmington High School next year. Our experience over the past six months shows that for every pupil who leaves, a new pupil enters, or nearly so. Therefore I have good reason to believe that our enroll- ment in September will be very close to the above mentioned figure.
167
Our present maximum seating capacity is three hundred and seventy. Such a large number of pupils attending school at a single session would raise some very perplexing problems in school adminis- tration. However, assuming that three hundred and eighty pupils enroll in September it would seem that we would be obliged to adopt a two-session schedule with the Freshmen attending school in the afternoon. I am sure that many of our citizens have vivid memories of our recent experience with double sessions and a number of them recall the handicaps visited upon their children. I sincerely hope that we shall not find it necessary to resort to a double session, but I fear that such a step is more than a possibility. A reading of my recent reports will show that I have mentioned the possibility of double sessions in the high school and thus far little if anything has been done to forestall such a situation.
In a recent Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary- School Principals, Will French states: "Professionally minded second- ary-school principals have been becoming increasingly concerned with what happens to 'school leavers'-those whose full time educa- tion ends with or before graduation from the secondary school. A number of local surveys conducted by principals as well as the work of state and national organizatinos attest to the truth of this statement. Underlying this activity is a desire on the part of educators to discover what relationships between success and failure in the post-school period can be traced back to the kinds of educational experiences enjoyed by youth while in school. Only in the light of such information can better guidance and educational programs for 'school-leavers' be de- veloped." And, in the same Bulletin, Edward Landy says that in each succeeding decade since 1890 our high school enrollment has doubled and what is more important is the nature of the growth of the secon- dary school population. To quote directly: "The new growth consisted of youth who, by and large, were not interested in going on further with formal education beyond the secondary school. Moreover, they were not usually interested in nor capable of deriving any advantage from a pursuit of the traditional academic program offered almost ex- clusively before their influx into the school."
A reading of the foregoing will indicate the earnestness with which secondary school principals are studying vocational guidance and the importance they place upon it. While no sane, intelligent person will claim to be able to analyze a pupil's aptitudes and skills and tell him the vocation he should follow, there is a great deal of collected information which can be brought to his attention and which will aid him in making a choice of vocation. Mr. Harvey has been devoting a part of his time to this work since September and hopes to contact all Seniors and most of the Juniors before June. I believe in the importance of this work so emphatically that I have relieved Mr.
168
Harvey of one class each day to enable him to devote the time to this work.
Twenty-five years ago high school pupils were offered a narrow academic program of studies. Those pupils who were not academically minded soon discovered that such a program did not meet their interests or needs and quietly left school to enter employment and hence did not create a problem for either the school or the community. Today this same type of pupil is obliged to stay in school because of two facts, namely: the compulsory school law and the scarcity of jobs for individuals under eighteen years of age. While it is true that we have expanded our program of studies considerably in the last twelve years it is also true that our offerings consist exclusively of academic work. Nearly sixty percent of our pupils are compelled to take work which does not interest them and which quite possibly does not meet their needs. I would plead that in any long range planning considera- tion be given to providing manual art courses for the boys and girls of this large group.
Once more I repeat that the high school is seriously handicapped by the lack of a suitable place for school assemblies, physical educa- tion, and indoor sports. One who has not used the building day after day cannot realize just how great this handicap can be.
At this time I should like to pay tribute to our girls sports teams and their coach, Miss Evelyn Wells. Our girls basketball team won the championship of the Merrimack Valley Basketball League for the first time in the history of the school and our girls Field Hockey team went through another season without losing a game.
Our boys teams in basketball, baseball and football did not fare very well. This statement is not to be construed in any sense as a reflection upon the ability of Mr. Driscoll to coach these sports.
The Music and Art departments have maintained their usual high standards under the capable direction of Miss Carabello and Mrs. Gulliver respectively. Our musical clubs competed in the Music Festival at Wellesley last Spring and received honors in their divisions.
I hope that we shall be able to find a satisfactory solution for the problems confronting us in the high school and I know that I speak for all of the high school teachers when I say that we will give our best efforts for the welfare of the Wilmington High School pupils in an effort to counteract the unfavorable housing conditions.
As I close my twelfth year as principal of Wilmington High School and enter upon the work of the thirteenth year, I want to express my appreciation for the cooperation I have received from the teachers and for your sympathetic consideration of the high school problems.
Respectfully,
J. TURNER HOOD, JR.
169
REPORT OF SCHOOL NURSE
Mr. Stephen G. Bean,
Superintendent of Schools,
Wilmington, Massachusetts.
Dear Sir:
The following is a report of the work done by the school nurse during the year 1940.
No. of children examined by E. C. MacDougall, M. D. school physician, assisted by the school nurse .. 1056 No. of notices of defects sent to parents 500 No. of home visits 173
No. of children sent to hospitals 6
Diphtheria Clinic
No. of children immunized in 1939 69
No. of children immunized in 1940 102
Tuberculosis
No. of children taken to the North Reading State Sanatorium for examination and x-ray .... ... All known contacts and suspicious cases are fol- lowed up in an effort to prevent the spread of this disease.
42
Dental Clinic
No. of children attended 117
No. of cleanings 113
No. of fillings 411
No. of extractions 143
No. of children transported to clinic 120
170
The Tuesday morning office hours at the High School seem to be worth while. During the year 48 pupils came for assistance. In some instances, first aid was all that was needed. Sometimes a home visit was necessary or a call on the family physician or some hospital clinic.
All schools have been visited as regularly as possible while con- ducting the various clinics.
The teachers are free to call on me for assistance with any health problem and I am grateful to them for calling the needs of their pupils to my attention. It is then my duty to visit the home and with the co-operation of the parents, find a satisfactory solution to the child's problem. This co-operative effort will result in better attendance by children physically able to do their best work.
I wish to thank Mr. Bean, the teachers and supervisors for their kind helpfulness at all times.
Respectfully submitted,
ESTHER H. NICHOLS, R. N.,
School Nurse
171
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF ART
-
Mr. Stephen G. Bean,
Superintendent of Schools,
Wilmington, Massachusetts.
Dear Sir:
I have the honor to submit my twelfth annual report as Supervisor of Art.
The drawing in the schools has, as in other years, been carried out along a definite program. The object in teaching drawing in the schools is to teach pupils to appreciate the beauty in nature and art, and to give them the ability to express themselves freely and easily. It is not necessary to be a genius to profit by instructions in Art. Applications of Art enter into all our surroundings, which may be made pleasant or otherwise, accordingly as we know how to apply the teaching of Art. As a career subject, it has all the justifications of literature, music, law, medicine, and business. If the gift is there it should be discovered and developed, the earlier the better.
In the past year I undertook another large project, correlating Health with Art. This was drawn in the form of a mural and divided into sections showing the procedures a child goes through to make a "Healthy Day." These drawings were made by pupils in grades two to six, and eacli class made one section; such as, the child "Getting up," including bathing and dressing, "Breakfast," "Off to School," "Recess," "Dinner," "Out-door Exercise," "Sports," 'Supper," "Off to Bed," and one showing "Dental and Physical Examinations." These were all joined together and exhibited around the High School Gym- nasium on Monday, June the third, from three to five in the afternoon and seven-thirty to nine in the evening. A large number of parents attended this exhibition, and a great deal of enthusiasm was shown for this particular project, as well as for a great many more drawings. Having it in the evening as well as the afternoon, gave more people a chance to enjoy it.
172
Both freehand and mechanical drawing classes in the High School still have to meet after school, because of the congested situation during the regular hours, and this is not particularly successful, as there are so many other important activities practising at the same time. In spite of all the difficulties, they have made many very good drawings; such as, posters on "Health" to correlate with the grade project, pencil technique drawings, figure drawings from a model, mandarin masks in design form, posters to advertise the exhibition, and, also, "Fire Drill Cards" for every room in the High School.
The seventh and eighth grades have done exceptional work con- sidering the fact that their drawing periods are only thirty minutes long. They have accomplished several projects covering the following types of drawing: Lettering, Design, Perspective, Figure drawings, Heads, Water Colors, Monograms, Christmas Cards, and Nature drawings.
This year Miss Maynard and I are trying a new method for teaching mechanical drawing in the class of boys at the North School which is to make a working drawing of each article before they con- struct it in their manual training department. It is very encouraging to see how quickly they can work out the problems from their plans.
The world is witnessing today the supposedly greatest nations in cultural development bending all their manhood and materials into building greater and better engines and transports for the mass destruction of all that other men have built. Now as never before, we must use all our energies toward creating more creative minds for building a new world for tomorrow's men, that they may have more creative minds and hands for creating the beautiful rather than the destructive.
In conclusion. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Bean, principals, teachers, and pupils for their loyalty, cooperation, and activity in making my work successful.
Respectfully submitted,
SHIRLEY H. GULLIVER.
173
REPORT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION SUPERVISOR
Mr. Stephen Bean, Superintendent of Schools,
Wilmington, Mass.
Dear Sir:
I have the honor to submit my second annual report as Supervisor of Physical Education.
The physical and social welfare of the child must take first place over all other considerations. People in general and teachers in par- ticular must realize that during his whole school life the child's body is in the growing or formative stage, and that vigorous physical activity is essential for proper growth. It is imperative, however, that this activity be so presented and carried out that exertion and nervous reaction do not undermine the good which results from particulars and properly regulated activity. The pupils should enjoy the physical education program because it is something which is their very life. Play is a main part of every child's life and physical education as I see it is a form of well-planned, supervised play. "Physical education is not a fad or a fancy, but is fundamental to all educational develop- ment." With these facts in mind I am pleased to submit to the Town of Wilmington this report.
Posture affects the circulation, respiration, digestion, and elimi- nation of the human body. Conditions which cause poor posture should be eliminated at the earliest possible age. At the beginning of the school year each child throughout the Town was examined for posture defects. The six essentials of good posture are stressed con- stantly by each teacher, and individual correction and class instruc- tion are given.
Grades 1-6
Each room from the first to the fifth grades is visited once every two weeks for a period of thirty minutes. Instructions are left and new work is taught so that the teacher will have enough and suitable
174
material for the next two weeks. Each teacher has in her possession an outline of the work her room must cover for the entire year.
I have divided these programs, or outlines, into the following main groups; posture, marching, Swedish and Danish gymnastics, simple dance steps, rhythmical activities, story plays (for the first, second, and third grades,) mimetics, and games.
It is advantageous that time makes it possible for me to visit the sixth grade each week. Along with the rest of the program, drills of various types are stressed in the sixth grade.
Grade 7-8
On Monday afternoon of each week the eighth grade children have classes in physical education in the High School gymnasium. The seventh grades meet every Friday. Unfortunately it is necessary for me to have girls and boys in the same class. During the warm weather the girls' classes, and also the boys' classes met on the Common. The boys enjoyed playing volley ball, and the girls hockey. A series of competitive games were arranged between the two grades.
They have also had classes in Swedish and Danish gymnastics, marching, mimetics, games, and at present the pupils are learning, and reviewing the fundamentals of basketball.
North School
The work at the North School is very interesting and the results extremely satisfying. Every other week Miss Maynard and I trans- port the boys to and from the High School gymnasium. The boys have been taught many of the fundamentals of basketball, and now are able to enjoy the playing of an actual game. The coordination, and the realization of the necessity for cooperation that these basket- ball games have taught the boys is amazing.
High School
Every Tuesday and Thursday physical education classes are held at the High School. The periods are forty minutes in length, and five classes are held each day. Each afternoon coaching in competi- tive sports is given for a period of an hour.
In the regular gym classes the girls receive instruction in the following: marching, German, Danish and Swedish gymnastics, modern dancing, tap dancing, ballroom dancing, mimetics, and hockey and basketball technique.
175
A total of seventy-two girls reacted to the call for field hockey. A schedule of six games was played. We played the Stoneham, Tewksbury, Reading, Melrose, and Malden varsity teams, and re- mained undefeated. The team also has the distinction of being un- scored upon. The Community Banquet and the presentation of awards served as a final touch to the memorable season.
The basketball began very early in December as usual, and a group of sixty girls reported for practice. The squad has been cut to twenty-five players. The regular basketball schedule with the Lowell Suburban League is being followed.
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