USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wilmington > Town of Wilmington Annual Report 1945-1946 > Part 8
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A picture of the architect's plan is printed in this report. This is an air view of the architect's idea of the ideal location for a new High School and athletic field on the property now owned by the Town of Wilmington, formerly known as the Roman Estate-the buildings on the right are not a part of the school project and are not designated for any specified purpose but are merely included to show the possibility of a civic center in the future if deemed ad- visable by the townspeople of Wilmington.
A more detailed outline of the school project has been incor- porated in the report of the School Cmmittee which appears else- where in this publication.
It is requested that this report be considered one of progress and that the life of this committee be extended.
Respectfully submitted,
SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND PLANNING BOARD
144
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Madam and Gentlemen :
I herewith submit my twenty-second annual report as the Super- intendent of Schools for the Town of Wilmington. The report of the School Committee covers some of the matters of greatest importance which I had intended to mention. I can, therefore, be brief in my presentation.
The general conduct of the school system has not differed greatly from that of the previous year. The most serious problem has been that of keeping a complete teaching staff at all times. This has become increasingly difficult as vacancies have occurred for a variety of reasons, most of them beyond our control. The immediate future in this respect is none too bright. It is generally accepted by the educational authorities of the State that present shortages in the teacher supply will continue for at least five years-probably ten.
In towns like Wilmington, this shortage presents peculiar diffi- culties. There is an unusually large school population in proportion to the total number of inhabitants. This ratio is lower now than in some of the past years, but it is still very high. Of a population of about 5400, there are 1250 in the public schools. This is close to a fourth of the town's inhabitants who must be supported in the schools by the other three fourths. Such a proportion presents an unusual financial problem. The chief item of the financing of the schools is the cost of teaching. Therefore, with a short supply of teachers and the corresponding large demand, there is the usual increase in cost.
Teaching is not different from the rest of the trades and professions. The teacher has a service for sale. All other things being equal, that service is secured by the highest bidder. If we are to hold our needed supply of this service, we must meet or exceed the bid of the others or offer some equivalent advantage.
Wilmington has one advantage which has thus far been of great aid in maintaining a full staff of teachers. This is the factor of accessibility. Many of our teachers have continued with us at much smaller salaries than they could earn elsewhere because they are able to live at home. We are, however, surrounded by numerous cities and towns which have higher salaries to offer. How long we can hold what advantage we have is problematical.
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During this year one of the principals of a four room building was given an increase of six hundred dollars to take charge of a single grade without the responsibility for a building. This offer came from a nearby wealthier community. Our neighboring town of Burlington was able to entice Miss Sally Bosketti from the faculty of our High School by an offer of three hundred dollars more than we were paying her. Naturally, in view of our limited budget we could not hold these teachers. A repetition of this experience is possible at any time. When such vacancies are created, they are all but impossible to fill at our present scale of salaries.
I can well imagine many saying, "Well, that's your problem. You are hired to take care of such things". But it is not my problem nor is it the problem of your Committee. It is the problem of every voter. It is a question of whether the taxpayers of this town consider that they are willing to pay more than they have been paying in order to keep the schools operating as required by law.
Legally, the School Committee has the power to contract for the payment of an amount of money necessary to keep schools in operation in such manner as it considers adequate. By majority vote it can fix salaries at such levels as it deems necessary to maintain the required educational standards.
Practically, the committee has to exercise due judgment as to the ability, not the willingness, of the town to pay. One of the most important, if not the most important, function of your committee is to exercise its legal right for the best interests of all concerned, keeping in mind always that the future of the town and nation depends on the enlightenment of its future citizens, the school children, whose development is dependent on the quality of the teachers.
PERSONNEL CHANGES
The turnover in the teaching corps during the past year has been altogether too great for efficiency. The list of those who have moved from Wilmington is as follows:
Rosemary Boyle Phys. Ed.
* Marjorie R. Scanlon
H. S .- Comm.
* Sally Bosketti
H. S .- Comm.
Alyce O'Brien Louise Murray
Prin .- Buzzell
Prin .- Center
Gr. VI-Center
Marjorie Waring Phyllis Johnson
Gr. II-Walker
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Marjorie Harris Mrs. Pauline Ryan Mary Feeley Mrs. Esther McLay
Gr. II-Whitefield
Gr. I-Silver Lake Gr. I and II-Maple Meadow S. C .- North
* Same position-two changes in one year.
New teachers employed during the year are as follows:
Shirley Emmons H. S .- Comm.
* Mrs. Minnie Valentine
Eng .- Buzzell
* Elizabeth J. Fahey
Eng .- Buzzell
* Florence Liston
Eng .- Buzzell
Kathleen O'Malley
Prin .- Center
Mrs. Gertrude Waring Marie Barrett
Gr. VI-Center
Barbara Haley
Gr. II and III-Walker
* Jane Hurley
Mrs. Gertrude Chisholm
* Mrs. K. Elizabeth Brennan
Gr. I and II-Maple Meadow
Mrs. Clarrissa Bushey
Gr. I and II-Maple Meadow
* Mrs. Marjorie S. Ethier
Gr. I and II-Maple Meadow
The changes have not been as simple as the lists may seem. Some positions have been vacated and filled two or three times during the year. At the present writing, a new teacher is taking our Grade I in the Mildred Rogers School. She is Mrs. Agnes C. Daley of Lowell.
In addition to the numerous changes, there has been an unusual amount of absence of teachers because of sickness. Mr. Kambour of the High School faculty has undergone a serious spinal operation. Mr. Harvey. also of the High School staff, has been incapacitated for an extended period. At this writing, Miss Evans of the Buzzell School group is hospitalized.
During all of this time, there has been a dearth of substitutes. Mrs. Helen Blake has been kept very busy in every grade from first through eighth. Mrs. Helen Hayward has been of great value in the Buzzell and High Schools. At present, Mr. Paul Lindh, Pastor of the Congregational Church, is helping us out in place of Miss Evans. Earlier in the year, we had the services of Mrs. Gertrude Allgrove, but of late she has been unable to do substitute work.
There have been several occasions when there has been no session in some rooms because no teacher was available. At other times, one teacher has supervised two rooms for a day.
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* Same positions
Gr. VI-Center
Gr. II-Silver Lake
Gr. II-Silver Lake
ENROLLMENT
There are about thirty more pupils in school than were on the lists last year. This number does not equal the peak load of 1942. The tabulation which follows shows the general trend during the past ten years.
H. S.
Elem.
Total
1936-1937
290
903
1193
1937-1938
300
937
1237
1938-1939
326
962
1288
1939-1940
314
928
1242
1940-1941
333
988
1321
1941-1942
327
1020
1347
1942-1943
303
952
1255
1943-1944
305
930
1235
1944-1945
300
928
1228
1945-1946
299
953
1252
It will be noted that all through this decade there has been a gradual increase in the school enrollment. This reached a peak in the school year ending in June, 1942. There was a decided drop the following year and a steady decrease until September 1945. This was, of course, due to enlistments and drafting of High School boys and to the attraction of war wages for girls-and some boys-who were old enough to leave school legally.
Below is a brief tabulation of figures showing the growth in school population during the last twenty years.
H. S.
Elem.
Total
1926-1927
201
657
858
1945-1946
299
953
1252
20 years increase
98
296
394
% increase
48%
45%
46%
A further increase is indicated for next fall as shown below :-
H. S.
Elem.
Total
1946-1947
342
993
1335
A study of the age and grade distribution indicates a gradual growth in numbers for the future. Any increase in local housing facilities might easily cause a skyrocketing of these figures.
148
BUILDINGS
The school plant is made up of nine school units comprising ten buildings. One of these, the North School, is at present closed because no properly certified teacher is available.
All buildings are in as good repair as money and available materials permit. It is very nearly impossible to secure certain needed repair materials.
Some difficulties have appeared in the elements of heating and ventilation. These have been cared for as rapidly as labor and materials were available. In one case, that of the Maple Meadow School, great difficulty has been experienced in determining the reason for the uneven performance of the heating and ventilating system. The heater has been put in a state of good repair. It generates an adequate amount of heat but for some reason this heat has not been effective in the schoolrooms on the sub-zero days.
Expensive plumbing breaks have occurred in various water valves in the Walker School. An auxiliary steam heating unit needs to be supplied for safety of plumbing and health of pupils.
Consideration must also be given to some means of preventing water from dripping through the walls and ceilings of the Buzzell School. Whether the case be condensation or roof leaks, it is only good economy to find a remedy.
A review of repairs completed during the year has already appeared in the report of the School Committee.
Hearty concurrence is hereby given to the report on plans for a new High School plant. The work already done in preparation for this project is of great value.
TRANSPORTATION
Coincident with the removal by O.D.T. of restrictions on bus travel we almost automatically returned to our former practices. The issue of bus tickets was based on a two mile limit for all pupils above grade four and a mile and a half limit for the first four grades.
Administration of this element in our school routine is a very thankless job. Limits have to be set and adhered to without favor to anybody. All must be treated fairly regardless of any conditions except physical disability, for which provision is made. The one determining factor in the issuing of the bus passes is the honest answer to the question-"Where do you live"?
149
ART, MUSIC AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Mrs. Evelyn Anderson, a local product, has continued and improved in her work as Supervisor of Art. An excellent and comprehensive exhibit of the results were shown in the basement of the High School in connection with the Field Day in May.
Vocal music has progressed favorably under the direction of Miss Olive Littlehale. Two very successful concerts were the high spots of the year's work. The proceeds from these concerts have been used to purchase music and musical equipment for the various schools. The substantial balance on hand will be available for purchase of further aids to this department when these become available.
Instrumental music is mainly centered in the junior and senior bands. The work progresses most satisfactorily under the skillful and forceful direction of Mr. Harold MacDonnell of Methuen, who is also director of the bands of Methuen and Tewksbury. His years .of directing the band at Hampton Beach give him an excellent background for school work.
The Department of Physical Education has not functioned this year because of our inability to secure a qualified supervisor. Many of the girls who did this work were in the WAAC or the WAVES.
Fortunately, we found one of the high school faculty women who was able and willing to take over the coaching of the high school girls in basketball. Miss Greenwood will also take up and continue the training in field hockey in spring and fall.
SUPPLEMENTARY REPORTS
Your attention is directed to the reports of the supervisors and the school nurse. These show fully the direction and effectiveness of these departments.
Mr. Hood's report as Principal of the High School is to be noted, especially in those sections referring to Vocational Guidance and Visual Education. The usual statistical tables and roster of employees follow these special reports.
CONCLUSION
As always, I offer due appreciation and full credit to my staff of associates for all that is good in the year's accomplishments. Such growth as we have shown is due to their efforts.
To the members of the School Committee, I extend thanks for any help, cooperation and understanding of the problems of this office.
Respectfully submitted,
STEPHEN G. BEAN,
Superintendent of Schools
150
REPORT OF HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
February 1, 1946
Mr. S. G. Bean
Superintendent of Schools
Wilmington, Massachusetts
It is my pleasure to submit herewith my annual report as Prin- cipal of the Wilmington High School.
Wilmington High School declined in enrollment during the war years due to the fact that the pupils left school to enter the armed services or to accept employment in war industries. This condition was common to the vast majority of high schools throughout the country. However, with the ending of the war in August and the resulting mass discharges in industry this decline in enrollments has been halted and the trend has reversed itself producing a move- ment toward increased enrollments. We, in Wilmington, noticed this changed tendency with the opening of school in September when we found that we had enrolled twenty-three more pupils than a year ago.
For a number of years we have been able to divide our entering class into three divisions, nearly equal in size, one of College Preparatory pupils and two of General Course pupils. In the past year or two we have found that our first year pupils do not divide themselves into three divisions of comparable size, but instead we have a College Preparatory division of some twenty-five to thirty pupils and two General Course divisions ranging from forty-one to forty-five pupils each. Such large class divisions are unwieldly and very undesirable from an educational point of view. This situation will force us to establish an additional class section in each of the first year General Course subjects in the very near future. There- fore, we respectfully suggest to the school committee that it care- fully consider employing an additional teacher for the high school to begin work in September 1946, or, if that is impossible, then a teacher most certainly must be secured for September 1947.
151
Miss Sally Bosketti resigned to accept a position in Burlington High School with an initial salary of three hundred dollars a year more than we could offer her to remain in Wilmington. Miss Bosketti is a good teacher with much promise of developing into a superior one and in addition is loyal, cooperative and cultured-the sort of teacher Wilmington can ill afford to lose. Miss Shirley H. Emmons of Lowell was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Miss Bosketti and is carrying on the work capably.
We were extremely fortunate in that we did not have more positions to fill as good teachers are very difficult to find and particularly so in view of the small salaries we offer. There is a decided shortage of teachers, so extreme in fact that graduates of one of our State Teacher's Colleges without teaching experience are receiving as high as eighteen hundred dollars per year. Consider this last statement in view of the fact that no member of Wilmington High School Faculty, other than the Principal, Sub-master and Coach, receive as much salary regardless of years of experience.
Prior to the war teachers along with other State, County, and Town employees were exempt from Federal Income Taxes, but this is no longer true. Today many teachers with five years experience or more are paying more in Federal Income Taxes than they have received in salary increases. This together with the increased cost of living has made teachers salaries so unattractive that young people are refusing to accept teaching positions and instead are entering other lines of work. All statistics regarding the teacher shortage indicate that this situation will continue for another ten years, with the result that schools in the low salary area will be forced to accept poorly prepared teachers.
We believe that there should be as many men as women teachers in the high school grades, and we look forward to the time when this will be possible. Teen age pupils prefer and need contact with more men teachers, and it is regrettable that there are not more men teachers in the Wilmington High School.
It has been difficult to maintain the continuity of instruction in many subjects this winter due to the illness and consequent absences of the teachers coupled with the fact that substitute teachers are difficult or impossible to locate. We have had as many as four teachers absent on one day with but one substitute available. There have been many days when we would have one or even two teachers absent without any substitute to take over the work.
152
Mr. George C. Kambour has been obliged to be absent from school since the middle of December and is not expected to return until some time in February. In addition, Mr. Carl U. Harvey has taken an indefinite leave of absence due to failing health, and has not been with us since early in December. We were forced to sus- pend all classes of both Mr. Kambour and Mr. Harvey for some time because of inability to secure substitute teachers. Fortunately, for us, Mrs. Helen Hayward of Wilmington, a former commercial teacher in Woburn High School and Mrs. Etta Lapniewski of Lowell, a competent and thoroughly experienced teacher of Mathematics were located and persuaded to help us out in the emergency.
We have taken considerable pride in our high school commercial curriculum and its graduates. This pride has been justified, in the past, by the progress these graduates have made in the business field. Now, honesty compels us to admit that that program of studies is no longer adequate to train our pupils to work successfully in modern offices. If we are to give our pupils an adequate, well grounded training, we must give serious consideration to installing such modern equipment as the Ediphone, Comptometer and possibly bookkeeping machines. Neighboring schools have such equipment and their pupils, as a consequence, have a decided advantage when seeking employment.
This year for the first time, we have been able to incorporate extra-curricular activities such as band, glee clubs, and drawing into the regular school day. The results obtained thus far have been very gratifying, and it is our desire to continue and enlarge the program. At the present time there are a number of pupils who are not interested in the above mentioned offerings and for whom we would like to offer additional activities, until in time all pupils would be enrolled in something interesting and worth while.
As an experiment in democratic living we have established a Student Council in the high school. This is not a revolutionary move for the number of Student Councils in public high schools has in- creased so rapidly that the National Association of Secondary School Principals has sponsored a National Association of Student Councils with its own monthly magazine providing for the interchange of ideas among the schools. We believe that the best way to study democracy is to practice it in our daily lives.
Guidance work is a rapidly growing phase of secondary education. The inadequacy and lack of guidance in the past was shown with
153
all of its failures during the classification tests of entrants into the armed services. As a result guidance is being urged very strongly by both Federal and State educational officers.
Mr. Harvey of the high school faculty has pioneered this work for us during the past few years and accomplished a great deal in the limited time allowed him. We consider this work of testing and guidance so important that we have decided to carry on that work personally, should Mr. Harvey be unable to return in September. We have had a number of courses in this field in graduate school as well as considerable experience in the giving and interpreting of tests. In addition we have had a diversified experience in business and industry. Therefore we feel that we are well qualified to continue and improve this service to our pupils.
A recent editorial in a Wisconsin daily newspaper states- "It is little short of criminal that a personal whim, a parental preju- dice, or pure accident should be determining the kind of education that a child receives and the choice of his life work. Yet that is now the rule and not the exception. Our children are deserving of the most expert and understanding advice that can be found in plotting their educational program and their vocational choice and training."
In conclusion may we express our appreciation to you, the school committee, the teachers, and pupils for the cooperation we have received during the past year.
Respectfully,
J. TURNER HOOD, Jr.
154
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF ART
North Wilmington, Mass., January 1, 1946
Mr. Stephen G. Bean
Superintendents of Schools,
Wilmington, Mass.
Dear Sir:
I have the honor to submit my first report as Supervisor of Art for Wilmington Schools. The opportunity of working with the children of my own hometown has proved most vibrating and memorable.
Our students have a distinct advantage over city children, our environment of wooded hills, flowers and birds is a general stimulation of beauty of line, form and color. Yet, oddly enough we do find children completely blind to their surroundings. Attention directed toward the interesting and beautiful things around us, I consider my opportunity.
I visit each grade school once in two weeks and at this time teach each grade a lesson, leaving suggestions for the carrying on of art in my absence. Art work in the grades includes design, simple color combinations, figure drawing, nature work, holiday drawings and art appreciation.
The high school program afforded little time for art as a very. full program was well under way before my appearance. Two one- half hour periods per week were dissatisfying to student and teacher. In these two periods freehand drawing and mechanical drawing classes were conducted. Mr. Hood, principal, has kindly granted art a ninety-minute period in the new term starting September 1945. This is proving most satisfactory and we of the art department are very grateful.
In May we held an art exhibit in the high school gymnasium. Each grade and school were well represented with designs, posters, nature drawings, creative drawings and portraits of the war's leading men drawn by one of the primary rooms.
My greatest thanks to you Mr. Bean for your full cooperation, sincere kindness and the privilege of serving Wilmington.
Respectfully submitted,
EVELYN R. ANDERSEN
155
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF MUSIC
To Mr. Stephen G. Bean
and the Members of the School Committee,
Dear Sirs:
It is the purpose of music education to bring to each child the maximum musical enjoyment of which he is capable. Listening lessons, rhythmic activities, song singing and theory are basic courses for all children. With this in mind I am preparing at Boston University a course of study for the Wilmington schools. It is my earnest hope that such a course will fill a need which has long been felt.
Educators in increasing numbers are advocating that music be given its rightful place in educational system. It fact, in some high schools music is considered a major subject. This can be brought about only by having an adequate course of study faithfully carried out in the lower grades.
The therapeutic value of music, as shown in the hospitals for our veterans, no one can deny. How much music can do for the adolescent child can only be estimated, but it is certainly worth while to give them the opportunity to listen to and to participate in the performance of fine music. To that end I have, in my somewhat limited time, been bringing to them the best of music from my record library.
We now have well equipped rhythm orchestras in all our primary schools. Also, this year we have furnished a xylophone for each primary school. The children are much interested in playing on and singing with it. An experiment with elementary tone instruments is being tried out in the fifth grade of the Center School. Tonettes have been furnished the children not only for the purpose of enjoyment but as an aid to recognition and understanding of rhythm, note values, pitch discrimination, etc.
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