USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Laconia > Annual report of the receipts and expenditures of the city of Laconia, New Hampshire : for the year ending 1894 > Part 7
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The above suggestions concerning the needed changes in our high school and its building are based upon a study of the most modern arrangements for this department of school work and are essential if we desire to maintain a high standard of scholarship.
Concerning the other grades of our schools, we cannot im-
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CITY OF LACONIA.
press too forcibly upon the minds of our citizens the necessity for more school-rooms. The failure to erect a new building during the two last years has compelled the Board to exhaust every available means to accommodate the rapid increase of scholars. As a result many of our rooms are over crowded. Primary rooms which should properly contain not more than thirty-five pupils have been crowded, in some instances, with nearly twice that number, the ill effects of which will be felt throughout the entire course.
The call for more school-rooms is imperative. With the suggested changes in the high school carried out, we shall face the new school year with an actual demand for six additional rooms. We would recommend, therefore, that a new four- room building be erected in Ward 5, and that a wing contain- ing two rooms be added to the brick building on Harvard St. This will place the rooms in the needed portion of the city.
The work the past year has been generally satisfactory. The teachers have cheerfully cooperated with the Board in its endeavor to maintain the usual progress in the over crowded rooms, and so far as the emergency could be met, their efforts have been successful and deserving of much praise.
At the commencement of the year two additional courses were adopted, drawing and the commercial.
The drawing course has already proved highly successful and undoubtedly will become a permanent addition to the cur- riculum of our schools.
The commercial course has been in operation about twenty weeks, and we trust at the close of the year we shall find it successful and accomplishing a much-needed work.
The expenses for the coming year for Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 will approximate fifteen thousand dollars.
For particulars concerning the various departments we call your attention to the accompanying reports.
Respectfully submitted,
GEO. B. COX, C. F. STONE, STEPHEN VITTUM, ALBERT C. MOORE. SAMUEL H. MARTIN.
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
MILITARY ORGANIZATION
Nov. 22, 1893, a military department was added to our school, by the organization of a company of cadets. We have been greatly assisted by 1st Lieut. Edward S. Cook, and it is but just to him that he be given the credit of being one of the promoters of the movement. Some of our largest and oldest cities have introduced military training into their schools with gratifying results, but in most, if not all cases, it is made a part of the curriculum, and enlistment is made compulsory. The drill is during the hours of study and the expense is borne by the city. Realizing that a new movement is some- times attacked by cautious and skeptical people, although they be in spirit loyal and in understanding wise, we have en- deavored to protect our undertaking by conducting it without expense to the city and without intruding upon school hours or study. Mr. Cook renders his services gratuitously, and the cadets are armed and equipped by private contribution. We have sought to raise the necessary funds without calling upon the parents, and the hearty support given by those solicited has been encouraging and gratifying. The company has pur- chased twenty light-weight breech-loading Springfield mus- kets, with the subscriptions already paid, and there is a small balance in the treasury. It is hoped that sufficient donation will be made to arm the company immediately, as it is now necessary to drill the company in two squads because of the lack of guns, and consequently each cadet gets one half the drill that he otherwise would receive.
The first and largest contribution was made by the C. C. club of the High school. We take this opportunity to ex- press our appreciation of the unselfish and generous offering of these young ladies and we hope that in the future triumphs and achievements of the cadets they may find a rich reward for their act. Let us trust that they may have no occasion to blush for the conduct of those whom they have so loyally as- sisted, but that a satisfactory career may encourage and stimulate them to do other deeds no less worthy and commen- dable.
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CITY OF LACONIA.
The guns and equipments are the property of the school and will be kept at the armory in the High school building, and when our company is thoroughly equipped there will be no other material expense for years to come.
The company is comprised wholly of volunteers from the High, Grammar and Commercial schools, and the chief quali- fication for enlistment is such size and strength of body that there may be no danger of physical strain or over work. But when on the road the cadet's advancement and continuancy in the company depend upon his scholarship and general as well as military deportment. Experience has shown that the healthy ambition and noble pride of boys just stepping from careless and thoughtless childhood into the intoxicating free- dom and independence of young manhood can be reached through military training and tactics, when all other disci- pline and persuasion fail.
Forty young men responded promptly to the call for volun- teers and the interest and enthusiasm manifested at the first drill continues unabated, and that which was looked upon by them as a novelty is now considered a permanent institution, demanding laborious effort and yielding a substantial reward.
As soon as practicable military rules will be adopted and strictly enforced, and we believe that the influence of this military discipline will be felt in the school room, as well as in the general deportment of the boys. Each is an example to the other and all will be taught that gentlemanly bearing and honest persistency are necessary qualifications of good sol- diery. There will be an advantage to our young men in under- standing military science, but the greater benefit will be derived from the physical training of the march and drill, and the obedience taught in the command. When a youth is taught to respect his superiors there is at once cast upon his life a sense of self-respect and the influence of a higher station furnishes an incentive to greater effort. The appointments in our cadets will be made irrespective of name or family in- fluence, but will be conferred upon the men who earn distinc- tion by courteous and gentlemanly conduct, application to
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
study and devotion to the militia. As none but pupils are eligible to the ranks, so the term of serving expires when the cadet graduates or withdraws from the school. But his mili- tary training need not end here, for the Tetley Rifles, a state organization, welcomes all worthy applicants, and with this company he can find an ample opportunity to pursue his military studies. Perhaps in no city in the state is it possible for a young man to obtain a more complete military education than in Laconia, and the friends of the new department look forward to the future with hope and confidence. But the beginning is only made and the record is unwritten. We commend the students for their manly zeal and express our thanks to all who have aided the movement by word or gift.
Our remarks would be incomplete and cruelly unjust should we remember in silence the valuable services of Commander Cook. Not only has he cheerfully met the necessities of the present hour but voluntarily undertaken the task of training the company.
May kind fortune smile upon this new departure in our schools and succeeding years bring to the commander, our genial friend and the modest citizen, a brilliant and successful future, rounded out with other acts of patriotic aid and to the cadets, honor, renown and peace. May the accomplish- ments of their profession rest as a crown upon the head of the civilian ; the science of arms be devoted to the art of use- ful learning ; the strength of our manhood dedicated to the establishing of universal peace; and the triumphs of the future achieved in stainless honor in the forum of national arbitration.
During the past year we have adopted the following rules and regulations :
GENERAL REGULATIONS.
1. The school year shall comprise thirty-six weeks and be divided into three terms-the first term beginning the second Monday in September and continuing fifteen weeks, or until the Friday before Christmas, followed by a vacation of two
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CITY OF LACONIA.
weeks ; a second term of eleven weeks, followed by a vacation of two weeks, and a third term of ten weeks, (eleven weeks if the first term has less than fifteen weeks).
2. There shall be no school session on the following days : Saturdays ; Thanksgiving Day, the half-day preceding and the day following ; Washington's Birthday. Fast Day and Memo- rial Day.
3. Each school shall devote the last session before Wash- ington's Birthday and Memorial Day to exercises of a patriotic character.
4. The daily sessions of all the schools shall be from 9 A. M. to 12 M. and from 1.30 to 3.30 P. M., except the first and second grades, which may be dismissed at 11.30 A. M., and the first may be dismissed at 3 P. M. There shall be a recess of not more than 15 minutes during the morning session.
5. Each school shall be opened daily by reading from the scriptures.
6. No child shall be allowed to attend any public school unless he has been vaccinated or has had the small-pox.
7. No child affected with any contagious disease, or resid- ing in a house where any such disease exists, shall be permitted to attend school until he has presented a certificate from the Board of Health, stating that he may safely do so.
8. Promotions shall be made annually at the close of the Spring term ; but individual pupils may be promoted at any time during the year, where, in the judgment of the teacher and superintendent, such promotion is for the interest of the child.
9. Pupils from the primary schools shall be promoted upon the recommendation of their teacher after consultation with the superintendent.
Pupils of the intermediate and grammar grades who attain an average rank of 85 per cent. in their daily recitations in any subject shall be deemed worthy of promotion in that sub- ject without further examination ; all others shall be required to take an examination and attain a rank of 70 per cent. before they can be promoted.
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Pupils of the high school who attain an average rank of 90 per cent. or more, in any subject, shall be deemed to have satisfactorily completed that subject ; all others will be re- quired to take a final examination, covering the entire subject, and to attain a rank of 70 per cent. in such examination before their work will be accepted as satisfactory.
10. There shall be held annually two examination for pro- motion, one during the last week of the Spring term, the other during the week next preceding the opening of the Fall term. Of the latter, due notice shall be given in the local papers, and all pupils required to take examinations will be expected to be present at the time and place appointed, as private examinations will not be given except in the case of those becoming residents of the city after the date of the pub- lic examination or of those actually sick at the time.
11. Pupils of the high school who, on account of sickness or other disability, have been unable to complete the pre- scribed work of any year, may be allowed to go on with their classes provided that all such deficiencies are made up during the following year.
12. No person shall be employed as a regular teacher with- out having passed a satisfactory examination and having received a certificate thereof ; except that a certificate of graduation from a Normal school or reputable college may be accepted in place of such examination.
13. There shall be examinations of candidates for teaching at such times as the Board may direct. Such examinations shall be conducted by the special committee on teachers, and the superintendent. Candidates shall be examined in all branches taught in the schools, and in the theory and practice of teaching and in school management.
RULES RELATING TO TEACHERS.
14. Teachers shall be in their respective rooms ten min- utes before the time of opening each session.
15. They shall neither give notice to their school of any entertainment, nor allow any other person to do so, nor shall
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CITY OF LACONIA.
they permit any contribution to be taken up in their schools unless by the consent of the superintendent.
16. All grammar and intermediate teachers shali send to the parents monthly reports of the attendance, scholarship and deportment of their pupils. In the high school, quarterly re- ports may be rendered to the parents.
17. During the first week of each term every teacher shall make and post in her school-room a program of the daily ex- ercises, specifying the time occupied by the recitations of each class, and shall send a copy of the same to the superintend- ent.
18. Teachers shall make frequent examinations of the furniture in their respective rooms and see that no injury is done to it.
19. Each teacher shall send to the superintendent at the close of each month, a detailed report of all cases of corporal punishment, giving the name of the child, the character of the offense and the amount and nature of the punishment.
20. Teachers shall observe strictly the hours for opening and closing their schools. If any teacher shall close her school before the appointed hour it may be considered suffi- cient ground for removal.
21. Teachers shall see that the windows of their respective rooms are closed and fastened before leaving the building at the close of the afternoon session.
22. It shall be the duty of all teachers to keep the temper- ature of their respective rooms as nearly uniform as possible and to see that the windows are opened at recess and before and after each session, that an abundant supply of fresh air may be admitted.
23. Any teacher who shall find it necessary to be absent one or more sessions shall notify the superintendent in ad- vance in order that he may make suitable provision for the school in her absence.
24. Any teacher who shall be absent or tardy, without presenting at once a suitable excuse to the superintendent, may be dismissed by the Board.
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
25. Teachers shall be allowed one day each term to visit other schools ; but the schools which they visit must be ap- proved in advance by the superintendent ; and such day shall not be taken during the first or last week of a term, nor shall it be the day preceding nor the day following a legal holi- day.
26. Teachers are expected to maintain in their schools a discipline such as a kind and judicious parent would exer- cise in his family. Politeness and good behavior should be carefully inculcated.
27. For violent opposition to authority or persistent disre- gard of the rules of the school, a teacher may suspend a pupil temporarily from school ; but she shall immediately notify the parent or guardian and the superintendent, who, with the ap- proval af the sub-committee, may suspend the pupil till the next regular meeting of the Board.
28. Teachers who are absent from their schools for a period of less than two weeks shall draw their full pay and shall pay the substitute employed in their schools at the rate of $1.50 per day. When the absence is for a period of two weeks or more, the substitute shall receive full pay, and her name shall be entered upon the monthly pay-roll.
29. Teachers shall attend all meetings appointed by the Board, sub-committees or superintendent, when duly notified.
RULES RELATING TO PUPILS.
30. Every pupil is expected to attend school regularly and punctually ; to obey the regulations of the school ; to observe good order and propriety of deportment, and to be clean and neat in person and clothing.
31. No pupil shall be allowed to be absent any part of the regular school hours for the purpose of receiving instruction elsewhere without the consent of the superintendent. If a pupil is absent from school, on his return, he shall bring a written excuse from parent or guardian for such absence ; and any pupil wishing to be dismissed before the close of the ses- sion must give satisfactory reasons for such dismissal and ob-
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CITY OF LACONIA.
tain the consent of the teacher, before the opening of the session ; but habitual excuses and applications from the same pupil are not to be entertained.
32. Absence from recitation shall be regarded as a failure to recite and shall be so marked, but the teacher shall allow the pupils to make up such recitations provided that they do so within two weeks after their return to school.
33. Pupils who have fallen behind their classes through absence, indolence or inability may be placed in the next low- er class at the discretion of the teacher, on consultation with the superintendent.
34. Any pupils wilfully absenting themselves from a regu- lar examination of their school shall be reported to the super- intendent and sub-committee, and shall not be allowed to enter again any public school in the city without the consent of the sub-committee.
35. No pupil shall be received into any school without a permit signed by the superintendent.
36. No pupil under five years of age shall be allowed to attend the public schools. Pupils who are five years old, and upwards, shall not be admitted to the primary schools after the first Monday in October except during the first two weeks of the Spring term ; but pupils qualified to join existing classes may be admitted at any time during the year by applying to the superintendent.
37. Non-resident pupils may attend the Laconia schools on payment of a tuition fee of 50c. a week for the high school, 40c. a week for the grammar and 25c. a week for the interme- diate and primary ; such fee to be paid to the city treasurer each term in advance. On presentation of the treasurer's receipt, the superintendent is authorized to issue a permit to the applicant and may assign him to any school of suitable grade in the city.
38. In all cases where the habits and conduct of a pupil are found to be injurious to his associates, it shall be the duty of the teacher to report the case at once to the parent or guardian and to the superintendent.
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
39. No pupil shall be allowed to study out of school during school hours or to take less than the required number of studies, or to change from one prescribed course of study to another (except at the beginning of a school year) without the consent of the Board.
40. Any pupil who shall cut, mark, deface or in any way injure any part of a school building or any school property shall be held accountable therefor ; and, upon a repetition of the offense shall be liable to expulsion.
41. Every pupil not in his seat at the time for opening school, shall be marked as tardy ; and every such instance of tardiness must be accounted for by a written excuse from the parent or guardian, presented by the pupil at the next session of school at which he is present. In the absence of such ex- cuse, tardiness may be considered a punishable offense. Habitual tardiness, with or without excuse, will not be toler- ated, and will place the pupil liable to suspension.
11
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CITY OF LACONIA.
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS. WARDS 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
To the Board of Education :
In accordance with your direction I herewith submit my fifth annual report upon the condition of the public schools in what was formerly School District No. 1, or, under the present arrangement, Wards 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The necessity for submitting the report before Feb. 17 prevents the last three weeks of the school year from being included ; so that the school year appears in the report as only 33 weeks in length instead of 36, as it actually is.
Last year our total enrollment was 967, an increase of 229 over the record of the previous year. This large increase was attributed to certain local causes, temporary in their nature and not very closely connected with the natural increase in population ; so that it was thought not unlikely that the present year would show a decrease in the total enrollment instead of the usual gain ; such, however has not been the case.
Our registers show the presence of 1,066 different pupils during the year (534 boys and 532 girls,) a gain of 99 over the record of last year. Of these, 66 were over 16 years of age and 57 under 6 years.
This year's increase has been more evenly distributed than that of last year. Last year's increase was confined almost wholly to the primary grades, while this year's extends to the intermediate, grammar and high schools. The following table shows the number enrolled in the high, grammar, inter- mediate and primary schools and the gain in each division over last year's enrollment :
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Total enrollment
1892-3.
Total enrollment
1893-4.
Gain.
High School
46
91
45
Grammar
155
172
17
Intermediate
84
89
5
Primary
682
714
32
That there is an increase in our school population which must be provided for each year is evident, though just what the normal rate of increase is, is difficult to determine. During the five years of my connection with the schools it has varied from nothing to 229. The average gain for the past six years has been about 85, though this average is no doubt increased somewhat by the large number of new pupils who came in when Mr. DeNault closed his school. I think, how- ever, that we may safely reckon on an average gain of 50 or 60 each year, and this implies the building of new school houses from time to time.
The problem of providing school accommodations for all children of school age is one that all cities and towns which have enjoyed periods of rapid growth have had to meet, and which many have had difficulty in solving. The difficulty has been experienced in this community. Last year the need of a new four-room building was apparent; but owing to the peculiar financial condition, it was thought impossible, or at least unadvisable, to build. Within two years we have had to provide six new school rooms ; and that has scarcely kept up with our increased enrollment, so that now our school accommodations are insufficient for the number of pupils that we have to accommodate.
Taking our last term's record, which is probably a fair average for the three terms of the present year, and we have for our four grammar schools an average enrollment of 47 pupils, for the two intermediate schools 45, and for the twelve
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CITY OF LACONIA.
primary schools 48. It is unnecessary to comment upon these figures further than to say that the number is too large. When the average number of pupils in a room exceeds 40, the interests of the schools demand that the number of schools be increased.
I am aware of the large expenses which the city government is called upon to meet, and also of the importance of keeping the tax rate as low as possible, and I think that I am in accord with the sentiment of the Board of Education in saying that I would not at this time urge any appropriation for school pur- poses beyond what the citizens wish expended upon their schools. If they wish them to be equal to the best, they must expend upon them about what the best education costs in other communities ; if they are satisfied with them as they are, that is another matter ; but it must not be expected that we can accomplish with an expenditure of $12 per pupil quite the same results that Concord, Nashua and Portsmouth can with an expenditure of $20 per pupil.
In my present report, I shall not attempt to discuss all the different questions of interest pertaining to our public school system but I will state our present needs, on the supposition that the people of Laconia desire their schools to be as good as the best ; and indicate what I believe our future policy should be.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
In my last report I called your attention to the condition of the Bowman street building and made some suggestions in regard to changes that might profitably be made in that build- ing. I wish to renew and emphasize the same suggestions this year. Two of the rooms are altogether too small for the number of pupils which they have to accommodate ; and the light of these rooms is so bad that I believe that the sight of the pupils occupying them is more or less injured. There has never as yet been a serious fire in the building but if there should be one while the schools were in session, it is very im- probable that all the pupils would escape from the building uninjured. I believe in trusting in Providence and at the
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BOARD OF EDUCATION.
same time taking all reasonable precaution to insure the chil- dren's safety. The building should be slightly remodeled and provided with a basement and modern sanitary conveniences and supplied with steam or furnace heat as soon as an appro- priation for these purposes can be secured.
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