Ol\,Unhli;ii,U\l'U, •■!,]■ Book / [Document 87 — 1916. REPORT OF A STUDY OF CERTAIN PHASES OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM BOSTON, MASS. ^ MADE TINDER THE AUSPICES OF THE BOSTON FINANCE COMMISSION. f CITY OF BOSTON PRINTING DEPARTMENT 1916 ^^V ^v City of Boston, In City Council, July 6, 1916. Ordered, That the City Clerk be authorized to have printed an edition of 1,000 copies of the report made to the Finance Commission by Dr. James H. Van Sickle on the School Department, the expense of the same to be charged to the appropriation for city documents. Passed. Approved by the Mayor July 7, 1916. - Attest : W. J. Doyle, Assistant City Clerk. D* of D. JAi: 9 1917 K TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Letter to the Finance Commission 1-5 Scope of the Study 1-^ Method of the Study 3-5 Summary of Conclusions 6-14 Chapter I. — The Reorganization of the Administration of Schools 15-27 The present situation 15 The Board of Superintendents 21 The Business Agent 22 The Secretary . 23 The Schoolhouse Custodian 24 The Board of Apportionment ....... 24 The Salary Board 25 Chapter II. — Reorganization of District Supervision . . 27-34 Present maximum cost of supervision 33 Proposed maximum cost of supervision 33 Chapter III. — The High School Situation 34^47 High school attendance and costs 34 The junior high school 36 The high school quota of teachers 39 High school organization 40 Salaries and supply of teachers 43 The secondary curriculum 46 Chapter IV. — Special Departments 48-71 Suggested grouping 48 Department of Practice and Training 50 Promotion and research 50 Physical weKare 51 a. Medical inspection — doctors and nurses . . . 51 b. Classes for the deaf 53 c. Classes for children with speech defects ... 54 d. Open-air classes . - 54 e. Classes for the semi-blind 56 /. Physical training and recreation 56 g. Athletics 56 h. Playgrounds 67 i. Special classes — subnormal children .... 57 Industrial arts and household arts 60 Evem'ng and voluntary continuation schools .... 64 Community centers 66 Music 68 Kindergartens 69 Chapter V. — • Vocational Education 72-125 Prevocational department 73 Compulsory continuation schools 81 Trade School for Girls 99 Industrial School for Boys 107 Part time cooperative course 116 Vocational guidance 122 ill IV City Document No. 87. „ (/ Page Chapter VI. — Vocational Needs op Boston Csildren . 126-143 Total number of males ten years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations in Boston, and the number per 1,000 so engaged in Boston, in Massachusetts, in the New England States, in all New England cities, in all cities . 128 Total number of females ten years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations in Boston, and the number per 1,000 so engaged in Boston, in Massachusetts, in the New Eng- land States, in all New England cities, in all cities . . 129 Total number of males ten years of age and over engaged in each specified gainful occupation in Boston, and the number per 1,000 so engaged 130 Number of pupils (male and female) who dropped out of school (discharged to work and for any other reason) during the scholastic year 1914-15, and their approximate distribu- tion by sexes 133 Number of boys leaving school during 1914-15 who had received some form of vocational training or who had taken no vocational courses 135 Excess or deficiency of the supply required to fill the ranks of educational life 135 Total number of females ten years of age and over engaged in each specified gainful occupation in Boston, and the number per 1,000 so engaged 137 Approximate numbers of girls who had taken specified voca- tional courses before leaving school during 1914-15 and those who had taken no such course 140 Excess and deficiency of the supply required to fill the ranks of occupational life 140 Chapter VII. — ■ Expenditures for School Purposes in Boston Compared with Expenditures in Other Large American Cities 144-184 List of tables vi vii 144 144 147 149 152 154 155 157 158 161 170 170 173 178 179 180 182 List of diagrams Cities compared Sources of statistics . Proportion of municipal expenditures devoted to schools Expenditure per inhabitant Expenditure per $1,000 of taxable wealth Expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance . New buildings and other improvements . Operation and maintenance Proportion of expenditures devoted to special activities Itemized expenditures for operation and maintenance Salaries of teachers per pupil in average daily attendance Size of classes Salaries per teacher . Salaries of principals Expenditure for fuel Expenditures classified according to function — administration instruction, care of school plant . Proportion of children in private schools Chapter VIII. — The Construction of School Buildings Cost per pupil Cost per class room Cost per cubic foot Administration of schoolhouse construction Cost of school buildings in Boston 185-213 185 185 185 186 187 Report on Boston Public Schools. Page Cost data for Cleveland, Detroit, Newark and St. Louis . . 192 Comparative cost in the five cities 200 The rank of cities in schoolhouse cost 202 School costs and school values 203 Modernization of old buildings 205 Reports on work accomplished 207 The Schoolhouse Commission not a civic or educational necessity, 210 Chapter IX. — Subsidiary Matters Appendix 212-214 215-219 vi City Document No. 87. LIST OF TABLES. „/ Taule Page 1. Proportion of total governmental cost payments devoted to school pvu'poses in Boston and in 21 other cities. 1913 . 147 2. Expenditure per inhabitant for operation and maintenance of schools in Boston and in 20 other cities. 1914 . . . 150 3. Expenditm-e per §1,000 of wealth for operation and mainte- nance of schools in Boston and in 20 other cities. 1914. 152 4. Expenditm-e for operation and maintenance of scliools and outlay for improvenaent of school plant per child in average daily attendance in Boston and in 20 other cities . 155 5. Proportion of total expenditure for instruction and for operation and maintenance of plant which is used for elementary and secondary schools in Boston and in 9 other cities. 19i2 . 159 6. Pupils in average daily attendance in daj^ schools and classified expenditure for schools in Boston and in 20 other cities. 1914 163 7. Classified expenditm-es per child in average daily attendance for Boston and for 20 other cities. 1914 .... 165 8. Rank of Boston and 20 other cities in classified expenditm-es for school pm-poses per cliild in average dailj' attendance. 1914 166 9. Average size of classes in elementary schools and kindergartens in Boston and in 20 other cities. 1914 . . . 170 10. Average size of classes in secondary schools in Boston and in 20 other cities. 1914 172 11. Annual salaries of teachers in Boston and in 14 other cities . 174 12. Distribution of annual salaries of regular teachers in elementary schools in Boston and in 14 other cities 176 13. Distribution of annual salaries of regular teachers in secondarj^ schools in Boston and in 14 other cities .... 177 14. Distribution of annual salaries of principals in elementary schools in Boston and in 14 other cities .... 179 15. Expenditm-e per child in average daily attendance for adminis- tration, for instruction, and for care of school plant in Boston and in 20 other cities. 1914 . . . . . 181 16. Ratio of pupils in private schools to pupils enrolled in pubhc day schools for Boston and for 15 other cities. 1914 . 183 Report on Boston Public Schools. vii LIST of diagrams. DiAQHAM Page 1. Proportion of total governmental cost payments devoted to school purposes in Boston and in 21 other cities . . 148 2. Expenditure per inhabitant for operation and maintenance of schools in Boston and in 20 other cities .... 151 3. Expenditm-e per $1,000 of wealth for operation and maintenance of schools in Boston and in 20 other cities . . . . 153 4. Expenditure for operation and maintenance of schools per child in average daily attendance for Boston and for 20 other cities 156 5. Outlay for improvement of school plant per child in average daily attendance for Boston and for 20 other cities . 156 6. Rank of Boston in a gi-oup of 21 cities in expenditure for opera- tion and maintenance of schools per inhabitant, per $1,000 of taxable wealth, and per child in average daily attend- ance 158 7. Boston's expenditures per child in average daily attendance for nine principal items of operation and maintenance com- pared with average expenditures for a group of 21 cities . 167 8. Pupils in average daily attendance in elementary schools and Ivindergartens per teacher employed for Boston and for 20 other cities 171 9. Pupils in average daily attendance in secondary schools per teacher employed for Boston and for 20 other cities . . 173 10. Median annual salaries of teachers in elementary schools for Boston and for 14 other cities 175 11. Median annual salaries of teachers in secondary schools for Boston and for 14 other cities 175 12. Rank of Boston in a group of 21 cities in expenditure per child in average daily attendance for administration, instruc- tion, and care of school plant 182 LETTER TO THE BOSTON FINANCE COMMISSION. Springfield, Mass., January 22, 1916. The Boston Finance Commission: Gentlemen, — I have the honor to present herewith a report of a study of certain phases of the pubhc school system of Boston having to do chiefly with organization and costs. The scope of the study is indicated by the following outline submitted by you: Scope of the Study. 1. Cost of administration of the school system, with especial emphasis on such features as executive officers, viz., Superintendent and his assistants; the Secretary of the School Committee and his assistants; the Business Agent and his assistants ; the assistant superintendents ; the directors and supervisors of special subjects; the value of each and opportunities for coordinating their work and eliminating any extravagant and unnecessary features. 2. High and grammar school districts; present arrangement of duties of principals and opportunities for economy by enlargement of jurisdiction and districts. 3. The following questions : a. The proper number of pupils to a teacher. b. The lengthening of the 'school year. c. The holding of alternate sessions with alter- nate teacher every day, so as to economize school buildings and school equipment. d. The requiring kindergarten teachers to work at both morning and afternoon sessions for their classes, instead of the present arrangement of one teacher to each session in certain districts. 4. The elimination of extra pay to teachers for service in vacation schools and other offices with extra pay for persons employed on annual salaries. 5. The advisability of reducing the common school course from eight to seven years. 2 City Document No. 87. 6. The value of new schools and studies recently established by the School Committee,* "namely, pre voca- tional schools, continuation schools, industrial schools, courses of study in evening work under the titles of ''Extended Use of School Buildings" and "Evening Centers," and summer schools, both high and elementary. 7. Method of paying salaries to teachers; advisability of paying by check instead of in cash. 8. Whether or not the system of furnishing additional school accommodations is being carefully and economi- cally planned; e. g., is the kind of construction advisable, and are the new accommodations excessive or inadequate. It would have been impossible for me to undertake the study had I not been able to secure the cooperation of a group of men expert in their several fields, who cared far more for the professional aspects of the service they could render than for any remuneration they might receive. I therefore organized a committee for the study and divided the work among its members in accordance with the predominant interest of each. The Committee. James H. Van Sickle, Superintendent of Schools Springfield, Mass. Director of the Study and Chairman of the Committee. George Drayton Strayer, Professor of Educational Administration, Teachers College, Columbia Uni- versity, New York. Administrative Offices and Supervision Districts. Lewis H. Carris, Assistant Commissioner of Education, State of New Jersey, and Egbert E. MacNary, Supervisor of Manual Training and Principal of the Vocational School, Springfield, Mass. Pre- vocational and Vocational Features of the Schools, Edwin Hebden, Statistican, Baltimore, Md. Vocational Needs of Boston Children. Leonard P. Ayres, Director, Division of Education. Russell Sage Foundation, New York City. The Construction of School Buildings. Earle Clark, Statistician, Russell Sage Foundation, New York City. General Study of Costs. * From 1911. Report on Boston Public Schools. 3 Don C. Bliss, Superintendent of Schools, Montclair, . N. J. The Organization of Supervision and the Work of Special Classes. Henry S. West, Professor of Secondary Education, University of Cincinnati, Ohio. The High School Situation. Method of the Study. It was not convenient for all members of the committee to be in Boston at the same time. There was a certain advantage in this, for since their observations on the ground were distributed over a period of three months, the director found it possible to take up with each member in turn the particular phase of the study allotted to him. In this way only, within the time available, could he gain the necessary insight into each of the complex problems involved which would enable him to present a unified report. Though the director holds himself individually respon- sible for each and every part of what is here presented, the report represents the combined judgment of all who participated in the study. Though a particular phase of the work was assigned to each member of the com- mittee, there were frequent consultations as the work progressed, and toward the close a formal conference was held in New York, lasting two days, at which every item here presented was fully discussed. Conferences were held with the Superintendent and with the assistant superintendents, both individually and as a board; with the Secretary, the Business Agent, the Schoolhouse Custodian, heads of special departments, and with representatives of the teachers' organizations. Three conferences were held with the School Com- mitte, one at their rooms at Mason street, and two in joint session with the Finance Commission at the com- mission's headquarters. All the resources of the School Department were placed at our disposal. Statistics were promptly gathered and inquiries cheerfully and courteously answered. Data for the comparisons made in the chapter on the Construction of School Buildings were found in the published reports of the Schoolhouse Commission, in the law under which the commission operates, in the Rules and Regulations of the School Committee and in the 4 City Document No. 87. course of visits of inspection to typical school buildings of the city. Additional data, which, early in the study, the commission was asked to furnish (but at first refused to give), were received subsequent to the completion of the report. A more extended discussion of the activities of the department might have been given had these additional data been made up in time for our use. The delay is not of great consequence, however, as the committee, after such examination as it has been possible to make, discovers nothing in the additional material tending to change its announced conclusions. The cooperation which we received from the School Committee and its officers and employees from the begin- ning to the end of the study was of the most satisfactory character. If any benefit accrues to the Boston school system from our study, it will be due in no small measure to the free interchange of opinion with the School Committee as the study proceeded and the full discussion of all proposals while these proposals were still tentative in form. The report contains no surprises. Its contents, except as to details of phrasing, are known to the School Committee in advance of publication and, in the main, have their approval. What follows does not purport to be a complete survey of the school system of Boston. Conclusions of hixdted range are presented in response to specific inquiries set forth above. A complete survey of the school system would require careful and prolonged consideration of many topics not included in this study, among which are: 1. The relation of the courses of study to individual differences existing among children and to modern social demands. 2. The quahty of teaching. 3. The achievements of pupils. 4. The adequacy of present provision for: Physical welfare of children. Pre-vocational and vocational training. Special classes. Playgrounds. 5. The possibihty of improving the present system of recording and reporting school facts, including the con- sideration of the question of clerks in elementary and in high schools. Report on Boston Public Schools. 5 6. An industrial-commercial survey. 7. The classification of children in the school system, including a study of retardation, elimination, and progress of children, together with a consideration of promotion rates, failures by studies, and the like. 8. A study of the distribution of expenditures among the several units of the school system for the sake of discovering any further possibility of saving with- out a decrease in the efficiency of the school system. 9. An investigation of the adequacy of the present school plant, with special reference to the effect of such accommodations or equipment upon the health and achievement of school children. 10. An inquiry concerning teachers, including the recruiting of the corps, their salaries, tenure, improve- ment in service, and the like. 11. A study of the present efficiency of general and special supervision, with particular reference to the contribution made by the supervisory corps to the growth and development of teachers. 12. The care of school buildings, including the qualifications, compensation and control of janitors. 13. Apparatus and materials for the purposes of training and instruction (text-books, laboratories, work- shops, libraries, schoolroom decorations, etc.). 14. The legal basis of the school system. The rela- tion of the School Department to other departments of the City Government and to the State Legislature. Such are some of the large questions not included in this study. The merest glance at the list must make it evident that the following pages are not offered as a survey of the Boston school system. A careful study of certain phases of the system has been undertaken, based on specific questions, and the best answers which the committee could make are here given. Respectfully submitted, James H. Van Sickle. City Document No. 87. L SUMMARY. The Administration of the Schools. 1. The schools of Boston are administered through several executive offices, each of which is directly respon- sible to the School Committee and independent in large degree of each other. There is no responsible executive head of the school system. 2. In order to carry out most efficiently and economi- cally the policies which they determine, a school com- mittee must, as do all other lay boards, w^hether in charge of public or private business, delegate to a responsible executive that authority which can be exercised best only by a professional expert who is able to study the whole problem and to coordinate the acti\i- ties of all employees. The delegation of this authority to the Superintendent of Schools enables them to fix this responsibility. 3. There is, in the opinion of the committee, no possibility of a maximum of efficiency of economy in the conduct of a school system in which many executive heads work more or less at cross purposes. With the reorganization that is suggested, there becomes possible the achievement of a degree of efficiency commonly enjoyed by well managed public and private business. Supervision Districts. 1. There appears to be no relationship between the number of pupils in average daily attendance and the number of masters employed. Districts occupying the same geographical area should be consolidated and certain very small districts should be combined. 2. A similar discrepancy'- is found with regard to the number of submasters employed. IMoreover, the func- tion of the submaster in the system is less responsible than the very considerable salary he receives would lead one to expect. In practice he is the teacher of a seventh or eighth grade and has certain extra class duties assigned. 3. The scheme of supervision here proposed places in Repokt on Boston Public Schools. 7 supervisory charge of all districts having less than 1,000 children in average daily attendance a submaster who has had experience under the direction of a master in one of the larger districts; in all districts having more than 1,000 children in average daily attendance, a master. When the number of children in average daily attendance in a district exceeds 1,500, the master is to be assisted by a submaster,who is to devote all of his time to supervision ; and whenever this number exceeds 3,000, the master is to be assisted by two such submasters. 4. The extra class activities now performed by sub- masters are to be provided for by designating certain upper grade teachers as junior masters, and by continu- ing the office of first assistant in charge and master's assistant. 5. It is proposed to add to the present supervisory corps five primary supervisors for the sake of furnishing a type of leadership for the lower grades and kindergartens which is not already provided by district supervision. 6. The complete reorganization here suggested pro- vides a much more adequate plan of supervision than is now in operation and would, if put into effect immedi- ately, save more than $45,000 annually. Instead, how- ever, of putting this scheme into full operation at once, it seems preferable to establish the policy and to deter- mine future appointments upon the basis indicated. The High School Situation. 1. The movement toward increasing the number of pupils per teacher which has been in operation since 1912 should not be permitted to go any further, for it must inevitably lower the efficiency of secondary school instruction. 2. We recommend the general organization of junior high schools not only to extend the advantages of this type of school to all parts of the city, but also to reduce school costs. Until the junior high school plan can be put into full operation, we suggest the possibility of securing relief in certain greatly overcrowded high schools through the adoption of a lengthened time schedule. 3. The headship of a department should involve functions of a^ distinctly executive and supervisory character; only persons capable of rendering this sort of assistance to the head master should be made heads 8 City Document No. 87. of departments ; and such headships should- lapse by rule whenever they become unnecessary; either from the shrinkage of instruction in a given department or from other circumstances. 4. In small high schools the range of elective studies should be restricted and there should be few, if any, heads of departments except titular heads. In all high schools substitute choice of definitely formulated curricula instead of choice from a long list of electives. Special Departments. 1. The fifteen departments maj'", to advantage, be regrouped into ten. 2. The work of the nurse should be emphasized rather than that of the physician. Two nurses to one doctor is a satisfactorj^ ratio. 3. Every effort should be made to extend the service of the evening schools and the voluntary continuation schools. 4. We commend the self-supporting basis of admin- istering groups in community centers. 5. The time allowance for manual training and cooking might be reduced to make possible three classes daily for a teacher instead of two. The gain in teacher time may be applied to good advantage elsewhere. 6. Allow pupils in subnormal classes to sell shop products and after deducting cost of materials pay balance to the pupils. 7. Standardize kindergarten rooms and utilize the advice of the department in planning rooms in new buildings and remodeling old buildings. Eliminate the general toilet for kindergarten children. 8. Transfer special kindergarten assistants to regular positions and allow unpaid practice teachers to serve in these positions. Through the saving thus accomplished establish kindergartens for four-year old children in foreign and congested districts. 9. Each kindergarten class should have two sessions, recreation being emphasized in the afternoon session and systematic home visitation by the teachers required. Vocational Education. 1. Pre-Vocational Departments, a. These departments should be reorganized as a part of the junior high schools in the seventh, eighth and ninth years. Report on Boston Public Schools. 9 b. These courses should be elective on the same basis as the other courses in the junior high school. c. Instruction should be provided in a sufficient number of activities to afford ''try-out" experiences to the pupils. d. Adolescent mental defectives should be cared for in special pre-vocational classes and given a large propor- tion of time for shop work. 2. Compulsory Continuation Schools. This work should be continued and given sufficient quarters to meet the needs of the classes. 3. Trade School for Girls. A further study should be made of factory employ- ment for women, and branches of the school should be established to meet local needs. 4. Industrial School for Boys. The work should be continued and the plans for expanding the school should be carried out. Efforts should be made to decrease the per capita cost by increas- ing the output of product for which the school will be credited. 5. Part-Time Cooperative Course in the Hyde Park High School. The school should be equipped with shops representing the metal-working trades, and a staff of special teachers should be employed. The industrial experiences of the boys in the local shops should be organized. If these steps are taken, the plan should be tried in other high schools where the necessary cooperation can be secured on the part of employers in industrial plants. 6. Vocational Guidance. Vocational guidance should be continued. A com- prehensive study of the vocations should be made. Vocational Needs of Boston Children. 1. The schools of Boston are already providing a large number of boys and girls with vocational education that will enable them to enter the occupations found in their own city and in other cities. 2. It is evident that the number of children receiving training for the manufacturing and mechanical industries 10 City Document No. 87. is far below the number of those who will- enter this class of employment. 3. On the other hand, the number taking the courses pointing toward professional life is in excess of the actual number who will find their life work in the professions. 4. There is an undoubted deficiency in the number adequately prepared for domestic and personal service, whether paid or unpaid. General Study of Costs. A comparison of the amounts spent for school purposes by a number of different cities affords a useful standard by which to measure the practice of an individual city. Boston's expenditure for schools has been compared with the expenditures of other American cities of more than 250,000 inhabitants. The results of the study are summarized in the following table: Subject of Comparison. Number of Cities Compared. Boston's Rank. Proportion of total municipal expenditure devoted to schools. Expenditure per inhabitant for operation and maintenance of schools. Expenditure per $1,000 of wealth for operation and maintenance of schools. Expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance for: Permanent improvement of school plant Operation and maintenance of schools 22 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 20 21 21 19 21 21 21 21 21 15 15 15 17 2 12 14 4 Items of school operation and maintenance: Office of board and other business offices .... Superintendent's office 5 2 Salaries and expenses of supervisors 5 Salaries and expenses of principals 11 Salaries of teachers 4 Stationery, supplies and other instruction expenses. Wages of janitors and other employees Average annual e.xpenditure for fuel Maintenance — repairs, replacement of equip- ment, etc. Groups under school operation and mainte- nance : Administration 8 6 10 4 5 Instruction 4 Care of school plant 4 Teachers per 1,000 pupils in: Elementary schools 18 Secondary'' schools 20 Median salaries of teachers in : Elementary schools 2 Secondary schools 4 Median salaries of principals in elementary schools. 1 Report on Boston Public Schools. 11 In comparing the expenditures of different cities it is necessary to take into account differences in resources and in educational responsibilities. This has been done by relating the amount spent for schools to total munic- ipal disbursements, to population, to wealth, and to the number of pupils in average daily attendance. As expenditure per pupil is believed to constitute, on the whole, the best standard for judgment, the more detailed comparisons are made only on this basis. Boston's relative position in the group of cities, as shown by the statistics, may be summarized as follows : 1. In the proportion of total municipal expenditures devoted to the public schools, Boston stands low. Accord- ing to prevailing standards, the schools are receiving somewhat less than their share of the money that is being spent by the city. 2. Only one city spends more per inhabitant than Boston for the operation and maintenance of schools. 3. On the other hand, Boston's expenditure per unit of wealth for the operation and maintenance of schools is relatively low. 4. In expenditure for the permanent improvement of the school plant per pupil in average daily attendance Boston ranks fourteenth among the 21 cities. 5. Boston's expenditure per pupil for the operation and maintenance of schools is exceeded in but three cities of the 21. 6. Comparative figures have been given for nine of the more important items of operation and maintenance. For all but two of the purposes represented by these items, Boston's expenditures per pupil are relatively high. In expenditure for salaries and expenses of principals and for fuel Boston stands, according to the figures of the reports of the United States Commissioner of Education, about mid-way in the list of cities. 7. In all the cities compared, teachers' salaries con- stitute the largest single item of disbursement. Boston ranks fourth among 21 cities in the amount spent for this purpose. It is evident that a relatively large expenditure for salaries per unit of attendance may be due to small classes, to high salaries per teacher, or to a combination of these two causes. 8. It appears from the statistics that, in the number of teachers per 1,000 pupils, both in elementary schools and in secondary schools, Boston stands very low in the list of cities — in other words, both in elementary schools and in secondary schools the classes are abnor- 12 City Document No. 87. mally large. This, clearly, is a condition which makes for low expenditure per pupil for teachers' salaries, rather than for the high expenditure shown by the comparisons. 9. The explanation of Boston's rank with respect to expenditure for teachers' salaries is found b}' comparing salaries per teacher. Among 15 cities for which data are available, Boston stands second in median salaries of teachers in elementary schools and fourth in median salaries of teachers in secondary schools. 10. While the tables seem to show that Boston's expenditure for salaries and expenses of principals is relatively small, this apparent result is due to a somewhat unusual distribution of functions in the Boston schools. If certain members of the Boston staff who, in many cities, would be termed principals were so classed by the Boston authorities, Boston's ranking in expenditure for this item would be much higher than it is. In median individual salaries of persons reported as elementary school principals Boston leads all the cities. 11. Expenditures per unit of attendance for operation and maintenance have been grouped, according to function, under three heads: administration, instruction, and care of school plant. Boston stands fifth in the group of cities in expenditure for administration and fourth both in expenditure for instruction and in expendi- ture for physical care. Considered in their general bearings, the comparative statistics may fairly be interpreted as showing that, as related to the educational responsibilities of the city, Boston's expenditures for school purposes are liberal. Boston is, however, an exceptionally wealthy city, and for this reason the expenditures for schools do not draw heavily on the resources of the community. For permanent improvements in the school plant Boston has in recent years been spending rather less, relatively speak- ing, than for operation and maintenance. An examina- tion in detail of disbursements for the different purposes of operation and maintenance discloses a well planned distribution of expenditures — no one class of activity seeijis to be either unduly subordinated to others or unduly favored. The Constkuction of School Buildings. 1. There are three common units for comparing the cost of school buildings. These are the cost per pupil, Report on Boston Public Schools. 13 the cost per class room and the cost per cubic foot. Satisfactory comparisons should take into account all these units and, in addition, consider the special accommodations provided. 2. The administration of schoolhouse construction is arranged for in some cities by employing private architects to prepare plans for each new building. In other cities contracts are made with reliable firms of competent architects to undertake schoolhouse con- struction over a term of years. The most satisfactory arrangement is for the city to employ a schoolhouse architect, together with engineers, draughtsmen and inspectors, as part of the permanent staff of the depart- ment of education. 3. The City of Boston employs no one of these methods, but instead has an independent schoolhouse commission, appointed by the Mayor, to take charge of repairs and replacements in old buildings and to pur- chase sites and construct all new buildings. 4. A comparison has been made of the costs of nine fireproof and nonfireproof elementary school buildings in Boston and of groups of fireproof elementary school buildings of recent construction, numbering seven in St. Louis, eleven in Cleveland, nine in Newark, and ten in Detroit. For all these buildings cost data have been secured on a uniform basis. 5. The comparisons show that costs per class room range from less than $5,000 in Detroit to more than $9,000 in St. Louis, with Boston rooms costing more than $7,100 in nonfireproof and nearly $7,900 in fire- proof buildings. 6. In the matter of cost per cubic foot the Boston buildings are the most expensive of all those compared. 7. In the average cost per pupil the Boston fireproof buildings are the most expensive of all, while the non- fireproof ones are more expensive than the fireproof ones in Detroit, Newark and Cleveland. 8. The Boston fireproof buildings provide a smaller proportion of special rooms than do those in St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit. 9. Computations showing the average cost per room, including class rooms and special rooms, show that the Boston buildings are the most expensive of all. 10. The expenses of plans, specifications and inspec- tion are far greater in Boston than in any of the other cities. 14 City Document No. 87. 1 1 . Taking all factors into consideration it' appears that Boston has been spending more for second-class, nonfireproof buildings than Cleveland, Detroit and Newark have been spending for first-class, fireproof buildings. 12. The committee is convinced that the type of building offered by the Schoolhouse Department as a type of the new fireproof buildings to be erected in Boston falls far short of providing satisfactory educa- tional accommodations of a truly modern sort. 13. Boston is faced by an unusually difficult problem in the matter of modernizing its old school buildings, of which it has a very large number. The committee has been unable to find that the Schoolhouse Commission is proceeding on any adequate, continuing policy in this matter. 14. The committee finds the published reports of the Schoolhouse Department inadequate and inaccurate. 15. The committee finds that the figures published by the Schoolhouse Department and purporting to show per capita costs of Boston school buildings must be increased by nearly one third in order to furnish figures comparable with those showing corresponding costs in other cities. 16. The committee is unanimously of the opinion that its estimates of the actual costs of the Boston school buildings should not be considered too high unless proved so by a thorough audit of the books of the Schoolhouse Department. 17. The committee finds that the facts reviewed demonstrate that Boston's experiment in erecting school buildings through the agency of the independent School- house Department has not proved successful. It holds that economical and satisfactory results in this work will not be secured until control of these operations is vested in the educational authorities, as it is in other progressive cities. The school officials who are charged with the duty of educating the children are the ones who should decide what educational accommodations shall be provided in the buildings, where they shall be located, how many and wliat rooms they shall contain, and what equipment shall be installed. Report on Boston Public Schools. 15 CHAPTER I. — THE REOEGANIZATION OF THE AD^IINISTRATION OF SCHOOLS. The Present Situation. The schools of Boston are, in so far as the committee has been able to determine, administered through several executive offices, each of which is directly responsible to the School Committee, and independent in large degree of each other. In the study which has been made of this problem, information was secured, first, from a study of the proposed revision of the rules of the School Committee; second, from reports made by the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendents, Business Agent, Secretary and Schoolhouse Custodian, in which each was asked to indicate as concretely as possible the nature of the activity of his office, to justify any increase in cost occurring during the past five years, to indicate the relationship of his office to the other executive offices of the School Committee, and to sug- gest any plan of reorganization which might make for greater efficiency; third, from conferences with mem- bers of the School Committee, Superintendent, Assist- ant Superintendents, Business Agent, directors, masters, and teachers; and fourth, from observations made in attendance upon a conference of the School Committee and upon a meeting of the Board of Superintendents, together with an analysis of the minutes of eleven meetings of the Board of Superintendents. Tt|.e situation can be made clearest, possibly, by representing graphically the organization as it at present exists, indicating by lines drawn the responsibility of each employee of the School Board to the several executive officers, and the relationships of these officers to each other. This graph, which is given below, is based not only upon a careful study of the proposed revised rules of the School Committee, but upon the information collected from the reports made and con- ferences held with various employees of the School Committee. It appears to members of our commission to represent not only the organization proposed by the new rules, but also the present practice. . 16 City Document No. 87. From all the testimony presented, and from all of the observation made by members of the committee, it appears that there is no responsible executive head of the school system. The School Committee, as a matter of practice as well as by rule, have divided among the Superintendents of Schools, the Board of Superin- tendents, the Business Agent, the Secretary, and the Schoolhouse Custodian, the control of various parts or aspects of the school system. The proposed revised rules state specifically that ''the Superintendent shall be the executive officer of the Board in all matters relating to instruction and discipline in the schools"; that ''the Board of Superintendents shall give written opinion on any question when so required" . . . "by the Board or any sub-committee thereof; and may present to the Board recommendations on its own initiative whenever occasion warrants"; that "the Board of Superintendents shall approve books of refer- ence and educational material issued in the schools, except dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases, in accord- ance with the regulations"; and that the Board of Superintendents shall act as a board of examiners; that "the Business Agent shall be the executive officer of the Board in charge of the accounts, receipts of income, preparation of pay rolls, purchase, storing, and dis- tribution of supplies, including printing, postage, and the transportation of pupils"; that "requisitions for books, printing, postage, fuel, and materials of every description required for use by any officer, or in any School Department, shall be subject to his approval. He shall fill such requisitions as he shall approve, within the limits of the appropriations made." . . . "He shall include" in his reports submitted to the Board " such recommendations tending to a more economical expenditure of appropriations as he may deem expe- dient." . . . " He shall consider and report upon any proposition relating to an extension of or change in the school system involving additional expense, or a con- templated expenditure for which provision has not been made in the annual appropriation order, before action thereon shall be taken"; that "the Secretary shall be custodian of the School Committee building"; that "he may issue and cancel permits for the use of the school premises for other than the regular work of the schools in accordance with the regulations"; that "the School- house Custodian shall be the executive officer of the Report on Boston Public Schools. 17 Board in all matters relating to the care and custody of the land and buildings used for school purposes, except the School Committee building"; that "he shall exercise general supervision and control over the janitors and their assistants, and matrons employed in the several school buildings, except the School Commit- tee building; see that the rules and regulations for their government are enforced, and report to the Board, in writing, cases of negligence or inefficiency on the part of such employees"; that he shall appoint, transfer, and remove janitors and matrons, and suspend janitors and matrons. In the quotations from the proposed revised rules given above, there is nothing which seems to violate in any way the present practice of the executive office. No attempt has been made in the quotations given to present the case completely, but, rather, to indicate by the selections quoted, or statements made in accord with the rules, that there are actually four executive officers and one executive Board coordinate in authority by virtue of the duties which they perform and the authority vested in them by the rules of the School Committee. To this list of executive authorities might be added the Trial Board, upon which the Secretary, Business Agent, and a school janitor sit as a judicial body to consider charges and complaints preferred against any janitor or matron which may be referred to it by the Board; the Salary Board, which consists of the Superintendent, the Business Agent, and the Secretary, who annually consider the salaries of all persons employed under the various titles in the administrative offices of the Board; and the Board of Apportionment, which consists of the Superintendent, two assistant superin- tendents assigned by the Superintendent, and the Business Agent, who have "general control of the appropriations made by the Board for supplies and incidentals," and who may make such transfers as it may deem expedient within such appropriations. In the report submitted by individual members of the Board of Superintendents, it appears that the majority of the members of this Board consider themselves important as a Board in the development and control of the school system. They suggest that it is through this Board that educational policies are advocated and put into operation; that this body studies educational prob- lems and reports directly to the School Committee; 18 City Document No. 87. and that it should be considered as the central unifying force in the school system. There is apparently little doubt in the minds of the members of this group con- cerning the responsibility and authority vested in them as an executive body. The Business Agent, as has already been indicated in the quotations from the rules, is actually an executive officer responsible directly to the School Committee. His authority, however, in the minds of many teachers, masters and executive officers is much greater than would appear upon reading the rules. He can, subject to appeal from his decision, determine educational policy by refusing to purchase the books which are needed, and which could be purchased within the appropriation allowed to a particular school or depart- ment. He can interfere with the development of a particular part of the school system through refusing to buy supplies which are needed, on account of an increase in cost, or because he doubts the wisdom of adding the particular sort of supply or equipment which is desired. He may interfere with the efficiency of a particular school or department through a change in equipment which may make for economy, while at the same time handicapping pupils whose earning capacity will depend upon having experience with equipment not allowed by him in the schools. It appears in every case that there is an opportunity for an appeal from the decision of the Business Agent to the Board of Apportionment, and finally to the School Committee. In practice, however, assistant superintendents, directors, masters and heads of departments are apt to refrain from making such appeals, both on account of the time involved, and because of a perfectly natural desire to maintain amicable relationships with an important executive officer of the School Committee. Testimony has been given which goes to show that in many cases distinctly educational policy has actually been interfered with by the Busi- ness Agent, by virtue of the authority vested in this office. The Secretary has, in so far as the rules indicate his position, little executive authority. It appears, how- ever, to be the policy of the School Committee as at present constituted to depend upon the Secretary, the Business Agent, and one or more assistant superinten- dents for advice, which ought, in a well organized school system, to be required of their chief executive officer. Report on Boston Public Schools. 19 The Schoolhouse Custodian is given such large execu- tive authority in deahng with janitors and matrons as to provide for a minimum of responsibihty or authority by the Superintendent. In an inspection of school buildings it seemed apparent to members of the com- mission that conditions were tolerated which must have been reformed immediately were the Schoolhouse Cus- todian responsible to the Superintendent of Schools. Proposed Reorganization. The proposed reorganization of the administration of schools which follows is suggested in the firm belief that greater efficiency will be made possible, and that in the long run such efficiency will make for economy in administration. The proposals which are made, and the criticism of the present organization which has already been indicated, are not intended in any way to reflect upon the integrity or the efficiency of the em- ployees of the School Committee. Indeed, we have been impressed in our study by the individual efficiency of the Superintendent, members of the Board of Superin- tendents, Business Agent and Secretary. The difficulty is not with the individuals concerned, but, rather, with an organization which is cumbersome and which renders impossible the highest degree of efficiency. As the situation is at present, a very large proportion of the time and energy of executive officers must be spent in conferences in which matters are settled upon a personal basis which ought to be determined by the chief execu- tive officer of the school system, by virtue of the author- ity vested in him by the School Committee, and in the light of the responsibility which he alone should have. In passing, it might be noted that the lack of an admin- istration building, in which all of the offices of the School Committee might be located, is in itself a handi- cap which should be overcome at the earliest possible moment by the erection and equipment of a suitable building. The final authority for the control and development of the school system of Boston is (except for buildings, which are in charge of the Schoolhouse Commission) vested in the School Committee. The management of this great public service may be conducted most effici- ently only upon that basis of organization which has been found to make for efficiency in private business. 20 City Document No. 87. We are coming in our consideration of governmental problems to accept as our final criterion the very simple dictum, ''Does it work?" From the testimony which has been given to the committee, and from such observa- tions as they have been able to make, it seems entirely clear that the present organization not only invites but actually promotes inefficiency. As has already been indicated, the time and energy of executive officers is wasted in making adjustments on a personal basis. The Board of Superintendents, the Business Agent, the Secretary and the Schoolhouse Custodian may and do operate independently. The Superintendent of Schools, who is the expert employed by the School Committee, and who receives the largest salary paid to any employee, has neither the responsibility nor the authority which should be vested in a chief executive. The School Committee may properly be considered as exercising the responsibility of a Board of Directors responsible to their constituency, the citizens of Boston. They must pass upon all matters which have to do with the maintenance and development of the public school system. As laymen they cannot to advantage and should not therefore attempt to administer the school system. Efficiency in administration demands that they choose a superintendent of schools as their chief executive officer, who should, by rule of the School Committee, and in the exercise of his own judgment, delegate to other executive officers those duties which could best be performed by them. All other executives should report to the Board of Education through him, except in cases of an appeal from the decision of the Superintendent, in which the subordinate executive or any other employee should carry his case before the School Committee. Under this arrangement, all ques- tions of policy for the schools not determined by rule or regulation of the School Committee, and not of sufficient significance to be brought before them for decision, should be decided by the Superintendent and reported to the committee. In the following paragraphs will be indicated as definitely as possible what the proposed reorganization would mean with respect to the relationships existing among the present executive officers of the School Committee. Report on Boston Public Schools. 21 The Board of Superintendents. The Board of Superintendents should, as a Board, be abolished. An analysis of eleven meetings of this Board shows that four of them were given over wholly to matters which should be decided by an examining board or committee; that among the other matters dis- cussed, such as courses of study, methods of instruction, examination of pupils, selection of text and reference books, determination of educational materials, requests for appropriation of funds, and the like, each and every matter might better have been reported directly to the Superintendent by the assistant superintendent in charge, and either decided by him or discussed with other assistant superintendents as he saw fit. Some indication of the relative importance of the various items brought before the Board in the eleven meetings analyzed is indicated by the fact that in sixty-one cases matters had to do with the qualifications of teachers, and in thirty-six cases all other matters listed above were considered. The formal meeting of the Board of Superintendents consists of reports of conferences which had been held between the Superintendent and individual members of the Board, and of reports of work done by virtue of an assignment by the Superin- tendent to individual members of the group. In so far as this Board operates to oppose or to interfere with the development of the Superintendent's program, and to the degree that it is considered as in a position of coordinate authority with the Superintendent of Schools, there is a divided authority and responsibility and an opportunity for inefficiency in management. The chief executive officer of the Board of Education — the Superintendent of Schools — should nominate the assistant superintendents. His efficiency in very large measure is determined by having as his assistants men who will work with him for the realization of his plans and ideals in accordance with the policies adopted by the School Committee. The relationship between the Superintendent of Schools and one of his assistants should be such as to place him in position of direct responsibility to the Superintendent. Under such con- ditions an assistant superintendent, to the degree that 22 City Document No. 87. he is efficient, increases the efficienoy of the Superin- tendent as the chief executive officer, and at the same time the efficiency of the whole system. The assistant superintendents should be placed in charge of the work of examining and certificating teachers. It does not, however, seem necessary to pay salaries as large as those paid to assistant superintendents of schools in order to carry on much of the routine work. If an examining board were constituted with the assist- ant superintendents in charge, and with less highly paid assistants responsible for preparation of the ques- tions and the marking of papers, the time and energy of these highly paid professional specialists might, it seems to the committee, be used to greater advantage in the general supervision and administration of the school system. The Business Agent. The Business Agent should continue to be in charge of accounts, receipts of income, preparation of the pay rolls, purchase, storing and distribution of supplies, including printing, postage and the transportation of pupils. He should keep a complete set of accounts of the expenditures of the Board, prepare pay rolls, exam- ine all bills of expenditure, certify as to their correctness in all respects and prepare requisitions on the City Auditor for the payment of pay rolls and accounts which have been approved by the Board. He should report monthly to the Superintendent of Schools on dis- bursements and budget balances in such form as the Superintendent may require. He should also report to the Superintendent prior to the making of the annual budget concerning the amount of money available for the period for which the budget is prepared. The Business Agent should not have authority to pass upon requisition for books, printing, postage and educational materials required for use in the school system, except as such authority may be delegated to him by the Superintendent, and whenever the purchase of books or educational supplies or equipment of any sort is approved by the Superintendent, they should, within the appropriation allowed, be provided by the Business Agent. All recommendations from the Busi- ness Agent to the School Committee should be made through the office of the Superintendent. The annual Report on Boston Public Schools. 23 budget should be prepared by him, in conference with the Superintendent of Schools, and should be submitted to the School Committee through the Superintendent's office. The plan given above for the reorganization of the executive offices which places the Business Agent in a position subordinate to the Superintendent is not in- tended to deny to the Business Agent the right to report to the School Committee, when, in his judgment, expenditures are approved by the educational authority which involve wastefulness or extravagance. The sug- gestion that the budget for the year be prepared by the Superintendent in cooperation with the Business Agent provides for the utilization of the special knowledge which he possesses. In this case, as well as in the other mentioned above, the Business Agent would have the right and the obligation to report to the School Board in case there was a disagreement between them involv- ing any considerable sum of money. To state the matter very briefly, the Business Agent should conduct the affairs of his office entirely under the general direction of the Superintendent of Schools, and with distinct responsibility to him, and shouly never be permitted to determine any educational polled by virtue 'of his activity as an accounting, purchasing or distributing agent. His office, under the plan of the reorganization suggested, would not be less important than it is at present, except for the fact that he would not be an executive officer of the Board, coordinate in authority with the Superintendent, but rather an executive subordinate to the chief executive officer charged with large responsibility, and having by virtue of his office an opportunity to make a large contribu- tion to the efficiency of the school system. The Secretary. The Secretary of the School Committee should be, in fact as well as in name, a secretary. He should not be called upon to exercise any executive authority. As Secretary to the School Committee he should report to the Superintendent of Schools for his consideration all business coming to his office. In many cases there would be no need for suggestion or comment by the chief executive. In other cases, review would be neces- sary in order to make for the highest degree of efficiency 24 City Document No. 87. for the whole school system. The Superintendent of Schools should, with the cooperation of the Secretary and of all other officers who report to him, present all busi- ness to the Board, whether of public meetings or in con- ferences. SCHOOLHOUSE CuSTODIAN. Such executive authority as is at present exercised by the Schoolhouse Custodian should be vested in him only as delegated by the Superintendent of Schools, and his action in any of these matters should be subject to review and to final decision by the Superintendent, subject only to appeal to the School Committee. Board of Apportionment. If the reorganization suggested above is accomplished the Board of Apportionment should be abolished. The Superintendent of Schools, as the responsible executive head of the school system, would find occasion to con- sult with assistant superintendents, Business Agent and directors concerning the control of moneys provided for supplies and incidentals, and with respect to transfers to be made within the amount allowed. The Business Agent would still, by virtue of his office, report to the Superintendent concerning the balance available for each school or district and should inform the Superin- tendent if any expenditures under any item shall have equalled or exceeded the amounts allowed. The Super- intendent, with such consultation upon the part of assistant superintendents, Business Agent or others as as he may desire, should apportion annually the income of the Bowdoin and Gibson Funds among the schools entitled to share therein. It is of the utmost importance that the Board of Apportionment be continued unless the Business Agent be made directly responsible to the Superintendent of Schools as the chief executive officer of the Board. Under the existing conditions, in which the Superintend- ent of Schools and the Business Agent are executive ofiicers, each of whom is directly responsible to the Board, the Board of Apportionment makes possible, in those cases in which appeals are made from the decision of the Business Agent with respect to the buying of books or supplies, adjustments in the light of educational needs and the development of educational policies. Report on Boston Public Schools. 25 The Salary Board. The Salary Board should be abolished. The Super- intendent of Schools should recommend to the School Committee changes in salaries of persons employed under various titles in the administrative offices of the committee, and would undoubtedly, in the making of these recommendations, consult the heads of depart- ments working under his direction. If any injustice were done, there would always be the possibility of appeal to the School Committee. Summary of Administrative Reorganization Recommended. The School Committee are charged with the respon- sibility of providing an efficient system of public educa- tion for the City of Boston. They must determine all questions of policy for the development of public educa- tion, adopt a budget within the limit of the moneys provided by law for the support of the schools, and enact rules and regulations for the conduct of the school system. They have the final authority, and are the court of last resort. In order to carry out most effici- ently and economically the policies which they deter- mine they must, as do all other lay boards, whether in charge of private or public business, delegate to a responsible executive that authority which can be exer- cised best only by a professional expert who is able to study the whole problem and to coordinate the activi- ties of all employees. The delegation of this authority to the Superintendent of Schools enables them to fix responsibility. The Superintendent in his turn, accept- ing such authority and responsibility, may be expected to secure from each subordinate officer or teacher the largest possible contribution to the development of the school system only as his position is recognized by them and to the degree that he is supported by the School Committee. Every such responsible executive delegates authority and responsibility to his subordinates to just the degree in which they are willing to cooperate with him and their colleagues in the carrying out of the policies determined by the lay board. The responsible executive may make mistakes, but his orders or decisions are always subject to appeal to the School Committee. If it were discovered that such an executive officer was 26 City Document No. 87. frequently in the wrong, or that he was incompetent, it would be wuthin the province of tiie lay board to remove him and to provide a more efficient manager. A somewhat popular fallacy that matters requiring large executive and administrative ability cannot be satisfactorily placed in the hands of professional educa- tors is apparently based upon the belief that educators have had small experience with administrative problems and are not, therefore, skillful executives. There is no generalization concerning public executives more com- pletely false to the facts in the case than is this. The city Superintendent of Schools is in a large city the one cit}^ official commonly chosen from the country at large. In a very real sense the Superintendent of Schools of our great cities represent the survi^'al of the fittest among educational executives. Other city officials are commonly chosen from the localities in which they are employed. In private business the choice of execu- tives is usually not even from among men of an entire city, but rather from the employees of a single business. Only in the school superintendency do we find in the •position of largest responsibility men chosen from the entire country on the basis of their success in executive positions in smaller localities. A glance at the figures, showing the number of men engaged in different grades of educational positions, will indicate that the school superintendent in the large cities is commonly chosen on the basis of an extensive selection unparalleled in any other caUing. These figures are substantially as follows : Superintendents in cities of over 1,000.000 inhabitants 3 Superintendents in cities of from 250,000 to 1,000,000 16 Superintendents in cities of from 50,000 to 250,000 90 Superintendents in cities of from 10,000 to 50,000 492 Superintendents in cities of from 5,000 to 10,000 629 Public school teachers in all localities 566,000 The men who pass through this selective process from positions as teachers to principalships, to superinten- dencies in villages, to those in towns, to those in small cities, and finally, to those in large cities arrive in their ultimate positions because they possess in rare com- bination educational ability and executive ability. In the smaller communities they personally transact the business as well as the educational affairs of the school systems. Unless they are notablj^ successful in dealing with the matters of educational business they are not Report on Boston Public Schools. 27 selected for positions in the cities of the next larger size. When they have reached the cities of the largest size we may be very certain that they have successfully and successively demonstrated marked ability in the transaction of educational business. It is a most short-sighted policy which takes away from these men the general control of the school system in our large cities in order to provide for independent business executives, boards of superintendents, or other executives coordinate in authority with the Superin- teiident. Whatever may be the position of the Superintendent of Schools, as determined by the rules of the School Committee, it cannot be denied that in the last analysis the teachers in the school system, the press of the city and the general public hold the Superintendent respon- sible for the failures of the school system, and give him some credit for that part of the work which is considered successful. If this responsibility, clearly conceived by the public, is denied to the Superintendent of Schools by the School Committee, he is placed in the unfair position of lacking authority commensurate with his responsibility. With the system of reorganization which has been proposed above, the time and energy of the Superin- tendent of Schools and of other executive officers now wasted in group and individual conferences upon unimportant matters would be saved for the considera- tion and execution of the larger and more important plans for the development of the school system. There is, in the opinion of the committee, no possibility of a maximum of efficiency or of economy in the conduct of a school system in which many executive heads work more or less at cross purposes. With the reorganization that is suggested there becomes possible the achieve- ment of a degree of efficiency commonly enjoyed by well managed public and private business. 28 City Document No. 87. CHAPTER II.— REORGANIZATION OF DISTRICT SUPERVISION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WITH PROVISIONS FOR AN INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY AND A SAVING IN COST. The supervision of elementary schools is organized upon the basis of geographical units called districts. In each of ten of these districts there are two masters devoting their whole time to supervision. For each of twenty-nine districts having an average daily attend- ance of more than a thousand pupils there is one master. For each of twenty districts having an average daily attendance of less than a thousand pupils there is one master. From the figures of attendance which are indicated in a table given below the reappears to be no relationship between the number of pupils in average daily attendance and the number of masters employed under the present system. For example, the Bigelow- Shurtleff, Hart-Gaston, Dwight-Everett, Sherwin-Hyde and Agassiz-Bowditch Districts all support two masters, while the Lincoln, Mather, Holmes, Adams, and Wells Districts, each of which has a larger average daily attendance than any one of those just mentioned, have one master each. A similar discrepancy is found with respect to the number of submasters at present employed. The Bige- low-Shurtleff District, with an average daily attendance of 1,811 children, has two submasters, while the Mather with 2,054 and the Wells with 2,046 children in average daily attendance have one submaster each. There are doubtless conditions to be met and traditions which have become established in the organization of the several districts which account for the assignment of masters and submasters that have been made. The discrepancies which appear from the standpoint of the organization of a system of supervision are due, it seems to us, in considerable measure, to a misapprehension concerning the function of submasters. In practice the submaster teaches a seventh or eighth grade, and has assigned certain other extra class duties, for which a very considerable increase in salary is paid. He does not, however, by virtue of these duties, or on account of the larger salary, become a supervisory officer. The scheme for supervision which we propose places a master in charge of all districts having more than a thousand children in average daily attendance, and pro- Report on Boston Public Schools. 29 vides for his assistants in supervising the district one submaster, who is to devote all of his time to super- vision whenever the number of children in average daily attendance exceeds 1,500, and two submasters whenever this number exceeds 3,000. For the districts having less than a thousand children in average daily attendance it is proposed to provide for supervision by a submaster who has already had experience under the direction of a master in one of the larger districts. The extra class activities now performed by submasters are provided for by designating certain upper grade teachers as junior masters and by continuing the office of first assistant in charge and master's assistant. Under the revised scheme the salary schedule would read as follows: Junior masters from $1,212 to $1,500; first assistants in charge from $1,212 to $1,500; master's assistants from $1,212 to $1,500; submasters at work in the larger districts under the direction of a master, $1,500 to $2,000; submasters in charge of a small dis- trict, $2,000 to $2,340; master, $2,580 to $3,420. The plan of reorganization proposed will allow for twelve more persons actually engaged in supervision than the present organization provides, while at the same time reducing the cost. There will be provided, as well, a scheme for promotion which will make it possible to select the abler teachers for supervisory work, and to promote them from junior master, first assistant or master's assistant having extra class duties, to the position of submaster working under the direc- tion of a master, to the position of submaster in charge of a small district, and finally to the position of master in charge of a district. The suggestion concerning the opportunities for pro- motion are not meant in any way to indicate that it is desirable to fill master's positions only by promoting from the Boston school system. On the other hand, it is distinctly urged that men and women from other school systems be elected to the position of submaster and master from time to time, in order to introduce the new points of view which may be expected from those who have been trained in other school systems. It is proposed to add to the present supervisory corps five primary supervisors for the sake of furnishing a type of leadership for the teachers of the lower grades and kindergartens which is not already provided by district supervision. The complete reorganization here suggested, and as indicated in the table which is given 30 City Document No. 87. below, provides, in the judgment of the committee, a much more adequate plan of supervision than is now in operation, and would, if put into effect, immediately save more than $45,000 annually. It is not proposed, however, that this scheme be put into effect at once. It seems preferable to establish the policy and to determine future appointments upon the basis indicated. By the time this program becomes effective over the whole school system, due to the increase in the school population and number of schools, the saving will greatly exceed that which is calculated upon the basis of the present situation. The plan of supervision which we have proposed is not intended to interfere in any way with a consolida- tion of districts which might be brought about to advantage upon recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools. Such consolidations as might be effected would in no way interfere with the general plan for the organization of supervision which we have proposed. A more extended study of the problem would, we believe, show the desirability of consolidating districts, and would result not only in a saving in cost but also in an increase in the efficiency of supervision. The table below gives the reorganization proposed, together with the present and promised cost. REORGANIZATION OF THE DISTRICT SUPERVISION WITH PROVISION FOR AN INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY AND A SAVING OF COST. Fifty-two Submasters are more than Thirty-five Years of Age AND Teaching Seventh or Eighth Grades; Thirty-one are Thirty-five Years of Age or Under and Teaching. Districts Supporting Two Masters — Same Geographical Area. Present Organization. 1 Proposed Organization. Districts. * Number Pupils in Average Attend- ance. Masters. Sub- masters. Masters. t Sub- masters. Junior Masters. 4,244 2,433 2,064 1,961 1,811 1,920 1,563 1,767 2,445 1,6S0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 3 Wendell Phillips-Bowdoin, 3 1 Lawrence-Norcross Bigelow-Shurtleff Thomas N. Hart-Gaston. . 1 2 2 2 Sherwin-Hyde Dudley-Dillaway Agassiz-Bowditch 2 3 1 Totals 20 20 10 11 20 * From School Document No. 12, 1915, pages 9-10. t Submaster assigned when number of children reaches 1,500. An additional submaster allowed when number of children exceeds 3,000. Report on Boston Public Schools. 31 District with One Master and more than 1,000 Pupils in Average Attendance. Districts. Present Organization. Proposed Organization. Number Pupils in Average Attend- ance. Masters. Sub- masters. Masters. Sub- masters. Junior Masters. 1. Abraham Lincoln. . . 2,053 2 1 2 2. Bennett 1,158 3. Chapman 1,042 4 Coming 1,071 5 1,715 1,355 1 1 1 6. Edward Everett .... 7. Elihu Greenwood. . . 1,061 8. Emerson 1,177 9. George Putnam .... 1,524 1 10. Henry L. Pierce .... 1,370 11. Hugh O'Brien 1,464 12. John A. Andrew. . . . 1,197 13. John Winthrop 1,256 14 1,801 1 15. Longfellow 1,093 16. Lowell 1,093 17. Mary Hemenway . . . 1,526 2 1 2 18. Mather 2,054 1 1 1 19. 0. W. Holmes 2,709 3 1 3 20. Phillips Brooks 1,423 2 2 21. Quincy 1,080 2 2 22. Roger Wolcott 1,537 1 1 1 23. Samuel Adams 2,071 1 1 1 24. Theodore Lyman . . . 1,222 1 1 25. Thomas Gardner . . . 1,236 2 2 26. Ulysses S. Grant. . . . 1,084 1 1 27. Washington 1,561 2 1 2 ?8 Wells 2,046 1,112 1 1 1 1 29. William E. Russell . . 1 Totals 29 41 29 11 41 32 City Document No. 87. DISTRICTS WITH FEWER THAN 1,000 CHILDREN IN AVERAGE ATTENDANCE OUTSIDE OF CONSOLIDATED DISTRICTS AND EXCLUSIVE OF THE MARTIN SCHOOL, WHICH IS THE PRACTICE SCHOOL FOR THE NORMAL SCHOOL. Present Organization. Proposed Organization. Districts. Number Pupils in Average Attend- ance. Masters. Sub- masters. Sub- masters. Junior Masters. 606 688 803 640 826 795 769 555 599 1B43 580 822 751 609 996 803 882 935 977 860 1 1 1 2 Bunker Hill 3. Gibson 4. Edmund P. Tileston 11. Minot 12. Oliver H. Perry 13. Prescott * 2 17. Gilbert Stuart 18. Robert G. Shaw Totals . 20 21 1 20 21 Report on Boston Public Schools. 33 PRESENT MAXIMUM COST OF SUPERVISION. Total Salary. Salaries. 10 Consolidated Districts, same Geographical Area, Having Two Masters. * 20 masters S3,420 $68,400 1 20 submasters 2,340 46,800 29 Districts with more than 1,000 Pupils in Average Daily Attendance Having One Master. *i29 masters $3,420 $99,180 t 41 submasters 2,340 95,940 20 Small Districts with Fewer than 1,000 Pupils Having One Master. * 20 masters $3,420 $68,400 1 21 submasters 2,340 49,140 Total number of persons, 151. Costing . . . $427,860 * Number of persons actually engaged in supervision, 69. t Number of persons actually engaged in teaching, 82. PROPOSED MAXIMUM COST OF SUPERVISION. Total Salary. Salaries. 10 Consolidated Districts, same Geographical Area, Having Two Masters. * 10 masters $3,420 $34,200 * 11 submasters 2,000 22,000 1 20 junior masters (in place of submasters teaching), 1,500 30,000 29 Districts with more than 1,000 Pupils in Average Daily Attendance. * 29 masters $3,420 $99,180 * 11 submasters 2,340 25,740 t 41 junior masters 1,500 61,500 20 Districts with Fewer than 1,000 Pupils in Average Daily Attendance. * 20 submasters (in charge of small districts) . . $2,340 $68,400 t 21 junior masters (in place of submasters now teaching) * . 1,500 31,500 * 5 primary supervisors 2,000 10,000 Total number of persons, 168. Costing . . . $382,520 * Number of persons actually engaged in supervision . . 86 t Number of persons actually engaged in teaching ... 82 Number of persons added 17 Number added to those actually engaged in supervision, . 17 Present cost $427,860 Proposed cost 382,520 Saving $45,340 34 City Document No. 87. The reorganization of supervision proposed can be best accomplished, we believe, in the manner indicated by the following table dealing with typical situations: LARGE DISTRICTS. Present Organization. Vacancy occurring: One of the masters of the district. The one remaining master of the district. One of two submasters with two masters still in service in the dis- trict. The second of two submasters with two masters still in service in the district. One of two submasters — one master in service and one super- vising submaster already appointed on account of vacancy in one master's position. Proposed Organization. Vacancy filled by appointing: A supervising submaster, A master. A junior master teaching. A supervising submaster. A supervising submaster. SMALL DISTRICTS. Present Organization. One Master — Two Submasters. Vacancy occurring: Master. One of two submasters. Second of two submasters. Proposed Organization. One Master — One Submaster. Vacancy filled by appointing: Master. Junior master teaching. Junior master for teaching posi- tion "and supervising submaster. SMALLEST DISTRICTS. Present Organization. One Master — One Submaster. Vacancy occurring: Master. Submaster, Proposed Organization. One Submaster — One Junior Master Teaching. Vacancy filled by appointing: Supervising submaster. Junior master teaching. Report on Boston Public Schools. 35 CHAPTER IIP— THE HIGH SCHOOL SITUATION. High School Attendance and Costs. The first outstanding fact with regard to the high and Latin schools of Boston is the recent tremendous increase in secondary school attendance. The figures on page 6 of School Document No. 12, 1915, show- that the ''average membership" (average number belonging) in the high and Latin schools increased from 12,121 in 1910-11 to 15,714 in 1914-15; and later figures show that the ''number of pupils in schools" in November, 1^15, was 17,848, an increase in five years of 5,727 pupils. The yearly increases were as follows: from 1910-11 to 1911-12, 772; from 1911-12 to 1912-13, 438; from 1912-13 to 1913-14, 1,062; from 1913-14 to 1914-15, 1,321; and from 1914-15 to the end of the calendar year 1915, 2,134 (the last returns of the "Special Report on Day High and Latin School Organ- ization" are dated about December first). This extraor- dinary growth of the high school population has naturally caused the schools to outgrow entirely their building accommodations wherever new building or school enlargement was not made to keep pace with the increasing enrollment. The conditions at the Dorches- ter High School, for example, are probably unparalleled in any other city of Boston's class. Naturally, also, the extraordinary increase in the high school population has necessitated in the high school item of the School Committee's budget a much greater expenditure in 1914-15 than was devoted to this item five years ago. On the other hand, a distinct effort to keep high school expenses within reasonable bounds appears to be discernible in the fact that the per capita cost of the Latin and high schools has not risen very rapidly in the five years under consideration in spite of the introduction of new and relatively expensive develop- ments; for example, the 1912 increase of high school salaries and the special organization in the Mechanic Arts High School, whereby a teacher is allowed for every 24 pupils (as against the quota of 35 for the other high schools). Indeed, a tabulation of per capita costs of the various high schools in 1915 and in 1910 shows that some of them have materially reduced their per capita cost; and other figures submitted to us show that the per capita cost of instruction (including here 36 City Document No. 87. ''Salary of Head Master," ''Salaries of Teachers," and "Salaries of Clerks") has risen only from $62.35 in 1910 to $63.61 in 1915. Probably the largest single factor in keeping the high school costs from going any higher than they have gone has been the rising number of pupils per teacher (based on average number belonging) in the high and Latin schools. School Document No. 12, 1915, shows (page 19) a marked upward movement of this figure since 1912, as follows: 1912-13, 27.8; 1913-14, 29.4; 1914-15, 31.2, the highest it has ever been. Thus perhaps a distinct item of recent school policy has been to offset rising salaries with rising size of classes. With- out doubt this movement should not be permitted to go any further, for it must inevitably lower the efficiency of the secondary school instruction. Already it is quite apparent that the head masters, facing the necessity of forming a considerable number of sections below the general average of 31, and, of course, decidedly below the teacher quota figure of 35, have formed a large number of sections running not only above 35 but even in some cases above 45. To find a line of development for the relief of present high school conditions, without impairing the quality of the instruction, we turn to the beginning of a junior high school growth already existing in the Boston elementary school system. The Junior High School. In the Superintendent's annual report of December, 1914 (School Document No. 11, 1914), is to be found (page 43 f.) a brief argument for the Intermediate School, or Junior High School, and a statement that "inter- mediate classes" had been introduced into ten districts. We understand that there are now 20 intermediate or junior high centers for differentiated seventh and eighth grade work. We recommend the extension of this movement by the inclusion of the first high school year with the seventh and eighth grades, and by the sys- tematic development of properly located three grade junior high schools. In the report of the United States Commissioner of Education for the year 1914, page 137, a junior high school is defi-ned as "An organization of grades seven and eight, or seven to nine, whether housed with the senior high school or independently, to provide by Report on Boston Public Schools. 37 various means for individual differences, especially by an earlier introduction of pre-vocational work or of subjects usually taught in the high schools." New buildings for junior high schools were recom- mended by the Superintendent a year ago for congested districts as a means of relieving at one stroke both high school and elementary school overcrowding. In all probability also it will be found advantageous to intro- duce into at least some of the proposed junior high schools a differentiated line of instruction embracing elementary mechanic arts activities; and into these courses might be incorporated the present pre-vocational center classes. Compare the section of this report devoted to industrial and vocational education. We recommend the general organization of junior high schools not only to extend the advantages of this type of school to all parts of the city, but also to reduce school costs; for salaries in junior high schools, where instruction will be given departmentally to seventh and eighth grade pupils alongside of first year high school pupils, need not be on the high school schedule. Indeed experience in other cities proves that, if the elementary school salary schedule is not too low, teachers well adapted to junior high school work prefer such assign- ments even at the regular elementary salary, especially if promotion to the senior high school is open to them. Cleveland, for example, has adopted for junior high school teachers a salary schedule with a maximum of $1,200, a figure very much below the maximum attain- able in the senior high schools. Even under circum- stances where college graduates with pedagogic train- ing are entering the elementary school service, those who prefer handling older children and teaching chosen subjects as specialties, gravitate toward departmental- ized upper grade assignments, where they work at merely the regular elementary salaries. If the three grade junior high school were system- atically developed in Boston, there might arise three varieties of this school: (1) the junior high school within, and attached to, an elementary school district, and in charge of a submaster acting under an elementary master; (2) the independent or unattached junior high school in charge of a submaster reporting directly to an assistant superintendent; (3) the junior high school as part of, or administratively attached to, a senior high school, and in charge of a submaster acting under a high or Latin school head master. 38 City Document No. 87. We believe that entirely competent submasters could be secured for such schools at the salary paid, to elemen- tary submasters; for the way should 4De open for pro- motion from these positions into the senior high schools. The new junior high submasters' salaries would be many times made up by the saving that would occur each year as more and more teachers were allotted to the junior high schools for the increasing number of pupils. What the actual saving would be in any year or series of years would have to be computed by a tedious summing up of the salaries paid to all the individual teachers at various points on the salary scale. We may, however, get an interesting result for the year 1914-15 by supposing that all the teachers allotted to first year pupils in the high and Latin schools and to classes VI. and V. in the Latin schools had been: first, either junior masters or assistants (the two most numerous high school ranks) at the maximum salary, $2,628 and $1,764, respectively; second, elementary junior masters (the proposed new class) or master's assistants at a common maximum salary of $1,176. In the first sup- position every teacher may be regarded as getting the average between $2,628 and $1,764, or $2,196, and in the second supposition every teacher gets $1,176; so that each time a teacher of the latter group replaces one of the former group there is a saving of $1,020. School Document No. 12, 1915, page 15, reports 5,764 pupils in the high and Latin schools' first year group and classes V. and VI. An allotment of a teacher to every 31 of these pupils required 185 teachers; and replacing these teachers with $1,176 junior high school teachers at a saving of $1,020 per teacher (as shown above) would have produced a total saving of $188,700. Of course, the saving actually realized in any given situation would be reduced if the number of pupils per teacher in the new seventh and eighth grade classes were reduced, so that more teachers would be required for these pupils under the new plan than under the old. On the other hand, it cannot be doubted that a large saving could be effected at the same time that more efficient schooling was being accomplished. Moreover, whenever new buildings were put up for the housing of junior high schools, the type of building employed could be much less expensive than that ordinarily adopted for typical city high schools of modern con- struction. Report on Boston Public Schools. 39 Until the junior high school plan can be put into full operation, the possibility of securing relief in certain greatly overcrowded districts through the lengthened pro- gram in use in the Oakland, California, high school, in cer- tain New York City high schools and elsewhere, might well be studied. By this plan, pupils come and go in re- lays and though a high school building may not be large enough to accommodate its full enrollment at any given hour, the addition of three or four periods to the usual school day enables the school to give an increased num- ber of pupils their full quota of recitation periods. This plan, where used, is regarded as but a makeshift and it is not recommended by the committee as a solution of Boston's high school housing problem. Still less can the committee at this time recommend the adoption by Boston of the so-called Gary duplicate plan, either in elementary schools or in high schools. Its applicability has not yet been sufficiently tested except under the peculiar conditions which obtain in the city of moderate size in which it originated. The interesting experimentation with the duplicate plan which is now going on in a dozen schools in New York City should be studied with Boston's needs in mind; but since Boston has no part time problem to grapple with, the necessity which exists in New York for deciding for or against the duplicate plan is not a pressing one here. It is by no means certain that the remodeling of existing buildings, which would be required to put the Gary plan into operation in Boston's numerous schools, would be less expensive than as much new construction as will keep pace with the annual increase in school enrollment. The claims of economy made early in the course of New York's interesting experiment are not now given foremost place by advocates of the Gary system. On the basis of evidence now obtainable the committee regards the duplicate plan as administered in Gary and New York City as a gigantic educational experiment worthy of the most careful study, but as not yet having demonstrated its superiority either in economy or educational work to the six-three-three plan advocated in this report. The High School Quota of Teachers. The determination of a school's quota of teachers is obviously a very important matter. If too few teachers are granted, the children's education suffers; if more 40 City Document No. 87. teachers are granted than good management would require there is waste. Furthermore, in any situation such as Boston now presents, with housing conditions in the various high and Latin schools ranging all the- way from very good to desperately bad, a given rule for determining the quota of teachers in reference to the pupil membership may work well in a school well housed, but break down in another school w^here bad housing necessitates uneconomical classifications of pupils. Figures submitted upon the number of teachers in the several high and Latin schools in December, 1915, showed only four of the fifteen schools with a teaching force exactly at the quota; whereas six schools had more teachers than the quota allowed (five schools one teacher above, one school five teachers above, reduced to two in latest report) and four schools had fewer teachers then the quota (two schools one below, one school two below, one school three below), and the situation in the Mechanic Arts School was left unstudied. An intimate study of this question of the supply of teachers in the secondary schools would be necessary before one could be justified in passing final judgment upon the matter, but the foregoing figures suggest that the rule for deter- mining the quota of teachers to be allowed the high and Latin schools may be in need of revision. High School Oeganization. Data concerning the organization of the high and Latin schools were submitted in the form of various reports from the several head masters. All these reports have been examined. Taken altogether they seem to demonstrate that the masters are not equally skillful and economical in school management, and that their assignments of work to their subordinates are widely and unnecessarily uneven, although the class room accommodations in each building would have to be taken into account in arriving at a fair judgment upon the master's management. Two topics were singled out for particular consideration; the question of heads of departments, and the size of classes (teaching sections) and assignment of work to teachers. To a considerable extent the present head master is not responsible for the heads of departments he now has; some of them he simply inherited when he became head master. A study of the number and personnel of the present heads of departments shows that the group Report on Boston Public Schools. 41 consists of "masters, heads of departments" (men) and "first assistants, heads of departments" (women), and that the total of these heads of departments in Decem- ber, 1915, was 90. One expects the title, rank and salary of a head of department to be given only to a specially selected executive assistant to the principal, and the chief function of the head of department should be to organize and unify the wotk of the department and supervise the class room instruction of the sub- ordinate teachers, the assumption being that a head of department will not be needed until there are at least three teachers working together in a given field, so that when one of them is made head of department there will remain not fewer than two subordinate teachers. Of the 90 present heads of departments a considerable number seem to be not at all properly so designated, and in answer to the question how many heads of departments are heads of fields of study represented by fewer than 60 periods per week, the head masters report 20 such heads of departments. The issue here raised is met quite frankly by certain head masters. One wrote: "the 'heads of departments' are also 'first assistants' and were appointed as such by reason of their superior worth as experienced and efficient teachers." Another head master wrote: "the appointment of heads of departments was largely on a seniority basis." If not only capacity for executive and supervisory assistance but also superior merit as a teacher and even mere seniority may determine promotion to the rank of head of department, an unnecessary number of persons may be advanced to this highest paid class under the head mastership. That this situation has actually arisen had been recognized, and that steps have been taken toward correcting it, appears in the rule to the effect that, as present incumbents of the headship of department are eliminated, a school shall have no more than four heads of departments except as additional heads may be required for departments having not less than 60 periods of instruction per week. In the meantime the unneces- sary heads of departments in some instances prevent a school from securing one or more needed heads of department. One head master, for example, has his full quota of six heads of departments, including two or three unnecessary heads (one, the "department of ancient languages," no longer necessary because "Greek has passed away, tho' Latin lingers moribund"), while he cannot get a needed head of department of English 42 City Document No. 87. because his quota of heads is filled. It is the opinion of this committee that the headship of department should involve functions of a distinctly executive and supervisory character; that only persons capable of rendering this sort of assistance to the head master should be made heads of departments, and that such headships should lapse by rule whenever they become unnecessary either from the shrinkage of instruction in a given department or from other circumstances. If such a rule were now in operation the head master last cited would not find himself and his school embarrassed by both a superabundance and a deficit of heads of departments. Whether or not the head master's organization of classes is in all cases as economical as it might be under the circumstances could be determined only by a detailed study of the ''special reports on day high and Latin school organization," the teachers' "daily pro- gram," cards and the written statements concerning classification and assignments to teachers. It is quite apparent, however, even without such a time-consum- ing examination, that there is wide variation in the size of classes both between one school and another and within a given school. Instances occur where in the same school one teacher's largest class is smaller than another teacher's smallest class, and in these cases the instructional ''loads" in pupil-hours per week that the two teachers are carrying will be widely apart. There is indeed a surprisingly wide range seen in the item of each teacher's pupil-hours per week as one follows this column through the reports of the fifteen schools. If the New York estimate of 660 to 720 pupil-hours per week is accepted as the proper range for teachers' assignments of instruction in large city high schools, a considerable number of the Boston teachers have received assignments very much outside the range in both directions. One school, for example, shows 11 of the 20 regular teachers carrying assignments below 660 pupil-hours per week. Report needs to be made also of the fact that quite a number of very small classes are formed, in spite of the extravagant use of teachers' time involved in this practice. One of the smaller schools reports classes of only 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 pupils, and this is just the school with next to the highest per capita cost, $100.83 (only the Mechanic Arts School being higher), in the Business Agent's report of 1915. Instead of attempting to conduct such small groups as Report on Boston Public Schools. 43 separate classes it would be far more economical, and educationally better for the pupils in many cases, to transfer them to other schools where average sized classes in the desired subjects are to be found. Cer- tainly in the interest of reasonable economy, if the smaller schools (membership 500 to 800 pupils) are to enjoy the same high salaries, including the scheduled head master's salary running to $4,068, as are paid in the largest schools (membership over 2,000 pupils), it will be entirely justifiable to limit costs by placing cer- tain restrictions upon the organization of these smaller schools. Not only might such schools be required to eliminate very small classes, but the head masters might be asked to teach one or two periods a day (as, in fact, one of these head masters does) and to act as head of one or more of the departments; and, indeed, such relatively small schools might be required to have but few if any heads of departments except titular heads, and the range of elective studies in these schools might with propriety be greatly restricted as compared with the elections easily and economically handled in the large schools. Salaries and Supply or Teachers. According to the present high school salary schedule Boston appears to be more generous to high school teachers than are other cities of the 550,000 to 750,000 class; for example, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Schedules just received from these four cities show the following: St. Louis High Schools. Principal. — $3,500; annual increase $100 to maximum, $4,000. Assistant Principal. — $2,150; annual increases $150, $100 and $200 to maximum, $3,000. Head Assistant. — ■ $2,000; annual increases $40, 60 and $80 to maximum, $2,180. First Assistant — $1,640; annual increases $60 and $100 to maximum, $2,000. Second Assistant. — $1,120; annual increases $60 and $100 to maximum, $1,640. Substitute Assistant. — $980, first year; $1,020, second year. Cleveland High Schools. Principal. — (Central High School and East Technical High), $3,500. Principal of other High Schools. — $3,000. 44 City Document No. 87. High School Teachers: Fifth Class. — S2,100; annual increase $100 to maximum, $2,300. Fourth Class. — $1,900; annual increase $100 to' maximum, $2,000. '^- Third Class. — $1,000; annual increase third and fourth years $100 to maximum, $1,800. Second Class. — $1,300; annual increase third and sixth years $100 to. maximum, $1,500. First Class. — $1,000; annual increase $100 to maximum, $1,200. Pittsburgh High Schools. High School Principal: Four-year Course. — $2,500; annual increase $100 to maxi- muin, $3,000. Less than four-year course. — $2,000; annual increase $100 to maximum, $2,500. High School Teachers: College graduates.- — $1,000; annual increase $100 to maxi- mum, $2,300. Noncollege graduates. — $1,000; annual increase $100 to maximum, $1,800. Baltimore High Schools. Principal— $3,000. Vice-Principal— $2,200. Teachers: Boys' High Schools. — $1,000; to assistant teacher maxi- mum of $1,800. Head of department, maximum of $2,000. Girls' High Schools.— $700; to maximum of $1,200. In comparison with the foregoing schedules Boston has the following : Boston High and Latin Schools. Head Master. — $3,204; annual increase $144 to maximum, $4,068. Master, Head of Department. — $2,340; annual increase $144 to maximum, $3,204. Junior Master. — $1,476; annual increase $144 to maximum, $2,628. First Assistant, Head of Department. — $1,332; annual increase $72 to maxinmm, $1,980. AssistaiiL — $972; annual increase $72 to maximum, $1,764. Junior Assistant. — $804, first year; $900, second year. Industrial instructors, etc., not considered. Baltimore is, of course, to be regarded as paying unduly low salaries; but it is altogether fair to compare Boston with St. Louis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Further- more, in the section of this report dealing comprehen- Report on Boston Public Schools. 45 sively with expenditures for school purposes, Boston is shown to rank high among the large cities in salaries paid both to secondary teachers and to secondary principals. On the other hand, to make proper com- parisons between Boston salaries and the salaries paid in other cities, one would need to note exactly which salary ranks in each city are open to both men and women and what are the requirements for admission to each rank, and also to compare adequately the living conditions in the selected cities. Until this is done nn detailed recommendation as to the salary schedule should be offered, although the data submitted in the present report suggest that it may not be improper to revise downward the higher salaries of the high and Latin schools' schedule with the exception of the headmaster- ships of the few schools having the largest pupil member- ship. In one item, however, an immediate recommenda- tion seems to be in order; to advance men junior assistants from $900 to the present junior master mini- mum of $1,470 seems an absolutely unnecessary leap. We recommend that the first increase for men after $900 be $144, so that either a new class beginning at $1,044 will be inserted below junior master, or junior masters will hereafter begin at $1,044. To the problem of securing for the high schools a proper supply of competent teachers enough attention was devoted to note three points. First, the way ought to be made easy for excellent experienced teachers from the outside to get into the city high school service, and to this end a rule should be drafted to allow credit for experience elsewhere, so that a teacher of experience, appointed to a given rank, would not have to drop back in salary to begin at the minimum of that rank. Second, good nonresident students ought to be encouraged to enter the Normal School, and to this end the tuition should be only about a hundred dollars, instead of being placed at the present Normal School per capita cost of over two hundred dollars. It is noticeable that, as the Normal School tuition was raised, the number of non- resident students decreased, until at present there are none in attendance. Third, the good of the children and the proper safeguarding of city funds require that tenure of position shall not be so over-secure as to permit teachers to feel they are, when once appointed', in position for life, regardless of the quality of the service they are rendering. Wherever the removal of incompetent or indifferent teachers is made troublesome and difhcult, or 46 City Document No. 87. even, as sometimes happens, almost if not quite impos- sible, the schools are burdened with just as many such undesirables as can manage to squeeze through the appointment tests. The Secondary Curriculum. Two aspects of the high school programs of studies were considered: The working of the system of elective studies, and the new commercial courses. As to the Boston high school elective system it seems likely that this may now be advantageously modified in the direction of having pupil elect one of several more or less definitely formulated curricula, instead of taking in each year a few prescribed "constants" and then choosing freely from a long list of ''electives. " It is probable that such a modification would helpfully guide pupils' elections and check the making of erratic indi- vidual programs; that it would considerably simplify for most of the head masters the problem of schedule making and permit a more even classification, and that it w^ould equalize the work of teachers and reduce expense by reducing somewhat the number of teachers required; for, as the elections become less variable, the pupils can be classified more and more into relatively or even absolutely homogeneous recitation sections with a decrease of the number of under-average sections that have to be formed. Such consideration as was possible under the limita- tions of our study was given to the new courses in the field of training for commerce. Undoubtedly a very interesting and praiseworthy attempt is being made to meet the actual business conditions that commercial graduates will face, and definite curriculum adjust- ments in this direction are seen in the threefold differ- entiation of the commercial instruction into a ''secre- tarial course," an "accounting course," and a "mer- chandising course." Of these newer developments the "merchandising course," with its school instruction and store practice in "salesmanship," is to be regarded as at present in a merely experimental stage, so that improve- ments will be effected as rapidly as experience teaches what had best be done. In the opinion of the committee it would be unfortunate if this piece of educational pioneering were not given the full support it deserves. Most careful attention, however, should be given to the "practice work" in the store assignments to which Report on Boston Public Schools. 47 selected boys and girls are sent, and to what the teachers in schools are doing at the same time with the pupils left behind as long as any are left. If the director of practice, or head of department, in salesmanship is not properly alert, the stores may place high school pupils in positions where the work is purely mechanical or automatic and altogether uneducative. If the head master is not properly alert, certain teachers will be more or less idle when many pupils are in the stores, or else these teachers will be merely marking time in school with the pupils not selected for store assignments, so as to keep such pupils from getting ahead of their "practicing" classmates in the academic lessons. It seems likely that the coordination of school and store can advantageously work toward the plan of having equal groups of pupils alternate between class room study and store work, replacing each other at the end of weekly or fortnightly periods; so that, in so far as commercial practice takes place within school hours, both the store positions and the school class rooms will be filled, and no teachers will be idle, nor need class instruction be deliberately retarded. This situation, of course, would raise new problems of its own; for example, whether the total of school instruction received under this alternating plan would be sufficient to fulfill the promotion and graduation requirements, and how to meet the store's call for extra help at rush seasons and on bargain days. In the meantime it is questionable whether selection for store assignments should turn largely or wholly upon ''rank in studies"; for it may be argued that all pupils, sometimes the unacademic, just because they are unacademic, should have the privilege of practice if assignments can be obtained for them. It may be further questioned whether as much emphasis should be placed upon the store earnings of pupils in salesmanship courses as seems to be given to this item by some of the persons developing the work. Dwelling over much upon this feature might cause to flock to these courses pupils whose motive is present dollars rather than future efficiency in commerce, and this department of the schools might be in danger of degenerating into an employment agency for minors in temporary holiday, vacation and bargain counter jobs. It is to be fully understood, however, that these comments are submitted merely as points of caution to be observed in the conduct of a meritorious educational enterprise. 48 City Document No. 87. CHAPTER IV.— SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS. A study of the special activities in the public schools of Boston shows the individual departments well organ- ized and administered, but they are not properly cor- related. At the present time there are fifteen depart- ments, each in charge of a special supervisor. There are two objections to such a scheme of organization: 1. Correlation between similar departments is ren- dered difficult. It is an educational waste unless designs made in the free-hand drawing classes are applied in the manual training classes or sewing classes. Pre-voca- tional training should establish cooperative relations with trade school instruction. Physical training has not accomplished its purpose unless it takes into account the physical defects revealed by medical inspection. 2. It is not profitable to occupy the time of a high- priced executive in conference with a large number of department heads when the same purpose can be accomplished by meeting a smaller number. It is prob- ably wise, however, when an activity is first established, to place it under the direct supervision of the Super- intendent until it is worked out in accordance with his central plan. It then may be turned over to one of the other departments. The following is suggested as a tentative grouping: I. Practice and Training II. Promotion and Educational Measurement. III. Physical Welfare. This department would include school physicians and nurses, athletics, playgrounds, special sub- normal classes, open-air classes, cripples' classes, and classes for speech, ear and eye defectives. IV. Industrial Arts and Household Arts. This group would consist of manual training, draw- ing, cooking and sewing. In a portion of the field the head of the department would serve only in an executive capacity, as no one person is likely to be familiar with the four lines of work in detail. Report on Boston Public Schools. 49 V. Evening and Summer Schools. VI. Community Centers. VII. Trade training, . Pre-vocational, Part Time and Con- tinuation Schools, and evening trade extension. This department would include industrial classes, salesmanship and work in vocational guidance. VIII. Primary and Kindergarten Supervisors. Such a department as this would be a unifying force and serve to put into effect the policies of the Superintendent with respect to the primary schools. It would bridge the gap between the kindergarten and the first grade. Without such supervision school districts tend to separate and some central supervision is necessary to prevent this tendency. IX. Music. As at present organized. X. Attendance Department and Census. This would include truant work, supervision of working papers and the permanent continuing work of census. Meeting the department heads in informal confer- ences, the Superintendent could shape up departments in an efficient manner and avoid waste and duplication of effort. From time to time he would undoubtedly delegate certain responsibilities in these fields to assistant superintendents. This is not a question of finance. While minor sav- ings might be effected it is doubtful if the proposed regrouping would result in any considerable change in the total expenditure. It is purely a question of effective organization, enabling the Superintendent to direct the work of the respective departments in an efficient manner. On another page certain economies are suggested. In discussing the respective departments tables of comparative costs are given in some instances. While these statistics are valuable in showing the policy of the cities given, they should not be regarded as exact guides, since variation in methods of school accounting make such figures misleading when applied to small departments. Conditions which justify a seemingly large expenditure for a certain activity in one city may not exist in another city, and even a proportionate expenditure would be wholly unjustifiable. 50 City Document No. 87. Department of Practice and Training. This department consists of a director and five assistants, upon whom rest varied, responsibilities. Upon the director devolves the following duties: 1. Preparation of the pay roll for all temporary teaching service in the city. 2. Assignment and supervision of senior assistants in the high school. 3. Assignment of all long-term substitutes and tem- porary teachers. Two hundred thirty-seven were assigned during the week preceding the opening of school. 4. Assignment of all practice work in the system. 5. Supervision of substitutes, temporary teachers, and practice work in cooperation with the assistant directors. 6. Six periods weekly of class room instruction in educational theory at the Normal School. Working in cooperation with the director, the five assistants supervise the substitutes and temporary teachers and follow closely the work of the practice teachers. The conclusions reached by the director and assistants from these visits determine the rating given prospective teachers prior to appointment on probation. This work is of exceeding importance as the schools are dependent upon the accurate judgment of the director in avoiding the appointment of incompetent teachers to positions in the Boston schools. Ability to teach and teach efficiently constitutes the only claim which a teacher has a right to urge in sup- port of her application for appointment. No method of ascertaining this fact has ever been devised so sure of success as the direct observation of the teachers' work in her own class room. This department is handling a large and vitally impor- tant problem. Its independence should be safeguarded and it should receive liberal financial support. Department of Educational Investigation and Measurement. The work of the Department of Educational Inves- tigation and Measurement is, in the opinion of the committee, well organized and of very great value Report on Boston Public Schools. 51 to the school system. The work already accomplished in measuring the achievements of children, and in developing a standard of work available for both children and for teachers, will, in our opinion, do much to increase the efficiency of the school system The method following in determining merit upon the part of those eligible for promotion in the school system, makes possible intelligent action by the Superintendent of Schools in the nominations which he makes to the School Committee. The revision of the elementary school courses of study has already provided an oppor- tunity for most significant cooperation upon the part of teachers and supervisors in this important undertak- ing. The head of this department is in all of his work directly responsible to the Superintendent, and in the degree to which he is efficient he increases the efficiency of the Superintendent of Schools as the chief executive officer, and at the same time the efficiency of the whole school system. This department has, in the judgment of the committee, already given ample evidence of its worth to the school system, and of the added returns which may be expected should larger support be provided. Physical Welfare (School Hygiene). Boston was the first city in the country to recognize the supreme importance of preventing the tremendous waste due to physical defects, and in 1894 established a system of medical inspection under the control of the Board of Health. Originally it was instituted to detect contagious diseases in order to prevent their spread among school children. Today it includes not only the discovery of contagious diseases but it attempts to determine incipient physical defects which interfere with the ability of the child to profit from school instruc- tion. Broadly speaking, it works in two fields, the preventive and the remedial, and of these the first is the more important. Relative Number of Inspectors and Pupils. One of the vital questions is whether 41 physicians and 38 nurses, the number now employed, are sufficient to care adequately for the health of the children in the 52 City Document No. 87. Boston public schools, enrolling, in 1914-15, 120,846 pupils. Terman, of Leland Stanford University, gives the following number as the proper quota : 1 Medical director, full time. 1 Assistant medical inspector, one-half time, for 6,000 elemen- tary children. 1 Woman physician, full time, for 800 to 1,200 high school girls. 1 Man physician, full time, for 800 to 1,200 high school boys. 1 Nurse, full time, for 2,000 elementary children. 1 Dentist, half time, for 10,000 pupils. 1 Eye, ear, nose and throat specialist, half time, for 10,000 pupils. According to this statement Boston would require on a conservative basis: 1 Director, full time. 10 Assistant directors, full time. 8 Women physicians, full time, for high school girls. 7 Men physicians, full time, for high school boys. 50 Nurses. 6 Dentists, full time. 6 Eye, ear and throat specialists, full time. The necessity for the employment of dentists in Boston is obviated by the adequate provision for this work by the Forsyth Dental Infirmary and similar institutions. It would appear that Boston is providing to a reason- able degree for carrying on this important work. The experience of other cities, however, indicates the wisdom of employing fewer doctors and increasing the number of nurses. Relative Costs. Boston is securing this professional service at rela- tively small cost. Terman estimates the necessary total cost of adequate medical supervision at from 75 cents to $1 for each school child. Using the smaller amount this would represent a total cost to the city of over $90,000. Basing his conclusions on the returns from 25 cities in New England, New York and New Jersey, Rapeer finds that .011 per cent of the total school Report on Boston Public Schools. 53 budget is devoted to medical inspection. On this basis Boston would spend for the department approximately $60,000. For the year ending January 31, 1915, the actual expenditure for nurses in Boston was $31,210. If the physicians now employed at salaries totaling $30,500 were included the department would be maintained at an expense of $61,710. The amount suggested by Terman is a more satisfac- tory standard for Boston since many of the cities included in the Rapeer hst are conducting the work in an inadequate manner. Clearly there should be no reduction in the scope of the work in Boston. The tendency must be toward an extension rather than a curtailment of the cost of the department if the city is to hold a foremost position in this respect among other cities in the country. In common with other cities, Boston has made pro- vision for various types of children who by reason of physical disability need to be taught in separate classes. Classes for the Deaf. Probably .5 per cent of school children are afflicted with defective hearing to such an extent that they hear little or nothing of what is said in the class room. Returns vary greatly from different cities. Brockton, Mass., reports 1.8 per cent; Meriden, Conn., .4 per cent; Hoboken, N. J., .7 per cent; Newark, N. J., .6 per cent. Dr. Thomas Wood estimates that over .5 per cent of all children have defective hearing to a greater or less degree. Whatever the number, due regard for their welfare necessitates some provision other than that made in classes for normal children. This is done in the Horace Mann School, where 15 classes with an average attend- ance of 124 receive a training designed to prepare them to earn a living wage. The school is partly supported by the state and constitutes no serious burden upon the city. It seems likely that more children should be placed in this school than are now enrolled. Terman estimates that one child in 300 is too deaf to benefit from ordinary class teaching. For Boston this means that 350 children need to be placed in special schools of 54 City Document No. 87. the type of the Horace j\Iann. The number would be ncreased to about 500 on the basis of the reports of the cities given above. For the sake of comparison the cost of teachers' salaries, including principal in schools for the deaf, is given for three representative cities. City. Number of Classes. Total Average Attendance. Teachers' Salaries, Including Principal. Per Capita Teachers' Salaries. Boston 15 7 5 124 57 51 $23,179 8,092 6,936 $186 92 Newark 141 96 St. Loiiis 136 00 Classes for Children with Speech Defects. The classes for stammerers organized in Boston in 1912 are designed to aid children to overcome this serious physical handicap. Experts estimate the num- ber of children needing special treatment for speech defects at from 1 per cent to 1.8 per cent of the total enrollment. In Boston a conservative policy has been followed, as only four teachers have been provided with a total enrollment of about 350 pupils. The demand is indicated by the fact that some 250 are on the waiting list. Pupils report to the teachers in small sections twice a week and are given special drills for an hour and a half. The Superintendent reports that 75 per cent of the 93 children under treatment the first year are per- manently cured. Open-Air Classes. In common with other cities Boston has recognized the wisdom of establishing open-air classes for children of tubercular tendencies. Expert medical judgment amply corroborated by actual experience has established conclusively the fact that such treatment will save under-nourished and anaemic children from tubercular infection. The proper equipment of class rooms and the treat- ment for pupils in those classes is as completely stand- ardized as for normal classes. The weight of authority, both of medical and educational experts, sanctions the following procedure: Report on Boston Public Schools. 55 1. Classes should be housed in small buildings in parks, school yards, or on the roof of the regular school. 2. The rooms should be open on three sides with movable windows or canvas curtains that can be closed to protect the children from severe wind or inclement weather. Additional sunlight is sometimes provided by- skylights in the roof. 3. Pupils should be assigned to these classes only after a careful examination by the medical inspector. 4. Movable furniture should be provided and also additional clothing and warm food three times daily. 5. The program should allow for frequent rest periods and for an hour's sleep in the middle of the day. This necessitates a well ventilated room provided with cots and heavy blankets. 6. Sufficient time should be devoted to follow-up work by the nurse to insure the effective cooperation of the home. 7. Classes should be small, enrolling approximately 25 children, and should be restricted to two or three grades. Recent investigations indicate that the results of creating open-air classes by opening windows on two sides of the ordinary class room are decidedly less satis- factory than those obtained from rooms entirely open on three sides. Inevitably the cost of such classes is more than that of the ordinary class, but it is fully justified if the health and lives of children are taken into consideration. Whatever the immediate cost there is an ultimate saving to the community, as many of these children would finally become a far greater charge upon the public treasury. In comparison with other cities the per capita cost for teachers' salaries in Boston is certainly reasonable. CiTT. Number of Teachers. Average Attendance. Total Teachers' Salaries. Per Capita Salaries. Boston 16 3 7 4 434 130 157 86 $12,585 5,255 4,400 3,661 $28 99 Newark 40 43 St. Louis 28 03 Rochester 42 57 56 City Document No. 87. Semi-Blind Children. A number of pupils so afflicted are to be found in every large school system. The totally blind are prob- ably best cared for in institutions, but the responsibility for those with partial sight rests squarely upon the public schools. Methods of instruction must vary according to circumstances, but it must always be largely a matter of individual teaching. Eighteen children are now being taught in the Boston schools by two teachers. Newark, New Jersey, with approximately half the enrollment, provides two teachers for eleven children, blind and semi-blind. Physical Training and Recreation. The general direction of these activities is in charge of three supervisors with 22 assistants. One of these assistants is assigned to the Normal School where instruction is given in the theory and practice of physi- cal training to nearly 200 students. Instruction of this character is an essential part of the training of teachers w^ho ultimately are to take their places in the regular class rooms of the city. The remaining 21 instructors carry on the actual teaching in the secondary schools of the city and also supervise the physical training in the elementary schools. Each instructor devotes approx- imately four days per week to the actual teaching of high school classes and one day to the supervision of the elementary schools. In the high schools physical training is compulsory and two diploma points each year are given towards graduation. In the elementary school the department touches 2,095 teachers, directly affecting 93,772 children. The course of study is in harmony with the best practice of the most progressive school systems. Athletics. ■ The junior masters in the high schools serve as athletic instructors in addition to their regular work and the submasters serve the elementary schools in the same capacity. A small additional compensation is granted for this service, the junior masters receiving $3 and the submasters $1.50 from the close of school until about 5.30 p. m. These teachers are selected because of their Report on Boston Public Schools. 57 knowledge and experience in the different sports, all having played on high school or college teams. The scheme is a most admirable solution of the perplexing question of athletic coaching. The boys know and respect the instructor, while he, more thoroughly than any outsider, understands the capacity and limitations of the individual students. Most important of all, these instructors are permanently in the employ of the schools and the character of their work can be shaped in har- mony with the general policy of the Superintendent. The comparatively small cost of this service makes it possible to employ an adequate number to supervise closely the work in athletics. Sixty teachers are engaged in this work for the elementary schools and eleven for the high schools. There is a sufficient number of ath- letic fields (40) to accommodate every school district, and every boy who is physically able is encouraged to participate in football, baseball, track or soccer. Playgrounds. Seventy-nine playgrounds located in school yards and parks are open to the children of the city. A wise policy has limited the apparatus to swings, tilts, slides, sand tables and other simple equipment. A unique feature of the playground system is the setting aside of small areas for ''children's corners." These are usually fenced in and are reserved for the use of women and girls and boys under twelve. The average daily attend- ance at the park playgrounds was 8,747, and at the school playgrounds 3,942. Costs. The total expenditure in 1914-15 for physical train- ing, athletics, military drill and playground activities was $81,031, or approximately 1.5 per cent of the cost of maintenance. Considering playgrounds alone the cost per pupil per session was SO. 01 for park playgrounds and $0,017 for school playgrounds. In view of the supreme importance of the conservation of child health it is doubtful if any other expenditure made by the School Department paid equal dividends upon the investment. Special Classes. One of the serious problems confronting every school department is the question of the proper care of mentally 58 City Document No. 87. defective children. It is generally recognized that their presence in regular class rooms constitutes a serious handicap both upon the teacher and the normal child. All authorities are agreed that the number of children of this type is from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent of the total enrollment. On the 1.5 per cent basis, Boston, with an enrollment of 102,270 in the elementary schools and kindergartens, may be expected to have over 1,500 children in need of special instruction. In 1914-15, 48 such classes were in operation with a membership of 707. As many more were on the waiting list, but owing to lack of room were retained in the regular classes. Plan of Organization. The department is in charge of a special supervisor whose entire attention is given to the problem of organ- izing classes and adapting the courses of study and methods of instruction to the needs of the different groups. The policy of the department is to segregate children in those classes at as early an age as their low mentality can be determined. Single classes are formed in the different schools for small children and at the age of 12 or 13 many of them are transferred to a central school. Boston now has a school of this character for girls, with 75 enrolled in six rooms and a similar school for boys with an enroll- ment of 685. These two schools are not sufficient to care for all mentally defective adolescents. All such adolescents should be grouped in special schools or classes under pre-vocational administration. Who Are Included. The selection of pupils for special classes is practically limited to morons and high-grade imbeciles. Idiots and low-grade imbeciles are not admitted as these are supposed to be cared for in state institutions. Children from seven to twelve years of age physically with a mentahty three to five years below age are selected. Every care is taken to prevent the classes from becoming a dumping-ground for truants and incorrigibles. How Selected. The teacher reports all suspected cases to the super- visor, who often puts them under observation for a con- siderable time. Every case is finally tested by the Report on Boston Public Schools. 59 psychological expert employed for this purpose. The tests are a combination of the Binet, Healy and certain other tests prepared by the department expert. When finally approved for one of the special groups the child must enter the class and remain there. Teachers. Like all new problems the problem of the subnormal child finds those who are called upon to solve it with an inadequate training for the purpose. This difficulty is experienced in Boston as in every other city, and is met in practically the same manner. Those teachers who seem best fitted for this special work are asked to qualify. The supervisor follows the plan of placing a prospective teacher in charge of a group of 15 and associating her with an experienced special class teacher. This enables her to learn from experience and observation the best methods of meeting the problems peculiar to the position, and if she proves suited to the work she is ultimately given a regular appointment. Conclusions. 1. The number of special classes is inadequate to provide accommodations for the larger number of children who are in need of this particular type of training. 2. Classes for these children as well as all classes for pupils with special defects should be under the general supervision of the department having in charge the physical welfare of the schools. 3. Adolescent children of defective mentality should be segregated and placed under pre-vocational adminis- tration. 4. The rules of the Board should be amended to allow pupils to sell shop products from special classes, and after deducting the cost of materials the balance should be paid to the pupils. 5. The School Department in Boston is fully alive to the importance of the conservation of the health of school children. The necessary departments have been created and type classes established to realize this desirable purpose. 6. Medical inspection together with all other agencies for the promotion of health should be associated in a single department. 60 City Document No. 87. 7. The chief emphasis should be placed upon the work of the school nurse rather than that of the school physician. An increase in the number of nurses employed is desirable, even if it is secured by &, reduction in the number of doctors; one physician to two nurses is a satisfactory^ ratio. 8. It is doubtful if adequate provisions are made for the deaf, semi-blind and children in need of open-air treatment. 9. The general plan for physical training and recrea- tion is sound. Compulsory athletics for all high school pupils is especially worthy of commendation. 10. Development of playground activities should be limited only by the most urgent financial considerations. The city can afford to pay and pay liberally to provide the most ample playground facilities for all children. Industrial Arts and Household Arts. In Boston the manual activities of both high and elementary schools are under the control of a director in charge of drawing and an associate director respon- sible for manual training. Two department instructors are assigned to the direct supervision of the work in the class rooms. A single supervisor directs the work in cooking and sewing. This constitutes a separate depart- ment with only incidental coordination with the others. The same situation prevails with respect to drawing. The director is held responsible for its efficiency and little or no attempt is made to correlate the work with the manual training. The requirements of the course of study are as follows : Drawing. Compulsor}^ in Grades I. — -VIII. Elective in High School except in the first year of Com- mercial High. Manual Training. Boys and girls. Grades I. — III. Paper-cutting, folding, etc. Boys. Grade IV. Cardboard. Grade V. Bookbinding. Grades VI., VII., VIII. Woodworking. Girls. Grades IV., V., VI. Sewing. Grades VIL, VIII. Cooking. Number of Teachers. Drawing Supervisors 8 ]\Ianual Training Instructors * 63 Sewing Instructors 56 Cookery Instructors 42 ♦Exclusive of pre-vocational centers and high schools. Report on Boston Public Schools. 61 Drawing. The eight drawing teachers supervise the drawing for the entire city and in addition give instruction in drawing to twenty-three classes in the Normal School. This requires an equivalent of four days a week for a single supervisor. With the increasing emphasis placed upon the adequate training of prospective teachers the Normal work is requiring more and more time, and it would seem desirable to appoint a regular teacher of drawing at the Normal School who could give her entire attention to this work. The eight tea'chers of drawing have the responsibility of nearly 95,000 pupils with 2,095 teachers. This means the supervision of approximately 250 teachers in from seven to ten schools for each instructor. The chief function of instructors is the interpretation of the printed course of study to the class room teacher with help upon especial problems as the need arises. The plan as outlined above is sound in theory and merits no adverse criticism. It is evident that the magnitude of the work under the present organization requires a supervisory force equal to that which is now maintained. Under the proposed junior high school plan some reduction would be possible. Cooking. Cooking is required of the seventh and eighth grade girls but over-age girls of lower grades are allowed to enter the classes. Eight thousand three hundred thirty-five girls are instructed in the school kitchens for two hours per week. This time allowance is a third greater than in the judgment of this committee is neces- sary when the length of the course is taken into con- sideration. Under present arrangements each cooking teacher meets two groups for a two-hour period each, making her teaching day four hours in length. If the length of the cooking lesson were reduced to an hour and a half and the teacher met three groups daily instead of two groups a substantial saving would be effected. This is apparent from the following tables: Number of Pupils. Average Number of Pupils in Class. Number of Classes per Day. Number of Hours per Day. Teachers Required. 8,335 8,335 20 20 2 3 4 4^ 42 27 62 City Document No. 87. This would release fifteen teachers whose services might be utilized in the needed extension of pre-voca- tional work. This reduction in time devoted to cookery need not cause a corresponding reduction in the amount of work accomplished by the pupil if good planning, promptness and vigor characterize the work. It represents, how- ever, a substantial saving in the expense of the depart- ment and gives the pupil more time for other subjects. Sewing. Three years are devoted to sewing, beginning in the fourth grade. Very wisely the older girls of lower grades are enrolled, making the total number receiving instruction in 1915, 18,057. The number of teachers employed is 56, with the average number of pupils in a class 24. If the same distribution of time were made as was suggested for cooking, 40 teachers could do this work. A still more radical saving could be effected by following the practice of many communities and organ- izing the work on a supervisory basis and requiring the teacher to give the actual instruction under the direc- tion of the supervisor. The extent to which this addi- tional reduction in the number of teachers of sewing is possible cannot be determined without definite knowl- edge of local conditions. If attempted it should be done gradually, leaving the teachers to carry on the work as soon as they are qualified to do so. This plan would effect no saving in mixed schools except in grades where boys have shop work. In fourth grades the handwork might be the same for boys and girls if other material in addition to cardboard were provided, in which case a special teacher would not, as now, be required for the girls' work. Unfortunately school reports give little information on the number of sewing teachers considered essential, as they are usually included under the title "Sewing and Cooking." St. Louis, with an average attendance of 78,463 in all schools, employs 16 sewing and cooking teachers; Newark, with an average attendance of 53,717, employs 6 sewing and cooking teachers. The Rochester, N. Y., report is more definite. The average attendance is 27,124 with but three sewing supervisors. These figures lead to the inevitable conclusion that the policy of the schools indicated is to place sewing on the supervisory basis. Repokt on Boston Public Schools. 63 Manual Training. Eleven supervisors are detailed for the work in card- board and elementary bookbinding, representing nearly 11,000 boys and 425 teachers in 115 school buildings. The duties are necessarily confined to inspection and supervision. Instruction in shop work for boys, who number 13,451, is given by 45 assistant instructors in manual training. Older boys from lower grades are permitted to take shop work, a policy in which no change should be considered. The time schedule for boys is the same as for girls, consisting of two hours per week, each instructor meeting two groups of boys daily. A reduction in the length of the period from two hours to an hour and a half, and the substitution of a three- period day for one of two periods, would result in making fifteen teachers available for other assignments. The general tendency to restrict household and manual arts to one period a week of 70 to 90 minutes in the grades is shown by the returns from 156 cities in response to a questionnaire upon the subject. It is unfortunate, to say the least, that hand work for boys in the seventh and eighth grades is restricted to woodworking only. It is impossible to keep the interest of many boys for three years in this single line of work and the result is a distaste for the woodworking trade. In the third year, or eighth grade, a choice among the typical trades of Boston would add to the efficiency of the department. The total amount expended for teachers' salaries per 1,000 pupils enrolled in three cities in which the salary account is given separately for manual and household arts corroborates roughly the conclusions given above. Cost per 1,000 Children Enrolled in all Schools. City. Manual Training. Cooking and Sewing. Boston $810 00 314 00 1,031 00 $940 00 St. Louis 247 00 • Rochester 676 00 Conclusions. 1. Under the present organization little effort is made to correlate related lines of work 64 City Document No. 87. 2. This correlation may be obtained by establish- ing a single department of household and rhanual arts with a single head who serves in an executive and super- visory capacity. 3. A regular instructor should be assigned to the drawing department of the Normal School. 4. One general supervisor with eight assistants is not an excessive number to direct the drawing in ele- mentary schools enrolling nearly 95,000 pupils. After the seventh and eighth grades have been made a part of the junior high school departmental organization a smaller number may suffice. 5. Instead of a four-hour day for teachers of cookery and manual training with two groups of pupils two hours each, substitute a four and a half or five hour day with three groups of pupils one and a half hours each, or two periods one and a half hours each in the morn- ing and one two-hour period in the afternoon. This will reduce the number of teachers approximately one third and release thirty-one teachers for other assign- ments. 6. The possibility of teaching sewing by regular class room teachers under the direction of supervisors in place of the present scheme might well be considered. 7. The cost of hand work could be reduced in the fourth grade by the introduction of additional material and making the course of study in manual arts identical for boys and girls. Evening and Voluntary Continuation Schools. The evening elementary school serves three distinct purposes : 1. Teaching pupils whose attendance is required by law. 2. Training in common branches for English-speaking adolescents and adults. 3. Teaching English to foreigners with an attempt to present to them American ideas through teaching of English and particularly through instruction in civics, using that term in its widest signification. The problem of assimilating the constant stream of foreigners must largely be solved by the elementary evening school. Attendance and Costs. Five thousand nine hundred eighty-nine pupils were enrolled in the evening high schools and 12,182 in the Report on Boston Public' Schools. 65 elementary schools. In the table given below, total cost per pupil per hour is used to avoid error due to a difference in the number of nights the schools are in session. Total Expense, Elementary School. Pupil Cost per Hour, High School. Boston $0 084 115 099 $0 12 Newark 16 St. Louis 119 A large proportion of the evening elementary school enrollment consists of foreigners eager to acquire a knowledge of English. The number is as follows: Educated in native language Illiterate in native language 6,465 2,096 Of these, 1,030 are thirty-one years of age or over. When men and women of this age are willing at the end of a day's work to spend two evening hours for the sake of acquiring the fundamentals of an education, the least the city can do is to afford them every facility in over- coming the inevitable difficulties. Voluntary Continuation Schools. These classes are conducted in cooperation with shops and factories to furnish an educational opportunity for those who wish to obtain the fundamentals of an ele- mentary education or a better preparation for their present position. They must be flexible in organization to meet the needs of their ever-changing membership. In addition to English for non-English speaking people, the courses in the voluntary classes consist largely of short unit courses, determined by the needs of the students in attendance. Provision also is made for workers sixteen years of age who have taken courses in the compulsory continuation school. The total cost is 8| cents per pupil per hour. Conclusions. 1. The 8,561 pupils enrolled in classes for foreigners represent only a beginning in the work that should be 66 City Document No. 87. done in a city with a population of 670,585, of whom 242,047 are foreign born. 2. The vigorous advertising campaigns of previous years should be continued and every effort made to arouse the indifferent foreigners to a clear realization of the value of night-school attendance. 3. The courses of study prepared by the School Department indicate a clear understanding of the dif- j&culties experienced by the adult foreigner in learning the new language. So far as possible only those teachers who are especially well adapted to the task of evening school instruction should be selected. 4. The policy of establishing voluntary continuation schools in cooperation with employers of labor is most commendable. 5. The boys and girls compelled to leave school for economic reasons before graduation should be given every opportunity to complete their interrupted education. Due regard for their future as well as the best interests of the city demand a liberal policy with respect to pupils of this character. Every effort should be made to adjust the school hours to their available time. A wide choice of subjects offered should be granted. Community Centers. The last census shows that out of a total population of 670,585, Boston has a foreign population of 242,047. No city has yet devised a better solution of the problem presented by its adult foreigners than the establishment of school centers under control of the School Department. In Boston this work is being carried on effectively at a small cost entirely out of proportion to the value of the service rendered. Organization. Under a general director and four assistants the city is divided into seven districts, each being in charge of a man selected because of his knowledge of the local situation. Each district supervisor is assisted by a woman whose especial duty is to direct the work among groups of women. In each district group leaders are chosen for the various activities desired. They include groups interested in sewing, dressmaking, millinery, cooking, dramatic work, basketry, nursing, gymnasium, basketball, and clubs for fathers, mothers and young men. Report on Boston Public Schools. 67 Entertainments and Lectures. The department stands consistently for entertainments of educational significance and value. Programs con- sisting of good music, illustrated lectures, dramatics, aad masterpieces in moving pictures are the means employed. That these courses were appreciated is indicated by the fact that 44,134 people attended the English lectures in one season. Local talent is developed wherever the interest warrants. The non-English lectures were given in codperation with the North American Civic League for Immigrants, and were intended primarily for instruction in civic duty and responsibility. Five languages, Lithuanian, Polish, Italian, Yiddish and Arabic, were employed. Membership. Emphasis is placed upon building up an adult member- ship in all centers. Three thousand four hundred and nine persons over sixteen years of age were enrolled. Only those who came regularly were reckoned in this number. The most valuable work is not done by filling a hall to hear some popular speaker, but it is accom- plished by enlisting the interest of a small group which meets to work out its own problems. Expenses. The state law does not permit the Boston School Board to charge an admission fee for the use of halls or buildings. Expenses must be met by voluntary contributions, and tickets may be issued to identify subscribers. This provision of the statute, designed to prevent the School Committee from making any profit out of the rental of school buildings, handicaps the work to a certain extent by complicating the machinery necessary to place the clubs on a self-supporting basis. Fifteen clubs are entirely self-supporting and two are practically so. The total attendance at the seven centers for the year was as follows: Total Attendance. Clubs and entertainments 98,530 English lectures 44,134 Non-English lectures 16,209 122 home and school associations .... 36,388 21 alumni meetings 3,962 26 citizens' meetings . . . . . . 4,744 56 other meetings 6,560 Total 210,527 68 City Document No. 87. Conclusions. 1. Plans for the construction of new buildings and the remodelling of old schools should provide rooms adapted to the special activities desirable for the neighborhood. Some cities design double kindergarten rooms well adapted to this double use. 2. Unless required for use of evening classes, buildings should be utilized for social center purposes on any night most likely to secure the attendance of the people in the neighborhood. 3. A liberal policy should be observed in opening school buildings for local use. The enterprise should be safeguarded by the most careful study and supervision so that undesirable tendencies may be promptly checked. 4. The effort of the department to make groups self-supporting is to be commended. Music. The number of pupils in charge of each of the assistants is large, so large that many music supervisors would consider the burden excessive. The totals are given in the following table at the head of each of the columns: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. Pupils Teachers 8,350 214 9,574 235 8,380 214 8,467 209 7,827 194 9,284 232 9,301 236 9,131 228 8,867 219 The work of the assistants in charge of the high schools consists of the direction of the choral singing. Assuming that six periods daily is a reasonable requirement for high school instructors both of these supervisors are carrying full schedules. Little comment concerning this department is neces- sary. The wisdom of the policy of giving music instruc- tion in the public schools has been so thoroughly estab- lished that even the severest critics of the schools would hesitate to advocate the elimination of the department. To increase the number of teachers and pupils assigned to each supervisor is inadvisable. The policy of allowing full credit for music taken with approved instructors is worthy of especial commendation, and should be continued. Report on Boston Public Schools. 69 Kindergartens. Organization of the Department. The director and her assistant have under their immediate supervision kindergartens with an average attendance of 5,298 children in 138 classes. These are cared for by 244 teachers. A special assistant is allowed in all classes in which the attendance is in excess of 60 children. In addition to these special assistants another small group of young women is employed, called attend- ants. They take no active part in the instruction but give their attention to the physical needs of the children. They are assigned to the foreign schools where the inability of the child to understand or express himself in English makes an interpreter necessary. Suggested Change in Administration. The eligible list of kindergarten teachers is usually short and the supervisor finds considerable difficulty in meeting the demand for special assistants. The depart- ment is often compelled to assign teachers with little experience to these positions. This difficulty could be met by transferring special assistants to regular posi- tions and by allowing practice teachers from the various excellent pri.vate kindergartens to serve as special assistants in the overcrowded rooms. Not only would this result in some financial saving but it would enable the kindergarten supervisor to select for ultimate appointment a very superior group of trained kinder- garten teachers. It frequently happens that a hundred or more of these girls are observing in the various rooms of the city. The department can ill afford to lose the opportunity to utilize the services of these students and to secure that accurate knowledge of their ability which comes only from direct observation of their work under actual teaching conditions. Kindergarten Accommodations. Judging from the type of room in which Boston kin- dergartens are housed previous building plans have not given due consideration to the requirements for effective kindergarten work. A single room of the ordinary size does not give sufficient space for two groups of children. The best practice requires two connected rooms, one for 70 City Document No. 87. the tables and the other large enough for a ring 20 feet in diameter. A private toilet is an essential feature. A wardrobe adjacent to the main room for outside cloth- ing should be provided. If one room is used it should be larger than a single class room, ^t least 23 feet by 50 feet, with the same toilet and wardrobe facilities as the double room. Of the 90 one-room kindergartens 57 are approxi- mately 25 feet by 32 feet and only three are materially larger. In one instance a space 30 feet by 19 feet is allowed. Even in new schools with two rooms separated by folding doors insufficient space is the rule. Better facilities could be provided at no additional expense if the expert advice of those in charge were more frequently sought. It would be a wise business policy to secure the cooperation of this department in develop- ing a standard type of kindergarten room for all future school buildings. A similar plan could be followed profitably in working out a scheme for improving those rooms now in use. If the same principle should be utilized in selecting the equipment for these classes better results could be secured at no additional cost. Afternoon Sessions. For the sake of economy it is often suggested that kindergarten teachers be required to care for one group of children in the morning and a second group in the afternoon. Advocates of this plan lose sight of two material considerations. A teacher who has worked with a large group of children for the morning session has lost so much nervous energy that she is physically unable to repeat the necessary effort efficiently with a totally different group of children in the afternoon. A kindergarten teacher even more than others needs to be vivacious and alert. The children themselves constitute a second objection to this arrangement. After a morning of boisterous play the children are in no suitable condition to profit from instruction and are dull and lifeless, so that the session lacks in the joy and spontaneity characteristic of a good kindergarten. In the foreign sections of the city language difficulties alone make the need of a double session imperative. Unless the children come to the first grade teacher with Report on Boston Public Schools. 71 a reasonable knowledge of English effective teaching is impossible. A foreign tongue is used both in the home and by playground associates and the school is the only place where the necessary facility in English can be acquired. Each kindergarten class should have two sessions; recreation being emphasized in the afternoon session and systematic home visitation required. The committee is unanimous in regarding it unwise to attempt a double session with an afternoon session devoted to work of the same character as that given in the morning. If the morning is devoted to regular kindergarten work the afternoon can profitably be devoted largely to free play, organized games and school excursions. Such a division of the school day saves the child from undue fatigue and furnishes an excellent opportunity for his training as a social being while at the same time he receives a most effective training in the use of the English language. It is not to be assumed that the work of the kinder- garten ends with the close of the session. Constant home visitation should be the rule. Conclusions and Recommendations. 1. Establish kindergarten for four-year old children in all congested and foreign districts as funds permit through savings effected by utilizing the services of unpaid practice teachers as assistants. 2. Provide space for two rooms with private toilet in all new buildings and remodel old buildings on same basis as rapidly as circumstances will permit. 3. Utilize the expert opinion of the department in planning and equipping kindergartens. 72 City Document No. 87. CHAPTER v.— VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. This section of the report deals with the Compulsory Continuation School, the Boys' Industrial School, the Girls' Trade School, the Part Time Cooperative Course in the Hyde Park High School, the Pre-vocational Departments in various schools and Vocational Guidance. Children expecting to follow mechanical occupations may enter pre-vocational departments in the upper grammar grades for a tryout experience in an attempt to determine the choice of occupations. Unfortunately, the opportunities for pre-vocational work are at present quite limited. The Continuation School cares for the children who leave school between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. It gives two hours a week of general education and two hours of tryout experiences to those who have not determined upon a vocation or two hours weekly of vocational improvement to those who have entered their vocation. Practically all of the fourteen to sixteen year old children who have entered employment are cared for in the Continuation School. The Trade School for Girls, the Industrial School for Boys, the Mechanic Arts High School and the coopera- tive department in the Hyde Park High School offer specific trade training to children who remain in school. The trade and industrial schools will probably always have a definite place in a scheme for trade training, but they cannot be considered as the sole agency for doing this work. While cooperative or part time courses are established to a very limited extent in Boston, and at present only in a high school, it is possible that they may become the most important agency for trade training. Vocational guidance is closely associated with the functions of each of the schools dealt with in this section of the report. Report on Boston Public Schools. 73 Pre-Vocational Departments. Pre-vocational centers for boys have been established in eleven districts. These departments were originally planned for backward or retarded boys. Aim. The pre-vocational schools aim to appeal to the interests of grammar school children and thus to hold them in school; to accelerate progress in school; to show the importance of the vocations and the possibili- ties of entering them; to offer a preliminary training for boys who may intend to enter the Industrial School, the Mechanic Arts High School, or the cooperative high school courses; to give a try-out experience to children who must enter employment at the age of fourteen; to make instruction intensive and concrete by relating the academic work to the activities. Entrance Requirements. — Children do not usually enter the pre-vocational school before they are twelve years of age. While retarded or over-age children are usually considered in connection with these courses, the con- crete application of the academic work to the activities offers a most satisfactory method of teaching to a large proportion of children. Increased powers are acquired in pre-vocational experience that are not developed in the regular course. For many children the work offers a superior preparation for the high schools. For these reasons, pre-vocational courses should be offered as electives to all grammar school pupils twelve years old or over and to those who have completed the sixth grade. The aims above stated are not carried out at the present time inasmuch as practically all the pupils enrolled in these departments are from the over-age and backward children. A number of adolescent mental defectives are admitted to these departments. These children should be placed in special classes and given a large amount of shop work. The supervisory staff of the pre-vocational departments could well direct the work of these children. Organization. The pre-vocational schools are under the immediate direction of the Associate Director of Manual Arts. An assistant director of manual arts has charge of the shop 74 City Document No. 87. work and certain phases of the related work. These pre-vocational centers are located in the regular ele- mentary school districts and form a part of the elemen- tary schools coming under the jurisdiction of the grammar masters. Each trade unit is composed of a group of forty-five boj^s, with one class teacher and one shop teacher. The shop instructor has fifteen boys at a time, the class room teacher having fifteen recite while fifteen are studying. The classes are in session six hours a day for five days a week. Some centers have but one trade represented with one unit of forty-five boys. Others have two and some three. This report deals exclusively with boys, the girls' work not having been developed to a sufficient extent to be recognized as pre-vocational work. It is, rather, extended work in cooking, sewing and household work. Plant. The pre-vocational work is handicapped by the limi- tation of the number of trades represented in any one district. In some cases the boy is getting two years of experience in one trade because there is no other trade course in his district. In other instances, a boy spends a year in a single trade. Pre-vocational courses should include a sufficient number of activities to serve as a try-out experience. By continuing the boys' experience in one trade for a long period, the work ceases to be pre-vocational, yet it is not organized educationally to become actual trade training; furthermore, it loses its vocational guidance value. It is also apt to draw boys into a certain trade for which they have no particular interest. Theoretically, the boy may be transferred from one center to another in order to get a variety of try-out experiences, but in practice the boy stays in one school and in the activity that he started with. The pre-vocational machine shops are equipped to an unnecessary degree of completeness. Centers simply equipped for hand work, with few power tools, are suit- able to give pre-vocational training. One large shop could be used for instruction in a variety of activities. Characteristics of the Work. Practicall}^ all of the shop work is based on orders for different schools. The pre-vocational shops are Report on Boston Public Schools. 75 equipped to do a large amount of work for the school buildings, grounds and furnishings. The product turned out meets the requirements so far as this work has been attempted. A tremendous fund of educational experi- ence is available if the possibilities are sufficiently utilized. Money expended for equipment produced by the schools gives a double return, first, in providing valuable educative experience, and second, in supplying equipment to be used in educational practice. It seems desirable that the functions of the Schoolhouse Commission, the Business Agent and the directing staff be so associated as to secure the fullest advantage in providing this valuable educational opportunity and in securing the added return for the money expended. The shop teachers are selected from the trades. With fifteen boys in the shop at a time, these teachers are enabled to give a sufficient amount of instruction to make the experience of the boys profitable. A serious attempt is made to correlate class room work with the shop practice. In only one of the classes visited, however, was any natural correlation observed. Most of the teachers of the class room work are women of experience in the regular elementary schools and they probably find it difficult to acquire a working knowledge of subject matter which could best be used in correla- tion. Some difficulty is experienced in inducing teachers to enter this department, owing to the six-hour day and the special problems involved. Many of the positions are filled on temporary assignments, owing to the lack of properly qualified teachers. The problem of the proper teaching of related work is still to be solved. The immediate steps that may be taken are: (1) the adoption of a system of shop and class room blanks on which data are secured in the shop, and which are then carried on to the class room for development ; (2) some of the responsibility for initiating the related work may be placed on the shop instructor by allowing the initial presentation of subject matter to be given by him, and by requiring complete data to be properly compiled on blanks and handed to the class teacher in advance of her lesson preparation; (3) special training in methods of teaching related work, as by an extension course, would be of value to both shop and class teachers. 76 City Document No. 87. COSTS AND STATISTICS. Enrollment of Boys in Mather Dearborn Dudley Sherwin Agassiz Quincy Eliot . Lawrence Lewis Theodore Lyman Prescott . Pre=Vocational Schools, December Lyceum Hall: Sheet Metal - Woodvt^orking Electricity . . Winthrop Street Woodworking Bookbinding . Miles Standish: Machine Shop Paint Shop Electricity . Sherwin: Sheet Metal . Agassiz : Woodworking Printing . Quincy Machine Shop . North Bennet Street: Woodworking (a) Printing (h) Parkman: Machine Shop Electricity . Woodworking Lewis : Printing . Austin : Bookbinding Printing Machine Shop Abram E. Cutter Woodworking Electricity . Total number in pre-vocational centers 2, 1915. 43 45 44 36 31 40 29 35 36 31 24 42 38 30 30 30 35 36 32 45 33 36 781 The statement of costs submitted by the Business Agent for pre-vocational schools is given below: Financial Year 1914-15, November 24, 1915. Pre-Vocational Centers. Salaries of principals $786 51 Salaries of teachers 21,904 01 Carried forward $22,690 52 Report on Boston Public Schools. 77 Brought forward $22,690 52 Text, supplementary and reference books . , 98 75 Manual training supplies and equipment . . 3,027 37 Drawing supplies and equipment .... 276 55 Miscellaneous supplies and incidentals . . . 349 88 Salaries of janitors 853 23 Fuel 451 30 Light 93 89 Power 3 88 Janitors' supplies 63 74 Rental charges * 2,580 00 Supervision and general charges of Department of Manual Arts . . . ._ . . . . 1,829 80 Other administration, supervision and general charges 2,058 20 Total . t $34,377 11 Average attendance 369 Cost per pupil $93 16 The charge for supplies has been reduced by credits for work done for the School Committee and the School- house Commission. The actual cost of operating pre- vocational schools could be still further reduced by giving these schools a larger number of orders for work on school plants and equipment. The item of rental charge includes the total amount of rent paid for two of the pre-vocational centers, which rent includes heat, light and janitor service. If the cost of this school was put on the same basis as the costs submitted by other schools, the proportion which represents investment, sinking fund and repair charges should be deducted. An adjustment to this figure might be made by taking three tenths of |2,580 as representing light, heat and janitor service, making a reduction in the total cost of $1,806, or making the total of $32,571.11. If the $821.03 for equipment is deducted, the total is $31,750.08. The cost per pupil on the basis of average attendance is $86.05. Conclusions and Recommendations. Boston has for several years been conducting pre- vocational classes and the committee sees much of value in the work. There are several changes which should be made to make it still more valuable, and in sug- * Two of the pre-vocational centers are located in hired accommodations, rental for which includes services of janitors, heat and light. t Exclusive of lands and buildings, furniture and furnishings, repairs, depreciation, interest and sinking fund charges. 78 City Document No. 87. gesting these changes no criticism is impHed as to their past management. Pre-vocational departments should be maintained for the children of twelve years of age or over in regular schools who can best secure a general education through a participation in industrial or homemaking activities, and they should be open to all who elect them with the consent of the parents and upon recommendation of the proper school authorities. The work should include as great a number of activities as possible for each pupil and should be given to groups no larger than the present plan provides for. While backward or retarded children should be admitted to this department as in any other, this selective basis of enabling pupils should be replaced by the free elective basis. All children should be admitted to pre-vocational courses who can profit more in these departments than in the regular academic departments. Pre-vocational classes should be organized for girls as well as for boys. The committee recommends that as rapidly as pos- sible the pre-vocational classes be made a part of the differentiated junior high school as proposed in another part of this report and that the pre-vocational courses should be three years in length, covering the seventh, eighth and ninth years of the school course. It is also recommended that the equipment for future pre-vocational centers should be simple and provide for as many of the most important activities as will meet pre-vocational requirements for tryout experiences and will furnish educational background. Training should be provided for the teachers of related work to increase efficiency in this branch. The present shortage of supply of teachers will disappear under the junior high school schedule. Adolescent mental deficients should not be placed in pre-vocational classes but could be well cared for under the pre-vocational administration in special classes and given a large amount of practical work. Total Number of Pupils * Twelve Years Old and Over at School in Pre=Vocational Courses, by Courses, for the School Year 1914-15. Elementary School Grades. 81 50 81 * No boys are admitted under twelve years of age. 1. Woodworking . 179 4. Bookbinding 2. Printing . . 121 5. Electricity 3. Machine Shop . 108 6. Sheet Metal Report on Boston Public Schools. 79 statistics for Pre=-Vocational Schools — September, 1914, to June 1, 1915. Total Number Enrolled. Number With- drawn. Average Member- ship. Average Attend- ance. Number Belonging June 1, 1915. * Abram E. Cutter: Woodwork 39 52 64 45 38 50 46 45 58 56 35 36 56 8 21 20 11 9 9 4 3 20 23 4 14 24 31.1 37.4 33.6 34.5 41+ 41+ 41+ 43+ 38 34.3 33 20 29 26.8 34.2 30.6 29.9 39+ 39+ 39+ 41+ 36 32.8 32 17 26 Electricity Agassiz : Woodwork 31 * Printing Austin : Machine 42 Printing 30 Bookbinding 37 Lewis : Printing 41 Lyceum Hall: Electricity 41 Sheet Metal 40 Woodwork 41 * Miles Standish: Electricity Painting Machine North Bennet Street : Printing and woodwork. . . * Parkman: Electricity 38 Machine Woodwork Quincy : Machine 29 Sherwin: Sheet Metal 31 Winthrop Street Center: Bookbinding. 22 Woodwork 29 * Not established until September, 1915. 80 City Document No. 87. Number of Boys Graduating from Pre=Vocational Courses Entering Employment. Types of Employment Entered. Trade Tried in School. Profitable Work Not Tried in Sclwol. Employment Without Future. From courses in: Cabinetmaking and carpentry Electrical work . • 6 3 3 3 5 6 13 1 13 8 13 6 1 Bookbinding 4 Sheet metal work 3 Machine work Printing 9 Number of Under=Qraduates Leaving Pre=Vocational Courses Entering Employment. Types of Employment Entered. Trade Tried in School. Profitable Work Not Tried in School. Employment Without Future. From courses in: Cabinetmaking and carpentry. Electrical work Bookbinding Sheet metal work Machine work Printing 16 1 6 13 6 12 2 6 1 5 8 Number of Boys Graduated from Pre=VocationaI Schools and Entering High School or Industrial School. List of Pre-Vocational Schools. C3 < d < "3 B >> o a '3 * 1 stern Union Telegraph Office Dry goods Carpenter (apprentice) . . . Grocery lioothlack Peddler Jewelry factory Carpet factory Shoe factory Hardware store Grocery Western Union Telegraph Bottlfng Candy store l^akory Jewelry store Office. Machine shop Western Union Telegraph. Machine shop Office Shoe factory Department store Fishing Grocery Phiinl)er (apprentice) Machine shop Peddler Clothing factory Grocery Office Carpet factory Stationery store Piano factory Peddler Office. Druggist 4 5 6 6 1st year IL S. 7 5 () S S 8 8 Graduated 1st year IL S. 1st year H. S. Pre-vocational 7 7 7 7 Graduated 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 7 7 4 G Graduated 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 7 7 Graduated Graduated 1st vear H. S. 4 5 () () 7 7 Graduated Graduated Graduated 2d year IL S. 7 7 Graduated 1st year IL S. 14 14 14 14 14 14-1 112 11-2 14-2 14-2 11 3 I I A 1 t-3 14-3 14-3 14-3 14-4 14-4 14-4 14-4 14-5 14-5 14-5 14-6 14-() 14-7 14-^7 14-7 14-7 14-7 14-7 14-8 14-8 14-8 14-8 14-8 14-9 14-9 14-9 n !) 14 9 14-9 14-9 14-9 14-9 14-9 14-10 14-10 14-10 14-10 25 94 City Document No. 87. Boys — June, 191 5. — Continued. Occupation. Grade Last Attended in School. Age. Office Bakery Shoe factory Cot ton mill Oflico I'aiiit store , Boston News Bureau Shoe factory Machine shop Department store , Machine shop , Grocery , Dime messenger , Peddler , Machine shop Clothing store Shoe store Druggist Machine shop Laundry Grocery Office Fruit store Grocery Grocery Office Dry goods Post card novelties Bakery Peddler Laundry Grocery Express company Machine shop Mattress factory Hardware store Curtain factory Button factory Grocery Electrician (apprentice) . . Dry goods Auto repair Clothing store Machine shop Fruit shop Grocery Parcel delivery Machine shop Boot Mack Clothing factory Grocery Western Union Telegraph Depart Miont store Cotton mill 1st year H. S. f) 7 7 8 8 Graduated 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 2d year 11. S. 5 () 7 Graduated Graduated 1st year 11. S. 6 7 7 8 1st year II. S. 5 (5 7 7 7 2d year H. S. 7 7 7 8 1st year II. S. 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 2d year H. S. 3d year H. S. Graduated 5 G 8 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 3d year H. S. 4 4 5 7 Graduated Graduated 14-10 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 15 15 15 15 15 15-1 15-1 15-2 15-2 15-2 15-2 15-2 15-3 15-3 15-3 15-3 15-3 15-3 15^ 15-4 15-4 15-4 15^ 15^ 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-5 15-5 15-5 15-5 15-5 15-5 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-6 Report on Boston Public Schools. Boys — June, I9I5. — Concluded. 95 Occupation. Grade Last Attended in School. Age. 1 Book store 1 Office 1 Wholesale rubber company . Grocery Fruit store Grocery Dime messenger Tailor Cotton mill Shoe factory Paint store Grocery Candy factory Western Union Telegraph . Shoe factory Newspaper Optician Shoe factory Dental laboratory Total . 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 5 4 6 6 7 7 Graduated Graduated Pre-vocational 4 7 7 8 Graduated Graduated 1st year H. S. 15-6 15-6 15-6 42 16 124 PUPILS ELIGIBLE FOR CONTINUATION SCHOOL RECEIVING CERTIFICATES FOR THE FIRST TIME. Qirls — June, 1915. Occupation. Grade Last Attended in School. Age. 1 Grocery 1 Department store 1 Shoe factory 1 Candy factory 1 American Water Supply (inspecting cups) . 1 Candy store 1 Tailor 1 Grocery 1 Grocery 1 Department store 1 Shoe factory 1 Shoe factory 1 Candy store 1 Cotton factory 1 Shoe factory 1 Candy factory 1 Fish factory 5 6 6 6 7 7 Graduated 5 ■ 6 7 7 Graduated 6 7 8 7 8 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14-1 14^1 14-1 14-1 14-1 14-2 14-2 14-2 14-3 14-3 96 City Document No. 87. Girls — June, 1915. — Concluded. Occupation. Grade Last Attended in School. Age. Clothing factory. Shoe factory .... Fruit store Grocery Office Grocery Office Clothing factory . . Department store. Office Carpet factory . . . Fruit store Candy factory Nunse girl Cotton mill Tailor Curtain factory . . . Housework Department store. Clothing factory. . Shoe factory Jewelry factory . . . Grocery Cotton mill Clothing factory. . Clothing factory. . Candy factory .... Candy factory .... Shoe factory Printer Carpet factory . . . Clothing factory . . Cotton mill Grocery Nurse girl Office Shoe factory 2 Clothing factory. . Nurse girl Department store. Office Office Curtain factory . . . Clothing factory . . Graduated 1st year H. S. 6 6 6 2d year H. S. 4 4 6 1st year H. S. 4 4 5 6 1st year H. S. 6 6 6 2d year H. S. 2d year H. S. 4 5 2d year H. S. S. 2d year H. S. 2d year H. S, 5 8 Graduated 1st year H. S. 3d year H. S. 3d year H. S. 5 7 8 Graduated 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 1st year H. S. 14-4 14-4 14-5 14-8 14-8 14-8 14-10 14-10 14-10 14-10 14-11 14-11 14-11 14-11 15 15 15-1 15-1 15-1 15-2 15-2 15-3 15-3 15-3 15-4 15-4 15-4 15-5 15-5 15-5 15-5 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-6 15-7 15-7 15-7 15-7 15-7 15-7 15-7 Total . Report on Boston Public Schools. 97 1 •i-IOlC<)CO»OrHOOCOOOi ■^ \ m I • COTtH'-HOCO 03*l CO O tOCC^ CO a ■B9I13UI8^ 7-{ 7-* T-i C^ T-i ; CO 10 § o ! '-^' H • (M lO (TO (M Tt< -t^-iOtMCSl "^ H Ci fn •coooo'*^ fo (N MH Oi'-i (M H ■SOI'BI\I --H(M rH CO(M (/) U •DSrHCvSOSCDT-Ht^OOCO • l> rH Tt*-* CO Tt< -^(M • • rfi E 1 ■S9I'BUiaj[ (N u 5 T— ( 10 E •05IM(Nt1H -Ol^t^fO ^ H § ^ ■saitJjM rococo s i-H(M -^CQi-l • cO^tKN • > h •saiBuia^ o 10 o :; — .—1 CO Q. •eai'Bi\[ ^(N Tt< i-H • "c?~ I— 1 UJ cOcOfNi-i • lO tH • • lO O s ^ •eaj'Braa^ ; i-H Z % g •CO • • • 1-H i-H . . . Id > o z o 1-3 •eaiBj^ : : : : u t^oOfCO-* • «5oOc6N • — CO u -M •saj'Bragj ; 1—1 ,-{ CO 0^ 'C 00 T-l t^i-H C0031-I ■ >OTt<(N • "c^ ■^ z w Q 1-5 •sai^j^ ; 1-H T-I(M rH • (M(M i-H Tfl Tt* t^ 1> lO ■ ■^OtH • • lO W ■Ba|Bra8ji[ ; I— 1 1-H lO 1—1 ^ 10 1— 1 T-tOiOiO^ ■ OOJ OSi-H • 1-H CO •88iBi\[ ; T— 1 1— 1 1— ( • i-HCN 01 >" •COIOt}* CO • 1— ) t>- i-H 1-H • ; iP CQ J •s9]'Bra3j[ ; (N (-S g 00 U P4 fOO^OOGO • 10 -^ CO >— 1 • CO 1-H Q •B8i'Bj\[ ; tH(M (N 05 oT Lm a> t^ -t^ H S3 5 3 <. '^ r_ o3 H Ui ^ 3hool . hool . hbol. chool lasses 2 H ; Q o : o O 4: c a > a a: 1 ?3W a > '^ tH P > CO ■* i tH 'c 98 City Document No. 87. A study of the tables shows that the average length of attendance in the school is short. Of the 124 boys who entered the school in June, 1915, 58 were over fifteen years of age (nearly 50 per cent) and of the girls, 30 were over fifteen years of age. During this same month there were 38 children who entered the school giving their ages as fifteen years, six months and over. The term of attendance, therefore, of more than 50 per cent of the children is less than one year. An extension of the age of required attendance in these schools would be of benefit to these children. The table showing the grade last attended by children receiving employment certificates for the first time from April to November, 1915, indicates that large numbers come from each of the grades above the fourth and below the second year of the high school. Thirty-nine per cent of the children enrolled during this period left school in grades below the eighth. Thirty-five per cent of the children left school either from the eighth grade or as elementary school graduates. Twenty-six per cent left at some time during their high school course below the fourth year. The continuation school in Boston or in any other city faces a problem of great magnitude and complexity. This school deals with the large number of children who leave school and go to work in unequal numbers during each school month. Children attend the school for periods varying from four months to two years. They come from practically all grades from the fourth grade elementary to the third year high school. They are working in a large variety of occupation's. Conclusions and Recommendations. The school aims to give educational and vocational help to children fourteen to sixteen years of age who have entered employment. The committee believes that the school is realizing this aim in carrying on this work at a cost which is not excessive. Continued experience in the work will make it still more effective. All employers of these children who were questioned about the value of the continuation school to their employees expressed a favorable opinion. Children of these ages enter employment either as a result of economic necessity, or because they were unable to pursue regular school courses advantageously. The Report on Boston Public Schools. 99 Continuation School gives them an opportunity for improvement when they most need it. The city cannot afford to neglect its responsibility to these children. The four hours per week of school work which are specifically applied to the needs of each individual probably has an educational value several times as great as an equal time given in the regular schools. The cost of this work is not out of proportion to that of courses given to children of the same age in the regular schools. One of the contributions that the Continuation School makes for fourteen and sixteen year old children is secured through the vocational guidance and personal follow-up-work. It is evident from a study of this school that it renders a great service in connection with general improvement work which is based for the most part on the experiences of the pupils. The committee recommends that the experiment be continued according to the plans already made, believing that the school has already demonstrated its worth and that it is efficiently meeting a distinct responsibility that is not discharged by any other institution. The Trade School for Girls. The Trade School for Girls was opened in July, 1904, under private auspices. The School Committee, in cooperation with the State Board of Education, assumed responsibility for the school in September, 1909. By meeting certain standards, the school is approved by the state and the city is reimbursed from the state treasury for one half of the maintenance expenditures. Aim. This school plans to train girls fourteen to twenty-five years of age for profitable employment in millinery, power machine operating and catering. The Girls' Trade School puts special emphasis on training for the handicraft trades as shown by the enrollment of the school on November 30, when 87 per cent of the member- ship was in the dressmaking and millinery trades. Organization. The staff of the school is organized as follows: Master, 1 ; first assistants, 4 ; assistants, 2 ; vocational assistants, 100 City Document No. 87. 2; trade assistants, 1; helpers, 14; aids, 17; students' aids, 4; bookkeepers, 1; clerical assistants, 1; assistant instructor of physical training, 1 ; a total staff of 59. The enrollment of the school by departments Novem- ber 30, 1915, was as follows: Dressmaking, 398; millinery, 94; machine operating, 47; catering, 27. The total enrollment was 566. The total enrollment of the school for 1914-15 was 772. The school has a daily session of eight and one-half hours, a longer day than is given in most trade schools. The term is forty weeks of forty-two and one-half hours. The course is two years in length. Each department of the school has a separate organization. One fifth of the time is given to academic work. The school is organized to place the girls in employment and to keep a follow-up record of each girl for several years after she leaves the school. Plant. The school is located at 616, 618 and 620 Massachu- setts avenue. Number 620 was formerly used as a convent school, numbers 616 and 618 were residences. The plant has an assembly room, also serving as a gym- nasium, offices, work rooms, class room, power-operating room and lunch rooms. The school is crowded, many of the work rooms are small, and the girls work under unfavorable conditions. Characteristics of the Work. The work of the school is based on orders for custom trade or on the needs of the school itself, as in the cater- ing department. The extent to which the order work is produced is shown by a report on the amount of income for the sale of product, $11,159.25, as given on page 108, Bulletin No. 43, State Board of Education, 1913-14, and by a report from the Business Agent show- ing cash received from work and products as $10,584.44 for the nine months, December 1, 1914, to August 31, 1915. This large amount of business is an indication that the product met commercial standards. .The principal of the school reports that the average length of time these girls spend in preparing for the trades is as follows : Dressmaking, 15 months; millinery, 14 months; straw machine operating, 15 months; cloth machine operating, 12 months; catering, 14 months. Report on Boston Public Schools. 101 While the length of the course in the school is given as two years, the actual time spent by the girls varies according to individual abihties. As soon as the girls are prepared to enter trades, they are allowed to leave the school and are assisted in finding positions. The number of girls placed in the trades is shown in the table of statistics given on page 113. In 1914-15, 163 entered the trade trained for. The girls who enter this school show a strong pref- erence for hand needlework. Girls who have failed to do successful work in any of the handicraft trades are urged to take up power-operating. Girls who know how to operate power machines are in demand in the City of Boston. The initial wage and the opportunities for advancement compare favorably with those of many of the occupations for women. Considerable attention has been given to this matter by the School Committee and advisory board of the school, conferences have been held, a report has been made, and an experimental branch is being conducted in North Bennet street, in order to determine what should be done to make the training in power-operating effective. The Girls' Trade School is not in a location which attracts girls to it who expect to enter power-operating. The School Committee has been asked to establish branches of the school for training in power-operating in the districts where this industry is located. Costs and Statistics. The accompanying table furnished by the Business Agent covers expenditures for the Trade School for Girls from December 1, 1910, to August 31, 1915. 102 City Document No. 87. sS t^cc 00(M ; ^ OOIC ^_i 00 b- lO CO lO oo- ococ • 00(M O CO CO t^-* CM CO Oi 05 '~l 05 CC locoo- •■^coco CO 00 COO Th ■* lO -co fO CC Oi>0 " • --H t^io CO Tt^ CO o 05 f^OC ^__rH ■* • CO lO ■-( t^ 5 CD-^ c<- 00 '^oi &© (N~^"cr : C^T'-TrH' C003 CO 00 1—1 rtO^ OOC 0.-HCC •t^— 1 (M lOO -if} b- 00 -co 00 »c ooo • Oit^ b- Ttn CC TJH t^ (Nrf l-.>OI^ •coo '^ r^co CO I— ( "^i »-H i-H cfio'i^ : (N '*" i6 ^fo u: o IC °1 e^ (N TJH CO «(9 s% m &% _« cot^ OtMO 00 O • t^cqoob ^_l coon o CO 2°^ ost^i ot^co 00 «QO CO CM o l-H ^ Tt;_ 05 1-H 1— H CM CO a> 6^ (NrH CO(M OS ; co'i-Tio CD id coc^ a b- b^ «^ CO CO 03 b- «^ S m ^ ."* (N(N OfNb- • iCt^COCD '^ OCO CD oo ■<* 2o CD05 OtJ^ic . ^Or^J,. CO OCM C^ CO I— 1 (^cc oco^o • 05 000 CO Tt< SSS 00 CO ^^ -eo 00 t^ —KM to • t^ —1 (M 00 iQ 00 CD CO CDl^ (M »CCC ■ lOfOt^ CM Tt< '^ o CO O lO "ii^' (NrH coiooo : Tj^C^TrtTof >d (OO b- 00 o" °i e^ CO (N oo 1— CD O) (^ ^ ^ e© _>o loco oooo • CO O O lO 00 OtH '^ •^ 05 355 o iC O >OiO •OOOt-h 00 lO'* o o 00 Oi"^ o^ '0(M(N •0(N >0 -H >Q 1^ Tt< CO CO "CO coc; t^ ooo: •iM O0t^(M b- 00 00 b- c lO 05 '^ Tt^ o E 0) ^ r c . £? -3^ T o3 C rCj o; a> 2 c 3 CO p: ■ s • a; 7- £ a > o tyo a M > «• a. c a. .S a '3 3i o ;:3 P +: 03 p ^c 11 C .£ c .c aJ"5 a E c C "c c S a: 3 1 53 3Qh<= *^^'S^.S'? SHC P^ £ S a.r= d C o 1 1 1— 1 o3 fC c K < o a H- 1 •a ■3° > c X O D ^ °-cfcs I3_c5 m a ■2 S-g'S a =^ 5 o e .00 to t,T3 i-H-* g 3 Report on Boston Public Schools. 103 Owing to the fact that the returns for 1914 cover expenditures only to August 31 instead of November 30, these figures do not offer a basis of determining actual cost, hence the figures for 1913-14 are selected as a basis of determining the per capita costs. Since the Business Agent's statement does not differentiate between the day and evening work, returns for this year are taken from the report of the Commissioner of Education, . Bulletin No. 43, and are as follows : Administration $7,385 78 Operation of plant 4,407 43 Upkeep of plant 2,231 82 Teachers' salaries 31,101 67 Instruction charges 11,131 95 Total maintenance expenditures $56,258 65 Average enrollment 368 Average attendance 326 Per Capita Cost Based On: Average Average Enrollment. Attendance. Overhead charge $20 07 $22 66 Instruction 84 52 95 41 Instruction supplies 30 24 34 14 Upkeep and plant operation 18 03 20 36 Total $152 88 $172 57 Reduced by value of product per capita 34 80 39 60 Net per capita cost $118 08 $132 97 The work of the Manhattan Trade School of New York City is comparable with that of the Boston Trade School. The per capita cost for the Manhattan Trade School based on average daily attendance is reported to be $133.33 without deducting the value of the product, and $99.01 for the net per capita cost with the value of the product deducted. The average daily attendance is 513. These figures are taken from the annual financial and statistical report of the Board of Education, New York City, The statement of product for the Boston Trade School for Girls, 1913-14, is: Total product, cash and credit $11,159 25 Product for school itself 82 01 Product for other city departments 1,567 00 Total product $ 12,808 26 The net pupil hour cost based on enrollment was $0 . 089 The net pupil hour cost based on attendance was .10 104 City Document No. 87. The above facts show that the school is economically managed and efficiently administered. A very large proportion of the product is sold for actual cash. The nature of the product is such that it sells more readily for cash than that which the boys produce^. The reim- bursement from the state treasury was $20,531.44. The statistics furnished by the principal of the school show, by years and by trades, the enrollment, the number having taken training and having entered the trades. The following report concerning the enrollment and attendance and placement of girls, including the notes, was furnished by the principal of the school. RiJpoRT ON Boston Public Schools. 105 Q S . M SI •eiB^ox 03 05 I-H t-O-* lM(Ni-H,-H(N ■3mia^T3Q • -(N ■ • •0 -INI AiBJClg I-H -i-Ht-HCO •0 "H mo\D (MCOCOi-Hrt •jCjauiiiij^ ,^ T^t^^ rH (M ■gTrpuBraBsajQ lO(M I-H OI>00 is M a m •siB^ox t^OOCOCOOi t^t^OfOfOCO I— I I-H 1-H I-H 'Snrjgct'BO • • • -lO CO ■Q -IM AiBJ^g CO CO 00 CO Tt* t^ I-H 1-H 1-H •O "K ^1*010 TtH (N »0 IC CO TjH I-H I-H I-H 1-H I-H •AiaminJAI O-* CD COCO t^ r-l 1-H I-H (N CO I-H •3up[ExneB8Ja r>. 00 I-H t^ ic »o IOCOIOI>COOT 13 •annf Tt< CO (N CO CO 05 t^OCOOIN O 1-H (N (M CO CO TjH ooooco 05(N -* lO a 3 « H •axinf 0^ jgqma^dag cor-coOoOoo OiCOCD-* COiO I-H (M j ■< •si^^ox 1-H lO (M lO •Suua^BQ •i-HOt^(M ^ --Hi-H(NCO •Q 'IM ^''•ilS »o 05 CO 1-H * 00 coco t^ 1-H (MIMC^OOCOiO 1909-10 1910-11 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14 1914-15 o g J |J m O p: o n •BIB^OX Tt< CD »0 05 CO ■* CO* COCO ■aaua^BQ • • -co •0 "H Aiuj^g C0C0CD05-* ■0 -IM q^oiO CO CD 10*10 1-H •AiamxiTIAI co*CO ■O "H q^oiO 1-H lO 05 lO I— 1 •Aiauyrfil^ iCcOi-H oco I-H I-H I-H •SupiBniBfiajQ; OOi-H *<05^ r-H 1-H I-H IM 1-H PS t 1909-10 1910-11 1911 12 1912-13 1913-14 106 City Document No. 87. 5 o O o u u Q •B(BJOJ, •auU0')t!;3 •Q 'K AlBJIg "O "W T»oiO •Xjou!||jj\i •Sniil'ouissojQ C^ N (N U5 t^ <© lO PO rH I— I 1— I «0 S! •BJ'B'JOX •anuo'j'GQ » CO "i— I r^ Tt* (N i-(rH i-H •^ tH "O 'IM AMIJIS •o "PM q^ojo •jCjotniniV HU1>11!UISB0.I(1 l-H rH l-l 1-1 C^ C. ^. (N CO T^^ COt-H (N CD CO CO t^ ■* 00 CO i-H C<1 CO C>^ I <>) CO -* O ^ 1— I rt T-H ^ 05 05 C5 05 Oi 05 a; a>.2 03 o >-^ CS CD NtJ 03 n, - CI '^S ") &^ ^ j^ fl 12 c3x; o CO c fc-a t^ -2 2 ? ?^ fe 3 ts i2 o OT M a-X "h C QJ OJ ►i. "T^ 03 Sh i^-l rj " , a> ^ '^ (V '■"'-' O " C be -I "^ , , a> 0333 hC ., w w2 i3 j; fl aj o3ii.Sc/3tHaj ^ T3 ^ -^ o3 CL-2 ^ 03 O 53 S) CO _n c — ^ -T^ -^^ to ^ <*' g ^ rt ^ 03 *^ 0) a; (3 03 -i3 . (1 a; ^ cocr>«3 tJK CO(N CO CD COt-- b 9^ "^ 03 >, (D r ^£ 03 -Q Report on Boston Public Schools. 107 » Conclusion and Recommendation. The records of the school are completely and carefully kept. The committee has been able to secure full infor- mation from this school promptly and in detail. The school meets the demands fairly well for training in the trades which the school is emphasizing. The cash return indicates that the product turned out meets commercial standards. The table of statistics indicates that the school is suc- cessful in placing the girls in the trades. Complete figures on the number of employees in hand needlework and in power-operating in Boston were not obtained, but there are indications that the number of hand needleworkers is diminishing and that the number of power operators is increasing. It is the opinion of the committee that definite plans should be made for a continued study of the possibilities for training in other lines of women's work, such as power machine operating, and for the establishment of branches of the school as needs are determined in parts of the city that are centers for the various industries employing women. Boston Industrial School for Boys. The Industrial School for Boys was opened in May, 1911, in the Brimmer. building on Common street. The school is state-aided. Aim. The aim of the course in the Industrial School for Boys is to offer training for boys, 14 to 25 years of age, for profitable employment in machine shop practice, cabinet making, carpentry, printing, electrical work and sheet metal work. In addition to the age require- ment for admission, boys must be able to pass the working certificate test, and should establish the presumption that they can take the course profitably. Organization. Training in shop work is based on the turning out of commercial products. Half of the time is devoted to shop practice and half of the time to studies related to the trade and to subjects of a general improvement 108 City Document No. 87. nature, such as citizenship, EngUsh, etc. The day ses- sion is six and a half hours, with 32^ hours pes week. The term is 40 weeks and the course is two years. The staff is organized as follows: Master, division heads — electrical department, 1 ; machine department, 1; printing department, 1;. sheet metal department, 1; woodworking department, 1 ; instructors — academic and technial branches, 3 ; shop instructors — machine department, 1; woodworking department, 1; electrical department, 1 ; assistant shop instructors — electrical department, 1; bookkeeper, 1; clerical assistant, 1. Each trade department is treated as a separate school. All of the shop training, drawing, related work and general education work are given by instructors devoting their full time to one department. As far as possible, the instructors of related subjects are drawn from the specific trades. The establishment of the school is authorized under the statutes of chapter 471, Acts of 1911. The state and city cooperate in the support and maintenance of the school. The City of Boston owns the entire plant and equipment. The state reimburses the city for one half of the maintenance expenditures, subject to the requirements as to conditions of work and efficiency set up by the State Board of Education. Some of the standards established by the state are : 1. That not more than sixteen boys be allowed to one teacher. 2. That there shall be efficient and up-to-date equip- ment for the trade to be taught. 3. That shop teachers shall have had at least eight years' actual trade practice. 4. That the teachers of drawing and related work shall have had trade experience. The state does not direct the operation of the school but simply sets up standards that must be met in order to secure state reimbursement. The trade practice given the students must necessarily be based on the turning out of product meeting commercial standards. This product must be turned out by the production methods practised in the trade. Plant. The school is located in the old Brimmer building. Considerable remodeling and repairing of the building were necessary to adapt it to the purpose of trade train- Report on Boston Public Schools. 109 ing. The building is limited in capacity to about 160 boys and is not well adapted to the purpose for which it is used. A new building which is in the process of erection will be occupied by the school next fall. The principal of the school reports that there is a waiting list of 400. The new building will have an estimated capacity of 600 boys. About $200,000 is being expended in the construction and equipping of this building. Characteristics of the Work. There are two bases for forming judgment of the character of the work. First, as to the product that is turned out. Second, as to the placing of boys in the trade for which they were trained. The following state- ment shows the value of product. AVERAQE PRODUCT PER BOY BY DEPARTMENTS FOR THE YEAR 1914-15. (Total Product of Department Divided by Average Membership.) Departments. Total Product. Average Membership. Average Product per Boy. Cabinetmaking, carpentry and patternmaking. Printing Machine shop Electrical Sheet metal 12,102 54 1,139 49 358 50 3,135 00 453 39 38 33 30 55 21 $55 33 34 53 11 95 57 00 21 59 110 City Document No. 87. , oooooo •OOO 1 (M t^ — 1 CO I>. lO rt< ■* CO CO iCi(N •lOOOO •(M050 CJ 03 lOCOr-tCOO— 1 ■— <(N lO q3 o • a ^^ o • a> o • ^ o Q IC lOOO ■ c3 92 t^ 05IM o ■gTj CO tHOO OQ cta lO OO • CI CO €# (N O .s fi 005 "* c3 1 lA a 6 £3 lOOO CD 4 cg^ ^^ (N . ©> t« CO CO -(j 0^ < > 3 1 1 0) E c3 en o CO ■*IOCO CO—I T-H i-H -t-a ^ fe »o — 1 (M O 00 O O j2 CO ^ CO o -^ t^ ,_, lOlM '3 > "o &S CO CO (NIC (0 >• o I— 1 CO 3S o j: CO CO ■* CO tj n €^ bo CQ .e 0. CO ^_l r^ IC 'c '3 o 00 "i H '5 o CO >c ■*3 o H t*-( 3 (i> «5 00 (Mt^^ o Q •a o 00. CO"-! Ol^ o lU ftf H a. •a a u o 1 CO ICCOC c M *3 O < n CO • c 1 m to rHeO(N ir c8 Oj > <: t/3 o U. £ -d o c

° [3 •a a "So Q a .2 1 g CM OS o Normal School 14 566 "404 2,486 14 Secondary schools i35 11 5 860 60 2,025 2,497 Special schools 441 446 Totals 151 1,301 60 580 2,890 4,982 By comparing these results with the numbers deduced above as the indicated need for women in gainful occu- pations, the excess and the deficiency will be shown. Table IX makes this comparison. TABLE IX. Occupation Groups. Number Needed. Number Taking Training. Excess. Deficiency. Manufacturing and mechanical industries. Trade and commerce 1,176 1,380 1,908 438 80 151 1,301 60 580 2,890 '""142" 2,810 1,025 79 Domestic and personal service. . . Profc'^ional service 1,848 Unskilled labor Totals 4,982 4,982 2,952 2,952 (This statement of excesses and deficiencies does not take into account other sources of supply such as immigration.) Report on Boston Public Schools. 141 This table is illuminating, even though it is not so definitely positive as the corresponding table for the boys. We find that there is a deficiency in the supply of girls for the manufacturing and mechanical industries. The numbers that should be prepared for trade and commerce are nearly sufficient to meet the demands. The number trained for occupation in domestic and personal service is almost negligible in comparison with the excessively large number needed. The number receiving training towards professional vocations is only about one fourth greater than the demand. The Con- tinuation School during the year 1914-15 gave help for immediate needs to 1,455 girls; besides this, it is well known that a large number received, in connection with their regular work in the elementary schools, very valuable training in the rudiments of domestic science and arts. These two points materially lessen the appar- ently large number of pupils who appear from the numbers above likely to be misfits in the occupational life of their home city. It is to be regretted that the United States Census Bureau has not compiled the data for females showing how many of them are engaged in nongainful occupations. Such figures would be of great value and service to school authorities. In the foregoing part of this chapter the study has been based upon the number of pupils who left school, because this is the true and final basis for measuring the product of the school. But it will also be of service to know the extent and distribution of the vocational work now in process in the schools; that is, how many pupils are now taking vocational courses and how their proportionate distribution compares with the rates per cent representing the demand of the corresponding occupational group. Data were received from the Superintendent's office showing the number of pupils in each specified vocational course in the several kinds of schools on December 1, 1915. In compiling the numbers for the tables below a pupil taking more than one course is counted in each course taken, thus producing more or less of duplication. This does not invalidate the comparison between the proportion of pupils in the several kinds of vocational work and the rates of demand of the related occupational groups. 142 City Document No. 87. TABLE X. Number of Boys in Boston Public Schools December 1, 1915, Registered in Courses Tending Directly or Indirectly to the Occupational Groups Speci- fied, and the Rate Per Cent of their Distribution Compared with the Rate Per Cent of Demand. Occupational Groups. Secondary Schools. Elementary Schools (Pre- vocational). Special Schools. Continua- tion Schools. Total, all Schools. Rate Per Cent of Distri- bution. Rate Per Cent of Demand. Manufacturing and mechan- ical industries. Trade and commerce 1,461 3,540 3,720 623 196 159 37 *658 627 2,901 4,400 3,720 26.3 39.9 33.8 34.6 30.1 4 9 8,721 819 196 1,285 11,021 * Not including 302 boys taking course for general improvement. The above table shows that there were, on December 1, 1915, 11,021 boys in vocational courses tending to the three occupational groups specified; that 26.3 per cent of them were working in industrial courses; 39.9 per cent of them in commercial and trade courses, and 33.8 per cent in courses tending to professional service. In comparing these rates per cent with the corresponding rates of demand, it must be constantly borne in mind that the two sets of rates refer to entirely different bases and that the comparison cannot, therefore, be absolute but must be purely relative. The table is intended to show simply the proportionate distribution of vocational work in the schools as compared with the proportionate demand or opportunity for such work in the occupations. No final conclusions should be drawn from this table nor from Table XI below, because the pupils are still at school, their work is only in process, and changes from one course to another are likely to occur. The table below for the girls is similar to Table X for the boys, and the suggestions made with regard to the interpretation of the boys' table apply with equal force here. The table shows that on December 1, 1915, 11,447 girls were registered in vocational courses tending to the four occupational groups specified; that 7.4 per cent of them were in courses related to the manufacturing and mechanical industries; 40.7 per cent in courses making for trade and commerce; 16.2 per cent in domes- tic arts and science courses, and 35.7 per cent in courses Report on Boston Public Schools. 143 tending to professional service. The last column gives the corresponding rates per cent of demand in the gainful occupations. The one unmistakable point shown by Tables X and XI is the need for an increased number of pupils in courses leading to manufacturing and mechanical industries. TABLE XI. Number of Girls in Boston Public Schools December 1, 1915, Registered in Courses Tending Directly or Indirectly to the Occupational Groups Speci= fied, and the Rate Per Cent of their Distribution Compared with the Rate Per Cent of Demand. OccuPATioNAi. Groups. Secondary Schools. Elementary Schools. Special Schools. Continua- tion Schools. Total, all Schools. Rate Per Cent 9f Distri- bution. Rate Per Cent of Demand. 539 *308 329 193 847 4,663 1,849 4,088 7.4 40.7 16.2 35.7 23.6 ical industries. 4,334 474 4,088 27 7 Domestic and personal service. 1,155 27 38.3 8 8 8,896 1,155 566 930 11,447 * Not including 102 girls taking course for general improvement. In conclusion, it may be summarized from the fore- going that the schools of Boston are already providing a large number of boys and girls with vocational edu- cation that will enable them to enter the occupations found in their own city and in other cities. It is evi- dent that there should be a large increase in the num- bers to receive training for the manufacturing and mechanical industries. In this connection probably the most important point is that many pupils leave the elementary schools without any vocational training. This indicates that there should be an increase in pre- vocational training. There is an undoubted deficiency in the number adequatelypreparedf or domestic and personal service. The importance of proper preparation in this, branch is as great for the* home as it is for many paid services. There is an excess in the number of boys and girls taking vocational work leading to professional life; there is every indication that a large portion of them will not find need or opening for their services. 144 City Document No. 87. CHAPTER VII.— BOSTON'S EXPENDITURES FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES COMPARED WITH THE EXPENDITURES OF OTHER LARGE AMERICAN CITIES. ~ In seeking to ascertain whether a city's expenditure for school purposes is sufficient, insufficient, or exces- sive, information regarding the amounts spent in other cities is of value. This does not mean that the average disbursement of a number of cities, or the disbursement of any one city in the group, is the ideal expenditure. Figures for a group of cities represent, not the goal toward which communities are working, but the pre- vailing practice of cities — a compromise between what is thought to be desirable and what is found to be possible. In the absence of a more definite standard a record of the prevailing practice is useful as a scale by which to measure performance. Cities Compared. In the following pages Boston's expenditures for school purposes will be compared with the expenditures of other large American cities. Comparative figures will be given for total expenditures, for outlay for permanent improvements, for total expenditures for operation and maintenance, and for expenditures for the itemized pur- poses of operation and maintenance. As the educa- tional problems of large cities differ materially from the problems of smaller cities, the study will deal with the cities for which data are available which resemble Boston most closely in size. Most of the comparisons made will include either 21 or 22 cities. Sources of Statistics. The greater part of the data used in the comparative study of expenditures are from the annual report of the United States Commissioner of Education. The statis- tics of these reports are compiled from schedules dis- tributed from the Bureau of Education, which are filled out by local school authorities. As the accounting systems of the different cities are not on a uniform Report on Boston Public Schools. 145 basis, the comparability of some of the figures presented may have been affected, in minor respects, by variations in classification. It is believed that possible errors arising from this source have been reduced to a minimum. The figures for Boston presented in the Commissioner's report have been compared with statistics compiled by the Business Agent of the Boston School Committee; in the course of the Cleveland School Survey the figures for Cleveland have been verified from the books of the clerk of the local Board of Education, and a study of the schedules on file in the office of the Commissioner of Education at Washington has made it possible to correct dis- crepancies of classification affecting reports for other cities. It is believed that the sources of error have been further reduced by excluding from the com- parisons figures appearing under the head ''miscellaneous items," which are presumably the ones most affected by differences in methods of accounting. The comparisons have been confined, in other words, to expenditures for operation and maintenance and outlays for improve- ments. The methods of computation employed in this study and possible inaccuracies in results due to differences in accounting and to other causes are discussed at length in the Appendix. It seems well to emphasize at this point the fact that any inaccuracies of data or defects in method, mentioned in the text or in the appendix, are not of a sort seriously to affect the reh ability or signifi- cance of the comparisons. In basing conclusions upon the figures presented, allowance will be made for limita- tions of data and of method. Statistical accuracy is relative rather than absolute. Minor inaccuracies are met with, not only in com- parative figures of the sort used in the present study, but in most social and fiscal statistics. The presence of such inaccuracies does not justify the entire rejection of statistical data. Population figures, which are the kind of statistics with which the general public is most familiar, are seldom wholly accurate. The population of Boston as reported by the census enumerators in 1910 may have varied by several hundreds or even thousands of persons from the actual population of the city on the census day; the same is true of the census figure for 1900. But, while no one acquainted with the methods of census 146 City Document No. 87. taking would claim that the population returns for the city at either census are strictly and minutely accurate, it will- hardly be questioned that the statistics prove that Boston was materially larger in 1910 than in 1900. In consideiing relative disbursements for the schools the same principle applies. If Boston's expenditure per child in average daily attendance for an important educational piu-pose, such as teachers' salaries, were found to differ by only a few cents from the corresponding figure for some other city, it would seem possible that the difference was due to variations in classification or to inaccuracies in reporting; but, if the figure for Boston were found to be half as high again as that for the other city, there could be, in the absence of definite evidence to the contrary, little doubt that the difference between the figures represented a real difference in conditions. And, if the expenditures for one city were found to range, for a considerable number of items, well above the average for the group of cities, or well below, it would be difficult to escape the conclusion that the returns revealed, for the city considered, conditions that were exceptional in a significant waj'. Differences in the methods of classifying accounts employed in different cities will not affect the figures representing total expenditures. It seems probable, moreover, that, where one city includes under a given head of the Commissioner's schedule expenditures which should not have been included, another city, or other cities, will include too little under this head. In other words, errors in classification made by the different cities will tend to balance each other, and it follows that the margin of error will be less when Boston's expendi- tures for any given item are compared with an average for the group of cities than when the Boston figures are compared with figures for any one city. Bases of Comparisons. As total expenditure for school purposes is affected by wealth, population, the number of children of school age, the number of children attending public school and other factors, a direct comparison of expenditures in the different cities would be misleading. It is necessary, if comparisons are to yield valid and significant results, to reduce expenditures to some comparable unit. The units of comparison emploj^ed in the present study correspond to the methods by which the problem of Report on Boston Public Schools. 147 measuring the adequacy of school expenditures has "been approached. One of these methods of approach is concerned with the emphasis that is being placed on the work of the schools as compared with other municipal activities; another with the relation of expenditures to resources, and a third with the relation of expenditures to the size of the city's educational problem. Proportion of Municipal Expenditure Devoted TO Schools. Does Boston, as compared with other cities of similar size, devote a large or a small proportion of its total governmental expenditure to the maintenance, operation and improvement of its public schools? Table 1 shows, for 22 cities, total governmental cost expenditures, expenditures for public schools and the percentage relationship of expenditure for schools to total expen- diture. TABLE I. Proportion of Total Governmental Cost Payments Devoted to School Purposes in Boston and in 21 Other Cities. 1913.^ City. All Purposes. Governmental Cost Payments for School purposes.2 Amount. As a Per Cent of Payments For AU Purposes. Rank in Per Cent of Gov- ernmental Cost Payments Devoted to School Purposes. Baltimore. Boston. . . . Buffalo.... Chicago. . . Cincinnati. Cleveland. . . Detroit Indianapolis. Jersey City. . Kansas City. Los Angeles. Milwaukee. . Minneapolis . Newark New Orleans. Philadelphia . Pittsburgh. . . Portland San Francisco. Seattle St. Louis Washington. . . $18,090,899 32,553,175 15,522,286 67,801,957 14,929,267 18,554,874 16,542,571 5,425,024 6,423,276 11,363,638 26,202,673 10,373,414 11,172,169 13,955,856 8,878,170 43,311,948 22,836,171 12,469,020 27,557,301 13,234,476 21,516,430 12,339,165 $2,544,186 5,877,619 2,774,296 13,212,259 2,720,466 3,987,673 3,250,905 1,528,871 2,012,220 2,388,674 4,853,343 2,284,101 3,290,317 3,395,909 1,526,592 7,876,271 4,407,776 2,404,120 2,535,578 2,115,020 4,283,987 2,646,546 14.1 18.1 17.9 19.5 18.2 21.5 19.7 28.2 31.3 21.0 18.5 22.0 29.5 24.3 17.2 18.2 19.3 19.3 9.2 16.0 19.9 21.4 21 17 18 11 15 6 10 3 1 14 5 2 4 19 16 12 13 22 20 9 7 Average . 20.2 » United States Bureau of the Census, Financial Statistics of Cities, 1913, pages 41-42. * Includes expenses and outlays. 148 City Document No. 87. The amounts reported in Table 1 include outlays for permanent improvements as well as disbursements for- operation and maintenance. The data upon which the table is based are derived, not from the reports of the Commissioner of Education, as are the statistics used in compiling most of the tables of this study, but from the report of the Bureau of the Census entitled "Finan- cial Statistics of Cities." The distinction is an important one. As has been seen, the Commissioner of Education secures information relative to city expenditures by Jersey City Minneapolis Indianapolis Newark Milwaukee Cleveland Washington Kansas City St. Louis Detroit Chicago Pittsburgh Portland Los Angeles Cincinnati Philadelphia BOSTON Buffalo New Orleans Seattle Bal t irr,ore San Francisco 40 6o 80 100 Governmental coat payments for School purposes H All other purposes Per cent 31.3 29.5 28.2 24.3 22.0 21.5 21.4 21.0 19.9 19.7 19.5 19.3 18. 5 18.2 18.2 18.1 n.9 17.2 16.0 14.1 9.2 Diagram 1. Proportion of Total Governmental Cost Payments Devoted to School Purposes in Boston and in 21 Other Cities. means of schedule inquiries, and the possible inaccu- racies discussed in the text and in the appendix are the result of this method of investigation. The Bureau of the Census does not rely, in gathering information relative to municipal expenditures, upon schedules sent out by mail, but sends to each city an expert special agent who draws off from the municipal accounts such information as he may need. If, in a given city, the classification of accounts does not correspond exactly to the classification of the census schedule, the special agent makes the necessary adjustment. As all the agents employ the same methods and are guided by the Report on Boston Public Schools. 149 same instruction, the result of their inquiry is a strictly comparable set of figures. The figures of Table 1 are for 1913, the most recent year for which data are available. It appears from the table that in Boston the propor- tion of governmental expenditures devoted to the schools is materially smaller than in the average city. Among the 22 cities Boston ranks seventeenth. The figure for Boston is 18.1 per cent, while the average for the group of cities is 20.2 per cent. If a conclusion may be based upon the prevailing practice, the Boston schools are getting somewhat less than their due share of the money which the city is spending for social and govern- mental purposes. Expenditure Per Inhabitant. Expenditures for school purposes are affected, in a general way, by the size of the city. It is not to be expected that a city of less than 300,000 inhabitants, such as Indianapolis, will spend as much upon its schools as a city of over 600,000 inhabitants, such as Cleveland. The simplest way of allowing for differences in size is to divide expenditures for school purposes by the number of inhabitants, thus obtaining expenditure per inhabitant. The results of such a computation appear in Table 2. Comparisons based upon expenditure per inhabitant have serious limitations of usefulness. It may, with propriety, be objected that a city's population does not determine either what it can spend for school purposes or what it should spend. Population does not necessarily represent ability to contribute to the support of the public schools. Neither is the number of children to be educated indicated by the population returns, for the number of children per 1,000 persons in the total popu- lation may be much smaller in some cities than in others. Population is not, however, to be ignored in any discussion of relative expenditures; it constitutes one of a number of significant factors which affect the comparisons. 150 City Document No. 87. TABLE 2. Expenditure Per Inhabitant for Operation and Maintenance of Schools in Boston and in 20 Other Cities. 1914. ClTT. Estimated Population in 19141. Expenditure for Op) ration and Maintenance. Total.' Per Inhabitant. Rank in Expenditure Per Inhabitant. Baltimore . Boston. . . . Buffalo.... Chicago . . . Cleveland . Detroit Indianapolis . Jersey City . . Kansas City. Los Angeles. . Milwaukee. . Minneapolis. Newark New Orleans. Philadelphia . Pittsburgh.... Portland San Francisco. Seattle St. Louis. . . . Washington . 579,590 733,802 454,112 2,393,325 639,431 537,650 259,413 293.921 281,911 438,914 417,054 343,466 389,106 361,221 1,657,810 564,878 260,601 448,502 313,029 734,667 353,378 $1,954,670 5,516,762 2,449,533 12,731,954 3,569,504 2,533,488 1,409,504 1,421,147 1,761,389 3,706,519 1,794,796 2,147,856 2,699,239 1,097,552 7,081.830 3.602.303 1,424,938 1,879,187 1,750.998 4,084,693 2,391,976 $3 37 7 52 5 39 5 32 5 58 6 38 5 47 4 19 5 59 5 56 6 77 20 2 13 14 9 16 12 15 17 6 3 21 IS Average . $5 51 > Estimates of Population, United States Bureau of the Census. - Annual report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1914, Volume II.. qhapter II., Table 12. The figures of Table 2 are from the reports of the Commissioner of Education. Statistics are presented for the school year 1913-14, the most recent year for which data are available for all the cities. All consideration of expenditure for new buildings and other permanent improvements in the school plant has been omitted from this table; the statistics presented relate solely to expenditure for the operation and maintenance of the schools. It will be seen that Boston's expenditure for school purposes per inhabitant exceeds by a substantial margin that of the average city. The figure for Boston is S7.52, while the average for the group of cities is but S5.51. Of the 21 cities for which data are available, onlj- one, Los Angeles, is reported to have spent more per inhab- itant than Boston for the operation and maintenance of its schools. Report on Boston Public Schools. 151 c CQ C 1) -4J c es S •a c !« cs a> n o CJ -u b cs 0) u £ O. O O o u r« O n •a cS c -w en X! r cS o x: -i-i c o oa a .t c u 152 City Document No. 87. Expenditure Per $1,000 of Taxable Wealth. Perhaps the most satisfactory measure of a city's abiUty to spend money for school purposes is supphed by the amount of the taxable wealth of the community. The cities compared vary widely as to wealth. Is the ratio of school expenditure to wealth lower or higher in Boston than in other communities? Table 3 shows expenditure per $1,000 of taxable wealth for the group of cities. In this table, as in Table 2, the comparison is confined to expenditure for the operation and mainte- nance of schools, and the data are for 1913-14. TABLE 3. Expenditure Per $1,000 of Wealth for Operation and Maintenance of Schools in Boston and in 20 Other Cities. 1914. City. Baltimore. Boston. . . . Buffalo.... Chicago. . . Cleveland. Detroit Indianapolis. Jersey City . . Kansas City . Los Angeles . . Milwaukee . . . Minneapolis . , Newark New Orleans. Philadelphia. Pittsburgh .... Portland San Francisco. Seattle. . . . . St. Louis. . . Washington. Estimated True Value of all Property Assessed.! $723,800,340 1,489,608,820 494,200,459 3,761,800,684 756,831,185 598,634,198 363,413,650 257,644,605 371,191,014 836,604,260 511,720,797 639,258,841 383,864,182 314,086,036 1,556,323,614 789,035,200 481,057,404 1,247,391,284 473,174,995 1,125,308,749 538,389,607 Expense and Outlay FOB School Purposes. Total.2 Per $1,000 of Property Assessed. $1,954,670 5,516,762 2,449,533 12,731,954 3,569,504 2,553,488 1,409,504 1,421,147 1,761,389 3,706,519 1,794,796 2,147,8.56 2,699,239 1,097,552 7,081,830 3,602,303 1,424,938 1,879,187 1,750,998 4,084,693 2,391,976 $2 70 3 70 3 70 3 63 4 44 Rank in Expenditure Per $1,000 of Property Assessed. 20 12 3 17 5 10 11 2 4 9 15 18 1 16 7 6 19 21 13 14 Average . $4 05 1 United States Bureau of the Census, "Financial Statistics of Cities, 1913." The true value of property assessed has been estimated from the actual assessed value and the reported percentage relationship of the assessed value to the true value. 2 Annual report of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1914, Volume II., chapter II., Table 12. In expenditure per unit of wealth, Boston ranks twelfth among the 21 cities for which information is available. Boston's expenditure for operation and main- tenance per $1,000 of taxable property is $3.70, while the average for the group of cities is $4.05. Report on Boston Public Schools. 153 r^CXJVO lf> fvi f^u^'^'^rj"<;t'*'*'^'^'*~*f^t<^r^t^r<~»i^r^f\l c\i ri •««• ■to- 4> c es C <]> c ■a c es C w O 4> ■M -i-> So |S3 O £ -i-i SO "*■ o s: ^ a c c« — a> 73 ^i *^- — o c o O *J o 2 ® ^ _r CO ^ c L< ■"" ,>,-HCT^ tno n -p+?j:.CCa-< ®o u V (0 nj«)ina3'-i«i!Orto-Pv-Jcpoc)a)'-'--'t^ cS u Q fe:«T)Pawo^a-&^jpii-iwwws^oSP < 'S Q 4) b« 08 4> < O. 3 a. 01 jd c3 S^ "3 S ^ Is S « ^ a> 0^ 4 aa g X 3 a go « c30-9,2 §">;P 8 < ICOCO(MOO O »0 IM CO CO "-Tcc'r-roo'cf Tfl I-^ 05 CO •* •* CO 00 <0 00 O 05 O C5 05 (M 00 CO t- 05 l> 00 05 O iC Oi lO O O^ Oi oo^o^co^«:>_'-<^ !> 0(>J '-HCO (M M<00 00iO T-l !>• O CO o CO ■-H^coo irTco^^ CRO TtH 1-1 l-H (M 1-H >-l 1-1 ■<* 1-1 OCO CO '^ fO I-^ CD lO co^o'c^r 00^ (N C5 f01> i-Tcfi-r 05l^ COO) 05 CO 00 1—1 1— I (M co^i-H^co^co (ro_ (M^cToTooco 1—1 CO 1—1 00 1-1 O lO lO 1— I 1— I O CO ■* oi> cO~0~i-h'~Co"io" Ot^i-I ^C5 (M rH i-l(N •* 05000-* 1— I Oi o OCOO oo'cTi-T t^oioo (N 1-1 CO ^^ »^ (N OCO 00l>^O_ TjTco'io" i>-o (N 1-1 CO Id o oj CO CD t^ O t^ »0 -^ lO 05 ■* 1— I COO0(N rt<(N i-l O (M lO * 1-1 1-1 0(MCO 05 02 CO 00 Oi iQ (M lO CO 05 I>- O ■<# 03 ^ (M(M O ■*ooo O CO oo (M »O00 1—1 1* ■* (M (M 1-1 oo O Oi 00 t^ ^COO (M lO CO CO CO CO rt< CO Oi »0 1— I t^ CO lO 00 O O rH T^ T-lOO 00 05 t^ 1-1 00 r- c^ 02 05 lo 05 t^ lO 05 lO ^^CO CO COt^ COiM CO CO (M CO (M 1-1 00 00 t^ o O i-< O O) lO ■* CO 05 05 CX) CO 03 02 1-1 (M lo ^t^t>co TtH i0 1> 1— I CO OlO r-( COi-l 00 05 lO O 1-1 TjH CO O CO 1-1 (Mt> 0(Xi t^ Tt< cot^ 00 CO 1—1 cococ 1-1 05 lOCO CO O T-H !>. lO 1— I "O 1— I i-i> - o3 CI .S a> o r:2^ a> O) 3 5 S 2 cc'3'^ ±1 "-I f3 .22 bb +J I— I 03 -a t! m d "B » § OJ " M^,2 -S "S fl a '^ ■- g-c-g <» a - SO o^,*^ " *^ m ^1 a "^ '^ 73 S O £ (U t, 2 C3 ja a) '^ d-O a t,-M £ d a »' 5°-SdS^ sa|9l§ ■^ £ &t,td fc. <^ d ° d og .-3 ja 03 m „-_2^.S a> t; ja— 01 ^ o>^ ** =3 a s d-^H-S- ^ t,'^ +^ J ."# s a, 0) o o g =1 I >; aO^ 8 ^ a 164 City Document No. 87. s 3 ^"^ go" a 1-3 ^ s ^ - ^ - n S frt i^ Ho 03 3 Ot^ 00 CO "tl O CD lO (N "* O fCI>^00 CO^ O t^ IM rJH Tfi looeocsos lO lO lO CO lO CI r^ ic oo CO i-H (M^OO 0_0 OOCRIM ^Tt< COOOO r-IIM T-H O .— I 00 Ol o~o~co"oo "-T 1-H M< CDIOIM CO r^ t- CO 00 CO t^ C0 05 00^05 o ^00 IM ■* !>. lO 0(N CO'^^ i> CO CO lo o CO_^l>.__i0^05_iO_ TjH"co'"cr'-H~or »0 t-H Tt< CO CO 00 -. o T-H ICl (M C<) CO (M <-! l-H 1-H CO cocoo5(NO cooor^ 00 CO CO Oi »0 CO lO CO O CO OO 05 Oi t-- i>^oq_(M__>o_co_ co_^05_i— I 05 CO 05 t^-^^i-H^cD^o^o^ cq_TjH_oo i> o CO cu g S CT - (3" cog b" S 2 m gg6|g v3 P. '3 a 02 "m" OSCOt^TfH rH o6~'-r'*'~co~G6~ (M t^ O (M (M e^coiM loca 05 00 '^©(N t^ t^cOCO(N 00 ^ CO rH 00 ICOO CO lO C5 ■— I CO lO 00 1^050 c-'" 1-1 CO T^HCO r}< CO i-H COt-h O CO(M r-H CO 005 lOO I— I 1— I CO t^ o "-^lO CO 05 -^ (N'cDCOO'-h" »0(M 1> OOO 00 CO 00 IM (M »0 1> i-H '^l 05 COI> i-( --H 1> lOt^i-IOOOO (M 005'*r-H TfH t^05C0(M 10 1^05 CO CO CO 001^"^" t^fOi-l >0{N05 OOOOO 05 CO 00 CO CO iO^_^ 1— I 05 lO i-<^co_^io_o^co_ co'co'^Tt^'co't^ 0(M lOiOOO 1—1 1—1 1—1 ■rtl C0IM05 (M rJH 05 ■*_»oco_ co'-^'io' 05 1XN (N 1-1 CO 00 CO CO M^ 1-1 <0 05_(M__ t^Tcoco 1-1 coco i-l (N 1-1 t^(N '*00O5 1^ 1— I i-i O CO coooo_^o_oo cD"i-ro<6~i>rT)r »0 lO 05 -* CO 6^1-1 CO Oi-iOOOO 10-* -^ TfO COC0O5(M CO 00Tt^m §§;^^m § S 2 CO 3 PhPhOO .2 bC 3 a aim* Report on Boston Public Schools. 165 a Q <1 « w ^ <1 cu m § .a S . fl CO « S u M 03 iS "ni k4 3 d 3 > < < a; o ui O ^-. S a) 01 an "S O _o L? ^ CD o m c3 fl (U 3 O SCQT3 3^ '^i GO IM OS Oi I>fOiOO<© O CO '* i-H (N i-i(M >-H i-M (N ,-11-' Tfi 1-1 (M in(M O'-HrHi— li-H i-Hi— li-Hi (NCOCO-*fO -^(NlMC^C^ (MCO(N'-H(M Tt< (M CO tJh CO iT^ •^ ■^ 00 lO OS ?0 -^ CO t-l O 03 O OS Ot^00 'i** CO rt< CO i-HOS'^ tJH O CO CO(M(NCOTtl (NCOCOlMlM CO CO CO •<*< CO CO cqcocococ? co(Neort<»o cocococ^c^i ■"^co-* .„ O eS o3 0) mmmoo ^ 9 S t> "^ tc ^ s s 2 c3 Q? ^<1 q£^«^ §S;^^£ e;S< -.22 M <1 =3 ■w-B^sS I 3 =^ '^ ° S^cn-3 .2.2i 05! t. .>s;-a ,— d 0) 33 s .. O d fc^ ;n m (u ±? M S o 0- O 00 t^e0>O" GO ,-HCO^ (NO-* t^ iOI> C5 00 c3 m 03 m S a fc- 01 fl i2 a-g O --H O CO 05 CO I^ 05 Tt< rt Tt< (M lO O lO (M I> CO « aS. CCWcQ i-^ro-* Oi-Hooor^ (M CO 00 loot^ 3 CO 025 rH 00 00 I> ICCO 00-* O»OQ0 i-. .5 o cj rt 0) pqpqcQOU M g Cj Q CO rHt^COO — CO o o-^ o (NlMC^(M* Tj< T-i o a c\ ,-1 CC 1> O « 03 o c i-H 00 CO i> " t^ OC !>" o »# .^^ Vi CD (M CC T-( OC »o .- c Oi O i,"^ is' CO lO CS t^ C T— 00 oc f-l CO - g o_o CD t^ i> (M a CC __ CO CS] o 23rrt C3*43 tC o CD O" C CC Tf CC oo" c C3 o ii: O T— ( I— 1 r— Y— CSI ^ w CO -5 a Ml c c Jt^ lO t^ QC CC ^ Tf t^ >« ti CO CO >r , r- OC CC o- oc 05 "3 o a e<: CS cr 05 OC t^ c o ■g'-S Tt 00 CC (M oc CSI oc C3- 00 '5 <3| o- i> I> iC CC o oa ^ '" *" "" ^ CO o c c c C C c c Q -> -- CD CC o CM oc ^ ir: ?5 o >^. t a- CC C<1 CO JC cr. o- i> c ^ CC CC IC t>r ^~ "" '" *" CSI >, u ^ oc a- '^ CC c ir: a- CO c3 CC t^ i^ 1> oc ri cr CC CO ■*j „ fl M IC CC CC Tf oc CC CS lO C .2-S a ir. CC CC IT. *c oc c oo" (N CC c<3 CC t- c CSl lO E t^ IC CC IC -* C CC CC l> CC t^ en >c 1— oc CC oc »c o- 1—1 •— I> IC Tt li^ CC CC t^ CS| lO a 1-H^ H 2 iiu ."s § iC J> r^ i> T}< CSl t^ ■* 00 (/) (D O tA aq eS cort V -i-i «3 cn S 1> Th csi CD t-- c C Q, cr a c c 5 a "o o ill g c. Oh -0 C c c 1 p. o: 1 £ a: 1 a: < Report on Boston Public Schools. 189 J O CO fc *^ tH s s o a> o3 o § g o 9S E So ft O B O a „ in Sv-5 o cr 0)0 ■? Ufa'3 ■si aq is 55 CO ^ 1© O 1-1 i-H (M C< (N 1-1 (M (M IM (M (N IM (N 1-1 t^ CO ^ O '^ CO 00 CO (M (M 1-1 1-1 rH >0 CO lO I> O O 00 00 C^ IM T-H (N 00 (M 02 o 1—1 05 05 I> CD CO CD CO CO 1-1 CO 1-1 (N IM CD lO ("ft o> o Tjl fM 05 ■* 00 T-l >o 00 o 1—1 o o 00 05 iO t^ CO § (M 1-1 1-1 ^ o p^ ^ 'T^ to •r' w S S § 13 O 0000l>I:^TtHTtHTj u t^ o 00 O'HCl— ((Z)O5«OQ0 -tj 2 4J i^ lO •o (Z) CO i- O CO <-0 O) l^ 00 5;2 o '— ' "—I I— I a^d^ E iO '* '^ COO(Mcol 'm *-• ^ u CO O) (M CO CO r- H_ t^ >-0 CO T)H (N 1 o G> c3 O of^o^ CO CO l> COCOt^t^OOOlCOOO o o O lOOOOOOOO ^-g-sg ^ (N o (MiOcOOiOiOOiO ^ 00 o r M(MCOIO,-HCOOO Plans pecifii ions a specti lO (N" co" eo»o''*"'r ococO'-HO-Hiocoi 0''3 M< 00 00 oiococoi-ocool ^^ s© *" H r- H 1- H 1- "* '" *" H CO CO £.2 «i 2 o Q Q oooooooo o ^ ^ oooooooo CO o cO__ C0'^(MC00000Tto lO COiOCOC50(Nt---CO 00 iC lO lo C5 t> CO o <^1 <^i ""l. 1—1 1—1 I-H tH CO CO CO ~CO (N tH CO CO CO '^ i-h" • CO CO CO COIM'^IOCOCO'*.-! --- 05 lO lO lOOCOt^OOC^JrH 'a 3 T-H rH ^ 1 &H ^- • ■ia o t^ 00 iX^GiC^O'\^-t*^\ (M 1— 1 ^ rt ^ CO -H 1 no wrt "i 1-H (M CI (M CO C5 1^ 00 lO * o (M (C) r— CO c^ c^ CO ^^ a5 ,_! IM c^ cr. cr. o: cc -t -t u: o 1— I Q 05 Ci CI I-H c- S- CT o- c- a- I— o 1—1 ►i o o a .^ c- -2 bJ ) CC 0. > c c c a. bi c > > '' o: aj P-( ^ > or t ;h t ■*^ rt 0. "1 -5 1 ' 1 s- s P£ § Q c t^ K <: f£ p: < II 194 City Document No. 87. u c ^ u CO b < a> H u «*■ o o 1 :r(NC5(Nt^O^I^-H ^ 1 ., o • o ■* -f o L-; ■^ o CD r^ lO CosI Per Cubi Foot T-l 1—1 T- Oi -^ — ■ (N SS'S. «^ ■i T- -( 1- 1 1- H 1- 1 - t-l 1—1 (NCOOOOC^lTj*©!!^) (N -fell ■^COCOt^OO-'^tO'-H.-H »o COTOt^OOOcOCOINiO (M S (IJ c8 O o^o^ iC>'<*'<*-<*iiO'*i'«tilClO lO" . I^iOfOOCCC—iC^OiM C^l i-vJ g COOCOCOTt<(N-^t^lO f*^ «r" 0.2 0'-t»cooO'*Ti;_ <«_ O 0_ Tf_ CC^ i-H 00 O CO 3 «^ o CO TjT Tj<" Tt*" CO ■*" TjT TjT CO ■*" o" or) o H I- rH oicooooeo-^o o t^ o O O t^ c > (M (N IQ c^ o C ^ t^ o t^ o o c 5 UO "-I t-H 00 .2-*^ a (N'*OOOl^COCO-*M< of •§ ciH Tti.-icO'*TtO0CX)O0t^O0t^O01> 00 3 fl. ^i t^t^0 1:^l>t^t^t^co t> o o C.O sC2i i^ o o c c o o o o o .2 o iM < 03 o 0) Report on Boston Public Schools. 195 CO < c4 Q 1—1 t^ J ^ »o IM t ^ r-- t^ OS +j o ^ CO i^ 00 C5 Oi 00 00 00 o "S 9 (M 1— 1 T-H 1— f I-H I-H c^ 1-H «^ ^ 00 CO CO , U3 (N 1-H OS <© 00 (M rJH t> »o t^ ■<*< i-H tH 1— 1 I-H rH I-H I-H 1-H I-H -* ,—1 CO CO 10 00 CO t^ 05 w ,_! CO Jli CO I^ T}< 1^ -h CO CO ^ OS (M I^ I— 1 05 iM CO CO g^"" CO 10 CO rt^ t^ CO >o riJi 00 Oi 05 a> CO CO OS »o (N '^ (M (N crT oo~ 1-H oT ■<*" co" CO 1—1 (N 1-H I-H (N I— 1 I-H 8 § g g g g ".SS" ^ ^ ■-^ll 10 to U3 lO CO tn CO (M (N CO CO CO CO Hh OS t^ t^ CO q_ CO co__ 00 OS 04 :3 T-H >-H i-T i-T CM •li t^ 00 CO CD 10 10 CO »o CD 1-H no wpi 1 s CO 00 CO 05 10 CO OS 00 IM ^ -* T-l CO IM I-H CO I-H — 1 i-H 1-H r-H 1-H i-H 1-H 1-H Q C5 05 rH 1—1 O) 03 1-H 1-H O) OS OS OS 1-H 1-H ►i U 02 >i tH 1 s T s 3 1 CD -c CO 1 a § 3 4) i c 0; "a; > (0 t-l 8 196 City Document No. 87. u c ^ C CC t^ tu^e IM oc (N ^ C3 IC >— 1 t^ oc CC O CC CC Tt< o ta « o oc o oc oc o" ^. CC Tt c- CC >o ms, ifica- s and ction a> cr CC ■— l> «: o- o c CC in tC o cr oc oT S^sS- €© U3 02 '■'^ a oc CO oc OC T— o- Cl ■« bb o- CO CO CC CC 00 o a 1-- F^ t^ Tj- CC lO 1-H 1 ■g'-S c i> crT o Tt CT) "1 c o- oc O (N c C^ c^ IM C<1 c c c o c c o ? fl m M 03 ^ 2 B oc c CC O CC IM CO (M ■x 00 c t^ T-H 1 ^o~ o c IC l> l^ ^ 00 t- 1 (M ^- 1— 03 1— 1—1 c (^ o c c o C c o ,, fl S) C c o o O lO 1 0,5 cj ■|tg3 o- - CO " 1— ^~ 1—1 i> l> CC CC c c CO gj C^ CC If: CO t^ Tj »o ■^ oc a "* T— c Oi ■ft ,- T- Ph ^_ . 03 2 c ^ oc CC I> CC CT> S o T— r— ao MPi li ■X c (N c t^ Tt (M (M (M IM c^ cs C<1 ^& ^ K 1 > 0. 'a 3 ^ V a. c 1 P s a s > § > Report on Boston Public Schools. 197 LIST C. SPECIAL ROOMS IN ELEVEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN CLEVELAND. Eagle Auditorium, gymnasium, 3 playrooms, shower, dispensary, 2 rest rooms, open-air cot room, library, domestic science, housekeeping suite (4 rooms), manual training, teacher lunch, kitchenette, elevator — total 20. Auditorium, gymnasium, 2 playrooms, dis- pensary, 2 rest rooms — total 7. Auditorium, gymnasium, 2 playrooms, shower, Mt. Pleasant Dawning Chesterfield dispensary, 2 rest rooms — total 8. Auditorium, gymnasium, 2 playrooms, shower, dispensary, 2 rest rooms — total 8. Auditorium, gymnasium, natatorium, 2 locker Kennard East Boulevard Addison and shower rooms, dispensary, 2 rest rooms, room for blind, domestic science, sewing room, manual training, teacher lunch, kitchen- ette — total 14. Auditorium, 2 playrooms, dispensary, 2 rest rooms, manual training, teacher lunch, kitchenette — total 9. Auditorium, gymnasium, handball court, dis- pensary, 2 rest rooms, teacher lunch, kitchen- ette, 4 unassigned — total 12. Auditorium, 2 gymnasiums, natatorium, dis- pensary, 2 rest rooms, domestic science > manual training, teacher lunch, kitchenette, unassigned — total 12. Auditorium, 2 gymnasiums, natatorium, 2 locker and shower rooms, dispensary, 2 rest rooms, domestic science, manual training, teacher lunch, kitchenette, unassigned — total 14. Two gymnasiums, natatorium, 2 locker and shower rooms, dispensary, sun room, warming room, 3 rest rooms, domestic science, 2 kitchens, lunch room, housekeeping suite (5 rooms), manual training, filter room, teacher lunch, elevator — ■ total 24. Auditorium, 2 gymnasiums, natatorium, 2 locker and shower rooms, dispensary, 2 rest rooms, domestic science, manual training, filter room, teacher lunch, kitchenette — total 14. Empire Rawlings Murray Hill Almira 198 City Document No. 87. LIST D. SPECIAL ROOMS IN TEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN DETROIT. Breitmeyer Playroom, clinic, rest^-room, waitin*'' room library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 7. Marxhausen Playroom, clinic, rest room, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 7. Ellis Playroom, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 5. Joyce Playroom, clinic, rest room, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 7. Lingemann Playroom, clinic, rest room, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 7. ThirkeU Playroom, clinic, rest room, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 7. Albert Hely Playroom, clinic, rest room, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 7. Hattie M. Carstens Playroom, clinic, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation, teacher room — total 7. Goldberg Playroom, 2 showers, cUnic, waiting room, 2 cot rooms, librarj', dining room, kitchen, domestic science, manual training, recitation — total 13. Theodore Harms Playroom, clinic, library, domestic science, manual training, recitation, teacher room — total 7. Report on Boston Public Schools. 199 LIST E. SPECIAL ROOMS IN NINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN NEWARK. Lafayette Auditorium, gymnasium, physical instructor's room, doctor's room and waiting room, library, 5 teacher rooms — total 10. Ridge Auditorium, gymnasium, physical instructor's room, doctor's room and waiting room, library, 2 teacher rooms — total 7. Webster Auditorium, gymnasium, physical instructor's room, doctor's room and waiting room, library, 3 teacher rooms — total 8. West Side Auditorium, doctor's room and waiting room, 3 teacher rooms — total 6. Montgomery Auditorium, doctor's room and waiting room. library, 3 teacher rooms — total 6. Teshine Assembly room, doctor's room and waiting room, 2 teacher rooms — total 5. Cleveland Auditorium, gymnasiiun, physical instructor's room, doctor's room and waiting room, library — total 5. MiUer Auditorium, gymnasium, physical instructor's room — total 3. Oliver Auditorium, physical instructor's room, doctor's room and waiting room, 2 teacher rooms — total 5. 200 City Document No. 87. LIST F. SPECIAL ROOMS IN SEVEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN ST. LOUIS. Madison Harney Heights. . . Bryan Hill Delaney William Glasgow. , Laclede Bryan-Mullanphy 2 gymnasiums, 2 playrooms, 2 shower rooms, medical inspection and rest room, kindergar- ten workrooms, 2 teacher rooms — total 10. Assembly room, 2 gj'mnasiums, 2 playrooms, 2 shower rooms, medical inspection and rest room, kindergarten workrooms, teacher room — total 10. 2 gjTnnasiums or assembly rooms, 2 plajTooms, shower room, medical inspection and rest room, kindergarten workrooms, teacher room — total 8. 2 playrooms, teacher room — total 3. 2 gj'mnasiums or assembly rooms, 2 plajTooms, 2 shower rooms, medical inspection and rest room — total 7. 2 play or assembly rooms, 2 shower rooms, medi- cal inspection and rest room, kindergarten workrooms — total 6. Assembly hall, 2 gymnasiums, 2 shower rooms, medical inspection, domestic science, manual training, kindergarten workrooms — total 9. Comparative Costs in the Five Cities. Table 7 is a summary table comparing the costs of the six groups of school buildings in the five cities. TABLE 7. Costs Data for 56 Elementary School Buildings in Five Cities. City. 2 u fu . ^ s Ss c3 S go <; «-2 at 1^ 9 s u^ « "So So i-.S '2 §.°o t for Spec a and 3tion. ^ II go aao ill er Cen Plans cation Inspe •3 3 o < < < & < Ck H 1 4 2 1 2 4 1 3 2 3 1 6 1 2 4 3 1 4 10 13 Newark 22 Boston. 3 6 4 2 3 6 23 6 3 5 4 6 2 26 Boston. Fireproof '5 6 6 5 5 5 32 The same city has the lowest average cost per cubic foot and per pupil. It is again found in the first rank in the average cost per room when we lump special and Report on Boston Public Schools. 203 class rooms together. It ranks in third place in the proportion of special rooms found in its school buildings and in the expense for plans, specifications and inspec- tion. If we add all these ranks we have a total of 10, which appears in the last column of the table. By similar methods the ranks for all the six groups of buildings for the five cities have been ascertained and their totals have been noted. These totals indicate that, on the basis of these six sources of cost comparisons, the Detroit schools are the least expensive of those entering into this comparison and the fireproof schools of Boston are the most expensive. Boston ranks in either the last place or in next to the last place in every one of the comparisons. In the matter of non-fireproof buildings the figures show that Boston does not spend on the average quite so much per unit of accommodation as St. Louis does for fireproof buildings. If we make the comparison merely with the other cities it is clear that Boston has been spending more for second-class non-fireproof buildings than Cleveland, Detroit and Newark for first-class fireproof buildings. Moreover, it must be remembered in all these comparisons that nearly all the figures for other cities pertain to schools erected more recently than the Boston schools for which it has been possible to obtain data. Since the cost of construction has been steadily rising during the past few years, this is another factor which should be extremely favorable to Boston in the matter of these comparisons. School Costs and School Values. In the opinion of the committee, Boston is not receiv- ing adequate educational returns for its investments in new school buildings. The city pays more and the child receives less than in other progressive cities. In some measure this has been true for several years past, and it appears that, under the present policies of the School- house Commission, conditions are becoming compara- tively worse rather than better. The Schoolhouse Department states in its latest report, for 1915, that it offers the new Wells District School as a type of the new fireproof buildings now being constructed. It states that the cost of this building will amount to $159.50 per child. This figure does not include the costs of plans, specifications and 204 City Document No. 87. inspection which have been sliown to amount to approxi- mately 10 per cent of tlie construction cost. If we add §15.95 to cover these items, we have a cost per pupil of 8175.45. But this cost is figured on the basis of 15 square feet of class room area for each pupil, whereas the costs for all other cities entering into comparsion in this report are based on 18 square feet per pupil. If we make the corresponding calculation for Boston's new Wells District School, we have a cost of 8210.54 per pupil. It is now worth while to note what the Boston children receive for this expenditure in comparison with the acconnnoda- tions provided in other cities for less expense. "We may well choose for this comparison the new INIurray Hill building in Cleveland and the Aladison building in St. Louis. When the costs of the three schools are figured on the same basis, it is found that the expense per pupil in the Boston school is 8210, in the Cleveland building it is 8100, and in the St. Louis one it is 8178. The committee is confident that no one con- versant with the facts can validlj'' claim that the quality of construction in the Cleveland and St. Louis buildings is not fully equal to that found in the new Boston build- ings. The accommodations provided in the three buildings are placed in parallel comparison in the lists on page 206, and an inspection of the data of this report will show that equally impressive comparisons will be made if other schools are substituted for those chosen for this comparison. In the case of all three schools the accommodations listed are those considered as having a direct educational value for the children and such other portions of the buildings as ofhces, storerooms, toilets, corridors, etc., have been omitted from the comparison. In the opinion of the committee, the fact that the Schoolhouse Department expressly states that it offers the Wells District School as a type of the new fireproof buildings to be erected in Boston should arouse the citizens and teachers of the city to protest. As compared with the most advanced practice of progressive school systems, such plans as those of the Wells District building are based on pre-modern ideals of education. The city is paying a price which should be sufhcient to purchase the very best educational accommodations. The children are being provided with educational plants of better construction than those built a generation ago, but far inferior to those of other cities where the educa- Report on Boston Public Schools. 205 tional authorities direct the planning of schoolhouses, and architectural developmentw are shaped by educa- ti(Hial progress. Boston. St. Louis. Cleveland. Wells District School. Madison School. Murray Hill School. $210 per pupil. $178 per pupil. $190 per pupil. ]<^irst-clas8 fireproof. First-class hreproof. First-class fireproof. 4 stories. 3 stories. 3 stories. 24 class rooms. 20 class rooms. 28 class rooms. 2 playrooms. 2 play rooms. Hoys' gymnasium. Auditorium. JJoys' Kyirinasium. Girls' Kymnasium. 3 teachers' rooms. Girls' gymnasium. Swimming pool. Nurse's room. JJoys' shower room. Boys' locker and shower. Girls' shower room. Girls' locker and shower. 2 teachers' roonis. Dispensary and reception. Medical inspection and rest Sun room for open air classes. Warniing and locker room for room. Kindergarten work and store- open air classes. rooms. ■i teacliers' rooms. Domestic science. Manual training. 2 kitchens. Filter room. TeaclKiis' lunch room . Pupils' lunch room. Housekeeping suite: Living room. Bed room. Dining room. Kitchen. Laundry. Elevator for open air. Modernization of Old Buildings. Probably no other city in America faces so serious a problem as does Boston in the task of modernizing its old school buildings. The city has very many very old schools. At the present time the permanent buildings in use are some 263 in number. Fifty-nine schools, or nearly one quarter of all, are more than 50 years old. One hundred and twenty-six buildings, or practically half of them, are more than 30 years old. The dates of erection are presented in Table 9. When old buildings are used for school purposes a consistent policy for modernization, annual expendi- tures of generous size, and unremittingly intelligent effort are essential, if the welfare of the children is to be safeguarded. Stairs must be straightened and fire- proofed, new provisions made for adequate lighting, fire escapes installed, furnace rooms protected, toilet arrangements replaced, floors renewed, old plaster black- boards replaced by slate, and scores of minor matters looked after. Boston has spent much money on this work, but vastly more needs to be done. Many unnecessary fire and panic hazards remain in the schools. The School- 206 City Document No. 87. house Department states in its report for 1914 that it is firmly of the opinion that there is httle danger from fire for the children in the schools of Boston. The com- mittee is firmly of the opinion that there are no adequate grounds for the complacent optimism of the depart- ment in this matter. Most of the schools are of non- fireproof construction. Many are without fire escapes. Crooked wooden stairs abound. Many basements are not fireproofed. TABLE 9. — Date of Erection of Boston Schoolhouses Now in Use. v„„_ Number of v~„. Number of Year. Buildings. Year. Buildings. 1800 1 1877 2 1823 . 1 1879 1 1824 . 2 1880 6 1838 . 1 1882 3 1840 . 1 1883 2 1842 . 1 1884 5 1843 . 1 1885 2 1845 . 2 1886 2 1846 . 1 1887 3 1847 . 6 1889 2 1848 . 1 1890 1 1849 . 3 1891 4 1850 . 2 1892 9 1851 . 1 1893 4 1852 . 3 1894 2 1855 . 4 1895 11 1856 . 6 1896 9 1857 . 5 1897 6 1858 . 1 1898 5 1859 . 3 1899 4 1860 . 1 1900 3 1861 . 5 1901 11 1862 . 3 1902 1 1863 . 1 1903 3 1864 . 2 1904 8 1865 . 1 1905 9 1866 . 1 1906 2 1867 . 4 1907 5 1868 . 4 1909 3 1869 . 4 1910 5 1870 . 8 1911 7 1871 . 6 1912 5 1872 . 4 1913 6 1873 . 2 1914 5 1874 . 7 1915 1 1875 . 3 1876 . 3 Total . . . .263 Report on Boston Public Schools. 207 On the educational side much needs to be done in order to make the schools conform to modern standards. Many of the rooms are equipped with old plaster black- boards placed at such heights that the smaller children cannot easily write on them. They should be replaced by slate boards properly located. Platforms for the teacher's desk and chair are still retained in Boston, although long ago banished in other progressive cities. In many cases lighting could be greatly improved by carefully planned alterations. During the past few years expenditures for repairs and replacements on old buildings have cost from a third of a million to more than a half of a million dollars each year. Nevertheless, conditions in the old build- ings do not compare at all favorably with those found in other progressive cities, and the committee is unable to state that the Schoolhouse Department has at present any well formulated, continuing policy for the progres- sive modernization of old buildings. The annual reports of the department tell of work done each year. Inspections of the buildings themselves show so much that imperatively needs doing that the observer who is conversant with accomplishments in other cities cannot be greatly impressed by contemplat- ing what has already been accomplished in the old build- ings of Boston. A request made of the Schoolhouse Commission that they make a statement regarding their policy in the matter of modernizing old buildings was met by a refusal to give any information at all on the subject.* Reports on Work Accomplished. The Schoolhouse Department publishes a report annually for the year ending February 1. This report tells of the w^ork done during the year in erecting new buildings and in making repairs on old ones. It also presents data for the entire school plant showing the number of buildings in use and such facts concerning them as the date of erection, number of rooms, cost, etc. After a careful study of the most recent reports, the committee has found it i,mpossible to secure from them adequate and accurate information concerning the work and expenditure of the department. In the earlier years of the existence of the Schoolhouse Commission the annual reports contained several noteworthy contribu- tions on such important subjects as lighting, heating, * See page 4. 208 City Document No. 87. ventilating, standards of construction, etc. The most recent reports do not contain material of this sort nor do they account in any adequate wa^ for funds expended or results achieved. The Schoolhouse Department purchases sites for buildings without the educational authorities having control over the choice of locations, but makes no published report as to the extent and nature of the real estate transactions. Each year the department describes new work under way by districts, but when the schools are finished they are given names differing from the district names and the data on cost appear in the annually published tables under these new headings. This practice makes it impossible to check the reports of work from year to year without securing the assistance of someone intimately conversant with the two sets of information. Data on costs are published in tables in each report, but these are so inaccurate that in many instances items of cost on the same building are at one figure in one place in the report and at another in another place. For example, in the current report for 1915 the cost per cubic foot of the William Lloyd Garrison school appears as 27 cents in the descriptive schedule of buildings, and as 24 cents in the table of costs. Similarly, the figure for the Samuel Adams School is 23 cents in one place and 22 cents in the other. For the John Cheverus School the total cost is given as both $102,706.35 and $102,076.35. For the same building the cubiture is given in one place as 535,474 and as 535,458 in another. When asked to produce information directly from its original accounts in order to show precisely what the costs really were, the commission refused to do so.* For several years the Schoolhouse Department has been publishing figures purporting to show that it has been supplying Boston with schoolhouse accommoda- tions at a most reasonable rate. The annual reports indicated that the Boston buildings cost less per class room and less per pupil than the schools of other large cities. The committee finds that these apparently favorable showings have been produced by the methods used in presenting the figures and that they are not in accord with the true conditions. Three factors have been largely responsible for making the Boston schoolhouses look cheap in the annual reports. * See page 4. Report on Boston Public Schools. 209 In the first place, the figures purporting to give the total cost of the buildings have not included the very large expenditures for plans, specifications and inspection. In the second place, the Schoolhouse Department has omitted from its statement of the cost of each building any item for administrative expense for its own support. This item is a heavy one. In the third place, the depart- ment has been building very small schoolrooms, which has kept down the cost per room, and has allotted to them large numbers of pupils, which has kept down the cost per pupil. The rooms have measured 29 by 23 feet, and 15 square feet of floor area have been allotted to each pupil. The point here made is not that these standards are undesirable, but that they do not furnish a ^jalid basis for comparing costs with other cities build- ing larger" rooms and allotting more square feet per pupil. After taking into consideration all these conditions, the committee arrived at the conclusion that the building costs stated by the Schoolhouse Department must be increased by 10 per cent to arrive at the true cost of the building plus the plans, specifications, inspection and service by the Schoolhouse Department. The cost per pupil as figured by the department must be increased by 20 per cent to make it comparable with the figures used in other cities which allow 18 square feet per child instead of 15 square feet in computing per capita costs. These two factors in combination make a total of 32 per cent which must be added to the official Boston figures in order to arrive at a cost statement comparable with that for other cities. It seems probable to the committee that an accurate cost accounting would show that the figure for expense of the department, properly chargeable against each new building, is in reality even larger than has been indicated. It has been impossible to avoid some estimating on this point for the department has been charging the salaries of the commissioners and clerks against repairs and replacements and not against the accounts for new buildings. This seems to be true also of a large share of the rest of the administrative expense of the office. When asked to furnish data on the expense of plans, specifications and inspection for certain specified build- ings, the commission refused to give any information in the matter.* The committee is unanimously of the opinion that its * See page 4. 210 City Document No. 87. estimates of the actual costs of the Boston school build- ings should not be considered too high until all the facts in the case have been secured through a thorough audit of the books of the Schoolliouse Department. The Schoolhouse Commission not a Civic or Educational Necessity. The committee is convinced that the estabhshment of the Schoolhouse Department, administered by the independent Schoolhouse Commission, has not made for economy, efficiency, or for the best interests of public education. It appears that the establishment of the commission was due to the belief that the interests of education would be safeguarded by taking away from the School Committee the duty and responsibility of purchasing sites and erecting buildings. It was felt that these matters, involving the expenditure of great sums of money, would better be placed in other hands, thus leaving the School Committee free to deal exclu- sively with purely educational problems. This decision overlooked the fundamental truth that the locating, planning and constructing of school buildings are educational problems fully as truly as they are financial, architectural and engineering problems. Here as elsewhere in the administering of public educa- tion experience has demonstrated that every educational problem is a financial one and every financial problem is an educational one. In other cities throughout the country experience is amply demonstrating that the educational authorities, whose business it is to provide for the training of all the children, are the ones who learn to know most accurately and certainly just where school buildings should be erected, which locations are most desirable, what types of buildings are needed, and how many and what kinds of accommodations they should provide. The duty of providing these accommodations must be delegated, but the results can never be satisfactory^ if the department to which the delegation is made is independent of the educational department. The cities which are receiving the best educational returns on their expenditures for school buildings are those cities which have well-planned architectural divisions as regular parts of their permanent organizations. A small city, or one which is not increasing rapidly in population, Report on Boston Public Schools. 211 may find it desirable and economical to arrange for the construction of buildings through securing the services of a private firm of architects of proved ability in schoolhouse construction. On the other hand, experience demonstrates that in municipalities where many new school buildings must be erected from year to year, the best results are obtained through an arrangement by which the educational authorities directly control the provision for increasing the educational accommodations. 212 City Document No. 87. CHAPTER IX.— SUBSIDIARY MATTERS. Referring now to the outline of inquiry, 1, 2, 6 and 8 and parts of 3 and 5 have received detailed treatment in the preceding- chapters. No. 7 has already received such full and adequate treatment by the Finance Com- mission that the committee desires merely to indorse the findings of the commission in the matter of paying city employees by cheques, and to say that they know of no large city, except Boston, in which city employees are paid by a plan so time-wasting as the one which the Finance Commission has disapproved. 3. (rt.) The Proper A^umher of Pupils to a Teacher. — No absolute rule can be laid down upon this subject. Reference to chapter VII., Tables 9 and 10, * demon- strates the fact that in the Boston schools, both high and elementary, the quota of pupils per teacher averages higher than in representative cities of its population class. Only three in the table, Cleveland, Jersey City and St. Louis, have larger classes in their elementary schools, and only one, San Francisco, in high schools. In this list of twenty-one cities Boston's rank with respect to the number of pupils per teacher in elementary schools is 18; in high schools its rank is 20. In School Document No. 12, 1915, page 19, a com- putation made on a different basis shows that in Boston elementary schools the average number of pupils per teacher has dropped from 51.5 in 1899 to 42.9 in 1915; while during the same period the average number of pupils per teacher in high and Latin schools has risen from 28.4 to 31. 2. According to the Rules and Regulations the standard class in elementary grades numbers 44. Many cities have actually reduced the number below this standard, and the tendency the country over is toward a smallet number of children per teacher than Boston's present rules suggest. It must be remembered that in the tables to which reference has been made, special classes ranging from 15 to 30 pupils each, of which Boston has a considerable number, are counted with the regular * Pages 171 and 173. Report on Boston Public Schools. 213 classes in arriving at the average number of pupils per teacher. On September 30, 1915, according to a statement prepared in the office of the Superintendent, there were 709 classes out of a total of 2,070 in the elementary schools, exclusive of kindergartens, in which there were more than 44 children. In 102 classes there were from 50 to 54 children; in 20 classes there were from 55 to 59 children, and in 44 classes there were more than 60 children. Under present rules a special assistant may be ap- pointed in Grade I when the number of pupils exceeds 50, in Grades II to VIII when the number exceeds 60. Even if we assume that all classes above 60 were provided with a special assistant and that those ranging from 50 to 59 were of Grade I and were provided with special assistants, a fact which the table does not dis- close, there must have been 543 classes in which the number of children was in excess of the regular quota. In other words, one class of every four was too large, even when measured by Boston's over-large standard. Further effort should be made to keep classes down at least to the number prescribed in the rules. 3. (6.) The Lengthening of the School Year. — This question requires further study and experimentation before a valid answer can be given. Newark, New Jersey, is the only city in the United States that main- tains the all-year school, and this only in three build- ings. The results are said to justify the continuance of the plan. In the opinion of the committee there can be no question of the desirability of summer schools, both high and elementary, for pupils who need to review and also for those who wish to gain special promotion. This is equivalent to lengthening the school year for pupils who desire to avail themselves of the opportu- nities offered. 4. The Elimination of Extra Pay to Teachers for Service in Vacation Schools and Other Offices with Extra Pay for Persons Employed on Annual Salaries. — In so far as this question applies to regular teachers who also serve in the vacation schools, it is obvious that since but comparatively few teachers are required in the vacation schools, those who thus serve should receive more compensation than is allowed those who teach only from September 1 to June 30. Whether this extra compensation is included in the annual salary 214 City Document No. 87. contract or in a separate contract seems immaterial. The regular salary schedule is understood to call for ten months of actual service, ^vllether the salary is paid in ten installments or in twelve. If the salary schedule were liberal enough to cover work in the vacation school as well as that done in~ regular term time, there could be no objection to an interpretation which would require twelve nionths' work, but on that inter- pretation none should be excused. To require sununer work of some and not of others who receive the same salary would obviously amount to unjust discrimination. To regard as "extra pay" the compensation given to some teachers for services which other teachers on the same Siilary schedule are not required to perform can hardly be reconciled with the actual facts. 5. The Adrisahility of Reducing the Common School Course to Seven Years. — The committee recommends the adoption of the six-three-three plan under which the elementary school course would be reduced to six 3'ears. See Chapter III, page 36. Report on Boston Public Schools. 215 APJ»ENJ)1X. Methods of Computing Expenditures for School Purposes Per Pupil in Average Daily Attendance. As is stated in the body of the report, most of the data used in the comparative study are from the reports of the United States Commissioner of Education. Other sources of information have been referred to in foot- notes to tables and, in some instances, in the text. Mention has been made in the text of possible hmita- tions of the availah)le data, and the effect of inaccuracies and of variations in classification upon the comparative statistics has been considered. In order to make the figures for the different cities comparable, expenditures for school purposes have been stated in terms of population, of wealth and of school attendance. It seems unnecessary to discuss further the methods employed in computing expenditure per inhabi- tant and per $1,000 of wealth. The method of com- puting expenditure per pupil in average daily attendance, the ratio employed in most of the comparative tables, will be considered in the following paragraphs. It is not easy to secure from the Commissioner's reports figures which are strictly comparable and which at the same time constitute a complete record of the different school systems. In the present study the principal comparisons have been based on expenditures made by the different cities for schools of every type. The per capitas based on average daily attendance have been obtained, however, by dividing expenditure for all schools by the number of pupils attending kinder- gartens, elementary schools and high schools. This basis of computing per capitas is, in theory, imperfect. Its imperfection arises in part from the omission from the divisor of figures relative to attendance in evening and special schools, and in part from failure 216 City Document No. 87. to take into account variations in the proportion of secondary school ])iipils in tlio ditTcrent cities. In tlie reporls of the United States Commissioner of Education for 1911 and 1912 complete and separate classilications of expenditures were ji;iven fo^: elemen- tary schools and for secondary schools, for evening; schools and for day schools. The only com]ilete classi- fication appearing- in the 1914 report relates to expendi- tures for all school purposes. There are tables dealing se]")arately with ex]ienditure for elementary schools and exp(Muli(ure for secondary schools, hut these do not include figures showing expenses of administration and supervision. Altliough the statistics of the most recent report are nominally less complete than the statistics for 1911 and for 1912, an examination of the earlier re])orts shows that comjilete information regarding all departn\ents of school work was secured for but a relatively small number of cities; hence the reduction in the scope of the presentation is not as much of a loss as might be thought. Sat isfactory information as to average attendance in special schools is not available. As the figures showing expenditure which have been used in the comparisons include expenses for schools of all types, while the num- bers representing ]nipils in average daily attendance, used as divisors in computing ratios, do not include ])U[)ils attending special schools or evening schools, it is clear that all the per ca])itas obtained will be scunewhat larger than the ]hm- capitas that would have been obtained if all childiHMi had been considered, or if expenditure for jHipils in special schools and evening schools had been excluded. What is more important, the relationship between the figures for the difTerent cities is afTected by variations in the })roporlion of special school and even- ing school pupils in these cities. It has been seen, however, that separate data relative to expenditure for kindergartens, secondary schools and elementary schools and data relative to attendance in s]HH'ial schools are not available. JNloreover, per capitas obtained by dividing expenditure for all schools by the total number of children, including those in special and evening schools, might be less significant than the per cajntas (hat have been used. The possible effects of including special and evening Report on Boston Public Schools. 217 school pupils in tlio divisors used in computing per capitas irvay be illustrated by (';()nij)utati()ns based on the hypothetical figures of the following table: Pui'ii.H IN AvmuACiw Daily Attkndancio in EXPMNDITOUIO. CiTV. KindorKiirtons, lOloiiientiirv Scliools and Iligli Schools. EvoniiiK and Special Schools. All Solioola. I'-or All Solioola. Pwii Capita Based on I'Ul'ILB IN AVBHAQB Daily Attiondancd in KiiidorKartons, lOlonicntaiy Schools and High Schools. All SchoolB. A 1,700 1,900 300 100 2,000 2,000 $50,000 50,000 $29 41 20 32 $25 00 B 25 00 Cities A and B spend $50,000 each for all schools and the total number of children in average daily attendance in each city is 2, ()()(); hence the per capita expenditure, based on the total number of children, is $25 for (^ach city. Bid, in City A only 1,700 of the 2,000 children are in kindergartens, elementary and high schools, as compared with 1,900 in City B. If, employing the method which has been followed in computing the ratios used in tlu^ })res(5nt study, the total ex])en(liture of each city is dividcul by the nunibei- of pupils in regular schools, the^ resulting per capitas are $29.41 for City A and $2()'.32 for City B. Both of these per capitas are higher than the other })or (^a])itas mentioned. Moreover, the figures for A and for B diifei- rather widely, and, as the total expenditure and the total number of children are the same for both cities, it might seem that the ratios were less valid than those derived from expenditure for all schools and total attendance. It is a mistake, however, to assume that the ratios based on total expense and all children in attendance are valid and comparable figures. The point cannot be too strongly emphasized that if the per capita (ixi)endi- ture for rc^gular schools had been identical in ('ities A and B, and if the per capita expenditure for evening and special schools had likewise been identical, the aggregate expenditure for all schools, and the per capita based on all children and aggregate expenditure, would 218 City Document No. 87. not have been the same for the two cities. A day's attendance in evening school is not by any means equivalent to a day's attendance in elementary school — the session is shorter and the necessary outlay is, there- fore, less. While data relative to the work of special schools are not available, it is probable that per capita expenditures exceed those for elementary schools, but the number of pupils in special schools is, in general, only a small fraction of the number in evening schools. Hence it is probable that the per capitas for evening and special schools combined are much lower than those for regular schools. Returning to the illustration: If in both cities the per capita expenditure for regular day schools was $25.50 and the per capita for special and evening schools $15.50, the aggregate expenditure of City B would be $50,000, the figure appearing in the table, but the aggregate expenditure of City A would be $48,000. The per capi- tas based on all children and expenditure for all schools would be $25 for- City B and $24 for City A. It is clear that, even had the number of pupils in special and evening schools been included in the divisors, the ratios obtained would not have been strictly comparable. The foregoing figures are presented, not to prove the perfection of the methods of computing ratios employed in the present study, for this they do not do, but as an illustration of the difficulties encountered in seeking to compare the expense statistics of different cities. The difficulties that have been mentioned are not of a sort seriously to affect the results of the comparisons made in the text. It is to be noted that failure to take into account in computing ratios pupils attending special and evening schools tends to raise the per capitas for all cities — it does not raise the per capita for one city and lower that for another. For this reason and, as the pro- portion of special and evening school pupils and the proportion of the total expense devoted to their instruc- tion is, in all cities, relatively small, it seems certain that the position of Boston in the group of cities is not greatly influenced by the limitations of the statis- tical classification. Another factor which affects the comparability of the ratios is the variation in the proportion of pupils in secondary schools in the different cities. In all cities the per capita expenditure is higher for secondary school education than for elementary school education. Hence Report on Boston Public Schools. 219 the fact tiuit a given city has a relatively high per capita expenditure for all school ])iir})()ses may mean merely that the proportion of secon(hiry school pu])ils in that city is exceptionally large. As has been stated, separate data as to the expenditure of elementary schools and of secondary schools for all school purposes, including general control, are not available. It would be easy to magnify the importance of the factor just mentioned, for the effect of the varying proportion of secondary school pupils is modified by considerations similar to those which modify the effects of the limitations of classification considered above. All the cities compared have at least some secondary school pupils; hence the presence of these pupils affects all ratios in the same direction — all the per capitas are raised by the presence of secondary schools and none is lowered. Moreover, the proportion of secondary school pu])ils is, in most cities, relatively small and this fact limits the possible effect of variations. %. '<.. -> LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ( 022 117 955 9