For "Children Who Vary from the Normal Type": Special Education in Boston, 1838-1930

9. Programs for Children with Other Disabilities or Special Needs, 1908-1930

9 PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN WITH OTHER DISABILITIES OR SPECIAL NEEDS, 1908-1930 The first two decades of the twentieth century were times of dramatic change in the Boston public school system. Between 1900 and 1920 that system, like most large urban American school systems, underwent the reorganization oftop-level administration and the creation ofa multitude of new departments and bureaus. In addition, a fundamental shift in the general curriculum toward vocational preparation of a large portion of the public school population took place, as did an extensive attempt to identify those students who required some form of specialized program. This last group ofchanges is particularly relevant to a discussion ofspecial education history in the city. The earlier efforts in specialized education programsspecial and ungraded classes, disciplinary programs, and the Horace Mann School for the Deaf-were joined during the early 1900s by several more, all ofwhich commenced officially between 1908 and 1913. One of these programs, that of rapid advancement classes for a small number of pupils deemed superior, arose largely from concerns expressed about the graded system ofclassification. The others-instruction for children with serious health problems, conservation-of-eyesight classes for students with serious vision impairment, and speech improvement classes treating a variety ofspeech problems-resulted from the growing desire of public school officials to address any specific characteristic seen as negatively affecting but not necessarily proscribing a child's presence in the classroom. By 1930 these special education programs had combined with the earlier ones to form a sizable and significant effort to serve all Boston 147 148 SpecializedEducation Programs public school children whose educational needs transcended the ability of the regular classroom to respond effectively. Rapid Advancement Classes For decades Boston school officials discussed the impact that the graded system had on students, not only on those less capable but also on those with "superior minds." In 1898 the Boston Latin School offered an accelerated program for a few of its pupils, and some students in other Boston high schools participated in a limited "enrichment studies" program. The Latin School program proved short-lived, however, as Superintendent Edwin Seaver argued that an accelerated program hurried students through school too quickly. Then, in April of 1912, the board of superintendents suggested investigating once again the idea of "classes for the definite purpose ofaccelerating the progress ofable pupils, and if so in what schools." The board also requested information on any organized plan to allow students to complete the elementary course of study in less than the prescribed eight years. Two months later the BSC reported it had found no general system or method for such acceleration.1 However, with its desire to differentiate among school children growing and its assumed responsibility to educate students as quickly and efficiently as possible, the BSC pressed ahead with plans to organize such a program. In June 1913 the committee requested the superintendent "to establish fast moving classes wherever he finds it expedient." The new superintendent , Franklin Dyer, responded by authorizing two such classes in the Oliver Wendell Holmes district, effective on September 10, 1913. At this time the classes were officially named "rapid advancement" classes. A school in the Lewis district actually had acted sooner, however, organizing the first such class in January of that year. The Holmes district had also formed a class before official authorization to do so, this one in March. These classes were regarded as experiments. Some educators favored the idea, while others admitted to "some slight fears ... because of the immaturity and the possible effect on the health ofsome of the children."2 "Rapid advancement" succinctly described the classes' concept: they offered substantially the same curriculum as the regular grades but covered it in a shorter period of time. Generally, rapid advancement students com- Children with Other Disabilities 149 pIeted the work of the highest three elementary grades in rwo years. The first rapid advancement class entolled thirty students, half from the fifth grade, halffrom the sixth. Another class admitted students from the fourth and fifth grades with the intention of having them finish grammar school a year sooner. Students were drawn from the middle or upper elementary grades and were apparently selected on the basis ofprevious academic performance and teacher recommendation. As with special classes, the exact nature of student selection was never specified in school reports or documents .3 ' Educators had originally feared that overwork might affect the pupils ' mental and...