Malden High School - Maldonian Yearbook (Malden, MA)

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At school the situation was much the same. The Malden Schools entered what looked like a prolonged period of adjustment to the post 2Vfe world — making the most of what we had. There was some sense of optimism but it was always mixed with doubt. The sports program seemed more secure. A few more clubs began to organize themselves. Substitutes were back. The social scene actually improved a bit as class officers and advisors sought more imaginative ways of funding their programs or devised activities that did not need funding. The adjustment had another side. Teachers worked without a contract. Earlier in the year the mint of a pay raise had buoyed some optimism but by mid December the hundred percent reevaluation of the city was still incomplete and the union grew restive. Unaccountably classes seemed even more overcrowded than they were last year. Supplies were not always available especially in the physical education and art departments. The basketball team would serve to illustrate. The addition of freshman teams competing for gym space and strictures on overtime for custodians resulted in the varsity team practicing at 5:30 in the morning. Clearly the school was undergoing a realignment of priorities. Jobs, programs procedures, organizations all were being adjusted to bring them into line with the new reality of living with 2 V 2 . No one planned it. No one announced it was going to happen. At first a few and then more and more people figured out what was going on. It was clear change was taking place. It was not clear what the results would be. The process created its own anxieties. Small classes, elective programs, printed sports schedules, teachers and guidance counselors who really knew you — there was about the year the sense that some good things were gone perhaps forever. Adapting 7

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- 1 j V j 1. Senior Christine Rooney poses for a picture for her I.D. card, which were issued to all students in an effort to maintain order but ended up becoming a hassle in themselves. 2. Dances and other social events were often well planned but poorly attended as was the case with the Sophomore sponsored “Holiday Ho-Down. 3. Fred Mendelson entertains the crowd at a football game and displays the stylish new band uniforms which were a welcome addition to replace the old worn unifroms. 4. Raising enough money to provide buses for the athletic program was no longer a problem. The field hockey team prepares for an away game as they board the waiting bus. 4. An outside Evaluating Committee observed the high school for a three day period in early October. According to them, Malden High had been doing quite well given the financial situation due to Proposition 2‘ 2. mi: v 6 Adapting

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Putting in Working Order The ongoing crisis of Prop 2 1 2 devastated curricular activities more than any other aspect of life in the school community. The year was an exercise in putting the ruins of what had been a full program of student activities into some kind of working order. The process often showed a lot of imagination and enthusiasm. The junior class Craft Fair in late November was perhaps the most imaginative solution to recent funding problems. The production of a Senior Play had not been very regular in recent history. The problem and solution were in many ways typical. Over the years a model had been developed of “how to run a Senior Play.” Then the supporting structure of morale, liberal funding, and teachers with free time, fell apart. The answer was to put an experienced drama person, John O’Brien, in charge and do it. The process avoided all the stock high school diversions: meetings, co-chairman, committees, votes, petitions to overturn the votes, and still more meetings. We have learned that the standard fare of two dances a year, a Junior Varieties and a Prom is not an adequate answer to the needs of a new Post 2 1 2 generation. In the process we have become a lot more creative. We have learned to adjust. Students enjoy the junior class’ Halloween dance, one of the major social events of the year. Dances, however, didn’t make a good social calendar. 8 Student Life