School social work in Hartford, Connecticut: correcting the historical record

Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, June, 2002 by James G. McCullagh

This paper corrects the historical record on why and how school social work began in Hartford and who was instrumental in establishing the new service. The findings, based on a study of primary sources, revealed that a school principal, and not a psychologist as previously claimed, initiated the process that led the Hartford Charity Organization Society to appoint its Visitor, Winifred Singleton Bivin, a social caseworker, to also become the first social worker in the schools in January 1907. The social work profession, which owes its origin to the Charity Organization Movement, is also obligated to the Hartford Charity Organization Society for its cooperative work with the schools, which led to the inception and subsequent development of school social work by the schools and, in 1909, the appointment of Miss Sara Holbrook who subsequently became a national leader in the development of the fledgling profession.

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This paper corrects the historical record on why and how school social work began in Hartford and who was instrumental in establishing the new service. The inception and early development of social work in a Hartford school, primarily based on an examination of primary source documents, is presented. The prevailing view, as reflected in the historical record or professional literature, is critically analyzed. Finally, the methodological and substantive implications for the profession are discussed.

School Social Work in Hartford: Inception and Early Development

The decision to seek professional "help and advice" occurred in the fall, 1906, when the principal of the Second North School, Arthur Derrin Call (1907), contacted the Superintendent of the Hartford Charity Organization Society regarding a thirteen year old child, Nellie K., who "had been in the first grade for seven years and still she could not read a complete sentence" (Bivin, 1907, p. 1242). Call had observed a number of "extremely backward children" and believed "that the trouble in most cases was of a physical nature possibly needing medical treatment (1907, p. 12). It was Nellie, however, that "especially attracted [his] attention" that led to his request to contact the Society.

Winifred Singleton Bivin, a student at the Hartford School of Religious Pedagogy and the official visitor of the Hartford Charity Organization Society (1906, 1907), was sent to "investigate and assist" the Second North School (Call, 1907, p. 12) and began her work with Nellie (Bivin, 1907). After contacts with the home and parents, a visit to a specialist (who diagnosed "large adenoid growths"), and a subsequent operation, Nellie demonstrated dramatic improvement in hearing, weight gain, and improvement in school work (Bivin, 1907, p. 1242). Call's (1907) enthusiastic reaction, as he noted Nellie's remarkable improvements "was an incentive to the study of a large number of dull and backward children" (Bivin, p. 1243).

Four teachers, who were requested to refer children "they considered dull," resulted in a referral of 32 boys and girls, from 9 to 14 years of age (Bivin, 1907, p. 1243). After tests and observations, it was determined that "eighty-four percent had defects of sight, defects of hearings, enlarged tonsils, adenoid growths or nervous disorders of a sufficiently serious nature to definitely hinder progress in school" (p. 1243). Seeking medical attention, the next step, involved home visits to secure parental cooperation and to assess the financial condition of the home, and to offer assistance to parents on behalf of their other children (Bivin, 1907). The assistance that was offered focused on obtaining needed medical attention and prevention of illness.

By May 21, 1907, "eighty children were examined by the visitor [Mrs. Bivin], of whom eighty-two percent were found to need medical treatment" and were treated by specialists (Bivin, 1907, p. 1244). The work included home visits; school, physician, and hospital contacts; medical treatment; examination of children for defective vision, throat diseases, and nervous disorders by specialists; surgical operations; provision of glasses; and commitment of two children (Call, 1907).

Call (1907), at the end of the school year, acknowledged the debt the Second North School owed to the Society and particularly to Mrs. Bivin. The Hartford Charity Organization Society (1907), in its annual report, quoted almost all of Call's report on "Abnormal Children" and the work of Mrs. Bivin. The Society then concluded this portion of its report:

   The excellent results of this work in the Second North School has led to a
   demand for a similar effort in other schools, and we greatly regret that
   the pressure of other work has made it impossible, for the present, to
   extend the service. In the Second North School, however, the importance of
   the work is so fully recognized that a special visitor is being employed at
   the expense of the school to work along these lines under the supervision
   of this Society. (p. 8)

The following school year, 1907-1908, work with "abnormal children" was continued by three women: Miss Carrie A. Gauthier, visitor for the Charity Organization Society (1907); Miss Mary E. Hutchinson, listed as "special visitor; and Miss Mary Fisher (Call, 1908). Call (1908) again addressed his concern that "physical abnormalities among the children" explains much of the delay in children who did not advance from grade to grade (p. 12). By June 1, 1908, over 500 families had been visited, and over 1000 calls had been made to the COS, Dispensary, doctors, the Hospital, and children in the school (Call, 1908). Almost 350 children "have been reported for medical treatment, 42 operations have been performed, 47 children have been specially treated otherwise, and 15 children have been furnished with glasses" (Call, 1908, p. 12). The focus continued to be on the physical and medical needs of the children.