| Author | Message | ||
     extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 654 Registered: 6-2001 |
With a little prompting from "Steve" I finally got around to scanning the pictures out of "The American School Board Journal" (1926) detailing the new schools in Maplewood and South Orange. I didn't want to shrink the pictures down so here they are in full size: Elementary Schools This is the first mention I've ever seen of the "Teachers' Club" where apparently teachers could rent an affordable apartment in Maplewood or South Orange. Anyone have a clue where this building is/was? Here is the text, and please pardon my rampant typos... New Grade School Buildings of South ORange and Maplewood, NJ James O. Betelle of the Firm Guilbert and Betelle, Architects. The Village of South Orange and the Township of Maplewood New Jersey are two seperate municipalities. They are entirely independent of each other, but the direction of thier educational affairs is vested in a single board of education. In this respect the situation is rather unique, but it has worked out to the advantage of all parties concerned. This board of education is composed of nine trustees, elected to office for terms of three years, three members elected each year. The board elects its own officers and is organized for work in committees of three as follows: Teachers, Buildings, Finance, Course of Study, Sites; and a committe of one on the Teachers' Club. By having the chairman of the Sites Committee a member of Building Committee and the chairman of the Building Committee a member of the Sites Committee, the two communities are enabled to cooperate intelligently and without undue loss of time. A study of the needs of the district in the matter of sites for new buildings was made two years ago and plots of land of generous size were purchased in locations so distributed that no home in the district will be more than one half mile from a school site. It has been the policy of the board to acquire the sites as soon as the probable need has been made manifest, and they now have sites which will practically provide for the needs of the district for a period of twenty years. The two communities are typical American suburban villages with a very high type of citizenship. Most of the heads of the households are New York business men who commute daily to their offices in New York. The first school that was erected was the Marshall School. A great difficultly was encoutered in the purchase of the site and still greater obstabcles had to be overcome for authority to erect the building. This was due to a misunderstanding on the part of the citizens as to the type of building the board of education had in mind. The Marshall School is located in a very restricted and high class residential section and the neighbors had the idea that it was proposed to erect a square box of a building, which would be a detriment to the neighborhood. They only consented to the erection of the school after numerous meetings and after receiveing the assurance of the board of education that the school would be of a quality and type that would be in character with the homes which surround it. This first building was so successful, and the citizens were so well pleased with it, that three other buildings were erected directly thereafter without opposition and with entire confidence that the new buidlings would be a credit to the communities in which they were located. The photographs of these buildings, accompanying this article, show that the confidence of the citizens was not misplaced. South Orange and Maplewood are fast growing communities, and the school population has doubled within the last eight years, and will probably double again in the next ten years. With this fast increase in mind Mr. Henry W. Foster, the superintendent of schools, advocated the reorganization of the school sinto a junior high school system of six-three-three organization. This requires three different types of buildings: the first to contain the kindergarten children and those of the first six grades; the second to contain the seventh, eigth, and ninth year pupils and to be known as the junior high school; the third to contain the tenth, eleventh and twelfth year student and to be known as the senior high school. The four grade schools erected first and here illustrated, were to house the kindergarten and the first six grades, and when the entire scheme is carried out there will be three junior high schools in different parts of the community, two of which are in operation in existing buildings, and the third yet to be built. As a climax to the school building program, the plans for a large senior high school are now being prepared and the building will be completed at a cost of $1,000,000 and will be ready for occupancy September, 1927. While the present buildings contain approximately fourteen rooms and a kindergarten, besides and assembly hall and a gymnasium, they are designed with a view of an ultimate capacity of twenty or more rooms as may be found neccessary as the community grows. The board of education not only erected attractive buildings but started right in the first place by purchasing sites of large size, most of them around five acres. After obtaining ample sites and erecting fine buildings they employed well known landscape architects to develop the grounds and install shrubs, trees and plants, so that school grounds are as attractive, if not more so, than the grounds of the homes which surround them. In addition to these new types of buildings and their ample grounds, South Orange and Maplewood have given unusual attention to the personnel of their teaching force, striving not only to get the best teachers obtainable, but after they have been employed to look out for their comfort and welfare. They have not only furnished these up-to-date school buildings, in which they may teach, but have also provided and maintained a Teachers' Club building, where the teachers may secure both room and board at a reasonable expense. The Teachers' Club has proven to be one of the most useful and successful features of the school district. | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 11950 Registered: 5-2001 |
John, the pictures marked Jefferson aren't Jefferson. Maybe Marshal? First off there never were gas lights in MW and Jefferson is located below Ridgewood Road. Possibly the school titled "school" is Jefferson. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 7 Registered: 4-2006 |
That's me, the prompter  Thanks for the great scans! If the NYPL ever finds their "lost" copies I'll be able to get to them first-hand myself. | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 819 Registered: 3-2002 |
The first one marked Jefferson IS Jefferson (it says Jefferson School, etched into the concrete above the front door). I thought maybe one of the buildings was South Mtn, but it doesn't look like it. | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 11959 Registered: 5-2001 |
Suzanne, you are correct. However, the second picture labled Jefferson isn't the same building. The entrance, among other things, is different. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2006 |
"Jefferson2.gif" is Marshall. ASBJ mis-labeled the photo (I think it's too late for them to print a correction ;) ). Sadly for me, South Mountain wasn't featured in those articles (SM was built in 1928, a number of years after these). | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 9 Registered: 4-2006 |
For those curious, I've posted a number of photos I took at a recent visit to South Mountain. It's in pretty good shape, original detail wise, I would say. http://www.dalahus.com/south_mountain/south_mountain.html | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 820 Registered: 3-2002 |
no pictures of the classroom fireplaces? <g> | ||
| ffof Citizen Username: Ffof Post Number: 4777 Registered: 5-2001  |
I think the one marked "school" is Clinton. It's not Jeff. | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 657 Registered: 6-2001 |
Steve- Great pictures, but I don't think it looks to be in very good shape! Was the oak trim always painted when you went there? I hope they haven't done that to the other schools. Over the front door, one of the leaded glass panels was replaced with plain glass. A small leaded glass panel like that can be made for less than $100. We had some large ones in our house re-made and they were only $75 each. Thats just serious laziness not having that fixed properly. How old are those auditorium curtains? Wow they are ugly. Tuscan had some JUST like that when I was there in the 80's and they were old then. In the gym/auditorium hall way picture... That yellow bumped out wall section with the track lighting would have been installed when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. The district decided every elementary school and middle school should have an art gallery. The built these bumped out sections and installed track lighting. Framed prints were rotated between the schools on what was supposed to be a three-month basis. They changed the first time... they it took a while for the second change... and then they never moved again. Looks like the art is gone, the wall was painted yellow and they are using it for something else. They should just take it back out if they aren't using it any more. They were very intrusive at Tuscan and really shrunk the hallways. What a waste of money. Can you imagine they framed out all those bumped out sections, drywalled, and had a union electrician install that lighting... so we can cut out stars and tape them to it now? Thats a shame. Compare the cost of that exercise with having the leaded glass panel replaced when it broke. Always money for pet projects, never a dime for maintence. Looks like SMS also lost its original exterior lamps around the front doors. They should be big heavy copper lanterns, not those little colonial Rickel's lookin' things. The interior light looks period though, just inside the foyer. And the auditorium, curtains aside, looks great. CHS lost its chandeliers, its nice to see SMS still has theirs. Many of the schools don't have the copper downspouts any more either. They are partially copper, but have been replaced with all sorts of different materials. CHS still has the copper funnels on top (with various logos, dates, or initials in them) but the pipes are cast iron replacements, mostly. I think I need to make a field trip... -John | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 10 Registered: 4-2006 |
Well, "good shape" is relative, I think. Considering the abuse these schools gets, I was surprised (i've seen some *real* wrecks in my day). Still, it was a shame to see so much wood painted over, and small details like the leaded glass. I don't recall if we had the original lanterns back in the day-- this is why I need to find old photos! The bumped-out wall was a weird feature I noticed, they did seem odd. Thanks for explaining their purpose. The "Auditorium" stenciling on the balcony door was the *only* original one I saw. I could be wrong, but the hideous curtain might be the same one I had in 1978! The projection room is now storage, and the little projector windows still have the old rope sliders, but they've been unused for decades. If it was up to me I would restore that projection booth and show movies on the weekends. It would be fun for all, and generate some revenue for the school. I agree that money gets spent, in retrospect, on foolish things. But I know how these things work; it's all political. Every administration wants to leave their "mark", and things like art walls and such are exactly the kind of boondoggles that make them happy. No one wants to be steward for preservation, and I think the lack of clear historical information on the schools and Betelle is clear indication of that. I'm going back to South Mountain to hopefully crawl around some un-seen corners (perhaps the roof...), and dig through their 2-3 binders of old photos. My cursory glance of them was mostly just class photos, unfortunately. No one thinks to record images of the buildings themselves. Suzanne - One classroom on the first floor had a fireplace, but of course now is inoperative and covered with kiddie art. As school was in session during my visit, I avoided taking pictures where children were present (lest someone think I was a terrorist/pervert). Steve | ||
| mjc Citizen Username: Mjc Post Number: 1210 Registered: 10-2004 |
extuscan - Art prints were still rotating through Marshall when my kids were there, early/mid 1990s. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 11 Registered: 4-2006 |
I transcribed the following article from "American School Board Journal", January 1928, pg. 52. John will be posting the scans from it in the next day or two. There isn't much technical detail (it was after all an article geared towards educators, not architects), but it does give the flavor and mindset of the times. The "Building Number of the Journal for January, 1926" referred to is the article on the grade schools, which John has already transcribed and scanned photos from. I think he's going back to scan the floor plans from that article as well. ----- COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL, SOUTH ORANGE AND MAPLEWOOD, N.J. Designed by Messrs. Guilbert & Betelle, Architects, Newark, N.J. It may be recalled that in the special Building Number of the Journal for January, 1926, several of the new grade schools in South Orange and Maplewood were illustrated in connection with an article describing the community and the local point-of-view and objectives in the school-building program. With the grade school situation taken care of temporarily, attention has been given to a senior-high school building, which is located in the geographical and population center of the two communities. This school, known as the Columbia high school, is now completed and occupied, and is illustrated in this issue. As indicated in the plans, this building contains practically every desirable feature that should be included in a fine modern high school. The standard classrooms are supplemented by rooms for special subjects. The shops and other special rooms are liberal in size for their purpose, and it has been found that, as a rule, these special rooms are crowded when all the furniture is installed. The auditorium, in the center of the building, seats 1300 persons, and incorporated in the large stage is a handsome pipe organ. The boys and girls have been treated equally so far as gymnasiums accommodations are concerned, each having a full-size gymnasium, with permanent concrete bleachers, across one side. Between the two gymnasiums has been located a tile-lined swimming pool, with a spectators' gallery above and around it. The tank proper is 25 feet wide and 75 feet long. Between the swimming pool and the gymnasiums are the boys' and girls' locker rooms, so they serve both the gymnasium and swimming pool at the same time. The materials used throughout the building have been selected with care, and with a view to being substantial yet simple, and suitable for the hard usage to which a school building is subjected. The exterior of the building is in the Gothic collegiate style, of red brick with bluestone trim and a variegated slate roof. The building is fireproof throughout. On top of the central entrance tower has been built an astronomical observatory to accommodate a telescope which has been presented to the school. Directly beneath the observatory is a classroom or conference room, to be used in connection therewith. As it is anticipated that this observatory will be used by some of the study clubs of the community, an elevator has been run from the vestibule of the main entrance tower to the roof, to avoid the tiresome climbing of stairs. The building has been located on a large plot of ground, which includes a girls' athletic field in the rear. The boys have a large athletic and football field in another part of town. Special consideration has been given to the parking facilities on the property, and a very large area, paved with concrete, has been provided for this purpose. The parking of automobiles around the school is becoming more and more of a problem, not only during the day sessions, but more particularly during entertainments given in the auditorium in the evening. This parking space has been brilliantly illuminated and will be policed when the number of parking automobiles makes it advisable. The building has a maximum pupil capacity of 1630 pupils. It contains 2,860,00 cubic feet, and cost $1,500,00 exclusive of land and equipment. | ||
| kathy Citizen Username: Kathy Post Number: 1313 Registered: 5-2001 |
The one marked "school" is definitely Jefferson, as is "Jefferson1". "Jefferson2" is Marshall. I wonder where they were planning to put a third junior high school? | ||
| crabby Citizen Username: Crabbyappleton Post Number: 706 Registered: 1-2004 |
holy cow kathy!! I could not recognize it as Jefferson without all the ivy and trees that flank the front now. from Steve W's post "The building has a maximum pupil capacity of 1630 pupils." That is incredible!!! It now has 2000 pupils but there have been 3 additions put on since then. | ||
| crabby Citizen Username: Crabbyappleton Post Number: 707 Registered: 1-2004 |
jefferson now  | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 659 Registered: 6-2001 |
Steve mentioned I would be posting the images out of the American School Board Journal issue (which Steve was able to find on microfilm only). Supposively, the UNH Library here in New Hampshire had the originals. I drove about 50 miles there, and found that their idea of "bound periodicals" is a pile of old magazine and lots of tape. Oh, and the January issue was missing. Probably fell off. So... no pictures. But I still wanted them, and have for a year atleast so... lots of libraries have this on microfilm, but only UNH and Dartmouth had the original. So I called Dartmouth, they told me it was in storage adn since I wasn't a student I had to make my request in person. In Hanover NH. 100 miles away. So what the heck... they close at 2 am who cares. So I go up to Dartmouth to make my request, and there were no "real librarians" there. Apparently you had to make the request to an actual librarian, which this library did not have. So then another 100 miles home. 250 miles... for naught! It was a nice ride though. I did manage to get four books at UNH with stuff in them, and I will PDF them at work tommorrow.. but I tell ya 250 miles I coudl have gone to NJ. In fact, I think I want to. I'll be calling you tommorrow Steve regarding that... I got an itch. -John | ||
| Bob K Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 11973 Registered: 5-2001 |
Crabby, nice picture. As respects CHS their have been additions built since the article was written. I belive back in the height of the babyboom their were way over 2000 students their. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 12 Registered: 4-2006 |
John, you have redefined "persistence" | ||
| Psychomom Citizen Username: Psychomom Post Number: 256 Registered: 5-2005 |
Bob K The additions to CHS known as B and D wings were built during the time I attended (graduated 1971). My graduating class had at least 500 maybe more yeah, there probably were more than 2000 students there. That was the idea for creating 4 houses within the school so that students could remain a "person" and not a number in a sea of faces. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 14 Registered: 4-2006 |
My brother and sister before me were in the "houses", but by the time I came up (class of '85), the house system was abolished. Probably because we were in a low point of school attendance (this is when lots of elementary schools were closed due to low enrollment. Now they're back to overcrowding). See the other "Even More School info" thread for pix from my recent trip back to CHS | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 25 Registered: 4-2006 |
Kathy - The third junior high was tentatively slated for the HIlton area; It was eventually deemed unnecessary, thus making South Mountain the last of the original slate of schools to be built. | ||
| Frederick Schmid Citizen Username: Carlfrederick Post Number: 80 Registered: 3-2006 |
Thanks Steve. When you had mentioned the third Jr. High, I also wondered where. Hilton makes sense. When I think about it, the folks back in the 20s and 30s did a great job planning for the school system. We owe them a thanks. They put down a good foundation for our community. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 26 Registered: 4-2006 |
It really was an unprecedented plan. I'm reading Henry W. Foster's history of the district, which is fascinating reading. The district mapped out strategic locations for each of seven grade school, plus the two junior highs and high school. Marshall, completed in 1922, was the first built and was something of a test case, because the residents in the area protested that a school would drive down property value and be an eyesore: "The people were satisfied and that removed all opposition to the erection of such a school in any other neighborhood in the District.", wrote Foster. They also planned for the future; the schools were situated on large plots of land to accommodate expansion. That those additions are a mixed success, architecturally, is another matter. By 1927, all the buildings were completed (save South Mountain). Try THAT in a modern school district. | ||
| kathy Citizen Username: Kathy Post Number: 1316 Registered: 5-2001 |
Hilton does make sense for a third junior high school. Before the neighborhood schools were built, there were first schools in the three "villages" within the township: South Orange, Jefferson and Hilton. The original schools in SO and Jefferson became junior highs (the Jefferson/Maplewood one still is, much added-on to). I guess that Hilton never got large enough to need its own junior high. In fact, at the beginning of the 1980's when several elementary schools were closed, the district very nearly closed Seth Boyden--it was down to one Kindergarten class of 17 students! After the three "village" schools, the next to be built was Fielding, which was not a neighborhood school like Marshall but rather one centrally located in the district so as to take the overflow from the other three. Steve, Foster's book about the school district is one of my favorites. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 27 Registered: 4-2006 |
Yeah, the MJH expansion (nicely done by Betelle), engulfed the original Ricalton school. I wish I knew all this history when I was a student there (of course, being a 13 year old, I probably wouldn't have cared). I've seen about 4-5 copies of the Foster book in my various research locales (CHS archives, SO/M libraries), I was happy to finally buy my own copy online last week, from a used book seller. My copy is curious; the back cover is detached, and part of the spine cover is loose, revealing the substructure, which reads "HOBART COLLEGE BULLETIN". I guess they used leftover printed material to make the books spine! | ||
| Frederick Schmid Citizen Username: Carlfrederick Post Number: 81 Registered: 3-2006 |
When they say South Mountain Annex -- what do they mean? What do they use Montrose school for now? | ||
| kathy Citizen Username: Kathy Post Number: 1317 Registered: 5-2001 |
South Mountain Annex is what was once called Newstead School. It was closed in the 1980's and reopened in the 1990's. To save money, it was made an annex of South Mountain School so that they could share a principal. They also share a sending district, with grades K-1 going to the annex and 2-5 to South Mountain. Montrose, like Newstead, was rented out for a number of years. Most recently it has been used for the alternative high school. At one point there was a proposal to make it a Marshall Annex, similar to Newstead/South Mountain, but the County Superintendent did not approve the plan because (supposedly) Marshall and Montrose were too far apart. (I doubt that they are as far apart as South Mountain and Newstead.) In the modern economics of school systems, a school the size of Newstead or Montrose is too small to warrant the cost of its own principal, secretary, librarian, nurse, etc. This is why when the student population grew from its lows in the early 80's, the school system found it to be cheaper in the long run to add on to the schools that were still open rather than reopen some of the smaller old ones that had been closed. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 28 Registered: 4-2006 |
...and we can see from this why Montrose in particular is so shamelessly neglected. I mean, at least fix the frikkin lanterns. They're ORIGINAL, for pete's sake! (some pictures I took last week here: http://www.dalahus.com/chs/chs.html). I would even prefer it be turned into condos, if it meant restoring the exterior. Kathy, you sure are full of great SOMEA info; are/were you involved with the district? | ||
| Frederick Schmid Citizen Username: Carlfrederick Post Number: 82 Registered: 3-2006 |
What is happening to projected enrollments for the schools in the district? | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 669 Registered: 6-2001 |
If its "the" Kathy I believe we met in the library once? -John | ||
| bella Citizen Username: Bella Post Number: 602 Registered: 7-2001  |
Kathy, In what year was Seth Boyden down to 17 students in the kindergarten? I remember very distinctly the buttons we wore on our coats urging the MSO school district not to close Seth Boyden. I was in kindergarten (79-80), but it was still an AM/PM set up and there were most definately more than 17 students. I really can't remember the classes surrounding mine being that small either. -bella | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 844 Registered: 3-2002 |
Actually, Kathy, since the Annex IS a separate building, with a student population of about 175, it DOES have its own secretary and nurse. However, other staff such as the librarian, PE/music/art teachers, as well as the principal, are shared with the Upper School (grades 2-5) building. A population that size does not require a FTE for art/music/PE. The nurse, YES... but the others, no. (NOTE: this is based on personal opinion/observation) --Suzanne Ng, Librarian - South Mtn & Annex | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 670 Registered: 6-2001 |
Having never even seen it... the annex... why does it exist, how big is it? -John | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 29 Registered: 4-2006 |
John the Annex is pictured here: http://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/southmtannex.htm I remember the Newstead school as being one story; so it looks like that rear portion is a later addition. | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 845 Registered: 3-2002 |
That "higher" portion is not in the rear of the building. The photo is taken almost at a side angle. The higher portion is actually the gymnasium/cafetorium, which is along the right side of the building (as you face it). I think the entire building is original, i.e. no addtions, just some interior renovations, such as a former classroom being converted into the library. There are 8 classroom size spaces, a gym with a stage,, few smaller office/small group spaces, as well as the principal's office, main office and health office. The 2 Kindergarten classrooms face Glenview Road (in the shaded part of the picture above, to the right of the image). The first grade rooms (4 of them) are on the left of the picture. The windows you see are all office/teachers room, etc. There is a classroom , not visible in the photo, on the far right... depending on enrollment numbers it is either a K or grade 1 room, although some years, it goes back to being the multipurpose room, and in those years, is used as a music & art room. The 8th "classroom sized" space, is a former Kindergarten room (from what I've been told) with an alcove, that used to the be library. There is a folding wall between the alcove space and the main space, but the entire space is now used as the library. I cannot imagine having a library in the original space. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 30 Registered: 4-2006 |
"Cafetorium", great word! Marshall has (had?) a combo Auditorium and Gym...I wonder if that would make it a "Audinasium"? Thanks for the clarifications, Suzanne. I never really knew much about Newstead; my only contact was driving by it to go to friend's houses up there. | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 847 Registered: 3-2002 |
I didn't create the term, however, I've heard it used to describe the space. It is a gymnasium, with a stage at one end... no seating like an auditorium, but folding chairs are often brought in for the grownups for presentations, performances, etc. and the kids usually sit on the floor, (for presentations, etc) . There are folding cafeteria tables that are put in place in half the space, converting the room into a cafeteria. | ||
| Frederick Schmid Citizen Username: Carlfrederick Post Number: 84 Registered: 3-2006 |
How many class rooms does South Mountain School have now? | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 848 Registered: 3-2002 |
The building on S O Avenue which houses grades 2-5: Classrooms used as homerooms -- 17 this past school year. The library / computer lab was created out of 3 classrooms The art room & music room are now located in the new addition... The current music room was used as a classroom a few years back. There are 1 or 2 classrooms used by the Resource Room teachers. I'm guessing... 20 or so? | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 31 Registered: 4-2006 |
Do the classrooms still have the cloak rooms? | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 849 Registered: 3-2002 |
Steve - Most of the original rooms do. | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 32 Registered: 4-2006 |
Good to know, I have nice memories if hiding/playing back in those rooms. A 1970 School Board Survey by Englehardt and Englehardt (yes, I really am digging into this stuff ) recommended, "Regular classrooms are chopped up by coat closets. If the closets were removed, there would be far more instructional space. Some pairs of rooms could also be opened up together. Doors to classrooms might be rehung and coats stored adjacent to them in recesses." It sounds like at least the library was opened up to an adjacent room. Speaking of the library, you might find this part interesting Suzanne: "The Library is far too small for a school of this size. The staff has considered using 1A and the multipurpose room for a new resource center. This is a good idea. However, utilization of rooms 5, 6 and 6A would also permit a large library with a more central location in the building. Multipurpose space should be created again if the first alternative is chosen. The present library can be converted back to classroom use." | ||
| kathy Citizen Username: Kathy Post Number: 1319 Registered: 5-2001 |
The elementary schools that I attended that were built in the 1950's had "cafetoriums" (cafeteria with a stage on one end) plus gymnasiums--except that when I was in sixth grade, the gym was divided into classrooms and PE classes (when not outside) were also in the cafetorium, with the table-and-benches combos folded up. Music classes were conducted on the stage. (And art in the classrooms--no place for specialized classes.) Bella, I could well be wrong about the size of Seth Boyden's smallest Kindergarten class--I read that many years ago, don't remember where, or maybe just heard it from someone, but I can't vouch for its accuracy. So I retract the statement. Still, SB did get quite small as the population in that part of town aged. Steve, I lived in South Orange for my children's entire public school career and was very active in the PTA's and HSA's at all levels. I was also active in the South Orange Historical and Preservation Society. Once I was taking a tour of the interior of the Old Stone House, whose last active use was as Board of Education headquarters, and I found on the floor some old copies of annual reports from the late 1970's to 1980 or so (the BOE moved out in 1981, I think). Maybe a copy of that Englehardt and Englehardt study as well. Not sure what has become of them since I moved a couple of years ago. But I still find it all interesting. Suzanne, I do realize that some specials are required in any building and some depend on the number of students. Years ago it required a big effort at Marshall to get a full-time school nurse--the size of the student population was said not to require it (although it was well over 175). Nowadays I'm sure that a full-time nurse is considered necessary for any building. John, What library do you think we met in? If Maplewood, probably not. If CHS, maybe. | ||
| Frederick Schmid Citizen Username: Carlfrederick Post Number: 85 Registered: 3-2006 |
When was Seth Boyden School built? | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 33 Registered: 4-2006 |
Seth Boyden was built in 1913. Betelle did an addition on it in 1924 or so. Kathy- thanks for the mini bio I had a chance to go through the board records at Fielding a few weeks ago, they are very well kept. I didn't have time to really dig through them, but there is great info in there. | ||
| Frederick Schmid Citizen Username: Carlfrederick Post Number: 86 Registered: 3-2006 |
Thanks Steve | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 851 Registered: 3-2002 |
Which library/school are you referring to, Steve? Is this in the 1970 Englehardt study , referring to South Mtn, or the Annex? Based on the room numbers you mention, I think this is the "big" school. I'd have to check the floor plan, but I think that the former library was in the lower level.. My room numbers now cover rooms 105, 105A, and maybe 107. Kathy, every other year or so, we fight to have a full time nurse at the Annex. Having a FT nurse is vital, especially since the principal's time is split between the 2 buildings. Imagine a medical emergency (especially with all those peanut allergies!), with no nurse or principal in the building! (personal opinion only. not official statements) | ||
| Steve Weintraub Citizen Username: Stevew Post Number: 34 Registered: 4-2006 |
Suzanne - Yes, that part is also from the 1970 study. When you say "check the floorplan", what kind are we talking about? A contemporary drawing or an original architectural one? I dug up a reprinted original floorplan (see here: /discus/messages/3517/121394.html?1151640534 ). It's missing the 1st floor unfortunately. If you have something like this, please let me know! | ||
| Suzanne Ng Citizen Username: Suzanneng Post Number: 853 Registered: 3-2002 |
No, we've got the current floor plan at school... fire exits & exit routes marked, etc. I likely won't be at school again until Thursday so it will have to wait until then. If I find it , however, I will not be able to post it online, due to DHS suggestions . (they suggest not placing bus routes, school floor plans, etc, online) |
