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To begin our history of schools in the county in this twentieth century, let us look at the schools in the river communities, organized earlier than the township schools and the more isolated rural communities. We will begin with Aliquippa.

The present Aliquippa School District, originally the Woodlawn School District, was organized on June 7, 1909. The borough of Woodlawn was incorporated from Hopewell Township in 1908, its population drawn to the area by the establishment of the Aliquippa Works of Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation along the Ohio River.

According to historian Ivagean Ferry, from whose "Brief History of Education in Aliquippa" much of the information in this account has been taken, two districts had been in operation in the area - the Logstown Independent District and the Aliquippa School District. In 1928, Aliquippa was re-named West Aliquippa when it consolidated with the town of Woodlawn, the larger borough, which at that time took the Indian name of Aliquippa."

The Woodlawn District in 1909 elected its first Board of School Directors: H. J. Johns, president; John T. Bell, secretary; W. G. Cochran (a non-member), treasurer; and members, C. H. Dinsmore, G. Walter Prosser, G. W. Gray, and J. H. Robb.

The challenge to the district, headed by Calvin Springer, was finding classrooms for its 225 pupils. They were housed in the Woodlawn Academy, the old Logstown School, and a room in the Dinsmore house on Hopewell Avenue. The ten-room Highland School was the first neighborhood school erected. In 1911, the eight-room Logstown School was constructed. Woodlawn High School, a twostory building of twelve rooms, opened in 1913. Laughlin School was built in 1917; Jones School was erected in 1919. By that time the student population was 2,000.

The first high school students of Woodlawn had been housed in elementary schools or sent to Beaver for senior classes and graduation. In 1913, the first senior class was graduated from the Logstown Building: Lehman Howard, Elvira Davis, Carol Howard, Eleanor Calhoun, Edwin Davis, and Ruth Scott. The first class to be graduated from Woodlawn High School was the class of 1914: Dewitt Baker, Rose Eberlie, Helen McGaughy, Alda Johnson, Ruth Stevenson, Orie Cochran, and Joseph Cochran.

In 1921, Woodlawn withdrew from Beaver County supervision and became an independent district, headed by Superintendent 0. H. Locke.

Less than ten years after the construction of Woodlawn High School, a new high school was erected on a hilltop overlooking Franklin Avenue. With its 34 classrooms, laboratories, and offices, the high school was completed in 1925. A second building phase followed: the construction of a gymnasium-auditorium and the first part of a vocational shop on the hill above the school. Named Harding High School, in 1930 it was re-named the Aliquippa High School. A twostory wing was added to the high school in 1929.

In 1925, the borough annexed New Sheffield from Hopewell Township. The ten-room New Sheffield School was constructed in 1931. At the other end of the town, the McDonald School was built in 1940.

One of Aliquippa's most innovative and successful administrators was H. R. Vanderslice, who became superintendent of the schools on May 6, 1926. Mrs. Ferry writes that he believed "the basic philosophy that life and education are inseparable; that school life should be vitalized by tying it directly to the things people see and do outside of school." Based on John Dewey's philosophy, progressive education characterized the Aliquippa elementary schools.

For the secondary grades, Mr. Vanderslice encouraged "purposeful activities of a recreational and aesthetic nature ... that would cultivate talents and social skills for better living." A high school band was organized under A. D. Davenport in 1926. In 1928, Director Davenport composed the music and Clifford J. Smith, a high school teacher, wrote the words of "Wave Red and Black," which became Aliquippa's almamater. In 1930, Joseph Marchetti created a four-year art course. An outstanding teacher, he was awarded the Silver Award of the Eastern Arts Association.

The school population had grown to 6,600 students by 1929. Because the district could not provide new schools immediately, in 1928, all-year-round school was the district's answer to the problem. As Mrs. Ferry explains, the all-year round plan "set up four quarters of twelve weeks each ... The distribution of enrollment was made so that three-fourths of the children were in school and one-fourth on vacation each quarter."

When Superintendent Vanderslice resigned in 1937, Lytle M. Wilson was chosen to succeed him in a post he held until 1955. Named assistant superintendent was Archibald D. Dungan. Robert Crawford became the high school principal and Dr. C. Earl Shank, the Franklin junior High School principal. Elementary principals included Mrs. Elizabeth S. Lesquin, Leotta Caldwell, Herbert E. Scott, and Mrs. Elvira K. McDonald. Mrs. Olive Tschippert became curriculum coordinator for the elementary grades.

Named school psychologist in 1949, Mrs. Lesquin held that position until June, 1958, when she resigned. In 1958, Dr. Anne K. Davies was appointed school psychologist and elementary supervisor.

Since enrollments were still increasing in the elementary grades, an addition was made to the New Sheffield building in 1954. In 1956, a junior high school was constructed with a capacity of 1,200. The principal of the school was Dr. C. Earl Shank.

Every school district has outstanding teachers; to list them all is impossible. However, when a community publicly honors its educators, the historian must take note. The Aliquippa Chamber of Commerce presented Man of the Year Awards to Lawrence Blaney in 1958, to Clifford J. Smith in 1963, and to Samuel Milanovich in 1964. Coach Carl Aschman was named Man of the Year in Sports in 1959. Mrs. Olive Tschippert was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Chamber in 1966. Roger Jones and Donald Adams were presented the Brotherhood Award in 1952 and 1965, respectively. Honored as Woman of the Year in 1965 by the Aliquippa Business and Professional Women's Club was Caroline Theil. Mrs. Charlotte M. Bacon was named Woman of the Year by the Aliquippa Branch, American Association of University Women in 1980. Mrs. Elizabeth Carver was elected to the Aliquippa Hall of Fame in 1980, honored for her organization of Play Day for county girls and for leadership in girls' sports.

With the sixties came serious challenges. Late in the decade, racial unrest led to upheavals in the junior and senior high schools and to the temporary closing of the schools in 1970. A comprehensive survey of the community and its schools was made. The district set up a study team of members of the National Education Association and the state and Pittsburgh chapters of the N.A.A.C.P., which met with the mayor's bi-racial Human Relations Committee to try to find solutions. Lawrence M. Maravich, elected superintendent in 1966, reported on policies being put into practice to promote equality of opportunity. It was found imperative to put the child first, not the curriculum. To desegregate the schools, Aliquippa changed its organizational structure and grouped classes into three units: for elementary school, K-4, for middle school, 5-8, for high school, 9-12. Buildings used were the high school, the former junior high school, which became a middle school, and the New Sheffield Elementary School. In 1987-1988 only the high school and the New Sheffield School were in use.

Rather unexpectedly, in the eighties came the collapse of the industry that had created and nourished the community. The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation met economic distress by making plant-wide lay-offs and at last by selling out to LTV. The schools suffered devastating effects. Unemployment continued for years, and many left the area. Student enrollments dropped through the decade. In October 1987, only 1,779 students were enrolled in a district that had once enlisted more than 6,000 students.

Across the river from Aliquippa, the present Ambridge Area School District was originally the Ambridge School District organized when the town of Ambridge was founded in 1904 at the beginning of a new industrial era. However, for some 77 years before the founding of Ambridge, the area had been distinguished by Old Economy, the settlement of the Harmony Society in 1825, when it moved from Indiana back to Pennsylvania. A schoolroom was always in use in Old Economy and attendance was free to all children, not only the children of members of the Society. By 1912, the children of Harmony Township were schooled in other districts.

The first school to be built in the Ambridge School District was the Economy Public School, a building of eight rooms. It became known as the Fourth Ward School. In the same year, 1904, the Second Ward School went up on Maplewood Avenue near Eighth Street. The First Ward School was erected in 1910, a tenroom building. Floyd Atwell was supervising principal of the Ambridge schools then.

The first Ambridge High School, on Park Road, was completed in 1914 and was occupied by senior and junior high school students until 1925. From 1925 to 1938, it was a senior high school. It became an elementary school from 1938 until 1972, when it was made into an administrative building.

Beginning in 1938, a junior high building on Duss Avenue near Ninth Street was enlarged to provide a junior-senior high school complex.

Anthony Wayne School, constructed in 1928, was used for both Ambridge and Harmony students until 1932. This jointure received authorization from Harrisburg. Elementary students from Ambridge and high school students from Harmony Township used the building. The jointure was dissolved when Harmony Township built its own school.

In the 1920's, Dr. Samuel Fausold was superintendent of the Ambridge schools. He initiated a new approach to learning - the contract system. Ambridge historian, the late Kathryn Ross, to whom we are indebted for her "History of the Ambridge Area School District," described the plan: It "provided a differential of materials to enable the student to be resourceful and to find his own way. Contracts with the materials divided into low, average, and high achievement levels were distributed ... The pupil worked to his own capacity." The plan presented a challenge to each child."

A proud acquisition of the Ambridge junior-Senior High School was the stadium, completed in 1942, one of the finest in the county. Built during the administration of Superintendent N. A. Smith, it reflects the outstanding athletic teams of Ambridge schools over years of its history. In 1942 the athletic director and coach was Maurice (Moe) Rubenstein, a famed name in Beaver County sports history.

Authorized by the General Assembly in 1958, classes for exceptional children were organized. A class of educable mentally-retarded met in the First Ward School. Classes for the handicapped were held in the junior high school. Postwar immigrants' children were put in special classes providing language instruction. In 1963 classes for socially and emotionally disturbed children were set up.

During the administration of Dr. Paul Vochko, the Ambridge schools merged with the neighboring communities of Economy, Baden, and Harmony Township. South Heights, across the river, was also included in the jointure mandated in 1971 by the Department of Education. Buildings added to the system were the Baden-Economy junior High School, the Economy Elementary School, the Phillips Street schools, the State Street School, Ridge Road School, South Heights School, and Highland School of Harmony Township. The latter was completely renovated in 1981. In 1975, the Fourth Ward building and Liberty and Harmony schools were razed. Also torn down were the First and Second Ward schools.

From 1967 to 1987, Dr. Paul Vochko served as the superintendent of the Ambridge Area schools. He became a teacher in the Ambridge schools in 1946. In 1960, he was named assistant high school principal, and two years later he became an administrative assistant. Named superintendent in 1967, he worked to establish the Ambridge Area schools as not only the largest district in the county but as one of the best. At his retirement, he received resolutions honoring his service from Ambridge, Economy, and Baden."

Named to the position of superintendent in August 1987, Dr. Joseph Dimperio now heads the Ambridge Area Schools. His previous experience covers years in Beaver County, the Pittsburgh School District, and Mt. Lebanon schools. Reappointed assistant superintendent in August 1987, was Dr. Paul R. Dinello, Jr.

Although there had been some schools and teachers earlier, the public school system in the borough of Beaver began in 1838 when two one-story buildings were constructed. In 1861, Beaver erected a red brick school on Market Street near historic Fort McIntosh. Originally an elementary school, it later included classes for the secondary grades. Additions to the Market Street School enabled the district to establish a high school in 1880, according to the historian of Beaver schools, Mary Campbell, from whom we have received most of the information appearing in this history." The class of 1884 was the first graduating class- a class of five girls: Annie R. Coleman, Ella Harton, Lizzie Scroggs, Mary E. Scroggs, and Lorene Singleton.

Soon after the founding of the county seat, an institution of learning had been authorized in Beaver by act of the State Legislature. Beaver Academy opened for boys in 1815. In 1844, the Female Seminary of Beaver Academy was opened. But the academy was closed in 1867, and in 1876 the Seminary, which had become coeducational, also closed. The sum of $1,800 received from the sale of the building and other funds of the institution were turned over to the public school district."

Entrance examinations were given annually to students wishing to enroll in the high school. The prospective student had to pass all the common "English branches." The high school offered two courses - the Classical and the English. The former included study of Latin, Greek, and German and prepared students for college. The latter required no foreign languages and prepared students for the business world or teaching."

Supervising principal of the Beaver schools and principal of the Beaver High School from 1898 to 1900 was C. S. Wheaton. Succeeding him for a year was Benjamin Evans. From 1901 to 1903, John W. Springer served as supervising principal, and from 1903 to 1908, J. Brad Craig had that office.

In 1908, Beaver became a third class district, no longer under the supervision of the county superintendent of schools. J. Brad Craig was elected superintendent in 1908 and served in that position until 1916. In 1920, John H. Eisenhaur was elected and served until 1923. David H. Stewart was superintendent from 1923 to 1936.

In 1908, the Lincoln Elementary School was built in the east end of Beaver, and in 1916, the Fort McIntosh School was built in the same square as the Market Street School. High school classes and some grade school classes met there. The class of 1926 was the last to graduate from "Fort Mac," as it was called.

In 1927, all high school classes were moved to the remodeled Beaver College building on College Avenue. Beaver College had moved to Jenkintown in 1925. The renovated building included a new auditorium and gymnasium, each with a seating capacity of approximately 1,000. The Beaver High School was dedicated on November 11, 1927.

Beaver Borough School District officially became the Beaver Area joint School District in 1952-1953 when it united with Borough Township, Bridgewater Borough, and Brighton Township to form one school district under the leadership of Dr. Chandler B. McMillan.

Principals of the district's schools in 1952-1953 were Charles S. Linn, high school; Edward C. Schaffer, junior high school; Blanche Cook, Fort McIntosh Elementary School; Clarence C. Blair, Lincoln Elementary School; J. Blair Simmons, Borough Township Elementary School; William A. Ketterer, Bridgewater Elementary School; and Mrs. Eleanor S. Ripper, Brighton Township Elementary School."

The earliest schools in Bridgewater had been one- or two-room frame buildings. Sharon School was located in the area of Sharon Road and Riverside Drive. It closed in 1916. A second school stood near the junction of the Beaver and Ohio rivers. A third structure, a building on Market Street, was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century and many years later converted into a municipal building and fire station. In 1915, an elementary school for grades 1-6 was built farther up Market Street.

Borough Township, after 1970 officially named Vanport Township, had a oneroom school at the corner of Washington and Jefferson Streets. A two-room school was located at the corner of Georgetown Lane and Ferry Street. A third school, constructed in 1914, housed all elementary grades. In the 1940's, two additions were built. The school was in use until 1977.

Brighton Township had five one-room and two two-room schools built throughout the township as the need arose. These schools - Richmond, Six Mile, Armstrong, Eakins, Stokes, and Barclay - were closed in 1950 when the Brighton Township Elementary School opened. Richmond School was restored in 1970 as a historical site and is open to the public on Sunday afternoons in the summer. The principal of Brighton Township Elementary School is William Lohr. In 1987 there were 531 pupils."

In 1940-1941, the Beaver School District built a football field on property along Gypsy Glen Road. Twenty years later, a high school building of 28 rooms with modern laboratories and offices, auditorium, gymnasium and cafeteria was constructed. In 1968, a swimming pool was added. This complex became the Beaver Area junior-Senior High School. The enrollment in 1987 was 1,240, an enrollment that included 212 students bused from Midland. Principal of the junior-senior high school is ' Domenic Ionta, and his assistants are Lawrence C. Korchnak and Victor Martinelli.

The former high school building was demolished in 1980, providing space for a play area for the College Square Elementary School, now the only elementary school in Beaver. Dr. Albert Camp is the principal of this school of 600 pupils. Mounted in front of the school is the 125-year-old bell from the old Market Street School.

Present administrators of the Beaver Area School District are Dr. John Haddad, superintendent, and Dr. Betty Sue Schaughency, assistant superintendent. Under their direction and guidance, a plan for quality education in Beaver Area schools has been developed and instituted cooperatively by administrators, faculty, local business and professional men and women, and parents. The goals of the system are the goals promoted by the state, stressing communication skills, self understanding, analytical thinking, and knowledge of history and science, as well as skills necessary for successful personal and family life."

The Beaver Falls school system expanded rapidly in the late nineteenth century, and school after school was constructed to accommodate the growing Student population. The two-room schoolhouse on Seventh Avenue, called the Little Red Schoolhouse and not demolished until 1928, was the first in the community. Others that were constructed before 1900 were the Eleventh Street School, the Seventeenth Street School, and the Fifth Street School. In 1888, the Eighth Avenue School was constructed. For their combined student enrollment of 1,887 scholars in 1900, the school district needed still more classrooms."

In 1877, Beaver Falls established a high school. By 1900, it was a four-year school. In 1910, the Beaver Falls School Board authorized the construction of a high school building. Opened in September 1911, the new school consisted of ten classrooms and a manual training department and gymnasium in the basement. A commercial department was also established. This remained the community's high school for twenty years."

Administrators during these years are listed by Neal Mathews in his "History of the Beaver Falls School System," the source of much of the information in this brief account. Serving as superintendents in the early years were C. J. Boak, Edward Maguire, Andrew Lester, C. C. Green. Floyd W. Atwell served from 1918 to 1935, and J. Roy Jackson, from 1935 to 1942.

High school principals were W. S. Hertzog, J. F. Bower, G. G. Starr, W. T. McCullough, E. R. Carson, J. A. M. Stewart, Miss Adda M. Elliott, William A. Ginsbigler, Thomas T. McCord, J. Roy Jackson, and J. Edward Smith.

Heading the elementary schools in 1931-1933 was Harold W. Traister, who continued in that office until 1940. Superintendent J. Roy Jackson had supervision of the elementary schools for the year 1940-1941. Then Francis E. Mitchell was elected elementary supervisor in 1941 and held that post until 1968.

Kindergartens had been discussed for many years, but conditions were not suitable to establish them until 1942. Dr. J. R. Miller, then superintendent, organized kindergartens in the Thirty-Third and the Eleventh Street Schools. By 1968, each elementary building or area had a kindergarten."

Overcrowding was still the greatest problem in the school system. During the superintendency of Dr. Lawrence D. Smith, 1948-1966, two more elementary schools were constructed. The junior high school became the Thirty-Seventh Street Elementary School in 1950. The Central Elementary School was built in 1954 on Ninth Avenue and Fifteenth Street. In 1959, the South Elementary School was constructed on Fourth Avenue.

A major undertaking was the construction of a new high school. The city was growing rapidly, so in 1929, the Board of Education approved plans for a newer and bigger structure on Eighth Avenue and Seventeenth Street. The high school, which opened in September 1931, had more than 24 classrooms, a gymnasium that could seat 1,596, a cafeteria, and a large library. This school plan was the pride of the city because of the size and excellence of its facilities.

In 1931, the boroughs of Beaver Falls and College Hill united to form a thirdclass city. The system added the College Hill junior High School and the ThirtyThird Street School to the district's buildings. College Hill had been organized as a school district in 1892, when it became an incorporated borough. A small building of two rooms located at Thirty-Third Street and Fourth Avenue had been enlarged several times. This building was the original elementary school for College Hill pupils. Students choosing to enter high school "commuted" to Beaver Falls during the first years of the twentieth century. A four-year high school existed in College Hill from 1909 until 1913, but closed in 1913, and the high school students returned to Beaver Falls.

The College Hill junior High School was headed by W. G. Lambert from 1923 to 1926 and by Dr. J. Edward Smith from 1926 to 1931. Succeeding principals were Francis E. Mitchell, C. H. Heckathorne, Howard S. Miller, and John A. Griffith, who served from 1942 to 1950 when the College Hill junior High School became the Thirty-Seventh Street Elementary School. From that date, junior high school pupils from the Hill attended the Beaver Falls junior High School.

The school district was further enlarged by a union with Eastvale Borough and White Township schools in 1958. The three districts formed a union district.

In 1956-1957, the City of Beaver Falls School District was headed by Superintendent Lawrence D. Smith and consisted of eight schools. J. Neal Mathews was principal of the high school. Arthur G. Mitchell served as principal of the junior high school. Elementary principal was Francis E. Mitchell, with six elementary schools under his supervision. The faculty numbered 165.

During the administration of Dr. J. Richard Fruth, in 1970 the Beaver Falls Area and Big Beaver Area School Districts united. The union of the two districts brought the boroughs of Big Beaver, Koppel, and new Galilee into the Beaver Falls Area School District. The resulting Big Beaver Falls Area School District covers 22.19 square miles and in 1970 had a pupil enrollment of 5,135.11

The elementary schools of Big Beaver Borough had been for many years oneroom schools. By the time of the merger with Beaver Falls, these country schools had closed: in 1943, Whan, Dam, Calhoun, Thompson, and Wallace Run; in 1947, Beatty, Homewood, and Hoytdale. In 1969-1970, Stanley C. Brobeck was supervising principal of the district with its three elementary schools - Big Beaver, Koppel, and New Galilee."

The administrative staff of the merged district was headed by Superintendent J. Richard Fruth and Stanley C. Brobeck, assistant superintendent. Other administrators included William A. Smith, curriculum coordinator; Charles Pietro, high school principal; Evan Nardone, high school assistant principal; Frank Jute, junior high school principal; Howard Miller, assistant junior high school principal; Ernest Sichi, elementary principal; Deane Sterrett, elementary principal; and Dr. Judy Jarrett, director of reading."

The philosophy of education in the unified district "is to utilize the subject areas and the extra-curricular activities in the various schools to help the child in all facets of his development. This enables him to contribute to the expansion and growth of a democratic society extending to all ethnic, social, educational, and economic levels of our country."

Following Dr. Fruth's retirement in 1975, William A. Smith served as acting superintendent until December of that year. Stanley C. Brobeck was then elected superintendent of the district and served until June 1980. He was succeeded by Dr. Eugene Artac, who served from July 1980 to January 1984. Ernest Sichi was acting superintendent from January to June 1984. In July 1984, the present superintendent of the Big Beaver Falls Area Schools was elected - Dr. jean Higgins.

The Freedom School District by the beginning of the twentieth century had a small but efficient educational system in operation. The combined population of Freedom with its Vicary and St. Clair districts as 1,783. The three areas had consolidated in 1896 to form the borough of Freedom. School enrollment in 1900 was 389. In 1903, a two-room frame schoolhouse at Fourth Avenue and Tenth Street was replaced by an eight-room brick building - the Central School Building. After serving three years as a high school, it became an elementary school in 1906. J. G. Hillman was principal of the two-year high school in 1900-1901. Twenty-four students were enrolled in the high school, but no graduation was held that year.

The historian of Freedom schools, Anna Lorne, notes that by 1911-1912 changes and growth had occurred. The school term was nine months. The administrative and teaching personnel included F. A. Barkley, supervising principal; Calvin C. Campbell, high school principal; William E. Weber and Ada L. Jackson, high school teachers. She also lists thirteen grade school teachers."

W. L. Miller succeeded Mr. Barkley in the office of supervising principal from 1922 to 1926. The next two supervising principals were C. D. McDonald, 19261939, and Ada Jackson, 1939-1951.

Freedom High School expanded both its curriculum and its extra-curricular programs during the early decades of the century. From 1908, the high school had a four-year program and offered both Classical and Scientific courses. In 1930, when the new high school building was constructed on the site of what had been the Academy and the old Presbyterian Church, three new departments were added: the physical education department, a home economics department, and an art department.

In Freedom, there were two rival literary societies - the Jeffersonian Literary Society and the Macbethian Literary Society, organized by the high school principal, Howard S. Kidd, in 1908. Programs were presented and contests were held. The literary societies helped to prepare students for participation in the Interscholastic and Forensic Contests, sponsered by Geneva College after 192 1. Music, added to the curriculum in 1912, also played a vital role in the high school.

School Board members during the period of the construction of the high school included John Lorne, president; Frank McBrier, vice president; Noble P. Kyser, treasurer; and Stanley Patterson. Miss Lorne adds that the "name of Dr. Walter Herriott should be included since he was a member of the board for many years and was president of the board at the time of his death shortly before the completion of the building.'

The position of supervising principal during the war years of 1941-1945 was held by Ada J. Jackson. Under her direction, the Freedom schools played a supportive role in the community. A Red Cross room was made available for knitting and preparation of surgical bandages. Items for recycling were collected by school children. Saving stamps and bonds were sold in the schools. Teachers were enlisted to register residents for sugar and other food stamps and to register men for the draft. At Miss Jackson's retirement in 1951, she was lauded for her long service in the Freedom schools. Her influence in Beaver County and in Freedom in particular will continue for many years.

Dr. J. Richard Fruth was named supervising principal of Freedom Borough Schools in 1951 and held that position for ten years. In those years, the Freedom School District was engaged in planning the merger of Freedom, Conway, and New Sewickley Township school districts. The Freedom-New Sewickley joint School Board Agreement was approved at a meeting on July 19, 1952.

New Sewickley Township was formed in 1801 out of Sewickley Township. Lying in the eastern part of the county, it is crossed by Brush Creek and Crow's Run. Big Knob, Beaver County's highest elevation, rises in New Sewickley Township. Since 1834, the township had provided schools for all areas of its population. Records in the county historian's office list them and their dates of closure: Knob, 1910; Pine Run, 1930; Crow's Run, 1930; Bonzo, 1936; Leibolt, 1941; Romigh, 1941; Teets, 1945; Mellon, 1947; and Brenner, Baker, Boggs, Major, Steele, Unionville, all closed in 1949. Some of these schools were replaced by the four-room Lincoln School. Because of overcrowding, students in grades seven and eight were enrolled in Freedom or Rochester junior High School. The final one-room schools were replaced by an eight-room school in Unionville.

By 1958, Conway Borough joined the Freedom Area joint Schools. A new junior-senior high school in New Sewickley Township near Freedom was under construction by 1959. Freedom Area junior-Senior High School opened in January 1960. Four years later a wing of eleven additional classrooms was constructed.

Conway Borough, incorporated in 1902, in that year had a two-room school which could not accommodate its student enrollment. A four-room building was erected in 1908. Principal of the school was Boyd H. Walters. The history of the district in the middle years of the century was one of attempts to provide for the overflow of students. Finally, property was purchased and construction of a junior high school began in 1937.

By 1963, the Freedom Area Schools' building program was, at least temporarily, completed. The Unionville Elementary School in New Sewickley Township was a structure of twelve rooms. The Lincoln Elementary School in Freedom had eight rooms. The Center Elementary School in Conway Borough was a twelve-room school. The junior-Senior High School in New Sewickley Township and Freedom Borough had 36 rooms.

Administratorsof Freedom Area Schools in 1963 were John B. Wahl, supervising principal; Charles M. Gongloff, junior-senior high school principal; assistant junior-senior high school principals, Thomas Skinner and John DeCaro; Robert J. Farls, elementary principal; and head teachers Lillie Acree, Eugene Cercone, Anna Lorne, Leah Renner, and Casper DePaolis.

Dr. J. Richard Fruth had resigned in 1961 to accept the position of assistant superintendent of the Beaver County schools. Besides furnishing strong leadership in the steps toward jointure, Dr. Fruth had established kindergartens in the Freedom schools.

Four buildings in the Freedom Area District have been closed in recent years: Lincoln School in 1968, Central Building in 1971, Liberty Building in 1982, and Unionville School Building in 1983. New school buildings in recent years are Big Knob School, constructed in 1968, and Conway School, built in 1979.

John Wahl became superintendent of the district in April 1971. Following his death in November of that year, Robert J. Cercone was elected superintendent of the Freedom Area School District, a position he still holds. He leads the district in its drive for better education. Recent high school principals include Donald Bradow, 1971-1977, and William Hewko, 1977 to the present. Present elementary principals are Casper DePaolis and Eugene Cercone.

Miss Lorne writes that the elementary school program is based on the selfcontained classroom. Art, music, and physical education are taught, however, by special teachers. Students are assigned heterogeneously to each classroom. A reading improvement program was begun in 1965 under Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Mrs. jean Brock was the first supervisor.

Another of the river towns was Midland. The history of Midland schools began with a meeting of the Neals Independent District in June 1907, according to Dr. Ralph H. Jewell, formerly superintendent of the Midland schools. Most of the information in this history of Midland Borough's schools has been gathered from Dr. Jewell's book, Some Facts about the Growth and Development of the Midland School System, published in 1954. The newly elected school board directors in 1907 were Robert B. McMasters, president; John J. Jarrett, Jr., secretary; E. J. Hamm, treasurer; T. A. Lawler; E. P. Brennon; and Mr. Buhot.

Actually, a school district was already functioning in the area. J. A. Neal, a coal operator and riverman, had donated land as early as 1865 for the establishment of a school. In the Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, statistics are listed for the Neals Independent School District in 1900. One "school" met for a seven-month term, instructed by a female teacher. Twenty-three students made up the school.

Five years later, in 1905, the purchase of lands by the Midland Steel Company along the Ohio River near the Ohio border led to the founding of a new community in the county. The borough of Midland was established in 1906. The school district was classified as a fourth-class district. In 1913, the name was officially changed from Neals Independent District to Midland Borough School District.

The first supervising principal was Frank C. Ketler, elected on June 18, 1913. Preceding him had been principals who had held brief terms - Arthur T. Meeder, G. Reeding, A. F. Clutton, and A. J. Nicely. Mr. Ketler was succeeded in 1917 by Chester Des Rochers and then by John Dorr. In 192 1, Mr. Ketler again served as supervising principal until 1928.

A two-story brick structure of four rooms at Seventh Street was completed by September, 1908. While the Neal School was under construction, pupils were housed in the J. E. Cook building on Midland Avenue. Just two and one half years after the trim and handsome Neal School had been dedicated, overcrowded classrooms again characterized the school system. In June 1913, four rooms were added to Neal School.

The Board purchased a lot at the corner of Midland Avenue and First Street, where a four-room school was constructed in 1914. In the spring of 1915, a second story with four rooms was added to the First Street Elementary School. "To add the finishing touch to the school building," Dr. Jewell writes, "Mr. Mathews, the architect, donated a steel flag pole and had it installed at the southeast corner of the building. The American flag has flown from it every school day since."

It was not until 1914 that a secondary school was organized in Midland in the Neal School. Six boys and three girls were graduated from high school in 1918. The high school was open on a tuition basis to students from neighboring communities as early as 1915.

As in other rapidly growing towns of the county, Midland's student population kept outgrowing the newly constructed classrooms. A third elementary school was planned, and by September 1917, the Fourth Street School was in use. In June and July of 1918, a contract was awarded for construction of an addition to the new building. The enlarged Fourth Street School became a combined elementary and high school.

After the construction of these three buildings, in 1921, a committee was appointed to study the possibilities of building a high school. It was not until February 23, 1924, that the Board approved the site of the high School. In March 1925, Mr. Eckles of New Castle was chosen as the architect to prepare designs for the building. Contracts were let and in April 1927, Lincoln High School was completed. A year later, the grounds around the high school were landscaped, making the school, according to Dr. Jewell, "one of the beauty spots in Midland. The front of the building faces Lincoln Park, which serves as a beautiful campus." But even the new high school did not solve the problem of housing all the students of Midland. In 1919, an addition to the high school more than doubled its capacity and provided space for shop classes.

The final building project was the construction of an athletic field and stadium. In July 1945, the Board purchased land at the eastern limits of Midland. The stadium was built, and the first football game was played on the new field on September 10, 1948.

Curriculum advancements had begun about the time of the first high school class. Home economics was offered to girls in the junior high classes in 1918. By 1922, manual training was provided for junior high boys. A regular physical education program was added to the curriculum in 1928.

In 1916, a night school program for adults was established. In 1949, a new Home Economics Department was installed in the high school. In 1953, a music forum and area for practice rooms, storage rooms, director's office, and cafeteria were constructed under the auditorium of the high school. Kindergarten classes had been privately organized and conducted for ten years before the kindergarten became an authorized program in the Midland Schools in September 1931.

The late twenties marked the beginning of a music program in the high school. Under the initial encouragement of Vance Shobert, a high school band had been organized. In 1931, the Board hired Lyle D. Hough, a certified music teacher, who directed the band in twice-weekly practices and in active participation in school events and community celebrations. Over the years, a number of instrumental music directors have worked in the Midland system. Through these years, D. Lloyd Deffenbaugh served as instructor of vocal music and as music supervisor.

During World War II, Midland was called upon to train adults for work in national defense industries. Welding classes were taught by Midland personnel in Beaver for the Curtis Wright Company.

Following the resignation of the supervising principal, Frank C. Ketler, the first superintendent of the Midland School District, Harry V. Herlinger, was hired. Herlinger served from 1928 to 1935. Walter S. Bazard served as superintendent from 1935 from December 1942.

In 1942, Dr. Ralph H. Jewell was elected to the office and served until 1965. He retired then to accept a position at Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. His sudden death in the summer of 1965 brought a deep sense of loss to Midland and the Beaver Valley. joining the Midland faculty in 1929, Dr. Jewell had been principal of the high school and from 1942, superintendent. He was recognized among his contemporaries as an authority on school management, and his friendly personality and his professional integrity were an inspiration to those privileged to serve with him.

Edgar E. Richards followed as superintendent of Midland schools from 1965 to 1967. Dr. Charles P. Henderson was elected in 1967-1968 and continued in office until 1984, when he retired. Dr. Henderson died in Florida in 1986, two years after his retirement. Elected in July, 1984, William Donley presently serves as superintendent of Midland schools.

High school principals have been Roy Wiley, F. W. Morrison, R. S. Boyles, W. S. Bazard, R. H. Jewell, Walter Peterson, David Snyder, W. P. Dershimer, William A. Walters, Henry Kuzma, Joel D. Carr, and Victor Martinetti.

Serving as grade school principals have been Irene Mullen, Nell Crawford, Josephine Mannix, Nancy Edmunds, Margaret McKeaver, Ellen Lafferty, Cora Andrews, and Margaret Hogan. Later elementary supervisors have been John E. Wilson, Robert Blinn, and Ronald P. Alberts.

Throughout the state, school districts were merging with other districts to satisfy state requirements for equality in schooling. Looking back twenty years, it seems strange that no one foresaw what might happen to the thriving but small industrial town of Midland, which remained a single educational unit and did not merge with any nearby township district.

At the beginning of the present decade when "the bottom fell out" of the steel industry in western Pennsylvania, the town's Crucible Steel Works closed, effecting a decline in school district revenues and a depressed community. In June 1986, Superintendent William Donley reported that the system's K-12 enrollment had "dwindled to a mere 456 students projected for the opening day of school" in the fall of 1986.

The last graduating class of Lincoln High School was the class of 1986, when 24 boys and 7 girls were given their diplomas in the gymnasium of the Administration Building in Midland. It was a proud, but sad occasion for the students, their parents, and the community. Commencement speaker Attorney Richard E. Davis took a more positive view. He told the class that commencement marks a beginning. He declared, "This graduating class, despite its size, still has the honor, the tradition of Midland High School behind it, and I'm sure they will carry this honor, this tradition, no matter where they go in their lives.

Beginning in August 1986, Midland students in grades seven through twelve traveled by bus to be educated in Beaver schools on a tuition basis. The Lincoln junior-Senior High School was closed and students in the elementary grades would be housed in either the Neal or Seventh Street schools.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Monaca, named Phillipsburg until 1892 when the name was changed to the shortened form of the Indian "Monacatootha," held its school in a four-room building erected on Pennsylvania Avenue in 1884. A four-room addition was completed in 1892. With the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie railroad lines running through the community and the Phoenix Glass Company operating there since 1882, the school population increased each year from 261 in 1894 to 735 in 1912. A two-year high school was established in 1896.

Following the term of W. W. Reno as high school principal, Frank W. Smith was appointed principal but resigned almost immediately because of ill health. D. C. Locke was then named high school principal. When two new teachers were added to the district, Mr. Locke was named supervising principal and held that position until 1908, when he became the superintendent of schools in Beaver County.

To relieve crowded conditions, the first floor of the Lay Building was rented in 1903. The new twelve-room Third Ward School was finished in 1906. In February 1906, the high school classes were moved into the Third Ward School. First class recognition of the high school came in 1910. With overcrowding a constant problem, a two-room portable building was erected behind the high school in 1916. In 1918, the second floor of Bank Hall was leased.

By floating a bond issue in 1922, the school district purchased property on Tenth Street and Indiana Avenue, and a modern high school with a pupil capacity of 500 was built. There were enough funds remaining to provide an athletic field.

Following Mr. Locke in office was E. R. Gehr. In 1912, W. T. McCullough was appointed supervising principal.

The school district was enlarged in 1930 when a part of Moon Township was annexed to Monaca. The children from that area increased the already burgeoning Monaca school population. Temporary measures were taken to house students: half-day sessions were held for the lower grades, and junior high school students were brought into the high school, where 800 were accommodated in a building erected to house 500.

No time was wasted in constructing and equipping a new school at Permsylvania Avenue and Eleventh Street at a cost of $125,000. Named the George Washington School, it opened in September 1932, as a junior high school.

Looking back at the 1930's, we are reminded that the Great Depression slowed building starts. In Monaca, scrip was issued by the Board at one time when salary checks could not be written. Historian Lewis Blistan writes that "teachers' salaries were cut twenty percent below the state-mandated minimum. This cut was never restored." We are indebted to Mr. Blistan for the information he gives us in "A History of Education in Monaca."

During that difficult decade, Superintendent P. H. Petrie, who had succeeded Mr. Locke in 1934, initiated changes in the spring of 1936 in order to get the high school on the accredited list. A library was provided, and added to the curriculum were health classes, domestic science, and industrial arts.

A program unique to the Monaca schools was the Biology Camp held yearly at Raccoon State Park. Students in 1947 and later camped for three days and nights, studying biology in the forest and waters of the park. In later years, an annual trip to Wallops Island, Virginia, a marine consortium, was sponsored by the science department.

For the former Moon Township students who came into the Fourth Ward, a school was built in 1957. The Fourth Ward School was constructed for students in grades K-6 and contained six classrooms with a capacity of 180 students. A second new school was built in the Fifth Ward. Constructed on two levels, the school had eight classrooms capable of housing 240 students.

By 1964, a new Monaca High School was opened. Situated on a 41-acre site, the school had fourteen classrooms, a library, a shop, a gymnasium, a cafetorium, and homemaking, arts and crafts, and music centers. It was rated able to accommodate to 54 2 students. The former high school building became the junior high school.

The Monaca Long-Range Developmental Program proposed a K-5, 6-8, 9-12 educational organization in September 1975. A revision of the plan called for an addition to the high school and its conversion to a junior-senior high school. New laboratories and classrooms, an auditorium, a large group instruction room, another shop, a music room, dressing rooms, and administrative offices went into the structure. The new wing was opened to senior high students, grades 10-12. In 1977-1978, the junior-senior high school had an enrollment of 709 students.

To complete the listing of supervising principals of the district, we note that the Rev. F. E. Reese followed Mr. McCullough as supervising principal. G. L. Hays next filled the post. Following him, L. D. French was elected to the position, but resigned in 1931. It was then that D. C. Locke returned to the Monaca schools. As we have seen, Mr. Petrie succeeded him in 1934 and held the office for almost twenty years. He was succeeded by Dr. Harry E. Fink, 1960-1961, then by Dr. Marcus W. Davies, 1961-1964. C. J. Mangin became superintendent of the district in 1969 and continued until his retirement in 1977. Anthony P. Cerilli was named acting superintendent and then elected superintendent. He served until 1986. Presently serving as superintendent of the Monaca schools in Michael Figet."

Serving as superintendent of the New Brighton schools at the beginning of the twentieth century was J. B. Richey. He was elected on June 20, 1890, and remained in that office until 1902, when he left New Brighton to become the superintendent of McKeesport schools. A new building had been constructed in the 1890's - the Central School, a six-room building in the Fourth Ward with three stories and a bell tower. The First Ward and Third Ward buildings were both enlarged. During Superintendent Richey's administration a Commercial Course had been added to the Classical and the General courses offered in the high school."

In May 1902, Professor J. W. Wilkinson of Clarion was elected to head the New Brighton school district. Following his term of office, Clyde C. Green of Irwin became the superintendent in 1906. Superintendent Green was influential in organizing two popular literary societies - the Philomathian and the Clionian - in 1906. He also supervised the publication of a high school magazine - the Crimson and Gold. Historian Marjorie R. Mowry, to whom we are indebted for most of the information in this history, writes that it is still the New Brighton High School publication.

Following C. C. Green in 1911 as head of New Brighton schools was Floyd Atwell. Superintendent Atwell implemented Mr. Green's education theories. "For the first time a plan for the education of backward and retarded students was put into effect.""

Another new elementary building was constructed in 1912 - an eight-room fireproof building called Kenwood. It would house the children of the Fifth Ward.

Professor S. W. Lyons was elected to the superintendency in 1918. During his administration, a high school building was constructed. High school classes had occupied the second and third floors of the Central Building, but because of the overcrowding, the new building was needed. Completed in September 1921, it was opened to senior high school classes. New Brighton was proud of its new school. Historian Mowry calls the "new senior high school ... one of the finest in Beaver Valley." The school had 21 rooms with administrative offices and an auditorium. Heading the high school was Principal J. Roy Jackson.

The rooms of the Central School vacated by high school students became a unified junior high school under the guidance of J. P. Edgar, principal. The unified grouping led to fewer dropouts in the last two years of grammar school.

Over the next seven or eight years additions were made to the high school. A private house on adjacent property was converted to the New Brighton School and Public Library. Rooms on the second floor became art, music, and sewing classrooms. A shop for vocational classes was erected in the rear of the property. Through the generosity of E. L. Dawes and of a Mr. Myler, co-founder of the Standard Sanitary Works, a gymnasium was constructed on the property and presented to the school district. The Dawes Memorial Gymnasium provided a "home base" for basketball games, physical education classes, and other indoor sports.

Mrs. Mowry gives a full account of New Brighton's hard-fought, hard-won games in her "History of the New Brighton Schools - 1830-1976." In 1976 the high school offered thirteen varsity sports, including girls' sports.

Because of the length of his administration, 2 5 years, and his leadership qualities, Superintendent Lyons is cited by Mrs. Mowry for his teaching and supervisory skills. "From 1918 to 1943 Lyons, fondly known as 'Pappy,' directed the fortunes of the New Brighton schools." She speaks of his guidance of teaching methods, his close supervision. "He was heart and soul a teacher," she concludes.

The next superintendent was E. B. McNitt. Through his influence the Commercial Department was strengthened and commercial students were much better prepared for work in the business world. Also during his term an annex was added to the high school building in 1947, providing rooms for music, art, mechanical drawing, and general classrooms.

A larger undertaking was the construction of a new junior high school. The three-story building was built "from the street level down to the ground level below the hillside at Allegheny Street and Penn Avenue. 113' The acres behind and below the building were to be used for playgrounds and ball fields.

During Superintendent McNitt's administration, in response to the state mandate for mergers and jointures to equalize educational opportunity, the New Brighton School District in 1952-1953 became the New Brighton Area joint School District embracing Fallston Borough, Daugherty and Pulaski townships, as well as the borough of New Brighton. The planning stages called for an organization of six elementary schools (four in New Brighton and one each in Pulaski and Daugherty townships), and a junior high school and a senior high school in New Brighton. Two one-room schools in Daugherty Township, the Brewer School and the Thompson School, were to be used for the township elementary students. In Pulaski Township, two one-room schools were consolidated in the Marion Hill School in 1954-1955. Fallston retained its own elementary school.

In New Brighton, the schools in use were the Central, the Third Ward, The Fourth Ward, and the Kenwood elementary schools and also the New Brighton Area junior High School and the New Brighton Area Senior High School. In Daugherty Township, the one-room school of Bran Hill closed in 1931, and Point Pleasant and Brookdale schools closed in 1941. According to Mrs. Mowry, the Brewer School on Sunflower Road and the Thompson School, Mercer Road, were in use for years after the jointure. Brewer School closed in 1969.

Melvin Miller was elected to the office of superintendent on December 31, 1961. Very apparent was the need for a new high school building. Plans for a modern school complex, one that would cost about $6,000,000, were dropped when a citizens' group formed to question the need of the new school. In 19681969, Mr. Miller took a leave of absence, resigning in 1969 to join the staff at Geneva College. Robert Grant, an administrative assistant, was named acting superintendent for 1969-1970.

In 1970, Dr. William T. Zeffiro was elected superintendent of the New Brighton Area Schools. He had been a teacher and administrator in Pittsburgh. He was authorized to suggest plans for the design of two buildings - a high school and an elementary school. Two sites were chosen on the hill above Blockhouse Run bewteen Marion Hill and New England Hill. The complex features an elementary school on two levels and a high school structure built on four levels. In keeping with the prevailing changes in organization of grades, the elementary school houses grades k-5 and uses the open space concept with 10 pods and 40 classrooms, with arts and music rooms, cafeteria, library, a large group instruction room, a multipurpose room, four kindergarten rooms, and two common areas. The high school features modified open space learning areas and traditional classrooms. It is a comprehensive school plant with rooms for all departments and activities."

On the Board of School Directors who made possible this all-comprehensive complex were Wilfred Mason, president; James E. Barr, vice president; and members Frank Budisak, Walter Debo, Ralph K. Dyson, Victor A. Matthis, Jr., Dr. Richard McNutt, Robert F. Philips, and Robert E. Tracy, Jr.

After Dr. Zeffiro's early retirement at the close of the 1979-1980 school year, Dr. John A. Ross was elected superintendent.

As in most Pennsylvania schools in the 1980's, the New Brighton District is emphasizing improvement in the basic skills of learning. In the Testing for Essential Learning and Literarcy Skills, New Brighton students in grades three, five, and eight have placed above the state averages in the scores in reading and mathematics .38 The New Brighton schools are working to achieve excellence in these basic skills.

A new educational need arose in Rochester at the beginning of the twentieth century. For four decades, the town had managed to house its grammar school students in the two four-roomed brick buildings in the Second and Third Wards and in the additions that had been made to each. As we have already noted, Rochester on June 2, 1980, established a high school, but the need at the turn of the century was for more room. The Jefferson School in the Second Ward could no longer accommodate the senior high school on its second floor.

In 1901, ground was purchased on Pinney Street, and on June 10, 1901, the contract was let to Kountz Brothers. The new school was called "a modern building of the best type," by historian Joseph H. Bausman. The second floor of the Pinney Street School was assigned to the high school students. By 1912, thirteen faculty members taught a student enrollment of 1,088 in a nine-month term.

Historian of Rochester schools, jean Brown, former head of the history department of Rochester High School, writes that two years later disaster struck. A fire on February 24, 1914, severely damaged the new Pinney School. All students and personnel were safely evacuated. While the school was repaired and remodeled, classrooms were held in area churches. Grades 7-12 were housed in the renovated building. Added to the building were an art room and an industrial arts workshop."

Rochester's population was growing steadily, and overcrowding led to a bond issue of $100,000 for a site on Ohio Avenue and Adams Street, where a new high school was erected. It opened for inspection on May 20, 1916. This handsome building of white brick served as the Rochester High School for 45 years.

On June 6, 1904, Orin Lester was named superintendent of the Rochester schools, the first to hold that position. He served until 1910. William S. Taft succeeded him, serving until 1918. S. R. Grimm was the third superintendent, holding office from 1918 to 1926.

High school principals in these years were J. B. Hawk, W. S. Taft, Stanley Q. Fowler, G. W. Metgar, W. W. Dodds, Mrs. Elizabeth McCoy, Leonard Duncan, and Mrs. McCoy again from 1924 to 1929, when she retired.

In the years of 1917 and 1918, the schools of Pennsylvania had been closed by order of the Health Department of the Commonwealth because of the influenza epidemic. The Federal government chose to use the Rochester High School for instruction in military training. The building was also used as a community kitchen with teachers preparing and serving meals. Boy Scouts of the community aided in the distribution of food.

Robert P. Barner served as the first principal of the Rochester junior High School, which was organized in 1927. Two years later, Mr. Barrier became the high school principal, and in 1934 he was elected to the superintendency of the Rochester Public Schools. He held this position for 27 years, from 1934 to 1962. Upon his retirement in 1962, his many friends praised his years of service and extended wishes for a happy retirement."

J. Russell Lathom followed as principal of the junior high school in 1929, and in 1934 Fenton H. Farley was elected principal of the high school.

A special commencement was held in 1940 to mark the Fiftieth Annual High School Commencement. Salutatorian Ted Mangel and Valedictorian jean Snodgrass spoke of the history of education in Rochester. In addition to the administrators, Mr. Barner, Mr. Farley, and Mr. Lathom, George H. Davis, president, and other members of the Board of Education were present."

Rochester Township schools had been consolidated into two buildings - the Adams Street Extension School and the Pfeiffer School. In 1939, the Sheridan School had been closed. Principal of the Adams Street Extension School in 1939-1940 was Margaret Cain. Succeeding her in office was Mrs. Queenette White Weaver. Heading the Pfeiffer School in 1939-1941 was Marie E. Scroggs. Beginning in 1942-1943, Maryellen Hollander served as principal for a number of years."

In the two decades after World War II, the school districts of Beaver County made plans for mergers and jointures that would provide more equal educational opportunities to all children of the county, especially those attending township or village schools. In 1952, the East Rochester Borough joined with Rochester Township and the Borough of Rochester to form a joint school district.

The plan submitted to the State Department of Education in 1953 proposed the use of five elementary schools: two in Rochester, one in East Rochester, and two in Rochester Township. From the beginning, the plan called for a junior high school in Rochester Borough and a senior high school to be centrally located. By 1959, the plan was more specific. In addition to the five elementary schools, one secondary center was proposed: "a junior-senior high school centrally located on Virginia Avenue and Reno Street." By 1957-58, the secondary school was under construction and was completed in 1961."

The junior-senior high school was an "all-in-one complex ... designed to facilitate child-centered learning." It provides open space areas, 26 classrooms, laboratories, workshops, a central library, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, as well as a stadium, track, and courts and playing fields.

The school philosophy that underlay this complex was elucidated by campus principal, Thomas Skinner: "Open space is designed to achieve child-centered learning. Each child is different and each learns in his own manner ... The individual child is encouraged to work at his own speed toward the realization of his highest potential."

School administrators in 1977 included Matthew P. Hosie, superintendent; Thomas Skinner, campus principal; William Douglas, director, secondary division; Peter A. Napoli, director, intermediate division; and John B. Colella, director, pupil personnel.

Following Mr. Hosic in the office of superintendent was Fenton H. Farley, serving from 1978 to 1984. Louis V. Brueggmann was next elected to head the Rochester Area schools. However, ill health led to a leave of absence in January 1988. Dr. Samuel A. DePaul, assistant superintendent, will serve as acting superintendent until June 30,1988, when he will be named Rochester Area Superintendent.

The Rochester all-in-one school has attracted much attention to the district. Over the years, some modification has been made in philosophy and practice. Presently, the school district has been stressing basic achievements. Two certified reading specialists, Pamela Gill and Mary Ann Resko, work with children who need remedial help in reading." Because of its excellent academic record over the years, the community can have continued confidence in its school system.