| Freeport
School in 1838
Mr. A. J. Smart gave the following as his recollections
of the school in 1838:
"My earliest recollections of the Raynortown
School go back to year 1838. The school house
was a low one-story building, about 18x22 feet, containing
but one room, dimly lighted by two small windows on
the north and two on the south, and one each on the
east and west sides."
"The furniture consisted of stationary desks
or inclined tables, made of pine boards, and fastened
to the sides of the room, except a break at the west
end of the north table, where there was a desk made
of pine boards, standing at right angles with the
north table on a raised platform. This was the
teacher's desk. This desk had a drawer in it,
the only one in the room."
"In front of the desks were board benches that
were as long as the desks upon which the scholars
sat. There were no backs to these benches. To
be seated the boy or girl had to climb over the benches,
except at the ends. There were two lower benches
running east and west through the middle of the room
for the use of the smaller or primary scholars. These
benches were like the others, without backs or supports
for the children to lean against."
"In the center of the room was a cast-iron box
stove which burned wood--and I might say small children--
when the weather was cold and an effort was made to
keep the scholars in the corners of the room from
freezing. It burned wood inside and children on the
outside who were near it."
"Behind the door, which was located in the east
end of the south side, were nails driven in the board
ceilings for the children to hang their hats on.
On the floor was a pail of water with a tin dipper
in it, and in the corner was a broom. Such was
the home of education in Raynortown, now Freeport,
in 1838."
The Early Years:
1838-1893
Although there had been repeated unsuccessful attempts
to induce a majority of the voters to take action
towards the erection of a new building , the school
continued in this building with very little change
until about 1852. A few of the bolder spirits finally
made a night attack on the old building, cutting away
some of the posts and otherwise demolishing it so
as to render a new building a necessity. After
the attack, the old building was sold for $50.00 and
a lot was purchased on Main Street. First a
one-story building was built with a second story being
added about 1867-68. The new building was occupied
about December 1, 1852. While the new house was being
erected a shop was hired for $8.00 (for three month's
rent) to accommodate the students. The number of scholars
between the age of 4 and 21 years in 1858 is
given as 203. The total expenses for the year
was $414.63. From 1860 to 1872 there is no record
of any notable change in the district. In October
1872, when the school building had again became inadequate
for the ideas of the more progressive element in the
village, steps were taken towards the purchase of
a new site and the erection a new building. A considerable
number of the voters, however, were not ready to accept
the proposition of increased expenses. Every effort
towards improvements was contested. For three years
the struggle was waged: twenty-two recorded meetings
were held during that time. Finally, a site
at the northwest corner of South Grove and Pine Street
was purchased, a plan approved, and a contract awarded
for $3,858. The new building was opened October
7, 1875. A price of $790.00 was received for the old
Main Street property. A progressive step in
Freeport's educational system took place in 1887 when
the free textbook system was adopted.At the annual
meeting in August, 1888, it was again suggested that
the school had outgrown its quarters and was over-crowded.
On December 11, 1888, it was decided to build an extension,
which was done under the direction of the Board of
Trustees. This brought the building to the size it
was when burned.
The Fire: January
10, 1893
January 10, 1893, will long be remembered by the
residents of Freeport for on that night the school
building was totally destroyed by fire. According
to the South Side Observer: " Excelsior
Hook & Ladder Company arrived with ladders and
pails, but the only water to be had was pumped from
neighboring wells. The village had no water
supply or fire apparatus and it was soon seen that
nothing could be done to save the schoolhouse.
All efforts were then bent to safeguarding nearby
homes. Scores of men worked hard throwing snow on
the roofs. Snow on the roofs of the Methodist
parsonage and church doubtless prevented much trouble,
as burning cinders fell in showers and were carried
hundreds of yards eastward".
Rebuilding
and Growth: 1894 - 1912
The fire was both destructive and constructive,
the old plot of ground was exchanged for one diagonally
opposite on the southeast corner of Pine and Grove
Streets. On March 3, 1893, at a district meeting,
the proposition for a new ten-room structure of brick
was approved at a cost of $30,000 to replace the old
building which had stood on the opposite corner. The
cornerstone was laid on July 29,1894.
The year of 1895 saw another year's work being added
to the "High School," as it was then called,
so that the graduate necessarily completed a full
four years course of academic work. In 1896
the Academic Department of the Union Free School was
granted a certificate by the Board of Regents admitting
it as a school of Junior Grade to the University of
the State of New York. This step marked the beginning
of the High School, although it was not until the
following year (October 1899) that the Academic
Department of the Union School was formally made a
High School. The first class was not graduated until
1901. (On October 5th, 1898 the Academic Department
had been registered as a school of the middle grade
with a total enrollment of 545.)
The growth of the school had been so rapid that in 1903 the Assembly
Room was partitioned and used for the various classes while store
rooms in neighboring buildings were rented to accommodate pupils
in the grades. An appropriation was approved, and in 1903-1904 a
large addition was made to the school building at a cost of nearly
$30,000.
In 1907 another building was erected at the corner of Ocean and
Seaman Avenues to accommodate the grade pupils in the northern section
of Freeport, local educational facilities expanding so rapidly that
in 1907 the office of superintendent was established. Growth continued
rapidly and in 1909 a third building was erected at the corner of
Long Beach Avenue and Archer Street in the Southern section of the
town.
During the latter part of 1912 the urgent need of new school accommodations
was felt, for it had become necessary to hire a room for classes
in the village and to place many pupils on a part-time schedule.
Continued
Growth: 1920's-1940's
In 1922 the growth of the school population became
so pressing, that the old Freeport Cemetery, adjoining
the Grove Street School, was chosen as the site of
a new school. The new building completed in
1925 accommodated the 7th and 8th grades from all
elementary schools. The freshmen used the first floor
as Junior High School while the sophomores, juniors
and seniors occupied the second floor as a Senior
High School. The Grove School became a K-6 school.
A long term building plan was initiated in 1926 and
in accordance with this plan additions were built
to Archer Street and Columbus in 1928; a new Cleveland
Avenue School was constructed in 1932 and the Raynor
Street site was acquired in 1927.
The total enrollment in the Junior-Senior High School in 1925 was
887, but by 1941 the enrollment skyrocketed to 1779. This
necessitated using the Grove Street Elementary School to house the
7th grade. The overcrowded conditions became acute during World
war II. The Junior and Senior high Schools were on split session
and it reached a point where the Board had to rent two classrooms
in the Lutheran Church to relieve the overcrowding at the Seaman
Avenue School.
The Post
War Boom: 1945-1960's
The end of the war saw continued rapid growth in
Freeport population. In answer to the ever increasing
demand for school facilities, the Atkinson School
was constructed in 1949, the Bayview Avenue School
in 1952, followed by the Giblyn School in 1962. The
Atkinson School was named after Caroline G. Atkinson,
a teacher with over 50 years of service in the School
District. The Giblyn School was named after after
Leo. F. Giblyn, a member of the Board of Education
for over twenty years. The Junior High School remained
crowded even with the building of a new Senior High
School in 1960. Consequently a seventh grade center
was added to the Atkinson School in 1964. When the
new High School was built, the old Junior-Senior High
School was renamed the John W. Dodd Junior High School,
in the honor of Dr. Dodd who served as Superintendent
of the Freeport School District for over 35 years.
Desegregation
of the Freeport Schools in the 1960's:
Freeport was one of the first school systems in New York State
to voluntarily desegregate its schools. An open enrollment program
was instituted in 1962 that permitted black pupils from the all-black
Cleveland Avenue School to cross boundaries to enroll in other schools
in the District. The next step came in the summer of 1963 when the
Cleveland Avenue School was closed and converted into a high school
annex and its pupils bussed to all-white neighboring schools.
Meanwhile, the non-white population had grown in the Columbus Avenue
School, and this school, too, became predominately black . At that
juncture, the Board of Education adopted the integration plan that
is now in force. It provided for the ninth grade to be moved to
the High School, the seventh and eight grades to the Junior High,
and the fifth and sixth grades from the entire District to the Atkinson
addition, bussing an integrated population of grades 1-4 pupils
to Bayview, Archer, Giblyn and Atkinson. The Columbus Avenue School
become a kindergarten center. The integration plan provides for
a review of the non-white balance in each neighborhood school annually.
Continuing
to Meet Challenges:
In 1964, the old Seaman Avenue School was converted
to an Administration Building. Fire once more plagued
the district when the Grove Street School was burned
in 1966. Increased population pressures required an
addition to Archer Street in 1969, and a new
wing for the High School in 1970.
There are still many problems yet unsolved, among
which are the split session at the Atkinson School
and the overcrowding at the Dodd Junior High School.
The Freeport School System has grown to include a
school population in excess of 7400 pupils, a professional
staff of over 480, and a cafeteria, clerical and custodial
staff of approximately 250.
The School District has grown up. As long as all
citizens of the community can work together, Freeport's
educational system can serve the community with pride
and face the future with confidence and hope.
Freeport Public Schools continue "Reaching for the Stars."
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