Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1956-11-09

ana ScnOOl.
Again in 1917. there were no
graduates, because of the addition
of the 18th grade. That which would
have been the Class Of 1917 became
the Glass of 1918. There were five
graduates in that first 18th grade
They were Florence Andrew,
Charles Conway, Lucy Hahn, Leila
Tatman and Lula Tucker.
This class was the first class to
be graduated under the administra-
tion of Ethei b. Gibson. who had
been vice principal of the school
for four years and who had been
elected TO succeed MIR. Knowles in
1917. She held this position for 80
years, or until she retired in 1949.
The year 1919 brought many
changes which affected every
school district in the state and
had special impact upon Green
wood School, as we shall see.
A new School Code went into a.
feet that year. The State Legisla-
ture appropriated more funds than
ever before for the support of
schools. AS a result in most school
districts of the state, If not all, the
local tax was abandoned and these
schools were operated entirely Tor
almost sol on the funds which they
received from the state treasury.
1t appears that the State School
Commission which had been ap-
pointed in 1917 to study conditions
in school districts and to suggest
revision in the conduct of school
affairs had as one of their recon-
mendatiOns the reduction of the
number of school districts by con-
solidation of the one-roOm schools
and by reducing the number of
small high schools. Therefore, in
1919, shortly after the code went
into effect, Greenwood began to
hear rumors that its school would
be reduced to an elementary school
and that the process would begin
that very fall by sending its 18th
grade either to Bridgeville or TO
Harrington. While it is true that
our building was very crowded and
the seniors really had no home
room and were compelled to have
some recitations in the corridor,
we were no more crowded than the
Bridgeville and Harrington schools
and we had as many teaching ia
cilities as either of the other two
schools. Protesting and angry, the
members of the Class of 1920, en-
rolled in Bridgeville School. After
one week, they returned TO Green
wood School, took their seats in the
corridor, and remained until the
end of the year; though they were
compelled to take their exams at
Bridgeville.
Orders came again the next year
for the 18th grade to enter Bridge
Vile or Harrington. Reluctantly,
the Class of 1921 entered the Har-
rington School. One of. the Green
wood class, Nell Rogers lnow Mrs.
Nell Lyons), was valedictorian of
the combined classes.
Meanwhile a group of citizens
were protesting the action of the
State Department of Instruction in
taking away our senior class and in
attempting to reduce our school
to an elementary school. A dele
CATION, including w. S. Lord, John
Barwick, w. l. Conway and En-
DRY Wiley as spokesman, went to
Dover to demand of the State
Board of Education that we be
permitted TO retain our high
school. They must have made eff
fective speeches, because since that
day until rather recent years af-
ter another state school survey
had been made, we have never
heard anything about depriving us
of our own high school.
SCHOOL REFERENDUM
Publicity has already been given
through the press and through let
ters to the parents of the refer
endum which is TO be voted upon
by the taxpayers of the Green