School Committee meetings turned contentious as parents packed town chambers to protest severe overcrowding at the Willett School, where burgeoning student populations from the Windsor Gardens apartment complex have strained classroom capacities.
Appearing before the board, parent representative Mr. Turner criticized school administrators for failing to address the crisis sooner and for neglecting to place the parents’ group on the official agenda. Turner’s figures, verified by Willett Principal Alan R. Wonson, revealed an enrollment of 421 students taught by 17 teachers. At the kindergarten level, two half-day sessions were divided into groups of 24 and 30 pupils, prompting teachers Marcia Krasnow and Barbara O’Beirne to describe opening-day conditions as a “disaster” plagued by procrastination.
While school officials initially offered a half-time teacher or full-time aide only for kindergarten, parents demanded broader structural solutions. Assistant Superintendent Umberto V. Napoleone reported that opening day elementary figures reached 3,136—surpassing May estimates of 3,050. District 7 Town Meeting member Thomas Michienzi also raised safety concerns regarding young pedestrians walking under bridges on Lenox and Dean Streets to reach the newly opened Junior High School South, citing past fatalities. The board voted to request a police patrolman be stationed at the Cedar Street underpass and took under advisement suggestions to abandon or widen sidewalks and request Penn Central give up a seldom-used rail spur.
Amid the friction, the board received praise from Boston University special education professor Dr. Gerald Gorman for working with parents to relocate special needs students from a basement classroom at the newly opened Aaron Guild Elementary School to the Oldham School, praising the Guild’s basement adaptation as an effective resource center.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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Norwood Junior High School Honor Rolls for the Last Term-This Day In Norwood History-July 21, 1997
Celebrating Academic Excellence at Norwood Junior High The academic landscape at Norwood Junior High School was highlighted by a formal recognition of student achievement, as the administration released the latest honor rolls for Grade 7 and Grade 6. These lists, comprised of students who attained HIGH HONORS and HONORS status, served as a public commendation…
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Norwood High School Revives Latin Classes After Nearly a Decade-September 26, 1994
Norwood High School brings back Latin classes for the first time in nearly a decade, led by young instructor Stephen Olbrys to enthusiastic student enrollment.
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Norwood Elementary Grades Drive Enrollment Increase-September 2, 1993
School System Reaches 3,565 Total Students Norwood public schools have experienced an overall enrollment increase of 136 students compared to the previous academic year, bringing total district enrollment to 3,565 students, according to an announcement made by Assistant Superintendent Roderick Smith during a school committee meeting. Enrollment Breakdown by Grade Level The surge is heavily…
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Summer Education Program Helps Students Stay Sharp-August 12, 1992
Federal Chapter 1 funding revived Norwood’s summer remedial education program at the Cleveland School, combining academics with local field trips for 48 students.
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Norwood Parents Music Association: The Dedicated Power Base Behind the High School Band-October 11, 1991
As the fall marching band season kicks into high gear, Joann Pasquantonio is bracing herself for a grueling schedule of long days. There will be days when she boards a school bus at 4:00 p.m. and doesn’t return home until midnight, utterly exhausted after hours of competitions. The catch? Pasquantonio isn’t in the band. She…
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Prescott Elementary School Parents Urge School Committee to Alleviate Overcrowding-September 12, 1991
Prescott Elementary School parents petition the Norwood School Committee to hire a part-time teacher to alleviate overcrowded kindergarten classes.
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Schools Open with Retained Programs Despite Budget Cuts and Staff Reductions-September 3, 1991
When Norwood students return to classrooms tomorrow for the start of the new academic year, they will encounter a few visible adjustments—including higher cafeteria prices, a smaller teaching staff, and the discontinuation of Latin courses. However, school officials emphasized that despite a roughly $600,000 reduction to the $18 million school budget amid town-wide cutbacks, Norwood…
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Search for Superintendent Stirs Conflict on Committee-July 24, 1991
The Norwood School Committee engaged in a tense debate over expanding the superintendent search committee to include PTA representation and broader community voices.
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Norwood High School to Drop Latin Program Due to Dwindling Enrollment-September 27, 1990
Citing dwindling enrollment and a lack of cost-effectiveness, Norwood High School officials announce that Latin courses will be eliminated from the curriculum after June.
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Joseph Katchpole Succeeds George Usevich as Vice Principal of Norwood High School-August 23, 1990
Health and physical education department head Joseph Katchpole has been named acting vice principal of Norwood High School, succeeding George Usevich in the school administration.
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