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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Special School Program Enters Fourth Year-June 24, 1969
Utilizing a low 5-1 student-to-teacher ratio, a staff of 36 professionals works to reinforce reading skills and improve academic performance for public and parochial school children.
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School District Prepares for New Academic Year with Orientation Institute and Registration Dates-August 14, 1968
Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley announced student registration dates and school opening schedules as Norwood public schools welcome dozens of new educators for the 1968-1969 academic year.
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Plenty on the Menu, But Students Still Love Pizza Best-October 10, 1967
During National School Lunch Week, Norwood cafeteria supervisor Mrs. Madlynne Connolly notes that while balanced hot lunches provide vital nutrition for 25 cents, pizza reigns supreme as the student favorite.
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Winslow School PTA President Criticizes “Cellar Classrooms”, Lack of Facilities-October 5, 1967
Winslow School PTA President Edmund G. Linehan criticizes cellar classrooms and missing gym facilities at a School Committee meeting addressing budget shortfalls and teacher talks.
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Alan R. Wonson Reappointed as Principal of Winslow Elementary School-August 31, 1967
Following an executive session, Committee Chairman Francis X. Sheehan Jr. announced that the Norwood School Committee has reappointed Alan R. Wonson of Westwood as principal of the Winslow Elementary School, effective immediately. Wonson, the former vice-principal at the Cleveland Elementary School, had previously been appointed by a unanimous committee vote earlier in the month; however,…
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School Committee Discloses Closed-Session Debate Over Elementary School Principalship Merger-August 25, 1967
School committee minutes revealed a shelved plan to merge Shattuck and Winslow schools
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School Committee Considers Sweeping Administrative Reorganization Plan-August 24, 1967
School Committee Chairman Francis X. Sheehan Jr. proposed a sweeping administrative reorganization creating an associate superintendent to streamline Norwood school management
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Schools Prepare for 5th Annual New Teacher Orientation-August 22, 1967
Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley welcomed 58 incoming educators at the fifth annual teacher orientation institute at Prescott School, introducing new faculty across secondary and elementary schools.
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Norwood Teachers Association Submits $1,000 Pay Increase Proposal-August 18, 1966
The Norwood Teachers Association submitted a $1,000-plus pay raise proposal as the school committee signed its first collective bargaining agreement amid debate led by John J. Cavanaugh and William Egan.
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Andrew J. Ciarletta Jr. Appointed Principal of Winslow Elementary School-July 27, 1966
The Norwood School Committee appointed Andrew J. Ciarletta Jr. as principal of Winslow Elementary School, succeeding Alan R. Wonson.
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