FOREST PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL

History of Forest Park Middle School

For the greater part of the nineteenth century, a cemetery occupied the space from Sumner Avenue to Garfield Street. Then, in 1896 a building by B. Hammett Seabury sprang up from this burial ground. Forest Park Junior High started as a "little schoolhouse in the midst of a wilderness." The value of the land at the time was $8,300.00. The architectural style of the school was the unique French Renaissance Revival. This beautiful new building was constructed of red brick and its height was three stories. The value of the building was $82,000.00 and the area was 62,630 square feet.

The original building had nineteen rooms with about thirty-five pupils to a room. At the time of its opening, there were 16 teachers and about 578 students. The furniture of the school consisted of immoveable desks and chairs which were bolted to the floor. The earliest count of furniture was 717 desks and chairs.

During the early years of the school, the assembly hall on the third floor was used as a Catholic church. This part of the building was used for Sunday worship to serve the people in the Forest Park district. In 1917 James Van Sickle, the Superintendent, changed Forest Park School (Grades K-9) to a junior high school.

The first addition to Forest Park Junior High School was in 1919. That addition went from the main entrance to Sumner Avenue. In 1936, another addition facing Garfield Street was added by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Again the WPA was put to work when the third floor was removed from the entire school. All WPA work was finished on April 12, 1937.

In the 1940's, the student body was predominately Jewish. Later, many students of Irish, Italian, and French ancestry attended. During this time, Forest Park Junior High had the highest academic test scores in the city. The school offered a wide variety of after-school clubs, ranging from the Audibon Society Club to the Astronomy Club. The major athletic sport was track and field. The students did not receive trophies or certificates, they instead received leather and pigskin awards. You can see the Field Day awards dated 1912, 1917, and 1922 in the Forest Park auditorium even today.

In 1901, an outstanding African-American track athlete attending Forest Park was Joseph L. Rainey. Joseph held the United States record as a sprinter during his time at Forest Park. His father was in Congress and Joseph later went on to teach at Lincoln University.

In 1957 the school had a population of one thousand, with only two black students. Numerous students had language difficulties due to the ethnic mix of the neighborhood, but all students succeeded. The standard core subjects offered were History, English, Math, and Science. Foreign languages - French, Spanish, and Latin were taught only to students in ninth grade.

Until 1967, Forest Park was a neighborhood school. Customarily, children went to the school within their district. In 1968, Buckingham Junior High School was closed due to declining enrollment. By court order, these students were bused to neighboring schools. This caused uneasiness, conflict, and social upheaval. The great dedication by principals, teachers, parents and students alleviated some of the problems encountered during this time at Forest Park.

In the 1980's, Forest Park Junior High continued to be one of the best junior high schools in the city. The carpeted corridors provided for a quieter, more conducive educational environment. More educational field trips complementing the curriculum were offered here than at any other school in the city. Forest Park was the only junior high school with the "house system" which separated seventh, eighth, and ninth grades into different sections of the building and continued to advance in innovative educational practices.

Like many of the Springfield schools, Forest Park has had some very distinguished alumni. Some of the well-known graduates are Wendall Corey, actor; Mario Lalli, opera singer: Jonathan Shames, concert pianist, and more recently Brian Santaniello, city councilor; Linda Melconian, state senator; and Judges Rainey and Contant. Theodor Seuss Geisel, children's author lived in the neighborhood and the first school he attended was Forest Park. These noted individuals, along with thousands of other alumni luminaries, have contributed to the fine tradition of this "melting pot" called Forest Park Junior High School.

Today as in the past, under the guidance of Principal Bonnie Osgood, Forest Park Middle School continues its tradition of academic excellence. The dedicated staff creates an atmosphere of well-defined, clear expectations which has led to some of the highest test scores in the city. Forest Park is currently exceeding state expectations for performance in English Language Arts and meeting expectations for performance in math.

Our mission is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Forest Park Middle School welcomes all students who are diligent, committed to outstanding academics, and embrace the love of learning. We look forward to preparing the students of today for the challenges of tomorrow.

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