School Street School Web Project
 School
Street School is located in Milton, Vermont, about 20 minutes
north of Burlington. Milton has deep roots as an agricultural
and railroad town. It's population is now growing and with
it a piece of history is ending.School Street School was
located on School Street (hence the name...). The 1997-98
school year was the last year that it was to be a public
school. A new addition attached to the elementary school
has been completed and now houses the thirteen, 5th and
6th grade classes.
As time
ran out for School Street, nine of it's 5th and 6th graders
wanted to pay tribute to the rich history of this building.
Interviews were conducted to find out what the school was
like over the years. Students used a variety of techniques
to gather information. These techniques included conference
calls, email communications, in-person interviews and the
postal service. Students were responsible for making contacts,
booking appointments, conducting the interviews, organizing
information and creating web pages. They spoke with many
seniors who shared stories and pictures and met with representatives
from the historical society (who also were students and
teachers from the school's past).
 Ride
our magic bus to learn more about the history of School
Street School.
Message from the Teachers
Fifth and sixth grade students from Milton, Vermont took
on an intensive research project using Information Technology
to learn about and share the history of their school. All
students who participated received remediation in reading
and written language. This multi-layered project included;
critiquing school web sites local and international, long-range
planning and scheduling, conducting interviews in person
and via telecommunications and designing web sites. The
connections made between the students and their community
made for a motivating and authentic learning experience.
The students' web project is aligned with Vermont's Framework
of Standards and Learning Opportunities. The focus is on
Communication Standards, involving information technology
(research, sources and writing), Personal Development (goal
setting) and Design and Production (creation of media sites
that effectively communicate). A rubric was used as an evaluation
tool as well as a means for students to independently monitor
their progress.
Additional supportive worksheets were designed to assist
students through the learning process. While critiquing
other web sites, students documented three components they
liked, three they would change and three they would add.
This exercise helped them think about layout of information
and graphics as well as organization and reader friendliness.
Students began working on this project in January with a
culminating celebration in June. The myth that technology
is an isolating experience is just that - a myth. Throughout
this project, students worked cooperatively, problem solving
and persevering through computer software learning. Students
valued the information they gleaned from the senior citizens
and realized they shared a common element - their school.
It was an amazingly rewarding experience for all!
Feel free to contact us for more details concerning this
project.
Leslie
Rodman
Amy
Johnson
Classrooms
Classrooms in the building where School Street School now
stands have changed. The building's classrooms in the past
have had about 30-35 kids. The classrooms were comprised
of 2 grade levels with one teachers. The school had been
a high school, an elementary school and in its final years,
a school for 5th and 6th grades only. In recent years, many
of the classrooms have had paraprofessionals. These adults
assisted teachers and kids. The teacher helpers came to
the school in about the late 1970's.
The numbers of students in classrooms were affected by World
War II. Many young men (teenagers) went off to fight. Girls
made up the majority of the student body. Back in the early
1900's, graduation classes were much smaller. So small that
one year, there was only one young lady in her graduation
class! Very different from current numbers of about 120!
If homework was sloppy or incomplete, the children would
have to stay after school and do it all over. Then, if homework
was late, the students also would have to stay after school
and complete it. Now if these situations were to occur,
School Street School teachers would have kids stay in during
lunch-recess time. One thing hasn't changed, kids still
have to get their work done!
School Street School - June 1998
Discipline
Discipline in the 1940's was very strict. Some students
who misbehaved were hit with the board of education. The
board of education was a paddle that was made for the principal
to use and had the words "Board of Education" printed on
it. Sometimes teachers would slap students hands with a
ruler.
In the early and mid 1900's there weren't many discipline
problems because there were fewer students. One student
made the mistake of playing in a big puddle. The student
fell in and soaked his clothes. For punishment, the teacher
made him strip down to his underwear and sit near the heater
until his clothes dried! This all happened in his classroom
while the students were there!
After the school was rebuilt, about 1945, students used
to go up into the attic and smoke cigarettes! Students had
to walk very carefully because when the school was rebuilt,
they didn't have all the supplies needed to build it correctly.
If they didn't watch where they were walking, they would
fall through the ceiling!
Fire of 1943
On February 18, 1943, most of School Street School burned
down. It is believed that Fred Ballard, a janitor, spotted
the fire in the boiler room. Fred Ballard, the only person
injured in the fire, received minor injuries. Firemen pumped
water to the school from Lake Arrowhead. Many students and
teachers lost their personal belongings. The school was
closed for about 14 months.
While the school was being rebuilt, students were educated
at other buildings. School was taught at the Branch home,
Clark Memorial Building and the Masonic Lodge. Many of the
textbooks were burned or destroyed and the district had
to borrow from other schools.
Finding the supplies to rebuild the school was difficult
because World War II was going on. Supplies were being rationed
at this time.
History of Grading at S.S.S.
We interviewed a lot of people about grades.
Some were teachers, others were students. Most people
received A, B, C, D and F's. For a while, grades of S,
U, P, VG and F were given.
In the past, kids got report cards every six weeks. Now
they get them four times a year, or every nine weeks.
We asked some kids if they liked getting report cards.
They said "Yes!" When we asked them why, they replied
"Because I get all A's!". Another student said "I like
to show my parents how I'm doing."
Regularly scheduled parent conferences began about 15
years ago, in the early 1980's. We now have parent conferences
2x a year.
Lunch
In the 1920's some kids walked home for lunch if they
lived near the school. Others brought their lunch if they
lived too far to walk. In these older times kids had an
hour to eat and travel if necessary. There was a bell
that would ring warning the students that they only had
about ten minutes to return to school. The high school
home economics class made soup or a hot dish for those
students that couldn't return home for lunch. That was
the first hot lunch program!
In 1968, when Mr. Barry, started teaching, students had
to bring their lunch. Eventually students were able to
choose whether they wanted to bring their own lunch or
have the school prepare their full lunch. Students used
to eat in a lunchroom, but as the population of Milton
changed it became necessary to turn the lunch room into
classroom space. The kids began eating their lunches in
their classrooms in the late 1980's.
Photos!!!
The Celebration:
Sharing the proces...
Community Connections!!!
Learning from past generations...
Awards!!!
Sports
Some of the sports played at School Street School were soccer,
baseball, basketball, softball, and field hockey. Girls
were allowed to play softball, basketball, and field hockey.
When basketball for girls first started at School Street
School, girls only played the game on half of the court.
Boys were allowed to play basketball, baseball and soccer.
  
Cake walking was also a big event that the boys used to
take part in. Boys used to paint their face black and try
to kick their feet high up in the air while listening to
music. The person who kicked their foot the highest won
a cake. Cake walking was stopped at the school because it
was thought to be offensive to black people.
When the school became a 5th and 6th grade school, fewer
sports were available to the students through the school.
Basketball was offered as an after school sport to the students.
It is believed to have started in the late 1960's.
Fifth and sixth grade students at the new school now have
the opportunity to take martial arts classes.
Transportation
Through the years students have traveled to school and home
in a variety of ways. In the past, kids got to school in
similar ways as they do now. They rode the bus, walked,
rode bikes or parents drove them. A student from the 1920's
told us that she got a ride on the back of a milk wagon!
Back then kids had to provide their own transportation.
What's Next?
June of 1998 was the last year that School Street School
was used as a public school in Milton. In the fall of 1998
the fifth and 6th grades moved into our new building at
Milton Elementary School (also known as Herrick Avenue Elementary
School). This school is the biggest elementary school in
the state of Vermont. MES currently houses approximately
1100 students!
Some of the possibilities for the School Street School building
are that it could be used as a senior center or senior housing,
office space, or recreation building.
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