T h e C ol l e g e at Br o c k p ort — S tat e Un i v ersi t y of Ne w Yor k
Brockport Campus School April, 2011
1867
REUNION NEWS
As a proud graduate of “another” Campus School (just down the road at—sorry—Cortland) back in the 1960’s, I‘m excited to welcome all of Brockport’s “Campus School Kids” plus faculty, staff and friends to our campus in July to celebrate your first true reunion. That was a very special time in my life where I made friendships that have lasted a lifetime. I know you have some of those same enduring relationships and are looking forward so much to re-connecting with Dr. John Halstead, PhD everyone this summer. Please know how excited we are, as part of our 175-year celebration at The College at Brockport, to welcome you back to campus.
1981
Cortland Campus School class of 1960. Can you pick out Dr. Halstead?
Value learned while attending school By Dr. Wallace Elton, Class of 1958 I don’t know just when I recognized the value of what I learned while attending the Campus School (1949 – 1958; actually longer because I went to Mrs. Stebbins’ pre-K). I must have had an inkling when the top 5 students in our high school graduating class had come through the Campus School, but I guess I didn’t fully appreciate it until later. The learning included fundamental skills and values such as verbal expression, curiosity about the world, and treating others with respect. In 2008, realizing that it had been 50 years since we graduated, a few of us tried to pull together an informal class reunion. It didn’t happen until the next year, when about eight classmates and one teacher (Miss Bean/Mrs. Smith), plus a few other family and friends, gathered for a dinner near Brockport. That is when I recognized something else: at the Campus School, we shared our lives rather closely with a group of peers for nine Dr. William B. Nestle’s seventh grade class formative years – as long as with any group outside of family until well into adulthood. We knew each other well. For me, it was wonderful to reconnect with members of that group and discover that we all see those years as important to who we became. Do you feel similarly about your time at the Campus School? If so, I hope you will be able to participate in the broader school reunion in July. You will not regret it. And if you are in touch with classmates or have family members who were Campus Schoolers, please be sure they know about the event.
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
Spirit of the Campus School lives on By Ellen Gilbert, Teacher, Vice Principal, Campus School, Cooper Building I arrived at the Brockport Campus School as a Kindergarten teacher in the mid1960s after serving as a head teacher in the first National Head Start Program in Early Childhood Education. There was a new building (1965) that was state of the art – for the education of young children. The building provided classrooms with one way glass – on the second floor for students from Brockport’s Teacher Education
program to observe and learn the teaching methods – of the teachers on the first floor. Although the building was beautiful, it was the spirit, the philosophy and the methods that made the campus school special. It was the leadership, the staff, the commitment to give every child a place to learn, explore, develop and grow that kept it special. One of the best programs in my opinion was the “Urban Suburban Transfer Program.” Children from the City of Rochester came to the Campus School – and we all worked together to understand how people live in different environments and how we can all learn from each other. This was a voluntary program that opened a path
for new experiences for all of the youngsters – and staff. Professionally and personally, I am thrilled to say that I had the opportunity to be part of the “Center for Innovation in Education” - until it closed in 1981. “The children, faculty of the campus school and college, and the college students, bring back wonderful memories of a treasured time which overflowed with warmth and generosity making it a welcome learning and working environment.” -- Evelyn D’Aurizio Del Rosso – faculty
Campus School History By Mary Jo Gigliotti, College Archives
The College at Brockport has a long tradition of outstanding education! Teacher training has been part of the curriculum since 1841 and the beginning of the Brockport Collegiate Institute. If you were lucky enough to be part of these early programs, you received free tuition in exchange for a pledge to teach in district schools. The Campus School has been in existence more than 100 years. The Practice School for training teachers began in 1867 with the State’s establishment of a Normal School here. It was located first in the old Normal School building where it occupied one wing of the building. The students themselves helped to move their desks and books to the present-day Hartwell Hall when it opened in 1940. A wing was added in 1953 to accommodate the growth in
programs and students. In the 60’s with the addition of the liberal arts curriculum, a brand-new home was built for the Campus School which opened in 1965. Cooper Hall included state-of –the-art design including observation areas for student teachers and a television studio for closed-circuit broadcasting. This long history finally ended in 1981 with the closure of the UrbanSuburban Center for Excellence because of budget and other problems. If you were a part of this proud educational heritage whether as a student, Cadet or Master Teacher, we invite you to share your memories and your photographs with the Reunion Committee and the College Archives. We want to preserve your history for future generations.
As our college celebrates its 175th Anniversary it is also a wonderful time for Campus School memories to be rekindled. I invite you to place July 22nd on your calendar and join us in the celebration.
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
— Andrew D. Virgilio
Through the eyes of a teacher By Dr. Walter S. Brautigan, Campus School Science Teacher Greetings to the alums of the Campus School, the College at Brockport. The Campus School at Brockport has been around for a long time and I am sure that there will be some of you who will get this who were at the Campus School before I joined the faculty and will say “Who the heck is this guy?” There will be others who came after I left to go to Cornell and finish my doctorate and who will say the same thing. There is one side note here about Cornell. While I was there and teaching at Cornell, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing three of my “Campus School kids” at Cornell as undergraduates! So, while I wasn’t at the Campus School for any long period of time (1961 through 1967 including my time as Don Nasca’s Student teacher.) I can honestly say to you that these were among the most rewarding, satisfying and pleasurable years of my life. You and my colleagues made it so! You were a teacher’s dream! You challenged me in many ways but the really exciting challenge you threw at
me was to challenge me to be sure that I was always on top of my subject and really did know what I was talking about! I also knew
that I had to actively engage you in your own learning as much as possible. You were the greatest! What is the purpose of this note? This is an anniversary year for the College at Brockport and a group of people at the College including folks like Jeanette D’Agostino Banker and Fran Moroney Whited seized on the idea of tying in the Campus School with the College anniversary since the Campus School history is grounded in that of the College. We are trying to contact as many alums as we can to invite them to come back on July 22, 2011 for a chance to renew old acquaintances, catch up on what has happened since you last had a chance to sit down with each other. I realize that your lives have taken you all over the country but if it is possible, I would like to urge you to come back to Brockport in July. I hope to see you then,
Tentative Schedule for the Brockport Campus School Reunion Friday, July 22, 2011 Seymour College Union (Kenyon Street at Residence Drive) Brockport Campus CAMPUS TOURS REGISTRATION ............................. 8:30 a.m – 1:00 p.m. Seymour College Union, Foyer, Seymour Ballroom PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION ........... 11:30 a.m. – Fireside Lounge, Seymour College Union, Hosted by Dr. John and Kathy Halstead, and the Reunion Honorary Committee BUFFET LUNCHEON and PROGRAM ...................................... 12:30 p.m – Seymour Ballroom TREE PLANTING ............................ 3:00 p.m. – Hartwell Lawn at the corner of Utica Street and Monroe Avenue, by the old Hartwell Campus School Library, the original site of the old Brockport Collegiate Institute/Normal School/Hartwell Hall. CAMPUS TOURS ALUMNI HOUSE OPEN-HOUSE .................................. 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Front lawn of Hartwell Hall, Utica Street and College Street Hosted by the Brockport Alumni Association Board of Directors Tours of the Campus, Hartwell Hall, Cooper Hall, and downtown are being planned. There will be exhibits, displays, and photos for your enjoyment. (www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html)
Registration info is available at this website. www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
Campus School Memories of the Early ’40s By George Rich, Campus School Student It had to be something very special to have the regular routine of classes canceled in order to have all college students, faculty and Campus School children attend something called a “ground-breaking ceremony for a new building.” This happened in September of 1938 when I was starting First Grade in the old Normal School Building and was too young to comprehend the significance of the occasion. We watched the progress of construction for the next two years and then, finally, came the big day when I was in Third Grade. We took our books and the contents of our desks and exited the old Normal School Campus ( or Training School) and walked on planks extended out of windows into an opening in the new building that was to become our new home. This was in the autumn of 1940. My teachers during these primary years were: Ruth Drake- Kindergarten, Grace Neff- First Grade, Josephine Mannix- Second Grade
This portrait of Miss Ora Van Slyke (painted by Helen Simpson) hangs in the Alumni House.
Helen Mason Simpson and George Rich
and Thelma Vinal (Brown)- Third Grade. 1941-2 was a momentous year. It not only marked our nation’s entry into World War II, but also the year I was exposed to the inspired tutelage of Ora Van Slyke. She taught us “the classics” which were not part of the curriculum any other fourth grade experienced. Who can forget Miss Van Slyke bundled up in a warm winter coat, with sleigh bells in hand, driving an imaginary sleigh and reciting Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods On a Winter’s Evening”? She taught us about the three classic styles of Greek architecture and how to appreciate and identify some of the art works of the great masters. Ora Van Slyke was the mastermind behind such productions as Shakespeare’s“Midsummer Nights Dream” and Maeterlinck’s “The Bluebird.” These plays and other pageants involved students from all of the grades and were certainly unique compared to what was
We look so forward to seeing you on July 22! On behalf of everyone associated with The College at Brockport and our Alumni Association, I would like to invite you to come back to “Our Campus” to celebrate your Campus School Reunion on July 22. Whether you were a part of the Campus School when it was in Hartwell Hall or Cooper Hall, took classes or taught them, or parented a child through those formative years, we welcome you with open arms to the College and all that it offers in 2011. This is our 175th anniversary, and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate than with all of you. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or just want to share some stories, drop me a line at alumni@brockport.edu and we’ll pass them on to the steering committee that is making all Michael Andriatch of this possible.
offered in other elementary schools. Hazel Rench taught Fifth Grade and Nellie Sterritt was the Sixth Grade Supervisor. It was during the war years and we were encouraged to “help the war effort” by purchasing savings stamps and bonds, not wasting paper and learning to spot aircraft by recognizing silhouettes of American, German and Japanese airplanes. Seventh and Eighth Grades were taught by Vera Ralston, Frank Lane and Beatrice Ingalls. It was due to the preparation I received here that led to my later placement in High School into the Regents and College Preparatory programs. Jean Reichel Pepper was one of the “cadet” or student teachers who shared with me the coded message she received from her husband, Bob Pepper, who was serving in the South Pacific.
“I will always remember Mrs. Marion Nestle for her exceptional sensitivity, caring, and kindness to me - and my other wonderful teachers, Mr. Brautigan, Mr. Wiley and Mr. Warthman, who were always welcoming and supportive.” -- Jocelyn Cook Karle Campus School Kid
h “Among my many Campus School memories is one about our family pet beagle “Peggy,” lost for two weeks. While keeping up hope that she would return, I was happy as I walked up the main walk to school in the morning to suddenly see a very emaciated whiskerless dog standing by the walk and giving a very feeble tail wag when I called her name. I carried her into our classroom and Miss Mannix said I could lay her on a cot in the coatroom. This was probably the first time there had ever been a dog in the class coatroom!” -- Debbie Northrup Wahl Campus School Kid
h “I could not have had a more wonderful childhood or place in which to grow up. The kids and adults in my life were and still are the greatest (even my husband).” -- Karin Anselm Scott Campus School Kid
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
Remembering the 1960s By David Emmerson, Campus School Student
Dr. Harry Emmerson, Campus School Principal and Father of the Author
For the earliest years, the campus school meant walking down Holley Street with Jeff Baker, Judy Kutz, Vanessa Quinn and Tim Kewin to get to that vast expanse of grass, stately trees and classic brick architecture. We approached from the northwest side of Hartwell which meant that we always passed by “the steps” where everyone had all those class pictures taken. The years went by as we were housed in the one wing of Hartwell Hall, being taken down to the campus school library in tightly organized groups, so that we could be read to by Miss O’Toole, who had the greatest voice ever, completely mesmerizing us all. We sat in a trance while she read; I think she was sort of our first rock star. The walks through the halls were amazing, We’d see other classes passing us in their tightly bunched lines and every once in a while, we’d end up passing college classrooms. Now that was really confusing, sort of like peeking in to a fantasy world. “Adults in school!” Kickball games in that monstrous courtyard (that now looks so tiny) were the highlight of the day. Babe Ruth could not have cleared the swing set for an automatic home run, but there were rumors of a “big kid,” in one of the older grades who did it often and with impunity. We would repeat that rumor and insist it was true, “Paul Fessenden actually saw it!,” but privately we didn’t believe it was true. We had all the colors of the rainbow for teachers, Mrs. Black, Mrs. Browne, and our memories and desires insist that we had teachers (student teachers) with the names of Greene and White and one whose first name was Amber. We also had a fun PE teacher whose name was Missdrizzio, but it wasn’t until we were in high school and
we compared notes when we realized that her name was Miss D’Aurizio. Bill Nestle got me interested in bird watching and stamp collecting, both of which I still pursue. Being in Junior High meant that the classes that had been kept separate all along through the primary and intermediate grades were now merged. Pat Pullen, Michele DeGroat, Gary Post and the rest were now allowed to mix with us for classes. It was here that Joe How many first graders can you name? Drum coached us in basketball and organized the first soccer Virgilio was stuck in quicksand and was team with hand me down uni’s from the starting to disappear into the ground. We college. They experimented with letting us rushed back and sure enough, Paul was up choose our classes! Junior High is where I to his knees in muck. Mr. Nestle went to began my life-long friendship with Walt him and then HE became mired. We had all Brautigan. He inspired me into science as seen Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan movies so a career, taught me in 7th grade, was on a we knew that they both only had minutes post-doc at Cornell when I was there and to live. The panic lasted only another 45 became my advisor later when I went into seconds but the memory has not faded. We all survived the visit to the swamp. Eventually the sad day Eventually six of us Emmersons went through the new and old campus schools. came when we had to leave There was even a ninth grade for many years. Hartwell Hall and go to That disappeared just before I got to that point and eventually the school no longer the “new” Campus School. existed. Except they called it “The It was bittersweet to come back to a high Center for Innovation in school reunion that was held at “The Cooper Center.” The what?!! It will always be the Education.” Campus School to me. Just as those steps will be a perfect place for us all to stand for a secondary science education. reunion photo this July 22nd. We experienced the 60’s style integration, busing students in from inner-city Rochester. h Gary Dent became part of our posse (he could do 23 pull-ups!), staying over for a weekend here and there. A trip to Bergen Swamp with Mr. Nestle Share your memories... (ooooh they have rattlesnakes there!) - I We welcome your reflections think it was Doug Rahn that came charging memories and stories of your down the lane shouting about something and Mr. Nestle freaked out at him because Campus School experience. Please he was sure he had the last pileated consider sharing your memories woodpecker in the sights of his binoculars by emailing (or snail mailing) but the noise scared it off before he could them to: www.brockport.edu/ confirm it. When he calmed a little we alumni/campusschoolreunion/ found out that Doug was shouting that Paul
index.html
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
Making Life Long Friends in the 1970s By Anne Marie D’Agostino Some called the Campus School a “practice school.” I attended the Campus School from 1974 to 1979, when the school was in its last years. At that Anne Marie D’Agostino, point in time we Campus School Kid “learned by doing.” And, this was an essential part of our creative and intellectual development as lifelong learners — and more importantly human beings. Our teachers provided imaginative and cuttingedge education. And it is only fair to say, that some parts of innovative programs worked better than others. Attending the Campus School seemed like any other school — it seemed ordinary. We made life-long friends. The walkers tried to beat the buses that our friends were arriving on. Our teachers led us in our lessons and down the halls to where our true learning
took place in the library, the art room and gym. The playground provided the space to play kickball, do science and learn how to take a photograph. And we learned to sing, dance and practice in the music room, which was attached to the stage where we played out our hearts in the band at an assembly. What the Campus School provided for students was an opportunity to become self-determined. These experiences helped us grow creatively and learn by doing. Whether it was raising a classroom rabbit, finishing your work early to head down to the art room for an extra hour, going to the gym to help out, convincing your teacher to let you perform a play you wrote, arriving at school early to take Spanish, learning to swim, ice skate, or run under the parachute — the Campus School provided the space for self expression. When I look around today and see my friends who attended the campus school with me. I see lots of pioneers for today in every field. The Campus School seemed ordinary to the students when we attended
“The campus school with Miss Hare as my Master Teacher. I was so excited. At the end of nine weeks, I knew I wanted to teach grade 3, and indeed that was my first teaching assignment in the real world.” — Brenda Ulrich Beal ’60, student teacher
By Anne E. O’Toole, Campus School Librarian “If you attended the Campus School any time between September 1960 and June 1981, I, Anne O’Toole, then known as Miss O’Toole, was your school librarian. Many years, many memories and even many books are in that time span. I am looking forward to seeing many of you on July 22. You will be wearing a name tag. Keep in mind that a name in my head may not match the name on the tag. It may be attached to a five or six year old or other age image. See you in July when we sort it all out!”
and yet, what it has provided for the world is an unbelievable legacy of alumni capable of creating great change in the world. I am truly looking forward to seeing my fellow alumni at the reunion July 22 and possibly having a good kickball game. I’m sure my mom still has one of the original kickballs in the attic! “In November 1940, The Campus School, located in the old Brockport Collegiate Institute/Normal School, was relocated to the new Hartwell Hall. Our class, the Kindergarten class, was the first class to move to this new building! Our teacher was Miss Ruth Drake who later served as the Campus School Librarian until her retirement. The Drake Memorial Library at the college, built at a later date, was named for her and Dr. Bernard Drake, College administrator, not related. We are still a closely knit group and to this day we meet regularly for lunch. Alma Rudman Schultz is our organizer.” -- Helen Balling Keable, Campus School Kid
“Mrs. Ruth Schmatz shepherded many student teachers toward competency in the classroom over the years by exposing them to her teaching strategies and her care for her students.” “One notable experience, camping with 6th graders, was a source of several life lessons for me. Sixth graders are wonderful, outdoors as well as indoors” — Judy Stoneham Wadsworth, student teacher
“Thoughts…. Kindergarten 1960 – We walked to school, everyone in the village did, even crossed the train tracks at five years old. First grade – Miss Luskey taught us Dick and Jane with a big-big book! We went home for lunch almost every day but if you stayed, lunch was served in the classroom. Milk was three cents. — Rob Carges, Campus School Kid
“I’m really looking forward to the Campus School Reunion. It will be a treat to visit with classmates and faculty and to remember our adventures at the Campus School. Anyone for a game of kickball? Hope to see you there.”
— Bob Conrad, Campus School Kid
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
Campus School Kindergarten… 1952-1955 By Rosalie Mower Gabbert, Campus School Kindergarten Teacher
“Thank you for organizing a Campus School reunion. A true Campus School Reunion should include a kickball game! For most of us, kickball was almost a daily classroom activity, sometimes twice a day. Kickball games took place in the “horseshoe” shaped area behind the old campus school.” “The overt creativity fostered by a campus school education produced unique generations of students able and willing to “think outside the box”. I know that the four children in the E. Curtiss Gaylord family represented all of these decades.
— Susan Gaylord Adams
h “My years in the Campus School were interesting and fun. It was great to work with children and to help the College students on their way to becoming teachers.”
Campus School kindergarten class. Recognize anyone?
“What’s the stink!” “That is a disgusting smell?” “Phew” “Open the window” “Smells like rotten eggs!” “Yeah! Hydrogen sulfide, that’s what it is.” “Where is it coming from?” remarked the staff as they arrived for school early in the morning. Just then Miss Mower stuck her head out of the kindergarten room and announced the birth of 11 lively baby chicks and two miscarriages which were causing the freak-out. Soon the children came in to that horrific odor, but it was soon forgotten when they realized Ms. Henny Penny had given birth to her brood. The calendar was right…21 days. They pitched in to help cleanup and all was well in the little red barn the children had made for this experience. Our philosophy of education for kindergarten at that time centered around learning by doing. In addition to our normal free play areas and scheduled daily routines, we needed to see, smell, feel, taste, hear. We needed to learn to speak and listen to get us ready for reading, writing, arithmetic, science, life. We were building a foundation for education with real life experiences. Special units of interest for five year-olds were designed to help them grow in these areas. We made visits to the downtown lift bridge, fire department, local farm, new house under construction, Seneca Park Zoo,
Rochester Airport, New York Central train depot in the city. That was almost 60 years ago when we could actually ride a pony at a local farm, we could sit in our own seats on the airplane, we could see the whizzing tracks through the toilet seat in the train’s bathroom, we could ride up and then down on the Brockport lift bridge, we could blow the siren on the fire truck! When we returned to school there was no shortage of activities waiting to supplement the learning from these trips. Building contrived models, watching demonstrations, observing and questioning guests, singing and dancing, story telling with flannelboard and puppets, reading signs, writing thank you notes, all became a part of the curriculum. All this time we remained mindful that college freshmen observers, sophomore participants and junior/senior student teachers were in the mix. They were there to become teachers! We were there to show them how! As Dr. Raye H. Conrad told the Class of 1955, “Live, continue to live, and bring to the classroom the dry stuff of the curriculum and textbook, and the vibrancy of real life experiences.” Those graduates must be in their 70s now. I wonder what they have to say?
— Joan Bean Smith Third Grade Teacher
h “Memories of my 17 years at the college include those as a child in the Campus School of the old Normal School and my years working with Dr. Sherwin Swartout in the Audio – Visual office in Hartwell Hall.” “Many of us remember carrying our books when we moved from the old Normal School Building to the new Hartwell Hall. Our classrooms were located in the north side of the building.”
— Mimi Lage, CS class of 1945
h Roy Bubb was my fifth grade teacher on 11/22/63, the day that JFK was assassinated. Roy had learned the tragic news at the College closed-circuit television studio down the corridor in Hartwell Hall. As Mr. Bubb delivered the news to his students, I recall him using the term “motorcade” to describe what happened in Dallas that day. As my fifth grade mind tried to digest this major historical event, I remember not having a clue what a “motorcade” meant.” — Steve Walker, Campus School Kid
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html
HONORARY COMMITTEE Anselm, Mr. Rolf * Banker, Mrs. Jeanette D’Agostino Boyd, Mr. Robert Brautigan, Dr. Walter F. Brown, Dr. Albert W. Bubb, Mr. Roy L. Carbone, Mrs. Terry * Conrad, Dr. Robert DelRosso, Dr. Joseph and Mrs. Evelyn D’Aurizio D’Agostino, Ms. Anne Marie Donovan, Mrs. Ann Lybarger Elton, Dr. Wallace Emmerson, Mrs. Norma Gilbert, Mrs. Ellen Halstead, Dr. John and Mrs. Kathy Keable, Mrs. Helen Balling Nasca, Dr. Donald O’Toole, Ms. Anne E. * Rich, Mr. George Scheidt, Dr. Douglas Schultz, Mrs. Alma Rudman Simpson, Mrs. Helen Magin Skoog, Mrs. Lori Smith, Mrs. Joan Bean Virgilio, Dr. Andrew D. Wahl, Mrs. Debbie Northrup Walker, Mrs. Beverly * Whited, Dr. Frances Moroney
350 New Campus Drive Brockport NY 14420
*Steering Committee
1958-59 Campus School Faculty
First Row: Miss Luskey, First grade; Miss Foster, Seventh grade; Miss Quick, Music; Mr. Lybarger, Principal; Mrs. Kewin, Fifth grade; Miss D’Agostino, First grade; Mrs. Smith, Supervisor. Second Row: Mrs. Weidig, Eighth Grade; Mrs. Black, Pre-kindergarten; Miss D’Aurizio, Physical Education; Mrs. Werner, Librarian; Miss Amershek, Kindergarten; Miss Hare, Third grade; Miss Tillotson, Second grade; Mrs. Wise, Fourth grade, Dr. Moroney, Consultant; Miss Drake, Librarian; Miss Sortore, Third grade; Miss Mannix, Second grade; Mrs. Cross, Supervisor; Mrs. Pentick, Sixth grade. Tope Row: Mr. LaDue, Fourth grade; Mr. Pentick, Art; Mr. Stein, Head of Placement; Mr. Adriance, Physical Education; Mr. Rabozzi, Sixth grade; Mr. Novelli, Supervisor; Mr. Langton, Fifth grade; Mr. Nasca, Eighth grade, Mr. Nestle, Seventh grade.
www.brockport.edu/alumni/campusschoolreunion/index.html