High School of Commerce - Caduceus Yearbook (Springfield, MA)

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CADUCE US The High School of Commerce, Erected 1915 rolment of the ocher two high schools. For this remarkable growth and the quality of service accompanying ic, no one man has had so great a share as our principal. Carlos B. Ellis. The entire centennial program was both interesting and picturesque. The parade, in which all the Springfield high pupils participated, consisted of a march down State Street, past the reviewing scand in front of the City Library, to Dwight, to Bridge, and on to Main and Court Streets. Following this parade, which was one of the most unique and impressive demonstrations ever witnessed in the city of Springfield, the students crowded into the Auditorium, filled it to capacity, and overflowed to the First Church. Rabbi Stephen S. Wise of New York City, the principal speaker of the day, addressed the pupils on the subject “The Function of Education in American Life.” Vice-Chairman Franklin A. Latimer of the School Board presided at the exercises at the Auditorium and gave a brief talk on the high school movement in this city. Other speakers on the program were Dr. Zenos E. Scott, Superintendent of Schools, Principal William C. Hill of Central High School, Mayor Fordis C. Parker, and Dr. Frank W. Wright, Director of Secondary Education in Massachusetts. Among the guests present at tnc exercises were various local school officials, mem- bers of the School Board, and noted educators from other cities and towns. The High School of Commerce was much in evidence in the spectacular parade to the Auditorium. In the center of the Commerce section, which was a colorful symphony of red and white, was the Commerce Girls’ Bugle and Drum Corps. This corps is unique in high school circles in this city and vicinity, and was indeed an at- traction in the Centennial parade. Commerce also provided the Springfield Interschool Band with many of its musicians. This Intcrschool Band, which was at the head of the parade, is Springfield’s newest musical organization, and is composed of students from the three high schools, under the direction of LeRoy W. Allen, High School of Commerce music instructor. May the High School of Commerce continue its rapid progression and maintain its splendid reputation among the high schools of our country! Daniel Friedson •a '■ ' ■■ ■ ------------ --------------------■— ■ - =t» PAGE EIGHT

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CADUCEUS HIGH SCHOOL HOUSE, 1818. ' High School Centennial The anniversary of one hundred years of city high school education was observed Friday, November 16, 1928, when all the civic and educational facilities of the City of Springfield concentrated their powers in celebration. From the eminence to which Springfield high schools have climbed in the state and in the country, the City of Homes may look back through a crowded century of changes and progress to the time in 1828 when the first high school building was erected on School Street with only a handful of pupils, to the present day when there are four high schools carrying a collective roll of over 4300 pupils. Of this number, two-fifths attend the Hign School of Commerce. While the first curriculum was devoted to those subjects deemed classical and cultural, the current curricula of the four high schools embrace practical as well as classical studies. The first diplomas were awarded on March 25, 1856, when a class of nine was graduated. In January of this year, 1929, there were 353 graduates from the high schools, and in June of this year a total of 450 pupils are receiving diplomas. Rev. Story Hebard, a graduate of Amherst College in 1828, was the first high school instructor, at a salary of $750 a year. At this time, the high school was a district ed- ucational center. However, in 1848, it had been changed to a town or city high school, and Ariel Parish was the principal at a salary of $90.91 per month. The school cur- riculum was divided into three departments: common English branches, higher English and Mathematical branches, and the Classical department. Annual examinations were held for admittance to the high school, and candidates were required to present them- selves with slate and pencil, nens, and a few sheets of paper. The examinations were confined to arithmetic, English grammar, geography, reading, and spelling. .The high school progressed rapidly, and with the increasing nigh school popu- lation came the need of a more diversified training. Consequently, the high school in existence in 1905 was given the appellation “Central High School” and was devoted practically entirely to the purpose of training in classical subjects. In this same year, 1905, the Technical High School was built to minister to those needing a particular type of training; and ten vears later, in 1915, the High School of Commerce was established. Of these three high schools, Commerce has been by far the most rapid in growth. Its student population of over 1700 is almost as much as the collective en- PAOE SBVEN

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