Whatcom High School - Kulshan Yearbook (Bellingham, WA)

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ADMINISTRATION

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it , e-'-as-r-sgr1 v'ueu, . !,,.-:lc'i-av-.l.,,..Il.-cfX-.xfi ,, f- T.W?. Y-'xfJ'XfH-,h Qff'f '4 xx - Q BOARD OF EDUCATION HUGH Dllitll. Al.Blilt'l' ANDIEHSUN than. Cozn-in ll. W. VAN liusnmn C. M. looms Wim. D. Pn.x'r'r When the lirsl school house was built on the corner ol' Maple aml Cornwall Avenue in l8til, there was no Board ol' Education. The residents decided they should have a school and they each contributed enough money to employ a teacher for the half-dozen children in the community. There seems to be no written record of the selection of the first Board of Directors, but we do find as early as 1883 the existence of three separate such Boards on Bellingham Bay. One was at Whatcom, one at Sehome, and the third at Bellingham. In 1892 Sehome and VVhatcom schools were consolidated and later the Bellingham School District, which-had become Fairhaven, was united with the other two, forming the present Bellingham School District. Boards of Education are usually composed of men and women who are outstanding in the community, who are willing to render a high public service for which they receive neither financial compensation nor very much public appreciation. Since 1900 more than fifty different citizens have served as directors, their terms ranging from a few months to that of Dr. VV. R. Gray, who served a little more than ten years. The first Superintendent of Schools ol' the Xvhatcom District was Mr. tl. ll. .lohnson, who was also principal ol' the high school organized in 1890. XVilh the consolidation ol' the Sehome School District, Mr. Johnson was relieved of the high school principalship aml he was succeeded in this capacity by Mr. Harry Pattison, who later, upo11 Mr. .lohnson's death, succeeded him as Superintendent. By some strange dec1'ee of fate, these two superintendents, who were brothers-in-law, died while in office. Botti were very high types of men and they did much to establish the foundation ol' our present school system. The first Superintendent had a total of thirteen teachers to supervise, five years later he had thirty-three: while today Superintendent W'iedman has two hundred and fifteen, a much more complex type of education, and problems of administration such as the early superintendents never dreamed of. 13