Editor’s Note: The following is information from my research into Sachem Central School District archives. I’ll be reporting every week on my findings. -CV
In the October 1958 edition of “Sachem News,” a publication formally printed by the Sachem Board of Education, the notion of school expansion was a very important and present topic. The school board was voting regularly on new building proposals and expansion as the total enrollment continued to double year over year.
Sachem Jr.-Sr. High School presented to community
On Oct. 18, 1958, the board of education presented the new Sachem Jr.-Sr. High School, now known as Samoset Middle School, to the community. Everyone was invited to a brief dedication ceremony, including Dr. Louis M. Armstrong, a representative from the New York State Education Department, among others.
The theme of the story in that issue of “Sachem News” spoke to the use of “sans egal,” a French word meaning “second to none”.
“A Frenchman on this tour undoubtedly would repeat ‘ooo-la-la’s’ at every turn, for he would be inspecting one of the most beautiful school buildings in the country,” the story reads.
Principal reports on high school opening
In a column written in the “Sachem News”, Sachem High School Principal Richard Berger wrote that, “right from the beginning, things generally went well, perhaps even better than we expected,” about the opening of the high school for the first day of classes on Sept. 4, 1958.
“One thing the new school emphasized to me, is how truly cooperative the venture is,” he wrote. “It embraces the planning of the architects and the skill of the builders to produce a plant suited to our community’s educational requirements.”
Board discussion of building expansion
In 1958 there was also an analysis of enrollment and the increasing numbers that would force Sachem to expand its number of facilities. In 1955 total enrollment was 1,587 students, by 1958 there were 3,079 and by 1961 they assumed the population would increase enough that enrollment could go up by at least another 1,000 or more.
There were special board meetings held at the time to discuss the addition of an elementary school building which would cost roughly $1.2 million, which translates to about $9.8 million in today’s money according to an inflation calculator on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website.
Sachem awarded honor society charter
In other interesting news from the times, Sachem Jr.-Sr. High School was officially awarded a charter certifying its membership into the National Honor Society in 1958. Berger and a faculty committee screened records of eligible students and the school’s first induction ceremony was held later that fall.
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-BOE Pres says Sachem is “second to none” in 1957
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro