A History of Junior High West/ Ottoson Middle School
During most of the 17th, 18th and 19th century, American public schools were grouped into Primary (grades 1-4) and Grammar (grades 5-8) schools. Public schools were generally in session from the start of December to the end of March, as children were needed to help with farming. Private “preparatory schools” that covered what we now think of as the high school years charged tuition and prepared only a small number of students for college.
Arlington (originally known as the Menotomy district of Cambridge, then incorporated as the separate town of West Cambridge, and finally adopting the more distinct name of Arlington) has always demonstrated a strong commitment to the education of its youth. The Junior High West was built in 1921 due to the town’s dramatic population growth and reflected early-twentieth century educational “best practices.” The school was the pride of Arlington when it was built.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Arlington underwent a huge population increase as the town changed from its original agricultural base to a flourishing Boston suburb. Arlington’s 2011 Master Plan explains: “Arlington was settled in the mid-1600s and its population grew slowly until the early twentieth century. Between 1870 and 1920, Arlington’s population increased six-fold, from 3,261 to 18,665, and it would double again between 1920 and 1930.” At the time Arlington voters approved funding for the Junior High West in 1919, Arlington was already supporting five elementary schools (originally built for grades 1-8), one high school (grades 10-12) and one junior high school: Junior High Central (where the Arlington Center for the Arts and the Senior Center are now located, behind Town Hall). The elementary schools were the Russell School (now part of Arlington Catholic High School), Locke School (now condominiums), Crosby School (occupied for many years by Dearborn Academy and now the Lesley Ellis School), Cutter School (now condominiums) and Parmenter School (now used by the International School of Boston). In 1864 Cotting Academy became the town’s first public high school, Cotting High School. The school was originally at built in 1858 as a private preparatory academy on the current Masonic Temple site, 19 Academy Street (hence the name "Academy Street.") Thirty years and a growing student population later, a new Centre High School was built in 1894 across the street at 20 Academy Street.
Continued population growth in a town with an established commitment to public education meant a new high school was needed by the second decade of the twentieth century. The planning for Arlington High School incorporated national education experts’ recommendations and also resulted in the town’s first “junior high” school. In the early twentieth century, the new National Education Association advocated for restructuring the predominant grades 1-8 and 9-12 school organization to better serve the needs of young adolescents “who were neither children nor adults and required school programs and policies that would meet their unique developmental and educational needs.” (“A Brief History of the Middle School,” M. Lee Manning). The first "junior high" schools opened in Columbus, Ohio in 1909. When Arlington’s Center High School became too crowded, town education leaders adopted this reform philosophy. Arlington High School was built in 1914 for grades 9-12, and the former Centre High School became the new Junior High Centre for grades 7-8. As the town continued to grow, voters approved the Junior High West in 1921.
"The original building was only intended for about 300 pupils, but future plans called for an addition to be built on both ends of the school to form the letter "U." However, the Acton St. end addition was never to be realized, wo that is why rooms 13-20 are still missing." (Memories of Junior High West, 1959 Yearbook)
The dedication of the new "imposing" (according to the Arlington Advocate) junior high school was a huge event in Arlington. The Boston Globe reported on Friday, Dec 9, 1921 that the school had been dedicated the night before, and that "the main auditorium of the new 12-room building was filled to its capacity." The occasion was so noteworthy that the Supervisor of Secondary Education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Clarence D. Kingsley, gave the keynote address: "The Junior High School as a Modern Expression of American Democracy in Education."
(A third Arlington junior high, Junior High East, would be built in 1928. The building was renamed the Gibbs Junior High in 1983, honoring recently- retired Arlington teacher and Superintendent William T. Gibbs. Junior High Central became the Junior High Industrial Arts School in 1950, serving 7th-9th grade students with special needs. In the early 1970s, Central School returned to a more traditional academic-focused curriculum for 7th and 8th graders. It housed a “satellite“ program made up of regular-education students from both the Junior High East and the Ottoson along with students who needed special education services. In the mid ‘70s, Parmenter’s grades 4-6 students met at Central School. Central School closed in 1981 and the building was repurposed as the Arlington Seniors Center and now the Arlington Center for the Arts.)
The first principal of Junior High West was J. Stearns Cushing: The new principal of the Junior High school, Mr. J. Stearns Cushing, comes to this position with a splendid teaching record. Mr. Cushing was educated at the Bridgewater Normal school, after which he entered Harvard University, being graduated in the class of 1916. For two years he was sub-master at the Bridgewater High school, then sub-master for two years at the Portsmouth High school, the position which he occupied previous to accepting the principalship at the Junior High school being Junior Master at the Chelsea High school. Mr. Cushing is twenty-nine years old, is married and has one child, a little boy. He resides at 36 Academy Street.” (The Arlington Advocate)
Junior High West was dedicated on Thursday evening, December 8, 1921. The Arlington Advocate described the ceremony:
DEDICATION EXERCISES JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Although completed some weeks ago and already occupied by pupils, the formal dedication of the Arlington Junior High School-West, and the turning over of the keys to the chairman of Arlington School Committee did not take place until Thursday evening of this week. The exercises were planned for last week, but owing to the severe weather conditions they were obliged to be postponed.
The school has been in the process of building for so long a time that citizens have become familiar with its presence owing to its sightly location on what is known as the
"Crusher Lot." It seemed as if there were many things that conspired to delay the last details incident to the opening of the school and the dedication but "all's well that ends well" and surely this can be said of the new building, which is the last word in equipment for Junior High work.
The exercises opened with a selection by the High School orchestra: "Priests March from Athalia," Mendelssohn. This was followed by an invocation by Rev. Don Ivan Patch, minister of the Orthodox Congregational church. Then came the report of the building committee given by William Wyman Crosby, chairman, who was the presiding officer of the exercises. In this speech was the formal turning over of the keys to Olvin H. Lufkin, Chairman of Board of Selectmen, who accepted them and in turn delivered them to Mr. Myron W. Dole, chairman of the School Committee , who accepted them on behalf of the same.
Mrs. Lennie Chapman, Patriotic Instructor of W. R. Corps 36, presented the school with a silk flag on behalf of the corps to be used in the building.
The Junior High school chorus gave the following three selections: “I Would That My Love,” Mendelssohn; “Massa's in the Cold Cold Ground,” Stephen Foster; “O No John,” Somerset Folk Song.
The address of the evening was by Clarence D. Kingsley, Supervisor of Secondary Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His subject was “The Junior High School as a Modern Expression of American Democracy in Education.” He was keenly alive to his subject and that he believed in it was apparent.
The formal exercises closed with a selection “Aida March,” by Verdi, and then the chairman gave a cordial invitation for all who desired to inspect the building.
During the hour the Education and Social committee of the Arlington Woman’s Club, Miss Ethel Wellington and Mrs. George A. Clark, chairman, served light refreshments assisted by Miss Harriett R. Pennell, supervisor of Domestic Science of the schools.
The building committee was as follows: William W. Crosby, chairman, Myron W. Dole, secreatrey, Clinton W. Schwamb, Charles B. Devereaux, Frank A. O’Brien. These together with the Board of Selectmen, the town fathers, occupied seats on the platform, also others.
The following description of the lot and of the school building has been supplied to The Advocate by the chairman of the building committee, Howard B. S. Prescott of Arlington, who has been the architect for many of our school buildings, was the one engaged by the committee for this task and the building speaks for itself. Arlington may well feel proud of the splendid structure, the fruition of earnest and conscientious effort on the part of the building committee and the architect. The description follows:
Six of the over fourteen acres in the Crusher Lot have not been improved at this time, being between Gray street and a possible extension of Harvard St. Eight acres are left for school and playgrounds and a front strip for part of a future thoroughfare from Pleasant street to junction of Mass avenue and Appleton street.
The grade in front of the building is forty-five feet above such a street, but the distance permits a good walk to each front entrance. Traffic approach is from Acton streets and footpaths possible from Harvard and Gray streets. These many ways of access will avoid the congestion of pupils on any single highway...
Next to the Acton street entrance, one acre has been graded and will be finished as a playground. A smaller one in the rear of the building will also serve for parking autos. These should serve as well for the general use of the neighborhood.
The location of the building on the lot allows for future additions, to at least double the capacity, and the plan can be adapted to a grammar, junior high or combination school, for relieving congestion in other buildings, or future additional changes. The classrooms have 395 desks and department rooms accommodate 85 pupils in addition.
On the first and second floors are rooms for thirteen classes, also for teachers, emergency administration, storage and special toilets. On each floor are centralized wardrobe units for both girls and boys, heated and ventilated so as to obviate any odor in the corridors. The central corridors lead to a fireproof stairwell at each end, enclosed by metal doors and wire glass. The public are further safeguarded by connection doors between rooms.
The ground floor accommodates manual training, cooking, general toilets, fan and boiler rooms. There is space for the latter to provide for additions to the building. The coal pocket is fire-proof and filled through covers level with the outside grade in rear. A combined assembly hall, gymnasium and lunch room, seating 300, occupies the balance of this floor. There is a raised platform on one end, ten feet by twenty-four feet, and storage spaces along one side for the portable seats when an open floor space is required.
The period when this space is used for the three purposes do not conflict, and the resultant saving in cost of the building enabled the committee to carry out their work without asking for further appropriation. Direct, outside entrance into this hall, and the adjoining cooking room, make it suitable for community use without entering the school portions of the building...
North Carolina Pine, stained grey, has been used for interior finish, with grey tones on all walls, except a warm buff in corridors. Main rooms have secondary clocks, operated from the master clock in the principal's office, and an interior telephone communication. The electric lighting makes all parts available for evening use. ..
In 1929, just eight years after the original building was built, twelve more classrooms were added to the main structure. "Dr. Franklin P. Hawkes became principal in 1923 and continued his able leadership until Dec. 1938. During those years the enrollment more than doubled, making the first addition on the Quincy St. side an immediate necessity by 1928. Those were strenuous times for pupils and faculty alike as the "West" had to adopt a platoon system for one year, running two schools in the same day. The eighth and ninth grades held their classes from 8:15 to 12 o'clock while the seventh grade, using the same rooms with a different staff of teachers, was in session from 12:30 until 5 o'clock! This was before the days of separate lockers, so you can imagine the confusion when two pupils stored books in the same desk.
In 1929 construction was finished, and at last came the thrilling day when the big fire doors were opened to allow the excited and curious pupils to enter their new quarters, rooms 3 to 29. More space was provided for group activities, a new office for the principal and some shop area. The school population continued to grow. The Physical Education Department became exceedingly limited, for gym classes were held in the assembly hall, the location of the present lunchroom. Only 35 students could participate at a time in a period of forty minutes per week per pupil. In the fields of Visual Education, the Manual Arts, Dramatics, and Orchestral and Band Music, only limited programs were allowable. Pupil participation in and scheduling for interesting assemblies or production of the annual operetta was most inadequate. This was the situation when our third and present principal, Mr. A Henry Ottoson, came to the "West" in December 1938. " (Memories of Junior High West, 1959 Yearbook)
The Junior High West’s new “wood gym” in 1950 was an immense source of town pride. "With an able committee, Mr. Ottoson bent every effort toward the realization of a dream, the alteration of the main building and a new combination Gymnasium-Auditorium. One summer the partitions were moved between rooms 12, 11, and 10 to allow a new classroom to be inserted. The old stage in the assembly hall was removed, among many other changes, for the new Gymnasium-Auditorium was under consideration, next under construction, and finally completed and dedicated in 1950. This was just in time, since the closing of Junior High Center sent a large share of their students to the "West."
With one thousand seats, sufficient for any group activity or assembly of the school, the new unit also provides for the requirements of the Physical Education program. With its great dividing doors, the collapsible side bleachers and huge stage, the entire Gymnasium-Auditorium is self-contained and so constructed that it can be closed off from the academic building when there are extra-curricular affairs. Now our "West" has taken the shape of a "T." (Memories of Junior High West, 1959 Yearbook)
Mr. Cushing had served as Junior High West’s first principal for two years. Subsequent principals included Franklin P. Hawkes (1923 – 1938),
A. Henry Ottoson (1939-1972), Edmund R. Mahoney (1972-1989), Paul E. Lamoureaux (1989-2002), Stavroula I. Bouris (2002 -2007),
interim principal Judy Malone-Neville (2007-2009), Timothy R. Ruggere (2009-2016), and interim Principal Eileen Woods (2016-2018).
The school’s current principal is Brian Meringer (2018-).
Arlington’s 9th graders moved from the three junior high schools to AHS about 1960 and the Junior High West returned to a 7th and 8th grade school. Junior High West underwent significant expansion in the early 1960s, adding a new cafeteria and music rooms, a new administration and new front lobby area, a new library and a new home economics(FACS) area.
In 1966, Arlington Public Schools became one of the first six MA districts to welcome students who were part of the METCO program (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity). Junior High West/Ottoson students living in areas closer to Boston have remained an important part of the Ottoson community for over 55 years.
The name of Junior High West was changed to Ottoson Junior High in 1972 to honor the school’s third principal, Aarron Henry Ottoson. (“Aarron” was misspelled on Mr. Ottoson’s birth certificate). Henry Ottoson was born in Gardner, MA in 1904 and graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1922. He earned his Teacher’s Certificate in Manual Training from Fitchburg State College, and then graduated from Boston University in 1927 with his Master’s Degree in Education. Mr. Ottoson began his education career as a teacher. He then became assistant principal at the Levi Warren Junior High School in Newton, followed by positions as principal for Framingham’s Saxonville School and then Memorial Junior High School. Mr. Ottoson was hired as the principal for Arlington’s Junior High West in 1939.
Henry Ottoson and his wife, fellow teacher Helen McDonough, moved to Gray Street in Arlington along with their children John, Ann and Alina. Mr. Ottoson became not only a noted Arlington educator but also a very influential Arlington community member. He was involved in many volunteer groups, including the Arlington Boys Club, the Minuteman Council of Boy Scouts, the Arlington Auxiliary Fire Department, the Arlington Kiwanis, and the Mystic Valley Mental Health Association. Mr. Ottoson remained Principal of Junior High West for thirty-three years, until his unexpected death on January 8, 1972.
Mr. Ottoson was beloved for his strong interest in each of the 7th and 8th grade Junior High West students. He greeted each student by name, and in the evening personally visited the homes of those who had challenges engaging in the school community. Students enjoyed talking with him, and years later they would come to him for advice (Legendary Locals of Arlington, B. Goodman and M. Howard). At the memorial service held after Mr. Ottoson’s death, he was described as “a gentleman and a gentle man,” as well as one who had “guided some 12,000 young persons.”
Following Mr. Ottoson’s death, a Henry Ottoson Scholarship was established to help graduates of the Junior High West seek vocational training beyond high school; contributions were so generous that the fund has continued to provide annual scholarships to Arlington High School graduates for over forty-five years. Junior High West’s Student Cabinet also proposed honoring the memory of Mr. Ottoson’s decades of caring leadership by changing the name of the school. The proposal was immediately accepted by the Arlington School Committee, and Junior High West officially became the Ottoson Junior High School in September 1972.
From 1970-1975, a surge in school-age population sparked the institution of several junior high satellite programs. Junior High West/Ottoson’s program, called “Park West,” was housed at the Park Avenue Congregational Church and the Heights Branch Library across the street. (Junior High East’s satellite program was “Spy Pond East,” and it was housed in the basement of the Boys and Girls Club. Both schools also sent some students to Central Junior High’s School Satellite program, which also included students who needed special services.) These “satellite schools” housed the equivalent of one learning community of students with four or five teachers. The satellite programs were noteworthy for their “schools without walls” philosophy and innovative teaching methods.
In 1974 and 1975, non-satellite Ottoson and Junior High East students attended classes (double sessions) at AHS during major renovations to both schools. At the Ottoson the students returned in January of 1975 to a school with a new, expansive “blue gym” and major renovations to the rest of the school. An “open classroom” format on the second floor of the new addition reflected progressive educational thought of the time.
The 9th grade returned to the Ottoson during the academic year 1979/80 while portions of AHS were renovated.
The Ottoson Junior High became the Ottoson Middle School in 1984. At the time, Superintendent William T. Gibbs promoted changing the orientation of the town’s junior high schools from “junior high” to “middle” schools. “Middle school philosophy” is an educational reform that became widespread during the 1980s. “Middle” schools are designed to retain the positive aspects of the junior high school such as core curriculum, guidance programming, and exploratory education classes. However, middle schools eliminate other aspects of the high school model, such as competitive sports and a focused subject matter orientation. High schools are divided into physically separate academic areas, with all teachers within one discipline concentrated in that area. This facilitates teacher discussions about matters related to their academic discipline. “Middle schools” are different; they are divided into learning communities composed of one teacher from each core academic area. This close proximity enables teachers who all share the same students to easily communicate about students’ social/emotional needs. Middle schools also promote educational concepts such as team teaching and interdisciplinary learning that are seen as particularly engaging for young adolescents.
The Ottoson’s wood gym was renovated in the 1980s following a flood that ruined the floor. From 1986-1991 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education rented a large amount of space at the Ottoson, in the area of the current art hallway and courtyard.
In 1989, as Arlington's population declined, the Gibbs Middle School closed and all of the town’s 7th and 8th graders began attending the Ottoson.
Another major Ottoson renovation took place during 1996/97. Arlington middle school students again attended classes held in a separate wing of AHS. The current 8th grade classroom area was added, eliminating the open classroom format, along with the center courtyard and current “art hallway.” The blue gym and other areas of the school were renovated.
In 1997/98, Ottoson Middle School students returned from their year at AHS and also welcomed the town’s 6th graders. This change was a reaction both to the town’s once-again rising elementary school-age population and a recognition of the increased maturity of late-twentieth century sixth graders.
Twenty years later, in 2018/19, Arlington’s continued population growth necessitated the re-opening of the Gibbs School as a sixth-grade-only school, and the Ottoson returned to a 7th and 8th grade format.
After a century of teaching and learning, the Ottoson Middle School is proud to continue to reflect Arlington’s continued commitment to its children’s welfare and educational excellence.