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ERNIE DAVIS MIDDLE SCHOOL

ERNIE DAVIS MIDDLE SCHOOL. A proud name A proud heritage Proud to be a part of the Elmira community. There wasn’t always an Ernie Davis Middle School. Buildings and traditions grow. This is how it happened . . .

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ERNIE DAVIS MIDDLE SCHOOL

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  1. ERNIE DAVIS MIDDLE SCHOOL A proud name A proud heritage Proud to be a part of the Elmira community

  2. There wasn’t always anErnie Davis Middle School.Buildings and traditions grow.This is how it happened . . .

  3. In 1836, the steeple was removed from the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Church Street and Baldwin Street. It became Elmira Academy

  4. “The First Elmira Academy” from an 1839 drawing by Sarah Ellen Congdon (age 15)

  5. It was, however, not free. Parents were expected to pay tuition.

  6. In 1840, the Baldwin Street Academy was incorporated into Elmira Academy. It wasn’t “free” yet. Parents were expected to pay tuition. Various 19 week courses were offered at varying rates:

  7. In 1859, Dr. Erastus L. Hart, a physician and president of the Board of Education, was successful in his campaign to abolish the rate-bill payment system. By amendment to the Village Charter, the Free Academy was established and education was free for all students. Mr. Moses Sumner Converse was the first principal. Miss Helen M. Phillipps was the other member of the faculty.

  8. A property on Clinton Street deemed the best site for a new school. An award of $50.00 was offered to the person who submitted the best plan. For a short time, beginning on April 9, 1860, classes were held in the basement of the Congregational Church, where Park Church now stands.

  9. On September 30, 1860 classes were moved to a factory building at the southeast corner of Church and William Streets. One highlight of the year was a visit to the school by Stephen A. Douglas, candidate for President of the United States.

  10. Elmira Free Academy 1862 The new, three-story school building opened for the Spring 1862 term. The first commencement exercise was held on July 25, 1862. The graduates were James R. Monks (who later became a principal of the school) and J. Amelia Munson (who taught at the school for a short time).

  11. Joel Dorman Steele became the principal of Elmira Free Academy in 1866. Oddly, Mr. Steele was born in 1836, the year Elmira Academy was founded in The First Presbyterian Church. During his tenure at Elmira Free Academy, he authored Fourteen Weeks in Chemistry, a textbook that popularized the subject. Today, Steele Memorial Library is named for the educator.

  12. Mr. Steele’s innovations included: • An honor roll • Unsupervised study halls • Calisthenics • First and Second Head Scholars

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