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In the course of the over thirty-five years since its founding, Weston High School became a school with a unique culture, one characterized by an initially young and dedicated cadre of teachers; a willingness to integrate new practices; and a trusting attitude toward students’ maturity. 

Through the 1960s, high school-age students in Weston attended Staples High School in Westport.  Though they woke up and went to sleep in a different town than their Westport classmates, the Weston students were comfortable in the Westport school, according to George Guidera, an attorney and former town and state official who grew up in Weston but attended Staples High School.  Likening Weston to “Indian territory” and “the boondocks,” Guidera said one of the key reasons he and his classmates liked Staples so much was because of the activity that surrounded it.  “Westport was extremely more sophisticated than Weston.  Plus they had a downtown,” Guidera said, “after school you could take your car and go to the diner…it [was] like going from a place that’s dark at night to a place that was alive and lighted and exciting.”

But by the early 1960s, the Westport Board of Education, reviewing enrollment projections, decided that it would no longer be feasible for students from the adjoining town to continue to attend Staples.  The enrollment was increasing in Westport, and there simply were not the resources nor space for students from Weston.  The Weston Board of Education started searching for alternatives when informed of this decision.  Dr. Thomas Aquila, who was Superintendent of Schools in Weston at the time, listed many of the options that were presented.

“We offered to build an addition to Staples at our cost,” Aquila said, a proposal that was turned down.  Weston even suggested the possibility of a second site, a “South Staples,” an idea that did not gain traction in Westport.  Weston paid tuition for each student that was sent to Staples, compensating Westport for educating the children of Weston.  Joel Barlow High School, in nearby Redding, Conn., saw the potential benefit of matriculating Weston students.  “We got an invitation from Joel Barlow, inviting us to send our students to Joel Barlow and pay the tuition,” Aquila recalled.  Another possibility that was floated at the time was to split up Weston’s high school-age students and send them in smaller groups to various high schools in neighboring communities such as Redding, Westport and Norwalk.

Eventually, however, Weston’s Board of Education and townspeople decided to construct their own high school, though the cost-per-pupil would be higher in the short term than simply sending the students to another school and paying tuition.  The initial plan called for the construction of a school on a piece of property on Lyons Plains Road, a better site, according to Aquila, than the current one, which was a bog “filled with peat moss” at the time.  However, the town opted for the latter, principally because it cost half the price of the Lyons Plains site.  Construction of the new high school cost $2.5 million.  Weston High School opened its doors for students in 1968.

Weston High School was founded with the simple and practical purpose of providing a facility for educating the town’s high schoolers.  Indeed, Aquila admits that the vision for Weston High school was “fairly traditional.”  Christopher Sidoli, a history teacher and department chairperson at Weston High School who has worked there since its founding, said that Weston just set out to build a good school.  What it got, however, was something different.

Weston High School’s development toward uniqueness was neither a premeditated nor calculated effort, but rather a natural progression.  One of the key factors in urging the school down such a path were the teachers who came to Weston.  Aquila, the superintendent, said that the key for a successful school is the right mix of teachers.  Responsible for hiring the faculty for the new school, Aquila both recruited some teachers from the existing Weston Junior High School (now Weston Middle School) and from other districts.  Stanley H. Lorenzen, who was principal of Staples High School, was hired by Aquila to oversee the construction of the new Weston High School as its first principal.  Sidoli also came from Staples, as did his colleagues Ernie Harrington and Alan Chalk.

That the faculty was young was one of its most noticeable characteristics.  Though there were some older, more experienced teachers on the staff, younger majority tended to “carry the day on a lot of issues,” according to Sidoli.  “The people who founded this school were some of the brightest teachers and educators, they came from Ivy League schools, they were bright, articulate people,” Sidoli said.  “Teaching came very naturally to them.”  They came for different reasons.  One was the sense of cooperation that existed among the teachers.  Sidoli said that a “wonderful sense of camaraderie drew some teachers here.”  In addition, some felt that they were key players in the founding of a school.  For others, Weston High School was a job worth taking.  Susan Hand, an English teacher who, along with Sidoli, is one of the two remaining original teachers, said that Weston was “much more attractive” than her other job offers, largely because she was comfortable with its size.  Only later, Hand says, did the “sense of freshness” become apparent to her.

Of course, that Weston’s novelty attracted a bright, talented corps of young teachers is not undisputed fact.  Some suggested, Sidoli recalled, that Aquila hired younger teachers simply because they were cheaper than more experienced ones.  Aquila asserts that in the beginning teachers were attracted by “the newness of [Weston High School].  The chance to help build it.” 

Regardless, once they were at Weston, teachers came to see the potential of their school.  Aquila said that the real power lay in the teachers’ hands; the administration “gave them the tools and got out of the way.”  Indeed, Sidoli said that “the faculty was really the powerhouse of the school,” for the “first couple of principals, their job was to allow the faculty and students to work things out [on their own].”  Sidoli also commented, “As a matter of fact, we always used to joke that the administration really didn’t do anything.”  For Hand, she appreciated the freedom to tailor her own curriculum, developing courses such as Spanish Literature, Russian Literature, and Literature of the World’s Religions. 

In other ways as well, the school’s reins of power were by no means only in the hands of the principal, but shared with the faculty.  This is demonstrated by a series of memoranda from Principal Lorenzen to the faculty leading up to the commencement of Weston High School’s first graduating class in 1971.  He queries the school’s teachers about issues of the day, and in some cases leaves it up to them to make the decisions.  “It is requested,” Lorenzen wrote, “That you review [the attached document]…and react to its provisions…to iron out problems.”  In another memo, he asks faculty members to “please indicate your opinion [about a decision regarding graduation] on the attached sheet and submit it to Mrs. Rogers.”  Whether it was the result of a superintendent-issued directive, the principal’s management style, a dynamic and powerful faculty or some other cause, the fact was that from its founding, Weston High School’s teachers were allowed great freedom in running both their own classrooms and the school itself.

The result of a faculty-driven school were very strong relationships between teachers and students.  “The student-teacher relationship was key,” said Sidoli.  There was an immediate connection between the students and teachers because oftentimes the age differences between the respective groups were hardly noticeable.  “I was about four years older than some of these guys,” Sidoli recollected, “I did have a problem at some times making sure that distinction stayed a distinction.”  There were positive advantages to the slight age difference.  Hand said that students were not as focused on their own personal life plans.  For Sidoli, it led to a sense that “the kids wanted us,” students were interested in a manner that made sure they “could have real dialogues” with their teachers.

Teachers spent a large portion of their time at school, even beyond normal classroom hours.  Though perhaps an extreme example, Sidoli coached soccer, participated in theatrical productions and went to numerous student events.  This effort by the teachers to reach out was not shunned by the students, and only aided in developing a different sort of pedagogical culture at Weston High School.

Weston High School was the manifestation of a new idea when the old one could not serve its purpose any longer.  So then it is no surprise that the climate at Weston High School was one that was not averse to embracing other new ideas.  In fact, such idealism and broadmindedness played a large role in determining the way in which Weston High School would be run.

Sidoli recalled former English teacher Peter Concilio, whose idea for keeping seniors interested and active during their final semester in high school with custom-tailored projects was “an idea way, way ahead of its time” that the school incorporated.

The Weston Plan, “a proposal for curriculum design and development for the Weston High School,” embraces such novel ideas as a faculty position called “university associates,” educators jointly employed by a local college (University of Bridgeport, Fairfield University or Danbury State College) and Weston High School and dividing time between the two.  The Weston Plan also calls for “teacher-advisors” who, instead of “supervising study halls…will use the time usually devoted to this function for advising their 25 advisees.”

The willingness of the school to experiment with new ideas was strong at its inception and, though it may have waned, this broadmindedness of the administrators and teachers still exists on a smaller scale.  In the fall of 2004, the school adopted a policy that will restructure the grading system for the 2005-2006 academic year, making the difference between an A+ and an A mathematically equal to the difference between an A- and an A. The unique character of Weston High School was and is enhanced by its refusal to be rigid or set in its ways.

Weston High School’s distinctive nature is perhaps most augmented by the administrative and faculty view that students are responsible and mature individuals.  Rather than erring on the side of student’s immaturity, Weston has consistently shown that it believes students are, unless proven otherwise, capable of governing themselves.

A prime example of this belief is the open campus policy that exists today.  At this time, Weston High School sophomores, juniors and seniors are free to leave school throughout the school day at their own discretion, contingent on parental approval at the start of the school year.  Only freshman are required to report to study hall during their unassigned periods, and only during their first semester (during the second semester, freshman are free to spend time in their preferred sites provided they are within the school building).

In 1977, the Weston Board of Education adopted a policy that is similar but not identical to this one.  The policy called for an “open-ended” campus, where students were allowed to come to school in time for their first class of the day and leave after their last, but prohibited from leaving during the day.  By the early 1980s, that policy had become skewed to allow students to leave during the day to go to Weston Center for lunch, provided they attended classes and sign out upon departure.

In 1982, the Student Council began its consideration of a proposal that would specifically define Weston High School as an “open” campus.  In a memo to the superintendent, Alan Haas recommended that the Board of Education agree with the Student Council by inaction.  That is to say, rather than change the 1977 policy to more specifically mandate an “open-ended” or even “closed” campus, Haas encouraged the Board of Education to allow students to continue to make their own choice regarding leaving the school for lunch.  “Students are handling the responsibility of meeting their classes and other appointments well,” Haas wrote.  “We are working under conditions of mutual respect and trust.  Not all students are responding perfectly to these expectations.  That is why we are here.  Our job as teachers, counselors and administrators is to help them learn the basic requirements of self-discipline, responsibility and accountability.”  Haas continued: “It is a healthy, mature environment in which to learn and grow.”

At a February 2005 Board of Education “community night,” where several members of the board take questions from citizens, one parent queried the board members present about the high school’s open campus policy.  The members responded tentatively, but it became clear that none had any intention to challenge the current system, and each respected students’ maturity and self-responsibility, which merit an open campus.

However, the school’s and administration’s trust of students has declined somewhat since the school’s founding.  Sidoli recalls a time when one of his classes was engaged in an intellectually stimulating discussion.  When the bell rang, some students left, but many stayed right on through, so energized were they by the discourse.  The next class came in, sat down and kept the discussion going.  “I didn’t have to write a pass for anybody, nobody from the administration came running down,” Sidoli remembers, “it was an incredible experience, that discussion—I don’t think you’d have anything like it now.”  Certainly, times have changed.  Administrators punctually check-up on students whose attendance is faltering.  While the fundamental groundwork of trust between the school and its students remains, there is little doubt that it is on shakier ground than it was three decades ago.

Weston High School was not founded to be particularly different from its sister institutions.  Its real purpose was to provide a localized site for Weston students to earn their high school degree.  But the confluence of a dynamic faculty, a broadminded tendency and a trust in students’ maturity set Weston High School on the course for uniqueness.  Whether this distinctive nature remains, however, is debatable.

Neither Sidoli nor Hand, who both came to Weston High School in 1968 and remain today, deny the virtues of Weston’s only high school, but both point out numerous changes since its founding.  Hand notices, in particular, the changes in the students.  Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, there has been a movement away from a more “touchy feely” atmosphere and a kind of teaching called “values clarification.”  Now, she notes, students are more conservative and focused on their personal life ambitions. 

For Sidoli, long gone is the strong sense of camaraderie among the teachers and their dedication to the students.  No longer will you see the stands at a big sports game filled with members of the faculty supporting their student-athletes, as once was the case.   He also acknowledges Hand’s point of view, “There are teachers who believe the students have changed.  That they are no longer interested in—they are more interested in themselves, making a living, getting into college, and less interested in knowledge itself.”  A result of which, he said, is a deterioration of the strong teacher-student relationships that were once so integral to the school’s uniqueness.

While the school’s distinctiveness today compared with yesteryear can be called into doubt, its merit cannot.  “I’m in high schools around [the Fairfield County area] because of the work that I do,” Aquila said, “I know Ridgefield [High School], I know Darien [High School], I know Staples [High School], New Canaan [High School]. And man, we’re shoulders above them.”  Of course, many of the other schools mentioned by Aquila are high achieving public high schools, but Weston is certainly on a par with them.  One measure of a school’s success is its college placement figures.  The Weston community was concerned when the high school’s first graduating class began applying to colleges in the 1970-1971 academic year, questioning how their fledging institution would compare to better-established institutions.  “The first graduating class just smashed the college placement, and has been doing so ever since,” Aquila said.

A large part of the school’s success, however, is due to the parents, say both Aquila and Guidera.  Aquila said, “If [a school has students of] high-aptitude, high-achieving parents, the apples don’t fall far from the tree…you have college-trained, highly articulate parents who demand—don’t ask—demand the best for their children.”  To Guidera, the success of Weston High School’s students is a given: “We should have high SAT scores.  These children are the children of successful people.  They became successful because, by and large, they’re bright people.”

“Most other states provide in their constitution that the state provides local education and you don’t have this strong home rule aspect that you have here in Connecticut where each town runs their own school system,” said Guidera.  Perhaps this localized governance of education explains the success of Weston High School. The “home rule” education system in Connecticut allows each school system to be distinctively reflective of the community that surrounds it, and if Weston is a town of successful people, then it follows that Weston High School should be a successful school, according to Guidera and Aquila’s theory of students reflecting their parents’ qualities.

Weston High School has changed since its first freshmen began school in 1968.  A dynamic faculty, an open-mindedness toward new ideas and an inherent trust of students encouraged its natural progression towards uniqueness.  Today, Weston is arguably losing some of the characteristics that made it unique at one point. However, a unique school and a successful one are not one and the same.  And the success of today’s Weston High School, in an affluent and successful community, is a claim few would call into question.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Aquila, Dr. Thomas. Personal interview. 18 December 2004.

 

Guidera, George. Personal interview. 22 December 2004.

 

Haas, Alan. Memorandum to Dr. Aquila. "RE: Open Campus.'

 

Hand, Susan. Personal interview. 17 December 2004.

 

 

Lorenzen, S.H. Faculty Bulletin #28. "Subject: Faculty Graduation Assignments." 24 May 1971.

 

Lorenzen, S.H. Memorandum to All Staff. "Subject: Student Council Proposal re Discipline." 19 February 1971.

 

Sidoli, Christopher. Personal interview. 10 March 2005.

 

"The Weston Plan: A Proposal for Curriculum Design and Development for The Weston High School." Weston, Conn.: 17 March 1967