Herman S. Lovejoy
Born in 1867 on a farm in Woodbury, Vermont, Herman Samuel "Pop" Lovejoy received most of his formal education at Hardwick Academy (Vermont) but also at any place that offered the opportunity. He worked at assorted odd jobs throughout the region (teacher, butcher, farmer) to finance a term or two of schooling. Finally in September 1890 Herman Lovejoy entered Dartmouth College as the oldest member of his class at the age of 23, graduating in 1894 with a Bachelor of Science degree. During the next five years he sold school textbooks and taught in Bradford and Plainfield, Vermont, and was the principal in North Troy, Vermont, and at the high school in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. In the fall of 1899 he began his four-year tenure as the high school principal in Windsor, Connecticut.
In summer 1903 Lovejoy came to Branford to serve as the high school principal at a salary of $1,200-and the innovations began. In 1904, Herman Lovejoy added a college preparatory curriculum to the classical curriculum at the high school. In 1906, a business curriculum was added to the high school courses, though it was not until 1910 that a complete business curriculum was finally phased in. Branford became one of only a handful of schools throughout the state that could boast of offering three separate curricula to its high school students. In 1904, Pop Lovejoy asked the Board of Education to set standards for students completing each grade; and in 1907 the Board, at Lovejoy's urging, required students to complete eight years of grade school before entering high school.
During 1904-05 thirty-eight Polish immigrants requested a night school where they could learn to speak and write English. Another teacher and Pop Lovejoy taught the night class, which he would mention years later with great pride. In the spirit of Noah Webster from the previous century, Lovejoy saw education as means of teaching good citizenship to Branford's pupils in general and to immigrants specifically.
An early advocate of block scheduling, in 1905 Lovejoy asked the Board of Education to change the afternoon session two days a week to accommodate chemistry and physics labs. By 1907, he had achieved a standardized class day of seven 40-minute periods, one being used as a study hall. From 1905 to 1907 in addition to serving as principal of the high school, he was its language teacher (German, French, and Greek) and supervising principal of the grade schools in the center of town. In 1907 biology was added to the curriculum, and music and drawing were first offered in 1908. Having received a master's of science degree from Yale in 1907, Lovejoy became Superintendent of Schools that fall. It was not until fall of 1916 that the Laurel Street School was used solely as the high school; but years before the new high school (now the Sliney School) was built, Herman Lovejoy advocated building it within walking distance of Blackstone Library-recognizing the great asset and resource the library was to Branford students.
After his retirement from Branford in 1923, Lovejoy moved to New Haven and for many years was a geology professor at Yale. In addition, he remained active in many organizations within the region. He was a 32nd degree Mason in the Widow's Son Lodge in Branford, a member of the American Historical Association, the Vermont Historical Society, the Connecticut Schoolmasters Club, the Academy of Political Science and the American Geographical Society.
Education was a lifelong pursuit for Herman Lovejoy. Besides his studies at Dartmouth and Yale, he also studied at McGill University, Harvard, L 'Alliance Francaise in Paris, and Rollins College near his winter quarters in Florida. At his death in 1957 Herman Lovejoy left Branford with his legacy of excellence. By developing a school system based on measurable standards with concrete goals, this forward-thinking innovator brought Branford education into the modern age. The citizens of Branford are truly indebted to this remarkable educator.
In summer 1903 Lovejoy came to Branford to serve as the high school principal at a salary of $1,200-and the innovations began. In 1904, Herman Lovejoy added a college preparatory curriculum to the classical curriculum at the high school. In 1906, a business curriculum was added to the high school courses, though it was not until 1910 that a complete business curriculum was finally phased in. Branford became one of only a handful of schools throughout the state that could boast of offering three separate curricula to its high school students. In 1904, Pop Lovejoy asked the Board of Education to set standards for students completing each grade; and in 1907 the Board, at Lovejoy's urging, required students to complete eight years of grade school before entering high school.
During 1904-05 thirty-eight Polish immigrants requested a night school where they could learn to speak and write English. Another teacher and Pop Lovejoy taught the night class, which he would mention years later with great pride. In the spirit of Noah Webster from the previous century, Lovejoy saw education as means of teaching good citizenship to Branford's pupils in general and to immigrants specifically.
An early advocate of block scheduling, in 1905 Lovejoy asked the Board of Education to change the afternoon session two days a week to accommodate chemistry and physics labs. By 1907, he had achieved a standardized class day of seven 40-minute periods, one being used as a study hall. From 1905 to 1907 in addition to serving as principal of the high school, he was its language teacher (German, French, and Greek) and supervising principal of the grade schools in the center of town. In 1907 biology was added to the curriculum, and music and drawing were first offered in 1908. Having received a master's of science degree from Yale in 1907, Lovejoy became Superintendent of Schools that fall. It was not until fall of 1916 that the Laurel Street School was used solely as the high school; but years before the new high school (now the Sliney School) was built, Herman Lovejoy advocated building it within walking distance of Blackstone Library-recognizing the great asset and resource the library was to Branford students.
After his retirement from Branford in 1923, Lovejoy moved to New Haven and for many years was a geology professor at Yale. In addition, he remained active in many organizations within the region. He was a 32nd degree Mason in the Widow's Son Lodge in Branford, a member of the American Historical Association, the Vermont Historical Society, the Connecticut Schoolmasters Club, the Academy of Political Science and the American Geographical Society.
Education was a lifelong pursuit for Herman Lovejoy. Besides his studies at Dartmouth and Yale, he also studied at McGill University, Harvard, L 'Alliance Francaise in Paris, and Rollins College near his winter quarters in Florida. At his death in 1957 Herman Lovejoy left Branford with his legacy of excellence. By developing a school system based on measurable standards with concrete goals, this forward-thinking innovator brought Branford education into the modern age. The citizens of Branford are truly indebted to this remarkable educator.