Cleveland's Southside--Elementary Schools

There were schools, one public and the rest private, that were considered "elementary or primary"
schools on the Southside. Tremont was also designated as a junior high school at one time and
St. John Cantius later added a high school. They are included in this section.
Church schools open to members only are not included.

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Tremont School -- Elementary and Junior High School, Public:

The first principal Tremont School was Leonard G. Foster in 1860. Foster left the School in 1863 to serve in the Civil War, but returned as its principal in
1864, where he stayed one more year. See Ella Grant Wilson in Memories.

In 1879 Tremont School had 1,196 students.

The Tremont School Library, part of Tremont School, was the forerunner of the Cleveland Public Library's Jefferson Branch. The library operated from a
single room framed annex in the school yard from December 1911 until December 1918. See Jefferson Branch Library in Landmarks.

Zita Carney Mullen (1896-1987) in an interview before July 18, 1982, shared that she was a teacher in the early 1920's at Tremont School when there was
also an open air school for tuberculars. She said, "The windows were not permitted to be closed unless the temperature went below 30. The children and
teachers were dressed in cloaks that resembled Franciscan friars. Tuberculosis was rampant. There were many deaths, baby deaths. There were a lot of
children that were listless and just plain tired out. They would come (to the school) and get the food. I had a girl who gained 17 pounds in less than a term.
She had come from the mines of Pennsylvania." ( ***The young girl Mrs. Mullen is speaking about is Pauline Knish later Mills. See Pauline Knish Mills and
Marilyn Zoloty Kowallek in Memories.

By the early 1930's, twelve percent of this school's population were pre-tubercular and were grouped in fresh air classes. The rate of tuberculosis on the
Southside was 137 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 19 per 100,000 population in the highest economic areas of Cleveland. If the child was too
ill, he or she would be sent to Warrensville Sunny Acres Sanitarium, property owned by the city of Cleveland, located in Warrensville Township. All medical
costs were paid out of the city's health fund and the child would be in a "home" like environment with schooling provided. The length of stay could range from
three months to as long as three years. When deemed cured, "the child would be returned home, usually to the same environment that sent him or her to
the sanitarium in the first place."

In 1932, the seventh and eighth grades (junior high school grades) were at Tremont. A few years before those grades were transferred to Lincoln High
School. The inclusion of these two grades back into Tremont may have been due to the overcrowding of Lincoln High School and the ongoing argument on
whether to keep Tremont School open with its declining yearly enrollment.

Tremont School was considered the handicraft center for the entire city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Public Schools in 1934. It was equipped with eight
types of work shops to experiment with methods and equipment suitable for elementary pupils in the field of crafts. Even with this, the facilities were
inadequate to care for the entire school, much less any outside activity.

In 1934 there were 59 teachers and approximately 2,300 students. Some children were given free milk but only on a doctor's examination and
recommendation. Malnutrition was still a problem but Tremont faired better than other area elementary schools because its teachers provided free lunches
for the children.

The Winifred Fryer County Children's Receiving Home was open on July 11, 1951, after years of petitions, litigation by Southside residents and accusations
of racism against the residents. Located in a section of the school, but not a part of it, the building was leased by Cuyahoga County from the Cleveland
Board of Education.

In 1967, after an investigative report by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Winifred Fryer County Children's Receiving Home, located in Tremont School was
closed down See Bits of Info -- Shame.

Sources:
A History of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, Chicago, American Historical Society, 1924.
Early Days on Cleveland's Southside by Ella Grant Wilson, August 10, 193? See Memories
Hendry, Charles E. and Margaret T. Svendsen, Between Spires and Stacks, 1936. See Books and Links.
Cleveland Public Library Image Collection history. See Landmarks.
Interview with Pauline Knish Mills, 1983. See also Memories.
The Plain Dealer Magazine, Sunday, July 18, 1982.
Green, Howard Whipple, Tuberculosis and Economic Strata, 1928-1931, Cleveland, 1932.
Ziats, Paul, Tremont, Cleveland, Ohio's Southside, Cleveland, 1990.
Ohio City Booster, March 24, 1949
Cleveland Press, December 20, 1951
Cleveland News, February 10, 1953
Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 9, 2007 (written by Sam Fulwood, III)

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Holy Ghost Elementary School -- Byzantine Catholic -- West 14th near Kenilworth.

"Break Ground at Byzantine 4th School -- Breaking ground yesterday for the Holy Ghost parish school signaled establishment of a fourth school in
Cleveland under the aegis of the Byzantine Rite Catholic Church. The school will be built just north of the old church and parish house at 2408 West 14th
Street. Byzantine Rite Catholic clergy here feel it will fill a pressing need for additional educational facilities for children of the rite. Msgr. Tomislav Firis,
pastor of St. Nicholas' Croatian Church, officiated at the groundbreaking. The sermon in English was delivered by the Rev. Joseph Bodnar, pastor of St.
Mary's Church. All are of the Byzantine rite." The one-story, $300,000 structure will contain eight classrooms, a dispensary, library, gym, kitchen and
church hall. The hall will serve as the parish center." "(h)alf of the money has been raised, according to the Rev. George Durisin, pastor. Completion of
the building is scheduled in time for the opening of the fall term." Parishioners were reminded "in order to make this school a success, you must work
and pray together and begin to make sacrifices."

Sources:
Unknown, date unknown.

Click here for photos from Holy Ghost Elementary School

St. John Cantius Elementary and High School -- Polish Roman Catholic --

In 1934, St. John Cantius had an enrollment of 842 pupils.

St. John Cantius Elementary School, which opened 101 years ago in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood, is permanently closing its doors in June. The
Rev. Lucjan Stokowski, pastor of St. John Cantius Catholic Church said only 51 students were enrolled this year in the school's kindergarten through 6th
grade classes and only 42 signed up for next year. "It's impossible to keep the school open for 42 kids," he said. The priest had told parents in January
2000, the school would remain open next school year and it was adding a seventh and eighth grade. Two months later he announced it was closing.
Stokowski said the school had notified parents in plenty of time that the deadline for next year's enrollment was Feb. 28. "We cannot wait," he said. "Every
year (enrollment) goes down 10 kids." "And with tuition at $1,000 a year," he said, "there is not enough money to meet the teachers' payroll. "It's impossible
to raise the money we need."

Sources:
Hendry, Charles E. and Margaret T. Svendsen, Between Spires and Stacks, Welfare Federation of Cleveland, 1936.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 9, 2000.

St. Augustine Elementary -- Roman Catholic -- Howard Avenue at West 14th Street.

First school at St. Augustine was started in 1868 in the basement of the old frame church. See Churches.

“Rev. Raymond Mylott, then pastor of the parish of Our Lady of the Annunciation, was transferred to St. Augustine's by Bishop Horstmann, his pastorate
commencing in the month of February 1907. Almost before the new pastor had time to become acquainted with his people, the pressing need of a new
school for the children was forced upon him in such a way that it could not be either postponed or avoided. Father Mylott, after canvassing the situation,
came to the conclusion that, inasmuch as the school was imperative at once, it would be as well to build one that would endure for many years in meeting
the needs of the parish, and as well to provide for the social and other interests of the young people. His view was taken by the people and St. Augustine's
combination club and school was the result. Ground was broken for the fine $50,000 structure in May 1907, and it was completed before the end of the
summer, the formal opening taking place in September of the same year. It was placed at once, in its school connections, under the charge of the Sisters
of St. Joseph.

May 19, 1907: New School Will Have Up-to-Date Features. St. Augustine's school of St. Augustine's Church, which is being built on (1413) Howard
Avenue near West 14th Street, at a cost of $50,000, will be completed by the time the fall term of school opens. The building, 100 x 70 feet, is being
constructed of concrete and steel, and will be of English architecture. It will have four stories. On the first floor will be bowling alleys, billiard and
poolrooms, a gymnasium and baths. The second floor will be devoted to school rooms, four on each floor, while an auditorium will be on the fourth floor.
W. W. Hodges designed the structure.

About 350 pupils were enrolled in 1912, the largest since the establishment of the school in the parish.

Social Efforts combined with the School: “The club idea, as conceived 1907 by Father Mylott, proved to be a great factor in the up building of a genuine
feeling of loyalty among the young men and women of St. Augustine's, a spirit of Catholicity and a fraternal rivalry in devotion to the Church. The club, as a
purely social structure, was a splendid conception, with gymnasium, shower bath, bowling alleys, billiard and pool rooms, a reading room and a stage and
auditorium, where dramatic offerings are repeatedly presented. Thousands of young people had benefited by St. Augustine's Club, and it was a
conspicuous aid in the advancement of social and moral well being among the younger people of the South Side, as well as a monument to the foresight
and energy of Father Mylott.”

In 1960, the Sisters of St. Joseph were still teaching in the school. They were guests at a dinner after an Anniversary Mass, along with former teachers,
sons of the parish who went into the priesthood and those who served at the parish. The church now had 400 families and a dwindling school enrollment
of 260. Eight rooms were used; a ninth was closed in 1959.

Sources:
Lyon, Alfred H., writing for the Diocese of Cleveland, Catholic Universe, Vol. 38, No. 34. February 16, 1912.
Unknown, May 19, 1907
Unknown, 1960.

Our Lady of Mercy Elementary -- Slovak Roman Catholic --