The Progress of Westchester's School System

With the influx of new homes in Westchester the school enrollment began to grow.  An eight classroom addition to Britten School was ready for classes in 1952.  Divine Infant School built an addition of eight classrooms and an auditorium with space for classrooms.
By 1953, the population of Westchester had grown to 7,979 residents.  In this years, the Board of Education purchased a new school site on the west side of the Village.  The purchase of the land and the construction of the new school were financed by bond issue.  This school would be named High Ridge School.  The school was named for the ridge the school was built on, the highest point in Westchester.  Dedication ceremonies for the school took place on October 5, 1954.  Soon after that, the Village paved Canterbury Street along Stratford Avenue to Haase Avenue, and put in sidewalks along Canterbury Street so that the children could walk to High Ridge School safely.
Divine Infant School offered kindergarten for the first time in 1953.  The school, which had been under the direction of the Congregation of St. Joseph in La Grange Park since its beginning, already offered grades one through eight.
In 1954, the Board of Education again made plans to expand Westchester's schools.  A fourteen room addition to Nixon School was built in 1954, and was ready for classes in September of 1955.
In the late 1950's , three more schools were built in our area.  Divine Providence School was built in 1957.  In 1958, Proviso West High School was built in Hillside, providing Westchester high school students with a school to attend that was closer to home.  The Proviso Township High School in Maywood then became known as Proviso East High School.
Mary Jane Kennedy School was built and dedicated in the year 1959.  The school was named after one of the teachers in Westchester Public Schools.  This building, like the other public schools in Westchester, was financed by bond issue.  Mr. William Heimann, Business Manager for the Westchester Public Schools, stated that the Westchester Public Schools will be completely paid for on January 1, 1976.
These statistics, obtained from the master's thesis of Margaret May Conerty and the updated figures obtained from Mr. William Heimann, illustrate the progress of the Westchester Public Schools:

Year	Homes	Population	Assessed Valuation	Pupils	Classrooms	Total Staff
54-55	2,587	8,882	18,500.00	1186	38	46
74-75	6,000	21,000	88,850,000.00	1753	69	100