Cumberland Elementary School Des Plaines Illinois

Cumberland Elementary School Des Plaines, Illinois

Cumberland’s Early Enrollment
When Cumberland School opened in 1954, it had seven teachers who taught kindergarten through third grade.1 When an addition for fourth grade was added, the school population was 220. In 1956, there was another addition to the school to accommodate the sharp rise in enrollment. By 1957, there were 450 students at Cumberland. After another addition in 1958, the student enrollment was up to 700. In 1961, all fifth and sixth graders were moved to what is now neighboring Chippewa Middle School, but when another school was constructed, the fifth graders moved back. In the 1966-1967 school year, the enrollment decreased to 692 students. In 1969, the sixth graders returned to Cumberland to fill another building addition. This increased the student population to 780 students. With an enrollment of 701 students in 1971, the average class size was 25.2
Storm Damage
On the Friday July 13, 1972, a storm hit Des Plaines with tornado-like winds. These winds ripped and destroyed Cumberland School.3 The roof fell in, water flooded the halls, and fourteen classrooms were damaged. Nine of the rooms were beyond repair. The money it cost to fix the school was estimated to be between $150,000 and $200,000.4
Building Additions
Cumberland School had four building additions. The first was in 1956.5 The second two were in 1958. The last addition was in 1969. These additions were made because there were way too many kids. In the year of 1958-1959 enrollment was increasing. The school building was one third smaller than its current state.
Cumberland’s Early Years
In 1954, a school was built for Kindergarten through fourth grade that became known as Cumberland School. Along with North School, it became the North Unit of District 62 in Des Plaines. The Principal, Mr. Robert Cowell worked only half time.6 Cumberland was named after the area it was located in. The school had seven classrooms and one office. As the school’s population grew, Mr. Paulsen became the next principal and started building renovations. The school had 21 classrooms, a multipurpose room, a kitchen and a new teachers’ lounge. In the 1968-1969 school year, another set of renovations added nine more classrooms, an Instructional Media Center, another lunchroom and a music room.7 Shortly after renovation was complete, a tornado whipped the roof off the new addition. In the1969 - 1970 school year, Cumberland reached its peak enrollment of 772 students.
Cumberland’s First P.T.A.
The first Cumberland P.T.A. contained five members. There was The President, Mrs. Dale R. Fahnestock. There was The Vice President, Mrs. Carl Robins. The Treasurer, Mr. Harold Vikander. The Recording Secretary, Mrs. Gordon McDonald. Lastly, The Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. Kenneth Larson.8
The prairie gets built
On Wednesday, June 2, 2004, then Illinois LT. Governor Pat Quinn came to Cumberland School to talk to fourth and fifth graders about planting a prairie in the field.9 A prairie was planned to prevent floods in the Cumberland Schoolyard. The prairie remains on the Cumberland property today.
Chippewa School
Cumberland School shares 23 acres of land with neighboring Chippewa middle school.10
The Sewage Spill of Cumberland
On November 2, 2001 custodians discovered a sewage leak in the west wing of the school.11 It caused the school’s crawl spaces to be completely backed up with raw sewage. Cumberland was closed for three days until November 5, 2001. The school had to be closed for 10 days to remove the sewage. The school later decided to concrete the floors to prevent sewage leaking in ever again. The damages cost District 62 $300,000. 12 Though no one knew when the sewage came, many people remember when the sewage was removed. School resumed November 15, 2001.13
School Secretaries
There were five school helpers; a president, vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, and a corresponding secretary.14 All of these helpers did a lot to help the school keep running. The president was Dale R. Fahnestock. The president was the one who helped the principal check on everyone. The vice president was Carl Robins. The vice president helped the president keep things in order. The treasurer was Harold Vikander.16 He would even help count the books or desks sometimes. The secretaries helped whoever was at the office when the principal was not there. They would answer any calls and make sure everything was in order.
Footnotes
1 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
2 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
3 (1972, July 16). “Storm Damage Set at $3 Million.” Chicago Today, 3.
4 (1972, July 19). “Damage to School Set at $200,000.” The Des Plaines Herald, 1-2.
5 (1951, November 8). “Annex Cumberland School Property.” Des Plaines Journal.
6 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
7 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
8 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
9 (2004, June 2). “Lt. Gov. Quinn at Cumberland School Today.” Des Plaines Journal.
10 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
11 Krochmal, P. (2001, November 22). “Sewage Cleanup Completed at School.” Pioneer Press.
12 Yoshida, T. (2001, November 21). “Students at Cumberland Return: Clean-up Cost Could Hit $300,000.” The Journal.
13 Yoshida, T. (2001, November 21). “Students at Cumberland Return: Clean-up Cost Could Hit $300,000.” The Journal.
14 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.
16 Florian, J. (1971). “Some of Cumberland’s History . . .” Cross-Talk.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu