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A look at the people behind the names of several buildings in the Appoquinimink School District.
But what about the four schools named after people?
Who are the namesakes behind Louis L. Redding, Alfred G. Waters, Everett Meredith middle and Olive B. Loss Elementary schools?
Louis L. Redding Middle
According to the African American Registry, Louis L. Redding was an African American lawyer and activist who graduated from Howard High School in 1919. He received his college education at Brown University and Harvard Law School.
In 1928, he became the first black lawyer in Delaware and was a respected civil rights pioneer for Delaware and America.
He won a court case in 1950 that forced the University of Delaware to desegregate and fought for the desegregation of schools in Claymont and Hockessin two years later.
He is best known as part of the 1954 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People legal counsel in the Brown vs. Board of Education case, with a ruling that stated, “Separate educational facilities [for blacks and whites] are inherently unequal,” and therefore paved the way to desegregation of all schools.
Louis L. Redding Middle School was built in 1952 as the Middletown 120C school. It housed African American children in grades one through nine. The school was later named after Redding.
Appoquinimink High School Principal Felecia Duggins attended the school for one year before it was desegregated.
“We can use Louis L. Redding as a model for us to follow,” she said. “It has let us know if you work hard, you can accomplish what you set out to. We’ve made lots of advances, but just like he fought then, there’s still much more to be done.”
A third classroom wing was added to the school in 1998. The building was renovated in 2006 to include an auditorium, extended entryway and cafeteria.
Alfred G. Waters Middle
Duggins said she was in first grade at Redding and then went to Townsend for second grade when it was desegregated. That one year she spent in the Redding Building has a special meaning to her, as her principal was Dr. Alfred G. Waters. She was the principal at the Ninth Grade Academy that was housed in the Alfred G. Waters building last school year.
“I think it’s unique Dr. Waters was my principal for one year and I was the principal at his building for one year,” she said. “I like the fact that I had Waters as a principal. That, to me, is the best.”
Dr. Alfred G. Waters studied education at Morgan State College (now Morgan University). He earned his master’s degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in educational administration from Penn State University. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University to obtain his certificate in supervision/administration.
He took the position as principal at the Redding School in 1941.
According to Waters’ son, Hugh Graham Waters, Dr. Waters grew Redding from three small buildings into a comprehensive school for grades one through 12.
Duggins said Dr. Waters was well-respected by his students and the community.
“To a first grader the principal is like a president,” she said. “He was very proud. We knew we were obligated to work hard. He had high expectations and it trickled down to the staff and students.”
He was principal at Redding until the independent schools in Middletown, Odessa and Townsend became the Appoquinimink School District in 1960s, at which time he became the assistant superintendent.
Louise Atwell worked at the District Office when Dr. Waters became assistant superintendent.
“He was a dedicated educator,” she said. “He was a very fair man. He would be very proud to have a school named after him.”
Dr. Waters held that position until he retired in 1973. At that time, he was presented with a special citation for meritorious services by the Appoquinimink School District and the library of the Redding School was dedicated in his honor.
In addition to his career in education, Dr. Waters also worked as an occupational therapist at the Delaware State Hospital from 1948 to 1949. He was the first minority professional to serve in this capacity.
In a history of Dr. Waters on the school’s Web site, Hugh Waters stated his father worked valiantly to support the highly controversial Public Accommodations Act to ensure equal access was provided to people of color at public establishments.
Hugh stated in an email message that Dr. Waters collected books from other schools in Delaware and had teachers bring in magazines to start the library at Redding. He also founded a school band, in which he played the saxophone.
“When it came to the students, he knew all of their names, their families, their needs,” Hugh stated. “He loved what he did in the field of education for others.”
Alfred G. Waters Middle School was dedicated in 2007. It housed the Ninth Grade Academy from 2007 to 2008, and now is home to students in the sixth- through eighth-grades.
Everett Meredith Middle
Everett Meredith Middle School opened as Middletown School No. 60 in 1929, and housed 434 students in grades one through 12.
After the M.O.T. communities became the Appoquinimink School District, the building became Middletown High School. The newer Middletown High School opened on Del. 299 in 1997.
The Broad Street building then became Middletown Middle before Atwell and former Appoquinimink teacher and school board member Helen Kimmey led the campaign to have a school named after Everett Meredith.
Atwell worked alongside Meredith as a teacher before he became principal. She was his secretary from 1954 to 1973. During that time the school system was desegregated. Redding became a middle school and Middletown became a high school.
She said Redding merged with Middletown, and Meredith became the principal at Redding.
“I went with him over there. That was the first middle school we had in the district and it was a challenge,” Atwell said.
“He asked for that position [at Redding] because he knew so many people in the black community and he hoped to make the transition during desegregation go more smoothly,” said Meredith’s daughter Patsy Warner. “And I think that was achieved.”
Atwell said Meredith started a student council at the school, which was uncommon for middle school students.
“You should have seen the baskets we gave to the needy,” she said. “He went around and asked for turkeys and he got turkeys, so each basket had one. He and the president of student council delivered baskets while it was snowing.
“He was a very outstanding, dedicated and kind person,” Atwell said. “I saw what he did and he did it for the children. I saw him go out of his way many, many times for the students.”
She and Kimmey collected 300 signatures from people who knew and were impacted by Meredith and sent those names to the Appoquinimink School District Board of Education asking to have a new elementary school named after him.
Instead, that school was named Brick Mill Elementary School and the Board chose to name the middle school on Broad Street, where Everett Meredith worked as a history teacher, guidance counselor, class advisor and principal, after him.
Everett Meredith graduated from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in Westminster, Md., where he studied history. He taught in Maryland then came to Delaware to work in the Caesar Rodney School District. In 1948, he became an educator and administrator in Middletown.
The Everett Meredith Middle School Web site states, “During his time as an educator, Meredith sought to create an interesting, challenging and accountable classroom. He taught and expected students to uncover truths, seek knowledge and overwhelm themselves with a sense of pride and accomplishment.”
Olive B. Loss Elementary
Olive B. Loss’ 34-year career in Appoquinimink education began at the Odessa School No. 61 in 1950, which now houses part of the Appoquinimink District Offices. She started as a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher and eventually became principal and chief school officer.
Loss graduated from Western Maryland College in 1935 with a bachelor’s degree. She earned her master’s degree in 1971 from the University of Delaware while juggling her many duties within the district.
From 1972 to 1978, she was principal in the Odessa and Townsend schools. She became an administrative assistant at the District Office for one year then was named the deputy superintendent.
She served in that capacity until 1983, when the Board of Education unanimously voted to make her the superintendent.
Loss was the first female superintendent in the Appoquinimink School District and in Delaware.
Atwell worked at the District Office under Loss’ direction, and said she felt fortunate to have such dedicated bosses in the district.
“Olive Loss, she was a jewel. She was like Mr. Meredith. They both worked for the best education for the students in this district,” she said. “They put their heart and soul into what they were doing and into helping the children. Anybody who had contact with those two people was very fortunate.”
Sandra McKay, Loss’ daughter, said her mother was her fifth- and sixth-grade teacher. While Loss was hard on her own daughter, it was evident to McKay that she cared deeply about all of her students and staff.
“My mother was an unusually remarkable woman,” McKay said. “She broke the glass ceiling. She was a leader in her field and one of the first women to reach the point that she did.”
Before she retired in 1984, Loss hired Valerie Woodruff, now the Delaware Secretary of Education, as the principal of Middletown High School.
Olive B. Loss Elementary School was named in her honor when it was built in 2002.
“My mother died a few years after that, but she was well enough to visit the school and read to children,” McKay said. “Having the school named after her is probably the best thing that happened in her life. It was a fantastic thing.”