November 23, 1841

The school directors having met at Peleg T. Clarks proceeded   to choose a Chairman & District Clerk & Treasurer, whereupon G.W. Allen was appointed Chairman & Peleg Clark Treasurer and District-Clerk. Treasurer was directed to purchase a blackboard for the use of the School & lease a building to keep school in.

April 25, 1842

Miss Julia Phillips was employed to teach District School No. 2 five months from this date for which she is to receive one dollar for each scholar and board over and above fifteen dollars School Moneys now in the Township Treasury for School District No 2. She is to collect the tuition herself.

 October 31, 1851

Resolved that the school be divided, a female teacher be employed to teach the lower school, that the scholars attending said lower school be taxed to pay the wages of said female teacher after drawing their proportion of the public money. Resolved that the parents make their own choice where to send their scholars, to the upper or lower.

(The school was 2 stories, the lower story belonged to the district and the upper story was built by subscription.)

ENUMERATION OF YOUTH IN SYLVANIA TOWNSHIP Sept. 1886
District # 5

PARENT YOUTH AGE
Geo. Chetwood Alben Chetwood 18
Nettie Chetwood 15
Geo. Robinson Albertine Robinson 17
Cora Robinson 15
Ella Robinson 12
Jos. Cunningham F. Cunningham 15
Dora Cunningham 15
Lida Cunningham 6
Cora Cunningham 12
Saml. Northcott Annie Northcott 19
Dorcas Northcott 17
Ellen Northcott 11
John Northcott 9
W.D. Benton Linnie Benton 18
Fitch Benton 11
Morice Marsh William Marsh 10
John Marsh 8
George Frasier Flora Frasier 15
Henry Reed Harry Reed 12
Charles Reed 10
Caddie Reed 16
Charles Eff Dollie Eff 7
Mark Marsh George Marsh 18
Francis Marsh 10
Alex Kay John Kay 15
Peter Kay 12
Susie Kay 8
Thomas Whistle Lida Whistle 12
J.F. Hardesty S.M. Hardesty 10
Alice Hardesty ?
Matthias Fuher Frank Fuher 15
Jessie Fuher 6
Dudley Moore Dudley Moore 20
June Moore 19
Grace Moore 14
Wyman Moore 15
Dan Moore 12
William Moore 10
Mark Peterson Addie Peterson 10

SCHOOL GRADUATION

The Sylvania Public Schools Eighth Grade Commencement Exercises were held on May 25, 1923 in THE BANK AUDITORIUM.
(Bank Auditorium was on the top floor where Key Bank is now)

GRADUATES
Mitchaw School-Myron Sanderson

Oak Grove-Rose Salkowski, Gertrude Trettin

Centennial-Earl Allen, Huber Brimacombe, Hulda Harrwaldt

Central Avenue-Oliver Burrow, Opal Dutton, Harold Ness, Clara Siadowski, Earl Whittaker

Silica-Arba Comstock, Ralph Herr, Samuel Huber, Susan McGlenn, William Schiedegger

Columbia-Bessie Denson, Leroy Denson, Christina Henes, Herbert Schofield, Bernice Smith, Myrtle Smith

Hillview-Kathryn Baade, Robert Bickford, Nina Brown, Mary Coltman, Leona Elden, Frederick Kanavel, Velma Knierim, Donald Matthews, Charles Parker, Henry Peck, Helen Sly

Sylvania-Robert Adsit, Milton Barry, Royce Couture, Helen Crockett, Dale Harroun, Bernice Hesselbart, Alven Plikerd, Robert Severance, Harold Sharp, Karl Shull, Sarah Strohl, Alma Wandt, Hilda West, Lois Wilkins, La Von Yaney

Presentation of Diplomas was made by Supt. W.E. Lantz.

SCHOOL CHOIR DIRECTORS ACCORDING TO ROBERT (POP) WYANDT
Mrs Armstrong 1905-1927
Wyandt 1927-1930
Raynell Baron 1930-1931
Wyandt 1931-1941
G. Morgan 1941-1942
E. Morgan 1942-1944
Sutch 1944-1945
J. Schaefer & E. McClain 1945-1946
Paul Eley 1946-1954
Cady 1958
Schafer 1958-1960

March 1897 District # 4

Mr Joseph Cunningham stated to the Board that the School Board, district No. 2 had their Water Closets built on his land and asked the Board to purchase from him the land so occupied. He would accept $11.00 for ¼ acre. Moved by Cory and seconded by Adams that the Board allow Mr. Cunningham $11.00 for the ¼ acre of land on N. end of school lot, dist. No. 2 across ? width of school ground.

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PROFILES OF A TEACHER

     Ara Smith graduated from Sylvania High School in 1920 and started teaching two years later with a third/fourth grade class of 50 students. The students’ desks and chairs were bolted to the floor and everything was regimented.

     A typical day started with a Bible story, and then after lunch she would read a secular story.

     The basics were stressed, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Elementary students also learned about such subjects as agriculture, citizenship, and physiology.

     Discipline was not much of a problem. A student might be caught smoking corn silk and get into trouble.

     Ara taught for eight years in Sylvania at the brick school house that was on Main Street across from the post office. After that she taught in Washington Township until her retirement in 1965. She had been a teacher for 43 years.

    (The information for this article is from the December 1988 issue of Sylvania School Scene.)

Ara Smith was a long time resident of Sylvania.

September 18, 1929
The Sylvania Board of Education met and received bids to sell the abandoned one-room school buildings in the Sylvania area. These buildings were of no further use to the board since the construction of the centralized schools of Burnham High School, Maplewood, Central, and Highland Elementary Schools, did away with the old one room school buildings. The following school buildings were sold on this date: Columbia School located at the corner of McCord and Sylvania; Centennial School, located at the corner of Centennial and Sylvania-Metamora; West Side Silica School, located on Centennial Road; Mitchaw School, located at the corner of Mitchaw and Brint; and East Side Silica School, located on Centennial Road.