Happy 75th Birthday to Schenevus Central School!

Happy 75th anniversary to Andrew S. Draper Central School in Schenevus!

For full disclosure, my wife, Trish, is a longtime 8th grade English teacher at this school. Because of this I have had the distinct pleasure of being involved in several events at this great little school over the years, from delivering keynote addresses to judging talent shows.  The school has great pride, a wonderful and dedicated teaching staff, caring administrators and a real commitment to a good education for the kids of Schenevus.  I love it out there and am happy to say "Happy 75th Schenevus!  And many more!"

Alright, now that that is out of the way...who the heck was Andrew S. Draper anyways?

Well, he was a towering figure in New York politics and education who was born in Otsego County and always held it close to his heart.  In fact, his birthplace in Westford is just a couple of miles from where the school named after him sits today.  Andrew Sloan Draper (June 21, 1848-April 27, 1913) was a member of the New York State Assembly, a high ranking United States judge in Alabama, a member of the Albany (NY) school board, Superintendent of Schools in Cleveland (Ohio),  President of the University of Illinois, and in 1904 he was appointed as the very first Commissioner of Education for the State of New York.

He died in 1913 at the age of 64.

I am sure Mr. Draper, who started out as just a young boy from a map dot named Westford and went on to become "The Lion of New York Education," would be proud to know that there is a great little school in Schenevus named after him today.