Van Seasholes, 1933-2023
Ernest Van Seasholes, beloved former principal of Newton South High School, passed away a few days ago (here’s a link to an obituary: https://www.wickedlocal.com/obituaries/pneo0448822). Though sad at his passing, I am grateful that I spent the first half of my time at South under his leadership. Van was a perfect principal for the times, his tenure characterized by his love of the students and of all those associated with South in any capacity.
Van took pride in hiring teachers both knowledgeable about their subject and passionate about their teaching. South in those days was as academic a public high school as could be found anywhere. While accepting the community’s expectation of academic excellence, he often reminded us that the school should educate “the whole person,” not just the intellect. By that he meant that we should encourage students to engage in the arts and extracurricular activities, and that teachers should honor these activities as well. Van himself often attended plays, musical performances, and sports events, and he encouraged teachers to do the same. Van also was visible in the hallways, chatting with staff and with students almost every day. The students appreciated his presence, unequalled by any succeeding principal.
Back then South’s teachers had the reputation of assigning too much work. Van was often frustrated in his efforts to tamp down the workload. The truth was that classroom teachers were committed to covering course material well, and sometimes we forgot that students took more than one course at a time! Van remarked that in exchange for assigning lots of work, teachers were obligated to return the work, replete with thoughtful commentary and not just a grade, as promptly as possible. For me that meant that most school evenings I passed at least two hours at home reviewing assignments- even when I had just finished putting my own kids to bed. The reason? I didn’t want to fall behind, and I didn’t want to let Van down.
Van had his critics, especially among those who thought that the Open Campus at South gave students too much freedom. Van argued that the students’ experience would ease their transition to college. In truth, the Newton schools probably didn’t even have the funds to staff a closed campus! No matter- Van made a virtue of open campus in the face of much criticism.
Van took the time to learn about our families, and he often asked me how my kids were doing. He attended both my son’s bris in 1988 and my retirement ceremony in 2015, almost twenty years after he himself had left South. In his time, if faculty members were facing challenges in their private lives or with their health, Van was concerned. He was generous in giving those in crisis the space to recover. No wonder most of us were so fond of him.
God bless you, Van, and thanks for enriching my life in so many ways. May your memory be a blessing.
Thank you, Bob. Van Seasholes was Principal of Newton South HS for an astonishing 24 years (1973-1997). What an amazing time. The Seasholes Auditorium at Newton South is named in his honor.
I met Van Seasholes in the early 1990s when I was a member of the Newton Solid Waste Commission’s City Compost Monitoring Committee. I was one of three members participating in a composting related program, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was all about. I had gone to the school a few days before the program to check on what they had to support our visuals. He was told I was there and he came out of his office, introduced himself and asked if he could help me with anything related to our program. He was warm, engaging and very helpful. He thanked me for being a citizen volunteer and there was something in his voice that made me think this was more than just a proforma utterance. He really meant it. Bob noted the importance he placed on good citizenship, openness and tolerance. This was a time when politics and priorities were less tense and negative than they are now. I like the fact that he tried to tamp down the overload of homework assignments and trusted kids to do the right thing with open classrooms. He was one of many Newtonians I wish I had known better than I did.
I didn’t know the man. This is the first I’ve heard of him.
There’s something about that photo of him though that captures a great spirit. What a big hearty smile!
RIP Van! You were there for all of us during the many years of your tenure, helping us through our individual tough times. You came in and reined back some of the exuberance and excesses of the Sixties/Seventies, getting South back onto a more solid footing, which held up pretty damned well over your years, which is not to say that there were not thousands of problems, because there always are, when you/we are dealing with fallible teachers, students, and administrators. You had a solid sense of how to respond to it all, which is not to say that you were not unflappable, but you generally flapped in the right direction.
And thank you, Bob, for writing the tribute.
Dwight Mac Kerron (34 years at South as English teacher and then English Department Head.)
Before Newton South, he was the principal at F.A Day junior high, it was a junior high at the time. I was there from 1967 thru 1969. We like to think that his experience on the North Side of town gave him the experience needed for a large high school. Years later I ran into him at a Library Fundraiser, while he did not remember me specifically, he remembered the class, and it’s issues.
Dear Jack Leader: In poking around for some personal history, I found this tribute and your comment. We overlapped at F.A. Day (my years were 1966-68). My memory so bad, I don’t remember the principal (RIP), but would be interested in hearing from you about the “issues” of the era. Thanks. — Steve Paul
I attended South from 1988-1992. My immigrant parents made endlessly poor choices for themselves and their children but sending me and my siblings to Newton South was probably the single best decision they made. Leaving South, a public high school, I literally could have gone anywhere and done anything – nothing was out of reach – and I could stand beside anyone in my age group with confidence in the quality of my education. Thanks Dr. Seasholes for your part in creating such an outstanding place.
Van was special. He taught US history and made it interesting. His wry sense of humor always carried the day. He did something no other teacher did . He formed a group composed of 2 students from each of his classes that met after school once a month. We talked about a subject Van would pick or one we’d pick and we’d chat until the school closed. He was a dedicated teacher and an amazing human being who will be missed.