Sarah T. Haskins

Sarah T. Haskins is a prolific figure in the history of North Adams. She was a teacher and a principal, who, shortly before her death, had the Sarah T. Haskins school named after her, because of the tremendous impact that she had on education in North Adams.

Haskins was born in January, 1838, in Rowe, Massachusetts, to R.W. and Arabella Chapin Haskins. There she did her schooling, where she went to public schools, and later a private school. She began teaching at the early age of 15, teaching for a year before going back to school again. She later began teaching in Vermont, where she was made a principal. When she returned to Rowe, she opened up a private school. After the American Civil War broke out, she relocated to North Adams.

After her move to North Adams, her career took off. She started her own private school, because the local school near her was run badly. She worked at many of the schools in the area, including Drury. In 1897, she was made the principal of the State Street School, where she worked for 17 years before retiring. Shortly after she retired, they renamed the new neighborhood school in her honor. She taught many local notable people, such as the late H.W. Clark.

Haskins was beloved. She was a great teacher, a god-fearing Christian, and a wise counselor. While she was the principal of the school, many immigrants attended the school. Most spoke English, but struggled with reading and writing, so that is what she taught them, to the point their English language skills were was almost as good as the native-born children.

She retired in 1914, and lived in California, where she took interest in the educational affairs, ready to voice her opinion about the best methods of teaching. She taught the three basic subjects: reading, writing, and arithmetic. She was not a fan of new learning methods such as vertical writing or teaching with pictures, believing these 3 subjects were most important, and with them one could learn other things on their own. Some things like manual training and sewing she begrudgingly accepted as also important skills. She did not like people interfering with the way that she ran her classroom, believing no one could control her classroom better than her.

Sarah Haskins was an important figure in the history of North Adams. She was a great teacher and principal, and did a lot for the area. She left her mark on the town, because of how much she cared, and the people that she touched during her long teaching career.