Welcome Back to White Plains High School Manson Donaghey
On Wednesday, May 7, at Sam’s of Gedney Way Restaurant, about 100 people from the White Plains community, including friends, dignitaries, former students and colleagues and families of former colleagues assembled to pay tribute to Manson Donaghey, the former Principal at White Plains High School from 1967-1980.
Donaghey is one of the original founders of the Glenn D. Loucks Track & Field Games. He traveled from his home in Pembroke, New Hampshire, last week to be honored with the Eleanor Loucks Memorial Award, at the 47th Annual Glenn D. Loucks Track & Field Games, on Saturday, May 10.
Noting Donaghey’s many contributions to WPHS, the Loucks Games and the White Plains community, the Executive Committee of the Loucks Games scheduled an array of recognitions for Donaghey, including the gathering at Sam’s on Gedney Way in his honor.
Manson began his educational administrative duties in the White Plains Central School District as the Principal at Post Road School in 1960. Donaghey soon moved on to assume the position as the Principal of Battle Hill School, while securing funding to revamp the curriculum and establish new programs at the kindergarten through ninth grade school.
In the summer of 1967, Donaghey was selected as the new Principal of White Plains High School. However, his appointment to this esteemed position came at a time in history that increased the challenges of an already demanding administrative position.
Donaghey recalled the racial tension in the atmosphere in 1968, four years after the passing of the Civil Rights Bill. One of the major demands put to his administration by students was the inclusion of Black History into the curriculum at White Plains High School. Donaghey accepted the challenges put before him, which included deescalating inter-racial fights on campus and demonstrations inside and outside of White Plains High School. He promoted good will and with the help of educators on his staff, he settled the local issues bringing communication and harmony to, at the time, an extremely troubled diverse high-school community.
“My first year (as Principal) was 1967 and that was quiet but in 1968 when White Plains High School along with other largely integrated high schools had racial upset after the enactment of the Civil Rights Bill and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. We had several students form a group that demanded a Black History curriculum,” remembered Donaghey. “To a lot of the staff at that time that had no meaning, it did not to me, I came from New Hampshire and knew only a few Black people; I never realized at that time how broad and important Black history was and it was not in our curriculum,” stated Donaghey.
With the assistance of Arthur Bruesewitz, the then Chairman of the Social Studies Department at WPHS, Donaghey led the way to reshape the curriculum at White Plains High School in part to include Black History, which was interwoven with the Social Studies curriculum in 1968.
Donaghey recalled how he relocated Dan Woodard, a respected Black educator in White Plains, from Assistant Principal at Highlands Middle School to Assistant Principal at White Plains High School. Woodard, the present Chairman of the Loucks Games Executive Committee, was instrumental along with Donaghey in bringing peace and harmony to the high-school community and advancing the curriculum at White Plains to include more Black educators and Black History. “Dan was a tremendous resource during this time; we spent a lot of nights at the projects and back at the office trying to figure out how to deal with our situation,” acknowledged Donaghey.
Donaghey is also a Past President of the Rotary Club in White Plains. He is credited with starting a student exchange program with White Plains High School and his alma mater Concord High School, in New Hampshire, through the Rotary Club. The model of the student exchange program Donaghey started is implemented today by Rotary Clubs throughout the world.
Arthur Morzello, a Past District Governor of Rotary District 7230 of Greater New York, attended the event at Sam’s Restaurant and presented Donaghey, with a portrait illustration of the former principal, which was drawn by local illustrator Bill Becerra.
Donaghey was accompanied to the event by his daughter Diane Donaghey Jumet and his son-in-law Claude Jumet. Donaghey also gave special recognition to his former supervisor, then White Plains Public Schools Superintendent Carroll Johnson (1954-1969) for his support during his tenure as Principal of White Plains High School. Johnson’s son Walter Johnson and daughter Kate Johnson Sussman attended the event.
Chuck Stogel, a member of the Loucks Games Executive Committee was the Master of Ceremonies for the event honoring Donaghey at Sam’s of Gedney Way. Stogel is also the Public Address Announcer for the Loucks Games.
