Why's it called that? The Arthur of Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School

Latest in a series of stories on the people whose names are attached to Worcester schools, streets and parks.

By foot, by car, by bus, backpacks in tow, hundreds of students will converge on Sullivan Middle School in Worcester for the first day of school Monday.

An A-plus for the pupils who studied up over the summer and refer to their place of learning as not just the Sullivan Middle School, but as the Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School.

And for those who didn't do their homework:

The school's namesake, Arthur F. Sullivan, a 1939 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, spent nearly three decades as a teacher and administrator in Worcester Public Schools. When he retired in 1979, at the end of the school year, he was an associate school superintendent.

At the time, the city was finalizing plans to reshape South High Community School on Richards Street into a middle school. A new South High opened on Apricot Street in 1978.

The conversion of the old high school into a middle school came after years of City Hall discussion about citywide school construction and renovation.

After a $1.1 million overhaul of the old high school, the Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School opened in September 1980. The biggest change was the expansion of the library and cafeteria.

A dozen years later, a replacement middle school, with an $18 million price tag, opened on Apricot Street. The school name carried on.

Arthur Sullivan was a proud witness to the improvements that yielded the first middle school with his name. He was a product of Worcester schools, having attended Classical High School. He was a World War II veteran, serving with the Army Air Corps.

He earned a master's degree in education from Clark University and a doctorate in education from Boston University.

He taught math. His first teaching job was in Lancaster. He then taught at David Prouty High School in Spencer. He returned to his hometown in 1950, first at Providence Street Junior High School and then at South High. He became an administrator in 1958, eventually becoming the associate superintendent for research and development.

Months after his retirement, the School Committee voted to recognize Sullivan by naming the under-renovation school in his honor. More than 500 people attended a retirement gathering.

Sullivan, 90, died Jan. 29, 2008.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Why's it called that? The Arthur of Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School