Daniel B. Fitts Was First Headmaster of Andrew Warde High School

It is no longer Andrew Warde High School. In fact, even the mascot has changed from the Crimson Eagle to the Mustang. Barlow and Wolcott houses no longer exist, supplanted by Pequot and Townshend houses, respectively. There is, however, one constant which links Fairfield Warde High School to its all-but-forgotten predecessor over a generation ago: Fitts House.

The Fitts/Hale House, which was built in the early 1970s as a response to the growing high school population on the East side of Fairfield, was named in honor of Andrew Warde High School's first headmaster, Daniel B. Fitts, who is credited with implementing the house plan for high schools at Warde. I wonder how many of today's students, teachers, and administrators know that. The 1958 Flame yearbook was dedicated to Mr. Fitts.

Prior to his tenure as headmaster at Warde, Mr. Fitts previously served as principal of Roger Ludlowe High School for four years. Other administrative posts he filled in the system were vice principal of Ludlowe from 1943 to 1952; principal of McKinley School; and head of the business education department at Ludlowe. Before coming to Fairfield, Mr. Fitts was head of the business education department and director of guidance at East Haven High School from 1936 to 1943.

Mr. Fitts received his bachelor and master degrees from Boston University and advanced graduate work at the University of Connecticut and the University of Bridgeport. He was secretary of the Connecticut Association of Secondary Schools and appeared on nationwide panels of the Secondary School Principals' Association describing the house plan for high schools.

Were you a student at Andrew Warde High School in the late 1950s? If so, what do you remember about Mr. Fitts? Perhaps today's students should know more about the first headmaster of their school and the man for whom one of the houses is named. My son's homeroom is located in Fitts house. I'll ask him to tell his friends about Mr. Fitts.

Paul