ArtsZone: Dimner Beeber Middle School

Current ArtsZone Anchor Schools

NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORY
The greater Overbrook area is located in the northwestern portion of West Philadelphia. Overbrook was laid out intentionally as a place for middle-class families to escape from the confines of center city and find green space and tree-lined streets. Overbrook was originally home to families of English, Irish, Italian-American, and Lebanese descent. In the 1990s, Overbrook became home to a large population of young African-American couples, often with small children or planning to begin a family.

WHO WAS DIMNER BEEBER?
Dimner Beeber was born in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania on March 8, 1854. Upon graduation from college in 1874, he began to study law in the office of his brother and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1876. He then moved to Philadelphia and became a member of the law firm of Jones, Carson & Beeber. After the dissolution of the firm, Beeber practiced alone.

In 1899, Governor Hastings appointed him Judge of the Superior Court to fill a vacancy, and he served through 1899 until the office was filled by election. Beeber was widely known as an eloquent and convincing campaign speaker, having taken a prominent part in every presidential campaign since the canvass which resulted in Garfield's election in 1880. Starting in 1910, he served on the Philadelphia Board of Education.

His family home was located at 1907 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP
Principal: Joseph Starinieri (email)
Michelle Thompson, Vice Principal
Assistant Superintendent: John Frangipani

ArtsTeam

  • Joseph Starinieri, Principal
  • Michelle Thompson, Vice Principal
  • Keith Westbrook, Visual Art Teacher
  • Barbara Bullock, Roster Coordinator
  • Sam Reed, English Teacher, School-based
         Instructional Specialist
  • Larry Campbell, Music Teacher & Roster
         Coordinator
  • Charles Washington, Music Teacher, itinerant
  • Christopher Scamby, Music Teacher, itinerant
  • Cynthia Coleman, Music Teacher, itinerant
  • Jennifer Parks, Math Teacher

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