History
The Village grew rapidly and, by 1876, was served by the Cincinnati & Westwood Railroad, which ran behind Westwood School. As the Village attracted more residents, the school’s enrollment grew. When Westwood was annexed into Cincinnati, the school became part of the Cincinnati Public Schools.
Despite alterations to the school in the 1890s, a larger school was needed. In 1906, planning began for a new school to be located between the old school and the railroad tracks. With much enthusiasm, the new Westwood School opened for the 1909-1910 school year, complete with electrical lights, 16 classrooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium and a branch of the Cincinnati Public Library. It housed kindergarten through eighth grade. The formal dedication took place June 18, 1910.
The Westwood population exploded in the 1920s with a surge of new houses and an influx of residents, many of them professionals and businessmen. Enrollment increased. A number of students were placed in colony buildings. The crowding eased when Cheviot School was built in 1926 and when Western Hills High School opened in 1928, taking with it the seventh and eighth grades. It was during this time that the Westwood School song was written by Henry Herrle.
Enrollment began to climb again in the 1940s. A scramble for more space brought back colony buildings. In 1956, Bracken Woods Primary School opened. That same year, graduates started attending the new Gamble Junior High School for seventh and eighth grade instead of Western Hills High School. In 1979-1980, the school was remodeled and the Bracken Woods Primary School closed.
As part of the Cincinnati Public Schools Facilities Master Plan, the school has been extensively renovated and an addition with a new gymnasium was constructed. Westwood School reopened on August 22, 2012.