Neomia B. Willmore

History of Neomia B. Willmore School

Willmore School was one the last of the redbrick Westminster Schools to be constructed and the first to be opened in 1965 alongside Clegg and Stacey. Initially designated as Locust School due to its proximity to Locust Street, the campus was soon renamed in honor of Neomia B. Willmore, a longtime board member and former PTA president. Completed ahead of schedule, the school opened to students in September 1965. The 1970s and 1980s would see that the school received several displaced students from the Clara Cook school and an influx of refugees from southeast Asia.

The school’s history changed in 1985 when the school board elected to close Willmore and Land campuses. This decision, perceived by many as abrupt, came amidst a period of active cultural and community engagement at the school, including visits from the last Nguyen Emperor, Bảo Đại, annual Tết festivals, and the introduction of a new jogging course. The contemporary news sources at the time claim the school board believed that the disproportionate amount of minority students should not be concentrated at one school site, reminiscent of the Hoover School segregating Mexican American students four decades earlier. Up to one third of the student population were, in fact, Vietnamese, Laotian, or Cambodian. Following its closure, the campus was temporarily leased as a court reporting school. 

Population growth by the 1990s would lead to WSD reopening four of its schools while closing three others. Willmore would therefore be reopened at the expense of Franklin and Boos. Franklin’s staff would be transferred over to the reopened campus and redistricting would see students bused throughout Westminster.

Neomia B. Willmore herself was an influential figure in Westminster's educational and civic life. Active within the Westminster PTA since the late 1940s, she was elected to the School Board in 1955, serving with distinction through the 1970s. Beyond her tenure on the board, Mrs. Willmore remained a prominent presence in the community, notably as president of the Westminster Historical Society. She maintained close ties with the Westminster School District into the 1990s and 2000s, including her participation in the reopening ceremonies for Hayden School in 1993.