With the many challenges presented by World War II, the forties proved to be a successful decade for establishing Miss Hewitt’s Classes as a leading institution for female education. In the thirties, the number of Miss Hewitt’s debutantes outnumbered the amount of college-bound graduates. This changed as the war continued and expectations for women in the workforce shifted.

 

Even before the United States entered the war in December 1941, Miss Hewitt was organizing school programs to offer refuge for children whose parents wanted them far away from Europe. In 1939, the school established the boarding department, housed in the neighboring building of Mrs. Virginia Ryan. The program provided homes, schooling, and safety for children from war-torn communities. Other school initiatives reflect the altruistic spirit shown by Miss Hewitt, for everyone wanted to help the war effort in some way. Students, alumnae, and patrons of the school joined forces to aid charities devoted to providing essential items for war-torn communities. Students regularly convened to knit scarves for American and British soldiers. Older girls ate lunch at neighborhood restaurants so that the younger ones could have food allotments for school lunches. Miss Hewitt’s students acutely understood their place in the war effort.

 

Despite the gratifying success of the school, worries about the war and functionality began to weigh on Miss Hewitt as she approached her seventies. In March 1941, she wrote to friend Rita Mitchell Rentschler about her intentions to “let a group of the teachers with Miss Comfort at the head and Miss Mitchell, of course, included, take charge of the running of the school.” Although she stepped down from administrative responsibility, Miss Hewitt maintained an active role in school life. She acted as chairman and continued living in the school (as she had done since its founding). She also presided at Friday assembly and at graduation celebrations. To acknowledge Miss Hewitt’s legacy and ensure her position as founder not be forgotten, the school declared May 13 as Founder’s Day. One student article from 1944 describes the first celebration: “We have an enormous birthday cake with candles; Miss Hewitt cuts the cake herself and everybody gets a piece. After singing ‘The Bells of St. Mary’s,’ we all leave for an afternoon devoid of homework.”

 

By the mid-forties, Miss Hewitt had officially resigned from her role as headmistress, but her involvement in the lives of her “girls” intensified throughout the decade. She continued to read Shakespeare with older students and support the drama department. Miss Hewitt’s role soon transformed to one of mentorship. She developed a close relationship with a promising young actress named Julia Harris, Class of 1944. Originally from Michigan, Miss Harris came to Miss Hewitt’s Classes by her own request, wishing to join the school’s strong thespian community rather than attending some East Coast boarding school. Upon graduating high school and enrolling at Yale Drama School, Miss Harris lived with Miss Hewitt during the six-week run of her first Broadway show It’s a Gift. Miss Hewitt worked tirelessly for her contacts in the theatrical world to help launch her protégée. Hewitt students watched in awe as Miss Harris won her first Best Actress Tony Award in 1952 and starred alongside James Dean in East of Eden (1955). The close relationship lasted until Miss Hewitt’s death, with many visits over the years and through Julie Harris’s film and theatrical successes.

 

When the war ended, the new administration—referred to as “The New Order” by Miss Hewitt—sought to find equilibrium between tradition and innovation. The presence of women in the workforce had become commonplace, and thus expectations for the education of young women had shifted. School scheduling patterns of the late-forties reflected the onslaught of change: Friday assemblies disappeared and the drama program began to relinquish its central position in the school program. The school offered a more standard curriculum with new courses in biology, chemistry, and economics. Athletic teams and clubs (including Art Club, Drama Club, The Venturer, and Glee Club) increased in popularity. Dr. Hugh Ross, then choral director of the Glee Club and Schola Cantorum, took his position in 1946 and eventually retired after three decades in 1987.

 

Many new student publications arose during the forties. In 1940, administration oversaw the addition of The Sparklet, which began as a corrective measure against the unruly members of ninth grade. Its success immediately drew commentary from the esteemed editors of The Venturer: “The Sparklet, having rocketed to fame in its second year under the all-seeing eye of its editor, Shirley McKowne, is continuing its Blitzkrieg attack on The Venturer.” Until its final publication in 1973, the ninth grade quarterly regularly printed satirical and irreverent commentary on school life and popular culture. Its success eventually inspired the tenth grade to ask for their own magazine, for upperclassmen already had The Venturer. The school eventually responded in 1948 by establishing Anchor, which had since operated as a newsletter communicating the news of alumnae and official school operations.

 

The forties were a decade in which young people generally emulated the behavior of older generations. Some students came from out of state to spend senior year in New York and attend opera and theater productions as parts of their education. The school had a very social reputation, for its student body included children born into wealth, aristocracy, or celebrity. The daughters of Ed Sullivan, Victor Jory, Irving Berlin, Helen Hayes, and Somerset Maugham all attended Miss Hewitt’s Classes at various periods. Miss Hewitt frequently hosted tea at her apartment and attended weddings and coming-out parties. Although there were still a great number of debutantes, the amount of college-bound students continued to increase throughout the decade. By the late-forties, the percentage increased to around fifty percent, with the majority attending the Seven Sisters institutions: Smith, Wellesley, Mount Holyoke, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Radcliffe, and Vassar Colleges.

 

Once the war ended, Miss Hewitt began to reconsider her relationship with the school. Although she loved her close personal connection with her students, she resolved to return to her beloved England and visit family and friends. Instead of attending graduation in 1948, she departed for “an English spring,” a visit she repeated the following year. Miss Hewitt wrote in the 1949 publication of Anchor that “the school is in fine hands of Mrs. Comfort, Miss Mitchell, and Mrs. Riggs.” As the forties came to an end, Miss Hewitt had resolved to undertake a smaller role in the school’s administration and appoint a new successor. Under the leadership of Mrs. Charlotte Comfort, the school entered yet another era of innovation.

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