Did You Know

Helen Kittell West

Monmouth Beach School Principal (1922-1946)

A borough education leader during trying times — through the Great Depression and WW II — Helen set a foundation for the definitive “neighborhood school.” Her efforts have allowed generations of borough families to adore its “walk-to” access.

In September 1922, borough native Helen Kittell was appointed principal of the Monmouth Beach Public School — then with 80 students and a $5,000 annual budget. Helen was a “graceful and intelligent” educator, according to a July 1918 Long Branch Daily Record profile and almost certainly one of the first female school principals in NJ history. No borough school leader has ever served longer.

Born in 1891 on Riverdale Avenue (then called Fresh Pond Road), her father, Mellon, was a borough councilman and pioneering pound boat fisherman in North Long Branch. Helen graduated from Chattle High School in Long Branch in 1909 (the same year the Monmouth Beach School opened). She earned a college degree from Trenton State in 1912 and began her career in Eatontown; teaching there 1912 to 1916.

Once in Monmouth Beach, in addition to her principal duties (at a $1,500 salary), she taught 7th and 8th graders. Helen was quite the consequential leader. She started the school’s first kindergarten program (called a pre-primer class) in 1943, formed the first school PTA in 1930, organized the first school class trip (West Point in 1925), launched the first MBBP student BBQ in 1927 and directed the school’s annual graduation for over two decades.

Small classes were the norm in the early years. At one time the school had only three teachers: Helen, Eleanor Van Note and Alice Johnson (the trio combined for 100+ years of instruction in MB). Back then three grades were taught in one classroom. And talk about doing a lot with a little — the school education budget Helen was given never reached $15,000 in any year.

Helen was patriotic too. An early and eager leader in women’s suffrage, she was Vice President of the Monmouth County League of Women Voters. Until the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, women could not vote. She also sold Liberty Bonds for WW I efforts in 1918 and was auxiliary president for the local American Red Cross and the American Legion in the 1930s.

As a kind and thoughtful education leader on Griffin Street for 25 years, parents and students could relate to Helen. Thus the success. Shortly before her death, a Long Branch Daily Record profile on Monmouth Beach, offered: “The borough has an excellent graded school and is rated high for efficacy and thoroughness of training.”

Helen was living in North Long Branch with husband, Walter E. West, when she died in May 1946. Her 24-year career as a school principal — when women were just beginning to gain leadership roles — reflects most favorably on her professional competence and the community’s trust.

—Summer 2025