<![CDATA[Iowa Heritage Digital Collections]]> https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/browse/page/283?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=49&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Iowa&sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CTitle&sort_dir=d&output=rss2 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:33:37 +0000 publications@silo.lib.ia.us (Iowa Heritage Digital Collections) Zend_Feed http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[012_West High School]]> https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/show/51715

Title

012_West High School

Description

This is a page from the collection "Bicentennial Reflections: History of Des Moines Public Schools, 1876-1976" by Dr. Robert R. Denny, published by the Des Moines Public Schools in Des Moines, Iowa in 1976.

Identifier

State Library of Iowa - First floor book collection, 371.01 Den 1976

Digital Reproduction Information

JPEG scanned at 600 dpi resolution on an Epson Expression 10000XL Scanner

File Name

010_WestHighSchool.jpg

Transcription

Curtis School (Photograph) E. 6th and Raccoon Street Elm Grove, (Photograph) Army Post and Indianola Road magnificent structure was West High. The original West High had a large bell tower and called for a huge clock that would strike every quarter hour. However the neighboring residents in the fashionable homes that were in the area strenuously objected and the works to the clock were never installed. Nevertheless the four sides of the huge timepiece were adorned with the idle faces of the clock until after a fire in the teens caused the entire tower structure to be razed. The architects, Foster and Lieebe, visited schools in Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Paul in order to secure ideas and information regarding the most modern methods of heating, lighting and ventilation for this new structure. The office of the superintendent and the board offices were all included in the new West High when it opened. All the rooms were beautifully and luxuriously furnished with fashionable woodwork, furniture and "rugs of good quality". The most modern and complete science equipment was installed, $1,000 being spent upon chemical apparatus alone. Reports state that noteworthy among these was a Kershoff and Bunson spectroscope and Becker balance made in Rotterdam. The new building was the show place of the state and hundreds of visitors and educators came from all over to look at the building and to get ideas to take back for schools they were constructing in their home areas. The library, for example, had a collection of some 460 volumes. Ralph Waldo Emerson School (Photograph) E. 16th and Maple Evergreen School (Photograph) (Bly School) Evergreen Avenue It is interesting to notice that they called this West High and Industrial School. Courses of study offered were, English, Latin, scientific, classic and business. All of these with the single exception of the business course required four years of study and led to a diploma of graduation. The business course demanded only two years of endeavor of work and upon completion of their hard work the student received a special certificate but no diploma. The classical course was the regular college preparatory course and included Greek. In the fall of 1889 manual training and home economics were added to the curriculum. These two subjects were introduced to the schools by Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Miller who had been recruited from a similar position where they had taught in Toledo, Ohio, prior to coming to Des Moines. Also in 1889 shorthand and typewriting were introduced to the curriculum by Mr. Clay Slinker. History ol East Des Moines School District The schools of the city of Des Moines were first under the control of one board of education. Among the items in the reports of the officers of the district appear claims that they settled for rent and fuel for rooms "used in East Des Moines." Children of the East Side were accomodated with school facilities in rented roms. The first house in East Des Moines for school purposes of which we have definite information was a small frame building that stood near the corner of East 9th & Grand. The records also show that there were also several private schools operated in the eastern part of Des Moines. One of the private or subscription schools of the city of Des Moines was first under the control of one district on land now occupied by the Jewett Lumber Company. Independent District Organized The Independent School District of Des Moines, East Side, was organized in 1859. The organizational meeting was held at the state capitol building. Facilities were rented in the Griffith block in the East Des Moines central district and operated there for several years, then it was moved to a building south of the Northwestern Depot on East Fourth. After being there for a year or two the school went back to the Griffith Block where it remained until a school building could be financed and erected.
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Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:14:09 +0000
<![CDATA[010_Early Schools in Des Moines]]> https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/show/51734

Title

010_Early Schools in Des Moines

Description

1976 marked the 130th anniversary of the Des Moines Public Schools. This booklet is a celebration of that event.It provides many of the historical highlights of the development of schools within the city of Des Moines, Iowa.

Type

Document

Digital Reproduction Information

JPEG scanned at 600 dpi resolution on an Epson Expression 10000XL Scanner

File Name

010_EarlySchoolsinDesMoines.jpg

Transcription

Bird School (Photograph) Harding Road and Woodland - 1874-1974 Frederika Bremer School. (Photograph) 1st and Des Moines Street Early Schools in Des Moines The history of education in Des Moines goes back almost as far as the history of the city itself. There is some question as to who conducted the very first school. Records show that there were two established in the same year—in the fall and winter of 1846-1847. Both schools were held in cabins along Raccoon Row. Mr. Lewis Whitten was the teacher of one and Miss Mary Davis of the other. These schools were called "subscription schools,11 since the expenses were paid by the parents of the pupils. The first school district was organized in 1849, four years prior to the incorporation of the town of Fort Des Moines. About sixty dollars was appropriated for the use of the school district during the 1849-50 school year. School costs were also defrayed by a tuition charge of $2.50 per pupil for the term of twelve weeks. The Methodist Church was the meeting place of the first school, and later it was moved to the 'new1 courthouse. Because the building was not yet finished, it was a cold and uncomfortable learning situation. At the end of the first term of three months the teacher, Byron Rice, suggested that school be dropped temporarily. Mr. Rice later became a prominent banker and judge. In 1851 the sum of $100 was appropriated to purchase a half acre of, ground at Ninth and Locust on which to erect a school building. The first tax for the erection of a school building was levied in 1854. The Third Ward School (or "Brick School House,11 as it was called) was opened for school in 1856. It had cost the staggering sum of $8,000. There were four departments and four teachers when it opened. A bronze plaque has been placed on the front of the present building at 9th and Locust to commemorate the site of the first public school in Des Moines. West Side Schools in 1860's The west side enrollments of the 1860's increased so that in a few years additional space had to be rented to accommodate the pupils. In April, 1869, the school board purchased a new site at Tenth and Pleasant, to replace the Third Ward School at 9th and Locust. The new unit was later named Irving School. Capitol Park High School (Photograph) E. 13th and Polk William Cullen Bryant School (Photograph) Pennsylvania and Grand Avenue Des Moines School History On May 30, 1864, a committee in the West Des Moines schools was appointed to examine and report about the advisability of establishing a high school for the following fall. On July 1, 1864, they decided, upon a favorable report of the committee, to establish a high school and to open it in the second ward building (Crocker) at Sixth and School. Mr. Barrels, the County Superintendent, was requested to furnish a "course of study" and discipline for the same. The board elected Mr. Barrels as principal at a salary of $100 per month. The records shows that Mr. Barrels was first, county superintendent; second, principal of the high school and thirdly, a congregational minister. Apparently the citizens of 1864 were not overly concerned with the separation of Church and State. It is recorded that when Mr. Barrels found it necessary to visit the outlying schools of Polk County that Mr. J. A. Nash substituted for him as the high school principal. At a meeting of the Board of Education, October 1, 1864, a committee was appointed to classify the schools and draft a course of study. However, the committee recorded on October 24 that they had not been able to prepare the course of study owing to the excitement caused throughout the state by the presence of Confederate rebel raiders. They requested more time and the course of study was received November 9, amended and adopted. Des Moines was growing very rapidly during this Civil War period and the schools were becoming more and more crowded. The organization of the high school made more room necessary and in 1867 a proposition providing for a special tax for the erection of a school was submitted to the voters. The proposition lost. The crowded conditions continued producing much discomfort, even the window sills soon became seats for students. When a discontented parent complained to the president of the board about the crowded conditions and lack of seats, he was asked by the board president "Did you vote on the proposition for more seats or against more seats?" If the parent confessed that he had voted against this bond issue, he was told that in that case his child must continue to sit in the window.
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Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:29:54 +0000
<![CDATA[006_To the Students]]> https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/show/51731

Title

006_To the Students

Description

This is a page from the collection "Bicentennial Reflections: History of Des Moines Public Schools, 1876-1976" by Dr. Robert R. Denny, published by the Des Moines Public Schools in Des Moines, Iowa in 1976.

Identifier

State Library of Iowa - First floor book collection, 371.01 Den 1976

Digital Reproduction Information

JPEG scanned at 600 dpi resolution on an Epson Expression 10000XL Scanner

File Name

006_TotheStudents.jpg

Transcription

TO THE STUDENTS: You are living at a special time--the celebration of the 200th anniversary of our country. The Bicentennial brings an awareness of and interest in our heritage, our past, and the men and women who provided the leadership during our early history. We study the past in order to make wise decisions in the present and hope to avoid mistakes in the future. As you study the history of Iowa, you become aware of Iowa's heritage. As a part of Iowa's history, the history of the Des Moines Public Schools shows the heritage of a progressive and alert school system. It shows how this community met needs, challenges, and problems throughout the schools' one hundred and thirty years. People worked hard to continually improve and build upon an outstanding school system. The future will show continued changes as they are needed to meet the opportunities and challenges of the last quarter of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first. Des Moines is a good place to live. Ours is the largest school district in Iowa, and its citizens, school people, and educational programs meet the needs of today's youth and will chart a rewarding course for the years ahead. Dr. Dwight M. Davis Superintendent of Schools
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Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:29:44 +0000
<![CDATA[003_Title Page - Bicentennial Reflections-History of the Des Moines Public Schools 1846-1976]]> https://www.iowaheritage.org/items/show/51752

Title

003_Title Page - Bicentennial Reflections-History of the Des Moines Public Schools 1846-1976

Description

1976 marked the 130th anniversary of the Des Moines Public Schools. This booklet is a celebration of that event.It provides many of the historical highlights of the development of schools within the city of Des Moines, Iowa.

Creator

Denny, Dr. Robert R.

Publisher

Des Moines Public Schools

Date

1976

Contributor

Des Moines Public Schools Board of Education members including Dr. George G. Caudill, President; Mr. Nolden Gentry, Mrs. Betty Grundberg, Dr. John E. McCaw, Dr. Ora E. Niffenegger, Mr. Merle F. Schlampp, Mrs. Jack Spevak; Dr. Dwight M. Davis, Superintendent of Schools; Henry Kester, Art Consultant and front cover design, W. Dale Harsh and Ted Finch, Printing Instructors; Richard Anderson, Carroll Fetters, and Tech High Students

Rights

Copyright by Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines, Iowa, June 1976

Format

96 page illustrated monograph 22 x 29 cm. Landscape style paperback

Type

Document

Identifier

State Library of Iowa - First floor book collection, 371.01 Den 1976

Original Format

Paperback Book

Digital Reproduction Information

JPEG scanned at 600 dpi resolution on an Epson Expression 10000XL Scanner

Repository

State Library of Iowa

Repository Collection

Iowa History

File Name

003_TitlePage.jpg.

Notes

Donated to the State Library of Iowa by Des Moines Public Schools

Digital item created

2011

Digital item modified

2011

Transcription

Bicentennial Reflections-History of the Des Moines Public Schools 1846-1976.

Dr. Robert R. Denny.

Des Moines Public Schools
Board of Education

Dr. George G. Caudill, President

Mr. Holden Gentry
Mrs. Betty Grundberg
Dr. John E. McCaw
Dr. Ora E. Niffenegger
Mr. Merle F. Schlampp
Mrs. Jack Spevak

Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Dwight M. Davis

Front Cover Design - Henry Kester, Art Consultant

Copyright June 1976, Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines, Iowa

Printing - W. Dale Harsch, Ted Finch, Printing Instructors

Richard Anderson, Carol Fetters and Tech High Students

Page 001,Title Page.jpg
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Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:57:26 +0000