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A Case Study of Alabama State College Laboratory High School in Historical Context, 1920-1960

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A Case Study of Alabama State College Laboratory High School in Historical Context, 1920-1960 A “Laboratory of Learning”: A Case Study of Alabama State College Laboratory High School in Historical Context, 1920-1960 Sharon G. Pierson Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 © 2012 Sharon G. Pierson All rights reserved ABSTRACT A “Laboratory of Learning”: A Case Study of Alabama State College Laboratory High School in Historical Context, 1920-1960 Sharon G. Pierson In the first half of the twentieth century in the segregated South, Black laboratory schools began as “model,” “practice,” or “demonstration” schools that were at the heart of teacher training institutions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Central to the core program, they were originally designed to develop college-ready students, demonstrate effective teaching practices, and provide practical application for student teachers. As part of a higher educational institution and under the supervision of a college or university president, a number of these schools evolved to “laboratory” high schools, playing a role in the development of African American education beyond their own local communities. As laboratories for learning, experimentation, and research, they participated in major cooperative studies and hosted workshops. They not only educated the pupils of the lab school and the student teachers from the institution, but also welcomed visitors from other high schools and colleges with a charge to influence Black education. A case study of Alabama State College Laboratory School, 1920-1960, demonstrates the evolution of a lab high school as part of the core program at an HBCU and its distinctive characteristics of high graduation and college enrollment rates, well-educated teaching staff, and a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum. The collected oral histories from former graduates testify to the perception that a laboratory high school education was considered a privilege. The history of Alabama State College Laboratory High School provides evidence that Lab High offered a “Class A” education to Black youth in Alabama despite the oppressive White social policies and practices in the South and contrary to the plentiful historical accounts of inferior secondary education during legalized segregation. As a progressive laboratory for learning, Alabama State College Lab High played a role in the development of education for African Americans in Alabama and throughout the South. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I – INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Research Setting ......................................................................................................................1 Historical Setting –Overview ..................................................................................................7 Research Questions and Methodology ..................................................................................11 Organization ..........................................................................................................................12 Explanation of Certain Terms, Abbreviations, and References ............................................19 LABORATORY SCHOOLS IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT Chapter 2 – BEGINNINGS: THE PROMISE OF SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION ...........................................................................................................23 The Jesse Jones Report – A Firm Foundation or a Specious Study ......................................31 A New Era of Education – Secondary and Laboratory Schools in Progress .........................44 Separate and Unequal – Funding and Control of Black Secondary Education .....................45 Spreading the Message of Disadvantage – Public Relations Problems ................................64 Chapter 3 – Intersections, Opportunities, and Strategies for Advancement, 1920-1940s: Black Laboratory Schools During the Progressive Era .............................................76 Meeting the Needs of the South: Dual Perspectives of the “Most Suitable” Black High School Curriculum ...........................................................................................86 Intersections and Opportunities in the Progressive Education Era .......................................97 i Curriculum Reconstruction and Experimentation: The Black High School Study.............111 A Paucity of Studies on African American Education ........................................................129 BEGINNINGS –STATE COLLEGE LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL, INFLUENTIAL LEADERSHIP Chapter 4 – History and Development of Alabama State College and Laboratory School .............................................................................................142 “A University for Colored People”: Seeds of Inspiration and Effective Administration ...142 African American President John William Beverly: Boldly Working within the Alabama Caste ........................................................................................................168 George Washington Trenholm: “A Master Builder” ..........................................................194 Chapter 5 – History and Development of Alabama State College Laboratory High School, the “Heart” of the Institution .......................................................208 Harper Councill Trenholm: “Slowly and Cautiously” Influencing Secondary Education ................................................................................................................208 Accreditation – Realization, Recognition, and Respect ......................................................224 Partnerships for Advancement ............................................................................................240 The NEA and NATCS ............................................................................................241 Partnering with ASNLH—Education in African American History and Culture ...242 State Teachers College and Laboratory High School as Hosts ...........................................246 Triumphs and Trials – Surviving the Great Depression in Southern Education .................250 ii A Changing Society ............................................................................................................264 ALABAMA STATE COLLEGE LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL, CREATING “PRECIOUS SCHOLARS” Chapter 6 – “Lab High” – Privilege and Promise in Secondary Education ...........................270 “We were taught to push boundaries” .................................................................................270 Enrollments .........................................................................................................................281 Facilities ..............................................................................................................................292 Teachers and Curriculum ....................................................................................................301 Extracurricular Activities – Special Electives ....................................................................312 “Negro History and Culture” and the “Challenge of Democracy” ......................................315 Chapter 7 – Conclusion ..........................................................................................................329 “Students Were Encouraged to Excel and Be Change Agents” ..........................................329 Selected Bibliography ............................................................................................................339 Appendix A: Names of the Institution .................................................................................364 Appendix B: Traditional Counties of the Alabama Black Belt ...........................................365 Appendix C: History of Contributions and Funding for the Facilities and Expansion iii of Alabama State College for Negroes, 1887-1951 .......................................366 Appendix D: Accredited Black High Schools .....................................................................369 Appendix E: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Selection Criteria for Member Schools ......................370 Appendix F: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Selection Sixteen Member-Schools ...........................371 Appendix G: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Purpose of the Study ..................................................372 Appendix H: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Problems to be Attacked by the Study .......................373 Appendix I: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Further Identifications of Problems ...........................374 Appendix J: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Issues for More Realistic Teaching for Sciences and Social Studies ..........................................................................................375 iv Appendix K: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes - Plans for the Future ....................................................376 Appendix L: Secondary School Study, Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools for Negroes -
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