Winnetka Public Schools: 150 Years
Gazette: Spring/Summer 2009
In recognition of the 150th Anniversary of District 36
A Brief Chronology of Winnetka Public Schools
1859
Winnetka’s first public school is organized as District #2, with a one-room schoolhouse at Maple and Elm streets.
From the Executive Director
Gazette Article by: Patti Van Cleave
Appeared in the Gazette: Spring/Summer 2009
The arrival of spring always brings a fresh burst of energy, and in addition to reopening the Schmidt-Burnham Log House for the season we have other exciting news. But first I’d like to recap some of the activities that have occurred since last fall’s newsletter.
Goodbye to Something Old, Hello to Something New
Gazette Article by: Ellie Carlson, Curator of Costumes
Appeared in the Gazette: Spring/Summer 2009
On March 11 Curator Katie Macica and I removed a 1908 dress from the “I Do, I Do” exhibit and replaced it with a dress from 1928. The earlier dress, worn by Frieda Rydell, is made of a very fragile material known to textile historians as shattering silk.
Laird Bell: Lawyer, Statesman and Father of Skokie School
Gazette Article by: Duff Peterson
Appeared in the Gazette: Spring/Summer 2009
Bell is best remembered in Winnetka as the father of Skokie School. He was president of the Board of Education from 1919-1923, when the campaign to create a junior high school consumed the Village. His presidency coincided with the appointment as Superintendent of Schools of another innovative educator, the 29-year-old Carleton W. Washburne.
Ken Behles Named Winnetka Man of the Year
Gazette Article by: Nan Greenough
Appeared in the Gazette: Spring/Summer 2009
For his exceptional volunteer work over many years, Ken Behles has been named Man of the Year by the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce. The Historical Society was proud to nominate Ken for this honor based on his service to the community and his irreplaceable role helping to move and restore the Log House and to renovate 411 Linden into a museum.
How Progressive Education Came to Winnetka
Gazette Article by: Susan Whitcomb
Appeared in the Gazette: Spring/Summer 2009
Colonel Francis Parker collaborated with the writer, philosopher and education reformer John Dewey, who founded the University of Chicago Lab School. Dewey believed in learning that was both active and experiential. Children came to school to do things: learning arithmetic would come from measuring ingredients in cooking or calculating the time it would take to get from one place to another by mule.
One of the students exposed to Parker’s new model of education was Carleton Washburne.