Sweers 1

Lauren Sweers

Professor Hagood

HIST 140

14 December 2017

Local Control of Holland, Michigan Schools During the Cold War Era

In November of 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower organized the White House

Conference of Education, the first of its kind in American history. After years of dealing with

more pressing business- the Great Depression and two World Wars- there were long-standing

issues in the U.S. education system that were called to the forefront of public attention. In his

remarks to the conference participants, Eisenhower explained that ten years prior, the country

had “found itself in a state of great confusion,” and so “[m]any ​problems were lost sight of as we

turned our attention to preserving the peace, to establishing international organizations for that

purpose.”1 Eisenhower provided a convincing narrative of the U.S. educational system that

agrees with a general historical consensus: the public schools had been neglected in order to

prioritize the war effort, but now it was time to invest in the future generation.

As Eisenhower’s words demonstrate, American educational policy is often carried along

by the political undercurrents of the nation. This was especially apparent during the post-war

period of the 1950’s and 60’s, with national concerns like civil rights and the space race

demanding public attention. Thus, an illusion emerges throughout history that problems which

plague school districts around the U.S. are diagnosed and treated by federal legislation and

1
​Dwight D. Eisenhower, "Remarks for the White House Conference on Education," (presidential
address at the first meeting of the White House Conference on Education, Gettysburg College, November
28, 1955).
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reform, affecting the system right down to local schools and their day-to-day procedures. From

the 1950’s and beyond, American schools would endure plenty of rhetoric about why kids

couldn’t read, why poverty was so high, and why the Soviets got to space before the U.S. did.

National committees, departments, and unions would take action to improve the plight of the

American school, and some of these changes were far-reaching and effective. But even during

the educational reforms and initiatives of the Cold War era, schools in the town of Holland,

Michigan changed in response to local needs and values even more than they did to new federal

standards or legislation.

At the time of the Conference on Education, it was still popularly accepted that schools

should be run at the local level. Eisenhower stated this clearly in his 1955 remarks:

The first thing is that the education of our young should be free. It should be under the

control of the family and the locality. It should not be controlled by any central authority.

We know that education, centrally controlled, finally would lead to a kind of control in

other fields which we don't want and will never have. So we are dedicated to the

proposition that the responsibility for educating our young is primarily local.2

This belief is rooted in the 10th amendment of the Constitution, which states that “[t]he powers

not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are

reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”3 Because the federal government is not

granted power over the education system, education has been always considered the

responsibility of each state.

2
Eisenhower, "Remarks."
3
"The Constitution of the United States," Amendment 10.
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Decades before Eisenhower’s White House Conference of Education, Egbert E. Fell,

superintendent of Holland Public Schools in the town of Holland, Michigan, was committed to

his role in providing a “child-centered school with opportunities for all.”4 A graduate of Alma

College with a Master’s degree in school administration, Fell had a passion for excellence in

Holland schools, and raised educational standards to match these expectations.

The city of ​Holland is located in lower midwest Michigan, established on the shore of

Lake Michigan and straddling Lake Macatawa to its north and south. It was founded as a colony

in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist Separatists, lead by the locally legendary Albertus van Raalte. As in

many early American towns, immigrants in early Holland were not necessarily eager to fund a

school, and after age 16 most students did not go to school as they worked on family farms

instead.5 The first schools were actually started to help the Dutch settlers learn the English

language in order to successfully assimilate into America.6 It was largely thanks to the church

and its early leaders that education became a priority to Holland citizens. ​This value took hold

community, and was passed on to teachers and administrators who oversaw the growth of the

colony’s first public school system. Superintendent Fell continued this legacy. Serving Holland

Public Schools from 1910 to 1945, he kept up with the latest in pedagogy and educational

perspectives, and he organized the Holland Teacher’s Club, with all members enrolling in the

Michigan State Teachers Association and the National Education Association.7

4
Swierenga, Robert P.​ Holland Michigan: From Dutch Colony to Dynamic City​. (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2013.) 416.
5
Holland’s Heritage. ​(Holland, Michigan: First National Bank of Holland, 1960.) 14.
6
Swierenga, ​Holland Michigan, ​370.
7
Swierenga, ​Holland Michigan, ​420.
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The teachers and administrators of Holland Public Schools stayed in touch with voices in

their community as well other voices in the wider, nationwide conversation about effective

instructional methods. Holland’s Board of Education took initiative to regularly evaluate the

curriculum and other school policies. A March 1960 Holland City News article reports that a

curriculum council of about 50 to 60 representatives from parent-teacher groups, teachers,

students, and administrators would soon convene monthly to offer curriculum recommendations

and to “work together for better education.”8

In February of 1961, the junior high teachers presented a report to the Board comparing

their curriculum to the recommendations by Dr. James B. Conant in his 1960 report on junior

high education. Conant was a highly respected voice in the national educational community,

being that he, among many other major achievements, conducted in-depth studies in public

education during the late 1950’s. “In general,” a newspaper article reports on the meeting, “the

Junior high program in Holland compares favorably with Dr. Conant’s recommendations and

conclusions, subject to certain limitation of space. Many of Dr. Conant’s recommendations of

extra-curricular activities, foreign languages, intramural sports, and emphasis on reading skills

have long been in operation here.”9 While administrators knew there was always room for

improvement, Holland certainly took pride in its progressive schools.

At the 1955 Conference on Education, Eisenhower​ pointed out what was perhaps the

most obvious and significant stressor on American schools. “In the last ten years our population

has increased by 26 million souls,” and there were not enough teachers and facilities to keep up

8
​“Curriculum Council Now Under Study,​”​ Holland City News​, March 17, 1960.
9
“Junior High Curriculum is Reviewed,” ​Holland City News, ​February 2, 1961.
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with the post-war baby boomers.10 Holland was certainly not immune to this problem. “You

can’t argue with the stork!” says the cover of a political pamphlet from the early 1950’s that

urges Holland residents to vote “yes” to a proposal that would cover the costs of expanding the

schools.11 The pamphlet, published by the Citizen’s School Committee and the Board of

Education, explains that in 1935, there had been 134 new babies born in Holland, 559 in 1944,

and 938 in 1952. “[I]f we wait, by 1960 we will have about 700 grade school pupils without seats

or accomodations.”12 In this case, the baby-boomer phenomenon addressed by the U.S.

government was also an issue in Holland’s community. The city was able to expand the schools

and build a new elementary school to keep up with the population growth.

Finding space for the baby boomers continued to be a problem into the 1960’s. The

construction of the new high school for Holland Public in 1961 demonstrates how the local

community took its own needs into consideration to make educational decisions. Residents

approved the $3 million construction of a new school campus by a vote of 2580 to 1423, which

was finished and ready for use in late January of 1962. However, a close majority said no to a

new $250,000 swimming pool, revealing that Holland’s conservative community still kept fiscal

responsibility a priority.13

Michigan State University’s ​Profiles of Significant Schools ​published a piece on the new

campus in September of 1962. The profile explains the educational philosophies and

practicalities behind the design of the high school, which was inspired by ​“a full-scale study of

10
Eisenhower, "Remarks.”
11
"You Can’t Argue With the Stork!" Political pamphlet from the early 1950’s. Published by the
Citizen’s School Committee and the Board of Education. (Holland, Michigan: n.d.).
12
“You Can’t Argue With the Stork!”
13
“City Voters Approve New High School,” ​Holland City News,​ February 25, 1960.
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the community, the students and their needs” by the school’s teachers seven years before the new

building had even been approved.14 The results of the study offered insight into the “widening of

the gap between the educational needs of different pupils.”15 Researchers found that about half of

high school graduates went on to college, and the other half did not. For all students, however,

the increasingly-competitive environments of academia and the post-war workforce required

schools to ramp up their curriculum:

Stiffer competition and tougher requirements for college entrance made new demands on

the college preparatory curriculum. But a postwar shift in the area’s industrial

development intensified Holland’s problems. There was a demand for fewer unskilled or

semi-skilled workers and for more skilled labor, a situation that had obvious implications

for the high school and its vocational and general programs. The answer, the educators

decided, lay in a comprehensive curriculum, effective guidance, and, most important, a

school program tailored to the needs of the individual student.16

The shift in labor needs was not an issue known by Holland residents alone; the rest of the nation

experienced similar post-war economic changes in countless different communities, big and

small. But for the unique place and region of Holland, Michigan, the leaders of their public

schools were able to study specific, relevant changes and needs within their own community

over an extended period of time, thus resulting in specific, relevant data.

Educators sought flexibility in the campus, and, as the ​Significant Schools ​report

explains, it was decided that “a number of what were termed the ‘sacred cows’ of school

14
Donald J. Leu and Richard L. Featherstone, “Profiles of Significant Schools: Holland High
School: Holland, Michigan,” (New York: Educational Facilities Laboratories, Inc, 1962), 2.
15
“Profiles of Significant Schools,” 2.
16
​Ibid.
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scheduling had to go.”17 Five particular “sacred cows” were listed: study halls, the “55-minute

class,” four subjects per student- “why not three for some, six for others?”- supervision over

every student every day, and “one teacher and 25 or 30 students per class.”18 In an experimental

move, the high school scheduled longer, two-to-three-hour class sessions, and allowed students

to go off campus during their free time, unless a teacher or counselor said otherwise.

The new high school’s design was considered highly unconventional, especially for a

small-town school. The decentralized campus was​ “composed of seven buildings, including a

domed fieldhouse, music and theater facility and art center.”19 The main building was split into

four separate wings or “small schools,” in order to “gain small-school intimacy in a large-school

operation.”20 The architect of the innovative campus design, ​Suren Pilafian of Detroit, ​won an

award from the School Building Architectural Exhibit of 1961, ​sponsored jointly by the

American Institute of Architects and the American Association of School Administrators. “The

award... heralded the building design for its ‘new approach to space utilization’ and the ability

‘to convert instructional areas into spaces of varying sizes.’”21

Interestingly, this experiment in adaptive scheduling did not last. The logistical problems,

considering the total district enrollment of 3855 students in 1962, unfortunately outweighed the

benefits of the new system:

Although the system “worked well for many students and allowed them to go into greater

depth in their studies and take greater responsibility for themselves, the plan was not

17
​“Profiles of Significant Schools,” 3.
18
​“Profiles of Significant Schools,” 3.
19
​Randy Vande Water, "A Rich History," accessed December 13, 2017,
http://www.hollandpublicschools.org/our-district/
20
“Profiles of Significant Schools,” 5.
21
“A Rich History.”
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regarded as beneficial to every student. After a few years HHS “returned to the traditional

55-minute class periods at the request of parents who preferred that students be on

campus all day everyday.”22

Teachers likely were disappointed that the idea had not been as successful as hoped, but they

were able to reverse the policy quickly and painlessly in response to concerned parents. After all,

parental involvement is a significant reality of localized education, for better or for worse.

The National Defense Education Act (NDEA), passed in September of 1958, was a

federal legislation passed under the administration of President Eisenhower, only eleven months

after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first space satellite, on October 4, 1957. The

purpose of the NDEA was​ “to strengthen the national defense and to encourage and assist in the

expansion and improvement of educational programs to meet critical national needs.”23 Implicit

in this purpose was competing with the Soviet Union in science and technology. The general

provisions of the NDEA state the following:

The defense of this Nation depends upon the mastery of modern techniques developed

from complex scientific principles. It depends as well upon the discovery and

development of new principles, new techniques, and new knowledge. We must increase

our efforts to identify and educate more of the talent of our Nation. This requires

programs that will give assurance that no student of ability will be denied an opportunity

for higher education because of financial need; will correct as rapidly as possible the

existing imbalances in our educational programs which have led to an insufficient

22
​"A Rich History.”
23
National Defense Education Act of 1958, Public Law 85-864, 85th Cong., (September 2, 1958),
1581.
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proportion of our population educated in science, mathematics, and modern foreign

languages and trained in technology.24

In essence, the legislation aims to correct the failure of public schools to educate its students in

subjects pertaining to national security- science and technology, especially. The document

reassures its readers that “the States and local communities have and must retain control over and

primary responsibility for public education. The national interest requires, however, that the

Federal Government give assistance to education for programs which are important to our

defense.”25 Never before had the federal government taken such an active role in education, and

the public was generally apprehensive about this far-reaching measure.

Two years later, in a Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Scott notified Holland

teachers and administrators that applications had been made under the NDEA “for equipment for

science in the elementary schools, and science, foreign language and mathematics in the

secondary schools…”26 Perhaps prompted by a suspicion of federal involvement, “Member Jack

Plews pointed out that federal aid to education is always a controversial subject and the fact that

the boards is applying for funds does not necessarily mean that the board favors the whole

concept of federal aid.”27 Later, in 1964, a meeting held by Citizens for Educational Freedom, a

national group that emphasizes parent’s rights in education, attracted a crowd of over 1500

Holland community members. While not completely opposed to federal involvement and aid,

Holland citizens demonstrated a desire to be informed and responsible for the continued

improvement of their schools.

24
National Defense Education Act of 1958, 1581.
25
​Ibid.
26
​“Curriculum Council Now Under Study,​”​ Holland City News​, March 17, 1960.
27
​Ibid.
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In 1979, the Academy of Political Science and Praeger published a collection of essays

into a book called ​Government in the Classroom: Dollars and Power in Education. ​The essays

present different interpretations of educational history related to the federal-versus-state tensions

in public school administration. Some of the writers argue that education should never be

centralized, such as William C. French in his essay, “ Local Control Under Attack.”

“Historically,” he writes, “American states and communities have successfully resisted direct

federal control of the public schools.” He explains that while federal, state, and local

governments should act in partnership to fulfill their roles in providing free, public education, the

federal government has attempted to “resolve broad societal problems in ways that utilize the

public schools as the vehicle for action.”28 While Holland school leaders embraced their

empowerment by a supportive local community and excellent teachers and administrators, they

also did not isolate themselves from the plethora of new ideas and developments in the wider

educational community. At the same time, Holland superintendents and other leaders took

personal initiative to look after the wellbeing of their schools, not relying on the prescriptions of

the nation or even the state of Michigan to address the individual needs of their unique and proud

community.

William C. French, "Local Control Under Attack," in ​Government in the Classroom: Dollars
28

and Power in Education​, ed. Mary Frase Williams (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1979), 8.
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Works Cited

Eisenhower, Dwight D. "Remarks for the White House Conference on Education."

Presidential address, first meeting of the White House Conference on Education, Gettysburg

College, November 28, 1955.

French, William C. "Local Control Under Attack." In ​Government in the Classroom:

Dollars and Power in Education​, ed. Mary Frase Williams (New York: Praeger Publishers,

1979).

Vande Water, Randy. "A Rich History." Accessed December 13, 2017,

http://www.hollandpublicschools.org/our-district