Local History

Kalamazoo Public Schools

John F. Kennedy Center

“Most gardens appeal to the eyes and, at times, to the nose. But none stimulates all the senses. Shouldn’t a well-planned garden excite the senses of hearing, taste and touch,…

Brucker School

Named for former governor of Michigan, Wilbur Marion Brucker, the Eastwood Neighborhood elementary school began as a Kalamazoo Township School (District No. 19) before its integration within the Kalamazoo Public…

Burdick Street School/McKinley Elementary

Burdick Street School WMU, P-351. Burdick Street School, Kalamazoo, undated In 1885, the school board set aside $5000 for the construction of a new school to serve students located in…

Colored School

One of the more puzzling events in the history of Kalamazoo’s public school district is the story of Kalamazoo’s “Colored School.”

Frank Street School

The Frank Street School is one of several school buildings that have called the Northside Neighborhood its home, and one of the first of several southwest Michigan schools to offer…

Fresh Air School

“An open-air school for pupils suffering with incipient tuberculosis seems to be an absolute necessity in Kalamazoo. The local anti-tuberculosis society is deserving of commendation for its activity in this…

Harding School

Harding School along Pine St., with Lovell Street School to the left. 1932 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map The 1920s was a boom time for the construction of several Kalamazoo Public…

Hillcrest Elementary School

New housing developments were coming up all over Kalamazoo after the turn of the twentieth century due primarily to a growing population. One of those new developments was Hillcrest, where parents felt a new school was “imperative.”

Kalamazoo Central High School

Everyday thousands of people pass by the Community Education Center, otherwise known as “Old Central,” located at South Westnedge Avenue and Vine Street, not realizing that there has been a school on that site since 1858. The history of the school...

Kalamazoo School Case

What is a public school education? Most United States citizens today think of kindergarten through 12th grade, provided by the government and funded by taxes. However, that was not always the case. A lawsuit known as the Kalamazoo School Case...

Lake Street School/Edison

Situated on the northwest corner of Lake and Russell streets in the Edison Neighborhood, the first Lake Street School was erected in 1880 and demolished in 1958. Multiple additions were…

Lincoln School

Lincoln School, c.1940. KPL catalogue number P-996 Situated on the city’s northside at 912 N. Burdick Street, the Lincoln School (Lincoln International Studies School) has served as an educational environment…

Lovell Street School

First Lovell Street School, 1865-1883 The original Lovell Street School, a two-story wooden building, opened in 1867 at the corner of East Lovell Street and what was then Pine Street.…

Minott, Margaret

Margaret Minott was the first African American elected to the Kalamazoo Board of Education. She was instrumental in the effort to desegregate Kalamazoo Public Schools, and it was through her efforts that the Oshtemo Branch Library came to be.

North West Street School

KPL Postcard Collection The original North West Street School was built in 1888, with several additions made to the structure over the years (1907, 1926). At the time of its…

Oakwood Elementary School

In November 1956, residents of the Oakwood Neighborhood voted in favor of annexation into the City of Kalamazoo. A year later, on the 30th of June, the school board also…

Oliver v. Kalamazoo Board of Education

The following is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the Kalamazoo Public Schools desegregation case (Oliver v. Kalamazoo Board of Education), but rather an abridged, introductory timeline of…

Parkwood-Upjohn Elementary School

Crowded conditions at a number of schools in Kalamazoo led to the construction of new buildings including one in the growing Westnedge Hill neighborhood south of downtown. The name of the school came from the one of the plats in the neighborhood...

Roosevelt School

Before the Roosevelt School was built in 1909, a prior school at East Main Street and Gilbert was built around 1883-4. This school, known as the East Avenue School, quickly…