University High School

1912-1966

Shuttered in 1966, there once existed a high school situated atop Western Michigan University’s East Campus. It was called University High School (aka ‘Normal High’ or ‘State High’), and its origins go back to the beginning of the teacher college’s formation in 1903. The idea of forming teachers out of young children is akin to hospitals as sites for preparing future doctors. Proponents of the training school model were influenced by the theories and practices proposed by the popular 19th century philosopher John Dewey. Dewey wanted “lab schools” housed at teacher-training schools like the Normal School (aka Western State Teachers College). According to Dewey, these schools, which would turn out skilled teachers, would lend the profession more prestige and legitimacy; not to mention better educational outcomes. By the 1950s, the training school model began to dissolve as an increasing number of student teachers prepared in public schools, and State High’s image evolved into that of an exclusive, private school for the city’s most privileged children.

“On the one hand, the school was founded with strong devotion to the social democratic ideals and student initiative. On the other, U-High developed into an elite academy for college-bound children of Kalamazoo’s upper economic and social strata”

–Kalamazoo Gazette, 30 August 1965

Early Years (1904-1948)

The early years of the teacher training school model did not include high school aged students. In fact, during the college’s first year, only grades first, second and fourth were included. Between 1905 and 1909 the school was housed in the Vine Street School. It was during this period when grades kindergarten, fifth, sixth and seventh grade were added. The first director of the school was Martha Sherwood, who was then succeeded by Ida M. Densmore. Under Densmore, the college added the training school building atop Prospect Hill in 1909.

According to WMU professor James O. Knauss’ book The First Fifty Years: a history of Western Michigan College of Education, 1903-1953 the exact origins of the high school’s establishment are shrouded in uncertainty. What is clear is that 28 students graduating from eighth grade wanted to continue their education, and around 1912, with the support of President Waldo, they achieved their goal.

“The story of the early development of a high school as a part of the training school system will probably never be completely told, for no detailed records of its origins seem to have been preserved. The teaching of high school subjects started with the opening of the Normal, as is proved by the fact that students were admitted into the rural courses on satisfactory completion of the eighth grade. These high school subjects were classified as the preparatory course, and later in 1909 as the four-year high school course.”

The First Fifty Years, p.83

“If a definite time has to be set for this transformation, the fall of 1912 is perhaps the best guess as it was that time that a considerable number of the graduating class of the training school were permitted to receive high school instructions in definitely assigned rooms on the second floor of the Administrative Building,–a location that was destined to be the home of the high school for the next forty years.”

The First Fifty Years, p.84

The organization of the high school, a principal (Harold Blair) and a separate faculty all came together by 1913. In 1922, 32 students graduated from the high school, and by 1938, 78 had received their diplomas. Students were required to take an entrance exam in order to be eligible, as there was a cap on the number of students who could attend. The competitive character appealed to families with high-achieving students. The close proximity to academic knowledge and cutting edge ideas attracted families from white collar backgrounds, who sought to have their children exposed to the best local education. Overtime, critics of the school scrutinized the composite of the student body as “elitist.” In 1948, the elementary, junior high and high school were moved under a single administrator (Roy Bryan), and renamed Campus School. In 1947, the high school was given its own library, located next to their classrooms. In addition to academics, students were active in athletics, various social and academic clubs, and the arts. By 1952, most of the college classrooms had been removed from the administration building, leaving the isolated high school students with a sense of autonomy.

“The pupils in the campus school not only study social relationship but they participate in activities which it is hoped will be an aid in preparing them as members of society.”

The First Fifty Years…p. 91

Later Years (1949-1966)

By 1950, the graduating class numbered ninety students. In 1952, State High’s curriculum added an aviation education program connected to the Civil Air Patrol. Two years later, the State Board of Education approved a program that would allow a small number of recommended students to take college-level courses for credit. In 1957, the name of the school was officially changed to University High School. The school’s closing was precipitated by a lack of state funds to improve the school’s facilities. By the mid-1960s, the legislature had become less interested in appropriating funds for the several campus-based “lab schools”, and without money to improve their buildings, closure became inevitable. In 1995, over 500 former students organized a reunion of University High graduates, leading to recollections about their unique educational experiences.

Written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, August 2024