Promoting the History and Preservation of One-Room Schools

CSAA Boardmembers Make Headlines for Research and Humanitarian Efforts

CSAA Board member Susan Webb has been asked to do two presentations at the National Rosenwald Conference (NRC) in June at Tuskeegee University in Alabama. The conference celebrates 100 Years of Pride, Progress and Preservation of the Julius Rosenwald legacy. Susan is researching what might have been a typical Rosenwald school curriculum for a specific time period. In addition, she has been asked to serve on a grant committee to procure funds for the NRC keynote speakers.

 

The one Rosenwald school Susan has had the closest connection to for the past three years, the Shiloh School in Notasulga, Alabama, is now officially an historical landmark and will be a featured "star" at the conference. Limited documentation indicates it was possibly the site of the first Rosenwald school destroyed by fire shortly after construction but was replaced by the current restored building. Susan commented that the school is a real treasure.  Her research indicates that there were 400 Rosenwald schools in Alabama, only 18 of which remain. Most are in very poor condition. Susan has tracked down five schools. They are located in such remote countryside that most nearby municipalities are not even aware of their existence.

"It has been difficult to generate public interest in these schools," she said, "even though they represent an important chapter in American southern education."

Susan has presented lectures and first-person narratives across the country relating to the preservation of our remaining one-room schools and their history.

Susan's presentation is entitled, "Rosewald Readin', Writi'n, 'Rithmetic:" What would a day in the classroom be like for a Rosenwald student? Explore the curriculum, academic subject matter, educational material,and trade skills taught in Rosenwald Schools. Learn about late 19th- and early 20th-century American education, teachers, the Jeanes Foundation which funded the training of teachers in the South, and the challenges of creating educational opportunities for young African Americans. Participate in authentic early 20th-century“recitation time” as if you were a student in a Rosenwald School.

A former teacher, Susan Webb is also known as "The Traveling Schoolmarm," visiting one-room schools across the country to re-enact the schoolhouse experience. She is the author of several publications designed for use in country school settings: Country School Copybook, Country School Reading Lessons, One-Room Schools, William Holmes McGuffey and His Readers, Rosenwald Schools Primer, Ready for Reenactment?, and Rewarding the Merit: A Positive Approach to Scholarly Accomplishment.

CSAA Boardmember Dr. Mark Dewalt received the Humanitarian Award at the 2012 South Carolina Counseling Association 48^th Annual Conference.  As stated on the SCCA website, "This award is for those in our profession who have really made a difference in the lives of others through their work." Dr. Dewalt was nominated for his great passion for and research on the Amish community, the education of their children, and their response of forgiveness in the face of the school shooting disaster in 2006.  He was also recognized for his commitment to educating students who live in poverty.  Dr. Dewalt was nominated by Counseling and Development Graduate Student Renva Barthell of Winthrop University.  She developed an excellent portfolio to support her nomination of Dr. Dewalt for the Humanitarian Award.

 

Mark is the Chair of Counseling, Leadership, and Educational Studies at Winthrop Universirty in Rock Hill, SC and the author of Amish Education in the United States and Canada. He is a regular presenter at the Country School Association of America's annual conferences.