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Setting a Standard for Suburbia: Innovation in the Scarsdale Schools, 1920–1930

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2017

Carol A. O'Connor
Carol A. O'Connor*
Affiliation:
Utah State University
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Extract

During the 1920s the flight to the suburbs received wide attention in the popular press. Magazines carried articles with such titles as “The World's Greatest Migration,” “Why I Live in a Suburb,” and “The City's Diminishing Returns.” Actually suburbanization was not a new phenomenon. For example, since the 1840s the population of New York City's periphery had been growing at a faster rate than the city's core. But while the process of migration to the suburbs was not new, the civic pride and sense of independence of many suburbanites was. Armed with the progressive idea of positive government and determined to halt any further attempts by the city to expand, suburbanites, particularly of the upper-middle class, built communities that would serve as islands of exclusivity within the greater metropolis.

Type
Articles
Information
History of Education Quarterly , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , Fall 1980 , pp. 295 - 311
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 by History of Education Society 

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References

Notes

1. Cleef, Eugene Van, “The World's Greatest Migration,” American City, 39 (Sept., 1928): 154–155; Butler, Ellis Parker, “Why I live in a Suburb,” American Magazine, 103 (March, 1927): 50–51, 212, 214 and 216; “The City's Diminishing Returns,” Independent, 114 (May 2, 1925): 448.Google Scholar

2. Jackson, Kenneth T., “The Crabgrass Frontier: 150 Years of Suburban Growth in America,” from The Urban Experience, ed. by Mohl, Raymond A. and Richardson, James F. (Belmont, 1973), pp. 197, 200.Google Scholar

3. Jackson, , “Metropolitan Government Versus Suburban Autonomy: Politics on the Crabgrass Frontier,” from Cities in American History, ed. by Jackson, Kenneth T. and Schultz, Stanley K. (New York, 1972), pp. 453–456.Google Scholar

4. Scarsdale's population numbered 1,095 in 1910, 3,509 in 1920, and 9,690 in 1930. 13th Census of the United States (1910), III, p. 206; 14th Census of the United States (1920), III, p. 699; 15th Census of the United States (1930), III, Part 2, p. 295.Google Scholar

5. For an examination of private development, public policy, and intergroup relations in Scarsdale, see my dissertation, “Scarsdale, 1891–1933: The Rise of a Wealthy Suburb,” (Ph.D., Yale University, 1976).Google Scholar

6. Union Free School District No. 1, Scarsdale, New York, Minutes of the District Meetings, I (May 3, 1915), pp. 202–205; (Apr. 13, 1917), pp. 226–29; (May 4, 1926), p. 334; (Dec. 20, 1926), pp. 341–343 and (Oct. 24, 1927), pp. 369–370.Google Scholar

7. This analysis is based on information in the New York State Census, Manuscript for Scarsdale, 1905, 1915 and 1925, available at the Westchester County Clerk's Office in White Plains, New York and through the Genealogical Society of the Mormon Church (microfilm reels 589,664; 589,671 and 589,904). In determining whether a head of household belonged to the upper-middle class, I relied mainly on the listing of his, or occasionally her, occupation. In cases where this designation seemed vague, I considered whether the household included live-in servants and occasionally, as a last resort, the social status of people living in the immediate neighborhood.Google Scholar

8. Attitude of the community described by Philip Russell, president of the Board of Education, Union Free School District No. 1, Scarsdale, New York, Records of the Meetings of the Board of Education, III, (Sept. 29, 1924), p. 16. Cited hereafter as Bd. of Ed. See also the recollections of Dunn, Cleveland A., Scarsdale Inquirer (May 3, 1929): 4. Cited hereafter as SI .Google Scholar

9. Bd. of Ed., III (May 24, 1926), p. 210.Google Scholar

10. Town Club, Reports of the Committee on Education, Sept. 30, 1926, p. 5 and May 20, 1937. See also Union Free School District No. 1, Scarsdale, New York, Annual Report of the Board of Education, 1929, p. 18. Cited hereafter as School Report.Google Scholar

11. Underhill, Ralph, “The Scarsdale Application of the Dalton Plan of Individual Instruction,” School Review, 33 (Jan. 1925): 48–49.Google Scholar

12. Underhill, , “The Scarsdale Plan,” Journal of the National Education Association, 18 (March, 1929): 77.Google Scholar

13. Underhill, , SI (Nov. 24, 1923): 1.Google Scholar

14. Mailer, Julius B., School and Community: A Study of the Demographic and Economic Background of Education in the State of New York (New York, 1938), pp. 77–78.Google Scholar

15. Underhill, , “The Scarsdale Plan,” School and Society, 23 (April, 17, 1926): 496.Google Scholar

16. “The Scarsdale Plan,” NEA Journal: 77.Google Scholar

17. Interview with Roderick Stephens, a member of the Scarsdale school board from 1920 to 1926, New York, New York, July 26, 1972 and the New York State Census for Scarsdale, 1925.Google Scholar

18. “The Scarsdale Application of the Dalton Plan,” p. 48.Google Scholar

19. Committee report quoted SI (Nov. 17, 1923): 1 and “The Scarsdale Plan,” NEA Journal: 77.Google Scholar

20. SI (June 25, 1921): 4; (Sept. 17, 1921): 1; (Feb. 4, 1922): 4; (Nov. 3, 1923): 1; (Nov. 10, 1923): 1 and 4; (Nov. 17, 1923): 1 and 5, and (Dec. 1, 1923): 8, and Bd. of Ed., II (Jan. 23, 1922), p. 156.Google Scholar

21. Fox, Dixon Ryan, Report of the Committee on Education, Town Club, 1927, p. 7 and New York Times (Jan. 5, 1943): 19.Google Scholar

22. See Nunns, T.P. introduction to Parkhurst, Helen, Education on the Dalton Plan (London, 1922), p. xvii.Google Scholar

23. Parkhurst, , Education on the Dalton Plan, pp. 15–19, 28–29 and 113.Google Scholar

24. The individuals were Cheney, Orion H., Russell, Philip W., Stephens, Roderick, Conger, Grace L., and Howes, Ethel P. For biographical information for the men see SI (Jan. 20, 1939): 1 and (Aug. 29, 1941): 1 and 2; New York Times (Jan. 18, 1939): 19 and (Aug. 25, 1941): 15, and Who's Who in New York (10th ed., New York, 1938), pp. 1064–1065. On the women the only source of information is the New York State Census for Scarsdale, 1925, Election District #1, pp. 3 and 34.Google Scholar

25. Fox, , Report, p. 7.Google Scholar

26. “The Scarsdale Application of the Dalton Plan,” pp. 49–50.Google Scholar

27. SI (Nov. 24, 1923): 1.Google Scholar

28. Bd. of Ed., II (Nov. 26, 1923), p. 276.Google Scholar

29. SI (Dec. 15, 1923): 3; (Jan. 26, 1924): 1 and 7 and “Scarsdale Application,” p. 52.Google Scholar

30. Editorial by Brewster, Willima T., SI (June 25, 1921): p. 4.Google Scholar

31. “Executive Session,” SI (Sept. 5, 1930): 4 and “Keeping the Taxpayers' Confidence,” SI (Sept. 4, 1931): 4.Google Scholar

32. SI (Dec. 1, 1923): 1 and 8.Google Scholar

33. SI (Dec. 8, 1923): 1 and 8.Google Scholar

34. SI (Dec. 15, 1923): 1.Google Scholar

35. Parkhurst, , Education on the Dalton Plan, pp. 24–25.Google Scholar

36. Editorial, SI (Nov. 24, 1923): 4.Google Scholar

37. SI (Jan. 19, 1924): 4.Google Scholar

38. SI (Jan. 26, 1924): 1 and articles referred to throughout chapter.Google Scholar

39. Bd. of Ed., III (Apr. 27, 1925), pp. 86–87.Google Scholar

40. Bd. of Ed., II (Apr. 28, 1924), p. 301. Parkhurst's book did not indicate on what a limited basis the Dalton schools had employed the plan. However, Evelyn Dewey's book, The Dalton Plan (New York, 1922) made it clear. Apparently, Underhill had not read Dewey's book.Google Scholar

41. Bd. of Ed., III (Feb. 23, 1925), p. 69.Google Scholar

42. SI (Jan. 19, 1924): 4.Google Scholar

43. Underhill, , “The Dalton Plan in the Scarsdale Schools,” School and Society, 22 (Sept. 25, 1925): 337 and “The Scarsdale Application of the Dalton Plan:” 52, 54–55. Letter from Smith, Edward P., state specialist in history, comparing Scarsdale schools in Spring 1924 with schools of 1927, Bd. of Ed., III (Feb. 28, 1927), p. 299. Reprint of Underhill, “The Experience of Scarsdale with Individual Instruction.” SI (May 8, 1931): 4 and 20.Google Scholar

44. SI (Dec. 8, 1923): p. 1 and (Dec. 15, 1923): 1 and 3 “Scarsdale Application,” 54.Google Scholar

45. Bd. of Ed., II (Apr. 28, 1924), p. 301.Google Scholar

46. SI (Sept. 27, 1924): 4 and “Scarsdale Application:” 54.Google Scholar

47. Underhill paraphrasing Parkhurst's view, “Scarsdale Application:” 54. Bd. of Ed., II (Apr. 28, 1924), pp. 301–302.Google Scholar

48. Bd. of Ed., II (Apr. 8, 1924), p. 302.Google Scholar

49. Bd. of Ed., III (Aug 5, 1924), pp. 3–4; (Oct. 27, 1924), p. 28 and (Feb. 13, 1925), p. 68. Fox Report pp. 10–11.Google Scholar

50. Fox, , Report, p. 8.Google Scholar

51. Editorial, SI (Jan. 19, 1924): 4.Google Scholar

52. SI (Apr. 5, 1924): 2.Google Scholar

53. SI (Apr. 19, 1924): 4.Google Scholar

54. Editorial, SI (May 3, 1924): 4.Google Scholar

55. The substance of Hawthorne's letter has been culled from references to it, since a copy of the letter does not survive. According to the reference librarian at the White Plains Public Library, the Daily Reporter is only available from 1925. The office of the White Plains Reporter Dispatch does not store back-issues for the early period.Google Scholar

56. Bd. of Ed., III (Nov. 14, 1924), pp. 32–35. See also letter from Hogg, Mary, SI (Nov. 22, 1924): 4.Google Scholar

57. Bd. of Ed., III (Nov. 28, 1924), p. 36.Google Scholar

58. “The Experience of Scarsdale with Individual Instruction,” SI (May 8, 1931): 4 and 20; Bd. of Ed., III (Sept. 29, 1924), p. 12 and (Jan. 26, 1925), p. 53; School Report, 1925, p. 14 and interview with Amelie Rothschild, former member of the Scarsdale school board, Hartsdale, New York, Aug. 19, 1970.Google Scholar

59. SI (Dec. 8, 1923): 1.Google Scholar

60. Underhill quoted in editorial, “What the Scarsdale Plan Really Is,” SI (April 27, 1928): 4.Google Scholar

61. SI (Mar. 14, 1925): 1 and 2.Google Scholar

62. “The Experience of Scarsdale,” SI (May 8, 1931): 4 and 20. Bd. of Ed., III (Dec. 22, 1924), pp. 46–47 and (Jan. 26, 1925), p. 54.Google Scholar

63. “The Scarsdale Plan,” School and Society: 496; School Report, 1926, pp. 13–14 and 1927, p. 16; Bd. of Ed., V (Feb. 27, 1929), p. 15; “The Experience of Scarsdale,” SI (May 8, 1931): 4 and 20.Google Scholar

64. SI (Dec. 16, 1927): 4.Google Scholar

65. Bd. of Ed., IV (June 25, 1928), p. 112 and School Report, 1929, pp. 17–18.Google Scholar

66. School Report, 1930, p. 13.Google Scholar

67. School Report, 1929, pp. 17–18. Statistics cited in two articles by Underhill, , “The Scarsdale Plan,” Junior-Senior H. S. Clearing House, 5 (October 1930): 118 and “The Experience of Scarsdale, SI (May 8, 1931): 4.Google Scholar

68. Bd. of Ed., V (April 27, 1931), p. 245.Google Scholar

69. “The Scarsdale Plan,” Clearing House: 118.Google Scholar

70. In 1919–1920 the board of education budgeted a total of $110,440.00 for 625 students or $176.71 per student. In 1929–1930 the board budgeted $560,051.39 for 1,766 students or $317.13 per student. School Report, 1919, p. 8 and 1929, p. 7.Google Scholar

71. School Report, 1920, p. 4 and 1930, pp. 3–4.Google Scholar

72. In 1928 Scarsdale paid an average salary of $2,275.74 compared to Bronxville $3,090.71; Mount Vernon $2,833.87; New Rochelle $2,678.18; White Plains $2,594.00; Pelham $2,421.40 and Mamaroneck $2,329.74. Bd. of Ed., IV, (Apr. 23, 1928), p. 88.Google Scholar

73. One indication of a strong educational program is the number of semi-finalists a school has in the National Merit Scholarship competition. The five communities mentioned, along with Scarsdale, ranked among the top 25 schools in terms of National Merit semifinalists from 1975 to 1978. Exeter: Bulletin of Phillips Exeter Academy, 78 (Nov. 1978): 12–13.Google Scholar

74. Gans, Herbert J., The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community, (New York, 1967), p. 88.Google Scholar