Displaying all posts tagged with:

'school districts'

Feb 13

Kansas School Laws, 1863-1965

Posted to KGI Online Library Blog on February 13, 2020 at 12:01 PM by Bill Sowers


Collections of laws governing the operation of public schools in Kansas were published by the different state educational agencies under various titles for decades starting in the 1860s. Within the hallowed halls of the State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Library you'll find a virtual shelf full of these booklets dating from 1863 to 1965...

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Tag(s): School teachers, School laws, School law, School finance, School districts, School administrators, Public schools--Law and legislation, Educational law and legislation, Education--Law and legislation

Jul 05

"Kansas Schools" newsletter, 1952-1969

Posted to KGI Online Library Blog on July 5, 2017 at 1:27 PM by Bill Sowers

Within the well dusted shelves of the State Library of Kansas' virtual KGI Online Library is an incomplete collection of newsletters, "Kansas Schools," covering the years 1952-1969.

These publications, issued by the then Kansas State Department of Public Instruction, could be seen as historical reflections of the changing face of public education and society in general in the Sunflower State during the post-WWII decades.  These were changes that shaped the coming of age of the Baby Boomer generation... The Korean War, school integration, suburban development, the Vietnam War, the turbulent 1960s, gender equality, etc. 

The collection is a great tool for social, historical and casual researchers interested in the development of public education and American society in the 1950s and 1960s.  You can find "Kansas Schools" online at the State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Library at:

"KANSAS SCHOOLS" newsletter,  1952-1969

Tag(s): school districts, public schools, educational innovation, education

Apr 20

Closing Kansas Rural Schools in the 1940s

Posted to KGI Online Library Blog on April 20, 2017 at 4:04 PM by Bill Sowers

In the early 1900s the rural population of Kansas began to decrease. With this loss of population came the  dissolution and consolidation of rural institutions.  One of the most important rural institutions was the rural school, popularly known as the "one-room schoolhouse."  As these schools, scattered all over the Kansas landscape, closed one by one, remaining students had to attend schools covering a greater geographic area.

The closure of rural schools in Kansas brought about dramatic changes in the school districts map of the state.  A legislative research report was ordered and published in 1942 which included statistics on school district closings, reasons for closings, the development of "school centers," changes in the school district taxing system, transportation costs in larger rural districts and state aid to education in Kansas.

The document, "Closed Schools in Kansas" (1942. Kansas Legislative Council Research Department), included a large map of the state indicating types of schools, school boundaries, schools closed or consolidated, and districts where students from closed schools were sent.  This map is an amazing look at loss of population in rural areas by looking at the closure of rural school districts.

We have this publication online at the State Library of Kansas' KGI Online Library, along with the large statewide map.  The map is located at the end of the online document.  It appears in eight separate sections which you can magnify to get a closer look at the districts and movement of students within the state. To zoom into a map just click on the "Download" tab on the top right of the page, click on "open" and then increase the percentage view of the pages.
CLOSED SCHOOLS IN KANSAS
(1942. Kansas Legislative Council. Research Department)

(Special thanks for making the map viewable goes to Trista Philippi)



Tag(s): school districts, school consolidation, rural schools, one room schoolhouses, one room schoolhouse