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Kindergarten Centennial Graduation Ceremony ephemera and photograph collection

Finding Aid

Creator:

Perkins School for the Blind

Date Range:

May 1, 1987

Call number:

AG104

Abstract:

This collection contains memorabilia about Perkins 1987 Centennial Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony. Contents include photographs, a guest book and one commemorative Julia Ward Howe envelope.

Extent:

1 half size document case, .25 linear feet.

Language:

English

Processed by:

Jane Pipik, 2019

Biographical/Historical notes:

Perkins School for the Blind did not originally accept any students younger than nine years old. However, Perkins trustees and directors were aware of the need to assist and safely educate younger children. Michael Anagnos, the second director of the Perkins School for the Blind and son-in-law of founding director, Samuel Gridley Howe, worked for the establishment of a kindergarten for the blind, writing appeals and directing fundraising efforts.  

The United States’ first-ever Kindergarten for the Blind was established in Jamaica Plain, MA in 1887. The first class consisted of only 10 pupils; by 1895, over 70 children were enrolled. Originally open only to children from New England, eventually children from around the country were admitted. The curriculum was modeled after early education visionary Friedrich Froebel’s first kindergarten, and included music classes and manual arts training.

The Kindergarten remained separate from Perkins School for the Blind until 1913, when both schools moved to their current campus in Watertown, MA. The Kindergarten was integrated into Perkins’s curriculum, expanding instruction through sixth grade, and was renamed “the Lower School.”

Sources of information:

McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Kindergarten. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.

AG58 Kindergarten for the Blind Correspondence Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

“Kindergarten for the Blind Digital Photographic Collection.” Flickr

AG72 Kindergarten Funds Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Restrictions:

This collection is restricted due to student privacy concerns.

It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Credit line/Citation:

AG104 Kindergarten Centennial Graduation Ceremony Ephemera and Photograph Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Scope/Contents:

This collection contains color photographs and one guest book from the Perkins 1987 Centennial Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony. Additionally, Julia Ward Howe commemorative envelope notes existence of video of ceremony. Video is available at the  Perkins Hayes Research Library Video # 18, VHS format, 30 minutes.

Arrangement:

Key to Abbreviations: 

B1:F1 = Box 1: Folder 1

No series: arranged chronologically

AG58 Kindergarten for the Blind Correspondence Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

AG72 Kindergarten Funds Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.

Kindergarten for the Blind Digital Collection on Flickr

Container List:

  • B1:F1: Twenty-seven color, 4 x6 inch photographs, 1987
  • B1:F2: Julia Ward Howe commemorative envelope, 1987
  • B1:F3: Guest book in box: 45 signatures, 1987

Provenance:

Unknown.

Subject Headings:

  • Perkins School for the Blind.
  • Perkins School for the Blind–History.
  • Blind– Education.
  • Blind—Education—Massachusetts.
  • Kindergarten.
  • Children who are blind

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