Code,915035
Subject,Hope Murphy
Date,7/20/11
Interviewer,Richard Raponi
Abstract,This interview is a discussion about the history of Laurel School with Hope Murphy. She gives a chronolgocial overview of the school's history and talks about important changes. There is some discussion about the type of education received at Laurel School and the curriculum. There is also discussion about when the school moved to Shaker Heights and when it had a dormitory. The school acquired additional land in Geagua County for educational endeavors and sports.
Tags,
Special Notes,
Minutes: ,47 minutes
0,"introductions, subject documenting the history of Laurel School, interview being held at Laurel School at Shaker Heights, Ohio interviewer=please state your name background and association with school, subject Hope Murphy alum of school graduated in 1973"
1,"continues with her association of Laurel, grandmother attended, her mother attended and two daughters attended and graduated, studied history of school in preparation of centenial celebration in 1996, book ""Educating the Independent Mind"" interview-provide some early history of the school, Murphy-founded by Jenny Prentiss who grew up in neighborhood, interesting time in the city's history, woman's committees, celebrating foundation of city"
2,"looking at accomplishments of city and at same time influx of immigrants in the city with industrialization, public schools were flooded  with students ratio of 48-1, Jenny who was fairly sensative about girls getting lost in the system had a fine education at Lake Erie College, wanted to share her experiences with girls in the area, Central High School one of finest schools in the city, was holding double sessions"
3,"Jenny felt it was important to educated the whole day and opened her school in 1896 with 3 girls, took borders, exposed to ideas of John Dewey a progressive educator, had well rounded liberal education, fairly remarkable education for girls at the time, was quite excited about doing the same thing for girls in the area, concerned about the social stress girls had such as the wealthy and millionairs row because intense social calendar for those girls, "
4,"she wanted her girls to be removed from that stress and explore the life of the mind, interviewer who attended there in early years-middle class girls from the area, created a boarding school, very shortly school became so popular had to move it out of her house to another location on Streeter Avenue which was where she lived, Kindergarten folded in her school, founded a house on Euclid Avenue rented,  but grew such a size had to add a board of trustees to help her with finances and then they changed head of school"
5,"Jenny left Laurel got married and moved out of town, head changed and at that point fairly well established institution and was a time Hathaway Brown existed and at that point drawing girls from immediate neighborhood and out town and they lived in a dormitory, interviewer-explain the role of all girls school in late 19th early 20th century, Murphy public schools did not come to Cleveland immediately, ragged schools for kids too poor to pay for education, traveling teachers
"
6,"traveling teachers would sometimes room with families they were educating, girls were not typically educated, when public schools established Andrew Fries superintendent oppossed education of girls through high school felt not proper candidates for his high school, families looked elsewhere looked to other institutions, looked to afterhours education at some schools"
7,"Middleburger school started good friend of Rockefeller, gave her house, girls that went to Miss Middleburger's schools very wealthy, Jenny looked for girls that were middle class and did not want them to have the social pressure, Interviewer-was public education was it mandatory"
8,"mid 19th century became mandatory in Cleveland.. Prentise found house on Euclid she called it the yellow house frame building, able to use the space until left about 1902, interim head Florence Waterman, Trustees recruited Sarah Lyman to be math teacher math teacher at Hathaway Brown had some education at Oberlin she didn't finished there"
9,"she came in as an interim, recognized need for the school to grow be in permanent establishment for classes , build building on Euclid avenue right next to the lot that Hathaway Brown was on, both schools were rivals and on same block, girls developed rivalries in terms of sports, the building Lyman designed had chemistry lab, chapel start day in chapel, building was brick still standing in 2011"
10,"demolished by Cleveland Clinic, Lyman build a freestanding Kindergarten building, Lyman was very progressive, knew very important to John Deweys view of hands on education, girls took field trips around city, went to beach, she had very strong music program, frame house on Euclid they rented is where music taught"
11,"music program was so strong at one point they 100 students, talked about teachers, teachers who taught girls how to develop voices in public, had local teachers teach all other academics multiple languages German, French, Spanish added later, Latin, Greek, full range of math and science classes, as well as visual arts and english"
12,"rigourous curriculum, girls were able to apply using a Laurel certificate would be granted admission to places like Welsley, Smith, Radcliff, Western Reserve college etc, reputation really strong in part because of Jenny's education at Lake Erie College based on Mount Holyoke model, Lyman's background from Oberlin College"
13,"powerful education to formulate their curriculum, interviewer-was this part of national movement or unique to development all girls schools, Murphy-part of what was going on on the east coast and Laurel following a similar a model, by 1920s Van Swerigan brothers developing Shaker Heights laying out the streets, Lyman witnessed Hathaway Brown moved to campus in  Shaker Heights in late 1920s,"
14,"University School moved from Huff location to Shaker Heights, Lyman felt encroachment from city on her campus, loss of birds on campus, girls had extensive lawn to play on, playground, played field sports on lawn, Lyman realized quality of air changing, birds wildlife were leaving, Lyman felt important to move her girls, knew the challenges her girls faced walking on Euclid Avenue and prohibited her girls from walking on it"
15,"not allowed out without chaperones, rented a street car to transport girls, recommended that girls walking use side streets and not Euclid Avenue, prohibited from going to ice cream parlors on Euclid, talked about property she purchased in Shaker, she dismissed the former board of trustees under Prentiss, felt she could run the school and did it quite successfully until she moved out to Shaker and became more complex business proposition"
16,"at that point reconfigured hired a board a present 1 Lyman Circle, area was very rural quite swampy, apple trees girls could roam,could climb on trees, presently about half of Lyman Circle private homes, other athletic fields, interviewer in begining was it a dormitory school"
17,"day students and dormitory, middle school was dormitory, was neighborhood school, girls came by car or rapid transit, as people moved into Shaker Heights so they could get downtown more girls could attend Laurel"
18,"nursery school, through age 12, interviewer-description of campus, Murphy when you are standing on Laurel Dale a double bouldevard can see Laurel Tower central to campus. Central part of campus all built at same time"
19,continued description of campus
20,"places girls could run around and join campus, Murphy talks about brief time in dormitory, experiences what they ate, quite time by house mother and how she looked after girls"
21,"wonderful place to be, would have breakfast and head to class, interviewer-talk about history of school family history with school,interviewee-grandmother attended Laurel in early days"
22,"grandmother enjoy  her experience at Laurel, her mother could bike to Laurel mainted close friendships "
23,"talked about close friendships that were formed by her mother and how she felt about Laurel, Murphy and sister attended Laurel, her brother attended nursery school because it was coed"
24,"Laurel deeply involved in AFS program, and someone stay from Norway, because of Hopes great experience her children attended,  took them out briefly because of tutition but placed them back in Laurel at Middle school to  have a same sex education"
25,"talked about importance of being in a single school to develop their voice during the middle school years, Interviewer- advantages of a single sex school interviewee-remarkable for girls"
26,"particularly in leadership roles, studies girls who go to single sex schools tend to take more leadership roles, here we say girls play sports, are athletes, take leadership roles"
27,"importance in academics, engineering, well developed STEM program engineering and math, full calculus sequence, offer 4 different languages, opportunities remarkable"
28,"opportunities for internships at places such as Case study with professors, more girls attending colleges than boys so it is more competitive to get into these colleges"
29,"Laurel was always a school to prepare for college, although curriculum was developed to teach girls early childhood development if they had families, the Board of Trustees in 1960s requested Laurel become 4 year preparatory "
30,"today it is only 4 year prepatory not a two year college or junior college, they look at attending college abroad or very select college or liberal arts colleges"
31,"Laurel has alwasy been tuition based school and always as private, very competitive with other private schools, Interviewer-differences between when you attended and today as a teacher, science is one area"
32,"1960s state of art sciense labs, now labs renovated in late 90s, latest probes, and as result of STEM courses, choice of different calcules courses"
33,"more languages available today, in interviewees day was serious thought about it going coed based on what was going on in country, happened in boarding schools and day schools, seriously examined Laurel coed her father and aunt on board of trustees"
34,"shortly after that Hawken went coed independently, University school built upper school campus invited both Laurel and Hathaway Brown to that venture both schools voted not to do that and as a result recommittment to single gender education, Laurel has flousihed as a result, particpated study that studied girls and psychological development, wanted to see how girls developed independently"
35,"because of  recommittment to single gender education greater level of self confidence for girls, Center for Research on Girls, number studies have come to campus, wellness in girls. looking at stress levels on girls, have researchers from Boston University of Boston College, "
36,"looking at how girls create a sense of wellness and schools, interviewer-where is the student population from, interview draw from broad range, dormitory closed in the 1970a, draw from a broad area south and east of Clevelan"
37,"primary from Shaker and Cleveland Heights, draw girls from Jewish day schools come to Laurel for high school and a number of parochial school, describe Butler campus"
38,"able to acquire acreage 140 in Geauga County, land was not developed able to acquire a house, talks about trees etc on property, areas where there were meadows"
39,"they have field hockey, lacross, softball fields, have a pavilion indoor/outdoor, all grades can go out there, they have a ""Magic Treehouse"" based on the book by Mary Pope Osborne"
40,"continued talk about the tree house and how it is built to foster imagination, they also use the land to share with Warner Girls Leadership Academy and how they partner with them"
41,"continued talk about their work with the Warner girls and their school and what they do with Laurel,  Butler Campus accessible by bus, used as a lab space exploring the environment, "
42,"girls athletic teams competed out there, middle school uses it for hands on site experience, describes how they study social studies out there and what grades use campus out there for"
43,"wonderful place for discovery, remarkable place to learn in outdoors, other examples of Laurel School community involvement"
44,"continued talk about the service projects of girls from Laurel school, since then requirement for upper school to spend 50 hours in community support which enriches their lives and those of others"
45,"continued talk about community service projects they find and participate in, support for Special Olympics, and other types of major outreach projects abroad"
46,"other affiliation, online school for girls, access online gives some of the flexibility to deepen their experiene, Laurel founder of online school experience for girls school"
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