History Of
Western Illinois University
Laboratory School
Part
V: The Final Phase
Within
months of the Laboratory School’s move to the new building in the Fall of 1968,
the Illinois Board of Higher Education began to consider its closure. With few
exceptions, laboratory schools across the country were beginning to be phased
out. The populous baby boom generation, a greater emphasis on higher education
for everyone, and avoidance of the military service draft had caused university
and college enrollments to skyrocket. The burgeoning enrollments coupled with
rising inflation caused a myriad of problems leading to budgetary restraints
that permeated universities and colleges at every level. Laboratory schools,
which were expensive to operate and generated no “revenue,” were suddenly
deemed expendable.
The
Laboratory School’s reaction to its proposed closure was swift and predictable;
disbelief followed by anger, disappointment, and action. The thought of there
being no Laboratory School was unimaginable and it was difficult to understand
the rationale behind the proposal. To allow the bottom line to force the
abandonment of a school with such prestige and innovative traditions was
inconceivable. As one alumnus put it, it would be like turning out the
spotlight while the show was still going on.
The
Laboratory School vociferously opposed the proposed closure and prepared a
vigorous defense. It argued that the Western Illinois University Laboratory
School was a necessary and vital contributor to higher education in Illinois.
Its location on a university campus made it best suited to meet the needs of a
university concerned with the testing of advanced educational theory and
experimentation with innovative teaching methods. The University could ill
afford the void that the closure of the Laboratory School would surely create.
Robert
Adams, the Western High Student Council President in 1970, was selected to
speak to the Board on behalf of the entire student body to argue for the
preservation of the Laboratory School. Adams spoke for everyone associated with
the School when he expressed the need to preserve the School’s unique
traditions for future generations of students. His words bear repeating as they
aptly describe the Laboratory School experience. The students of the Western
Illinois University Laboratory School were well aware of the advantages they
had received from “experimental education, the good student-teacher ratio, the
academic and non-academic opportunities, the summer session and the
availability of the university facilities to supplement our curriculum.”
Unfortunately,
his impassioned plea was to no avail, falling on deaf ears. The Board
apparently believed that the role of the Laboratory School could be adequately
assumed by the public school system at a great savings to the taxpayer. In its
opinion, which turned out to be the only one that mattered, the acknowledged
value of the Laboratory School was overshadowed by the bottom line. The bean
counters were winning the battle with the educators.
In
February of 1971, the Board recommended that the Laboratory School be phased
out by the Fall of 1973. On October 12, 1972, the Illinois Board of Governors
voted 5 to 2 to phase out the Laboratory School by the end of that academic
year. The only silver lining in this devastating decision was the Board’s
agreement to preserve the elementary school which was to become known as the
University School. Its faculty would remain intact but it would operate under
the jurisdiction of the Macomb public school system.
The
University School remained open until 1986. The College of Education Human
Services, and the Continuing Education Program, have occupied Horrabin Hall
since then and have dramatically redesigned the interior. The void that was
created on campus by the forced abandonment of the Laboratory School, however,
was never filled.
During
the seven months from the time of the dreaded announcement in October of 1972
until the closure the following May, emotions ran high and unabated at the Laboratory
School. Many faculty did not know where they would be the next year. The
students, on the other hand, knew exactly where they would be - either Macomb
High or Edison Junior High. The phase out decision was particularly devastating
to the Class of 1974, whose members were frustrated about not being able to
graduate from Western High. Many had attended the Laboratory School since
kindergarten. As seventh graders they had been forced to abandon their beloved
old building. Now, after finally adapting to new surroundings, they were once
again being forced to relocate.
The
faculty and guidance department became actively involved in developing a
positive approach to effectuate the transfer. The student councils of both
schools began to meet regularly to work on transfer problems. Various
organizations from both schools began to commingle to promote familiarity, and
after the transfer most of these groups increased in size to accommodate the
influx of Western High students who wanted to stay involved.
Throughout
this ordeal, the students, faculty and administration of the Laboratory School
showed an incredible amount of class, spirit and morale. Despite the adversity
of that final year, the students continued to excel in academics as well as
non-curricular activities. The Class of 1974 organized a three-day Senior Prom
for the Class of 1973, “The Last Class,” to celebrate the good times as well as
the unique education they had received. The traditions of the Laboratory School
were sustained to the very end.
The Transfer
Most
members of the Western High classes of 1974 - 1977 realized that they had no
choice but to transfer to Macomb High and stay there for the remainder of their
high school years. They made the best of a sad situation and let it be. As a
result, they had fewer problems with the transition, other that the constant
reminder by older siblings and others that they would graduate in orange and
black.
Most
of the students at Macomb High extended a warm welcome and were sympathetic to
the tender feelings of the vanquished Western High students. In fact, the
Bombers went out of their way to include the Cardinals in as many activities as
possible. Many former Cardinals were soon involved in Macomb High activities
and ended up making lasting friendships with their new classmates. Those first
few years after the transfer, however, were very difficult for many, especially
the cheerleader, athlete and other competitors and fans who had to attempt to
still the spirit of Western High that kept raging through their veins in order
to be loyal to their new school, their former arch rival.
Many
remained vocal in their opposition to the transfer until the bitter end. Their banner
cry of “I’m from Western High” never changed. Many graduated early, in
part to avoid having to continue to appear each day at Macomb High. Some brave
athletes wore their letter jackets with pride in the halls of Macomb High. They
proudly displayed their letterman’s “W” in the back window of their cars which
they parked together in the same row. Some wore clothes with the Western High
insignia to gym class, which did not bother one particular gym teacher who was
a Western High graduate. Some protested at graduation by wearing the red and
white tassel of Western High.
Who
can blame those students who remained bitter about the transfer and were
outspoken about it? They were shoe-horned into an unfamiliar building that was
already home to students they barely knew. Those in the Class of 1974 in
particular were justified in fearing that they would be deprived of the
wonderful, memorable senior year that most high school students experience.
They had to submit to the jurisdiction of a new administration and get used to
unknown teachers in a year that was pivotal to their college hopes and dreams.
It
was not just the transfer to a new school that caused all the bitterness,
however, as students occasionally move and are expected to cope with transfer
problems. The vanquished Cardinals had to transfer after their school had
suddenly been deemed expendable, and its doors shut in their face. One member
of the Class of 1974 indicated that they felt like refugees who were once again
ripped from their homeland and forced to assimilate with a neighboring, rival
tribe. Such feelings were difficult to overcome.
Dr.
Abel attempted to heal the wounds by paraphrasing President John F. Kennedy,
writing that the transferred students should “think not of what has been done
to you, rather think and do what will prove best for humanity.”
And In the End
The
closure of Western Illinois University Laboratory School brought to an end a
remarkable era. The “Tradition of Excellence in Academics, Music, Sports and
the Performing Arts” achieved by our “research laboratory school” had been
unceremoniously terminated.
The Western Illinois University Laboratory
School is no more. The experiment ended. There is no alma mater to which
to return and observe the children. We can now only imagine how the
implementation of the “advanced educational thought” that had been the hallmark
of the School of Many Names since 1902 would have taken concrete form and
affected current education.
The
legacy of the Laboratory School, however, has continued unhindered. Perhaps Mr.
Horrabin best described that legacy when he wrote that the Laboratory School
“will always remain alive and fresh in the memory of those who served it and
the thousands who took from its abundant gifts and with them built a wholesome
and productive life.”
As
a result of its abundant gifts, the spirit of Western High lives on, more than
100 years after the Training School first opened its doors. Everyone associated
with the Training School - the Academy - the Campus School -
the Laboratory School - Western High - the “School of Many Names” but of just
one spirit, was truly blessed.