During the Progressive Era (1890-1930), public education in the United States became increasingly widespread and accessible to children, regardless of their socio-economic status. After 1900, education reformers advocated for new “alternative schools” and pedagogy. Instructional programs, such as Montessori and Waldorf, were becoming popular at this time.
During this exciting period of reform in public education, Northern State Normal School had already opened an experimental public school as a laboratory for its students working on their teaching certificates. This teaching laboratory would eventually become the John D. Pierce Training School.
The laboratory was established as a teacher training program and operated as a Northern State Normal School department in the School of Education. The department was located in Longyear Hall of Pedagogy, which is part of the Kaye Hall complex. From 1900-1907, the Training Department consisted of grades K-6. Middle school grades were introduced in 1907.
A complete K-12 curriculum and classes was established in 1917. At least one Northern critic teacher was always assigned to each grade. Additional teachers that covered areas such as drawing, music, and home economics were slowly introduced as the population of the school naturally increased.
School was in session from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., with a break from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Kindergarten was the exception, only meeting from 9-11 a.m. The laboratory taught arithmetic, english, geography, history and nature study and aligned with Northern teaching courses. Children were educated on a variety of topics, such as grammar and letter writing; English grammar; various animal and plant studies; astronomy; chemistry; physiology; psychology, area and map studies; problem and number solving; rhythm, pitch, and sight reading; drawing; and construction.
During the first two weeks of each quarter, the critic teacher exclusively instructed, allowing the student teachers to engage in close systematic observation, viewing the details of the critic teachers' work, lesson planning and presentation, problem-solving, classroom management and structure, and so on. After this period, the student teacher assumes the duties of the critic teacher, obtaining first-hand experience of the tasks and difficulties of teaching and managing a classroom. The critic teacher became a mentor, supervising and offering guidance to develop the student teachers’ ability to instruct and educate. The student teacher was required to meet with their critic teacher every day from the hours of 3-4 p.m.
In 1925, Northern began construction of a new building for the laboratory. It would be located on Northern’s campus, adjacent to Kaye and Longyear Halls. In 1927, the building became known as the J.D. Pierce Training School, named after a former State Superintendent of public education.
From 1925-1961, the J.D. Pierce Training School’s mission remained the same, providing Northern’s students with an opportunity to observe teaching, study the underlying principles of good teaching, and develop competency in pedagogical principles and methods. Teaching courses were offered during the Fall, Winter, and Summer semesters to any student teacher who met eligibility and proper credit requirements. The student teacher was required to prepare daily lesson plans and teach in accordance to their assignment, with observation and aid (when needed) from the critic teacher. Parents seeking their children’s admission to J.D. Pierce had to submit an advanced application for their child, regardless of grade. The enrollment cap was 40 students per grade.
Pierce produced hundreds of young teachers and ran successfully for over four decades, maintaining a strong reputation of excellence. However, the Baby Boom, explosive growth of the post-war economy, and new pedagogical methods brought about a change in the Training School’s mission. By the mid-1950s, legislators in Lansing began to question continued state support for training schools such as J.D. Pierce.
In March 1961, Michigan’s legislature refused to appropriate funds requested by the state’s normal schools to continue operating separate public schools as training labs. As a result, Northern had to close J.D Pierce’s high school program due to the difficulty and expense.
In response to these developments, J.D. Pierce shifted the laboratory’s mission from training student teachers to the development of the school’s young pupils and the exploration of innovative pedagogy. In 1965, Thomas Culhane (Principal, 1965- 1971) transformed classrooms into learning and research centers with the latest teaching equipment, and Northern Michigan University faculty began research collaborations with Pierce faculty.
With these changes, J.D. Pierce quickly became known as a center for innovation in public education. In 1966, the school developed an “extended school year” beginning August 1. Culhane also introduced a shortened school week of four and a half days with half-days on Tuesdays. In 1967, the school eliminated the hierarchy of grade levels in favor of a close examination of a student’s educational needs and their placement with specific teachers rather than grade level. Faculty also revamped the curriculum, taking a “discovery” approach to teaching in subjects such as math, science, and social studies. A discovery approach emphasizes broad themes rather than the memorizationof facts. The school also added health education, outdoor recreation, the French language, typewriting skills, and the studies of other cultures to the school’s curriculum.
As a university program, Culhane and the faculty recognized that the school should improve its civic engagement with the larger off -campus community. As a result, Pierce began offering teacher professional development programs to all Upper Peninsula school districts. These Pierce faculty-taught field courses covered educational topics such as the planning and organization of curriculum and non-graded programs and introduction to new teaching techniques. These programs even attracted educators from Thailand, Turkey and Finland.
Michigan’s Educational Reform Act of October 1969 brought an end to J.D. Pierce’s innovations and eventually the school. The new law reorganized the state’s public schools and enforced a uniformity of instruction. Combined with a general economic decline and concomitant reduction in state appropriations, the Act resulted in the shuttering of many alternative public schools. NMU had planned to keep J.D. Pierce in operation for as long as possible but had to phase out the elementary grades and limit admission over the next two years.
The J.D. Pierce Training School formally shut its doors in September 1971.
For 71 years, the J.D. Pierce Training School educated our teachers and our children through innovative classroom activities and experiences. As it grew and evolved over the years, the school found ways to adapt and implement innovative educational practices far ahead of its time.
To this day, many J.D. Pierce alumni fondly recall their time at the school. Marlys Murray '76 BS loved learning about foreign countries and enjoying foreign cuisine made by her teachers. A friend of hers remembered that Ms. Hintsala once made a plane out of masking tape on the floor of the classroom and the students pretended to go all over the world. Time again, oral history interviews of J.D. Pierce alums, available via the Archives’ Upper Peninsula Digital Network UPLINK) recount joyful experiences and profoundly influential teachers.
“We were privileged to have some of the best educators that ever set foot on this earth. Our teachers influenced usin the proper ways, they taught us the right way to live and the right way to learn and I think all of us can appreciate the fact that we were just very fortunate to have that kind of an education.”
–– J.D. Pierce Alum
By Central Upper Peninsula and NMU Archives student arrangement and description specialists and Anthropology majors Emory Fouch and Abigail Strassburg
For more information about the history of the J.D. Pierce Training School, visit the Archives in Harden Hall room 126, or visit the Upper Peninsula Digital Network (UPLINK).