Guide to the East End Education Committee Records, 1969-1972 AIS.1993.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
East End Education Committee Records
Creator
East End Education Committee (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Collection Number
AIS.1993.01
Extent
0.44 Linear Feet
Date
1969-1972
Abstract
The East End Education Committee was a group of citizens organized in 1969 to force the Pittsburgh's school board to be more responsive. The records date from 1969 to 1972 and contain minutes of board and general meetings, correspondence, mailing and membership lists. The records include operational and administrative transactions, and are not complete.
Language
English .
Author
Linda Moulton. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

History

In 1968 or 1969 a grass-roots group called Concerned Citizens, based in the Hill district of Pittsburgh, began to demand reforms from Pittsburgh's Board of Public Education. The Concerned Citizens group attended, and according to board members, disrupted its public meetings. The Board of Public Education obtained an injunction to prevent the Concerned Citizens from attending any future board meetings. As a response to this treatment of the Concerned Citizens, a group of white housewives from the East End formed the East End Education Committee (EEEC) in 1969. They decided to continue the work of the Concerned Citizens' organization and force Pittsburgh's school board to become more responsive to the needs of its students.

The EEEC's first presentation at the Board of Public Education's public meeting occurred in March or April of 1969. EEEC showed that the budget as presented by the Board of Public Education was inadequate. EEEC started its own board and held its first meeting on February 22, 1970.

EEEC raised other issues and concerns. They successfully convinced Pittsburgh's school board to schedule a mandatory recess for the children. EEEC also demanded that the schools provide a supervised lunch for all students. At this time, Common Pleas judges appointed Pittsburgh's Board of Public Education members. On November 10, 1969, five out of 15 members of the board came up for reappointment. The EEEC successfully defeated their reappointment. According to Helen Seager,a former committee member and vice chairman of the EEEC, the five school board members either were not reappointed or declined to be considered again. Over the next few years, EEEC recommended replacement candidates for retiring board of education members.

In April 1972, the EEEC sent a copy of its study on sexism in textbooks used in Pittsburgh schools in kindergarten through fifth grade. The report found sexist roles emphasized in the textbooks used in Pittsburgh's schools.

In November 1970, EEEC opposed President Nixon's appointment of Dr. Sidney Marland, Jr. as Commissioner of Education for the United States. Marland had served as superintendent of the Pittsburgh schools from 1963 - 1968. EEEC wrote several letters to legislators in hopes of derailing his appointment.

In February 1971, EEEC opposed the city's proposal to stop trash pick up at the public schools. This would have increased the monetary burden on the public schools. The city decided to continue picking up trash at the public schools.

The EEEC continued as a group through 1972-3.

Scope and Content Notes

The records of the East End Education Committee date from 1969 to 1972 and contain minutes of board and general meetings, correspondence, mailing and membership lists. The records include operational and administrative transactions, and are not complete. Many rough drafts and meeting notes are included, but sometimes the finished product (newsletter, presentation, or speech) is missing. The informational letter from Helen Seager provides background and other functional aspects of the committee that are not evident from the documents.

One of the most interesting aspects of the records includes a report compiled by the committee members and given to Pittsburgh's board of education on April 18, 1972. EEEC members reviewed textbooks used in Pittsburgh's schools and showed examples of how the textbooks were sexist in the treatment of the roles of girls and boys. Also included in the records is a survey comparing the number and percentages of Negro pupils in Pittsburgh's secondary and elementary systems on October 1, 1970 and September 30, 1971.

Several issues were proposed by EEEC, such as an open classroom for Liberty School, but the outcome isn't known. EEEC supported Donald J. O'Rourke's continuance at Liberty School as a permanent principal, but apparently the outcome was not favorable.

The correspondence includes a letter from the League of Women Voters of the Pittsburgh Area to EEEC on November 3, 1972. This letter outlined the current status concerning school board election legislation that was currently in the State legislature, and was eventually adopted. The EEEC at first opposed election of board members, but later changed its mind.

These current records do not contain information on activities later in 1972 and 1973, even though the organization was still in existence.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Helen Seager in 1993.

Previous Citation

East End Education Committee Records, 1969-1972, AIS.1993.01, Archives Services Center, University of Pittsburgh.

Preferred Citation

East End Education Committee Records, 1969-1972, AIS.1993.01, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Linda Moulton on August 19, 1993.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Jennifer Marshall in April, 1999. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Notis ID number: AKH0268.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • East End Education Committee (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    • Pittsburgh Board of Public Education (Pa.)

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Social conditions

    Other Subjects

    • Social action
    • Education
    • Sexism in education -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Discrimination in education -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Citizens' advisory committees in education -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Education -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Associations

Container List