User:BCDayley/The History of Education in Utah

Pioneer Arrival and LDS Influence

Education in Utah began with the pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) , commonly referred to as “Mormons”. The pioneers fled to present-day Utah – then a territory of Mexico – to escape religious persecution and the Missouri governor’s extermination order, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ includes strong educational values. The founder of the church and first prophet, Joseph Smith Jr., stated, “The glory of God is intelligence,” and “A man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge.” Because of this strong educational value among the members, the pioneers, upon arrival, set up schools for their children.

For the first two-decades after settling in Utah, most schools were organized through church institutions. Classes took place in LDS church meeting houses and school boundaries followed the boundaries of LDS wards. The schools were each controlled by a local trustee whom was appointed by the bishop of each ward. Financial assistance lay almost entirely among those who attended and thus, the support of each school relied heavily on the economic conditions of the surrounding area.

With a lack of centralization and widely varying funding, the quality of education and the curriculum offered also varied throughout the state. However, due to their church sponsored support, the curriculum often taught moral values of the church and even included LDS scripture as supplemental sources. However, efforts to centralize curriculum and school policy began as early as 1851 with the creation of the office of territorial superintendent of schools, though centralization in practice wasn’t evident for several years.

Protestants and Transition to Public Schools

Schoolhouse in Pleasant Grove, Utah originally built in 1852-53 with additional wings being built in 1864. Now recognized as a Daughters of Utah Pioneers historical site

During the 1860s, schools slowly started to shift from ecclesiastical control to government control. County superintendents were put in place, legal responsibility for establishment and overseeing of schools transferred from the Bishop to city councils, and cities could collect taxes to help with teacher salaries and school supplies. Much of this change occurred because there were several non-LDS people moving into the territory, establishing Protestant and Catholic schools, although members of the Church of Jesus Christ were still the majority population in the state. Though they had been relatively isolated, the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 ushered in a much larger population of non-LDS groups. The large population of non-LDS people living within the state often clashed with the LDS dominated society, struggling with their social dominance and some doctrinal points such as polygamy . Many of the different religions sought to “Christianize” the LDS population, though they were already a Christian denomination. Protestants, in particular, sought to rid themselves of the “Mormon problem” intellectually by schooling the children of Utah and converting them away from the faith. They established mission schools for this purpose, the first of which was St. Marks school which still exists today.

Indian Placement Program (1953-1996)

The Indian Placement Program was an official program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to provide opportunities for children of Native Americans to receive an education in the schools that were dominated by the white settlers in the Mormon Cultural Area. The program stemmed from the Church's desire to invite the Native Americans or "Lamanites" into the church and become one people with them.

The Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City that ran from 1950-1984

The church invited Native American children to come live with an active family in the city for the school year as they attended the local school near their "foster" home. To participate in the program, a child needed to be a baptized member of the church, relatively free of emotional oddities, want to be educated, and keep good grades. Their biological parents would sign a form that would allow their children to participate in the program. The church and the "foster" family would provide for the remaining needs of the child participating. The program reached maximum enrollment in the 1970's at about 5,000 students.

There were participants who felt that they could not have achieved what they did in their lives without their involvement in the program, while others felt that their involvement in the program took them away from their culture that they could no longer identify with. Other critics of the program claimed that the church was kidnapping children to indoctrinate them into their faith and culture while others claimed it harmed the children's psychological welfare because of their separation from their biological parents.

As schools on reservations improved throughout the 1980's, enrollment in the Indian Placement Program fell until the church officially ended the program in 1996.

Late 20th - 21st Century Education

Utah children reading in school. Santa Clara, Utah, 1940

As the 19th century passed into the 20th century, Utah became one of the first states to equalize education throughout the state. In 1919, the first compulsory attendance laws were passed in Utah leading to increased enrollment in schools. As enrollment of students increased in the public school system in Utah, new problems would arise that would challenge the state.

After World War II, attention turned from wartime industries in Utah back to peace time work which include bettering education. One of the themes that has defined education in Utah is that students have received above average test scores despite the deprivation of funds. This can be attributed partially to Utah's above average birth rate as compared to the nation. After World War II, teachers and schools started to take a stand and seek greater funding from the government to provide the education to the students they taught.