Lab School Remembered at UCM

Lab School remembered at UCM  Posted: 7/16/10
WARRENSBURG, MO (June 23, 2010) - A Missouri Senate resolution applauding "the history, goals, and accomplishments associated with the University of Central Missouri Lab School" was among highlights of the 2010 all-school reunion. The event for alumni, faculty and staff of the Training School, College High School and University High School, took place Friday and Saturday, June 18-19, on campus and was attended by nearly 400 people. All-school reunions have been held every five years since the early 1990s, and are planned by a committee of alumni who work in cooperation with UCM's Office of Alumni Relations and Development. In addition to a golf tournament Friday afternoon at Pertle Springs and a social event at Heroes that evening, the celebration continued Saturday morning with a re-dedication of the lab school memorial west of the Morrow Building. During the event, Missouri Senator David Pearce, who attended the elementary school at UCM and spent two years at University High School, read a Senate resolution honoring the lab school and the contributions it made to K-12 education. Mike Wright, dean of UCM's College of Education, and Richard Monson, a professor emeritus of art who designed the memorial, were also among the guest speakers. Other speakers were planning committee members and College High alumni John Culp and Melissa Gower, co-chair. Both are from Warrensburg. The luncheon that followed the memorial re-dedication included the recognition of the 50-year reunion class (1960), which presented a skit, and special remarks by Charles Gilbert, a UCM professor emeritus who taught history and social studies at College High and University High.  According to the Senate resolution presented by Pearce, the lab school's roots date back to 1906 when the Missouri General Assembly approved $50,000 to construct the first training building. The Training School opened in 1913 and provided kindergarten through 12th-grade education to children of family members and to youth from Warrensburg and the Centerview area, which at the time had no high school. As the university changed its name, the school became known as College High School from 1938 to 1972, then University High School, 1972 to 1976. University High closed in 1976 and Central Elementary School closed in 1980.  The next reunion will take place in 2015. Opportunities for interested individuals to serve on the planning committee will be announced in the future.  © Copyright 2010 Muleskinner