Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/246730
Growth & Turmoil Background: The entrance to 59 E. Scott St. 1960s-1970s "In affluent times such as these, when the financial resources of the better public school systems enable them to offer not only the fancy frills that are sometimes confused with education but also update their programs in ways that are educationally valid, no independent school can afford to let itself become embalmed in the complacency that may be a byproduct of success. We believe that our teaching is first class. We know that our physical plant is not, and that to continue to grow educationally, in the sense of providing an ever stronger program for the students entrusted to us, we must think in terms of improving our present buildings and facilities, perhaps even new construction." – John MacDougall Graham When Headmaster John MacDougall Graham arrived to head Latin School of Chicago in 1960, the school was at a crossroads. Enrollment was down, and Latin was still losing students to boarding schools after eighth grade. The Scott Street building, which housed the upper school and middle schools, had seen better days, and Graham and the board of trustees were cognizant that without significant improvements to the facilities, Latin would not be able to offer an attractive alternative to boarding schools in the future. At a 1961 board of trustees meeting, Graham even raised the possibility of closing the upper school division to focus resources on the lower school. In the Alumni Bulletin that year, he wrote about the reality that boarding schools were no longer the only competition for independent college preparatory schools. "Colleges are accepting more public school graduates in proportion with the number of private school candidates," Graham wrote. Just three years later, however, the school year opened with 524 students, the largest enrollment to date. While a growth in enrollment was good news, Latin was quickly running out of space, and action had to be taken soon. The Scott Street gym was where everything happened. Plays, speakers, P.E., assemblies – whatever the activity, the gym was always crowded. Latin was outgrowing the Scott Street school building. LATI N SCHOOL OF CHI CA GO 69