Edith Lesley
Encyclopedia
Edith Lesley, American educator and founder of Lesley University
, was born 27 January 1872 in the Panama Canal Zone
, then a U.S. protectorate, and died 16 May 1953 at Boston
1 in the U.S. state of Massachusetts
. She was the elder daughter of Alonzo and Rebecca (Cousens) Lesley.
living there until about 1874 when her family moved to Bangor, Maine
; Alonzo Lesley had grown up in nearby Carmel, Maine
and Rebecca Cousens Lesley was from Trenton, Maine
.2 Alonzo Lesley worked as a shoemaker in Bangor. Edith's sister Olive May Lesley was born in December, 1875 in Bangor.3
Edith Lesley attended public elementary school in Bangor.4 It is not clear whether she graduated from Bangor High School, or instead attended private classes with Helen L. Newman, who opened Miss Newman's School in Bangor in about 1890.5 From the late 1870s Rebecca Lesley took in boarders, first at the family's rented home at 7 Adams Street, Bangor, and later at their home at One Broadway.6
In 1891 the Lesley family moved to Boston, Massachusetts before settling permanently in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. Alonzo Lesley continued to work as a shoemaker.7 At some time between 1891 and about 1898, Edith Lesley received training in kindergarten
education at the Anne L. Page Kindergarten School, Boston, which followed the precepts of Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, widely credited as the inventor of the concept of the kindergarten
and an advocate of early childhood education. By 1898 both she and her sister Olive were working as kindergarten teachers at the Riverside School in Cambridge. Later both would move to the Houghton School (which replaced the Riverside).8
Between 1904 and 1908 Edith Lesley attended Radcliffe College
as a special student, studying philosophy with Josiah Royce
, Hugo Munsterberg
, and George Herbert Palmer
.9 She may have taken these classes to prepare to open her school.
. In its early years the school was also called The Lesley Normal School, the term "normal" based on the French école normale supérieure, a school to educate teachers. The purpose of the school was to train young women in the classic kindergarten methods of Fröbel, most of whom took a two-year course of study. The school enrolled nine students in its first year, and charged $100 in tuition. Most of the classes were taught by Edith and Olive Lesley, with a few part-time instructors to teach specialty classes.
The school was at first a part-time venture for Edith and her sister Olive, who both continued to teach in the Cambridge public schools. By 1912, with growing enrollments, she appears to have resigned from her teaching job to devote her full attention to The Lesley School.10 The school added training for the early primary grades, and in 1917 opened a Household Arts department. Enrollment grew rapidly in the 1920s, peaking at well over 300 students.
In 1912 Edith Lesley married Merl Ruskin Wolfard, an engineer.11 Merl Wolfard later participated closely in the expansion of the school, buying several of the properties that became dormitories for the boarding students. Olive Lesley left the school in about 1914, first to work with Wilfred Grenfell
in Labrador, then as a proponent of the Girl Scouts of the USA
, and finally journeying to France
to work in war relief during World War I
. She would remain in Europe for the balance of her life.
In 1914 Edith Lesley Wolfard hired Getrude Malloch, a kindergarten teacher with experience in both Boston and Cambridge schools, as a part-time instructor. Miss Malloch rapidly moved into administration as well as continuing to teach, and frequently accompanied Mrs. Wolfard in her travels and professional work on behalf of kindergarten education. Both became life members and worked on behalf of the International Kindergarten Union (IKU; now the Association of Childhood Education International).
Edith Lesley purchased the 29 Everett Street house her family had long rented in 1915, turning it into the headquarters of The Lesley School.12 A few years later the Wolfards added a one-story brick addition to 29 Everett St. for classes and student boarding, and began to buy up neighboring properties, turning them into dormitories. In 1928-29 the school was rebuilt with a garden and quadrangle between Everett and Mellen Streets, giving the residential campus the form it still has today.
The Lesley School gained a reputation for solid teacher preparation focused on extensive experience; graduates readily found employment across the state as well as in other regions of the country. The school's leaders and faculty kept up with changes in teacher education requirements and philosophy, adding a three-year course, more liberal arts, and refining pedagogic methods and theory. Edith Lesley Wolfard continued to set the general direction of the school, and she and husband Merl Wolfard divided the profits of the business; Gertrude Malloch, as Associate Principal and later Principal, was the de facto administrative head of the school.
Edith Lesley Wolfard traveled extensively in the United States, including the territories of Hawaii
and Alaska
, as well as in Europe, collecting artifacts to add to the educational and cultural experience of Lesley School students.
Enrollments declined in the mid-1930s as a result of the Great Depression
, while Edith Lesley Wolfard began to struggle with chronic illness. In 1938 she received an honorary master's degree from Suffolk University
, which in many ways marked the end of her active involvement in education.
, the founding institution and now the undergraduate college of Lesley University
. While Edith Lesley Wolfard remained a trustee until 1947, her direct involvement in the school had ended by 1941.
The Wolfards continued to live at 29 Everett Street until Edith Lesley Wolfard's death in 1953. Merl Wolfard remained a corporator at the college until his death in 1964.
Lesley University
Lesley University is a private, coeducational university in Boston, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts.The university is a member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and New England Collegiate Conference.-History:The...
, was born 27 January 1872 in the Panama Canal Zone
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, then a U.S. protectorate, and died 16 May 1953 at Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
1 in the U.S. state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. She was the elder daughter of Alonzo and Rebecca (Cousens) Lesley.
Early life
Edith Lesley was born in a province of New Granada, now the nation of PanamaPanama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
living there until about 1874 when her family moved to Bangor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
; Alonzo Lesley had grown up in nearby Carmel, Maine
Carmel, Maine
Carmel is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is located at , near the intersection of Penobscot County Road 69 and US State Highway 2 . It is part of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Rebecca Cousens Lesley was from Trenton, Maine
Trenton, Maine
Trenton is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, near Acadia National Park. The population was 1,370 at the 2000 census. Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport is located in Trenton....
.2 Alonzo Lesley worked as a shoemaker in Bangor. Edith's sister Olive May Lesley was born in December, 1875 in Bangor.3
Edith Lesley attended public elementary school in Bangor.4 It is not clear whether she graduated from Bangor High School, or instead attended private classes with Helen L. Newman, who opened Miss Newman's School in Bangor in about 1890.5 From the late 1870s Rebecca Lesley took in boarders, first at the family's rented home at 7 Adams Street, Bangor, and later at their home at One Broadway.6
In 1891 the Lesley family moved to Boston, Massachusetts before settling permanently in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Alonzo Lesley continued to work as a shoemaker.7 At some time between 1891 and about 1898, Edith Lesley received training in kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
education at the Anne L. Page Kindergarten School, Boston, which followed the precepts of Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, widely credited as the inventor of the concept of the kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
and an advocate of early childhood education. By 1898 both she and her sister Olive were working as kindergarten teachers at the Riverside School in Cambridge. Later both would move to the Houghton School (which replaced the Riverside).8
Between 1904 and 1908 Edith Lesley attended Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
as a special student, studying philosophy with Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce was an American objective idealist philosopher.-Life:Royce, born in Grass Valley, California, grew up in pioneer California very soon after the California Gold Rush. He received the B.A...
, Hugo Munsterberg
Hugo Münsterberg
Hugo Münsterberg was a German-American psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in applied psychology, extending his research and theories to Industrial/Organizational , legal, medical, clinical, educational and business settings. Münsterberg encountered immense turmoil with the outbreak of the...
, and George Herbert Palmer
George Herbert Palmer
George Herbert Palmer was an American scholar and author, born in Boston. He attended Phillips Academy, Andover, and in 1864 he graduated at Harvard, to which he returned, after study at Tübingen, Germany, and at Andover Theological Seminary, to be tutor in Greek. He became Alford professor of...
.9 She may have taken these classes to prepare to open her school.
The Lesley School
In 1909 Edith Lesley founded The Lesley School in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. In its early years the school was also called The Lesley Normal School, the term "normal" based on the French école normale supérieure, a school to educate teachers. The purpose of the school was to train young women in the classic kindergarten methods of Fröbel, most of whom took a two-year course of study. The school enrolled nine students in its first year, and charged $100 in tuition. Most of the classes were taught by Edith and Olive Lesley, with a few part-time instructors to teach specialty classes.
The school was at first a part-time venture for Edith and her sister Olive, who both continued to teach in the Cambridge public schools. By 1912, with growing enrollments, she appears to have resigned from her teaching job to devote her full attention to The Lesley School.10 The school added training for the early primary grades, and in 1917 opened a Household Arts department. Enrollment grew rapidly in the 1920s, peaking at well over 300 students.
In 1912 Edith Lesley married Merl Ruskin Wolfard, an engineer.11 Merl Wolfard later participated closely in the expansion of the school, buying several of the properties that became dormitories for the boarding students. Olive Lesley left the school in about 1914, first to work with Wilfred Grenfell
Wilfred Grenfell
Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, KCMG was a medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador.He was born at Parkgate, Wirral, England, the son of Algernon Grenfell, headmaster of Mostyn House School, and Jane Georgiana Hutchison and married Anne Elizabeth Caldwell MacClanahan of Chicago, Illinois, in...
in Labrador, then as a proponent of the Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
, and finally journeying to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to work in war relief during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She would remain in Europe for the balance of her life.
In 1914 Edith Lesley Wolfard hired Getrude Malloch, a kindergarten teacher with experience in both Boston and Cambridge schools, as a part-time instructor. Miss Malloch rapidly moved into administration as well as continuing to teach, and frequently accompanied Mrs. Wolfard in her travels and professional work on behalf of kindergarten education. Both became life members and worked on behalf of the International Kindergarten Union (IKU; now the Association of Childhood Education International).
Edith Lesley purchased the 29 Everett Street house her family had long rented in 1915, turning it into the headquarters of The Lesley School.12 A few years later the Wolfards added a one-story brick addition to 29 Everett St. for classes and student boarding, and began to buy up neighboring properties, turning them into dormitories. In 1928-29 the school was rebuilt with a garden and quadrangle between Everett and Mellen Streets, giving the residential campus the form it still has today.
The Lesley School gained a reputation for solid teacher preparation focused on extensive experience; graduates readily found employment across the state as well as in other regions of the country. The school's leaders and faculty kept up with changes in teacher education requirements and philosophy, adding a three-year course, more liberal arts, and refining pedagogic methods and theory. Edith Lesley Wolfard continued to set the general direction of the school, and she and husband Merl Wolfard divided the profits of the business; Gertrude Malloch, as Associate Principal and later Principal, was the de facto administrative head of the school.
Edith Lesley Wolfard traveled extensively in the United States, including the territories of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, as well as in Europe, collecting artifacts to add to the educational and cultural experience of Lesley School students.
Enrollments declined in the mid-1930s as a result of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, while Edith Lesley Wolfard began to struggle with chronic illness. In 1938 she received an honorary master's degree from Suffolk University
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
, which in many ways marked the end of her active involvement in education.
Transition and the establishment of Lesley College
The Wolfards, Gertrude Malloch and investor John Gordon created a trust and attempted to run the Lesley School on this basis from 1938 to about 1940; however the school continued to struggle with enrollments. The school incorporated in 1941 as a non-profit institution, and petitioned Massachusetts to be able offer the bachelor's degree. This petition was granted in 1943. In 1944 The Lesley School officially became Lesley CollegeLesley College
Lesley College is the undergraduate section, and founding institution of, Lesley University.The college was founded in 1909 by Edith Lesley as The Lesley School, a women's college which focused on early childhood education as a part of the international kindergarten movement established by...
, the founding institution and now the undergraduate college of Lesley University
Lesley University
Lesley University is a private, coeducational university in Boston, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts.The university is a member of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and New England Collegiate Conference.-History:The...
. While Edith Lesley Wolfard remained a trustee until 1947, her direct involvement in the school had ended by 1941.
The Wolfards continued to live at 29 Everett Street until Edith Lesley Wolfard's death in 1953. Merl Wolfard remained a corporator at the college until his death in 1964.