Kansas Association for Childhood Education International records

Restrictions: None.

Abstract: Kansas Association for Childhood Education International (KACEI) records include scrapbooks, 1951-1983; executive board minutes, 1931-1957; treasurer's books, 1937-1944; newsletters, 1950-1980; minutes of board meetings, 1960-1970; KACEI minutes, 1949-1959; membership lists, 1962-1975; budgets and treasurer reports, 1958-1973; programs, 1950-1973 and Association for Childhood Education International yearbooks, 1941-1974. The records document the organization's efforts in promoting and developing early childhood education, as well as information on a variety of resources for children including games, recipes, arts and crafts, festivals, field trips, books, magazines, famous Kansans, and other information.

Summary:

Series Descriptions

There are 7 series in the KACEI collection. Information within folders remains in original order. Folders are arranged chronologically within document type.

Series 1: KACEI records, 1931-1975. Executive board meeting minutes, treasurer’s reports, budgets, membership lists.

Series 2: Meeting minutes, membership lists, budgets and treasurer reports, programs, invitations miscellaneous materials, 1950-1986.

Series 3: Kansas scrapbook, 1983, created for the Kansas Heritage Project.

Series 4: ACEI national yearbooks from ACEI, 1941-1974; includes itinerary for the national conference.

Series 5: KACEI newsletters, 1950-1986.

Series 6: ACEI Branch Exchange newsletters, 1951-1963, 1965, 1967, 1974-1975 and assorted materials, 1959-1968.

Series 7: 3 scrapbooks, 1951-1974.


Contents

Box 1
Series 1: KACE records, 1931-1975

• Folder 1: State ACE Executive Board Minutes Book 1, Nov. 1931- Oct. 1949
  
• Folder 2: State ACE Executive Board Minutes Book 2, Jan. 14th 1950- Sept. 1957
  
• Folder 3: Treasurer’s Book 1937-1938
  
• Folder 4: Treasurer’s Book 1942-1944, , membership roster 1941-1944, Receipts 1941-1944, undated membership roster, Savings Account book 1941-1944, Note about Account balance 1944, Donation Letter 1944.
  
• Folder 5: Board Meeting Minutes 1960-1970
  
• Folder 6: KACE Meeting Minutes 1953-1959
  
• Folder 7: KACE Membership Lists 1962-1975
  
• Folder 8: Budgets and Treasurer Reports 1957-1973

• Folder 1: January 1986
  
• Folder 2: October 1985/ State Meeting Salina
  
• Folder 3: March-June 1985
  
• Folder 4: January 1985/ Board Meeting Newton
  
• Folder 5: November 1984/Board Meeting Newton
  
• Folder 6: March 1984
  
• Folder 7: Emporia ACE 1979-1985
  
• Folder 8: Emporia ACE 1976-1983/51st Study Conference
  
• Folder 9: April 1983/ Board Meeting
  
• Folder 10: January 1983/Board Meeting
  
• Folder 11: October 1982
  
• Folder 12: January 1982
  
• Folder 13: October 1981/ Constitution
  
• Folder 14: October 1981/ Literary Arts Fair
  
• Folder 15: May 1981
  
• Folder 16: April 1981/ Board Meeting
  
• Folder 17: January 1981
  
• Folder 18: January 1981/ Board Meeting Newton
  
• Folder 19: September 1980/Literary Arts Fair/ State Meeting Salina
  
• Folder 20: May 1980
  
• Folder 21: January 1980/ Clippings
  
• Folder 22: January 1980
  
• Folder 23: October- December 1979
  
• Folder 24: May 1979/ State Board Meeting
  
• Folder 25: April 1979/ Study Conference in St. Louis
  
• Folder 26: January 1979/ Board Meeting
  
• Folder 27: January 1978
  
• Folder 28: November 1978/ Literary Arts Conference
  
• Folder 29: October 1978/ State Meeting
  
• Folder 30: May 1978
  
• Folder 31: October 1977/ Emporia State Meeting
  
• Folder 32: May 1977
  
• Folder 33: 1977 Study Conference
  
• Folder 34: January 1977
  
• Folder 35: October 1976/ State Meeting Topeka
  
• Folder 36: May 1976
  
• Folder 37: January 1976
  
• Folder 38: October 1975/ State Meeting Hutchinson
  
• Folder 39: May 1975
  
• Folder 40: 1975 Board Meeting
  
• Folder 41: 1974
  
• Folder 42: 1972
  
• Folder 43: 1960’s
  
• Folder 44: 1950’s

• Folder 1: Introduction/Media Resources
  
• Folder 2: Teacher Resources
  
• Folder 3: Kansas Symbols, Places, People

• Folder 1: 1950
  
• Folder 2: 1951
  
• Folder 3: 1952
  
• Folder 4: 1953
  
• Folder 5: 1954
  
• Folder 6: 1955
  
• Folder 7: 1956
  
• Folder 8: 1957
  
• Folder 9: 1958
  
• Folder 10: 1959
  
• Folder 11: 1960
  
• Folder 12: 1961
  
• Folder 13: 1962
  
• Folder 14: 1963
  
• Folder 15: 1964
  
• Folder 16: 1965
  
• Folder 17: 1966
  
• Folder 18: 1967
  
• Folder 19: 1968
  
• Folder 20: 1969
  
• Folder 21: 1970
  
• Folder 22: 1971
  
• Folder 23: 1972
  
• Folder 24: 1973
  
• Folder 25: 1974
  
• Folder 26: 1975
  
• Folder 27: 1976
  
• Folder 28: 1977
  
• Folder 29: 1978
  
• Folder 30: 1979
  
• Folder 31: 1980
  
• Folder 32: 1981
  
• Folder 33: 1982
  
• Folder 34: 1983
  
• Folder 35: 1984
  
• Folder 36: 1985-1986

• Folder 1: 1951
  
• Folder 2: 1952
  
• Folder 3: 1953
  
• Folder 4: 1954
  
• Folder 5: 1955
  
• Folder 6: 1956
  
• Folder 7: 1957
  
• Folder 8: 1958
  
• Folder 9: 1959
  
• Folder 10: 1960
  
• Folder 11: 1961
  
• Folder 12: 1962
  
• Folder 13: 1963
  
• Folder 14: 1965
  
• Folder 15: 1967
  
• Folder 16: 1974-1975
  
• Folder 17: ACEI Assorted Materials 1959-1968

• KACEI Scrapbook 1951-1959.
  
• KACEI Scrapbook 1959-1970
  
• KACEI Scrapbook 1969-1974

Language note: Text is in English.

Administrative History:

The Association for Childhood Education International is an organization of teachers, parents, and other adults interested in promoting good educational practices for children from infancy through early adolescence. The Association is headquartered in Wheaton, Maryland. Established in 1892 as the International Kindergarten Union, the Association for Childhood Education International is the oldest professional association of its type in the United States.

On 15 July 1892, a group of kindergarten teachers and other interested persons gathered at the Baptist Church in Saratoga Springs, New York, to form the International Kindergarten Union. The educators sought to consolidate the gains made in early childhood education since the pioneering work of Friedrich Froebel, father of the kindergarten concept, in Germany during the 1820s and 1830s. They also planned collective action to promote kindergarten education at a time when traditional philanthropic support was dwindling while the public education establishment still resisted the concept of the kindergarten. The stated aims of the Union were "to gather and disseminate knowledge of the kindergarten movement throughout the world, to bring into active cooperation all kindergarten interests, to promote the establishment of kindergartens, and to elevate the standard of professional training" for kindergarten teachers. The Union acted to coordinate the efforts of local, regional, and national associations and to "collect, collate, and disseminate the valuable knowledge already attained, and to inspire greater and more intelligent efforts in the future."

The International Kindergarten Union was at first closely affiliated with the National
Education Association and the National Council of Women. At the Denver meeting of the National Education Association in 1895, however, the International Kindergarten Union became completely independent with the decision to hold future meetings of the Union separately. The first meeting of the Union as an independent organization took place at Teachers College, New York City, in February 1896. During the first three decades of the twentieth century, public school systems gradually absorbed kindergarten education. As this happened, the methods and objectives of kindergarten and primary education developed an increasing influence upon one another. Reflecting this growing relationship, the National Council of Primary Education, established 1916, adopted a new constitution on 24 February 1931, that joined it with the International Kindergarten Union under the name Association for Childhood Education. As a preliminary to that action, the Union had adopted the new constitution and name the previous year. The aim of unification was to "bring greatly enlarged and more forceful influence to bear in promoting progressive nursery school, kindergarten, and primary work throughout the country."

In 1922, Kansas teachers began to learn more about the Association for Childhood Education. Teachers in Salina and Topeka State Teachers' Conventions met and discussed issues regarding early childhood education. These annual meetings continued until 6 November 1931. This organization became the Kansas Association for Childhood Education. Kansas kindergarten teacher Bernice Nash (Brune) was present at the 1930 meeting in Tennessee when the International Kindergarten Union adopted the new constitution and became the Association for Childhood Education. On 5 November 1932, the Kansas State Kindergarten Association became the Association for Childhood Education. Imogene Simpson was the first president at the first annual meeting in Hutchinson. The first ACE branches were organized in Salina, Lawrence, and Wichita. By 1963 branches had been added to Emporia, Hutchinson, Newton, Ottawa, and Topeka.

The Association for Childhood Education added "International" to its name at the Cincinnati meeting of 1946 as an indication of the Association's concern for children throughout the world, and particularly for the challenge of educational reconstruction in war zones. Activities of the Association following the war centered on these challenges, with the Association sending play and curriculum materials, toys, and books for both teachers and children to liberated and occupied areas. The Association also sponsored teachers from Norway, Germany, and Korea for study tours in the United States.

The international Association was an early advocate of civil rights. In 1949, it denied requests from three state associations that each of those states have separate associations for blacks and whites with separate memberships. In 1950, the international Association revised its "Guide for Groups Wishing to Extend Invitations to ACEI" to state that such an invitation must include an assurance that black members would have equal access to hotels, restaurants, and public transportation.

On 18 April 1952, the Executive Board of the Association for Childhood Education International established a Headquarters Building Fund and, in 1955, appointed a Steering Committee for the project. In 1958, the Association purchased land in Washington, D.C. Groundbreaking was held on 24 May 1959, and the Association dedicated the new building on 14 August 1960. In addition to administrative headquarters for the international Association, the building housed a Center for Childhood Education, a teaching and demonstration facility involving neighborhood children. The Center also included exhibition space and rooms for workshops and conferences. Changes in needs and resources necessitated a new facility, however, and in 1983-84, the Association moved to its present international headquarters in Wheaton, Maryland.

Currently, the Association for Childhood Education International's goals are to promote the inherent rights, education, and well-being of all children in home, school, and community; to promote desirable conditions, programs, and practices for children from infancy through early adolescence; to raise the standard of preparation for teachers and others who are involved with the care and development of children; to encourage continuous professional growth of educators; to bring into active cooperation all individuals and groups concerned with children; and to inform the public of the needs of children and the ways in which various programs must be adjusted to fit those needs and rights.

In order to meet these goals, international Association conducts workshops and travel/study tours abroad and offers awards for excellence in education. They also maintain liaison with government agencies, cooperating organizations, teaching institutions, and manufacturers and designers of materials and equipment for children. In addition to publishing books and pamphlets on a variety of subjects and bibliographies of children's literature, the international Association produces the ACEI Exchange monthly, Childhood Education five times per year, and the Journal of Research in Childhood Education biennially.

Scope and content:

This collection contains a few documents on the early years of the Kansas Association for Childhood Education International from 1931 to a more complete collection from 1950 to 1986. The records document the organization's efforts in promoting and developing early childhood education, as well as information on a variety of resources for children. The growth of the Kansas chapter of the Association for Childhood Education International is evident in these records as shown through the membership rosters and treasurer’s reports spanning from the creation of the group through 1986. An early book of Board Meeting Minutes includes notes from the Kansas Kindergarten Association before it merged with the Kansas Association for Childhood Education International in 1932. The impact created by the Kansas Association for Childhood Education International can be seen in the collection through the creation of the Literary Arts Fair and the William Allen White Children’s Book Award. Programs and brochures from theAssociation for Childhood Education International’s National Study Conference in places like Minneapolis and Saint Louis are also included in this collection as well as in the scrapbooks in the oversized collection. Guides to classroom work and articles about teaching can be seen in both the Kansas Association for Childhood Education Newsletters ranging from 1950 through1986 and in the Association for Childhood Education International Branch Exchange, the national newsletter, ranging from 1951 through1975. Yearbooks from the national Association for Childhood Education International conferences, 1941-1974, show the expansion of the organization as it became an international association and shows listings of relevant speakers in the itinerary for the conference. A scrapbook about Kansas created in 1983 by the organization for their Kansas Heritage Project includes a variety of resources for children including games, recipes, arts and crafts, festivals, field trips, books, magazines, famous Kansans, and other information.

Information within folders remains in original order. Folders are arranged chronologically within document type.

There are seven series in the Kansas Association for Childhood Education International collection. Information within folders remains in original order. Folders are arranged chronologically within document type.

Series One are the Kansas Association for Childhood Educational International records dating from 1931 through 1975. This series includes executive board meeting minutes, treasurer’s reports and budgets, and membership lists.

Series Two includes meeting minutes, membership lists, budgets and treasurer reports, programs, invitations and miscellaneous materials from 1950 to 1986.

Series Three is a Kansas Scrapbook from 1983 created for the Kansas Heritage Project that the Kansas Association for Childhood Education International crafted. It contains helpful classroom resources about Kansas like authors and books and crafts and games.

Series Four are national year books from the Association for Childhood Education International ranging in date from 1941 through 1974 with information and statistics about the past year and what is ahead for the coming year; it includes an itinerary for the national conference.

Series Five consists of Kansas Association for Childhood Education International newsletters dating from 1950 through 1986 that include information on the happenings of different chapters within Kansas and articles on helpful classroom information.

Series Six includes Association for Childhood Education International Branch Exchange newsletters, 1951-1963, 1965, 1967, 1974-1975 and assorted materials dating from 1959 to 1968. These are similar to the Kansas Association for Childhood Education International newsletters as far as content but are on the national and international levels rather than state.

Series Seven consists of three scrapbooks with dates from 1951 to 1974. These scrapbooks contain pictures of Kansas Association for Childhood Education International members, newspaper clippings, programs from national conferences and much more.

Contents: Box 1. KACE records (ser. 1), 1931-1975 ; meeting minutes, membership lists, budgets and treasurer reports, programs, invitations, and misc. materials (ser. 2), 1950-1986 ; Kansas scrapbook (ser. 3), 1983 -- box 2. ACE yearbooks (ser. 4), 1941-1974 ; KACEI newsletters (ser. 5), 1950-1986 ; ACEI branch exchange newsletter, assorted materials, 1951-1975 (ser. 6) -- oversize materials. KACEI scrapbooks (ser. 7), 1951-1974.

Related materials:

Kansas Children's Service League Records, 1893-2003, approximately 47 cubic feet, Ms. Collection 791; http://www.kshs.org/archives/44943

Kansas Society for Crippled Children Records, 1941-1960, 1 cubic ft. (1 box), Ms. Collection 313808; http://www.kshs.org/archives/313808

Menninger Foundation Archives, 1644-2009 (bulk 1925-2001), 2501 cubic ft., Ms. Collection 786, http://www.kshs.org/archives/218916

Charles Monroe Sheldon/Central Congregational Church Collection, 1811-1984, 3 ft. (7 boxes + 1 oversize folder, 2 oversize v.), Ms. Collection 222; ; http://www.kshs.org/archives/40222. Selected items: microfilm rolls MS 371.05, MS 1702, Kansas Memory http://www.kansasmemory.org/locate.php?categories=4905-12545&

Finding Aid Bibliography:

Archives and Manuscripts Department. University of Maryland. "Guide to the Archives of the Association of Childhood Education International (ACEI)." http://www.acei.org/ACEI.pdf (accessed October 12, 2009).

For more information go to University of Maryland's archives: http://digitalstage.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.DisplayEADDoc.do?source=/MdU.ead.histms.0056.xml&style=ead#names (Accessed June 23, 2014)

Restrictions: None.

Use and reproduction: Information on copyright available from the Kansas Historical Society (Topeka).

Cite as: Kansas Association of Childhood Education International Records, 1931-1986, Ms. Coll. 892, Kansas Historical Society.

Action note: Processed by Regan Aeschliman, Ripley intern, 2014.

Accumulation/Freq. Of Use: Future accretions are possible but not scheduled.