RG 03.03.50 | Collection: Alpha House Nursery, Pre K, and Kindergarten Records

Summary Information

Repository: Holy Family University Archives

Creator: Holy Family University (Philadelphia, Pa.). Alpha House.

Title: Alpha House Nursery School, Pre K, and Kindergarten

ID: RG 03.03.50

Date: 1975-ongoing

Extent: 1.5 Linear feet (1 archives carton)

Language: English

Abstract: Alpha House Nursery, Pre K, and Kindergarten is an extension of Holy Family University's Early Childhood Education Program. Its records document the activities, personnel, children, family involvement, and growth of the unit since its establishment in 1975.

Preferred Citation: Preferred citation for these records is: [Identification of item], in Alpha House Nursery School, PreK, and Kindergarten Records, University Archives, Holy Family University.

History

Holy Family University (then College) established Alpha House as a nursery school in September 1975. From its origin, Alpha House has been an extension of the University's Early Childhood Education Program, and its first director, Elaine Schneitman, was a professor in the Education Department. Its original location at the northeast corner of Frankford Avenue and Stevenson Lane was in the family home on the former Green estate. Because of increased enrollment, Alpha House was expanded to include a kindergarten in September 1977. Facilities for the expanded program were provided in larger quarters in Marian Hall at the southeast corner of Grant and Frankford Avenues. Subsequently, as enrollment continued to increase additional sessions were added. Alpha House relocated a second time in September 1984 to a modular unit erected directly on the campus between the Grant Avenue entrance and the Library.

Scope and Contents

The records for Alpha House Nursery School, Pre K, and Kindergarten document activities of the organization as a whole as well as the very young students, personnel, parents, and volunteers associated with it. They span the entire existence of Alpha House from its establishment in 1975 to the present.

There is an assortment of records grouped by genre in nine series. They provide insight into the development of Alpha House across the decades from a variety of perspectives.

The records in Series 1, annual reports, detail the organization from a director's point of view. Typically, they provide an overview of a given year, highlight significant events and milestones, and identify goals and challenges. At present, the records are not complete, spanning from 1976 to 1997.

Series 2, Director's annual files, covers a period of 18 academic years from 1975 to 1993. These were maintained by the organization's founding director, Elaine Schneitman, and reflect the continuity her long tenure provided. The series is organized in files, one for each year covered. Files may include an assortment of records that document a given school year; examples include correspondence, photographs, news clippings, booklets, directories, memorabilia, reports, to mention a few. Annual reports were removed from this series and placed in Series 1.

Series 3 includes two curriculum guides, one each for nursey school and kindergarten. Both were published in 1980.

Series 4, newsletters, offers a glimpse of happenings at Alpha House from the perspective of individual teachers. For the most part, teachers wrote their own newsletters either individually or in partnership with another teacher. Directed to families and produced monthly, they offered practical reminders and recommendations, requestedt assistance with fund raisers and other events, and provided news.

The directories in Series 5, do not appear in the records until 2006 (except for a single copy in 1977). They provide typical directory information on the families of children enrolled in Alpha House during a given year.

Like the records in Series 6, classlists in Series 7 appear more recently than other records. They provide only the names of children and the respective teacher for individual classes.

Series 7, cookbooks, consists of two cookbooks produced by the parents’ association in 1989 and 1993. Typical of similar parent-produced cookbooks, they contain recipes submitted by relatives and friends of the students.

Originally, student records comprised the bulk of records transferred from Alpha House to the Archives. After careful weeding, Series 8 now includes a sampling of blank and completed records maintained over the decades. The most prominent of these were registration and medical forms, attendance records, and consent/release forms. The sampling includes a few records from each year from 1975-2014.

The final series, miscellanea, includes a variety of records from 1975-2011 that are single copies for the most part. A notable exception is the parent evaluations from 1994. These provide interesting parent perspectives on Alpha House.

Arrangement

Alpha House Nursery School, Pre K, and Kindergarten records are organized by genre in 9 series: annual reports, director's annual files, curriculum guides, newsletters, directories, class lists, cookbooks, student records, and miscellanea.

Administrative Information

Publication Information

Holy Family University Archives
9801 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA, 19114-2009
267-341-3414

Conditions Governing Access

A portion of these records is restricted. Contact the University Archives for an appointment to access our records and for details regarding access restrictions which apply due to university policy or legislation governing access.

Legal Status note

These records are the property of Holy Family University.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by Holy Family University or other creators of items in these records, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Please contact the University Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.

Accruals

There will be additional annual record transfers from Alpha House to the University Archives.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The first substantial collection of records was transferred to the University Archives directly from Alpha House on January 20, 2015.

Controlled Access Headings

• Geographic Name(s)
  • Pennsylvania
  • Philadelphia
• Subject(s)
  • Early childhood education

Collection Inventory

Annual Reports 1976-1997

• Annual reports June 10, 1976-June 1979
• Annual reports June 30, 1983 and June 1990
• Annual reports June 1991-June 1997

Directors annual files 1975-1993

• File for Sept. 1975-June 1976
• File for Sept. 1976-June 1977
• File for Sept. 1977-June 1978
• File for Sept. 1978-June 1979
• File for Sept. 1979-June 1980
• File for Sept. 1980-June 1981
• File for Sept. 1981-June 1982
• File for Sept. 1982-June 1983
• File for Sept. 1983-June 1984
• File for Sept. 1984-June 1985
• File for Sept. 1985-June 1986
• File for Sept. 1986-June 1987
• File for Sept. 1987-June 1988
• File for Sept. 1988-June 1989
• File for Sept. 1989-June 1990
• File for Sept. 1990-June 1991
• File for Sept. 1991-June 1992
• File for Sept. 1992-June 1993

Curriculum Guides 1980

• Nursery curriculum guide August 1980
• Kindergarten curriculum guide August 1980

Newsletters 1976-1997

• Newsletters October 1976-May 1981
• Newsletters October 1981-June 1989
• Newsletters September 1989-June 1992
• Newsletters September 1996-June 1997

Directories 1977, 2006-2012

• Student Directory 1977
• Student Directories 2006-2012

Class Lists 2005-2014

• Class lists 2005-2014

Cookbooks 1989, 1993

• Yummy Tummy Tempters: Recipes 1989
• Favorite Recipes Cookbook 1993

Student records 1975-2014

• Registration and medical forms sampling 1975-2014
• Attendance record sampling 2003, 2004
• Consent/Release forms sampling 1995, 2006

Miscellanea between 1975-2011

• Teachers Roll Book containing family payments September 1975-May 1977
• General information booklet undated - probably 1984
• Personal correspondence 1990s
• Solicited parent evaluations of Alpha House program March-April 1994
• Bryce Smith Field Experience Report April 1994
• Program book for The Thirteenth Annual Dinner and Spring Show probably 2002
• Planning Book June 2007-July 2008
• Child Protection Certifications 2008, 2009
• Principal's Album 2009, 2010
• School calendars 2010, 2011