From hesitance to acceptance : The transformation of the Wichita Public School System from 1957 to 1972

Abstract

The United States experienced a multitude of social changes between the late 1950s and early 1970s. Many people looked to public education to play a prominent role in managing the sudden transformations that occurred. School districts throughout the nation needed to develop comprehensive plans to handle issues such as integration, modernization, and overcrowding with little time to prepare. Wichita represented a common experience at this time where leaders of a quiet conservative community had to respond to demands from local citizens as well as the federal government to develop workable programs that provided increasing educational opportunities to a greater number of students. Conservative reactionaries from the school board and community resisted the greater emphasis on progressive, humanistic multicultural curriculum. Nevertheless, despite disagreements over the nature of the school system, Wichita emerged in the early 1970s as a modem, integrated school system resembling other districts of comparable size.