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Scattergood Friends School

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Scattergood Friends School
Address
Map
1951 Delta Ave.

West Branch
,
Iowa
52358

United States
Coordinates41°39′50″N 91°18′32″W / 41.664°N 91.309°W / 41.664; -91.309
Information
TypePrivate Boarding
MottoScattergood Wherever You Go
Religious affiliation(s)Quaker
Established1890
Head of SchoolJohn Zimmerman
Faculty25
Grades6-12
Color(s)Blue and White
AthleticsSoccer, Basketball, Fencing, Ultimate Frisbee
MascotCrew
Websitescattergood.org

Scattergood Friends School in Cedar County, Iowa, is a rural, private high school educating students in grades nine through twelve. Since 2020, it also serves as a middle school, educating students in grades six through eight. The school is located in Cedar County, Iowa, two miles (3 km) east and one half mile (800 m) south of the town of West Branch. It is owned and operated by Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Conservative), and accredited by the Iowa Department of Education and by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS).[citation needed]

History

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Scattergood School was founded in 1890 by Iowa Wilburite Quakers to provide a "guarded education" for their children.[1]

Scattergood Hostel

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The school closed in 1931 due to the financial effects of the Great Depression. In 1939, alarmed at the increasing anti-Semitism and political suppression by the Nazi Party of Germany at the time of Kristallnacht, Quakers of Iowa proposed to receive refugees from Germany and house them at the Scattergood School. From 1939 through 1943, they operated what they called the 'Scattergood Hostel,' accepting a total of 185 refugees and helping them to resettle in the United States. Refugees and volunteers worked communally together to operate the facility, including its farm, and staff provided health care, language classes, and job training.[2][3][4] After 1943 refugees were unable to leave Germany.[2]

The Scattergood Hostel was explored in an exhibit at Traces Museum, which operated in St. Paul, Minnesota from 2005 through 2008, as well as a traveling exhibit which toured the Midwest. When the museum closed, the United States Holocaust Museum of Washington, DC took on the permanent exhibit materials.[4] In 2007, Iowa Public TV produced an episode on the Scattergood Hostel for its Living in Iowa series, titled "Out of Hitler's Reach" and based on the book of the same name by Michael Luick-Thrams, founder and director of the Traces Museum.

Post-war

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After the end of the war, the school was reopened for educational operations. Since the late 20th century, about one third of students and staff have been Quakers, with the rest coming from different faith backgrounds.[citation needed] Roughly a quarter of Scattergood students come from outside the United States. Former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, is a Scattergood graduate.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Norfleet, Geoffrey. "Scattergood at 125: A school, a hostel and perseverance". West Branch Times Online. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Out of Hitler's Reach", episode of Living in Iowa, Iowa Public TV, 2007, accessed 17 September 2015
  3. ^ Luick-Thrams, Michael. Out of Hitler's Reach: The Scattergood Hostel For European Refugees, 1939-1943, Iowa State Press, 1997
  4. ^ a b Joe Peters, "Traces will close strapped St. Paul WWII museum, will keep Web site, bus exhibit", 9 November 2008, accessed 17 September 2015
  5. ^ Julie Deardorff, "Bolivian President More Comfortable Playing Soccer Than Watching", Chicago Tribune, 16 June 1994

Further reading

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  • Berquist, Robert, et al., Scattergood Friends School, 1890-1990
  • Luick-Thrams, Michael. Out of Hitler's Reach: The Scattergood Hostel For European Refugees, 1939-1943, Iowa State Press, 1997
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