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