Archives Collection Overview

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Bureau of Educational Experiment Records

The BEE Records housed at C&C are an accumulation of the group’s research on the value of experimental schools, particularly the program at C&C. These documents include meeting minutes, administrative records, and detailed observations of students dating from 1916 through 1930.

Associated Experimental Schools Records

Formed in 1934, the AES was a collective of six like-minded progressive schools including C&C. The letters, meeting minutes, and artifacts contained in this collection provide a record of the group’s attempt to collaboratively raise funds and refine their progressive pedagogies.

Caroline Pratt Collection

The documents making up the Caroline Pratt Collection are organized into the following categories: biographical materials; articles about Pratt, her work (including unit blocks and the Do-With dolls), and the School; Pratt’s writings, both published and personal; and work-related diaries and correspondence.

City and Country Curriculum Records

An extensive collection, these records contain articles related to the School and its practices by a variety of authors, as well as artifacts documenting the School’s curriculum. The files making up the latter category consist of both student writing and artwork and descriptions of program written by staff.

Student Periodicals and Publications

These files house nearly-complete collections of traditional Job-related projects, including the 11s’ typeset poetry journals; the 13s’ newspapers; and the 12s’ storybooks for the 4s. A variety of student-produced yearbooks and magazines are also filed here.

Parent and Alumni Periodicals and Publications

Primarily comprised of parent-authored newsletters dating from the 1930s, this collection also includes bulletins by and for the School’s alumni.

Administrative Publications

These files contain a variety of publications, all authored by C&C staff. Some are for internal use, such as class and staff lists, and others are for external audiences, including prospectuses from 1919 through the present and a variety of school-produced magazines and bulletins for parents and alumni.

Annual Events and Special Occasions

This collection is comprised of artifacts from the School’s 80-plus years of annual fairs, a handful of graduation ceremonies, and various special events such as teacher workshops, school-hosted symposiums, and anniversary benefits and exhibits.

Jean Murray Collection

A thorough collection of letters and writings by, to, and about Jean Murray, the School’s principal for 30 years.

Governance

The Governance record group contains documents pertaining to both the physical plant and the organizational structures of the School. These files are comprised of legal documents, administrative records, and letters.

Photographs

One of the Archives’ most treasured and extensive collections, these files contain photographs dating from 1916, documenting every aspect of School life. While primarily organized thematically, the collection also includes photographer-specific groupings.

Videos

This record group includes most of the plays and musical performances of the last 20 years, as well as many of the more recent graduations and guest speakers. Some of these are on disc, others on digital video tape.

City and Country’s Principals

This record group is home to the documents and ephemera collected by and about all of City and Country School’s principals, except for those of founder Caroline Pratt and her successor Jean Murray.

Oral Histories

A repository for longform memories by both staff members and alumni, each file contains a filmed interview, a brief biography, and any pertinent background or related information.

Flat Files

Home to oversize or three-dimensional items, the flat files contain student artwork; artifacts from community and anniversary events, such as annual fair posters and commemorative exhibits; physical plant maps; and Caroline Pratt’s Do-With drawings. This record group also contains ephemera, including a set of original Do-With dolls.

Biographies and Testimonials

These files contain records, articles, photographs, biographical information, and C&C-specific memories of both long-term staff members and notable alumni.