Women's School (Cambridge, Mass.)

Created in 1971 to offer classes and workshops to women on a variety of subjects; also known as Cambridge Women's School.

The Women's School was established in 1971 by 20 women who were involved with the Women's Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school was founded as an alternative source of feminist education, and its ideologies were based on socialist feminism. The school was operated by a collective, and classes were taught by volunteers. All collective members, students, and teachers were women. Registration fees were kept low so that all women would be able to participate. In 1973, the collective developed a formal administrative structure. Committees were created to select courses, develop special projects, and handle office work and finances. Classes were offered on anti-racism, auto mechanics, growing up female, international women's struggles, lesbianism, Marxism, older women and many other topics. The Women's School closed in 1992. It was the longest running women's school of its type in the United States.