Schmidt, William, 1926-2009

The Sierra Madre Community Nursery Elementary School, located at 701 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., was first conceived of by Mary Toms Ward. She placed an ad in the local newspaper inviting parents to come together and help establish a school, wherein the parents themselves would act as classroon helpers. Milton and Harriet Goldberg, Dixie and Dorothy Tiller, Howell and Mabel White, and Rodney and Marion Gale responded to Ward's interest and helped establish the school. When the school opened on April 14, 1947, there were twenty-five Sierra Madre families signed up. Dorothy Tiller was elected the first president. The school's original charter stressed that it would be open to all races, colors, and creeds. To help the new teachers monitor the children, Marjorie Green and Dr. Elizabeth Woods wrote "A Handbook for Beginning Nursery School", which covered all aspects of child care from toilet training to how to respect a child's dignity. The school has expanded over the years, and in 1993, a garden sanctuary, full of flowering plants, fruit trees, and vegetables, was added.

From the description of Sierra Madre Community Nursery School [graphic]. ca. 1952. (Sierra Madre Public Library). WorldCat record id: 44879816