Finding Aid for the John Alpheus Hockett Papers Regarding the California State Commission on School Districts, 1945-1949
Processed by Saundra Taylor; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé
© 2004
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid for the John Alpheus Hockett Papers Regarding the California State Commission on School Districts, 1945-1949
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Los Angeles, CA
- Processed by:
- Saundra Taylor, August 1969
- Encoded by:
- Caroline Cubé, May 2004
- Online finding aid edited by:
- Josh Fiala, May 2004
© 2004 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: John Alpheus Hockett Papers Regarding the California State Commission on School Districts,
Date (inclusive): 1945-1949
Collection number: 1068
Creator: Hockett, John Alpheus, 1894-
Extent: 7 boxes (3.5 linear ft.)
Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: John Alpheus Hockett (1894-1988) began teaching in the Department of Education at UC Berkeley in 1928 before coming to UCLA
in 1941 as director of elementary education. He worked to establish a democratic educational system in West Germany after
World War II, served as a member of the California State Curriculum Commission, and with the State Commission on School Districts,
established by the California legislature in 1945. The collection consists of some 185 items, including mimeographed reports,
studies, and recommendations of the California State Commission on School Districts. Much of the collection is arranged by
county.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language: English.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
- Gift of Dr. John A. Hockett.
- Collection was transferred from the UCLA Education-Psychology Library, August 1969.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John Alpheus Hockett Papers Regarding the California State Commission on School Districts (Collection
1068). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Hockett was born in 1894 in Illinois; came to California, and taught high school mathematics in Manteca; received doctorate
at Teachers College, Columbia University; began teaching in the Department of Education at UC Berkeley in 1928; came to UCLA
in 1941 as director of elementary education; worked to establish a democratic educational system in West Germany after World
War II; served as a member of the California State Curriculum Commission; also served with the State Commission on School
Districts, established by the California legislature in 1945; the Commission was directed to carry on a study of the state
through local survey committees, working with regional commissions; it was charged to consider recommendations by local committees
for reorganization and to direct the calling of local reorganization elections; from 1947-49 the Commission approved 58 recommendations
for local reorganization; it sought to establish a strong, locally controlled school district structure; it issued its findings
and recommendations in 1949; Hockett also published his own studies, including
Modern practices in the elementary school (c1938); retired in 1960; he died on November 6, 1988 in San Diego.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of some 185 items, including mimeographed reports, studies, and recommendations of the California State
Commission on School Districts, of which UCLA director of elementary education, John Hockett, was a member. Much of the collection
is arranged by county.
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Policies and procedures, reports of the commission, special studies, and legislation affecting school district reorganization
(Box 1).
- Minutes of the state commission (Box 2).
- Articles and statements on reorganization (Box 3).
- Reports and recommendations by local and survey committees, special area reports by regional survey directors (Boxes 4-7).
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hockett, John Alpheus, 1894- --Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles. School of Education--Faculty.
California. State Commission on School Districts.
Educators--California--Archival resources.
Schools--Centralization--California.
Box 1
Reports of the Commission.
Box 2
Minutes of the State Commission.
Box 1
Legislation affecting school district reorganization.
Articles and Statements on Reorganization of School Districts
Reports and Recommendations by Local and Survey Committees and Special Area Reports by Regional Survey Directors
Box 4
Ferndale Unified District.
Box 4
Fortuna Unified District.
Box 4
Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
Box 5
Placer and Nevada Counties.
