Collection Guide
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Farm School records (University of California, Irvine)
AS.204
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: University of California, Irvine, Farm School records
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. Farm School.
Identifier/Call Number: AS.204
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
(1 records carton and 4 document boxes)
Physical Description:
0.05 Gigabytes
(13 digital files)
Date (inclusive): 1976-2007
Abstract: This collection comprises the records of the University of California, Irvine Farm School, which provided an alternative education
to children ages 5 to 12 years old between 1969 and 2007. The collection includes administrative records of the Farm School
between 1976 and 2007, as well as documentation of events, such as reunions and science fairs, and photographs.
Language of Material:
English
.
The collection is open for research. The collection contains digital materials. It is minimally processed, but is open for
research. Please contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their
heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the University Archivist.
University of California, Irvine, Farm School records. AS-204. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Transferred by Greg M. Jue, 2019.
Processed by Sarah Glover, 2019.
The Farm School at the University of California, Irvine was an experimental elementary school established in 1969, which provided
alternative education to children 5 to 12 years old. It was co-founded by UC Irvine professor Michael Butler along with other
faculty who had become disenchanted with public education. Inhabiting three remodeled farmhouses that were originally part
of the Irvine Ranch, the Farm School took around 50 students per year and provided a non-traditional ungraded learning environment
that incorporated their rural surroundings. In Butler's own words, they "wanted a school where children would learn to do
what finders and makers do, not just master more or less badly and mechanically, some scattered things they have worked out."
Besides serving the community as a school, the Farm School also served the School of Social Sciences as an instructional and
research site. The Farm School was part of the original progressive mission of UC Irvine, but its future was not written into
a comprehensive plan for the campus' growing population. In 2007, the school was forced to close its doors due to several
factors, including a lawsuit brought on by one of its longest standing teachers, Karen Minns, and the Anteater Recreation
Center development.
Source(s):
https://web.archive.org/web/20010306215033/http://www.farmschool.uci.edu/intro.htm and
https://ocweekly.com/downer-on-the-farm-6400864/
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the administrative records of the University of California, Irvine Farm School from 1976 to 2007,
including policies and procedures; guidelines and forms; rosters; sign-in sheets; new student paperwork and handbooks; meeting
agendas and notes; teaching materials and handouts; phone message books; information about events such as reunions and science
fairs; documentation on the discussions surrounding the future of the Farm School in 2005 and 2006; letters from former students,
teachers, and parents in support of the school; and photographs.
The collection is arranged in its original order.
An oversized poster board of photographs was removed from the collection due to its deteriorating condition. Photographs of
this board were taken and are available by request.