Title: Wisconsin State Council for Regional Educational Laboratories Records
Inclusive Dates: 1965-1969

Creator:

• Wisconsin State Council for Regional Educational Laboratories

Call Number: Mss 211

Quantity: 1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of one of five councils (Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota) constituting the Upper Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory (UMREL), an agency funded by the U.S. Office of Education to identify and implement programs to improve elementary and secondary education. Included is correspondence, reports, and other records of the Wisconsin State Council; and minutes, reports, and other records of UMREL.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00211

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

The Wisconsin State Council for Regional Educational Laboratories was one of five councils (Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) constituting the Upper Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory. UMREL was a product of Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act signed into law on April 11, 1965. Funds for the financing of the laboratories were appropriated by the United States Office of Education. With its headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, UMREL became operational in June 1966 after many months spent on developing a prospectus.

UMREL functioned as a “catalytic leadership agency,” its primary goal being to “identify and implement programs for the improvement of elementary and secondary education in the region.” This was effected by each state council assessing its problems of education which were then brought to the attention of UMREL so that solutions could be sought within the framework of the Laboratories' regional channels.

The five-state membership of UMREL was an independent, non-profit organization governed by a fifty-five-member board of trustees which acted through a twelve-member executive committee. Each state council selected its own trustee members who guided the evaluation and assessment of the educational problems in its state. The primary focus of evaluation and assessment was on the continuous nature of teacher education and its expansion.

The membership of the Wisconsin State Council was a voluntary association of organizational and occupational groups. The thirty-one-member Council consisted of educators and school administrators, professionals outside the education field, an AFL-CIO representative, the Governor of Wisconsin or his designee, the Attorney General of Wisconsin or designee, and others. Each member held office for three years on a staggered basis. The executive committee was elected from the State Council membership, and its members represented the State Council on UMREL's board of trustees. The Council's principal purpose was to represent its constituents and suggest priorities for programs that reflected regional concerns.

Dr. William H. Ashbaugh of the Milwaukee Public Schools served as the chairman of Wisconsin's Council from its inception to about April 1967. Elected to succeed Ashbaugh was Dr. Lester M. Erians, Dean of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Emans remained as chairman until the Council was dissolved in 1969.

The records of the Wisconsin State Council for Regional Educational Laboratories are divided into two alphabetically arranged groups: administrative records (1965-1969) of the Wisconsin State Council and records (1965-1969) of the Upper Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Included in the first segment are correspondence and reports from the files of William H. Ashbaugh representing his activities as chairman; general files; correspondence and agenda re executive committee meetings and annual meetings; and records of special activities and laboratories.

The records of UMREL relate to matters of regional scope. Included are minutes of the board of trustees (1966-1969); articles of incorporation and bylaws of UMREL and the state councils, delineating their organizational structure and purpose; and general files (1965-1966). There are also reports (1966-1967) submitted by UMREL to the United States Office of Education, and reports and newsletters (1966-1969) intended for the state councils and constituents, describing the activities of UMREL.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Lester M. Emans, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, August 14, 1969. Accession Number: M69-239

Processing Information

Processed by W. R. Massa, Jr. (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, March 19, 1975.

	Series: Administrative Records of the Wisconsin State Council
	Annual Meeting, Correspondence and Agenda
Box   1 Folder   1	1967, October 6
Box   1 Folder   2	1969, April 23
	Ashbaugh, William H., Chairman, Correspondence and Reports
Box   1 Folder   3-6	1966
Box   1 Folder   6-7	1967
Box   1 Folder   8	Cooperative Educational Research Laboratories, Inc., Correspondence, 1967
Box   1 Folder   9	Correspondence, Executive Committee Meetings, 1967-1968
	General Files
Box   1 Folder   10	1965-1966
Box   1 Folder   11	, 1966 (continued)
Box   1 Folder   12	1967-1968
Box   1 Folder   13	Membership Lists for Councils and Commissions of WSC
Box   1 Folder   14	Minneapolis Meeting on Teacher Education, Wisconsin State University-Eau Claire (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) Group, 1967, May 15
Box   1 Folder   15	Teacher Competence for the Middle School Years, University of Minnesota-Duluth, 1967, August 6-11
	Series: Records of the Upper Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Appointment of a New Director, 1968, March
Box   2 Folder   2	Articles of Incorporation of UMREL
Box   2 Folder   3	Bylaws of UMREL
Box   2 Folder   4	Bylaws of State Councils
	Board of Trustees Meetings, Minutes
Box   2 Folder   5	1966, July 23
Box   2 Folder   6	1966, October 14
Box   2 Folder   7	1967, June 3
Box   2 Folder   8	1967, June 24
Box   2 Folder   9	1967, December 16
Box   2 Folder   10	1968, June 29
Box   2 Folder   11	1969, June 28
	Executive Committee Meetings, Minutes
Box   2 Folder   12	1966, August 12
Box   2 Folder   13	1966, September 23
Box   2 Folder   14	1966, December 9
Box   2 Folder   15	1967, March 16-17
Box   2 Folder   16	1967, April 20-21
Box   2 Folder   17	1968, March 1-2
Box   2 Folder   18	1968, May 23-24
Box   2 Folder   19	1968, December 6
Box   2 Folder   20	1969, January 31
Box   2 Folder   21	Executive Committee Miscellany
Box   2 Folder   22	General Files, 1965-1966
Box   2 Folder   23	Reporting Conference Meeting, 1968, May 21
	Reports and Newsletters
	“Annual Report to the United States Office of Education”
Box   2 Folder   24	1966, September 15
Box   3 Folder   1	1967, September 15
Box   3 Folder   2	“Contractor's Request for Continued Funding,” 1968, September 15
Box   3 Folder   3	“The Distinctive Roles of Educational Laboratories,” by Francis S. Chase, 1968, February
Box   3 Folder   4	“May 1 Report to the U.S. Office of Education: Program Development Project,” by Stanley B. Kegler, Program Director, 1966
Box   3 Folder   5	“Program Themes for the First Year of Operation - 1966-1967,” Cooperative Educational Research Laboratory, Inc.
Box   3 Folder   6	“The Teacher as a Professional: A Statement of Objectives in the Upper Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory,” 1969, January 2
Box   3 Folder   7	“Tentative Statement of Position,” 1966, October 14
Box   3 Folder   8	“The UMREL Campaign,” 1968, August 2 (draft)
Box   3 Folder   9	UMREL Newsletter, 1966, September - 1968, May (incomplete file)
Box   3 Folder   10	“UMREL Report to the Region,” 1968, January