Correspondence, 1950-1972, 1981 | University of Illinois Archives

On August 17, 1965, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees established the Curriculum Laboratory, an operating unit of the College of Education.¹ It was to facilitate cooperation and coordination of curriculum development efforts; to foster new efforts in hitherto neglected areas; and to increase impact of curriculum development efforts on teacher education and graduate education.²

Groundbreaking for the University High School was in 1916, and the school opened in 1921. It became independent from the College of Education in 1983 (unconfirmed).

The Curriculum Laboratory, in association with University High School, was designed to coordinate curriculum projects,³ including:

--University of Illinois Committee on School Mathematics

--School Science Curriculum Project

--Elementary School Science Project

--English Curriculum Project

--University of Illinois Arithmetic Project

--University of Illinois Foreign Language Instruction Project

--Elementary School Music Project

--Secondary School Music Project

--Inquiry Training Project

--Project English

--School Health Education Study

--Technical Education Project⁴

In 1974 the Board of Trustees authorized a merger between the Curriculum Laboratory and University High School, to coordinate the projects of the two units.⁵

In 1983 a committee studying University High School recommended the separation of the two units, with the Curriculum Laboratory remaining in the College of Education and the high school reporting directly to two vice-chancellors.⁶

1. Faculty Letter No. 103, September 30, 1965, p. 1.

2. University High School - Report to the Board of Higher Education, 1968. University Department Files, Curriculum Laboratory Folder, p. 1.

3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 53rd Report, September 22, 1965, p. 734.

4. University High School - Report to the Board of Higher Education, 1968, University Department Files, Curriculum Laboratory Folder, p. 2.

5. Board of Trustees Transactions, 57th Report, May 15, 1974, p. 562.

6. News Bureau, University of Illinois, June 15, 1983, p. 1.