"A Model School is a well organized public school in which students may observe superior methods of instruction and receive actual experience in teaching under careful supervision." -State Normal School, New Whatcom, Washington, Catalog, 1899.

The long and useful life of the Campus School began on September 6, 1899, in concert with that of its parent institution, the State Normal School of New Whatcom, Wash. Called the "Model School," it was patterned on similar departments at "normal" schools across the nation. Normal schools practiced and promoted standards, or norms, of teacher education. Their model schools provided venues for the observation of "illustrative teaching" as well as for practice teaching under the direct supervision of skilled educators.

Prior to its opening, Normal principal E. T. Mathes selected Sarah J. ("Sadie") Rogers of Dillon, Montana to lead the Model School. Fifty-four pupils formed the first student body. Arrayed across grades 1-7, they came primarily from the city's Sehome School located on High Street just north of the Normal. It was immediately recognized that Miss Rogers required an assistant and, in October 1899, Catherine Montgomery was hired to instruct the primary grades and serve as a "critic teacher."

With the 1900/01 academic year, the name "Training School" was adopted and Henrietta J. Tromanhauser succeeded Sadie Rogers as Supervisor. Herbert G. Lull filled the role in 1905, followed in 1908 by Andrew N. Thompson. Almina George was appointed Supervisor in 1909.

The curriculum included all subjects taught in the "common," or public schools, as well as physical culture, vocal music, drawing, nature study, and (sometimes) foreign languages. "Manual training" was introduced into the curriculum in 1900. At first, it consisted mainly of paper folding and cutting and the making of objects from cardboard. During the next few years, weaving, clay modeling, wood work, cooking, and sewing were added.

To qualify for state certification, Normal school students had to both observe and practice teach in the school for specified periods.

In 1902, the Training School moved to greatly expanded quarters in a new annex to the Normal's original building (eventually to be called "Old Main"). By 1903, the school offered grades 1-8. Grades 9-10 were added in 1909/10. Enrollment rose steadily, reaching 269 pupils in 1909/10. The first summer session was offered in 1909. By decade's end, there were five teachers in addition to the supervisor.

"The Training School is to a certain extent, the laboratory of the pedagogical department of the Normal School ... the effort is ... to give each student an opportunity to adapt his theory to the practical side of teaching under the direction and guidance of skilled teachers." -State Normal School, Bellingham, 11th Annual Catalog, 1910.

From 1911, the head of the school (now also known as the Training Department) was called its Superintendent. Lucy S. Norton succeeded Almina George in 1914. Gertrude Earhart was named Superintendent in 1917.

In 1911, the school introduced an "open air school." Originating in Germany, the open air school movement emphasized vigorous exercise as part of regular class work. The Normal's open air school was a one-story building with three rooms, placed behind the annex, facing Sehome Hill. Each class studied and exercised in the building for 40 minutes every day. The Training School also promoted active play, offering a playground with slides, swings, a merry-go-round, and tennis and basketball equipment. There was also a school garden.

In 1913/14, a substantial addition was made to the school's quarters, allowing the high school (grades 9-10) to claim its own floor. There was also room for an expanded school library and the new basement area became a gymnasium. By the opening of the 1915/16 school year, the high school encompassed grades 9-12. At the end of 1916/17, the high school was discontinued. The school offered grades 1-8 until 1918/19 when grade 9 was restored.

Most practice teaching continued to be completed in the Training School. However, starting with 1910/11, a portion of the practice teaching requirement could be completed in the city schools (and, starting in 1917/18, in Everett). From 1912/13, students had to observe in the Training School prior to student teaching.

During World War I, Training School students did their part by forming a Junior Red Cross chapter and organizing a garden club and a poultry club. They purchased thrift stamps and studied the activities of "Belgian Relief" as part of their curriculum. For "the soldiers in camp and on the field," they also collected 225 puzzles and handcrafted "ten standard double checker boards."

Enrollment climbed to 636 pupils by the end of the 1918/19 school year and the faculty expanded to eight teachers in addition to the Superintendent.

"The training school of the state normal furnishes the laboratory where methods of teaching may be tested and criticized, and where the student teachers may learn to adapt the theory of teaching to practical classroom work." -State Normal School, Bellingham, Twenty-First Annual Catalog, 1920.

Training School students participated in the first Tulip Day parade staged by the city of Bellingham on May 1, 1920.

Mary E. Rich was appointed Director (the position's new name) in 1924, a year which also saw the arrival of Priscilla Kinsman, who would be with the school until 1959. Pearl Merriman was appointed to the faculty in 1925; she would serve until 1956. The highest enrollment during this decade was 731 during 1922/23.

The school offered grades 1-9 until 1924/25, when grade 9 was discontinued and "pre-primary" was introduced. The teaching and learning environment was strongly influenced by "the theory of teaching by projects." This methodology was pioneered at Teachers College Columbia University, alma mater of both Gertrude Earhart and Mary Rich. With its introduction into the Training School, students formulated their own problems, set goals, independently developed and applied needed skills, and interacted socially to achieve practical results. Their projects included authoring and printing books; planning, cultivating, and marketing specific garden crops; creating a functioning bank; building a model department store; making paper from linen cloth; conducting feeding experiments with white rats; and organizing and presenting operettas, plays, and seasonal festivals.

Student clubs proliferated, including the Boys' Club, Campfire Girls, the Handicraft Club, Dramatic Club, Better English Club, and the Training School Orchestra. Pupils made bird houses, kites, dolls and stuffed animals, and jump ropes. The also organized debates on topics such as women suffrage, and heard visiting lecturers such as Dr. Henry Suzzallo, president of the University of Washington. The Junior Messenger, edited and written by Training School pupils, was first published in December 1924.

Following a major revision of state certification requirements in 1923, Normal students completed more practice teaching in the city schools. Starting in 1926/27, the Training School was defined as including the city schools and the rural schools where students taught, as well as the Training School. After this, enrollment statistics reflected the total number taught, both on and off campus. In 1929/30, total enrollment was 2,320 (of which 478 are taught in the on-campus school). In 1927/28, the Training School became the "coordinating center" for the teacher training curricula.

"The elementary school furnishes the laboratory where methods of teaching may be tested and criticized, and where student teachers may learn to adapt the theory of teaching to practical classroom work." -Washington State Normal School, Annual Catalog, 1930

Mary Rich continued as Director through the decade. In 1932, Katherine Casanova joined the faculty as 1st grade teacher and in 1937, Synva Nicol arrived to teach "pre-primary" (later, Kindergarten). Both remained with the school until it closed.

The school continued to offer grades pre-primary through 8th. From 1932/33, the component of the Training School located on campus was called the "Campus Elementary School." Enrollment statistics continued to include pupils in the public schools taught by Training School student teachers. The size of the student body on campus averaged 460 pupils per year during this time.

The curriculum continued to emphasize active engagement by the students in all aspects of learning. Projects included "Our Market," a grocery store designed, built and stocked by pre-primary pupils; completion by older students of an elaborate playhouse on Sehome Hill, wired for lighting and radio; development of a map of Bellingham's water supply sources; creation of instruments for mathematical measurements; and, as always, many dramatic and musical presentations. Sharing and helping across the grade levels remained a hallmark of the school's methodology.

The school was an integral part of the college milieu. Observation in the school was still required prior to student teaching, and the college community attended many school activities, including art exhibits, assemblies, performances, and presentations on model projects. The college newspapers covered the school in minute detail and its students further chronicled their activities in The Junior Viking, which made its first appearance in January 1930.

In 1935/36, the name "Campus School" came into use, although Training School remained the overarching unit name. In 1937/38, the school was reorganized into two departments: elementary (grades pre-primary through 6) and junior high (grades 7-9). Starting in 1938/39, the two departments were described as separate schools and the official name becomes "Campus Schools." Paul R. Grim, newly appointed to teach 9th grade, explained the primary objectives of the newly formed junior high as "reflective thinking, participation and cooperation, and social sensitivity.

"The Campus Schools furnish the laboratory where methods of teaching may be tested and criticized, and where students may observe expert teaching and learn to adapt theory to practical classroom work." -Western Washington College of Education, Catalog, 1943/44.

Mary Rich, leader of the school since 1924, retired in 1942. Her legacy was an educational enterprise firmly attached to the ideals of progressive education, emphasizing experience-based learning arising from activities directed by the learner. In 1942/43, seven of the school's thirteen faculty members held degrees from either Teachers College Columbia University or the University of Chicago, the reigning academic bastions of progressive education theory and practice.

Paul R. Grim was appointed Director in 1942; Raymond F. Hawk succeeded him in 1945.

The Annual Catalog of 1940 marked the final use of "Training School" as a unit name. With the catalog of 1941, the section titled "Student Teaching" included information about the Campus Schools. The catalog of 1943/44 described the schools as part of the "Department of Student Teaching." Raymond Hawk's title was revised to Director of Campus Schools and Student Teaching. Starting with the college catalog of 1947/48, the Campus Schools were listed as components of the college's "student teaching facilities."

Observation in the schools remained a requirement for students planning to teach. Through 1942/43, enrollment statistics continued to include pupils in city school classes employing student teachers from Western's program. Enrollment in the on-campus component of the Schools declined during the decade, averaging 375 pupils per year.

In May 1943, the College dedicated the new Campus Elementary School Building. Standing to the south of the main building annex, home of the schools since 1902, it accommodated Kindergarten and grades 1-6 "in an environment conducive to ideal child development." The junior high (grades 7-9) stayed behind in the school's old quarters.

The 8th grade made 24 wooden easels for art work in the new building. The 9th grade mastered photography in order to include photographic prints in its first yearbook, Echoes of '31 to '41. During World War II, students knitted socks and made dolls "for the children of warring countries," wove wool squares to make afghans for hospitals, and made ash trays from the tops of cans. In 1946, the teaching of typing began in K-6 classes.

"The Campus School provides an educational setting which meets the modern standard of good education. It is believed that the young teacher should see in actual practice a school program somewhat in advance of that which is commonly found in our state." -Western Washington College of Education, Catalog, 1950/51

With 1950/51, the Campus School (singular once more) discontinued its junior high (grades 7-9), dropping back to grades K-6. Its faculty members were accorded academic rank within the Education Department. At the outset of the 1950s, part of the student teaching experience continued to take place in the school although increasingly its role was limited to demonstration and observation. The school accommodated only a few student teachers in each of its classrooms every quarter. As the decade advanced, more and more student teaching took place off campus.

Raymond F. Hawk remained at the head of the school throughout this period. A number of longtime faculty members retired, including Priscilla Kinsman (appointed in 1924); Pearl Merriman (appointed in 1925); Irene Elliott (appointed in 1931); and Georgia Gragg (appointed in 1920), who, though not officially a member of the school's faculty, had taught penmanship to generations of its pupils.

In 1952, 5th graders constructed a weather station on a ledge outside a second floor classroom and released helium-filled weather balloons from the roof of the school building. Closed-circuit TV was tested in the school in 1956 as a new means of observation. In spring 1959, French instruction began with the appointment of Belgian-born Rene Philippart.

Continuing its gentle decline, enrollment averaged about 330 pupils per year during the decade.

"The Campus School ... is a part of the Department of Education. Opportunity for observation is provided to all departments of the College as well as to students in teacher education, and participation and teaching opportunities are provided for a limited number of students. The Campus School also carries on various kinds of experiments related to the teaching-learning problems of elementary age children." -Western Washington State College, General Catalogue, 1962-63

In 1960, Robert B. Simpson succeeded Raymond Hawk as head of the school. The school was now a component of the new Department of Professional Education. With 1962/63, the department was renamed the Department of Education and the school was described as one of its "Facilities for Laboratory Experiences." Although observation in the school continued to be part of some teaching preparation courses, it was no longer described as a student teaching venue.

During 1962/63, Clark C. Brown served as acting Director prior to the appointment of Frances F. Hanson in 1963. Bearnice Skeen was named to the post in 1965. After 1965/66, when 243 pupils attend, enrollment statistics were no longer reported.

The school offered its pupils swimming lessons at the college pool as well as rhythm and gymnastics classes. In 1967, a creative dramatics class was conducted by students of one of the college's Speech dept. classes. Undergraduates in other areas, including English, Industrial Arts, and Physical Education participated in "micro-teaching" experiences in the school. The curriculum included the "new math," emphasizing set theory. An experimental humanities program involving study of Greek and Latin classics and ancient ways of life was introduced in 1964.

Despite strong efforts to maintain relevancy and its place as a laboratory for teaching and learning, the Campus School's future was placed in doubt following administrative studies in 1963 and 1964. Key factors in discussions of the school's future included new programs under development by the College for child study, observation, and teacher education; the lessening impact of the school as a locus of innovation for public education; its inability to accommodate more than limited student teaching; and its declining as well as increasingly homogeneous enrollment. On September 28, 1965, the College announced that the school would cease operations.

The Campus School closed on June 7, 1967. The building dedicated to its use in 1943 was immediately absorbed into a new facility for the departments of Education and Psychology. Completed in 1968, it was subsequently named Miller Hall, honoring Irving E. Miller, a longtime Western faculty member and nationally-known specialist in the field of teacher education.