Chortitza Mädchenschule (Chortitza, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)
The Chortitza Mädchenschule (secondary school for girls), Ukraine, Russia, was founded through private initiative in 1895. For some time the girls had been attending the Chortitza Zentralschule; but this practice was later forbidden by the Fürsorge-Komitee at Odessa. For this reason it was felt that a special secondary school for girls should be established. Since the Chortitza Gebietsamt hesitated to sponsor the project some friends of education organized an association. Educators who particularly promoted the cause were David H. Epp, A. A. Neufeld, and Jacob A. Klassen. The financial sponsors were mostly Mennonite industrialists of Chortitza and the city of Ekaterinoslav. In 1900 the Department of Education approved the school with the following required curriculum: religion, Russian, German, mathematics, history, geography, science, art, penmanship, music, and crafts. The school started with a three-year course and added a fourth year in 1899. A new modern and well-equipped building was erected in 1904, made possible by a gift of 10,000 rubles ($5,000) from Mrs. K. Wallmann. J. J. Thiessen of Ekaterinoslav, the chairman of the school board, especially promoted the school. Most of the teachers were women.
The school was opened in 1895 with 17 girls and had an enrollment of 116 in 1913. Many of the graduates continued their studies, obtained teacher's certificates, and taught school. A certain number of needy girls and daughters of teachers and ministers could attend without paying tuition. The Chortitza Mädchenschule was highly influential in raising the standard of education and the cultural level of the settlement. Some 600 girls attended the school during its 25 years of existence. After the Revolution, when the Zentralschule became coeducational, the Mädchenschule was closed (1920) by the Soviets and it became a Ukrainian school. Teachers during the last year were: Agnes J. Klassen, Peter P. Neufeld, Lena Froese, Lise Epp, and Sophie Thiessen.
Bibliography
Epp, H. "Die Chortitzer Mädchenschule." Mennitisches Jahrbuch (Berdyansk, 1913): 91-102
Glückliche sonnige Schulzeit. Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, n.d.
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius. "Chortitza Mädchenschule (Chortitza, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Chortitza_M%C3%A4dchenschule_(Chortitza,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=91402.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius. (1953). Chortitza Mädchenschule (Chortitza, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Chortitza_M%C3%A4dchenschule_(Chortitza,_Zaporizhia_Oblast,_Ukraine)&oldid=91402.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 567-568. All rights reserved.
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