Lawrence Paros Papers Finding Aid : Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries

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The educator and writer, Lawrence "Larry" Paros was born in Springfield, Mass., in 1934. After undergraduate work at UMass Amherst (1958), Paros earned his masters degree from Yale in American Diplomatic History and Russian Studies, and began teaching high school in Connecticut, where he became a lightning rod for promoting discussions of the Vietnam War among his students. The Yale Summer High School came calling in 1967, giving Paros the reins to a three-year old program that brought underprivileged youth from across the country for rigorous pre-collegiate study at the Yale Divinity School. Begun as a progressive response to the federal "War on Poverty," Paros soon sought to move the school in a more radical direction. Along with a small group of concerned educators, he redesigned the curriculum to deal directly and deeply with the most challenging contemporary issues in America and to address fundamental questions about the human condition, race, and the future of the country. Paros subsequently founded and led two experimental schools in Providence, R.I., and has written prolifically on topics ranging from education to etymology.

The Paros papers are the product of an innovator in alternative education and a advocate for social justice, and are particularly rich in documenting the efforts of educators in the 1960s and 1970s to make education relevant to contemporary students. The collection includes a rich record of Paros's brief time as director of the Yale Summer High School (YSHS), including organizational, pedagogical, and adminstrative documents, dozens of photographs, and an important set of DVDs and transcripts of interviews with former students, teacher, and administrators from the 1968 cohort, recorded for the film Walk Right In. Paros's work in alternative education is also well represented, with materials from his two schools in Providence (School One and the Alternative Learning Project).

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Background on Lawrence Paros

Lawrence "Larry" Paros was born on February 21, 1934, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is best known for his research and work in alternative education. Paros attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he received a B.A. in History and Political Science. Graduating with his M.A. in American Diplomatic History and Russian Studies at Yale University in 1958, he would later begin his career as a teacher in secondary education. As a teacher, his early goals included inspiring students in civil rights and anti-war activism.

One of Paros's most notable achievements is his work with the Yale Summer High School (YSHS) in 1968. He was appointed director and given the specific job to recruit and educate young students in impoverished areas across the nation. Using his authority as director, Paros began taking the newly developed school in a radical direction, and redesigned the curriculum of the school in the effort to help the students with their interests. In 2010, he released a film, "Walk Right In," which documents YSHS students. His book, The Black and the Blue: The Story of the Other Yale, interviews former students and notes their achievements at the school. After leaving YSHS, Paros created and directed two experimental schools in New England: the Alternative Learning Project (ALP) and School One. His goal was to focus on students’ interests rather than grades. In 2019, Paros published Dancing on the Contradictions, which describes his research in alternative learning. It is grounded on interactions with students and their comments about what they face during their educations.

Larry Paros's work, research, and publications are a part of a strong trend amongst educators across the nation investigating new forms of learning, with a renewed collaborative focus on making a difference in student’s lives. More information about Larry and his current projects is available at his website: www.LarryParos.com.

Scope of collection

The Paros Papers are a rich personal collection documenting the alternative education movement in the 1960s and 1970s and its successes and failures. The collection is in two donor organized series, one documenting Yale Summer High School and the other documenting Paros's work post YSHS, including at the Alternative Learning Project and School One. Many folder titles are retained from the original organizational scheme. Each series includes Paros's writings, correspondence, and news articles regarding his work, as well as administrative, outreach, and audiovisual materials documenting the various schools and their communities.

Series descriptions

Series 1. Yale Summer High School (YSHS)

1965-2010

4 boxes (4.5 linear feet)

Yale Summer High School was an effort at educating high school students who came from impoverished areas. During the 1966-1968 summers, Paros had discussions with the students regarding the world around them, particularly the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.

This series contains correspondence, publications and news clippings, Paros's writings, and administrative materials from YSHS. The records reveal both the daily life of students and administrators at YSHS, and Paros's and others' attempts at alternative education reform. It is clear why the students valued Paros and their discussions in class - after leaving the school, Paros and his students would often continue a correspondence.

"Walk Right In," a documentary of YSHS students' oral histories, is of special note within this series. Students were interviewed around forty years after YSHS, and discussed the meaning of the school and the 1967-1968 school year during the Civil Rights Movement in America.

Series 2. Post-YSHS and Alternative Learning Project (ALP)

1967-2015

2 boxes (2.5 linear feet)

The Alternative Learning Project (ALP) and School One are Paros’s two experimental schools in Providence, Rhode Island, after leaving YSHS. Series 2 contains administrative materials, correspondence, and publications, mainly related to ALP. They provide in-depth information about the foundation of ALP, from the original constitution to course catalogs. Student work from the schools is also within this series.

Series 2 provides critical information Paros used in regards to his research, work, and writing on alternative education. News articles, clippings, seminar notes, and publications on education styles hint at the issues at the core of ALP and School One. Paros’s book, Dancing on the Contradictions is also within this series.

Inventory

Series 1. Yale Summer High School (YSHS)

1965-2010

4 boxes (3.5 linear feet)

Administrative

1965-1974

YSHS Graduation Schedule

1965 Aug 12

Box 1: 1

YSHS Internal Documents from School Year

ca.1967

Box 1: 2

YSHS Academic Year Follow-Up Evaluations

1967 Dec 13-1968 Aug 15

Box 1: 3

YSHS Notes on Interns

1968-1969

Box 1: 4

YSHS Teaching Materials

ca.1970

Box 1: 5

YSHS Evaluations Done by YSHS Students

ca.1970

Box 5: 1

YSHS Associate Director William R. Torbert: HGSE

ca.1974

Box 1: 6

Correspondence

1967-1970

YSHS Correspondence - Paros to Fleishman, Chauncey, Robinson, Edwards

1967-1968

Box 1: 7

YSHS Pre-YSHS Correspondence

1968 Apr 9

Box 1: 8

YSHS Correspondence

1968 Apr 11-15

Box 1: 9

YSHS Correspondence - re. demise

1968 July 3-1969 June 9

Box 1: 10

YSHS Correspondence - NEH Prospectus

1967 Mar 26-1968 Apr 2

Box 1: 11

YSHS Correspondence - NEH Prospectus

1968 Jan 1

Box 1: 12

YSHS Correspondence - NEH Prospectus

1967 Mar 26-1968 Mar 20

Box 1: 13

Paros and the Vietnam War - Teaching Material, Correspondence, and News Articles

ca.1967

Box 1: 14

YSHS - Paros and Students

1968 Sept 21-1970 July 8

Box 1: 15

Paros Writing

1966-2001

Duplicates

1966-1968

Box 1: 16

YSHS Black and Blue Draft - Student Consent Forms

ca.1967

Box 1: 17

YSHS Anthology Parts I-III

1968 Aug 7-1968 Aug 9

Box 1: 18

YSHS "Reflections on 'We and the Proposed Educational Corporation'"

ca.1968-1969

Box 1: 19

YSHS Pamphlets and Paros Writing

1969 June 20-1969

Box 1: 20

The Black and the Blue Draft - Post-Singer Report

ca.1969-1970

Box 1: 21

"The Black and the Blue: The Story of the Other Yale Marked Copy

ca.2001

Box 1: 22

The Black and the Blue: The Story of the Other Yale Marked Copy

ca.2001

Box 1: 23

The Black and the Blue: The Story of the Other Yale

ca.2001

Box 1: 24

The Black and the Blue: The Story of the Other Yale

ca.2001

Box 1: 25

Publications and Clippings

ca.1960-2000

YSHS - Reflections on Education: "Thoughts on the Possibility of an Educational Corporation"

ca.1960

Box 1: 26

Paros in the News by Linda Greenhouse; Pre-YSHS

ca.1960

Box 1: 27

The Ecumencial Institute: Pamphlets and Presentation Notes

Winter 1962-Spring 1965

Box 1: 28

YSHS - Newspapers/Media Pre-Paros on YSHS Education

1964-1967

Box 1: 29

Yale in the News: Bi-Weekly Digest Newspaper Clippings

1964-1968

Box 1: 30