Elsie Ripley Clapp (1879-1965)

The Author: Sam F. Stack, Jr. is Associate Professor of Social and Cultural Foundations at West Virginia University. He received his Ph.D. in social and cultural foundations of education from the University of South Carolina. He has published widely in professional journals and in various monographs chronicling the history of progressive education and the applications of John Dewey’s thought.

«‘Elsie Ripley Clapp (1879-1965): Her Life and the Community School’ by Sam F. Stack, Jr. offers us an illuminating entrance not only into Clapp’s life, work, and thought but also into a period of educational transition that is frequently studied but often misunderstood. We are indebted to him for his balanced and thorough research as well as his telling the story of Clapp’s work, especially her emphasis on community and schooling. No doubt his research will become the standard work on her for decades to come and serve as a model for writing an educational biography.» (Douglas J. Simpson, Professor and Helen DeVitt Jones Chair, College of Education, Texas Tech University)