Scattergood History

Scattergood Friends School is a coeducational college preparatory boarding high school located near West Branch, Iowa. Encompassing a 27-acre campus, a 65-acre farm, and a 35-acre prairie, this rural school has the capacity for approximately 60 boarding students and a few day students in grades 9 through 12. Owned and operated by the Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Conservative), Scattergood Friends School was founded in 1890 by local members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Conceived from the beginning as a boarding school, members of the Quaker faith recommended that the school be created where Quaker children could receive a "guarded education", and be shielded from "early knowledge, or contact with, the evils of the world."

In 1917, the Iowa Yearly Meeting took over ownership and began to build up the school. New buildings were erected, from a library to a gymnasium, and many modern improvements were introduced. However, the school faced economic hardships, and in the wake of a national Depression of 1929, the School Committee in conjunction with the Iowa Yearly Meeting decided to close the school in 1931. While there was hope that the school could reopen in 1932, the School Committee concluded that “the financial condition of the country was such that it did not seem advisable to reopen the school at this time."

However, the war in Europe engulfed the hearts and minds of an entire nation and the doors of Scattergood Friends School were not closed for long. As tales of Nazi atrocities reached Friends in the United States, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) suggested in 1938 that the Scattergood campus be utilized as a hostel for European refugees. The campus was renovated with funds from Conservative Friends and the first refugees arrived in 1940. While many of the refugees had some Jewish ancestry, there was also a sizable group who had been forced to flee for political reasons. Although the school was operating as a hostel, the spirit of a Quaker boarding school community was still present. Refugees took English classes, cultivated gardens for food, and established a rotating work crew. In 1943, the hostel closed. However, the spirit of the successful hostel carried on when members of the Young Friends of Iowa Yearly Meeting suggested that the school reopen in 1944.
Learn more about the Scattergood hostel.

In September of 1944, under the direction of Leanore Goodenow, twenty-two students were enrolled at Scattergood. Leanore's leadership left a lasting mark on Scattergood. During her tenure as Head of Scattergood Friends School (1944-1968), Leanore personally raised money for the construction of the Instruction Building, a new boys' dormitory, a new Main Building, staff housing and several other structures on campus and on the farm. In addition, Leanore assured Scattergood's place in Education in the State of Iowa by lobbying for and getting passed Senate File 695 in 1966. This file, now Iowa Code 257.25, established an exception to schools being required to have state certified teachers as long as the school complies with all other minimum requirements and maintains a standard of 80% of graduating seniors being accepted to four-year accredited colleges. Though Leanore attempted to retire in 1966, the School Committee (school board) vetoed her decision and begged her to come back. Lenore stayed and cemented her legacy by spear-heading an effort to raise additional funds for the school over the next year and a half. In 1968, she retired, leaving behind her a legacy that still benefits students and staff of the school to this day.

In the 1960s, Scattergood faced the dilemma of integrating the school into mainstream society without losing the community spirit and Quaker values of the school. The idea of a "guarded education" held by Scattergood's early founders came into direct conflict with the social trends of the 1960s. However, there was a real effort among Scattergood staff and Committee members to bring Scattergood up to speed with the outside world while maintaining the close-knit community spirit of the school. Eventually Scattergood students were allowed more freedoms concerning music, dancing, movies, clothes, length of hair, and basic student rights.

In 1971-1972, staff and School Committee members worked together to evaluate Scattergood with the help of other non-Quaker educators. The purpose was to gain an objective view of the school from beyond the School's community, and receive commentary on the changes taking place. This self-study resulted in a twenty-two-page document, which analyzed and gave voice to a number of important issues within the community. The study also resulted in a number of changes for the school. The school implemented such changes during the 1970s as: more involvement in Iowa City through service projects and town trips, a month-long service trip to Mexico, and a strengthening of the Friends-in-Residence program.

In the early 1990's Scattergood applied for accreditation through the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). This process involved an in-depth self study, and the formation of a Long Range Plan with goals and objectives for the future. This living, breathing document and the ongoing cycle of ISACS accreditation review continue to guide the school in its mission.

The introduction of computers in the 1980's and the laptop program in 2000 brought into sharper focus the issue of balance between the popular culture found in the media and the world all around us with the insular community that forms on campus. Every year we expect to work on issues of respect, tolerance, balance and spirituality as we bring individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures and expectations to work, play and live together.