page_title: History of the University of Texas at Arlington (1895–1917)
section_title: Arlington Training School (1913–1916)
hierarchical_section_title: History of the University of Texas at Arlington (1895–1917) / Military training schools (1902–1917) / Arlington Training School (1913–1916)
caption_attribution_description: English: Arlington Training School, New Gymnasium and Pool.
context_page_description: The history of the University of Texas at Arlington began with the foundation of Arlington College in 1895, which was the first of a series of private schools to exist on the site of the present university. It consisted of the rough equivalent of elementary and high school levels and enrolled between 75 and 150 students on a campus that consisted initially of only a two-story schoolhouse. It was created largely due to the underfunded and generally inadequate public schools in the city, and after Arlington voters passed a proposition to create an independent school district, Arlington College closed in July 1902.
  Carlisle Military Academy was established on the same site by Col. James M. Carlisle in 1902. Although nominally a school for boys, it also accepted a "limited number" of female students. Its enrollment grew from 48 students in 1902 to 150 by 1905, and students were between the ages of 10 and 18. The school was molded by Carlisle's educational philosophy, which balanced intellectualism with military training to instill discipline in students and prepare them for enrollment in elite colleges.
context_section_description: Arlington Training School was founded by Henry Kirby Taylor in September 1913, and like its immediate predecessor it focused on offering a preparatory military school education for male students. Taylor had been born in Vanceburg, Kentucky, was educated at Kentucky Wesleyan College, and served as president or superintendent of multiple schools in Kentucky between 1883 and 1909. He served as president of Northwest State Teachers College in Maryville, Missouri, from 1909 to 1913, where he earned a reputation as a capable administrator. He left Missouri for Arlington in 1913. Taylor's son-in-law, J. J. Godbey, had served as the headmaster of Carlisle Military Academy from 1911 to 1913, and he helped convince Taylor to move to Arlington and start a new military academy in the town. After arriving in Texas, Taylor reached an agreement with Carlisle Military Academy's property owners in which he promised to improve and insure the campus's buildings, organize an advertising campaign, and employ a competent staff in exchange for being allowed to keep any profits generated and having the opportunity to purchase the school and its land outright for $18,000.
  Arlington Training School opened on the former site of Carlisle Military Academy on September 10, 1913. At its opening, it enrolled 32 students, a number considered disappointing that was caused in part by a local drought. On opening day, it also had a staff of seven, most of whom were relatives of Taylor: two were sons-in-law, two were daughters, and one was his wife. By the end of the 1913–14 academic year, enrollment had risen to 66 students. In 1914–15, 95 students attended the school, while during the 1915–16 school year, there were 93 students. In spring 1914, the school graduated three students at its first commencement ceremony. In May 1915, 10 students graduated.
  Like its immediate predecessor, Arlington Training School admitted girls as day students. It offered both academic courses and additional music classes for its female students. The school billed itself as offering military-style education with "thorough and practical courses". Conceiving itself as a place for "gentlemen's sons" and not a reformatory for "vicious boys", again similar in this regard to its predecessor, Arlington Training School emphasized developing students to be hardworking, polite, and respectful. It also required them to attend church services and Sunday school and spend an hour writing to their families on Sundays. Taylor even advertised Arlington as having "no saloons or other immoral influences."
  Arlington Training School was organized into two separate units: an intermediate unit consisting of grades four through six, and a secondary unit with grades seven through ten. To graduate, a student had to complete seventeen "units of work" at the secondary level, which met the University of Texas at Austin's entrance requirements. At the secondary level, the school offered a comprehensive curriculum with courses in mathematics, history, the sciences, English, and foreign languages, as well as vocational subjects such as agriculture, bookkeeping, and business law. Band and physical education were also offered. Board and tuition for students under 14 was $225 (later $250), and for students over 14 it was $300. Children of ministers received a 15% discount on tuition.
  Taylor organized a number of extracurricular activities for students during the 1913–14 school year, including a band, a school newspaper, and numerous athletics teams: baseball, basketball, football, and track for boys, and basketball for girls. During the 1914–15 school year, forensic clubs, literary societies, and musical groups were added to the offerings, as was tennis, which was offered for both boys and girls.
  During the 1913–14 school year, Taylor held meetings with the community to address the school's financial health, which resulted in the sale of 60 scholarships to town residents, the organization of a "Busy Men's Forum" by meeting attendees, and the creation of a board of advisors. Buoyed by this support, Taylor made pla
caption: Gymnasium and pool on the Arlington Training School campus, 1913
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "5591", "Image ImageLength": "3553", "Image BitsPerSample": "8", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "1", "Image ImageDescription": "Arlington Training School, New Gymnasium and Pool, 1913", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "1", "Image XResolution": "600", "Image YResolution": "600", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2015:04:09 15:22:49", "Image Artist": "The University of Texas at Arlington Photograph Collection", "Image ExifOffset": "376", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "514", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5315", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2400", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1406"}