W. D. Smith Collection
Collection 195
Smith, W.D. (1896–1977). Collection, 1939–1999, n.d.
7 ½ inches
W.D. Smith (William David) was an educator. He was born on 15 March 1896 in Colfax, Louisiana to Rev. Lorenza Smith and Peggy Ware Smith. On 13 November 1938, he married Mary Eleanor Baker. He served in the United States Army during World War I including overseas duty. While a student he worked as a porter on trains. Smith received his B.S. at Southern University, his M.A. from Columbia University. He furthered his studies at Hampton College and Stanford University, where he worked on Committee for the Improvement of Curriculum Development.
His educational career started as a teacher in Lafayette Parish Public Schools. In 1938 he became principal of Vermilion Street School which evolved in the Lafayette Parish Training School in which later was called Paul Breaux High School in Lafayette. For many years this was the only school for African Americans in Lafayette. He retired in 1967.
He belonged to many organizations including the National Education Association, Louisiana Teachers Association, Southwest Male Principals Association, National Retired Teachers Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and Prince Hall Mason Order. He was active in Good Hope Baptist Church, where he served on the board of deacons and taught adult Sunday School classes. He died 3 March 1977. He is buried in Good Hope Cemetery, Lafayette.
This collection consists of teaching material, correspondence, photographs, notes on education and race, a yearbook of Paul Breaux School, and other miscellaneous material.
Series:
| A. | Material on Education | |||
| 1. | Collegiate Work | 1-01 | ||
| 2. | Notes on Education and Race | 1-02 | ||
| B. | Teaching Material | |||
| 1. | Teaching Notes | 1-03 through 1-08 | ||
| 2. | Paul Breaux School | |||
| a. | Yearbook | 1-09 | ||
| b. | Photographs | 1-10 | ||
| c. | Clippings | 1-11 | ||
| C. | Personal | |||
| 1. | Articles | 1-12 through 1-13 | ||
| 2. | Correspondence | 1-14 | ||
| 3. | Certificate | 1-15 | ||
| 4. | Funeral Program | 1-16 | ||
| D. | Published Material | |||
| 1. | Grambling College | 1-17 | ||
| 2. | Southern University | 1-18 | ||
| 3. | Columbia University | 1-19 | ||
| 4. | Dillard University | 1-20 | ||
| 5. | Miscellaneous | 2-01 through 2-04 | ||
Inventory:
| Box 1 | |
| A. Material on Education | |
| 1-01 | Collegiate work: Educational Material, “Teaching and Remedial Work in Reading, Outline and Bibliography; “Improving of Reading of Students in our School Session, 1943-44", by W.D. Smith; “Annotated Bibliography "by William D. Smith, Education 207H; “Especially helpful references” & “Corrective materials”, (helpful material) |
| 1-02 | Notes on Education and Race, miscellaneous material: “Your Child and His Knowledge of School Requirements”, “Ideas”, “Negro Woman”, etc. |
| B. Teaching Material | |
| 1-03 | Teaching notes: “Reading”, assorted material, n.d. |
| 1-04 | Teaching notes: “Mathematics”, “Suggestions for Teaching Mathematics at Paul Breaux High", n.d. (1 item) |
| 1-05 | Teaching notes: “P.E.", 1960-1963 |
| 1-06 | Teaching notes: “miscellaneous”, teamwork; faculty meeting discussions, 2/28/62 |
| 1-07 | Teaching notes: “miscellaneous”, philosophy; How to study, n.d. |
| 1-08 | Teaching notes: “miscellaneous documents”, Teaching/Evaluations, n.d. |
| 1-09 | Yearbook: Paul Breaux High School yearbook: 1960 |
| C. Personal | |
| 1-10 | Photographs: school, n.d. |
| 1-11 | Clippings, n.d. |
| 1-12 | Clippings: "Mary Baker Smith Day Declared", (wife of W.D. Smith), Les Bons Jours, May 1999 |
| 1-13 | Clippings: "The Legacy of W.D. Smith", n.d. |
| 1-14 | Correspondence: 1939-1969 |
| 1-15 | Certificate: The Louisiana Division of Employment Security certify that W.D. Smith has been officially appointed and is hereby duly authorized to serve as a member of the Area Manpower Advisory Committee in and for the Parish of Lafayette Labor Area. 17 December 1965 |
| 1-15a | Speech: Brief: Paul Breaux School, aka LPTS (Lafayette Parish Trade School), given by Jeffery Landry, n.d. |
| 1-16 | Funeral Program: W.D. Smith, funeral services at Good Hope Baptist Church, Corner of Magnolia & Eighteenth Streets, Lafayette, LA. 8 March 1977. Dr. A.D.Teno, Jr., Pastor |
| D. Published Material | |
| 1-17 | Grambling College: “Rating Others in Your Group" (Sidney S. Boose), n.d. (1 item) |
| 1-18 | Southern University: “The Status of Corrective Reading Instruction in a Selected Group of Negro Public Schools of Louisiana", by Leonard H.O. Spearman, Southern University”; “The Reading Performance of Some Negro College Students", by Leander L. Boykin, Southern University; Education 542, A Report, by Mrs. S.D. Mack, Southern University Graduate School, by Ruth B. Hayes, April 1964 |
| 1-19 | Columbia University: “Providing Special Help to Retarded Readers", by Ruth Strang, 1948; “Improvement of Reading in Secondary Schools", by Ruth Strang, 1943; “Why Special Classes for Seriously Retarded Readers?" by Ruth Strange, 1948 |
| 1-20 | Dillard University: "The Role of the High School Principal in Improving Instruction, a bibliography of materials in the library", "The Principals Workshop", March 24-26, 1959, by Ernest C. Wagner, Librarian; “High School Principals’ Workshop, summary report", March 28-30, 1961 |
| Box 2 | |
| 2-01 | Miscellaneous: Louisiana Council on Human Relations, Newsletter, v.6, no.4 (no date) |
| 2-02 | Miscellaneous: Civil Rights, “What the Negro Has— And Has Not— Gained”, Time magazine, October 28, 1966, pp. 32-33 |
| 2-03 | Miscellaneous: W.D. Smith (took notes), reference material, “The Status of the Secondary Curriculum, 1960- 61" |
| 2-04 | Miscellaneous, W.D. Smith, reference material, “A New Design for High School Education Assuming a Flexible Schedule", Preliminary Draft, July 1961 |