Lucy Miller Mitchell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucy Miller Mitchell
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Lucy Miller
January 11, 1899 Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
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| Died | January 10, 2002 (aged 102) New Rochelle, New York, U.S.
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| Known for | Early childhood education |
Lucy Miller Mitchell (1899 – 2002) was a very important person in early childhood education. She was also a community activist from Boston. She helped the state of Massachusetts create rules for day care centers. Many people say she made the day care system in Massachusetts much better and more modern.
Early Life and Learning Journey
Lucy Miller was born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1899. She was the youngest of four children. She went to the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute. Later, she graduated from Talladega College in 1922. That same year, she was a teacher at the Daytona School.
Soon after, she married Joseph S. Mitchell, who was an attorney. They moved to the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. While raising her two children, Joseph and Laura, she continued her studies. She took classes at the Nursery Training School. There, she learned from Abigail Adams Eliot, a pioneer in nursery school education. In 1935, she earned a master's degree in early childhood education from Boston University.
Her husband, Joseph S. Mitchell, was an assistant attorney general for Massachusetts from 1945 to 1949. He was also a playwright. Their son, Joseph S. Mitchell, Jr., became a superior court judge in Massachusetts in 1966. He was the second African American to hold this position in the state.
Making a Difference: Lucy Mitchell's Career
From 1932 to 1953, Lucy Mitchell directed the nursery school at Robert Gould Shaw House. This was a community center that helped people. Under her leadership, the school became a top example for others. Student teachers would visit to learn and practice there. She also helped start Associated Day Care Services of Metropolitan Boston. Later, she became its educational director and acting executive director.
In 1953, the governor of Massachusetts, Christian Herter, asked her to join a special group. This group was formed to study how to license day care centers. After many years of hard work and advocating for change, a state law for licensing day care centers was passed in 1962. This happened under Governor Volpe. After the law passed, Mitchell worked with the Massachusetts Department of Education. She helped create affordable training courses for people who worked in day care. She is seen as a true pioneer in early childhood education.
Even after retiring from Associated Day Care Services, Lucy Mitchell stayed busy. She trained Peace Corps volunteers to work with children. She also advised the national Head Start Program. She helped start the Head Start program in Boston. She worked with Muriel S. Snowden to create Freedom House in Roxbury. She was also the president of the Boston Association for the Education of Young Children. She served on the boards of many groups, including the Boston YWCA. Lucy Mitchell passed away in a nursing home in New Rochelle, New York, just before her 103rd birthday.
Awards and Recognition
In 1977, Lucy Mitchell's life story was recorded for the Black Women Oral History Project. This project is at the Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe College. In 1979, the City of Boston gave her a Distinguished Citizen Award. She received an honorary degree from Wheelock College in 1988. Her home on Waumbeck Street in Roxbury is now a stop on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
