Do you research school records? I'm not talking about yearbooks. Those can be found on the Yearbooks Page. I'm talking about actual school records, such as enrollment, attendance, and grade reports for example. These are interesting source documents because they might record the students age, birth date and location, and possibly their parents names. All great ways to find this information if you haven't found them in other documents about your target ancestor. Besides, finding out your grandmother's grades would be interesting!
The record collection links, listed below, feature school records from the state, and list collections of records that are available for free online.
If you wish to get educated with some basic information regarding what is available and how to navigate your research for school records, you can read these summaries:
- 5 Quick Tips to Get the Most Out of Education Records
- Top 10 Strategies for Finding School Records for Genealogy
- Getting Started With School Records for Genealogy Research
So, what types of records related to schools are maintained and often available?
- School Census
- School Catalogs
- Teacher's Registers
- Attendance Records
- Report Cards
- Class Logs
- Teacher Rosters
- School Board Meetings/Reports
- Academic Team and Class Photos
- Local Newspaper Articles:
- - Graduation Lists
- - School Activities
- - School Sports
- Student Newspapers
- Alumni Directories and Publications
- Yearbooks
- Yearbook Indexes
And, what types of information can you derive from these school records?
- Name (often includes middle name which is useful).
- Age
- Physical Characteristics - color/race, disability.
- Birth Date
- Current Residence Address
- Name of Father
- Name of Mother
- Occupations of parents
- Grades
- Classes Taken
- Activities (from Photos)
- Date left school (can help with family residence relocation)
Below is a list of links to free online school record collections for the state;
Note: Some of the links go to sites with not much information and some go to sites with an extensive set of records.
Note: Some of the links listed below take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections' images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital.
(Updated July, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD):
- 1881 Spencerian Business College Graduates
- 1888 Miners Teachers College Graduates
- 1889 Spencerian Business College Graduates
- 1892 Business High Grads
- 1893 Business High Grads
- 1894 Business High Grads
- 1894 Sidwell Friends Graduates
- 1895 Business High Grads
- 1895 Central High School Graduating Class
- 1896 Business High Grads
- 1897 Spencerian Business College Graduates
- 1898 Business High Grads
- 1899 Sidwell Friends Graduates
- 1900 Business High Grads
- 1900 Central High School Graduating Class
- 1901 Business High Grads
- 1901 Central High School Graduating Class
- 1911 Central High School Graduating Class
- 1912 Business High School Grads
- 1913 Central High School Graduating Class
- 1914 Business High Grads
- 1914 Central High School Graduating Class
- 1922 Business High School Grads
- 1930 Dunbar High School Graduating Class
- 1930 Dunbar High School Graduating Class
- 1940 Fairmont School and Junior College Students
- Armstrong High School 1920 Archives
- Armstrong High School 1931 Archives
- Business High School-1912 Index of Names
- Business High School-1922 Index of Names
- Central High School-1895 Graduates
- Central High School-1911 Index of Names
- Central High School-1922 Index of Names
- Dunbar High School-1926 Yearbook Index of Names
- Eastern High School 1895 Graduating Class
- Eastern High School 1900 Graduating Class
- Eastern High School 1901 Graduating Class
- Eastern High School 1926 Grads
- Eastern High School 1930 Grads
- Eastern High School 1937 Grads
- Eastern High School-1895 Graduates
- Eastern High School-1926 Yearbook Index of Names
- Eastern High School-1930 Yearbook Index of Names
- Eastern High School-1937 Yearbook Index of Names
- Eastern High School-Photos
- Emerson Institute 1888 Graduates
- Fairmont College-1940 Yearbook Index of Names
- Franklin School 1889 Grade School Graduates
- Gales School 1889 Grade School Graduates
- Gales School 1914 Grade School Graduates
- Georgetown College, History and Graduate List
- Georgetown University-1911 Law Dept Commencement Program
- Historic African American Schools-1878 Howard University Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1879 African American High School Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1888 African American Normal and High School Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1889 Howard University Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1889 Howard University Law School Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1889 Howard University Male Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1892 Howard University Graduates
- Historic African American Schools-1897 Women's League Kindergarten Training School Graduates
- National University-1911 Law School Commencement Program
- Negro High School 1888 Graduates
- Snowden School 1909 College Graduates
- Stevens 1889 Grade School Graduates
- Sumner 1889 Grade School Graduates
- Washington High School 1883 Graduates
- Washington High School 1886 Graduates
- Washington High School 1888 Graduates
- Washington Normal School 1886 Graduates
- Washington Normal School 1888 Graduates
- Webster School 1889 Grade School Graduates
- Webster School 1914 Grade School Graduates
- Western High 1895 Graduating Class
- Western High 1900 Graduating Class
- Western High 1901 Graduating Class
- Western High 1928 Graduating Class
- Western High School-1895 Graduates
- Western High School-1928 Yearbook Index of Names
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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