Personal Papers of Henry Gardner, 1951-1984.
(Realia)

This collection has one subgroup: Arlington County Public Schools. Allthe material relates to this topic. All the material in this collection was either produced by the school system or received by the school system. This is a small collection offering a snapshot of the type of issues Henry Gardner dealt with during his career with the school system.

Please contact the Center for Local History in advance to view these materials. There are no research restrictions.

During Henry Gardner's tenure, the school system and the County experienced tremendous changes. In 1959, the County began integration, a process not completed until 1971 when the last two all Black schools were desegregated. Gardner also witnessed the influx of immigrant children and the challenges this brought to the school system. This collection contains material related to personnel issues in the Arlington County Public Schools including salary, desegregation, and staffing and discipline issues. There is also a file related to the predicted threat communism posed to the schools in the 1950s. One extremely useful tool housed in this collection is an index to the School Board minutes. This index and the minute books are housed in the Virginia Room.

Henry Gardner began is forty-two year career with the Arlington County Public School system as a special education teacher in 1956. He spent the majority of his career as the head of personnel. As the Assistant Superintendent, Gardner had responsibility for among other things, the overall management of employment, payroll, benefits, and the Employee Assistance Program. Since his retirement in 1998, Gardner has kept himself involved in education by serving as a consultant for various educational programs in Curacao, El Salvador, and Brazil.

Finding aid is available in the library.