|
| Affiliation | Democratic |
|
| |
1922-01-01 |
|
|
| Name | Inez Johnson Lewis |
| Address |
Denver, Colorado , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
00, 1875
|
| Died | January 00, 1964
(89 years)
|
| Contributor | BrentinCO |
| Last Modifed | BrentinCO
Aug 03, 2018 11:04pm |
| Tags |
|
| Info | Namesake of the Inez Johnson Lewis Elementary School in Monument, CO which is listed on the Registry of National Historic Places.
Inez Johnson Lewis was born in 1875, in Stone County, Missouri, the daughter of Mrs. Florence Adah Nelson Johnson and Att. John Mitchell Johnson. Her father was a graduate of West Point and served as a captain in the army during the Civil War. He moved to Colorado Springs, January 12, 1893, where he practiced law as an attorney for over twenty years. Her mother died while she was young and she raised her two younger sisters, Mary Elizabeth Johnson (Stubbs) and Phoebe Rossa Johnson (Mosher). Inez J. Lewis married Harry Lewis on Dec.26, 1910. They had no children. After his death in 1923, she maintained contact with his parents, Mrs. and Mr. Henry Lewis, his two sisters, Ada Evelyn Lewis and Marie Lewis, and his brother J. Frederick Lewis.
Inez Johnson Lewis attended Colorado College in 1914, graduated in 1928, and taught summer school at Colorado College in 1929. She received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Colorado College in 1937. In July/August 1929, Ms. Lewis was a delegate from Colorado to the World Federation of Education Association in Geneva, Switzerland. Inez Johnson Lewis later obtained a Masters in School Administration from Colombia University and an honorary doctor of Education degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Inez Johnson Lewis taught eight years in the city schools, Steele and Lowell. She became El Paso County Superintendent of Schools in 1915 and served seven consecutive terms. In 1928 she ran for State Superintendent of Public Instruction and, though defeated in 1928, she won the election in 1930 and remained State Superintendent until 1946.
During her terms as El Paso County Superintendent she inaugurated the system of Consolidated Schools which led to many improvements. The curriculum was expanded to include music and athletics. Also, transportation of children to and from school was developed, a county library system was begun, committees were appointed to investigate text books, a county health program was initiated and hot lunches became a part of the school day in 75% of the county schools. In recognition of her efforts in consolidating the schools, the Inez Johnson Lewis Consolidated School at Monument was named after her and opened in 1920.
While Inez Johnson Lewis held the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, she published, in 1936, an Elementary Course of Study for the state of Colorado that was rated by Colombia University as one of the three best in the entire United States. It was revised in 1942. She also developed a High School Course of Study and a course of Study in the Conservation of the Natural Resources of the State (See Lewis, Inez Johnson, Colorado. Department of Education. Colorado's Wealth: a bulletin on conservation of natural resources. Denver: 1941? 136p. illus. 23cm). She also wrote a Safety Course of Study for the Highschools. She initiated Adult Education, Nursery schools program, child care for working mothers, and the State wide library service was extended to rural areas through the use of "bookmobiles".
Between 1943 1945 education bills were introduced in the Colorado legislature such as teacher tenure law, statewide retirement plan for teachers and there was some increase in teacher's salaries.
Inez Johnson Lewis served as president of the Colorado Education Association and of the National Council of Women in Administration. She served as vice president of the National Council of Chief State School Officers, composed of the State Superintendents of Public Instruction of various states. For several years she served as a member of the Colorado Child Welfare Board.
Ms. Lewis also served as vice chairman of the school educational committee of the Colorado Congress of Parents and Teachers, Educational Chairman of the State Branch of American Association of University Women, and chairman of Public Instruction. By right of ancestry, Inez Johnson Lewis was a member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Inez Johnson Lewis died in January of 1964.
[Link] |
 | BOOKS |
 |
|
| Title |
Purchase |
Contributor |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
| INFORMATION LINKS |
|
|
|
