Emily Griffith Technical College

History

Denver educator Emily Griffith (1868–1947) shared her dream of opening a school to serve people of all ages and interests with a Denver Post features writer in 1915. Following its publication, she persuaded the Post and local trolley cars to promote the idea. In May 1916, Griffith received the condemned Longfellow School at 13th and Welton Streets from the Denver Board of Education. Opportunity School opened on September 9, 1916.

By 1954, the school served 10,000 students annually and had over 400,000 alumni. Public television in Denver, directed by Jim Case, signed on January 30, 1956, from a studio in an auto body shop at the school. Funding from Denver Public Schools gradually declined over the years, leading the school to begin charging Denver residents tuition in 1991.

Courses also changed with the needs of the community, adding more English as a second language and health care courses and closing programs in shoe repair, audio/visual electronics, and precision machining in the mid-1990s.

Campus

The college operates across three campuses. The main campus, located at 1860 Lincoln Street in Denver, houses many of the school's Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, along with Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes for those seeking their GED, as well as the English Language Acquisition (ELA, also known as ESL) programs. A second campus at 1205 Osage Street houses the College of Trades and Industry, while a third campus at 2101 Arapahoe St. houses the Multimedia and Video Program.

Organization

In 1990 the Emily Griffith Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was founded to provide financial support for Emily Griffith Technical College. The foundation is governed by a board of directors. Board members are business and industry leaders, educators, and community representatives.

Academics

Emily Griffith Technical College is organized into several areas of study: the Apprenticeships Training Division, the College of Health Sciences and Administration, the College of Trades, Industry, and Professional Studies, the College of Creative Arts and Design, the Adult Basic Education program, and the Language Learning Center. The Language Learning Center is the largest English Language Acquisition (ELA) program in Colorado and serves 3,000 students a year.

Notes/references

• Brink, Carolyn. Class Acts: Stories from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School
• Faulkner, Debra. Touching Tomorrow: The Emily Griffith Story
• Lohse, Joyce. Emily Griffith: Opportunity's Teacher

References

1. (August 31, 1992). "Feature Detail Report - Emily Griffith Technical College". U.S. Geological Survey.
2. Noel, Tom. (February 25, 2006). "Griffith's life, not death, endures". Rocky Mountain News.
3. "About Us".
4. (July 8, 1946). "You Can Do It". [[Time (magazine).
5. (November 15, 1954). "Giant Classroom". Time.
6. Saunders, Dusty. (February 25, 2006). "'Frantic, fascinating, crowded' start for public TV in Denver". Rocky Mountain News.
7. (July 20, 1997). "Founder saw special school needed for adult education". Denver Post.
8. Chotzinoff, Robin. (June 7, 1995). "Tool and Die". Westword.
9. (2008–2009). "Emily Griffith Opportunity School: History and Purpose". Emily Griffith Foundation.
10. Aguilera, Elizabeth. (April 1, 2007). "English classes overflow". Denver Post.