Archie Loyd Threlkeld Papers

Archie Loyd Threlkeld, known as A. L., was born in Missouri in 1889. He was educated at Northeast Missouri State Teacher's College, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, and University of Missouri. His honorary degrees included a Doctor of Laws from the University of Denver and a Doctor of Education from the University of Colorado.

Threlkeld was Superintendent of Schools in Chillicothe, Missouri and in 1921 he was president of the Missouri State Teachers' Association. He came to Denver, Colorado in 1921 as Assistant Superintendent under Jesse H. Newlon. In 1924 he was named Deputy Superintendent, and in 1927 became Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools. He was President of the American Association of School Administrations in 1936 and1937. Threlkeld left Denver in 1937 to become Superintendent of Schools in Montclair, New Jersey. During World War II he took a leave of absence to direct the High School Victory Corps in the Federal Office of Education. He was on the faculty at the Teachers College at Columbia University from 1950 to 1952 and at Harvard Graduate School during the 1952 school year.

A. L. Threlkeld held a democratic philosophy of education and insisted on teacher participation in curriculum building and in developing administrative policies. He believed that all children, regardless of economic conditions, deserved the best possible education. The collection demonstrates the struggle to maintain educational quality during the Depression.

Threlkeld's first wife, Anna, died after they moved to Denver. He married his second wife Mary Miller in 1925. When he died in 1967, he was survived by his wife, sons Aubrey M. and Richard A., and daughter Ellen H. Threlkeld.