History of IDS

The IDS mission was to provide a nonsectarian, coeducation in kindergarten through eighth grade to 140 students. Class sizes were limited to 15 students, and development of individual capabilities and a love of learning were the goals. The admission process was acknowledged to be "a bit selective", but local media emphasized that the school did not see itself as "progressive". It was to have a conventional system of classes using "methods that have been of proved benefit".

By all accounts, IDS was a challenging, creative, and fun place to be in the early 1970s. The cultural revolution of the Sixties had loosened up American society, and IDS was no exception. In 1969 the strict dress code of jacket and tie for boys and skirt or dress for girls was dropped. A pottery kiln and greenhouse were added, and letter grades were dropped in favor of written evaluations. Many young and idealistic people joined the faculty, education was becoming more creative, and close relationships developed between teachers and families.

Roger Nelson was replaced in July of 1973 by Alan Blackmer, Jr. A young educator who had been a teacher in Africa with the Peace Corps, Blackmer was young, idealistic, and eager to take on the challenges IDS presented. The board of trustees approved the gradual conversion to open education beginning with the institution of a team-teaching approach in 1973. Their decision, however, was based on practical motivations as much as educational ideals as a number classes were small and combining the first, second, and third grades into a single Primary Unit became a necessity. The middle and upper schools maintained their more traditional classroom organization while incorporating team-teaching and an interdisciplinary approach. Students in all grades were expected to guide their own learning to some degree and teamwork became the buzz word.

Gradually enrollment increased as the 70’s drew to a close and many of IDS’s best loved traditions were established during this period. The Auction was instituted to benefit the Scholarship Fund in 1975. It proved an immediate success, raising approximately $25,000 by offering the innovative items still available today. The first Grandparent's Day was held in 1975 and the Science Fair became an annual event in 1977. All-day Kindergarten was first offered in 1979, the same year the first Summer Camp opened.

Students, under the direction of science teacher Helge Birk, cleared the Nature Trail in 1974 and built bridges along the school's back property to learn about regional flora and fauna. Sometimes the rural nature of the neighborhood imposed itself on IDS. On one occasion a bull got loose from a nearby pasture and charged into the playground filled with lower school children. Kids scrambled onto the monkey bars while Mr. Blackmer enlisted the aid of a student with farm experience who successfully held onto the bull until its owner came to claim it. Both received Certificate of Merit awards!

By the time Norman Jason took over as headmaster in 1979, IDS had moved away from the open classroom model and begun emphasizing challenging academics and respectful values. A steady increase in the school's population brought enrollment to 130 by 1985. It was during this era that the language program was expanded and the first Secondary School Fair was offered. All School Meeting was instituted and until 1988 the entire school community managed to meet each Wednesday in the All Purpose Room.

Walter Ebmeyer became headmaster in 1985 and oversaw the school's growth during the next ten years. A preschool was added in 1988 and increasing enrollment required most grades to be split into two homerooms. The campus facilities began to feel the strain. One modular building was brought in to accommodate the nursery school and another one housed music classes.

In the fall of 1990 the new Science & Arts Center (SAC) provided two new classrooms, two art rooms, and two science classrooms and laboratories. IDS's enrollment reached an all-time high of 243 children in 1993. During Mr. Ebmeyer's tenure it became a tradition for each grade to perform a play or musical during the course of the school year. The After-School Program was instituted in 1985 and a full-time custodian was hired. Mr. Ebmeyer is probably best remembered by students, however, for his family pets. Buster, the errant Beagle, and Otto and Rosie, the lunch-grabbing Golden Retrievers, became beloved members of the IDS community.