Alums of the Demonstration School Return to Campus

Steve Shapiro and Robert Wellen returned to NJCU's campus with their spouses this fall to see how the place had changed since their time here.  Of note, they graduated from the Demonstration School (Grades K-6) that was housed in Hepburn Hall during the 1950’s.  One of the highlights of their visit was a chance to meet with NJCU's President Sue Henderson.

The Demonstration School was built to accommodate 1,000 students in eight rooms housed in one building--Hepburn Hall, located on ten acres on what was then Hudson Boulevard. In 1929, the New Jersey State Normal School at Jersey City was opened and immediately expanded its two-year teacher education curricula, making it the only teacher preparation program in the United States to offer a three-year program. In 1958, the institition was renamed Jersey City State College and authorized to grant bachelor of arts degrees tostudents who completed the teacher education program.  In 1965, the college began to offer bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts and in 1998, the college was granted university status and renamed New Jersey City University.