Training School

User Note: Look towards the south side of Heritage Hall, which is now used as a parking lot, for the former site of the Training School.

Since Western began as a school for teachers, it seemed fitting for the campus to have its own training school on site. The new structure officially opened in Fall 1909 and, with over 35,000 square feet, had accommodations for kindergarten through 8th grade. As a Normal School, Western offered three programs for students to become teachers, which included a life certificate program, a three-year certificate program, and a rural school course program. When first constructed, the Training School was separate from the Administration Building, which lasted until the late 1940s when an annex was built to bridge the gap. Since having an internship or student teaching experience was a requirement of the curriculum, having a Training School on campus was very beneficial to Western students and allowed them to get professional teaching experience.

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In 1908, over $60,000 was appropriated by the state legislature for a new structure to be built on Western’s campus. This building, which would not be attached to the Administration Building, would house classrooms and office spaces for the Training School. The contract was awarded to E.W. Arnold who also built the original Administration Building and gymnasium addition. Between the founding of the Western State Normal School and the construction of the Training School, teaching classes took place in city school buildings before being moved to their new home atop Prospect Hill.

In the building, the classrooms were organized around a central rotunda on both floors that allowed for interactions between faculty and students. This space was heavily utilized by students and provided space to fulfill the teaching experience requirement of the curriculum. The Western State Normal School offered three programs for students to become teachers, which required students to hold an internship in a school or student teaching experience. By having an on-campus school, students were able to work with school children without having to leave campus.

The Training School also had a cafeteria in the basement that was overseen by Grace Moore and temporarily used as a mess hall for Student Army Training Corps trainees during World War 1. When it was first constructed, the Training School was not connected to the Administration Building, which lasted until an annex was constructed in 1948. This replaced the uncovered bridge, known as the Bridge of Sighs, that was used by students and faculty to go between buildings. In 2010, the Training School was demolished to make room for the new Heritage Hall Alumni Center that was built in 2015.

Knauss, James O. The First Fifty Years: A History of Western Michigan College of Education, 1903-1953. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan College of Education, 1953. 

University Libraries. Rep. Campus Building Inventory - Yearly Summary, n.d. 

Stine, Leo C. Western - A Twentieth Century University. Kalamazoo, MI: New Issues Press WMU, 1980. 

Carlson, Sharon; Glatz, Jason, WMU Facilities Management. “WMU Campus History” [storymap], https://campus-history.library.wmich.edu/index.html. (Accessed February 17, 2022) 

Massie, Larry B. Brown and Golden Memories: Western Michigan University's First Century. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University, 2003.