DAR Schools 
Kate Duncan Smith DAR School
Located atop Gunter Mountain in the foothills of the Appalachian
Mountains in Northeast Alabama Kate Duncan Smith was founded, in 1924 by the
Alabama Society of the DAR and is a non-profit corporation that has partnered
with the Marshall County Board of Education to provide education for children
in grades kindergarten to 12th who otherwise would not have the
opportunity for an education. Many of these children come from broken or
dysfunctional homes and are given clothing, school supplies, and health
care. There are more than 1,100 students
who are fed breakfast and lunch, with 60 % of the student body receiving a
reduced or free lunch each day. The DAR
sponsors several programs, one of which is the Student Health Program. This
program provides children with health care when their families can’t afford it.
Tamassee DAR School
Located in the mountains of northwestern South Carolina, Tamassee
was founded in 1917 as a school for girls who were faced with a life of
poverty. Today the school provides a
home for both girls and boys who come from a life of abuse, neglect, or
misunderstanding. The goals of the
school are to provide a home, education, and skills needed as an adult. The school houses 70 children and also
provides a Children’s Development Center with day-care, preschool, and
after-school programs for children 6 months to 12 years.
Berry College
Berry School was started in a
log cabin as a Sunday school for young people in the hills of Georgia. When the school outgrew the log cabin, they
moved to the Possum Trot Church where they also started a day school. In 1902, they formed a boarding school for
boys and girls who did not have the opportunity for an education. Students with limited or no funds were still
admitted, but were given tasks around the campus to pay part or all of their
tuition. Berry’s mission is comprised of three parts: to educate the head,
heart, and hands. In 1926, a college was started and today educates about 1,700
students in three undergraduate programs.
Due to declining enrollment, the high school was closed, but the college
remains. Berry also still serves as a
preschool, children’s development center, and an elementary school for 170
children.
Crossnore School
Located in the Blue Ridge
Mountains of North Carolina, Crossnore was founded in 1913 and houses children
ages 4 to 20. The school not only
provides an education, but emotional and physical support as well as Christian
development for children in crisis. The
students live in a cottage with no more than 8 or 9 others and are responsible
for their own room and belongings. There are two programs available: first,
“residential care” where students are given a secure and loving environment
until they are returned to their families.
The average stay in this program is one year or until the family can
provide the same loving care. The second
program is “life.” This program provides
long-term care where students learn skills necessary for living an independent
life. Many of these students stay at
Crossnore until they graduate high school.
Hillside School
Hillside located
in Marlborough Massachusetts and was founded in 1901 as a home/farm for
homeless boys. The school’s purpose is
to help the boys understand their full potential by teaching traditional values
and providing education skills for 120
boys grades 5 to 9 in preparation for high school. The Hillside School has a
program called “Life.” This program
helps the boys learn the value of how to help others. The boys spend time in a nursing home,
participate in social projects, read and play with children in the Head Start
programs, and assist volunteers with projects in the local community. Most of the boys live on campus, and, upon
graduation, eighty percent attended a private school in the New England area.
Hindman Settlement School
Located in Hindman
Kentucky, and founded in 1902, it is a
non-profit, non-denominational school that provides an education for both girls
and boys who might not have the opportunity.
The main focus of the school is to work with children who have dyslexia. East Kentucky Tutorial Program is an
after-school program that meets 3.5 hours each week for 13 weeks and has worked
with more the 1,300 students. James
Still Learning Center is a full-time elementary school for children with
dyslexia and is the only one of its kind for 200 miles. Hindman also has an Adult Learning Center
that works with 200- 250 people to obtain their GED or basic literacy
skills. In the fourteen years since its
inception this program has helped over 800 people achieve their GEDs.
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Last Updated 6/15/2010