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 Memorial
Service Planned for High Scope Founder David Weikart
Press Release from the High/Scope Foundation, 600 North
River Street, Ypsilanti , MI 48198-2898; For more information,
contact Clay Shouse at 734-485-2000, ext. 221
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David P. Weikart: 1931–2003
Founder and President-Emeritus of High/Scope Educational
Research Foundation Dies
The staff and Board of Directors of the High/Scope Educational
Research Foundation, with deep sorrow, announce the death of.
Dr. David P. Weikart, founder and president-emeritus of
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti,
Michigan. Dr. Weikart died December 9, 2003, after a long
struggle with leukemia.
He was born August 26, 1931, in Youngstown, OH, and was the son
of Hubert and Catherine Weikart. On August 24, 1957, he married
Phyllis Saxton. He served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corp from
1953-1955. Survivors include his wife, four daughters, Cynthia
Weikart Embry (Dale) of Clinton, MI, Catherine Weikart Yeckel
(Mark) of Hamden, CT, Jennifer Weikart Danko (Vince) of
Vermilion, OH, and Gretchen Weikart of Howell, MI; six
grandchildren, Brian and Steven Embry, and Zachary, Jacob,
Nathan, and Allison Danko; one sister, Emily Burde of
Plattsburg, NY; and two brothers, Hubert of Lake St. Louis, MO,
and James of Dobbs Ferry, NY.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, December 14, 2003, at
the Morris Lawrence Building, Washtenaw Community College, 4800
East Huron River Dr., Ann Arbor, MI, at 2 p.m. Visitation will
be from noon until the service. (For directions, please contact
High/Scope Foundation at 734-485-2000, ext. 245.) In lieu of
flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either
the David and Phyllis Weikart Fund/Retreat and Meeting Center or
to the Education Through Movement: Building the Foundation
Endowment held at the Community Foundation for Southeastern
Michigan. (Checks with the specific fund designated can be made
payable to High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, 600 N.
River St., Ypsilanti, MI 48198-2898.)
From the early 1960's until his retirement in January 2000, Dr.
Weikart worked with dedication, drive, and unflagging
perseverance to better the lives of children and families
worldwide. He founded the High/Scope Foundation in 1970 as an
independent, nonprofit research and development organization
based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and served as both President of
the Foundation and Chairman of the High/Scope Board. Best known
for its world-renowned educational approach, High/Scope remains
at the forefront of educational reform and improvement efforts
both in this country and in other parts of the world, in large
part due to the tireless efforts of David Weikart to find
effective means to educate children, help families and
communities, and influence decision makers. Lawrence Schweinhart,
High/Scope President, states, “David Weikart’s influence on
children and families throughout the world has been
extraordinary. We will do all that we can to live up to his
legacy.”
While working for the Ypsilanti Public Schools, Dr. Weikart
established two of the most important studies of the long-term
effects of early childhood education on children’s lives—the
High/Scope Perry Preschool Project (1962-1967) and the
High/Scope Curriculum Comparison Project (1967-1970). Follow-ups
of these two studies continue to the present day. These seminal
research studies have been influential in the continuation and
expansion of the national Head Start program and other preschool
education programs.
Dr. Weikart also spearheaded the development of effective
educational programs for infants and toddlers, preschoolers,
elementary-aged children, and adolescents. In addition, he and
his staff developed extensive adult training programs to meet
the needs of today’s educators and child care providers and to
assist them in implementing the High/Scope educational approach.
He also gave his wholehearted support and endorsement to his
wife, Phyllis, in her efforts to develop the Education Through
Movement: Building the Foundation program.
As Coordinator of the International Association for the
Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Preprimary Study
headquartered in The Netherlands, Dr. Weikart was influential in
studying child care and education programs in 17 countries,
including the United States. He served on the Boards of the
National Center for Family Literacy and Michigan’s Children and
was a member of the National Commission on Children from 1989
through 1993. He was invited to present information and research
findings on the value of early childhood education before
numerous Congressional committees and federal, state, and local
government organizations, agencies, and private foundations. A
prolific author and editor, Dr. Weikart’s published works are
well known, especially in the field of early childhood
education, and he recently completed How High/Scope Grew: A
Memoir.
Dr. Weikart received many awards and honors, including the Lela
Rowland Award, an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Oberlin
College, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan
Association for the Education of Young Children. He was educated
at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, and at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he received both his M.A. and Ph.D.
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