The Early Years
Bouvé School
Bouvé-Boston School
The College Years
Boston School of Physical Education
First graduating class, Boston School of Physical Education, 1915.
Marjorie Bouvé, Marguerite Sanderson, and Mary Florence Stratton assumed the primary leadership responsibilities at the new School. The principle of efficiency, grounded in coordination and self-control, informed the curriculum while turn-of-the-century gender expectations guided the search for eligible applicants. As described in the first catalog, “the school proposes to graduate only such students as will make good teachers and who are qualified to carry forward and maintain the highest ideals." In reference to potential students, the school catalog stated, “She should have a normal sense of rhythm. No one with any organic or serious functional disorder will be admitted.”
Street view of 105 South Huntington Avenue, ca. 1930.
Boston School of Physical Education gymnasium at 105 South Huntington Avenue, ca. 1925.
Success in Sight
The School gradually grew in size and stature. After operating out of temporary facilities on Boylston Street and at the main Boston branch of the YWCA, the Boston School of Physical Education moved into its first permanent location at 105 South Huntington Avenue. Dr. Joel Goldthwait, the President of the School Corporation, contributed funds for the construction of the new building. Entering into the 1920s, the School appeared stable. Marjorie Bouvé's 1925 resignation as Director of the Boston School of Physical Education, however, created a new set of challenges for the remaining founders. The School not only lost a staunch advocate for physical education. Stratton and Sanderson also now had to contend with a competing educational institution.
Statement by Marjorie Bouvé to the alumnae and members of the corporation of the Boston School of Physical Education, 1925.