Settlement schools were started in the early 20th century by young women who had a desire to teach the mountain children in Appalachia country and other rural areas. Emphasis of curriculum was on character development, educating the entire student, experiential learning and to learn skills such as sewing, cooking, weaving, making furniture and forestry skills. Settlement schools often had health clinics, dormitories, arts and crafts sales and cooperative stores.
The theory of Progressive Education was developed in late 1800s, when American educators sought to design schools where students used critical thinking and questioned democracy and other societal powers. Earliest leaders of the Progressive theory included John Dewey, Ella Flagg and George Counts. Dewey proposed that education was a reciprocal relationship between student and teacher, with both respecting diversity, developing critical thinking and teaching/learning in an open-minded, democratic environment. Tenets of progressive education theory include encouragement of student participation, critical thinking about society, cooperative learning, open classrooms, using a social curriculum and experiential education.
One settlement school still running today, the Pine Mountain Settlement School, started by Katherine Petit and Ethel Delong, runs on progressive principles aiming to provide both educational and community resources. Pine Mountain School runs on innovative principles using renewable energy systems, local agricultural resources as natural teachers and is open to all students wishing to attend. A heavy emphasis is placed on manual labor, crafts and sustainable activities.
Many settlement schools are also boarding schools with a focus on creative, open and diverse curriculum. Settlement schools are a great resource for children with educational, emotional, social or behavioral problems. Since settlement schools use a progressive curriculum, no students are left behind, and students are taught at their own pace. Classes are often smaller, teachers are able to use a variety of modalities to teach their students and students can live on campus, which means they learn social and behavioral skills outside the classroom.