From 1908-1960, the South Dakota School of Agriculture at Brookings educated young men an women from across South Dakota in a unique atmosphere.  For five months of the year, students lived on the campus of South Dakota State College and took "practical" classes to prepare for life on the farm and in the home.  As a replacement for their high school course, the school primarily taught vocational agriculture and home economics but did not neglect traditional subjects such as English and arithmetic.  Students took part in a full range of extracurricular activities and even published a newspaper.  Aggies, as they were widely known, thus reaped the benefits of a high school education while still working at home or earning money to pay tuition for seven months of the year.

In the earliest years, enrollment in the school was very high.  Both boys and girls were represented, and many students were older than average high school students were.  High schools were not common in rural South Dakota, and those that were available were often at quite a distance, requiring students to live away from home.  The five-month calendar was particularly attractive to rural students, and the location at South Dakota State University made many older students feel less conspicuous.

Following the 1917 passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, which provided funding for vocational and home economics in the public schools, enrollment began to decline slightly.  The establishment of high schools throughout the state also assisted in the decline, although rural students continued to attend.  Following World War II, the school began to offer a certificate in agriculture for high school graduates, similar to an associate's degree.  By the early 1950's the number of girls enrolled dropped to two, and the home economics courses were dropped entirely.  The agriculture classes were still offered however, although enrollment was often very low for the high school courses.  In 1959, due to the drop in enrollment and growth in the number of high schools across the state, South Dakota State College decided to discontinue the high school courses and offer an associate's degree in agriculture as a replacement for the post-graduate work.  In June, 1960, the last students graduated from the School of Agriculture, and it officially ceased to exist.

Home Economics class

For five months of the year, students lived on the campus of South Dakota State University and tool "practical" classes to prepare them for life on the farm and in the home.  The School primarily taught vocational agriculture and home economics but did not neglect traditional high school subjects such as English and arithmetic.  Students took part in a full range of extracurricular activities and even published a newspaper.

Aggies, as the students were widely know, reaped the benefits of a high school education while having seven months to work at home or earn money to pay tuition.
 

In 1908, 103 students attended the School of Agriculture.  Their average age was 20.  To enroll, students must have passed the 8th grade in the public school.

Mechanics
Sign on wall: "Good equipment makes a good farmer better."

Beekeeping

Students took classes in traditional high school subjects along with vocational agriculture or home economics.  Males generally took between 10 and 13 classes a term, including military training.  Women took the same number of classes, but were required to take physical education.  Some classes included farm machinery, beekeeping, and household science.

Basketball Team

Junior ROTC

Amphictyon Society

Membership in literary societies was a popular extracurricular activity.  The School of Agriculture hosted two such societies, where both male and female students had the opportunity to engage in oratory, extemporaneous speaking, dramatics, and social activities.
 

Beginning in the 1920's, Aggie students were required to partake in home project work during their long summer vacation.  These projects included such activities as caring for farm animals, marketing farm products, and home economics work.  The projects were graded following an evaluation by School personnel.

The Aggies published their own newspaper for much of the 1920's and 1930's.  The newspaper was often used to promote the School to outsiders.


 

Following World War II, the School changed considerably.  Students had to be at least 16 to attend and the coursework was geared to older students with some high school background.  The number of female students dropped significantly.  By the mid 1950's, no courses were offered for females.
 

In 1961, the last students graduated from the School of Agriculture.  Few students were still enrolling in the school, and all possessed a high school diploma.  A degree program called Agricultural Operations replaced the high school program of the School.

Updated 3 January 2008 by cjg

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