KOAC "School of the Air"

 “School of the Air” sounds like a distance-learning program that might have arisen in response to the Covid-19 pandemic school closures. In fact, this program began in 1930.

The 1920s were the decade in which radio spread across the country.  By the end of the the decade over 40 percent of American households had radio sets.  Locally, Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) began broadcasting from a radio station (KFDJ) which was a lab experiment in physics. In December, 1925, the station's power was up-graded and it began to operate statewide as KOAC.  The station adopted the slogan “Science for Service” and began offering broadcasts of faculty lectures relating to farm, business, and household management.  Some OAC (OSU) courses were also offered via radio, such as a 1930 home study poultry course.  Readings were assigned in a text and in college bulletins, and radio lectures were broadcast every Tuesday evening.  Over 500 Oregon poultry farmers registered.

In that same year, the station also began the “School of the Air” which featured 15-minute programs broadcast to elementary and middle school classrooms during the regular school day. The programs were intended to supplement the regular curriculum, especially in areas with limited resources.  Interested teachers could sign up and receive a curriculum guide which included aids for listening and suggested activities. One such program, from the 1940s was "Let's Sing America".

This booklet included words and music for the songs in the for schools  "which possess only a limited musical library and consequently find it difficult to have both words and music to many of the songs" which were sung together each Thursday. 

Some programs were science-oriented, including “Autumn in the Woods,” “Nature Trails,” “Starry Skies,” and  “Adventures in Research.”  Other topics included  “Land of Make-Believe,” “Children's Theater,” Let's Explore Art,” “Hero Tales from Oregon History,”   “ National Parks and Monuments.”

“The Boy Next Door” was a health program.  Ninth grade students interviewed state and community officials for the “This is Our Community” program.

The station estimated that in 1945-1946 about 35,000 children from over 50 schools, listened to “School of the Air” programs.  In 1949, KOAC broadcast over 14 weekly programs as part of this series.

When Oregon established the state system of higher education in 1932 , KOAC became the system's radio station. In 1981, the state board decided to divest its radio and TV stations and these facilities became part of  Oregon Public Broadcasting. 

By Martha Fraundorf, Volunteer for Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon