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Emily Griffith (featured in The Woman Citizen, 1917) (public domain), Wikimedia Commons.

Emily Griffith

By Colorado Public Radio Staff
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Colorado schools in the 19th century were not free, which kept many poor children from a formal education. Denver teacher Emily Griffith knew poverty as a child in Ohio, and saw how education could transform lives. As Deputy State Superintendent of Instruction, Griffith was determined to start a free school for people of all ages. With just five teachers and a condemned building, she opened the doors to the Emily Griffith Opportunity School in 1916. Classes were offered thirteen hours a day, which allowed working students to walk into classes whenever they could for vocational or academic training. By the time she retired, more than a hundred thousand people had attended, and the school established Denver as a national leader in adult education. But Emily Griffith’s greatest legacy could lie in the worth and dignity she saw in every student.

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Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.

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