From the archives: Education resources on wheels
Barry Thomas shared Spanish-language health and nutrition books with a group of students at a summer program in Longmont. (Daily Camera Collection, CU Heritage Center)
Beginning in 1969, the University of Colorado's Diagnostic Instructional Mobile Unit took to the streets—and country roads—to offer hearing and vision testing, skill diagnosis, instructional tools for teachers and resources for students. The mobile unit’s staff also offered students bilingual and bicultural books, activities and program materials.
According to the Daily Camera from June 24, 1972, the mobile unit pictured here was one of three serving the state with support from federal and Colorado Department of Education funding. This vehicle traveled across the state, especially eastern cities, such as Fort Lupton, Brighton, Holyoke, Wray, Yuma and more. In these photos from the archive, two of the mobile unit’s four full-time staff visited teachers at CU Boulder’s annual reading conference and a summer program for migrant children at Longmont’s Columbine Elementary School. Staff also led art, recreational and singing activities, often in English and Spanish.
“There are common things to all cultures,” mobile unit staff member Barry Thomas told the Daily Camera. “Kids are universal in their love of learning.”