The Children of Ellis Island
Children at Ellis Island, under Commissioner Frederick Howe’s reforms, had the choice of going to school if they were detained for several days or more. The school was optional; every day, the Red Cross and Congregational Church, partnered with immigrant aid societies, went to the detention areas to ask the children of they wanted to go to school. The younger children, around ages ten to fourteen, took them up on the offer much more than older children. The schoolchildren would line up and head to the school area and the playground on the roof of one of the buildings. Because of the transitory nature of the children, who might be detained only for days or weeks, the school curriculum was light. Teachers focused the academic instruction on things students would need to know as citizens, some English language and information about their new country.