Day 77: Atauloma Girls School, Tutuila, American Samoa

📌APIA Every Day (77) - Atauloma Girls School, established in 1900, stood as the second secondary school and the first for girls in American Samoa. Housed within a two-story concrete building, it functioned as both a dormitory and a classroom facility, training girls to become pastors' wives or nurses. The school played a pivotal role in transmitting Samoan culture and integrating Christianity into the education system.

The disruption of close family ties, stemming from the prolonged absences of girls attending schools in Western Samoa, and concerns about their safety amidst the escalating international rivalry, prompted the establishment of Atauloma Girls School in Tutuila in 1900. The school aimed to provide education to girls, especially those considered potential pastors' wives and daughters of higher chiefs.

Prior to the 1900s, formal education in Samoa was scarce, primarily relying on village parochial schools run by pastors from other Polynesian islands. The London Missionary Society (LMS) had substantial influence on education in Samoa, establishing village schools, secondary schools, and seminaries. Similar to other Samoan parochial schools, Atauloma Girls School centered on religious education but incorporated some secular subjects. Boys delved into Western manual arts, while girls received instruction in hygiene and domestic arts. The school played a role in supplying pastors and missionaries not only for Samoa but also for other Pacific islands. The curriculum at Atauloma in 1926 included subjects taught in the Samoan language, including reading, writing, arithmetic, scripture, geography, English, drawing, sewing, singing, housekeeping, and cooking. The school employed a non-Samoan staff, comprising missionaries and Samoan junior teachers.

Today, the school lies abandoned, shrouded by the jungle, and is believed to have a guardian spirit overseeing the area. The rest of the history and details of the school are thought to be within the archives of Malua College in Western Samoa, prompting further research by a Samoan-speaking historian. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

LEARN MORE:

National Park Service: Atauloma Girls School

National Park Service Gallery: Atauloma Girls School Nomination Form

WEFOBZ Youtube: In Memory of Atauloma Series

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