c. 1889-1942
Dr. Meta Anderson was the director of Special Education for the Newark Public Schools from 1922 until 1942 when she was killed in an accident. She entered the school system in 1910 as “head teacher of mentally defective classes” and became supervisor in 1914.
Meta took a leave of absence from the schools and served in the Psychiatric Division of the Army during WWI, working with “shell shock” and for the Industrial Department of Serbian Child Welfare after the war. She was the author of many scientific articles.
Meta was born in New York. Her obituary said she was “widely known in this country and abroad for her work with mental defectives.” In 1940, she was elected President of the American Association on Mental Deficiency, the first woman to hold the office. She had also served as President of the International Council for Exceptional Children. She also enjoyed skiing.
Bibliography
NEWARK EDUCATOR DIES IN AUTO CRASH; Dr. Meta Anderson Post, Noted for Aid to the Mentally Retarded, Was 53 New York Times
Cummings, Charles F. Education’s Roots Run Deep in City Where Leaders Were Well-Schooled Star Ledger Aug 14, 1997
Anderson, Meta “A Study of the Data…” Journal of Applied Psychology
Photo from Newark Library.
“Newark Educator Killed in Crash” Newark News May 26, 1942
“Dr. Post’s Funeral to be Held Friday” Newark News May 27, 1942