10 Events that Shaped American Education

By nretzlaff

  • First Public School is Established

    First Public School is Established
    Known as the Boston Latin School, this boys-only public secondary school led by schoolmaster Philemon Pormont. The Boston Latin School is still a fully functioning public school today and is now coeducational.

  • First Academy for Girls is Established

    First Academy for Girls is Established
    First Academy for Girls called The Young Ladies Academy was the first academy for girls in the 13 colonies. Founded in Philadelphia.
    This institution was founded to give girls the equal education to that of boys. "Girls were usually taught how to read but not how to write in early America." https://www.historycentral.com/NN/Americans/Women.html

  • First Kindergarten

    First Kindergarten
    Margarethe Schurz founded the first kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin, in 1856. This kindergarten was taught in only German. Elizabeth Peabody, opened the first American English-language kindergarten in Boston in 1860. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/education/kindergartens-a-history-1886/

  • The Department of Education is Established

    The Department of Education is Established
    This department was founded to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems. The creation of this institution shaped the course of education. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html

  • Civil Rights Act is Passed

    Civil Rights Act is Passed
    This Act banned segregation in all public places including schools. This movement also in turn sparked the disability rights movement.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    The US Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal facilities were inherently unequal. This case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. https://youtu.be/NBlqcAEv4nk

  • Title IX

    Title IX
    No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html

  • The Rehabilitation Act

    The Rehabilitation Act
    This act made it so people with disabilities could not be denied benefits from any program receiving federal funds i.e. public education.

  • Tribal College Act

    Tribal College Act
    Establishes a community college on every Indian reservation whuch allowed young people to go to college without leaving their families.

  • The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA),

    The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA),
    Was originally the No Child Left Behind Act. This act ensures that all children with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education to meet their unique needs and prepare them for the future.