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First Public School Opens
A Boston Latin School opens its doors becoming the first secondary public school. This was strictly a boys-only secondary school. It was designed mainly for college preparation. Benjamin Franklin was a dropout from this school. Overtime is has changed to a co-educational school. But, when it was first established it was 7-12 grade, boys only. It was run by a headmaster. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/apr23/first-public-school-america/ -
Quaker School Created
In Philadelphia, a Quaker school is created for African American students. A Quaker school is based on religion and beliefs. Quakers follow tolerance, equality, and spiritually. https://www.quakerschool.org/about/quakerism -
Teachers Union is Formed
The National Teachers Association started with 100 members that helped share ideas and make decisions, today the group has over 3.2 million members. -
Native Americans are Forced to Attend School
Native Americans are taken off their reservation and are forced to attend boarding schools. They are separated from their families without any warning. Some of them were never reunited with their families or never found them. While the Native Americans were at the boarding schools, they could only speak English and were forced to follow American traditions. https://www.history.com/news/how-boarding-schools-tried-to-kill-the-indian-through-assimilation -
Plessy v.s. Ferguson
The Supreme Court ruled that separate was equal. Therefore, in many cases, Blacks were separate from the Whites. This was especially noticeable in schools. Blacks had to attend different schools than Whites; however, the schools' physical conditions were not the same. In many cases, the Black's schools had fewer resources than the White's schools. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=blacks+are+separate+but+equal&&view=detail&mid=0CD7D52A845EC27DFE860CD7D52A845EC27DFE86&&FORM=VRDGAR -
Required Schooling
Law requires that all States must have mandatory schooling for students through elementary school for free. Families are required to send their kids to school or else they could get in trouble with the law. -
School Lunch
The National School Lunch Act allows lunch to be available for all students by adding low-cost lunches or even free lunches for low-income families. -
Brown v.s. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that separate was not equal. They outlawed segregation and reversed Plessy v.s. Ferguson. This allowed both Blacks and Whites to attend the same schools; however, there were many protests preventing Black students from attending the schools of White students for quite some time. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=brown+versus+board+of+education&&view=detail&mid=FB930F05E92CE1D91FB2FB930F05E92CE1D91FB2&&FORM=VRDGAR -
Standardized Testing
Schools must take standardized tests so that the government can see how the overall school performance is. The scores are not shared with the public, and the testing holds schools accountable. https://standardizedtests.procon.org/ -
Title IX
Title IX becomes a law, banning all discrimination based on sex. The law is to be used throughout all of the school, but mainly has an effect on girls' participation in sports. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html -
A Nation at Risk
President Ronald Reagan gives a speech informing America of the severe underperformance in American schools. This is called the National Commission on Excellence in America. https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html -
No Child Left Behind
President George W. Bush made this a law. This law increases federal funding for education and increases the importance of standardized testing. https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml
