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Common Schools
Horace Mann is known as "The Father of American Education" and "The Great Equalizer" through his work as the first secretary of education Mann created a system of public schools known as 'common schools' where he believed education should be available to all children no matter their race, class or gender. Paving the way for the public schools we have today. -
Roberts v. City of Boston
The Roberts case plays an important role in the history of public education. Sarah Robert's father tries to enroll his daughter in the many white elementary schools in their neighborhood but is consequently denied. Massachusetts court rules that "separate but equal" schools are allowed by law. -
Brown v. Board of Education
100 years after Roberts v. The city of Boston came Brown v. Board of Education, where school-age African American children filed a complaint against Topeka public schools for not enrolling African Americans in schools serving white children. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" is "inherently unequal". This paved the way for African Americans and other minorities to shape our Public Schools today. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
At the time in the US had more than 8 million children with disabilities and more than half did not receive adequate educational opportunities. One million disabled children were excluded entirely from the public school system. Like Brown v. Board of Education, this Act helped to integrate children with disabilities into the public school system and allowed for free appropriate public education. -
No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was the Federal Government's first serious attempt to hold states, districts, and schools accountable for bridging the unequal achievement gap between different students.
