-
The First School
The Syms School was the first "free school" for America located in Virginia.
https://www.k12academics.com/education-united-states/education-virginia/history -
John Locke - Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Locke's book established the idea of a blank state which meant everyone is born knowing nothing. All knowledge comes from experience and his views of the mind and learning greatly influenced the education system.
https://www.eds-resources.com/educationhistorytimeline.html -
Benjamin Franklin Helps Establish the First English Academy
Benjamin Franklin established the first English Academy that taught history, geography, navigation, surveying, and the English language. This academy would eventually become the University of Pennsylvania.
http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/benjaminfranklin300/01place_of_penn.cfm -
The Bill of Rights Passed
The 10th Amendment states that the rights are reserved for the states or the people. This gives the states the right to create schools and an education system instead of the federal government.
https://theconversation.com/federal-role-in-education-has-a-long-history-74807 -
The Department of Education is Created
The Department of Education was created to seek and collect information on the schools and the way they taught in order to help the States institute an effective school system.
https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html#:~:text=The%20original%20Department%20of%20Education,States%20establish%20effective%20school%20systems.&text=World%20War%20II%20led%20to,of%20Federal%20support%20for%20education. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The significance of this case was that it established a doctrine of "separate but equal" for racial segregation. Below is a link to a video about Plessy v. Ferguson.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson#:~:text=Sources-,Plessy%20v.,%E2%80%9Cseparate%20but%20equal%E2%80%9D%20doctrine.&text=As%20a%20result%2C%20restrictive%20Jim,based%20on%20race%20became%20commonplace. -
Transportation for Children
In 1919, all states had laws providing funds for transporting children to school. During the 19th century, the way they transported children to and from school was by a school wagon which was a modified farm wagon.
https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2512/Transportation-School-Busing.html -
National School Lunch Act
The National School Lunch Program was derived from the National School Lunch Act which provided low-cost or free meals to qualified students. This act was signed by President Harry Truman. Below is a link to a video talking about the history of school lunches.
https://food-studies.net/feedingkids/history-of-school-food-in-america-2/ -
No Child Left Behind Act
The NCLB law was signed by President George W. Bush and it was the most recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The NCLB law significantly increased the federal role to hold schools accountable for the academic progress of all students. If the schools did not comply with the requirements then they risked losing their funding. -
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Signed into law by President Obama. This act provided more than $90 million dollars for education with half going to local school districts.
https://www.eds-resources.com/educationhistorytimeline.html