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Boston Latin School
This was the first public school established in America.
Learn more about it here: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/first-public-school-america/ -
Harvard University
This was the first university established in America.
Learn more about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhK3UG6hsXc -
The Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb
This school was for students that were deaf or mute (as "dumb" originally meant "unable to speak").
Learn more about it here: https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/asylum-deaf-dumb/#:~:text=The%20Connecticut%20Asylum%20for%20the,1817%2C%20in%20Hartford%2C%20Connecticut. -
Boston English High School
This was one of the first public high schools opened in the United States.
Learn more about it here: https://englishhighalumni.org/2021/07/09/history-of-the-english-high-school/ -
National Education Association
Originally named the National Teachers Association, this committee made it their goal to promote equal education and opportunities to all students.
Learn more about it here: https://www.nea.org/about-nea/mission-vision-values/history-nea -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This Supreme Court case introduced the doctrine of "separate but equal".
This made it legal to exclude and separate people from places like restaurants and schools based on race.
Learn more about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj54KP16Ilw -
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
This test has become one of those most important tests in the American education system.
It was designed to test a student's intelligence, but it's believed to leave underprivileged students at a disadvantage.
Learn more about it here: https://commons.trincoll.edu/edreform/2016/05/the-sat-the-origin-and-the-present/ -
Brown v. Board of Education
This Supreme Court case ruled that "separate but equal" was unconstitutional.
This ruling allowed for desegregation in schools.
Learn more about it here: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brown-v-board#:~:text=State%2Dsanctioned%20segregation%20of%20public,the%20expanding%20civil%20rights%20movement. -
Title IX
This is a law that prohibits discrimination based on sex/gender in schools.
Learn more about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hFAHtbyQuk -
Department of Education
This was established by former President, Jimmy Carter, as a Cabinet Department.
Fun fact: the Department was originally proposed in 1867, but was rejected from a Cabinet-level office.
Learn more about it here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/what.html#:~:text=Although%20the%20Department%20is%20a,statistics%20about%20the%20nation's%20schools.
