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First public school in America
On April 23, 1635 the first public school as established in Boston, Massachusetts. It was called the Boston Latin School and it was boys-only secondary school. The school taught Latin and Greek. Notable alumni are John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Ben Franklin dropped out. -
First College
Harvard University established as the first university in the United States -
Women's Education
The first school for girls was opened in 1727 in New Orleans. It is called the Ursuline Academy. It is a Catholic school and was founded by the Sister of the Order Saints Ursula. The first female pharmacist graduated from this academy. -
Two-Tracked Education
Thomas Jefferson introduces a two-tracked educational system. In his words it was for "the laboring and the learned". Only a selective few of the laboring class would receive education. -
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19th Century
Classroom settings started to look different. More towns started to open up more public schools so that children could attend. The classrooms were sparsely decorated due to the rural times. All grades were taught in one classroom and taught by the same teacher. Resources were limited. Desk were provided by the children. At times families would provide a home for the teachers. -
First Board of Education
Horace Mann and Henry Barnard establish the first Board of Education in Massachusetts. Mann called for the extension of the school year to six months, and fought for the better pay of teachers. Barnard fought for minimum standards for classroom resources. -
Department of Education
The original purpose of the organization was to gather information from schools that would help states develop their own school system. In 1890 started to support higher education institutions. Now their motto is to promote students achievement and to prepare them for global competition. -
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Plessy v. Ferguson
Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act which separated blacks and whites in railway cars. Homer Plessy being 7/8 Caucasian wanted to challenge this act. He was told by the Committee of Citizens to sit in the whites only car. This was a problem because under Louisiana law he is considered black. He was arrested and later convicted. Plessy was convicted. The supreme court said it was constitutional. Basically saying segregation was legal. Causing schools to become segregated. -
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Brown v. Board
Case was formed on the basis of segregation in schools and that some African American students were denied acceptance into public schools. Argued that segregation violated the 14th Amendment. Court ruled that "separate but equal" is unequal and that it violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. -
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No Child Left Behind
Was a bill the George W. Bush came up with. He signed it 2002 and it was repealed in 2015 by Barack Obama. The basis of this bill was that it set high standards for elementary and secondary school. It also promoted the use of standardized test. -
Schools Today
Schools are overseen by departments of education, school districts, and school boards. The government helps provide information on how to improve a students education. Also many federal programs help benefit students such as the Free Lunch Program. Schools are now provided the necessary resources so that students could prosper. Though there is still room for improvement, it is better than what it was.
