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Boston Latin School founded
The Boston Latin School of Boston, Mass. was the first public school as well as the oldest existing school in the US. Astonishingly, the first school in the US was founded well over 100 years before the US gained independence from England.
This is the website I used to gain knowledge of many historical events in education. I double checked my events to make sure they were accurate - some of those links are noted.
http://blog.connectionsacademy.com/50-facts-and-events-in-u-s-education-history/ -
Harvard College founded
Harvard College was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Mass. This marked the establishment of the first higher education school just one year after the first public school was founded. I thought the graphic I have included was quite interesting. This shows the oldest college in each state. I was surprised by Nebraska's being Peru State. -
10th Amendment Ratified
Part of the ratification of the 10th amendment gave states the opportunity to control education within the state. -
Oberlin College admits both genders
Surprisingly and not so surprisingly it was not until 1833 that both men and women we admitted to one higher education school. -
Department of Education created
Nearly 100 years after the US gained independence, a Department of Education was created. Although this Department of Education did not last President Carter advocated for creating a cabinet level Department of Education in 1979. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html -
Mandatory School Attendance Laws
Mississippi was the last state to introduce a law for compulsory school attendance - they did so in 1918. https://www.google.com/search?q=mandatory+school+attendance+laws+established+1918&oq=manda&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j69i59l2j0l3.3158j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 -
School Buses!
A conference on student transportation, organized by Frank W. Cyr (later known as the Father of School buses), lead to the national standardization of school buses. The color yellow was chosen as it is distinct. Pictured: a few of the old styles of school buses (deluxe models...fancy) http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/archives/vol21/vol21_iss1/record2101.36.html -
School Lunches!
The National School Lunch Program was created in 1964 to provide low cost or free school lunches to students.
The Act was signed by President Truman. Here is a quick video showing standard school lunches from various countries around the world. I found this video rather interesting. I enjoyed seeing the differences in portion sizes and nutritional value of each school lunch...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po0O9tRXCyA -
Brown v. Board of Education
This court case is incredibly significant, not only for education but for the history of the US. Brown v. Board of Education made segregated schools illegal. -
Special Education Mandatory
In 1975 congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This Act made special education programs mandatory in the US. -
Computers in Schools!
In 1976, Apple Inc. released its first personal computer, the Apple I, and donates computers to schools. This was really the beginning of advanced technology in schools.
...I wonder how fast these computers were...
Fun Fact: One of these computers recently sold at auction for over $350,000! -
No Child Left Behind Act
George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into Law on January 8th of 2002. This Law had a number of effects on schools but its primary goal was to hold schools more responsible for the academic progress of all students. https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html -
Common Core
in 2009 the Common Core State Standards Initiative was launched in an effort to provide states with an overview of the common knowledge students should have upon graduation of high school.
