The first European settlement in what is now the United States is founded by Spain at Saint Augustine in what is now the state of Florida. A school is established there by the Franciscans in 1606.
1564
the pencil is created
Benjamin Franklin forms the American Philosophical Society, which helps bring ideas of the European Enlightenment, including those of John Locke, to colonial America. Emphasizing secularism, science, and human reason.
Benjamin Franklin helps to establish the first "English Academy" in Philadelphia with a curriculum that is both classical and modern, including such courses as history, geography, navigation, surveying, and modern as well as classical languages.
The African Institute is created
Oberlin College admits its first group of women
The first state funded school specifically for teacher education opens
The first kindergarten in the U.S. is started in Watertown, Wisconsin
The National Teachers Association (now the National Education Association) is founded by forty-three educators in Philadelphia.
The Department of Education is created in order to help states establish effective school systems.
he Magic Lantern projected images printed on glass plates onto walls. By the end of World War I, Chicago’s public schools had about 8,000 lantern slides.
the chalk board is created
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is founded.
Educational reformer Ella Flagg Young becomes superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools.
The Smith-Hughes Act passes, providing federal funding for agricultural and vocational education.
All states have laws providing funds for transporting children to school.
the radio is introduced. New York City’s Board of Education was actually the first to do so and over the next couple decades, lessons through the airwaves became the first type of distance learning.
The Great Depression begins with the stock market crash in October
The U.S. enters World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on December 7.
The ACT Test is first administered.
Project Head Start,is created and becomes longest running poverty fighting program
The Higher Education Act is signed at Southwest Texas State College
Jean Piaget's book, The Science of Education, is published
the scantron is created. It allowed teachers to grade multiple choice tests in a more efficient way.
Texas Instruments introduces the first in its line of electronic hand-held calculators, the TI-2500 Data Math.
The Marland Report to Congress on gifted and talented education is issued.
U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ends on January 27. More than 58,000 U.S. service personnel are killed in action during the war.
The National Association of Bilingual Education is founded.
the personal computer is released
CD ROM Drive is created and sold
In the case of Wallace v, Jaffree, the U.S. Supreme Court finds that Alabama statutes authorizing silent prayer and teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools violate the First Amendment.
Microsoft Windows 1.0, the first independent version of Windows, is released
Christa McAuliffe is chosen by NASA from among more than 11,000 applicants to be the first teacher-astronaut
the world wide web is created
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becomes law.
The Milwaukee Parental Choice program is initiated.
Minnesota passes the first "charter school" law.
City Academy High School, the nation's first charter school, opens in St. Paul, Minnesota.
CompuHigh Whitmorte is founded. It claims to be the first online high school.
Georgia becomes the first state to offer universal preschool to all four year olds whose parents choose to enroll them. More than half of the state's four year olds are now enrolled.
social media hits the web
California voters pass Proposition 227, requiring that all public school instruction be in English. This time the law withstands legal challenges.
the interactive whiteboard is produced
the first laptop with wifi is produced
The controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is approved by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002.
Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student, kills two students in a dorm and then 30 others in a classroom building at Virginia Tech University.
Tablets are introduced to the classroom
With the U.S. economy mired in the "great recession" and unemployment remaining high, states have massive budget deficits. Many teachers face layoffs..
President-elect Donald Trump names billionaire and school-choice advocate Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education.