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The opening of the first Public School took place in 1635. This was a boys-only, secondary school known as the Boston Latin School. Some of its famous students include John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. It moved locations several times and landed in the Fenway neighborhood within Boston.
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Common schools were formed starting in New England in the 1830s. It was supported by the government. It was believed that political stability depended on proper education. The common schools began to spread across the states. These schools weren't well supported by Roman Catholic churches and organizations. Religious division caused obstacles in the spreading of these schools. -
In 1857 the National Teachers Association was formed with the intention of supporting advances in public education. Its large staff provided many services in government agencies. Later, in 1870 the association merged with the National Association of Superintendents and a few other school-related associations. -
A national tragedy. In 1870 the federal government created boarding schools to send Native American children to be "educated". While possibly these boarding schools were created with good intentions, in reality, they attempted to wipe native American culture altogether. These students lost their culture, religion, language, families, and birth names. Not all moves in American Education were wise. -
Brown VS Board of Education was a case challenging racial segregation in schools. This case shaped the history of education as well as established that separate but equal was not at all equal. This decision would later be used to overturn laws enforcing segregation. video -
In 1965 Project Headstart was launched as a short-term summer program. This program was created with the intention of breaking the cycle of poverty by providing low-income families with schooling for their pre-schoolers. These programs would meet their nutritional, social, emotional, and educational needs. The program outgrew it's eight-week program, expanded into early-head-start, and has been implemented all over the nation since. -
Title IX was enacted in June of 1972. Title IX allowed people, regardless of their sex, to participate in sports. Girls had fewer opportunities to participate in sports up to this point. Following Title IX, girls were to be provided the same percentage of athletic opportunities as their male peers. Although many girls' teams didn't receive the same funding as the boy's team, legally they were to provide girls' teams the same resources. video -
Congress created the Department of Education in 1979 with the purpose of strengthening Federal commitment to ensuring access to equal education. The Department was originally created in 1867 but wasn't recognized and funded by the government until 1979. video -
In 2002, President George Bush signed an act into law known ad No Child Left Behind. Schools that failed to meet their standards would need to implement corrective measures on behalf of their students. The student's progress was based on standardized tests, if students didn't meet the Adequate Yearly Progress standards the state was to take action. link -
Across the globe, many schools are forced to close as their governments enforce lockdowns due to the growing pandemic. Schools are challenged to provide an adequate education to their students despite teaching virtually.