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Common Schools
What were Common Schools?
Common schools were the first form of public schools in America. Horace Mann set them up to be fully funded by tax money. He worked to standardize the textbooks, teacher training, and curriculum. The Protestant religion played heavily into the teachings as most of the people in Northeast colonies were Protestant. Horace Mann wanted to make schools better and said that, "Education is the great equalizer." -
A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
MOST IMPORTANT
Thomas Jefferson tries to pass a law that will require 3 years of public schooling for all children. A select few of the best performing boys would go to secondary school and an even more select group would be sent to University. Although he was unsuccessful, his efforts got others thinking more about education than they had before.
What is this Bill? -
Blue Back Speller
Noah Webster created the Elementary Spelling Book to give students standardized curriculum. He also wanted to remove as much British from the American language as possible. -
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Population Growth & Immigration
As more pepole immigrated to the United States, people started to move out of cities and started moving West. They established schools; some districts covered 1,000 miles. -
The Great School Debate
Bishop John Hughes led the Catholic people in New York to try to get money for their own schools. At the time, Common Schools were run by Protestants and were highly offensive in their teachings and textbooks of Irish Catholics. -
Commonwealth of Massachusetts banned segregated schools in the state
MOST IMPORTANT
Benjamin Roberts used his 5-year old daughter as the plaintiff in a case against the schools in Boston which required that she walk past white schools to get to hers. In 1855 the law was passed banning segregation in Massachusetts; this was the first law of it's kind.
Who was Sarah Roberts? -
The Gary Plan
MOST IMPORTANT
In Gary, Indiana, schools made radical changes. Students were now being taught using Child-Centered Education. Students were taught more about the ways of life instead of just academic subjects. There were also night and weekend courses for community members, many of whom received little to no formal education as children. Across the nation, 200 cities copied the Gary Plan.
What is the Gary Plan? -
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Curriculum Changes
As a result of World War I, several important changes were made to public school curriculum. These included that instruction would be in English Only and that schools were to help to Americanize Immigrants. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
In this landmark case, Thurgood Marshall lobied to end legalized segregation in schools in Topeka, KS, and won. -
Civil Rights Act
President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act which required that all federally funded programs be desegregated. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
MOST IMPORTANT
If states, districts, and schools are meeting federal requirements (such as desegregation), then there were billions of dollars available to them. This was the beginning point of educational laws in our country such as No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act.
What is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act? -
Head Start
President Johnson founded Head Start. This federally funded preschool is aimed at preparing low-income children for Kindergarten. It has helped millions of children over the years. -
Education for All Handicapped Childen Act
This act entitled all children, even those with disabilities to recieve a public education for free. In 1986, Early Intervention for Infants through age 3 was added. And in the 1990's there were several laws that passed, in the end changing it to the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). -
School Choice Movement
MOST IMPORTANT
People are able to have a say in where their child attended school. They used the voucher system in which the federal funds for their student would go to whichever school they wanted to send their student to. This opened the door for competition between schools, which in turn led to all schools performing better. When not enough students wanted to attend, the school was closed. What is School Choice? -
No Child Left Behind
President Bush signed this law to ensure the highest quality of education for all students. Schools who did not meet standards had to make corrections or risk losing federal funding. On December 10, 2015, President Obama repealed this law in favor of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
