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Charter of Colledge of Henricus (Virginia)
The school was created for colonists and Native Americans. Funding came from England when King James I ordered his bishops to collect money. The school received income from a land grant in the colony. George Thorpe lead the building of the college on land near the Berkeley Hundred plantation. The school did not last long due to a Native American uprising in 1622. Thrope was killed and the college was destroyed.
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Massachusetts Bay School Law
The Puritans living in the Massachusetts Bay Colony linked the future success of their colony with the literacy of people. Leaders would need to be able to read laws and the bible. This law created a fine for the head of the house if they any of their dependents (children, apprentices, and servants) were not taught to read English. The leaders created a watch system to monitor that education was taking place.
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Founding of Roxbury Latin School (Massachusetts)
The school was founded by John Eliot for families living in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The purpose of this school was to produce Christian citizens who would be able to enter Harvard. The school had a curriculum based on Latin, morality, and religion. Eliot secured funding for the campus through the land owners. Later, he was able obtain tuition assistance from locals for students.
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Ezekiel Cheever becomes the Headmaster of Boston Latin School
Cheever was a leading educator in the colonies. He was born in London in 1615 and studied at Cambridge. In 1637, he came to America. He taught in the Connecticut colony before moving to Boston. Under his leadership as headmaster, the Bostin Latin School earned a notable reputation as a classical academy. Cheever is also known for writing the Latin textbook used by many colonial schools called Accidence. He died in 1708.
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Creation of Friends Public School (Pennsylvania)
William Penn called for the creation of a grammar school to educate the younger members of his colony. The school was open to all children despite their economic circumstances and religion. Thomas Lloyd was given the charge by Penn to create the school that received its initial charter in 1697. Penn created a 15 person board to oversee the running of the school.
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Founding of Ursuline Academy in New Orleans (Including because of the Lousiana Purchase in 1803).
This academy is the oldest, continuously operated Catholic school for girls in the United States. The founders believed that the education of women was necessary for the cultural and spirtual development of New Orleans. It is one of the first schools that not discrimnate against Native Americans and African Americans. The teaching of the school is based on the ideas held by St. Angela Merici in the areas of spirtuality and intellectual growth.
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Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson’s plan for Virginia called for free primary school. After three years, parents would pay for their child's education. Each regions in the state would maintain a grammar school. Poor students could enroll. The first year, only 1/3 of poor students would be kept. The second year, only the top student would continue. Each year, half of the top performing poor would go to William and Mary courtsey of Virginia.
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Northwest Land Ordinance
The Confederation government passed an ordinance in 1785 that divided the Northwest Territory into townships of 36 sections. Section 16 in each township was set aside for public education. This did not result in the creation of public schools. The land was often used to raise funds for schools. Due to mismanagment, often these land grants did little to further education in the Northwest Territory.
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Founding of the Young Ladies’ Academy of Philadelphia
John Poor lead the creation of this school in Philadelphia. Schools for girls had been created before,but this school was the first officially chartered by a state. At this campus, Benjamin Rush delivered his speech on female education. This school changed the education of females by providing a curriculum that was similar to their male counterparts. This academy also paved the way for the creation of other institutions of learning for girls.
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Founding of Georgetown Preparatory School by John Carroll
John Carroll began this school in Washington, D.C to grow the Catholic Church in the newly formed United States. Carroll was the first bishop of Baltimore. He believed that this Jesuit school would turn out priests as well as national leaders. Curriculum was based on the classics with an emphasis in developing speaking and writing skills. The school has a history of accepting male students from any faith or country.
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Founding of Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons
This was the first permanent school for the deaf and was started at the bequest of a parents who wanted their deaf and dumb children to have an education. Many of the parents used their personal funds to help create the school. The reasoning was that everyone should know how to read for religious reasons. Thomas Gallaudet was chosen to lead the school and was sent to France to learn instructional methods for the deaf.
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Founding of Hartford Female Seminary
Catharine Beecher used funds she inherited to create a school for women as she believed that women needed skills to properly run their home. She taught herself many subjects that were taught in the school and created teaching materials. The school had over 100 students by 1826. The school was well known and influenced other similar institutions for women.
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Founding of Ipswich Female Seminary
This school was founded by Zilpah Grant and Mary Lyon to provide secondary and college education for women. It provided women with an education to become teachers with a rigorous curriculum with strict rules for conduct and dress. It was the first seminary to give diplomas to women. The school was supported by the town because of the good work that it did for the community. link text -
Opening of The New England Asylum for the Blind
This Boston school opened with only six students, but that number quickly increased. This was school where visionally impaired students could receive an education that was similar to that of their non-disabled peers. The school was later renamed the Perkins Institute. Samuel Gridley Howe was recruited by Dr. John Dix Fisher to run the school. Howe studied French methods of using touch to teach the blind. Helen Keller attended this school.
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First McGuffey Reader Published
This reader is different due to the absence of Puritan influences. Instead of starting off with an A is for Adam, this new reader used A is for ax. The brighter language of the McGuffey’s reader helped it become one of the most printed readers for generations. There was a focus on the future instead of death. The readers grew even more popular when later editions were illustrated by Henry Farmy.
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Creation of the African Institute (Institute for Colored Youth) opens in Cheyney, Pennsylvania
This institution was created due to the wishes of Richard Humphreys in will. He not only left funds for the school, but also with purpose to educated African Americans in mechanic arts, trades, and agriculture. He saw how African American competed with immigrants for low skilled jobs. In his will, he challenged his fellow Quakers to change the situation for the better. The school is now known as Cheyney University.
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Founding of Baylor College
Anson Jones, President of the Republic of Texas, granted a charter for a Baptist college that became known as Baylor College. The school was coed, but in 1851 separate male and female divisions were created. The male college (Baylor University) was moved to Waco and the female college moved to Belton. The female college is the oldest college for women west of the Mississippi River and has been coed since the 1970's.
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Samuel Gridley Howe establishes the Experimental School for the Training and Teaching of idiotic Children
Samuel Gridley Howe became this school after being part of a commission that study the “idiots” or feebleminded persons that lived in Massachusetts. He did not believe that they should be placed in an institution. Howe started the school to teach them how to simple labor tasks and to be able to take care of themselves. His publicly funded school was very successful and he was able to start other similar schools. link text -
Elizabeth Blackwell graduates from Geneva Medical College and is the first American woman to receive a medical degree
Elizabeth’s decision to become a doctor was after a friend’s death who she felt could have been treated better by a female physician. Intially, her acceptance into medical school was meant as a joke. As a student, she often was not allowed to attend labs or lectures. An area that she focused on was preventative care such as doctors washing their hands between patients. link text -
Founding of Oldfields School by Anna Austin McCulloch
Oldfields is the oldest all girl boarding school in Maryland. It's founder, Anna Austin McCulloch, started the school in an old farmhouse in Glencoe, MD. Her students were made up of her children, relatives, and local girls. The school was one of the first to introduce chemistry into a curriculum for females. In 1878, the school introduced a riding program. The school has maintained a history of excellence for nearly 150 years. link text -
George Peabody established the Peabody Fund
George Peabody was a philanthropist who established this fund with one million dollars after hearing about how poor education was in the South after the Civil War. The funds were used to build schools,to the training of teachers, and industrial education for children living in poverty despite their race. The location had to have a specific number of students and public support for the desired services.
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The Fourteenth Amendment is Ratified
The goal of this amendment was to make former slaves into United States citizens by stating who is a citizen. This was a necessary due to the Dred Scott case that stated that slaves were property, not citizens. The impact of this amendment is that it granted all citizens due process and equal protection of the law. This amendment would later used in the Brown Case to declare separate but equal education unconstitutional.
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University of Michigan becomes Coeducational
Co-education began at the University of Michigan as a dangerous experiment. In February of 1820, 1 woman was enrolled. In 1871, 34 women enrolled in the pursuit of their education. The women found a lot of resentment from male students. Male professors were more open, but opposed the women entering primarily male fields like medicine. There were no dormitories on campus, so both males and females lived in the same boarding houses.
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The Society to Encourage Studies at Home founded by Anna Eliot Ticknor
This is the first correspondence school in the United States by Anna Eliot Ticknor out of her Boston home. She began this project because she felt that women needed to be provided an opportunity to continue their education, but there were not many opportunities available to women. This was called a silent university because she kept the society and her work quiet. Her influence greatly change adult education in the United States.
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Kalamazoo Union High School Case – Citizens sue the school board over the use of taxes to create a public high school
The school board created a high school in 1858 to help bridge the gap from common school to university. In 1873, a suit was filed to prevent the school board from using taxes to fund the school because the taxpayers did not vote on the issue and should only fund common schools. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor the board which lead to the creatio of more high schools.
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The Carlisle Indian Industrial School opens in Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Colonel Richard Henry Pratt
Students from all the country to attended the first boarding school for Native Americans. Pratt believed you must kill the Indian to the save the man. Students were forced to learn English and abandon their native culture to fit into the white man’s world. Pratt praised his work, but the students that left now did not fit in with any group and missed their Indian heritage. The school closed in 1918. source -
The Pledge of Allegiance is written by Francis Bellamy.
The Pledge of Allegiance was written by Francis Bellamy (a socialist minister) and was intended to be used by citizens in any country. The pledge was originally published on September 8, 1892 in The Youth’s Companion. Bellamy wrote a salute for the pledge. The salute began with a military salute until the words to the flag, then the arm extended outward towards the flag. Later historical events caused changes to text and the salute. source -
Plessy V. Ferguson Decision by the United States Supreme Court
The case involved a mix raced man violating a Louisiana law that required separate railroad cars for the races. The constitutional question involved the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court ruled that there could be separate, but equal facitilies for the races. This ruling affected education by legalizing segregation of the races when it came to schools.This case was overturned by the Brown decision.
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Andrew Carnegie founds the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
This private foundation was started by endowment of $15 million by Carnegie. The foundation was officially chartered by the United States Congress in 1906. In an effort to curb the economic radicalism of professors, a pension plan was created for non-religious universities. The foundation has a long history of shaping American education. source -
Richard Prentice Ettinger creates loose-leaf publishing/paper.
While studying accounting at Princeton University, Ettinger had his professor's book printed. After the second printing, the tax law changed making the book out of date. Ettinger had printed copies of the book and needed a solution. He cut the pages of the book so that he could replace the out of date ones. Ettinger drilled holes through the pages and placed them in a ringed binder. Books could now be easily updated.
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The Lewis Terman Study of the Gifted Begins at Stanford University
Lewis Terman, a psychologist, began a research program to monitor gifted students in California for a 10-year period. The group was made up of girls and boys with IQs over 135. The study went beyond childhood and moved as this group faced the realities of adult life. For over 75 years and even after Terman died, this study continued with others in charge. One of the findings is that it takes more than intelligence for success. link text -
Del Rio ISD v. Salvatierra Case Begins in Texas over School Segregation
The Texas Constitution (1876) allowed for segrated education. A group of Hispanic parents banded together to file a lawsuit when the school board suggestion expanding the elementary facilities. The parents stated that Hispanic children were not being afford the same opportunities as their white peers. The case went in and out of the courts for years. The parents ended up losing, but this case led to the growth of LULAC in Texas. link text -
The Gilmer-Aikin Laws abolished the State Board of Education and officially created the Texas Education Agency
The Texas Legislature created the Texas Education Agency to oversee the public-school system. Previously, the governor would appoint 9 members to serve on the board for 6-year terms. The new agency would be composed of 21 members from each of the state’s congressional districts. The members would still serve 6-year terms, but now reported to the legislature. The agency is headed by the Commissioner of Education. link text -
Engel v. Vitale Decision on School Prayer
The Board of Regents for the State of New York created a voluntary non-denominational prayer to be recited each school day. The constitutional question of this case is whether the prayer violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled that by providing the prayer, the Board of Regents had violated the First Amendment. This was the first case that began the removal of religious activities at public events. link text -
Epperson v. Arkansas decided by the U.S. Supreme Court (Teaching of Evolution)
Arkansas passed a law that prohibited the teaching of evolution by public school. A teacher sued on the basis that this legislation violated her First Amendment rights and the Establishment Clause. She won initially, but the state supreme court ruled against her. The US Supreme Court held that the law was unconstitutional because the prohibition of teaching material was akin to the establishment of a religion by the state.
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The Supreme Court rules on Lemon v. Kurtzman (state funding for secular subjects at private schools)
Pennsylvania and Rhode Island had adopted statutes that allowed for the states to fund non-religious subjects at private schools. Parents sued as this was seen as a violation of the 1st Amendment. The Court ruled that these statutes were unconstitutional and created the “Lemon” test for future use. The court stated that laws must have a secular purpose, cannot promote or inhibit religion, and must not allow for excessive entanglement with religion. link text -
Supreme Court decides Wisconsin v. Yoder (mandatory attendance laws violating Amish and Mennonite students’ Freedom of Religion)
Students from the Amish and Mennonite religions were prosecuted under a Wisconsin law that required all children to attend school until the age of 16. Their parents refused to send them after 8th grade as further school was against their religious beliefs. The court ruled that the law prohibited these young men from practicing their religion as the values and programs were contradictory to their religion and would not benefit this group. link text -
Governor Dolph Briscoe signed the Bilingual Education and Training Act (S.B. 121) into Law
This law mandated that all public elementary schools with 20 or more children with limited English ability must provide bilingual instruction. This abolished the English only policy that dated back to 1918 which allowed schools to punish students for speaking Spanish. Schools did receive funds to help with native language instruction that would promote learning and ultimately the transfer of the student into English only program. link text -
New Jersey v. T.L.O (Students' 4th Amendment Rights)
School officials searched T.L.O.’s purse after suspecting she had cigarettes. Cigarettes were found as well as a small amount of marijuana and list of names of students who owed money was found. T.L.O. was charged with possession of marijuana and tried to suppress the evidence before her trial. The case went to the court over the issue of whether the search had violated the 4th Amendment. The court ruled that the school’s search was reasonable. link text -
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser Decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (Free Speech of Students)
After a warning, M.Fraser gave a speech at an assembly that included obscene language. He was suspended for 3 days on the basis that his conduct disrupted the learning environment. Fraser was also no illegible to speak at graduation. His father sued on his behalf that the school had violated his son's right to free speech. The Court ruled that the student’s free speech had not been violated. link text
