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The Virginia Assembly
Thomas Jefferson proposes to the assembly that all students should be required to attend at least three years of school. This was mainly to instill democratic ideals. This started the standardization of students being required to go to school. -
The Blue Black Speller is Published
This book, written by Noah Webster, created a standardized spelling for American students and other literate people. This created a unified, democratic feeling for students in education. -
Horace Mann visits Schools
After being elected to the Massachusetts Board of Education, Mann visited a thousand schools in New England and reported on their condition. He eventually published a journal and became a major educational reformer in the US. -
Roberts vs. The City of Boston
Benjamin Roberts attempted to enroll his daughter, Sarah Roberts, in an all-white school in Boston but was denied because of her race. Unfortunately, Roberts lost the case against Boston. This started a movement in the state to abolish slavery. -
Segregation is Abolished in Massachusetts.
After Benjamin Roberts lost against the city of Boston, he took the case to the Massachusetts Supreme Court and it was declared that segregation was illegal in public schools, the first state to do it. This started the movement of integrating schools across the US. -
"The School and Society"
John Dewey's first published book about ideas on education, he later became known as the "Father of Progressive Education." His ideas from this book were implemented in schools, like the Gary Plan, and still are used today. -
The Gary Plan
After many immigrants came to Gary, Indiana after a steel mill was built, William Wirt created a school system involving unique "special" classes. This inspired the idea for schools across the country to introduce new subjects such as music, woodworking, etc. -
High Rates of Child Labor
During the influx of immigrants coming to the United States, many of their children started working in factories. This was because schools were crowded and often not taught in a language they could understand. Because of this, educational reformers like John Dewey started publishing ideas to better the school system. -
Gary Plan Fail in New York
After the Gary plan was a success in Indiana, New York also wanted to implement the plan. However, because most students in New York were likely going to become factory workers, there was much pushback to the plan. It eventually caused the mayor to lose reelection. -
Child Labor Ban
Because over 2 million children were working in factories, and could not anymore, they started to attend school instead. This caused a major increase in school attendance nationwide. -
Topeka, Kansas
The NAACP recruits 13 parents to try to send their children to all white schools, but all schools refuse. At the same time, there is a high-school that is "integrated" but has segregates students during all school activities. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Segregation within schools in the United States is officially banned by the US Supreme Court in a unanimous decision. -
Space Race
The United States looses to the USSR in the Space Race. This causes the US government to start funding public education so children can improve in science and math. -
National Defense Education Act
Due to the loss in the Space Race in 1957, this act is signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower to fund stem subjects in public schools across the US. -
The Civil Rights Act
Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination in public places and force schools that were still segregated, to integrate. -
Secondary Elementary Education Act
This act is signed by Lyndon B. Johnson to give funding to schools with high percentages of disabled children. It also removes funding from schools that refuse to integrate. -
The Bilingual Education Act
The Bilingual Education Act is signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. It says that schools are required to provide translators and education to students whose first language is not English. -
Bilingual Education Act Reinforcement
In San Francisco, lawyers sued the San Francisco school district because classes were only being taught in English. The Supreme Court supports the lawyers and provides $68 million dollars to fund bilingual programs and publishes teaching materials in more languages. -
The Choice Experiment
In East Harlem, to combat poor performance, educators within the schools started alternative public schools. Parents were allowed to send their children to any of the schools. This greatly improved performance and started the idea of charter schools. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Public schools are required to provide resources to students with disabilities and to train teachers to be able to teach them. -
'A Nation at Risk' Report
This report brought national attention to the failing nature of American education. It introduced the idea that we know today of competitive academics including testing and class ranks. -
School Choice in New York
Parents in New York City were allowed to choose any public school in the city to send their children to. This emphasized the idea of school choice after 'A Nation at Risk' and was implemented in other places across the country. -
Charter School Funding
Congress approved an $80 million dollar grant to build charter schools across the country. This new idea of public schools with application-based admission spread quickly across the nation.