EDU 202 Historical Time Line

17th Century
1635- Boston, MA Latin Grammar School opens its doors as the first public secondary school.

The school taught contemporary classical education.

It was established by the Puritans and was similar to the classical schools of Europe.
The school was a rather exclusive to the boys of wealth, in which charged tuition to teach boys between the ages of 7 and 14.
1636- Harvard College was the first college in America, the jewel in the Puritans religious and educational crown.
1647- Old Deluder Satan Law was a Massachusetts law that the Puritans used to thwart Satans trickery with Scripture- reading
citizens.

The law required that every town of fifty households must appoint and pay a teacher of reading and writing.
Every town of one hundred households had to provide a Latin grammar school to prepare youths for the university or face a
fine of 5 British pounds,
1690- New England Primer was the first real textbook created and was a tiny book containing 50-100 pages of alphabet, words, and
small verses accompanied by woodcut illustrations.
18th Century
1740- South Carolina denies education to blacks.
1749- Benjamin Franklin wrote Proposals Relating to the Youth of Pennsylvania.

Suggested a new kind of secondary school to replace the Latin grammar school.
1751- The Franklin Academy opened in Philadelphia.

Was established free of religious influence and offering a variety of practical subjects, including mathematics, astronomy,
athletics, navigation, dramatics, and bookkeeping.
Allowed secondary students to choose electives.
Accepted both boys and girls who could afford the tuition.
1783- Noah Websters American Spelling Book replaced the New England Primer

Contained the alphabet, syllables, consonants, rules for speaking, readings, short stories, and moral advice.
1785- Land Ordinance Act set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west.
1787- Northwest Ordinance created the Northwest Territory, the first organized territory of the United States, from lands beyond the
Appalachian Mountains, between British North America and the Great Lakes to the north and the Ohio River to the south.
19th Century
1821- Emma Willards Troy Female Seminary opens.

The first womens higher education institution in the U.S.

An independent university-preparatory day and boarding school located in Troy, NY

The English High School of Boston

The first public high school in America.

Was modeled of the Royal High School in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Only accepted boys.
1823- The First (Private) Normal Public School

Was founded in Concord, Vermont by Samuel Read Hall.

The school trained teachers.
1827- Massachusetts High School Law

Mandated that each town in the state be supplied with a high school and teachers.
1837- Horace Mann

Becomes secretary board of education in Massachusetts.

Introduced the idea of bringing all classes of students together so that they could have a common learning experience.
1839- Lexington, MA

First normal public school created.

1855- First Kindergarten

Was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin by Margareth Meyer Schurz.

Mrs. Schurz was a native of Hamburg, Germany that learned the principles of kindergarten from Friedrich Froebel.
1862- Morrill Land Grant College Act

Enacted during the American Civil War.

Allowed the creation for land grant colleges in the U.S. by using the proceeds of federal land sales.
Was signed into law by president Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862.
1874- Kalamazoo Case

Paved the way for free high schools throughout the U.S.
1896- Plessy vs. Ferguson

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of separate but equal.
20th Century
1909- First Junior High School

Established in Columbus, Ohio

Named Indianola Junior High School
1919- Progressive Education Programs

Promoted the idea that students should be encouraged to be independent thinkers, creative thinkers, and expressive about their
feelings.
John Dewey most influential educator of the 20th century and advocate of progressive education.
1944- G.I. Bill of Rights

Signed into law by President Roosevelt on June 22, 1944.

Benefits included cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend high school, college or vocational/technical school,
low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, as well as one year of unemployment compensation.
It was available to all veterans who had been on active duty during the war years for at least 120 days and had not been
dishonorably discharged. Furthermore, exposure to combat was not required.
1950- First Middle School

Established in Bay City, Michigan.

1954- Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka

Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools.

1964-1965- Job Corps and Head Start

Funding begins.
Job Corps- administered by the US Department of Labor and offers free of charge education and vocational training to young
men and women ages 16-24.
Head Start- provides medical, social, nutritional, and educational services for low income children 3-6 years of age.
1972- Title IX

Prohibits sex discrimination in schools.

Protects the rights of both males and females from preschool through graduate school, in sports, financial aid, employment,
counseling, school regulations and policies, admissions, and other areas.
1975- Public Law 94-142, Education for All Handicapped Children Act

Provides financial assistance to local school districts to provide free and appropriate education for the nations 8 million
children with disabilities who are between the ages of 3-21 years of age.
1979- Cabinet-level Department of Education is established

Department of Organization Act signed into law on October 17, 1979 by President Jimmy Carter.
21 Century
2001- No Child Left Behind Act

Calls for standards and annual testing of math, reading, and science.
Schools that test poorly face the possibility of being closed or teachers being fired.
Parents are given greater freedom to select schools.
Increased federal support for charter schools.
2011-Present

Federal government modifies NCLB, allowing states more freedom in evaluating students and teachers.