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U.S. Education Timeline

Rayshawn Session

EDU 201-2003

Dr. Celia Isbel

October 10, 2022

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1600’s

● 1642: Boston Latin School Founded

● 1642: Massachusetts Act of 1642: Individual towns decide if youth can read and write

● 1647: Massachusetts Act of 1647: mandated the establishment and support of schools

● 1690: First Reading Lesson Printed for boys

1700’s

● 1704: First School for African Americans & Native Americans opened in New York

● 1706-1790: Benjamin Franklin

● 1743-1826: Thomas Jefferson; believed basic education was a necessity for liberty

● 1751: Benjamin Franklin Academy opened in Philadelphia; private secondary school

● 1779: Bill for More General Diffusion of Knowledge: elementary schools would teach

reading, arithmetic, and writing to white children free for 3 years; unsuccessful.

● 1783: Noah Webster released first speller book, A Grammatical Institute of the English

Language

1800’s

● 1821: Troy Seminary is founded by Emma Wilard, which is the first female seminary in

the country

● 1824: Common Schools are opened; state-supported school

● 1836: McGuffey Readers series released

● 1839: First “Normal” School opened

● 1850: Segregation of Schools (Roberts vs City of Boston): “separate, but equal”

● 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau: helped slaves following the Civil War

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1900-1950

● 1916: American Federation of Teachers founded

● 1924: Native Americans Granted Citizenship

● 1928: The Problem of Indian Administration: recommended Native American education

be restructured.

● 1930’s: Great Depression

● 1941: Lanham Act: program during World War II that funded training for workers in war

plants, the construction of schools in residential military areas, and childcare for parents

who worked.

● 1944/1945: GI Bill of Rights: provided veterans with funding for colleges, universities, or

special schools.

1950-2000

● 1954: Brown vs Board of Education, Topeka: desegregated schools

● 1958: National Defense Education Act: sponsored research and innovations in science,

mathematics, modern foreign languages, and guidance.

● 1965: Elementary & Secondary Education Act: allocated federal funds based on the

amount of poor students in school districts.

● 1972: Title IX: Education Amendment that prohibited disrimination of sex

● 1975: Education for Handicapped Children: free, appropriate education to handicapped

students

● 1983: A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform; critical report of the

United States educational system

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2000’s

● 2001: George Bush signs No Child Left Behind Act

● 2010: President Obama Changes the No Child Left Behind Act: all students will leave

high school “college or career ready”

● 2010-2012: Race to the Top: competition to promote excellence and innovation at the

state level

● 2015: Obama Signs ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act): sets high curriculum standards

by state

● 2017: DeVos Advocates Expanded School Choice: parents allowed to pick schools

regardless of school district

● 2020-Present: Equity for all students; excellence and ambitious standards, and

accountability for schools and teachers.

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References

● Parkay, F. W. (2020). In Becoming a teacher (11th ed.). essay, Pearson Education,

Inc.