Ten Major Events That Shaped education In America Bryan James

United States Education Timeline The First Public School 1635 Harvard College Established 1636 The Young Ladies Academy 1787 The College of William and Mary 1693 Bill of Rights 1791 Plessy V Ferguson 1896 Free Public Schools 1918 School Lunch for All 1946 Banning Prayer 1962 Race to the Top 2010

History of American Education  Massachusetts was the first state to implement an educational system to educate its people. However, the educational development focus more on religious teachings. In the 1600s, the Protestants main focus was to have individuals study the bible, so that they could develop a relationship with God. This led to the reform of education in the United States.

First Public School 1635  Boston Latin School is the first and oldest school in America. It was established April 23, 1635 in the city of Boston, MA. The school focus their curriculum framework on humanities. Organizing of Boston Latin School was based on the persuasion of Reverend John Cotton. Reverend Cotton wanted to establish a school where Latin and Greek were taught (Sass, 2016).  Sass, E (2016). American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from

Harvard College Established 1636  Harvard College is known as the oldest college in the United States. Harvard College was founded in The Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony voted to establish the college. Harvard College got its name after the late John Harvard a minister of Charlestown, MA (Sass, 2016).  Sass, E (2016). American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from

The Young Ladies Academy 1787  The Young Ladies Academy is known the first female school to open its door to female students in America. In 1787, The Young Ladies Academy opens in Philadelphia. Within no time the school became popular and enrolled almost 100 female students within its first sex month (Sass, 2016).  Sass, E (2016). American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from

The College of William and Mary 1693  The college of William and Mary is the second oldest in the United States. In fact, William and Mary original plans were to open the college dated back to 1618, before Harvard College was established. The opening of the college was ruined by an “Indian Uprising.” In spite of the 75 years delayed on February 8, 1618, King William III Queen Mary II sinned the charter for to opening of the college. At 17 George Washington obtained his surveyor’s license from the college of William and Mary. He would later return as the first American chancellor. Also, Thomas Jefferson earned his undergraduate degree from the college as well as President John Tyler and James Monroe (Sass, 2016).  Sass, E (2016). American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from

Bill of Rights1791  Equal Protection The 14 th amendment to the United States Constitution states that no state may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Adopted in The equal protection passage clearly stated that every person in the United States shall have equal protection of the law. Therefore, no children in the United States should be denied the right to an education based on religious beliefs, race, and or disabilities (Sass, 2016)  Sass, E (2016). American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from

Plessy V Ferguson 1896  In Plessy V Ferguson in 1896, the United States Supreme Court declared that segregation was not discrimination. This occurred because African Americans seek help from the courts to protect the constitutional rights. In other words, the courts told people of color that institutions such as schools were not designed for them (Sass, 2016).  Sass, E (2016). American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from

Free Public Schools 1918  During the 1800s, education was only available to the wealthy. People who wanted to reform the education system and wanted all children to have access to the benefits of education opposed this unfair treatment to children. Horace Mann and Henry Barnard publicized the educational issues to the public. Massachusetts passed the first law in 1852 granting free public schools access to every child. By 1918, all states followed Massachusetts and grant free public school access to each student (Thattai, n.d.).  Thattai, D. (n. d.). A History of Public Education in the United States. Retrieved from 11/PublicEducationInTheUnitedStates.html

School Lunch For All 1946  Ellen Wilkinson an advocate against poverty crusade and persuade congress to pass the School Milk Act. This act provides milk to every student enrolled in the public school system (Smith, 2014).  Smith, J. (2014) School Milk Act. Retrieved from educational.com/ED1946.htm

Banning Prayer 1962  The case of Engle v. Vitale prompted the Supreme Court to rule that official prayer was banned from public education. The court settled the matter between Christians, Jewish, and Unitarians who could not come to an agreement and accept the prayer written by the New York Education Board (“Prayer and the Public Schools,” n.d.).  Prayer and the Public Schools. (n.d.). Religion, education and your rights. Retrieved from 11_2.pdf

Race To The Top 2010  Race to the Top was implemented to provide encouragement to states and local educational organization to establish a comprehensive reform and develop modern strategies that are intended to produce significant outcomes for students and reduce achievement gaps among subgroups of students (Civic Impulse, 2016).  Civic Impulse. (2016). S — 111th Congress: Race to the Top Act of Retrieved from