Edu 201-Educational Timeline
Edu 201-Educational Timeline
Edu 201-Educational Timeline
1620 - The Mayflower arrives at Cape Cod, bringing the Pilgrims who established the Plymouth
Colony. Their religious views came to dominate education in the New England colonies.
1635- The first Latin Grammar School (Boston Latin School) was established.
1636 - The first university called Harvard College, was established in Newtowne, Massachusetts.
1638 - The first printing press in the American Colonies is set up at Harvard College.
1647 - The Massachusetts Law of 1647, also known as the Old Deluder Satan Act, is passed.
1690 - The first New England Primer is printed in Boston. It became the most widely used
1698 - The first officially supported library in the U.S. is established in Charles Town, South
Carolina.
1600s Summary
In 1635, the first public school in the United States was established in Boston,
Massachusetts. Known as the Boston Latin School, it was founded by early Puritan settlers and
was strictly for boys in preparation for college education. The following year, Harvard College
(Harvard University), one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, was established in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. The institution was named after John Harvard who left his books and
half of his estate for the institution. Harvard is also known for educating several presidents such
as John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, etc. Two years after the establishment
of Harvard, the first printing press in America was set up in Harvard College. By 1942, The
Massachusetts Bay Law was passed. The English Puritans who founded Massachusetts believed
that the well-being of the individuals, along with the success of the colony depended on a people
literate enough to read both the Bible and the laws of the land. In 1690, Benjamin Harris
published the New England Primer which was the first textbook ever printed in America. The
primers prepared young children to read the Bible. In fact, many of the Founding Fathers and
1700s
1710 - Christopher Dock, a Mennonite and one of Pennsylvania's most famous educators, arrives
1751 - Benjamin Franklin helps to establish the first "English Academy" in Philadelphia.
1752 - St. Matthew Lutheran School, one of the first Lutheran "parish schools" in North
1762 - Swiss-born Jean-Jacques Rousseau's book, Emile, Ou l'education, which describes his
1766 - The Moravians, a protestant denomination from central Europe, establish the village of
Salem in North Carolina. Six years later (1772), they found a school for girls, which later
1778/1779 - Thomas Jefferson authors Bill 79: "A Bill for the More General Diffusion of
1783 to 1785 - Noah Webster writes A Grammatical Institute of the English Language.
1787 - The Young Ladies Academy opens in Philadelphia and becomes the first academy for
1700s Summary:
In 1710, Christopher Dock arrived from Germany and opened a school in Montgomery
County, PA. H's book schul- ordnung which was published in 1770 became M First book about
teaching in colonial America. By 1727, The Ursuline Academy of New Orleans was established.
It became the first catholic school for girls. The school was sponsored by the Sisters of the Order
of Saint Ursula. This institution is currently the oldest operating school for girls and the oldest
Catholic school in the US. By 1751, Benjamin Franklin helped establish the first English
academy. This academy eventually became the University of Pennsylvania. The academy
focused on a curriculum that was classical and modern with courses that include history,
geography, navigation, languages, etc. in 1766, the Moravians from Central Europe, established
a village of Salem in North Carolina. Six years after their settlement, they established a school
for girls which became Salem College and women’s liberal arts college. In 1783 to 1785, Noah
Webster wrote A Grammatical Institute of the English Language. It consisted of three volumes
which were a spelling book, a grammar book, and a reader. These books have been widely used
1800s
1817 - The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf Persons opened.
1821 - Boston English High School, one of the first public high schools in the U.S., opened.
1829 - The New England Asylum for the Blind, now the Perkins School for the Blind, was
established in Massachusetts.
1837 - Horace Mann becomes Secretary of the newly formed Massachusetts State Board of
Education.
1837 - The African Institute (later called the Institute for Colored Youth) opens in Cheyney,
Pennsylvania.
1855 - The University of Iowa is the first state university to admit both men and women on an
equal basis.
1857 - The National Teachers Association (now the National Education Association) is founded
1867 - The Department of Education was created to help states establish effective school
systems.
1876 - Meharry Medical College was founded in Nashville, Tennessee. It became the first
1879 - The first Indian boarding school opens in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It becomes the model
for a total of 26 similar schools, all with the goal of assimilating Indian children into the
mainstream culture.
1800s Summary:
By the 1800s schools have slowly become more inclusive of students with disabilities.
For example, in 1817, The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb
Persons was established. Its establishment served as the first permanent school for the deaf in
America. This school was founded by Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. Thomas Gallaudet’s
son Edward Gallaudet helped establish the Gallaudet University in 1864 which became the first
college specifically for deaf students. Then in 1829, another school was established specifically
for students with visual disabilities. It was the New England Asylum for the Blind which is now
known as Perkin’s School for the Blind. By 1837, the African Institute (now called Cheyney
University of Pennsylvania) became the first institution for higher learning for African
Americans. It was funded by Quaker Philanthropist Richard Humphreys. He noticed that African
start an institution that would teach African Americans skills they need to succeed in competitive
industries. By 1855, Iowa University became the first institution to admit both men and women.
Aside from this, the institution has also accepted qualified students regardless of race since its
founding.
1900s
1900 - The Association of American Universities is founded to promote higher standards and put
1904 - Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American educator, founds the Daytona Educational
and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida.
1909 - Indianola Junior High School opened and became the first junior high school in the U.S.
1916 - Louis M. Terman and his team of Stanford University graduate students complete an
American version of the Binet-Simon Scale. The Fifth Edition of the Stanford-Binet Scales is
1919 - The Progressive Education Association is founded with the goal of reforming American
education.
1925 - Tennessee vs. John Scopes ("the Monkey Trial"): John Scopes, a high school biology
teacher, is charged with the crime of teaching evolution, which was in violation of the Butler
1931 - Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove (California) School District
became the first successful school desegregation court case in the United States. The local court
1954 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”
1999 - On April 20th, two Columbine High School students go on a killing spree that leaves 15
1900s Summary:
The start of the 1900s, The Association of American Universities was founded to
counterparts. Fourteen representatives of the major institutions of higher education believed that
the American system was fragmented which resulted in low graduation rates. In 1905, The
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded which encouraged the
adoption of a standard system for equating "seat time" (the amount of time spent in a class) to
high school credits which is now called the "Carnegie Unit." By 1909, high school graduation
rates were extremely low. To improve the rates, the Columbus Ohio School Board authorized the
creation of junior high schools, hence the establishment of Indianola Junior High School in 1909
which became the first junior high school in the U.S. With schools becoming more inclusive,
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. Civil rights law prohibited
discrimination against those with disabilities in all areas, including education. Many educational
issues were addressed during the 1900s, however, unfamiliar problems have arisen that are still
on-going today. In 1999, two Columbine High School students went on a killing spree that left
15 dead and 23 wounded at the Littleton, Colorado school. This was marked as the nations'
deadliest school shooting incident. Though schools tighten safety procedures because of the
2000s
2001 -No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was approved by Congress and signed into law by
2003 - The International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a non-profit organization
dedicated to enhancing K-12 online education, was launched as a formal corporate entity.
2004 - The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) was reauthorized.
2008 - Less than one year after the Virginia Tech massacre, former graduate student Stephen P.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of
2013 - On May 22, the Chicago Board of Education votes to close 50 schools to reduce cost and
improve the quality of education in the country This event was the largest mass closing in U.S.
history.
2013 - On October 21, a 13-year-old student arrived on the campus of Sparks, Nevada middle
school armed with a handgun, and wounds two 12-year-old boys and kills a teacher who was
trying to protect other students before he turns the gun on himself and takes his own life.
2018 -March 24: Hundreds of thousands of students from across the nation join the March for
2020 - On March 11, the World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic which
2000s Summary
In 2001, The controversial No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was approved by Congress
and signed into law by President George W. Bush on January 8, 2002. The law mandates high-
stakes student testing holds schools accountable for student achievement levels and provides
penalties for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting the goals of
NCLB. In 2004, The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA 2004), reauthorized
and modified IDEA which required school districts to use the Response to Intervention (RTI)
approach as a means for the early identification of students at risk for specific learning
disabilities. RTI provides a three-tiered model for screening, monitoring, and providing
increasing degrees of intervention using “research-based instruction" with the overall goal of
reducing the need for special education services. In 2007, Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student,
killed two students in a dorm and then 30 others in a classroom building at Virginia Tech
University. Fifteen others are wounded, and suicide brought the death toll to 33 which surpassed
Columbine High School as the deadliest shooting. Unfortunately, gun-based violence did not end
there, in 2012, Adam Lanza killed his mother and then invades Sandy Hook Elementary School
where he killed 20 children and six adults, including principal Dawn Hochsprung and
psychologist Mary Sherlachmaking, making this the second deadliest mass shooting by a single
person in U.S. history. By 2018, hundreds of thousands of students from across the nation joined
the March for Our Lives protest in Washington, DC as well as many other cities. This march was
a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. In 2020, the World Health
emergency which ordered States to close schools, and many colleges and universities suspend
"in-person classes."
Works Cited
Al Ibrahim, Kareem, and Martin O'Donnell. “Boston Latin School - Boston Latin School.”
“First Public School in America.” Edited by Caryl Sue, National Geographic Society, 28 Oct.
2013.
“Foundation History.” Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, The Carnegie
Foundation.
2009.
Holmes, L. N. “The Spirit of Salem College: A Glimpse into the Oldest Women's College in the
Lounsbury, John H. “How the Junior High School Came to Be.” Ascd.org, 21 Aug. 2014.
Owen, Eugene. “Where Did Benjamin Franklin Get the Idea for His Academy?” The
Patterson, Vanessa LeAnne. “Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (1837- ) •.” Black Past, 6 July
2010.
Smith, Samuel James. “The New-England Primer.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
“Virginia Tech Shooting.” Edited by Amanda Onion et al., History.com, A&E Television
Washington Office of Superintendent. “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.” Ospi, 13 May 2012.
White, Anna. “Southie History Lesson: Perkins School for the Blind.” Caught In Southie, 8 Mar.
2021.
WHO Org. “Who Director-General's Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19 - 11
March 2020.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 11 Mar. 2020,