Colonial Era (1607-1776):
● There weren't an official middle school.
● Education was taught through traditional methods of family, church, and
community.
● Schools were all male, with a few facilities for females.
● 1635: Boston Latin School is the first public school and oldest existing
school in the U.S.
● In 1642, Massachusetts Bay Colony passed the first law in the New World
that required children to be taught to read and write.
American Revolution (1765-1783):
● Boston laid the foundation for the for the first tax-funded school system in any
American City.
● All schools were strictly local, financed, and controlled by local committees who
set their own standards, selected their own teachers, and chose their own
textbooks
● Massachusetts Education Act of 1789 required the creation of common
schools in the state’s smaller towns and grammar schools in its larger
towns,
● In 1795, New York State legislature appropriated a large sum of money for the
purpose of encouraging and maintaining schools in its cities and towns
Westward Expansion (1800-1860):
● 1817: a small group of Bostonians petitioned to establish a system of
government and phase out private schools because many poor parents
could not afford to send their children to private schools.
● 1818: Boston became the first American city to have complete government-
financed school system from the primary to the secondary level. This
created a new Primary School Board.
● Horace Mann and the education reformers worked to extend the state’s role in
defining what would be taught in schools and preparing those whom would
teach them.
Reconstruction Era (1863-1877):
● State began to eliminate government funding for private schools.
● 1864: Louisiana banned the use of government funds for any private
schools.
● 1868-1900: 14 more states banned the use of government funds for private
schools. 7 other states limited funding to public schools only.
Progressive Era (1896-1916):
● 1880-1904: John Dewey changed fundamental approaches to teaching and
learning. Dewey believed that students should be invested in what they were
learning.
● 1897: Reform in Atlanta, Georgia. School board sizes were reduced, while
the superintendent power increased. Classrooms were designed to relate to one
another.
● 1907-1930: The Gary Plan by William Wirt emphasized efficient use of
buildings and introduced vocational education programs within schools.
● 1909: First junior high school was Indianola Junior High School.
● Booker T Washington and Black Education: Washington emphasized
scientific, industrial, and agricultural education. Washington enabled careers for
many black teachers and professional. First President of Tuskegee
University (formerly known as Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute).
World War I (1914-1918):
● During the war, many children were forced to help the nation. They learned
and were taught various life skills and "hacks" to get through this time.
● 1910: Camp Fire Girls founded by Luther and Charlotte Vetter Gulick. Camp
Fire Girls provided healthcare for European refugees in the United States
while also maintaining 70,000 gardens during WWI.
● 1910: Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in England. The Boy
Scouts helped with food production and civil services.
● 1912: Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts (formerly known as the
Girl Guides). The Girl Scouts worked with the Red Cross and became home
demonstrators by showing others how to preserve and can food.
● All youth organizations and programs participated in Bond Drives to help
raise a large sum of money for the war effort.
● U.S. Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 permitted 4-H groups for
boys and girls were created throughout the nation and still popular today.
The Great Depression (1929-1939):
● Increase class sizes.
● Reduced school hours.
● Teacher's salaries decreased.
● One teacher to many students of different ages (Imagine teaching ages 7-16 at
the same time).
● Teachers formed unions to fight back against retrenchment.
● After the Great Depression, school budgets from states funds increased and
school systems became more efficient.
World War II (1939-1945):
● School enrollment declined and dropping out of school became normal.
● To enlist, academic testing is required and many enlistees failed the exams.
● Due to so many failed exams, military officers criticized the progressive
movement pushed for a more formalized curricula after the war.
● 1941: The Lanham Act provided aid to school districts that were
overwhelmed by the increase amount of children from families that were
employed in the defense.
● 1944: Servicemen's Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill) provided education benefits to
certain veterans (male and white) to attend school.
Post-War Era ( 1945-1964):
● 1963: The beginning of the Middle School Movement (finally).
● William M. Alexander also known as the "father of the middle school
movement" proposed to change the name from "junior high" to "middle
school" at the Tenth Annual Conference for School Administrators.
● Since there was only elementary and secondary schools, ages 10-15 weren't given
much attention.
● Under President Johnson, many Great Society Programs received significant
funding from the federal government.
● 1973: National Middle School Association (headquarters in Columbus,
Ohio).
Civil Rights Era and Years Later (1954-1990):
● Ruby Bridges was the first African-American to desegregate an all-white
school.
● Underused high schools and overcrowded elementary schools.
● Educators became aware of the nature of early adolescents development
period.
● Hundreds of middle schools were created.
● District of Alachua County, Florida was one of the earliest to adopt the
middle school concept and employed the first group of educators to try it.
● Middle School educators developed the flexible block schedule.
● Interdisciplinary team organization (teaming) positively impact students'
academic success.
Modern Day ( 2000-Present)
● 2001: No Child Left Behind. NCLB held schools accountable for how
students learned and achieved.
● NCLB required all children attending public schools pass state-mandated
assessments (high-stakes tests).
● COVID-19: Everyone doesn't have the opportunity to go back to school
peacefully or interact normally.
