In this study on educational change in Pennsylvania from 1790 to 1838, I reexamine the history of how the state established its common school system, the predecessor to the state's public school system. In doing so, I identify a series of three leaders, argue that poverty was the primary catalyst for educational reform, and explain the nature of…

In this article, the authors discuss a month-long research study where sixth grade students researched three women for the half-century after the U.S. Civil War War that worked to change their respective communities to address public issues: Jane Addams, Clara Lemlich, and Ida B. Wells. The sixth graders read a picture book for each of the three…

The qualitative case study exposed the permanence of racism beginning in the antebellum public schools of Nashville and continued in the current actions in the Tennessee legislature with the expulsion of two Black male legislators. Critical race theory is used as the main descriptor for the actions of White politicians and legislators in Tennessee…

When it comes to creationism, it might seem as if the United States is trapped in a century-long culture-war rut. In a sense, the Scopes Trial of 1925 put science itself on trial, and it can seem as if every new dispute over teaching evolution is only a repetition of that famous trial. In truth, however, the power of creationism has ebbed…

Education is the cornerstone of American society. However, American society has a long history of providing unequal access to education resources, often to the detriment of Black children. Black children are often perceived as threatening, even when only 4 years old. Relative to their White peers, Black children receive a disproportionately high…

There is currently a national debate surrounding what can and cannot be taught in K-12 public schools. In this Equity Dispatch we remember that centering equity and being able to recognize, name, and address the history of systemic racism and oppression in the United States is inclusive, not divisive.

Public schooling in the 19th century cultivated in students a shared sense of identity as citizens with a common culture. However, posits David Labaree, U.S. schools are less effective than they used to be at serving this purpose, making their value to the nation-state open to questioning. Labaree considers three common functions that public…

For more than a century, the state of Florida has been home to a rich, diverse cultural tradition and history stemming from its pan-ethnic Latine population. While large metropolitan areas such as Miami and Orlando are home to sizable Latine communities, the idyllic and traditionally West-Central region of the state currently experiences a…

Standardized testing is a top priority in schools, with conversations around teaching and learning reduced to raising student test scores. Often any other conversations about how schools should serve students are eliminated or pushed to the periphery. The central questions raised here are the following: how are student-teacher relationships…

Given the huge increase in the number of American families able to choose their child's school, the time is ripe to ask, "What do parents want?" Whereas before, millions of parents were hemmed in by school policies that required their child to attend a residentially assigned traditional public school, now more and more states are…

Although, at one time, many observers believed that the courts and the schools should have little to do with each other, Justin Driver argues that the public school has, in recent decades, served as the single most significant site of constitutional interpretation in the nation's history. He traces four reasons for this growing intersection…

When the South Carolina legislature created the anti-NAACP oath in 1956, teachers across the state lost their positions. But it was the dismissal of twenty-one teachers at the Elloree Training School that captured the attention of the NAACP and Black media outlets. In the years following Brown v. Board of Education, South Carolina's Black and…

Many sexuality educators in the United States have noted that current sex education models do not meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student body, and they have begun advocating for anti-racist sex education. Many sexuality instructors, however, work in public schools that require the use of prevention-focused, evidence-based sexuality…

Many urban public schools are often perceived as inclusive due to the demographics of their diverse student populations. This myth of inclusivity reifies notions of equity in both education and broader society. However, upon closer inspection, this myth of inclusion crumbles once immersed within an urban high school. In this article, I present the…

This study investigates the role of religious politics in the dismissal of Mason in 1845. Related questions are (a) How volatile an issue was religious sectarianism during the early days of music in the Boston schools? (b) What were the religious backgrounds and convictions of the School Committee members responsible for dismissing Lowell Mason in…