In 1940s America, along the Texas-Mexico border, las escuelitas -- or little schools -- were places Mexican American parents sent their young children to begin their academic learning. These escuelitas, however, were no ordinary schools. They did not teach students to read, write, and speak in English. Rather, they sought to develop, maintain and…

The one-room school house was synonymous with education in Nebraska for over a century. In 1901, most of the state's 6,773 schools were identified as one-room schools. While the national movement away from the one-room school house was also occurring in Nebraska, its 385 one-room schools were the most of any state in 1986 (McKee, 2013). The…

The role of nostalgia has been identified by those interested in the unique impact of one-room schoolhouses on historical memory and present-day fascination with the structures. Most notably, educational historian Jonathan Zimmerman explored the issue in "Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory" (2009). Zimmerman…

In 1935, as part of a relief project funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA 65-66-7752), the State of Texas undertook a statistical and research study of the Texas Public School situation with particular attention to be paid to the efficiency of the existing organization of administrative units, adequacy of public school plants, and the…

This article discusses the Pleasant Valley School, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which is now a living history project where contemporary 4th grade students throughout Oklahoma have the opportunity to spend a day as students did in a turn of the century one-room schoolhouse, complete with coal heating, ink wells, and "McGuffey…

Kate Brock's diary provides insight into the daily life of a one-room rural school teacher from Delaware County, New York, during the years 1902-1906. Through her diary she gives a candid narrative of her life as teacher and a member of a rural community. From the 3 1/2 years of almost daily entries, it is possible to identify a number of topics…

A significant factor for many people deciding where to live is the quality of the local school district, with superior schools creating a price premium for housing. The result is a "race to the top," as all school districts attempt to improve their performance in order to attract homebuyers. Given the importance of school districts to the daily…