Highlights Archives
Wisconsin Celebrates National Education Week
Wisconsin's early settlers held a high regard for the development of intellect and spirit that triggered the formation of discussion groups, libraries and schools. Electa Quinney, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohicans, became the first public school teacher in Wisconsin. In 1828, she opened the first school in the state without an enrollment fee. She conducted classes for both Indian and white students at Kaukauna.
Many settlers pushed for the creation of a public education system but financial support for territorial schools remained limited until statehood established free common schools. The first free elementary school was founded in 1845 in Southport (now Kenosha). Michael Frank, a member of the Wisconsin territorial Legislature, was instrumental in the introduction of the system. He introduced a bill that established a free public school in Southport supported by property taxes. He also codified school laws based upon Article X of the Wisconsin Constitution, adopted in 1848, which established free public schools for children between the ages of 4 and 20.
However, many children still did not attend school for a variety of reasons, including poor teachers and long distances from the nearest school. To improve attendance, the Legislature passed the first compulsory attendance law in 1879. Ten years later, the Bennett Law passed, requiring children between the ages of 7 and 14 to attend public or private school at least 12 weeks of the year. The law also required that classes be taught in English, igniting an uproar among Wisconsin's immigrant population. German Americans felt particularly harassed by the law, denouncing it as an assault on their culture by those who sought to force their own values on everyone else. The Bennett law was repealed in 1891, though the strict attendance rule remained.
Even though the Legislature had established the University of Wisconsin in 1848, classes did not begin until 1850 and the university received no state funding until 1866. Popularly known as "The Wisconsin Idea," the university sought to extend the boundaries of the campus to include the whole state and focused on educating adults with the necessary tools for life. Later, in 1911, a vocational and adult-education system was established. By the early 20th century, the Wisconsin public education system had been well developed.
In the 1960s the growing African American population in Wisconsin faced segregation in the schools. At the time, Milwaukee was one of the most segregated cities in the country. Despite the 1954 case of Brown vs. Board of Education that declared segregation unconstitutional, schools remained segregated because of segregation in the city's neighborhoods. On July 19, 1976, Federal Judge John Reynolds ruled that Milwaukee schools were illegally segregated, and ordered the school board to take immediate steps to integrate the schools. Not until 1979 did the school board agree to implement a five-year desegregation plan.
Currently, Wisconsin has 426 public school districts and two state schools: Wisconsin School for the Deaf and Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped. Attendance is compulsory for children from ages 6 to 18, or upon graduation from high school.
The Wisconsin Historical Society's Teachers Portal offers dozens of services to teachers, including workshops, curriculum materials, field trips, online collections, lesson plans, books, National History Day training, classroom visits, and more. And, if you have any questions, the Society's Office of School Services is just an e-mail away.
:: Posted November 14, 2005
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