Education is primarily a State and Local responsibility in the United States. It is States and
Communities, as well as Public and Private Organisations
of all kinds, that establish Schools & Colleges,
develop Curricula, and determine requirements for
Enrollment and Graduation.
The Original Department of Education was
created in 1867 to collect information on Schools and
Teaching that would help the States Establish Effective
School Systems. While the Agency's Name and Location
within the Executive Branch have changed over the past 130
yrs, this early emphasis on getting information on what
works in Education to Teachers and Education Policy Makers
continues down to the present day.
The United States has had a strong
commitment to Education from Colonial times. over the
years, since its founding and expansion in the 19th
century, the free public school system has been the great
assimilator, embracing generation after generation of new
immigrants, and providing them with skills &
knowledge, & in the process access and upward mobility
within Society.
As this new century unfolds, Questions
as to how Education can be improved, or should evolve, are
high on the National, State and Local Agendas, in the
Public and Private Sectors alike.Today, choice and
standards-based reform, safety in Schools, the use of
Technology in Education, Community Service, Character
Building, Inclusion and the Recruitment and Training of a
Teacher Cadre for the new generation are among the matters
that are on the minds of most American Citizens. |
