Do you know what Month it is?
It’s Women’s History Month, and we’re here to celebrate the contributions women have made to our world, particularly our favorite subject, EDUCATION!
Throughout this month we will be sharing inspiring stories of women who have made or are currently making contributions to education. Last month Case•it shared the story of Fanny Jackson Coppins. For March we will be presenting a list of 8 women in U.S. Education History we think you should know about. These women paved the way for future generations to continue to break glass ceilings.
was best known for her career accomplishments; co-founder of the American Association of University Women, serving as the President of Wellesley College from 1881 to 1887, as well as serving as Dean of Women at the University of Chicago. But her most important contribution was sure to the discourse about women’s education when she argued that women should be allowed to obtain college degrees. Mrs. Palmer was inducted into the Hall of fame for Great Americans in 1920 (posthumously).
was called many things; American educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian, and civil rights activist. She started a private school for African American Students in Daytona Beach, which is now known as Bethune-Cookman University, worked for FDR’s presidential campaign in 1932, and was then appointed to his Black Cabinet. Mrs. Bethune held many titles, but most of all, she was “The First Lady of The Struggle.”
As an educator and athlete, Lucy was a catalyst for change. She won the American Tennis Association’s First tournament in 1917, she was asked to create the first black junior high school in 1919, and in 1922 she was the first African American woman to be selected as the Dean of Women at Howard University. She’s also known for being one of the original sixteen founders of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
The lifelong teacher and companion of Hellen Keller, Mrs. Sullivan had a major impact on how those with disabilities were educated. She used her own obstacles and diligence to ensure that Helen Keller was able to learn how to read, write, and communicate despite being deaf and blind. In 2003, she was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Despite being blind and deaf, Ms. Keller mastered communications well enough to earn admission to Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person to earn a bachelor’s degree. Helen Keller wrote 14 books and hundreds of speeches on a wide variety of topics from labor rights to world peace. In 1920, she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and was a proud supporter of the NAACP.
best known as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council, she played an important role in pioneering and promoting the education for women in medicine. She attended Geneva Medical College and later played a significant role during the American Civil War by organizing nurses.
was the first black woman to receive a literary degree from Oberlin College, and the first in the U.S.A to earn a college degree. Following graduation, Mrs. Stanton continued to work in education in Cleveland, and published a work of fiction entitled, “Charles and Clara Hays.” Throughout her life, she was an educator, abolitionist, and activist as well as a staunch supporter and advocate for African American women through a variety of organizations across the country.
Was the first Indigenous American woman to earn a medical degree from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and in addition to being a physician and public health campaigner, she was an active social reformer. Mrs. Picotte practiced medicine on the Omaha Reservation and in her career served more than 1,300 patients.
