ELECTA QUINNEY - 1st Public School Teacher in Wisconsin

MARCH IS WOMEN'S MONTH

1802-1885

Wisconsin's first public schoolteacher was Electa Quinney, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohicans. Quinney had come to Wisconsin in the massive Indian removal from New York in 1827 and was especially interested in teaching the children of the Stockbridge-Munsee settlement around Kaukauna. In 1828, she opened the first school in the state without an enrollment fee, allowing families who had been unable to afford school fees the luxury of an education.

An endowment has been established in her name by the Indian Community School of Milwaukee, Inc. at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee to continue her tradition. The Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian education and policy studies serves as a catalyst for American Indian education and policy initiatives, facilitating the development of new programs, services, and research opportunities at University Wisconsin Milwaukee in partnership with the American Indian community.

FOR MORE INFO, go to:
http://www.gichiziibi.com/electa-quinney-institute-for-american-indian-education.html