Back To School

                St. Edmund Girls High School Brooklyn New York Graduating Class of 1944 or 45.

My Mother June is in the second row 6th from the right, looking sad or maybe bored. I recognize that look. I believe she was 16 or 17 years old. Following High School she went straight into the work force having learned skills such as typing and stenography.

St. Edmund Preparatory High School was established in 1932.  It opened on February 2, 1932 as St. Edmund Academy, a two year high school for girls, with a class of 60. In 1936 it became St, Edmund Commercial High School, offering a two year commercial program. It became a four year high school in 1962 and was renamed St. Edmund High School. 

Here's some food for thought.  A Historical view.

U.S. Percentage of High School Graduates by year.*

1899-1900	6.4
1909-1910	8.8
1919-1920	16.8
1929-1930	29.0
1939-1940	50.8

1941-1942	51.2
1943-1944	42.3
1945-1946	47.9
1947-1948	54.0
1949-1950	59.0
1951-1952	58.6

1955-1956	62.3
1957-1958	64.8
1959-1960	65.1
1961-1962	69.5
1963-1964	76.7

This table is reproduced from Kenneth A. Simon and W. Vance Grant, Digest of Educational Statistics, Office of Education, Bulletin 1965, No. 4 (Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965).

Education has changed in so many ways over the last 120 years, and yet stayed the same in many other ways. Today with the pandemic the role of educator changes almost weekly.  I see some of my own grand children in front of virtual class meetings and others wearing masks socially distanced in face to face classrooms. I think its a lot harder today for kids. Having taught High School and Middle School for 34 years I can only imagine the stress parents and teachers are experiencing at this time.


I decided to trying to find out more about the educational experience some of the members of our two families. What grade level did they reach? What kind of experiences did they have? I found two things in US Census Data. In all the censuses  these two questions that were asked; Can Read and Can Write? Also the 1940 US Census listed highest grade last attended by the household members. For adults I assumed that was the highest they had last finished. This is what I found.

Name (DOB) Can Read and Write? Highest Grade Attended (1940)


Catherine Riordan Downing (1864) YY 8th
Michael J. Downing (1893) YY
Richard C. Downing (1898) YY 8th
Timothy J. Downing (1896) YY 8th
Viola Downing (1898?) YY 8th
Lawrence J. Downing (1899) YY 8th
Francis Downing (1907) YY 8th
Eleanor Castle Downing (1904) YY
Alice Anable Downing (1896) YY College +


Peter n. Miller (1890) YY 5th
Clara S. Miller (1898) YY 11th
Teresa Miller ( 1919) YY 8th
Leonard Miller (1918) YY 8th
Sylvester Miller (1920) YY HS 4yrs
Andrew Miller (1861) YY 6th
Lizzie Thies Miller (1867) YY 8th
Lawrence Noll (1894) YY 8th
Minnie Noll (1894) YY 8th

Helen Noll (1920) YY HS +
Bloss Noll (1846) YY
Mary Hund Noll (1855) YY


The majority of our recent ancestors could read and write and went as far as eight grade.  Based on family knowledge the more recent generations have almost all finished high school, with many finishing college and advanced degrees.