Our

Centennial

Stanford Graduate School of Education is celebrating 100 years of transformative teaching, learning and research. We are marking this milestone with special anniversary events and exhibits that showcase our rich history and contributions, while advancing new ideas and discoveries. We invite you to learn more about our past, look forward to the next 100 years, and join our vision of creating the means and opportunity for all people to learn and teach well.

History

The Stanford Board of Trustees voted in 1917 to elevate the founding Department of Education to a school. One hundred years later, we are a global leader in the preparation of teachers and future scholars, and a dynamic center of interdisciplinary research. Our scholarship has shaped policy and practice and transformed classrooms. Our ideas and knowledge are used worldwide.

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Ellwood Patterson Cubberley (center front), first dean of the School of Education, poses with faculty in the Main Quad, where the School of Education was originally housed before the new building was dedicated in 1938

Ellwood Patterson Cubberley (center front), first dean of the School of Education, poses with faculty in the Main Quad, where the School of Education was originally housed before the new building was dedicated in 1938

Milestones

1951

Planning for the Baby Boom

Prof. James D. McConnell, known to his students as "Dr. Mac", founds the School Planning Laboratory to refine such innovations as modular classrooms, computerized flexible scheduling and data-driven facilities planning.

Three men conversing in front of an old data-processing room that uses tape.

1959

STEP begins

The Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) enrolls its inaugural cohort of master's students pursuing innovative teaching strategies, launched by a $900,000 gift from the Ford Foundation.

Mary Paulsen, MA �60, teaches a lesson in Cold War civics�while in STEP's inaugural cohort. She taught for decades at Palo Alto's Cubberley High School.

1972

Where research meets practice

CERAS (Center for Educational Research at Stanford) opens. It initially houses the Laboratories for Quantitative Research, School Planning and Child Development. It now includes several centers, classrooms and meeting spaces, and recently played host to a community science night.

An old photo of the Center for Educational Research at Stanford building.

1994

Changing teaching strategy

Professor Elizabeth Cohen publishes Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. Cohen, shown with husband Robert Cohen, uses sociological theories to champion success for all children. Her work inspires others to strive toward equity in education.

A woman and a man in front of a manuscript.

2009

Partnering with San Francisco schools

Stanford formalizes a one-of-a-kind research-practice partnership with San Francisco Unified School District that enables teachers and administrators to use research more effectively to meet students' needs.

A male teacher conversing with some students.

Events

#StanfordEd100

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Your Voice

Our Centennial is told best through your stories, ideas and involvement. What are your experiences teaching and learning? What has education meant to you or your family? What inspires you? We would love to hear from you.