How schools have changed over the last 80 years

Students in a Seattle, Washington, high school ducked for shelter beneath their desks during a mock air raid in 1942.

On D-Day, older students at a school in Chicago, Illinois, heard broadcasts, rewrote them for primary students, and reported to classrooms throughout the school.

A driving class at Chicago's Lane Technical High School learned the meaning of highway signs and signals in 1947.

A class at Russell High school in Atlanta, Georgia, listened to a radio broadcast coming from the Atlanta School system's own radio broadcasting station in 1950.

The principal of Lafayette Grammar School in San Francisco, taught students how to choose about which comics, radio programs, TV shows, and movies they spend their time consuming in 1951.

This 1954 photo was taken on the first day of non-segregated schools for teachers and pupils in the District of Columbia public school system. Ella J. Rice was the only Black teacher in the school.

Six Black children completed their first week at Griffin School in 1955, the first Kentucky public school to attempt integration.

A Black student sat inside a classroom at the newly integrated school in Clinton, Tennessee, in 1956. There were only 12 Black students attending the school at the time, which had been the scene of minor violence as a result of integration, according to AP.

The students became known as the "Little Rock Nine."

Gaylord Gibson taught language arts to high school seniors in Front Royal, Virginia, in an improvised classroom located in an old youth center building.

Jefferson Thomas, the only Black student in Central High School, spoke with a white student as they left the school with other pupils. Thomas said it is the first time a student chatted with him in such a friendly manner outside the classroom in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1959.

A group of children saluted the American flag at a school in the Chinatown area of Manhattan, New York, in 1960.

Children played outside of the one-room school house at Madison, Maryland, in 1961. There was an assembly room in addition to the single classroom.

White students in Prince Edward County moved to newly-established private schools when the public schools remained closed rather than integrate, leaving Black students without schooling. The Prince Edward Free School Association filled that gap by leasing the closed public school buildings and starting schools of their own such as the Mary E. Branch number one school in Farmville, Virginia, in 1963.

The first graders were students at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Chicago, Illinois.

Readers could choose between chairs and exercise balls at PS 219 in Queens, New York, in 1968.

A Confederate flag was displayed in the classroom.

Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori was an Italian physician and teacher best known for founding the Montessori method of education, a child-centered educational approach that has since gained a global following.

Youngsters from Hillside Elementary school milled around a school bus as the day's classes ended in Berkeley, California, in 1971.

Children got instructions from teacher Barbara Friend during seventh grade French class at Junior High School 211 in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, New York, in 1972.

California was one of 10 states that had full-fledged education programs for the gifted in 1973.

The US District Court in Massachusetts ruled that Boston's public schools were required to integrate via busing in 1974.

Gary E. Butler, left, exchanged rings with his bride, Christine N. McDuffie, during their wedding in an Atlantic County Vocational School classroom in 1975. The bride was a student there and didn't want to miss a day of training.

The Association of American Dance Companies listed 350 members in 1976, though not all of professional caliber, compared to 132 in 1966.

Terri Thompson, 11, led her fourth grade class in a short prayer at the start of the day in a public school in the Dorchester section of Boston in 1980. Any student who did not wish to participate could leave the classroom.

The classroom was decorated with images of Donald and Daisy Duck.

The video arcade games were placed in the high school as an experiment to raise money and produced about $200 in three weeks, according to AP.

Hart made a campaign stop at the nursery school on the day of the New York presidential primary election.

Hagar taught a driving course to a group of MTV contestants.

Aquino talked to the children about freedom during her trip to the United States.

Rosewood Elementary School students in Los Angeles, California, listened to a presentation by police officer Greg Boles in 1987. The presentation was part of Los Angeles police department's Project D.A.R.E., which launched in 1983.

New York City elementary schoolchildren got a few hours to experience science the way scientists do: by touching, observing and experimenting.

Alicia Custodio, a volunteer for Upward Fund, an organization that runs after school programs in East Harlem, New York, helped two children with the use of a computer.

Instructor Tom Payne spoke to students in his "Weird Facts" reading class.

Sixth grade teacher Peggy Reilly and her class had a spirited discussion at Walker Elementary School in San Diego, California.

Clinton read "There's An Alligator Under My Bed" to Delois Cunningham's kindergarten class at Public School 31 in Buffalo, New York.

Counselors helped students deal with stress caused by the destruction of their homes by Hurricane Andrew.

Wilson, a high school history teacher in Missouri, was among a growing number of teachers across the country who chose to discuss their sexual orientation in class.

Eight-year-old Ricky Lattimer lay down on an alphabet mat in a kindergarten class at W.R. Croman Elementary School in Troy, Pennsylvania, accompanied by his support aide and physcal therapist. Seated at left is Sally Van Noy, learning support aide. Lattimer was one of the students with disabilities included in regular classrooms at the school.

Single-sex schools have always existed, but teaching boys math, science and English separately from girls was new in public schools. More than a dozen states tested the concept.

One student at Davidson Elementary School in San Bernardino, California, let out a yawn while Gore spoke.

Clinton urged Americans to vote for candidates for Congress who will pass his school construction initiative that Republicans rejected.

Houston's State Board of Education chairman suggested redirecting textbook funds into buying laptop computers and easily updated software.

Sarah Dicke, a student at Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, used a virtual classroom in which all the material for the class are online, and communicated with her teacher via email. She was one of a growing number of students turning to the internet to complete courses required for high school graduation or to get an early start on college.

Mason Heights Elementary first grade student Gabe Richardson took a break from his lunch.

In the early 2000s, chalkboards were slowly being replaced by modern whiteboards that could also be utilized for virtual computer screens.

At Kimberly Middle School, the school's sixth-grade classes were divided up into separate classes, one for boys and one for girls, for the core classes of math, science, English, and social studies. Administrators said that there were less classroom problems as a result of the change.

Jeffords visited the school in conjunction with an essay contest asking students what freedom means to them.

Kasandra Herrera, 6, read a book in Spanish in Bianca Alvarez's dual language first grade classroom at Northwest Elementary School in Dodge City, Kansas.

Obesity researchers from the Mayo Clinic wanted to learn whether classrooms really need desks, or if being able to move around helps students fight obesity while they learn.

Language arts teacher Julia Austin instructed students against using instant messaging slang in their essays at Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Orlando, Florida.

The garden, sponsored by the nonprofit Organic School Project, was part of a larger national movement to teach children healthy eating.

Tiffany Miller taught her fourth grade class at Bauder Elementary School in Fort Collins, Colorado, with exercise balls as chairs. A growing number of classrooms ditched the traditional classroom chairs in favor of stability balls as a way to improve student posture and attention.

Teacher Keenan Haley teaches a curriculum about nutrition and agriculture.

A glass-topped channel allowed collected rainwater to flow through their classroom in the school's new science building. The building was one of several dozen nationwide that recycles and manages rainwater and waste water on site.

Nkomo Morris, a teacher at Brooklyn's Art and Media High School who taught English and journalism, said she had about 50 current and former students as Facebook friends.

The 18-month-old golden retriever was one way this school tried to help students cope with a rise in stress, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Obama spoke to the students about his goals of connecting students to next generation broadband and wireless technology.

The number of breakfasts served in the nation's schools doubled in the last two decades, a surge driven largely by a change in how districts deliver the food. Instead of providing low-income students free or reduced-price meals in the cafeteria, they're increasingly serving all children in the classroom.

Raftery posed for a photograph in her classroom as she prepared it for the upcoming school year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Raftery raised funds through crowdfunding to supplement the money she took out of each paycheck to pay for classroom supplies.

Dania's parents fled Syria in 2012 and the family lived in Turkey before arriving in Rutland.

Following the massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February 2018, students walked out as part of a nationwide protest against gun violence.

Conrad Nguyen, 17, stood on top of a bench outside of his school and spoke at a rally, organized by the local March For Our Lives chapter, in support of more gun control regulation.

Jay Horton, 6, prepared for virtual first grade on the first day of school from his family's home in Arlington, Virginia.

Teacher Maribel Reyes had some students in the classroom and some online at Sunkist Elementary School in Anaheim, California.

A student held up a sign reading "Freedom to learn" as members of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School Board met to consider banning the academic concept of critical race theory in the district.