Before there was a general movement to establish public schools in the early 1800's, most of the schools that existed in America were privately established, and operated under the jurisdiction of local authorities or local religious institutions. There were a few exceptions: in 1635, Boston Latin School was established as the first public school in America, and some other Massachusetts Bay Colony towns also had "free" public schools (for boys only) at this time. Many schools were therefore sectarian/parochial (and operated in languages other than English). Here is an example of a book written for schoolteachers teaching in New Jersey in the 18th century, where Dutch was still spoken. This book was supposed to serve as a bilingual aide, for teachers who needed to teach English to Dutch-speaking children, and for those needing to teach in Dutch to English-speaking children. The author, Francis Harrison, was a teacher in Raritan, NJ in 1730. The book was printed in Philadelphia by W. Bradford.
When the Public School Movement began (early 1800's, increasing in 1830's, resolved finally in 1840's) this began to change:
