Nebraska Historical Marker: The Nebraska State Teachers Association

Location

Intersection of S 4th St. & Water St., Brownville Public School, Brownville, Nemaha County, Nebraska

View this marker's location 40.396312, -95.66017

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Marker Text

On October 16, 1867, the first meeting of the Nebraska State Teachers' Association was held on this site in the Brownville Union High School, at that time the largest free high school in Nebraska. Presiding over this meeting was Robert W. Furnas, one of Brownville's leading citizens, who would later serve as Nebraska's second governor (1873-75). During this pioneer time, there were concerns about the often primitive and low-quality schools. Fewer than half of Nebraska's children attended school, and there were virtually no standards for teacher qualification. In response to these needs, the fifty-six people who attended the two-day meeting created the NSTA "for the purpose of elevation the profession of teaching and promoting the interests of schools in Nebraska." That spirit of commitment to education lives today in the work of thousands of Nebraska teachers who daily rededicate their efforts to the future of children and the improvement of their profession. Since its Brownville beginnings in 1867 the organization, now known as the Nebraska State Education Association, continues with an unbroken history as Nebraska's oldest professional association.

Marker program

See Nebraska Historical Marker Program for more information.