A district school is a small country school organized to serve the needs of a particular neighborhood rather than a whole township. It was the original form of public school in colonial New England and New York.As the population increased, roads and transportation improved, and wild animals became less of a danger, the population scattered over the area of the towns. Most New England towns contained several villages as well as a widely distributed farm population. A town tax in whole or in part supported the school. Those who voted for and paid the tax required that the school be accessible to their children. Initially, the moving school, in which the teacher went to the pupils, emerged.
The divided school developed next, in which the school went for a portion of the year to a village. When these short school terms became permanent, the school district came into existence....
By the close of the nineteenth century, good roads made possible the consolidated school, which gradually replaced the one-room, ungraded district school throughout most of the country.
Monroe, Paul. "School, District." Dictionary of American History. The Gale Group Inc. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 20 Nov. 2009 .
