Welcome to the American School's blog. You will see our last thirty blog posts on this page. View the ten most recent blog posts here. View some of our favorite blog posts from the past decade here.
- Goodbye to American School’s Old Web Site - We have a bonus blog for you today because this weekend we are saying goodbye to American School's current web site. It has served us well over the years, but it's time for an upgrade, and that is scheduled to happen over the weekend. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, you will see our new web site... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: Kansas - It’s January 29, and Kansas became a state on this date in 1861. Kansas is known as the Sunflower State, and American School can help you blossom as a student. You may enroll in our accredited middle school program when you are ready to begin sixth grade. You will take five units of credit per... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: The Space Shuttle Challenger - Today American School remembers the loss of the space shuttle Challenger and its seven crew members who perished on this date in 1986. American School is a leading distance education high school and distance education middle school, but the ill-fated mission of the Challenger was to take distance learning to a whole new level. That’s... Read More
- National School Choice Week - It's January 27, and today is the exact halfway point of National School Choice Week. We know that you and your family have many educational options. For those of you who have already chosen us, we thank you. For those of you still in the process of making your choice, we ask you to consider... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: Michigan - It’s January 26, and Michigan became a state on this date in 1837. Michigan is known for many things, including beautiful beaches and majestic fall colors, and its biggest city, Detroit, is known as the home of Motown music and a leader in the automotive industry. We mention music and the automotive industry because they... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: Transcontinental Telephone Service - It’s January 25, and on this date in 1815, Alexander Graham Bell in New York City called Thomas Watson in San Francisco, thereby completing the first transcontinental telephone call. No matter where you live in the United States, you can call us at 708-418-2800 to learn how you can complete an accredited middle school program,... Read More
- Winter Spectacular Offer Expires January 31 - Today’s blog is a reminder that our Winter Spectacular Offer will expire on January 31. In order to take advantage of this offer, students in full years of our accredited high school program and accredited middle school program should fill out the form enclosed with your January billing statement and send two (2) regular monthly... Read More
- SAT Update - This week the SAT announced several changes to its exam. Details are available here. If you are a student in our general high school program or college preparatory program and have questions about the SAT or ACT, our counseling department can help. We are happy to help you prepare for standardized tests, but they are... Read More
- Today’s Special Occasion: Presidential and Vice-Presidential Inaugurations - It’s January 20, and today Joe Biden will be inaugurated as President of the United States, and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as Vice-President of the United States. American School is neutral when it comes to politics, but a presidential inauguration day is a time for new beginnings regardless of whether the president is taking... Read More
- Today’s Birthday: Edgar Allan Poe - It’s January 19, and author Edgar Allan Poe was born on this date in 1809. He is best known for writing spooky and scary stories such as “The Raven” and you can read his works in our Literature 3: Selected American Classics course. It’s one of many high school correspondence courses we have available to... Read More
- American School Closed Monday, January 18 - American School will be closed Monday, January 18, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. We will reopen with regular business hours on Tuesday, January 19. Today, January 15, is Dr. King’s actual birthday, and so we encourage you to visit the web sites of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park... Read More
- Terra American School Students Abroad Science and Engineering Fair - Today’s blog contains information about the Terra American School Students Abroad Science and Engineering Fair. As the name implies, this fair is open to American students who are studying abroad and do not have access to a traditional science fair in their hometowns. Click the link for more details. We are happy to share information... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: The National Geographic Society - It’s January 13, and the National Geographic Society was founded on this date in 1888. The National Geographic Society is interested in far more than finding places on a map. In fact, it has many programs in place to explore the entire planet and care for its overall well-being. You can learn more about the... Read More
- Common App Launches Mobile Application - Recently Common App launched a new mobile application which makes applying to college easier than ever. The new app might be particularly useful for students in our college preparatory program when they apply to the college or university of their choice. Please know that students who earn our online high school diploma or correspondence high... Read More
- About commonapp.org - Today's blog is about CommonApp.org, which is a great resource if you are thinking about applying to college. Our college preparatory program is designed for students who are thinking of attending a four-year college or university, while our general high school program can be done to earn a high school diploma at home if you... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points - It’s January 8, and on this date in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson presented his Fourteen Points which paved the way to peace after World War 1. When it comes to points on your exams in our online high school courses, online middle school courses, paper-based high school courses or paper-based middle school courses, you should... Read More
- Testimonial Thursday - It’s the first Thursday of 2021, which makes it the perfect time for the first Testimonial Thursday of the new year. Although we’re always happy to serve students in the United States, sometimes we wish to remind you that we are internationally relevant and serve students in more than 65 countries around the world. One... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: The Four Freedoms Speech - It’s January 6, and on this date in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his Four Freedoms Speech. FDR’s four freedoms were freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear. That quartet got us thinking about a quartet of our own. We call them our Four C’s, and they are... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: The Eight-Hour Workday - It’s January 5, and on this date in 1914, the Ford Motor Company instituted the eight-hour workday. The eight-hour workday might seem commonplace to us now, but more than a century ago, labor laws were not always friendly to employees. Very long shifts of up to 10 or 12 or even 16 hours were the... Read More
- 2021 Preview - It’s January 4, the first day American School is open in 2021. Many people make resolutions at the start of a new year, so this first blog of the new year is a good time for us to tell you our four resolutions for the coming year. We resolve to offer our students print and... Read More
- 2020 Review - It’s New Year’s Eve, and so today is an appropriate time to look back at everything that happened in 2020. Certainly it’s been a challenging year on many levels with the pandemic, the fight for racial and social justice and a contentious presidential election just to name three, but we hope you’ve been able to... Read More
- American School Closed Friday, January 1 - American School will be closed Friday, January 1. We will reopen with regular business hours on Monday, January 4. Thank you for understanding, and please make sure to read our blog tomorrow. We'll review 2020 and what we've done in the past year to help students earn a high school diploma at home. Thank you... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: Texas - It’s December 29, and Texas became a state on this date in 1845. You may have heard the phrase “everything is bigger in Texas” and that is true in many situations. In fact, Texas might very well be our biggest convention state considering we’ve attended events near Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston many times over... Read More
- Today’s Anniversary: Iowa - It’s December 28, and Iowa became a state on this date in 1846. If you’re a regular blog reader, you know that we try to visit neighboring states often when travel is possible, but we’ve neglected Iowa. When travel resumes, we’ll do our best to attend a convention in the Hawkeye State. Some of you... Read More
- American School Closed December 24-25 - American School will be closed Thursday, December 24, and Friday, December 25, as we give our employees time to be with their families. We will reopen with regular business hours on Monday, December 28, and will be available to assist you with your accredited high school courses or accredited middle school courses at that time. ... Read More
- Winter Spectacular Offer Coming Soon - American School is helping students in our accredited middle school program or accredited high school program start 2021 in style by offering a WINTER SPECTACULAR OFFER through January 31, 2021. The WINTER SPECTACULAR OFFER is simply this: Send two (2) regular monthly payments–one for February and one for March–by January 31, 2021, and we will... Read More
- Today’s Special Occasion: The First Day of Winter - It’s December 21, and today is the first day of winter. People often associate winter with cold and snow, but not having an accredited high school diploma can freeze you out of having the life you’ve always wanted for yourself and your family. Thankfully American School can help you earn a high school diploma at... Read More
- Writing to One Email Address - Today's blog is about writing to one email address when you contact us. We are grateful that you made us your distance education middle school or distance education high school, and we want to provide you with quick service whenever you ask us for help. Writing to multiple email addresses, however, can slow down that... Read More
- American School Celebrates 123rd Anniversary - It’s December 17, and today American School is celebrating its 123rd anniversary. Our charter is dated December 17, 1897 and comes from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts because R.T. Miller and his friends founded American School near Boston. We were based in Massachusetts for a few years before moving to Chicago in the early 1900s. The... Read More
- American School Closing Early on December 17 - American School will close at 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 17, for a staff event. We will reopen with regular business hours on Friday, December 18. Thank you for understanding. We are happy you made us your distance education high school or middle school and are happy to assist you with your accredited high school... Read More
