Welcome to the American School Blog!
Since 2006, the American School Blog has kept students, parents and school officials up to date on what’s happening at American School. Below are our most recent blog posts. Visit the American School Blog Archive to read noteworthy blogs from over the years.
American School Closed Monday, September 1, 2025
American School will be closed on Monday, September 1. We will reopen with regular business hours on Tuesday, September 2, and look forward to assisting you with your accredited middle school program, accredited high school program or independent study program at...
Today’s Anniversary: Scientific American Magazine
It’s August 28, and Scientific American magazine was published for the first time on this day in 1845. It is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States, and its anniversary is a great time to promote our science courses. We have a variety of...
Today’s Anniversary: The Guinness Book of Records
It’s August 27, and the Guinness Book of Records was published for the first time on this day in 1955. The book is a British publication listing thousands of world records, and while American School is not listed in it as far as we know, we’d like to think we’d be in...
Today’s Birthday: Will Shortz
It’s August 26, and Will Shortz turns 73 years old today. He is the crossword editor for the New York Times, and we mention his birthday today for two reasons. First, his degree from Indiana University is in enigmatology, which is the study of puzzles. To date, he...
Today’s Anniversary: The National Park Service
It’s August 25, and the National Park Service was established on this day in 1816. It’s a great occasion to encourage you to visit national parks near you or to take a trip and visit new ones. Some people have a goal to visit every national park, but if your goal is...
Reminder For Independent Study Students
Today’s blog has a reminder for students who attend traditional schools but who take individual homeschool courses for credit recovery or enrichment through our independent study program. If possible, please connect a personal email address to your account rather...
Today’s Anniversary: Hawaii
It’s August 21, and Hawaii became a state on this day in 1959. Hawaii is known for its Aloha Spirit which is centered on connection, and those of us here at American School do something similar as we serve homeschooling students in Hawaii and across the country. We...
Today’s Birthday: Benjamin Harrison
It’s August 20, and Benjamin Harrison was born on this day in 1833. He was the 23rd President of the United States and his home is located just a few hours away from American School in downtown Indianapolis. Over the years this blog has encouraged homeschooling...
Today’s Anniversary: The All-American Soap Box Derby Race
It’s August 19, and the first All-American Soap Box Derby Race was held on this day in 1934. The Soap Box Derby is a gravity-powered race, meaning that the cars driven and built by youngsters simply go down a hill naturally and do not use fuel. The idea of going...
Today’s Anniversary: The 19th Amendment
It’s August 18, and the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on this day in 1920. This amendment gave women the right to vote, and the anniversary of its ratification is a great time to remind you that American School does not discriminate...
About the Gates Scholarship
Today’s blog contains a link to information about the Gates Scholarship. As stated on the scholarship’s web site, the Gates Scholarship (TGS) is a highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding high school seniors from low-income households. Please read...
Today’s Birthday: Magic Johnson
It’s August 14, and legendary basketball player Magic Johnson was born on this day in 1959. He won 5 NBA titles and 3 MVP awards as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he also won a national championship in 1979 as a member of the Michigan State Spartans...
Today’s Birthday: Bert Lahr
It’s August 13, and actor Bert Lahr was born on this day in 1895. He is best-known for playing the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 movie version of The Wizard of Oz, and that role got us thinking about doubt and belief. We realize that homeschooling might be an entirely...
Today’s Anniversary: The Sewing Machine
It’s August 12, and Isaac Singer received a patent for his sewing machine on this day in 1851. It seems like the perfect day to mention our fashion courses. We offer Fashion among our high school correspondence courses and Introduction to Fashion Design among our...
Today’s Anniversary: The Mall of America
It’s August 11, and the Mall of America opened in Bloomington, Minnesota on this day in 1992. At the time of its opening, it was the largest mall in the United States, and although shopping has changed over the years, the mall still draws large crowds of people from...
Update About American School and the NCAA
Today’s blog has an update (or lack thereof) about American School’s relationship with the NCAA. Recently a representative from American School spoke with a representative from the NCAA regarding the possibility of having American School’s courses reevaluated for...
American School Closing Early Friday, August 8, 2025
American School will close at 12 noon on Friday, August 8, for a staff event. We will reopen with regular business hours on Monday, August 11. Thank you for your understanding and for making us your distance learning middle school or distance education high school. ...
Today’s Anniversary: Gertrude Ederle
It’s August 6, and Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel on this day in 1926. Back when we were first creating what would become our Writing 1 course we included a story about this very event, so whenever we think of Gertrude Ederle, we...
Today’s Anniversary: The Traffic Light
It’s August 5, and the first traffic light was installed in Cleveland, Ohio on this day in 1914. As you know, traffic lights usually have three colors: red for stop, yellow for caution and green for go. Those same three colors are seen by students taking our online...
Today’s Birthday: John Venn
It’s August 4, and mathematician John Venn was born on this day in 1834. He is perhaps most famous for creating a certain type of diagram that bears his name, and you can find Venn diagrams in several of our advanced math courses, including Probability and...
Today’s Anniversary: Colorado
It’s August 1, and Colorado became a state on this day in 1876. Colorado is known for its mountains, and sometimes you might feel like you’re climbing a mountain as you work to earn a high school diploma at home. American School can help! We allow students to work...
Testimonial Thursday
It’s Thursday, so let’s hear a testimonial from one of our students. Amanda from Michigan writes, “Whenever I need to make up a course, I know I can always depend on the American School to have the course I need because the American School has the most courses to...
Today’s Birthday: Henry Ford
It’s July 30, and automobile businessman Henry Ford was born on this day in 1863. Many times in this blog we will encourage you to visit presidential libraries and museums or other historical sites as a way of making your accredited middle school courses or...
Reminder About 2024-2025 Enrollment Applications
Today’s blog contains a reminder that we will accept printable 2024-2025 enrollment applications for our accredited middle school program, accredited high school program and independent study program as long as they are postmarked by July 31. If you send an old...
Today’s Birthday: Beatrix Potter
It’s July 28, and author Beatrix Potter was born on this day in 1866. She is best known for The Tale of Peter Rabbit but in addition to writing that book and several other children’s stories, she was also interested in conservation and farming. These diverse...