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.

 

 

 

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...

2025 Convention #8: Southeast Homeschool Expo

American School’s eighth convention appearance of 2025 will occur next week at the Southeast Homeschool Expo just north of Atlanta.  Visit us in booth 4 at the Cobb Galleria Centre on Friday, August 1, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and on Saturday, August 2, from 10 a.m. to...

Today’s Birthday: Alexandre Dumas

It’s July 24, and author Alexandre Dumas was born on this day in 1802.  The French author wrote several books and is perhaps best known for The Three Musketeers which has the slogan, “All for One and One for All”.  The number three got us thinking about the three...

Updated Course List Available

An updated list of American School’s courses is now available.  Please refer to it often as you look for the accredited middle school courses or accredited high school courses which interest you.  Thank you for making us your distance learning middle school or...

Today’s Anniversary: America the Beautiful

It’s July 22, and Katharine Lee Bates wrote America the Beautiful on this date in 1893 after visiting Pike’s Peak in Colorado.  As you know, we are proud to include the word American in our name, and this anniversary is the perfect opportunity to remind you that we...

American School Closed Monday, July 21, 2025

American School will be closed on Monday, July 21, while crews upgrade a portion of the School’s power grid.  We plan to reopen with regular business hours on Tuesday, July 22, and look forward to assisting you with your accredited middle school program, accredited...

Today’s Anniversary: The Parking Meter

It’s July 16, and the first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on this day in 1935.  These days when people pay to park they often pay with a credit card, but for decades people had to put quarters or other coins into the meter for the right to park in a...

Today’s Special Occasion: The 2025 MLB All-Star Game

It’s July 15, and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played tonight in Atlanta.  Last Friday we wrote about the 19th anniversary of the American School Blog, and the subject of that very first blog was the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, which was being played...