It’s March 8, and today is International Women’s Day. To celebrate, this blog is going to talk about the roles women have played in making American School a leading distance education middle school and distance education high school for 124 years. As you know, American School was founded by R.T. Miller and a group of his colleagues, all of whom we believe were males. Much of American School’s early years were in a different era when society believed men should work in the business world and women should work in the home. Thankfully times have changed, and not too long after American School moved to Chicago, more and more women joined the ranks of American School employees. Some were instructors who graded exams in high school correspondence courses, while many others did more general office work such as typing and answering the phone. As the years went on, women assumed leadership roles, and we are thankful they did. Women became department heads and continued to ascend into positions that would help drive American School’s future plans. Former Educational Director Mary McKeown is a great example of this. She was affiliated with American School for 75 years, first as an instructor who also wrote mathematics study guides. Later she became principal and educational director and was a valuable School trustee for many years. Roberta Allen served as school counselor, curriculum director, executive vice-president and trustee during her tenure here. Finally, in 2017, Valerie Riley became American School’s first female president after serving the School in various capacities during her tenure. We are grateful for all of the women who have worked at American School over the years and are happy to have them serving our students.