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NYC Council meetings, chaptered and linked by time.

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Agency Testimony

Herman explains Brooklyn Girls Continuation School's pioneering role

New York City Council · Jul 9, 2026 · starts 0:26:32 · 34 sec

Herman details the Girls Continuation School as part of a program educating children over 14 who previously had no right to education, addressing challenges girls faced and teaching practical skills like dressmaking, bookkeeping, stenography, and nursing.

Margaret Herman

The Brooklyn Girls Continuation School was regarded as the forefront of democracy in the school system and was part of a larger continuation school program providing education for children above the age of 14 who until 1919 had no right to education and often went straight to work in dangerous low-paying jobs.

Margaret Herman

The girls'school specifically addressed challenges girls faced, including the expectation to care for the family and tend to the home.

Margaret Herman

Students learned practical skills such as dressmaking and household budgets, and were also given the opportunity to study bookkeeping, stenography, nursing, and other subjects that required technical training.

Margaret Herman

Next slide.