Education

In early colonial Virginia, wealthy planters employed tutors, usually clergymen, for their children and often invited the children from neighboring plantations to attend classes. Many of the homes had large libraries. The first free school was endowed by Benjamin Syms in 1635. The College of William and Mary, one of the nation's earliest institutions of higher learning, was founded at Williamsburg in 1693. Augusta Academy, opened at Lexington in 1749, was the first of many private academies that flourished in Virginia until the late 19th century. (It later became Washington & Lee University.) A free public school system was provided for by the constitution of 1868.

The state board of education supervises public education. The board and the superintendent of public instruction are appointed by the governor with the approval of the General Assembly. Their terms expire at the same time as the governor's. School attendance is required from the age of 5 to 17.

The University of Virginia was chartered as the state university in 1819. Thomas Jefferson helped to found the university, which was opened in 1825, and designed many of its buildings. The main campus is at Charlottesville. Clinch Valley College at Wise is a branch of the university.

Hampton University at Hampton was founded in 1868 to provide higher education for newly freed slaves and became one of the nation's leading teacher-training schools for blacks.