Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 2.

How long the action of the committee of 1766 giving the girls opportunity for instruction remained in force we cannot tell, but it must have fallen into disuse either through lack of patronage or unwillingness on the part of the teachers to teach girls, for we find that on April 2, 1787, the town found it necessary to vote ‘that the Committee that provides a School master be desired to see what he will ask to keep the Girls one Hour in the forenoon and one Hour in the afternoon for four Months & Report at May meeting.’ No report is recorded from this committee, and no extra salary seems to have been paid. Possibly nothing further was done. Again, April 5, 1790, it was voted that ‘John Brooks, Benjamin Hall, William Gowen, Willis Hall & Ebenz Hall, Jr., be a committee to see what method is necessary with regard to the girls attending the Master's School and report at the May meeting.’ This committee made a report as requested, and it was voted that the ‘Girls have Liberty to attend the Master's School the three Summer months.’ This presumably means that during these months the girls attended at the same hours with the boys.

The first step toward coeducation was thus taken. The older boys were generally emplooed on the farms during the summer months, so that it is likely that the girls and young boys attended at this time, and our citizens evidently considered that the older boys were thus out of the reach of harm.

For some reason or other the presence of the girls in the summer, even with the younger boys, was not satisfactory, as we find the subject brought up again in town meeting June 20, 1794, when a long series of votes was passed which explicitly defined the rights of the female sex. ‘That in the Future each sex attend school at different hours.’ ‘That the Females attend school from 1st May to 1st October.’ ‘That from the first of May to the first of October the Public School shall be kept 8 Hours every Day viz. 4 Hours in the morning ’