It's estimated that over 20,000 schools across America, teaching 10 million children in all, closed their doors during the Great Depression. As one can imagination, this had a catastrophic effect on education in America, and it would be many years before the damage done was finally repaired.

Mass unemployment meant fewer people paying taxes, and with much less tax revenue available, state governments were unable to maintain many of the schools in their districts. Education was particularly hard hit in rural areas, as these bore the brunt of the Depression. To make matters worse, children tended to stay in education longer, as it was virtually impossible to find work, especially on farms. This placed an additional strain on an already overburdened system of education, making it inevitable that some schools would have to close.

Even those schools that remained open were beset with serious problems. Without enough money to go around, school buildings often fell into disrepair, with children forced to study in unsafe classrooms. As for teachers, they were faced with the extra burden of taking care of malnourished children, whose lack of a decent meals made it difficult for them to concentrate in class.