barred from school

Grace Bagley’s first important organizing efforts were on behalf of children who lived in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Along with other social reformers she helped create programs to educate juvenile boys who were held in the city’s prison. After initially paying for tutors for several years, Grace and other social reformers saw to the establishment of the John Worthy School at the prison. They also turned their attention to the treatment of children by the courts. With persistence, they persuaded legislators to establish the nation’s first Juvenile Court system. Later, after the Bagleys had moved to Massachusetts, Grace opened a school in the North End of Boston to teach English and provide citizenship classes for immigrants.