Normal school

Normal school, institution for the training of teachers. One of the first schools so named, the École Normale Supérieure (“Normal Superior School”), was established in Paris in 1794. Based on various German exemplars, the school was intended to serve as a model for other teacher-training schools. Later it became affiliated with the University of Paris. Normal schools were established chiefly to train elementary-school teachers for common schools (known as public schools in the United States)....