On July 30, 1909, the Chicago Board of Education voted to appoint Young Chicago Public Schools' superintendent. She took office on August 2. She was the first woman in America to head a large city school system. At the time, the school district had 290,000 enrolled students and owned property worth $50,000,000. It was said that no woman had ever held such an important public office in the United States before. With an annual salary of $10,000, she was paid more than any woman had ever been paid for a public service position.
