The first schools were started by the church. Our founders recognized that Satan wants to keep people ignorant. If he can keep them ignorant, he can keep them in bondage. This motivated them to not only start schools but also colleges. Colleges and universities were started as seminaries to train a godly and literate clergy.
All education is religious - it imparts a basic set of principles and ideals, a worldview.
How the youth are educated today will determine the course a nation takes in the future. Noah Webster understood this very well. He spent his entire adult life working to reform America and to provide a foundation of liberty, happiness, and prosperity for all citizens. Education from a Christian perspective was key. Without a competent knowledge of legal and social rights and duties, persons are often liable to suffer in property or reputation, by neglect or mistakes.