Thomas Clap or Thomas Clapp was an American academic and educator, a Congregational minister, and college administrator. He was both the fifth rector and the earliest official to be called "president" of Yale College (1740–1766). He is best known for his successful reform of Yale in the 1740s, partnering with the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson to restructure the forty-year-old institution along more modern lines. He convinced the Connecticut Assembly to exempt Yale from paying taxes. He opened a second college house and doubled the size of the college.

Education in Connecticut covers the public and private schools of all levels from colonial era to the present. Originally an offshoot of Massachusetts, colonial Connecticut was committed to Puritanism's high regard for education. Yale College became a national model for higher education. Immigration in the 19th century brought a large working class Catholic element that supported vocational training, as well as a distinctive parochial educational system. The southwestern districts include wealthy suburbs of New York City that use strong public schools to compete for residents.