Dedham Public Schools

Stone plaque marking the site of the first public school in America. Located on First Church Green in Dedham, MA.

Other schools, including Boston Latin School and the Town of Rehoboth have claimed to be the first public school, but Dedham's was the first to be supported exclusively by tax dollars.[6][7] On June 25, 1894, the Great and General Court passed a Resolve to erect a monument commemorating the site of the first public school.[10] Lt. Governor Roger Wolcott led a committee that heard the claims of several cities and towns, including the presentation made by Dedham's Don Gleason Hill and Rev. Carlos Slafter.[13]

Wolcott's committee presented Dedham's claims to Governor Frederic T. Greenhalge and the Governor's Council.[10] The governor and council, in accordance with the law, then confirmed that Dedham's was the first.[10] On June 17, 1898, a monument was unveiled on the grounds of the First Church Green, near the site of the original schoolhouse.[14] Hill gave an address in which he noted the school stood in proximity to several important religious, civil, and historical buildings and monuments.

The first classes were likely in the meetinghouse.[15] The first schoolhouse was built in present-day Dedham Square near the First Church and Parish in Dedham by Thomas Thurston at a cost of £11 3 pence.[16][15] Approved at a town meeting in January 1648-9, it measured 15' by 18' with two windows and a fireplace.[17] Each boy was responsible for providing his share of firewood during the colder months.[18] The building likely resembled contemporary schools in the English countryside with a raised platform, wooden wainscoting, and high windows.[18] The teacher's desk would look like a pulpit and students would sit on plank seats.[18]

The schoolhouse also included a watchtower at one end to prevent Indian attack.[19] Placing the school next to the church was deliberate and symbolized the need for both academic and moral instruction.[19][16] It stood for nearly 50 years, although in 1661 school was kept in the house of the teacher, Francis Chickering.[20]

Early students studied reading, writing, and arithmetic, and as much Latin as the teacher could manage.[9][21] In the arithmetic book used, one or two problems were shown as examples under each rule, and the teachers provided the rest.[21] There were no problems for students to solve.[21] Reading was taught using the English primer and then a Psalter.[21]

Spelling was not taught at first, but eventually the "Youth's Instructor in the English Tongue" was used.[21] In addition to spelling, it also touched upon penmanship, reading, arithmetic, business forms, and bills of exchange.[21] Eventually, spelling contests became a popular winter entertainment for students.[21] In 1784, the schools began teaching geography.[22] A special penmanship teacher, John L. Howard, was hired in 1904.[22]

Girls were taught to read and write, as well as sewing, but they did not study math as they had no need for it.[9][22] Needlework, including patchwork, samplers, and embroidery, were taught as early as 1780.[11] The first sewing teacher, hired at the Avery School in 1868, was Jane S. Small.[23] It expanded to other schools, was discontinued for a time, and resumed in 1888 under the tutelage of Mary Elizabeth Cormerais.[23]

Asa Fitz, an itinerant music teacher, visited the Dedham schools once or twice a year.[23] From 1873 to 1879, Charles Edward Whiting was hired to teach music two days a week.[23] Maria T. Delano taught music in the high school from 1873 to 1884. From 1884 to 1898 it was taught by Arthur Wilder Thayer.[23]

After the Commonwealth mandated that drawing be taught in 1870, Henry Hitchens was hired to teach Dedham's teachers how to instruct in the art form.[24] In 1877, May Flagg Taft, Hitchen's future wife, was hired as a drawing teacher in the high school.[11] She was replaced in 1887 by Anna Rebecca Slafter.[11]

For seven weeks in the summer of 1891, the schools ran a sloyd program at the old high school building on Highland Street.[11] It was so successful that it was instituted as part of the regular curriculum in 1893.[11] When Annie G. Spencer was hired to teach the Manual Training course, Dedham became the first town in Norfolk County to teach an industrial training program.[11] William Ware Locke took over in 1898.[11]

Marion Spaulding began teaching Domestic Science in 1909.[25] The chemistry lab was especially outfitted with a gas stove and cooking utensils for the class.[25] The following year, Alfred C. Cobb began teaching woodworking, including mechanical drawing, bench work, lathe work, and pattern making.[25]

A stamp saving program was instituted in 1901.[25] Margaret Warren and Emily Ames visited the Avery and Quincy Schools once a week for several years.[25] Students would deposit with them a sum of money and receive a stamp indicating the value in return.[25] When their deposits totaled $3 the money was deposited into a savings account and a savings book was issued to students.[25] In 1902, 237 students saved $331.[25] A state law passed in 1911 explicitly allowed schools to do this and a program was set up with the Dedham Institution for Savings.[25] The bank would later set up a branch for students that was open during lunch hours in the high school cafeteria.

A program of physical education was introduced in 1893 when Olive F. Moakler began teaching the Ling System of gymnastics.[26] Jessie M. Moulton was hired as the school nurse on January 1, 1912 and conducted 5,684 examinations in her first year.[12]

In the early 1800s, students would be marched from the schoolhouse to the First Church and Parish in Dedham every six weeks on Thursday.[27] There they would listen to the Rev. Joshua Bates's preparatory lecture in advance of Sunday's Lord's Supper.[27] On the Monday following, Bates would visit the school to quiz students on the catechism.[27] Semiannually, students would spend a half day reciting the catechism.[27] Those with the best recitations were awarded small pamphlets with marble covers.[27]

On March 16, 1695, Dedham and several other towns established a 300 acre School Farm in what is today Wellesley, Massachusetts, near Wellesley College.[28] It did not prove to be profitable, and so it was sold on March 13, 1699 for 50 pounds.[28]

A kindergarten supported by private subscription was established at the Ames School in 1893 and ran until 1896.[22] In that year the town appropriated money for kindergartens at the Ames, Avery, and Oakdale Schools, but they did not last long.[22]

As early as 1827 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts required all towns with more than 500 families to establish a free public high school.[29][30] Beginning in 1844 the School Committee repeatedly began recommending that the town establish a high school.[31][32] It wasn't until 1850 when, under threat of a lawsuit, that the town meeting voted to "instruct the Town's School Committee to hire a building and teacher, and establish a High School according to law."[31] A sum of $3,000 was appropriated to support it.[31]

The first teacher, Rev. Ralph Wheelock, was paid 20 pounds annually to instruct the youth of the community.[7] Descendants of these students would become presidents of Dartmouth College, Yale University, and Harvard University.[4]

Michael Metcalf was hired as a teacher in 1656 at the age of 70[33][9] and John Swinerton was hired in 1663.[9] Joshua Fisher and Thomas Battle also taught during the early years of the school.[9] Battle, Metcalf, and Fisher were all farmers who stepped in to teach when a professional teacher could not be found.[9] As they had their own farms to manage in addition, their pay was not docked unless they missed an entire week's worth of classes.[9]

Sir Joseph Belcher, the son of Rev. Joseph Belcher, was the first teacher to travel to the various precincts to hold classes.[9] In 1766, Manasseh Cutler, a future congressman and "father of Ohio University," began teaching.[34]

The school was originally controlled by the town meeting but, in 1652, it was put under the control of the Selectmen.[14] In 1789, as the town was split into districts, a school committee was formed.[14] Clergymen were elected to oversee the schools.[14] While living in Dedham, Horace Mann served on the School Committee.[35]

In 1880, the growth of the schools required that a professional superintendent of schools be hired to oversee them.[32] I. Freeman Hall, who had previously taught in Quincy, was hired.[32] His successors through 1936 include Abner J. Phipps, Henry E. Crocker, Guy Channel, Oscar S. Williams, Roderick W. Hine,[lower-alpha 1] and John C. Anthony.[32]

The teacher's salary was paid by taxes. For every boy between the ages of four and 14, a tax of between three-and-a-half to five shillings was assessed,[15] depending on how far from the school the family lived. Families who lived more than 2.5 miles from the meetinghouse were exempt from the tax[9] until their children started attending.[10] This covered between 25% and 50% of the total cost, with the rest made up by a tax on the estates of the entire population.[15] In the years following the passage of the Old Deluder Satan Law, Dedham was occasionally fined for not spending enough money of its school but, for the most part, the appropriations to the school were generous.[15]

The schoolmaster's salary was initially set at £20 and was raised in 1695 to £25 pounds.[7] As there was little specie in the colony at the time, salaries were instead paid in wheat and corn.[10] Michael Metcalf, for example, received five pounds of each crop at every six months.[10] Not until 1696 did teachers receive actual money for their labor.[10] While the salary was not high, teachers earned a great deal of respect.[10] Records show that teachers were given the honorary title of "sir" at a time when most men were not even referred to as "mister."[10]

The first donation to the school was made by Dr. Henry Deengaine of Roxbury.[15] His deathbed will, taken verbally by John Eliot and approved by Governor John Winthrop, left £3 to the school.[15] In 1680, Dr. William Avery gave £60, and the Honorable Samuel Dexter left $170 in his will.[15] Dexter requested that his bequest, along with several other sums previously donated for the school but were used to hire soldiers instead, be returned to the school.[15] The town agreed to the terms but this fund, along with other school funds, subsequently disappeared.[15] A fund established by Deacon Nathaniel Kingsbury in 1749 had a corpus of £100, the interest of which was to be used for the schools.[21]

On January 1, 1744-5, school trust funds had a balance of £236, 2s, 8d.[21] By 1749-50, the account had £345, 8s, which was loaned out to 12 men in sums between £5 and £100.[21]

With the town growing and multiple schoolhouses being built, the school was essentially split into districts in 1756.[36] The districts were not established by law, however, until 1789.[37][14] As early as 1848, Rev. Dr. Alvan Lamson of the First Church and Parish in Dedham was making the argument that the districts should be abolished and Horace Mann said that the law allowing districts was "beyond comparison, the most pernicious law ever pass in the Commonwealth on the subject of schools."[32] The districts were discontinued in 1866 when the Town purchased all 11 buildings for a total of $49,180 and returned their value to the taxpayers of the respective districts.[32]

The Dr. Thomas J. Curran Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) is located at 1100 High Street and serves children in pre-school and kindergarten. The current principal is Kimberly Taylor.

Ground was broken on October 23, 2017, for the new ECEC at the former site of the Dexter Elementary School.[39] It was the first pre-school in the state to receive funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.[39] The school, which has 51,000 square feet, cost nearly $30 million.[39] A ribbon cutting for the new school took place on April 29, 2019.[40]

The Avery School, located at 336 High Street, was opened in 2012 and serves children from East Dedham and some from Oakdale. Previously it was located down the street in a building currently used as the Mother Brook Arts and Community Center. The principal is Dr. Clare Sullivan.[41] It was named in 1867 in honor of Dr. William Avery who had left £50 to benefit a Latin School. It was previously known as the Mill School, the Grove School, and District Number Three.[42]

The Greenlodge School, located at 191 Greenlodge St, was opened in the 1950s and serves children from the Greenlodge and Manor neighborhoods. The principal is Ashley Bodkins.[43]

The Oakdale School, located at 147 Cedar St, was opened in 1902 and serves children from Oakdale.[44] It was first opened in 1873 in a rented room in Sanderson Hall in Oakdale Square.[45] A new school was then built across the street in what is today Oakdale Common in 1878.[45] The current school was built in 1902, but the old school was used to relieve overcrowding until the addition was built in 1952.[45] It was named for its neighborhood, having previously been a forest of largely oak trees known as Whiting's Woods.[46]

The Riverdale School, located at 143 Needham St, was opened in the 1922[47] and serves children from Riverdale and Upper Dedham. The principal is Edward Paris.[48] The first Riverdale School was built in 1885 at the corner of Needham and Pine Streets.[47] The windows in the one-room schoolhouse were nearly six feet off the ground, and it accommodated 26 students.[47] Julia Kennedy was the first teacher.[47] It was named for the nearby Riverdale estate of Albert W. Nickerson,[46] which is today Noble and Greenough School.

The Dedham Middle School, located at 70 Whiting Avenue, was opened in 2007 and Karen Hillman is principal and Brian Duffey vice principal.[49] Every student is issued a Google Chromebook Pixel.[49] Previously it was housed in a since demolished building next door.[50]

Dedham High School[51] was founded in 1851 and in 2013 earned a silver medal from U.S. News & World Report, one of only 30 schools in Massachusetts to do so. James Forrest is Principal.[52]

In recent years the school has seen tremendous growth in both the number of students taking Advanced Placement courses and in qualifying scores on the exams.[53] The schools athletic program offers 26 varsity sports with a mascot known as the Marauders,[54] and 26 co-curricular clubs and activities.[55] Each student also receives a Google Chromebook from the school.

The Ames School grew out of the first school established in 1644. The first building, referenced in early records as simply "the school near the meetinghouse" eventually came to be known as the First Middle School, District District Number One, the Town School, and the Centre School.[19][42] New school buildings followed in the coming centuries, with one built in 1695,[lower-alpha 2] 1754-5[lower-alpha 3], 1801,[lower-alpha 4] 1822,[lower-alpha 5], 1858-9,[lower-alpha 6] and 1894-5.[56] The 1859 building was built on the same site as the 1898 building.[58] The first two floors had four classrooms each.[58] Each class was designed for 50 pupils.[58] The third floor of the French-roofed building had a large hall.[58]

The current Colonial Revival structure was built in 1897. On June 17, 1898, it was named in honor of Fisher Ames.[56][lower-alpha 7] It is a large H-shaped building, with a central section flanked by symmetrical projecting bays on either side. It has a hip roof with a deep dentillated eave, and pilastered corners. The main entrance is set under broad arch at the center, with a Palladian window above.[59] In 1937, it was painted and renovated by the Works Progress Administration.[60] The Ames School building was closed and sold in the 1980s. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[61]

At the 2014 Spring Annual Town Meeting, the Town of Dedham voted to repurchase the building for $5.85 million and renovate it to be used as a Town Hall and Senior Center.[62]

The Burgess Schoolhouse, also known as District Number 11 and the Westfield School District, was located on Westfield Street near Schoolmaster Lane.[63][64] The simple one story building had red shutters and plank seats with no backs.[58] A new schoolhouse, named in honor of Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, was built around 1840 and sold 1899.[58][64]

The Dexter School in Upper Dedham for many years was leased out to private companies and The Education Collaborative.[65] It was named in 1867 in honor of Rev. Samuel Dexter, a minister at the First Church and Parish in Dedham and a leading citizen of the town.[42] In 2019, a new Early Childhood Education Center was opened in a new building on that site.[40]

The East Street School, also known as District Number 5, was renamed the Endicott School in honor of John Endicott in 1867.[63][64] It was located at the site of the present day St. Luke's Church.[63] Previously, it was known as the East Street School or District Number Five.[64]

The Quincy School in East Dedham was used until 1982[66] and later sold to a developer. It was established in 1873 and named in honor of Boston Mayor Josiah Quincy.[66][64] A new school was built at the intersection of Greenhood, Quincy, and Bussey Streets and dedicated on June 4, 1910.[66] Within the two-story building were ten rooms.[66] It measured 79' by 140' and was made of brick with sandstone trimming.[66] The interior was outfitted with hard pine.[66]

There were a number of schools built on land that was once in Dedham, but have since become other communities. They include the Damon School, named for Deacon Samuel Damon who left $1,000 to the Town of Dedham.[42] The income of the fund was to be used to support the worthy poor.[42] The school, which is now in Hyde Park, was named for him in 1867 and was previously known as the Low Plain School, the Readville School, and District Number Four.[42]

The Colburn School, now in Westwood, was named for Warren and Dana P. Colburn who both attended the school.[42] They authored a book on arithmetic.[42] Prior to being named for them in March 1867, it was known as the Clapboardtrees School, the West Dedham School and District Number Eight.[42] Also in Westwood is the Fisher School, named in honor of Daniel Fisher, the colonial Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Deputies, and Ebenezer Fisher, a 19th century representative to the Great and General Court.[42] The latter Fisher gave $1,000 to benefit the schools of West Dedham.[42] It previously was known as the Clapboardtrees School and District Number Nine.[64] The Islington School was named for the neighborhood in which it resided.[46]

In Norwood, there are competing histories for the naming of the Everett School. Slafter credits it to Edward Everett, who died two years before its naming in 1867 and whose family came from South Dedham.[64] Fanning claims it was for Israel Everett, a Revolutionary War veteran and in whose honor it was named in December 1851.[67] Previously it was known as the South Dedham School, the North District School, District Number Six, and the North District of the Second Parish School.[64][67] The Balch School was named in honor of Rev. Thomas Balch, a Colonial minister in South Dedham in 1867.[64][68] A new school was built on the same site in 1913 and is also known as the Balch School.[68]

In Walpole, the Union School taught pupils from Dedham, Walpole, and Medfield.[64] It was built in 1867 and was gone prior to 1905.[64] It was also known as the Walpole Corner School and District Number Ten.[64]