From D's to A's: How Newton Schools Rose to the Top

There are 74 schools in Newton today—21 in the Newton Public School system and 54 private institutions. With a high ranking in state standardized testing and a number of new, sophisticated school facilities, Newtonians can pride themselves on the tremendous educational opportunities their city has to offer.

But that was not always the case. In the early 1840s Newton schools lagged far behind others in the region. According to Henry K. Rowe, “out of 48 schools in Middlesex County Newton had the lowest percentage of attendance, only 43 percent.” So how did Newton go from being one of the worst educated cities in the area to a model in the Commonwealth today?

In 1647 the Massachusetts General Court ruled that every town with 50 families or more must open a school for boys. As part of Cambridge at that time, children would have had to travel across the Charles River to attend school. In 1699 Abraham Jackson gave an acre of land near East Parish Burying Ground for the site of the school, and Newton could claim its first school in town. Shortly after that, Jonathan Hyde gave a half-acre of land for a school in Oak Hill, and in 1720 a third schoolhouse was built in West Newton. In 1763 the first school committee was elected, and schools were officially open to girls by the year 1789.

By 1813, Newtonians devoted $1,000 per year to funding public schools, but they still lagged behind. Seth Davis introduced the idea of teaching geography and having students practice their elocution skills by making declamations. This proposition caused a great controversy and a special town meeting was called to discuss the matter. The town ruled that Davis could teach geography, but declamations were not to be performed.

In 1817, Davis opened a private school on Waltham Street where he could teach unfettered by the rules of the town. He arranged his classroom with himself at the center, encircled by his students. From this position he could mete out his lessons and any disciplinary action necessary. His instruction proved effective and the school was very popular, remaining open for more than twenty years.

Newton’s transition from educational backwater to a leader in the state came in 1844 when Horace Mann moved the state Normal School for teacher education to West Newton. From 1848 until the Normal School relocated to Framingham in 1853, students at the Normal School opened a model school in the basement of the West Parish Meetinghouse where they could put their training to practice as student teachers. Tremendous improvements in the public school system followed, including separation of students by grade in 1852 and a separate building for high school instruction in Newtonville in 1859.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, Newton has remained a leader in public education. When schools reopen in September, feel confident that children in this city have the opportunity to learn in a city that has made their education a top priority for over 150 years.