History of The Center School

The Center School was founded in 1981, under the umbrella non-profit organization, the Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC).  Sharing a desire to create a new educational model, the founding members—including Ruth Charney, Marlynn Clayton, Jay Lord, and Chip Wood—all pooled their time, resources, and energy to create the first Center School class. Their guiding philosophical belief was that social, emotional, and cognitive development at different ages of childhood should be the key factor in deciding what and how to teach each age group. Inside the Conway Street building, all classes were mixed-aged groupings with the now characteristic Center School names: Pre-Primes, Primes, Middles, and Uppers.

As the school and staff developed, so did the education model. Soon, the demand for information about this education philosophy grew as well. The staff began developing and offering workshops on literature, block-building, room design, and classroom management. Several teachers published books on these topics and the Center School’s work began to gain a wider audience.  In fact, the world renowned “Responsive Classroom” approach started at the Center School. To help share this educational philosophy with the wider world, a publishing division was established.  The first book to be published was A Notebook for Teachers by Marlynn Clayton, followed by Ruth Charney’s book, Teaching Children to Care, and Ellen Doris’ book Doing What Scientists Do. All met with great acclaim.

1989:  Three main focus areas—consulting, publishing, and classroom teaching—began to crystallize. Over the next ten years, the Foundation grew, purchasing the Abercrombie School in Greenfield and the ‘Yellow House’ (an adjacent building on the property), and eventually building The Marion Bliss Finer building on campus to house classrooms and an all-purpose room, the “All School Room,” for assemblies and school functions.  This campus was fertile ground. Our well-honed developmental tradition of learning about home, classroom, school, and community expanded. (Then and now: Picture us in Greenfield and Northampton marching for climate and racial justice and LGBTQIA+ rights.  Picture children of every age learning that their actions have impact, and that they are agents of innovation and change.)

2001 The Northeast Foundation for Children and the Center School separated into two independent entities. The Center School was incorporated as a non-profit in January of 2002 under Dr. Laura Baker’s Executive Directorship and it purchased the school buildings (Brick Building, Finer Building, and Yellow House) from NEFC.  In addition to her work to make the Center School independent, she also expanded our focus on social justice, which gained momentum to become a major tenet of the organization.  After ten years of inspiring and expanding our school, Laura Baker moved on to her next professional endeavor, becoming professor of education at Westfield State University.

2009: Isabel “Charlie” Spencer was named Head of School and the innovations continued. 

2013: Our progressive, one room preschool was piloted with three staff children attending, then expanded. It now serves 30-35 students in three classrooms.

2015:  We worked toward, and received, our first accreditation from the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE).  

2019:  The Forest Primes program was born. 

2020:  During the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, Charlie Spencer, administrators Amanda Richard, Lauren Obregon, and Veronica Phaneuf, and the entire teaching staff transformed Center School into an exciting outdoor and hybrid program. Meanwhile, work on a new state of the art campus moved along without missing a beat.  The school raised nearly $7M and received a Mass Development Loan to finance its new  $10.5M home.

2021: We brought our cherished memories, and the values they represent, to our new 30 acre campus. Our students and our dreams continued growing, thriving, and evolving.

2024:  After fifteen years as Head of School, Charlie Spencer ended her tenure. Amanda Richard (former Assistant to the Head) and Lauren Obregon (former Director of Admissions and Outreach) were enthusiastically appointed Interim Co-Heads of School.  Looking ahead, a special task force appointed by the Board will explore the possibility of innovative, long-term leadership models and launch a search for a permanent and lasting Head of School solution.

Today and beyond: We are proud to report that many of our alumni return to the Center School to visit and reminisce, some have even returned to teach here, and others, to send their children here.  Some have done all three. Our extended community continues to move forward as we’ve always done: with hope, unity, courage, and a desire to make the world a more just and equitable place for all.