Welcome

Thank you for visiting the Memorial-Spaulding School website!  I would like to extend a warm welcome and invite you to explore our amazing learning community.

Memorial-Spaulding is situated in Newton’s Oak Hill Village. Our building was built in 1954 in the classic mid-century modern architectural style. The building was expanded in the early 1960’s, then again in 2001. Amenities include an auditorium complete with a reconditioned Steinert grand piano and a new Yamaha P22 rehearsal piano, an inspiringly bright and airy art room, a modern library with an ever-evolving collection of children’s literature, a small - recently renovated - cafeteria space, and two outdoor learning spaces: Kayla’s Garden and a Library Courtyard with our school garden.

The school was originally named the Francis T. Spaulding School in honor of the recently deceased (in 1950) Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In the mid-1970’s Newton closed it’s Memorial School located in Oak Hill Park due to declining enrollment. Spaulding School was then renamed the Memorial-Spaulding School and it’s enrollment catchment area expanded to include children from Oak Hill Park.   

Today, Memorial-Spaulding serves approximately 460 students enrolled in 22 classrooms. Our community is culturally and linguistically diverse with approximately 50% of our students speaking a language other than English. We firmly believe in creating a learning community where all students, families, and staff feel a strong connection to our school. We recognize the fact that students make strides when they are actively engaged in their education. Therefore we seek to engage all learners in the process of academic, social-emotional, and artistic growth. Our ultimate goal is to equip students to be curious and independent learners, compassionate friends, and empathetic toward others.    

At Memorial-Spaulding we have a particular interest in learning through the arts. In the past few years we have been exploring and implementing creative/innovative ways to reach all learners through the discovery of connections and overlaps within the general academic and arts curricula.

In 1996 I came to Memorial-Spaulding as a young, eager music teacher. At that time I found the school to be a wonderfully supportive learning community where I was able to flourish as an educator. I left the school in 2000 to pursue further graduate studies. I returned to Memorial-Spaulding in 2016, and have discovered the school has continued to grow and evolve. I am grateful to have the good fortune of serving as the principal for this amazing community.  

I invite you to join us in our endeavors to continually create, refine, and sustain a vibrant and innovative learning community in Newton’s Oak Hill Village.  

Sincerely,
Tom Morris
Principal