1777 Moses Brown served on a committee to produce a plan for the education of children of the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends.
1784 The New England Boarding School opened in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
1788 Post-Revolution instability and a remote location hurt the school’s efforts to recruit qualified students and faculty, and the Meeting decided to close the school for one year. In fact, the school remained closed for 31 years, during which time Moses Brown held onto the school’s funds and vision.
1819 Moses Brown donated 43 acres of his farm for the relocation of the school to Providence. The school’s future was secure when it received a generous bequest of $100,000 in the will of Moses’ son, Obadiah, at the time the largest single contribution made to an American educational institution.
1879-1904 In the wake of the Civil War, the school made significant academic and social shifts and the school’s curriculum was broadened with music, art, and a more organized athletic program.
1884 The first day students were admitted.
1926 As a result of changing national attitudes toward coeducation, Moses Brown became a single sex school, admitting only boys.
1976 The school returned to its roots and once again enrolled girls.
1978-1994 David Burnham was appointed headmaster. He was instrumental in helping the school through its return to coeducation and he helped facilitate an increase in the school’s endowment.
1994-2009 Joanne Hoffman was our head of school. She is credited with deepening the school’s traditions as a Friends school, making broad advancements throughout the academic program, and securing $43 million in capital improvements.
2009 Matt Glendinning was selected as head of school. An administrator, athlete, and scholar with a decade of leadership in Friends schools, Matt has held positions in teaching and administration at Moorestown Friends School, Germantown Friends, and Phillips Academy. Among Matt’s priorities are strengthening a tradition of academic excellence through new initiatives in hiring, orientation, mentorship, professional development and evaluation. Matt is focused on global stewardship and Friends education, ensuring that MB students not only receive a world-class education, but one that prepares them to do both well and good as leaders in the 21st century. |