|  | | | The Mead School opened in September, 1969 to provide alternative education. The idea for the school originated with Dr. Otis Maxfield, Minister of the Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, and Mrs. Elaine de Beauport, a local educator. Original funding came largely through a loan from the Fleicher Fund and a grant from the Singer Company. For its first five years, the school used the educational building at The Second Congregational Church of Greenwich. In 1974, it moved to a larger, renovated space at 202 Pemberwick Road. In 1986, to provide more room for the growing number of students and faculty, the school leased and moved into the previous Dundee Elementary School site in Riverside, CT. In 1996, the Town of Greenwich notified Mead School that it intended to repossess the Dundee building upon the expiration of Mead’s lease in June 1997. The Board of Trustees launched an extensive search for an appropriate site with the support of many alumni, faculty, parents and guardians. Mead successfully purchased the former Riverbank School property in North Stamford. The entire facility was extensively renovated and the doors to our new home opened to Mead students in September 1997.
At its inception in 1969, the school enrolled eighty students in kindergarten through fourth grade. In 1970, the Early Learning Centers and the fifth grade were added, with sixth grade added in 1971. The Teen Center and Beginnings program opened toward the end of the first decade.
In 1986, Mead opened the Child Care Program and an after school program, known as Sundial, to help meet the needs of working parents and guardians.
Elaine de Beauport served as Director of the Mead School from 1969 to 1978. She was succeeded by Dr. Jacques Jimenez, who was at Mead until 1981, followed by Gaelen Canning from 1981 to 1990. From 1990-2003, Norman Baron served as Director during which time he met many challenges including initiating an important and successful fundraising program. The Mead School announced the appointment of Joe Ferber as Mead’s Director in January 2003. Joe served our community through June 2006. Karen Biddulph assumed the role of Interim Director. In December 2006, Karen Biddulph was named Director.
The School is funded by tuition and donations. It is incorporated by the State of Connecticut and is fully accredited by the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools of which it is a member. It is also a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and The National Association of Independent Schools. The Board of Trustees sets operating policies.
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