School History
Meadowbrook School was founded in 1919 as an independent, non-sectarian, country day school for boys from kindergarten through eighth grade.
Advertisements published by the founders, a group of families whose names included local luminaries such as Robert Sewell and J. Herkness, said the school "would combine the latest and most improved methods of instruction, together with the opportunity of country life."
The Rev. John White Walker served as the first headmaster for more than 20 years. He retired in 1941 when, for the first time, he found that the students could out-run him on the track. Eleven students were enrolled that first year. Just like today's students, they attended classes in the three-story building surrounded by more than 18 acres of fields and woods. That original building was updated recently with air-conditioning, new windows, renovated bathrooms, French room, a state-of-the-art computer lab, an upper-grade work area, and a music studio. Next to the original building is now a separate kindergarten building. A window-lined passageway leads to an award-winning dining commons, a gymnasium, science center and greenhouse, and a recently completed art studio complete with galleries and its own kiln.
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By the 1920s, Meadowbrook had become a thriving school for the sons of many prominent families in the area, whose names now adorn the mastheads of Philadelphia businesses and law firms: Lippincott, Drinker, Hallowell, Ewing and Sinkler were among the surnames of the early graduates. Local philanthropist Eugene "Fitz" Dixon was commended for bringing in "good movies for rainy days" in 1933. In 1940, the upper school boys' orchestra was directed by a young student from the Curtis Institute: one Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein later wrote a letter to Meadowbrook saying he well- remembered his experience there: he was
pelted with chalk when he tried to conduct his musicians in a composition by Rimsky-Korsakow. |
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With the help of its founders and parents, Meadowbrook School has survived for 88 years, weathering the Depression, World War II, and Vietnam . It maintains a commitment to diversity, with almost 30% of the student population coming from minority groups. Every child is given opportunities to develop leadership abilities, from running assemblies to publishing the school literary magazine. Community service remains an important part of the Meadowbrook experience: every child in every grade performs community service - ranging from visits to nursing homes to donating food to a soup kitchen.
Minutes from board meetings show that the Mothers' Committee, founded in 1924, pitched in during the Depression by collecting dues from its membership and donating their time in the school's kitchen and office. In 1934, the committee proudly announced it had raised enough money to donate an extra frying pan ($2.15) and two dozen bath towels (at $2.75 per dozen). |
The parents' organization continues to be important to Meadowbrook. In its current form, the Parents of Meadowbrook (POM) raises money, donates time and energy, and serves as a gateway for new families to feel comfortable in the community.
Through the years, Meadowbrook has remained a small school that lives up to its motto "Excellence in Elementary Education." Although it started out as an all-boys school, Meadowbrook later admitted girls in the 1970s. Also, in the 1970s, Meadowbrook eliminated the seventh and eighth grades. In 1927, the school catalogue boasted that its graduates "easily enter" local boarding schools and other private schools. "At such schools as Penn Charter, the Episcopal Academy, St. Paul 's, and the Hill School , they acquit themselves in a manner which is a credit to themselves and their school," said the catalogue. |
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The same can be said today, with the addition of many other distinguished private schools and public schools. Its graduates have gone on to distinguished careers in every field, and its ranks include U.S. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel and Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor. Meadowbrook still remains faithful to the sentiments expressed in the first advertisement for Meadowbrook in 1919: "The aim of the school will be to give (children) such training as will develop equally the mind and body, laying a foundation for perfect (adulthood) in years to come. The moral growth of the child will also be carefully nourished for the up building of character." |
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Today its mission statement reads:
The mission of Meadowbrook School is to offer an unwavering commitment to academic excellence for a diverse population of elementary school children. The School believes education includes learning to appreciate the value of hard work, expanding a sense of integrity, and practicing humanity toward others while inspiring students to make positive differences. We strive to have our students well-prepared and eager to take on future challenges. |
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