History

Pingree School is an independent day school for grades nine through twelve. Its campus is situated on 100 acres of land, at the center of which is the Pingree mansion, once home to Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Pingree and family. Construction of the house was completed in 1933 under the direction of Nelson Aldrich, the architect behind the building’s design. The Pingree family lived happily in the house for many years until the late 1950s, when the last Pingree child left home. Finding the house too large for just the two of them, Mr. and Mrs. Pingree met with their children to discuss the future of their home and resolved to maintain the property as it was and establish a day school for girls.

Early Expansion

Pingree School opened its doors to its first class of students in 1961. Soon thereafter, enrollment steadily increased and in 1965, the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools evaluated Pingree and granted official accreditation. The 1970s brought a number of significant changes to Pingree, most notably the first class of boys in 1971. After ten years as an all-girls institution, Pingree formally became mixed-gender. In the years to follow, the Athletics program was enhanced by the construction of the Weld Fieldhouse (named for Mary Weld Pingree), two new playing fields, and four tennis courts. The Mary Weld Center for the Performing Art, a 400-seat theater, opened in 1987, followed by the dedication of the H. Alden Johnson Jr. Hockey Rink in 1988.

Recent Developments

The early years of the new millennium saw the expansion of the school’s Library and Commons areas and the founding of the Malcolm Coates Prep@Pingree Program (est. 2001), a nationally recognized academic enrichment and scholarship program for seventh and eighth grade students from Lawrence, Lynn, and surrounding areas. In 2004, Pingree opened its 28,500 square-foot Academic Wing with updated classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, exhibition space, and locker areas. 2014 saw the introduction of a new Arts Wing and Athletics Center. We unveiled a new turf athletics field in the fall of 2018.

Today, Pingree remains committed to its identity as a small day school encouraging critical thinking, discipline of mind, and civic engagement.