The Wheeler School Celebrates 125 Years of Spirit

There is a palpable hum on the campus of The Wheeler School, a sensation that embodies the Wheeler spirit, present since the school’s beginning in 1889 and still felt today. Now celebrating its 125th anniversary academic year, or quasquicentennial, Wheeler provides a progressive education to a diverse student body in a unique environment that values creativity and individuality along with academic innovation and excellence.

The school motto – "The Spirit Giveth Life" – was suggested in 1933 by Mary Helena Dey, Wheeler’s second head of school, who wrote, “In the classes there was continual emphasis laid on the truth that the spirit in which we seek knowledge and share our findings gives life to our learning.” That spirit surely moved Mary Colman Wheeler, a math and Latin teacher who grew up on a farm in Concord, MA, who knew Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne and Alcott, to move to Providence in 1868 to teach. In 1884, she began offering painting classes to young women and children plus evening lectures on Greek literature and American history. Soon, she added college preparatory classes and in 1889, ten girls enrolled as boarders of the Mary C. Wheeler School, rechristened The Wheeler School in 1975 when the entire school became a coeducational day school.

Dan Miller, Wheeler’s seventh head of school, experiences the Wheeler spirit everyday and attributes it to the “vibrant, joyous environment of a school that values diversity, intellectual curiosity, academic creativity combined with rigor and excellence, and that is dedicated to meeting the individual talents and needs of every kid in an embracing, warm social environment.” The warmth and acceptance of that environment is plainly evident. Miller recalls looking out his window one day to see a senior basketball star high-fiving a four-year-old, and standing in the pouring rain as the girls soccer team rushed to surround their goalie, not after a big win but when she let in the winning goal in a heart-breaking loss. Senior Honor Davis, a Wheeler student since second grade, says, “I think that every class, from 50 years ago or 50 years from now, has at least one thing in common, and that’s the Wheeler spirit.”

Etienne Mechrefe ‘95, President of the Wheeler Alumni Association and parent of three Wheeler students, agrees that while the face of the school may evolve, the tenets of a Wheeler education – spirit, community, individuality, excellence – endure. On Wheeler’s history and future, she points out, “We are a community producing confident, caring, driven individuals, and we will continue to grow that community for the next 125 years.”

Community engagement was integral to a Wheeler education from its founding, marking a break from a traditional girls boarding school education, which, at the time, was typically sheltered. Mary C. Wheeler’s curriculum included required courses in art, a focus on modern languages, and an advanced certificate course taught by Brown University professors. She also offered a summer arts program at her home in Giverny, France, neighboring Claude Monet’s own house. Her belief in exposing students to the educational, artistic and cultural offerings of Providence, France and beyond began the school’s lasting commitment to mutually benefit community partnerships, evidenced today through programs like Breakthrough Providence, the Brown-Wheeler Master of Arts in Teaching, the 125 Club for Upper School Community Service, the Public Art Initiative and WELH-FM at 88.1.

Of course, a school’s reputation is built primarily on educational excellence, and Wheeler has a history, and a future, as a progressive institution with rigorous and innovative academics. In 1914, Mary Helena Dey reshaped the school according to the theories of John Dewey, making it a pioneer in education. In 1912, the school offered Kindergarten classes and became one of the first schools in the U.S. to use the Montessori model. The school’s many distinguished alumni also reflect the quality and rigor of a Wheeler education. They include Stephanie Chafee ’76, Adrienne Gagnon ’93, the late Susan Farmer ’60 and the late Hope Goddard ’32.

Opened in 1988, The Hamilton School at Wheeler, celebrating its 25th anniversary, augments the school’s excellence and innovation. The National Association of Independent Schools awarded Hamilton its Leading Edge Award for Curriculum Innovation. This “school within a school” for students with learning disabilities is a model for other schools throughout the world.

As Wheeler moves into its next phase of history, including the current Campaign 125 that will involve the completion of a 400+ seat auditorium, it is sure to continue innovating around educational excellence, fostering community and creativity, and improving its campus. But regardless of what high-tech gadgets may be used in the classroom or what the buildings will look like, one thing will remain the same: the hum, the spirit that comes from the joyous pursuit of knowledge in a warm, embracing environment. This spirit will always give life to Wheeler.