Brown School

Brown School is a private, nondenominational elementary and middle school in Schenectady, New York in the United States. It provides instruction for about 300 students in grades one through eight. It also offers nursery and kindergarten programs.HistoryIn September 1893, Miss Helen "Nellie" Churchill Brown opened the Brown School in the front two rooms of her family home at 237 Liberty Street, with 12 pupils, age 8-11.During the early 1900s, Miss Brown's School grew quickly and moved several times, to Park Avenue, 1230 Rugby Road, and eventually in 1906 to 1184 Rugby Road within the G.E. Realty Plot. A building was constructed on land donated by the Schenectady Realty Company, as part of its planned community. For many years, Brown School primarily educated children who lived in the G.E. Realty Plot. The area behind the school, an old quarry known affectionately as the "Dump", was the scene of Maypole dances, "Olympic Games", and ski lessons. Each winter the Dump was flooded and served as a skating pond for the exclusive use of Plot residents. The fire hydrant installed for this purpose is still visible today.In 1920 Miss Brown retired, the school's operation was taken over by the Parents' Association, and Brown School received its Charter from the Board of Regents. In 1924 the corporation received the title of the school building from the Rice family and others. In 1927 the school's curriculum expanded to include high school students, and the house next door to 1184 Rugby Road was purchased to accommodate the lower school.