Company Profile
Dana Hall School
Company Overview
At Dana Hall, an independent boarding and day school for girls in grades 5-12 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, we offer a dynamic and challenging academic program in an environment with a deep commitment to social and emotional learning. It’s a place where students discover and celebrate exactly who they are, and use that understanding to forge meaningful, successful lives. Here, students lead the discussions, wield the hammers, present geometric proofs, and immerse themselves in the quest to question and grow—in the library, lab, and classroom, and on the stage and playing field.
Company History
Dana Hall School was born out of the vision and generosity of Henry F. Durant, who founded Wellesley College and discovered that many of the students there needed more preparation before entering the College. To address this need, Charles P. Dana, a Wellesley businessman gave Durant a building to use for housing students in a new preparatory school; this served as the first site for Dana Hall School.
Julia and Sarah Eastman were hired from Wellesley College by Henry Durant to run this new school. Dana Hall School began classes on September 8, 1881. The founders believed in the equality of women and their right to be educated. Durant and the Eastmans avoided unnecessary rules, stressed individual development and offered a full program of liberal arts education for young women.
The Eastman sisters retired in 1899. The school was then bought by Helen Temple Cooke, whose energy and brilliant mind were dominant forces at Dana Hall until her death in 1955. During Miss Cooke’s tenure, Tenacre, Dana Junior and Pine Manor Junior College were added to form the Dana Hall Schools.
Pine Manor became independent of Dana Hall School in 1962, as did Tenacre in 1971. When Pine Manor relocated to Chestnut Hill, Dana Hall moved down Grove Street to the adjoining Pine Manor campus and added new dormitories, a new dining center, and a gymnasium. The lower grades (7 and 8) formed the current Dana Hall Middle School, and grade 9 became part of the Upper School. The sixth grade was added to the Middle School in 1984 and the fifth grade was added in 2016.
Dana Hall School’s commitment to excellence in education has been reinforced by a succession of exceptional women leaders.