History of the School
Bancroft School is the oldest co-educational independent day school in Central
Massachusetts. Bancroft School was founded in 1900 by a group of
Worcester parents interested in providing a rigorous education for
their children. The School was named in honor of George Bancroft
(1800-1891), a Worcester native and accomplished scholar, Secretary of
the Navy, Ambassador to Prussia and England, and renowned historian.
The original charter formed a corporation “for the purpose of providing
a complete school training for boys and girls of all ages,
Kindergarten, Primary, Intermediate, and Academic Departments.”
The School opened in a house at 93 Elm Street in Worcester,
Massachusetts. By 1902, Bancroft had outgrown its facility and a new
school was constructed at 111 Elm Street. In 1922, in order to
accommodate its over two-hundred-and-fifty students enrolled, the
School moved to larger quarters on Sever Street in Worcester (the
present campus of Becker College). The final move to the present campus
at 110 Shore Drive was completed in September, 1958.

From its beginning until 1913, Bancroft was co-educational at all
grade levels. In 1913 the School admitted both boys and girls through
grade 8, but only girls were admitted to the Upper School. A boarding
component to the school was opened in 1920 and continued to attract
resident students until 1943. At that time, the Trustees decided to
discontinue the operation of the residency program and to focus on its
mission as an independent day school.
After the move to the Shore Drive location, the School continued to
grow to its present enrollment of 559 students, Kindergarten through
Grade 12. To accommodate the growing school population, and to meet the
current and emerging program challenges of the future, over the last
ten years the School has built new facilities and renovated existing
structures on its thirty acre campus. The School has added to its
facility a new gym, additional Upper School classrooms and offices, a
state of the art Technology Center, a new kitchen, an expanded
Bookstore, a multipurpose room and dining area. A new Multimedia
Language Learning Center has been completed, enhancing the Foreign
Language Department’s program. The Harrington Auditorium has undergone physical
and technical modernization, and the facilities for the Performing Arts
Department have been enlarged. Most recently, Bancroft has completed a
renovation of the Fuller Science Center as well as opened the new and
spacious McDonough Center to house the Lower and Middle School programs.
Even more important than the buildings, however, are the people—the
students, faculty, and parents—who have defined the Bancroft community.
Over one hundred years old, and with over 3000 living alumni, Bancroft
has lived its mission of preparing young people to be life-long
learners and teachers of others and community leaders dedicated to
service. Bancroft’s curricular and extracurricular programs have grown,
expanded, and changed to reflect the School’s mission in an
increasingly interdependent global community.
Heads of School
| 1900-1915 |
Frank H. Robson |
| 1915-1926 |
Miriam Titcomb |
| 1926-1938 |
Hope Fisher |
| 1938-1943 |
Bradford M. Kingman |
| 1943-1946 |
Edith J. Jones, Acting Head |
| 1946-1959 |
Henry D. Tiffany |
| 1959-1960 |
Elizabeth Vandermoer, Acting Head |
| 1960-1981 |
Wyatt Garfield |
| 1981-1992 |
Marigolden G. Tritschler |
| 1992-1998 |
Theodore G. Sharp |
| 1998-1999 |
Wyatt Garfield, Interim Head Edgar A. Gauthier, Interim Head |
| 1999-present |
Scott R. Reisinger |
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