Spaulding High School and the Central VermontCareer Center has a long history in the city of Barre. Established in 1890, the school is located at 155 Ayers Street with Brenda Waterhouse as principal of the high school and Penny Chamberlain director of the Career Center.
History
Spaulding High School is named after Jacob Shedd Spaulding who was a principal and teacher of the private school called Barre Academy established on what later became the site of the Vermont History Center on Washington Street in Barre. In the late 1880s, Barre's population began to grow due to the influx of immigrants who came to work in the Granite Industry making the Barre Academy obsolete. In 1890, a larger and more modern building was erected called the Spaulding Graded School. Designed by Vermont architect Lambert Packard of St. Johnsbury, the new building made of brick and Barre granite, mimicked the Richardsonian Romanesque popular in the mid-19th Century with "large, round-arched entranceways, recessed windows with contrasting sills, carved capitals, and the characteristic towers and turrets." Situated at the top of Washington Street, the new Spaulding Graded school housed both elementary and high school students. The student population quickly outgrew the space and five new schools were created to house the lower grades. By 1895, the building contained grades nine through twelve and was renamed Spaulding High School. In 1963, construction of a new high school began and in the early spring of 1965, the school moved to its current location at 155 Ayers Street with Dr. Antatole G. Pendo as its principal. Speaking at the dedication, former Vermont Governor, Dr. Deane C. Davis said, "this new high school building will have a tremendous influence upon the lives of thousands and thousands of future students. The opportunity is here." Over the course of the past 40 years, the building has grown and expanded to include the Central Vermont Career Center. The vacated Spaulding building would eventually house the Vermont History Center; home to the Vermont Historical Society.
Today
Noted as the longest operational high school in the state, Spaulding High School just celebrated its 125 Anniversary in 2015 and serves the children of Barre City and Barre Town. Not only does the building house the high school, it also contains the Central Vermont Career Center pulling in students from a variety of area schools including Montpelier, U32, Harwood, and Twinfield. As with many schools, SHS has experienced a decline in enrollment in recent years, yet remains steady with a current population of 700 students and just over 60 educators in the high school and 21 educators in the Career Center. Reflective of the community at large, the diversity at Spaulding is low at 7.86% as of November 2015, with a fairly balanced male/female ration. The diversity breakdown of the Career Center is similar, however, the ratio of male students to female students is a little less than 2/1. Spaulding's per pupil spending is one of the lowest in the state at just over $12,000. While a small urban school, economically, Barre has pockets of poverty as 37.5% of our High School students are on free or reduced lunches as is 43.4% in the Career Center. SHS offers a wide variety of course offerings from basic courses to AP.
