ABOUT FISKE SCHOOL

Mission Statement

The purpose of Fiske School is to develop fully each student’s intellectual, aesthetic, social, and physical capabilities in a nurturing environment that respects individual differences and fosters emotional well-being.

The History of the Fiske School

The Fiske School is named for the Fiske family who were among the early settlers of what was called Cambridge Farms … part of which is now called Lexington. The Fiske family came to America from Suffolk in England in the late 1630s.

The Fiske family helped build Lexington’s first meeting house, helped to buy the Common for the town, and fought in many wars, including the Revolutionary war of 1775. Dr Robert Fiske (born in May 1718) lived on Hancock Street and was reputed to have been one of Lexington’s first Doctors. Their house still stands today and was also the home of his father, David Fiske, and his son, Dr Robert Fiske (also a Doctor).

It is Dr Joseph Fiske’s land that Fiske School stands on. His house – and 2 other Fiske family homes - can still be seen today on East Street. Dr Joseph was a surgeon during the Revolutionary War.

The Fiske School opened in 1949. In 1954, additional classrooms were added, bringing the total to 19. Two years later (1966), the Lexington School Committee unanimously approved accepting 25 students from Boston into Lexington schools. This was the first time this had been done. Concord and Lincoln soon followed. The first kindergarten programs in Lexington public schools began in 1967.

The New Fiske School, opened February 2007

In 2005 the original Fiske school was closed and all students and staff moved to a temporary home in the old Harrington building on Maple Street. Just after February vacation 2007, everyone moved back to a state of the art, brand new school. The official ribbon cutting took place in April 2007 at the start of the annual Fiske Fair.

Some famous graduates of Fiske:

• Les McClain, cartoonist famous for drawing the Johnny Crossbones comics, graduated 1988.
• Fred Barton, musical director, works on and off Broadway and also on children’s television programs including The Magic School Bus. On his website he states: “My career as a musical director started at age eleven at Fiske Elementary School in Lexington, Massachusetts (The Wizard Of Oz – figures! – I transcribed the movie score off the LP by ear). This auspicious debut took me to Broadway ..."