I have been asked many times about the origins of our school. The Cornerstone Academy was borne out of the closing of another school – the Oxford Academy in Northborough, MA. In the spring of 1996, I was a K-1 Strand Teacher at Oxford Academy, facing unemployment, I was asked by several of my student’s parents if I would consider teaching their children in the basement of one of their homes. They were impressed with my love of teaching and had seen the many positive changes that I had made in the lives of their children. The notion of teaching in a basement was quickly dismissed but from this thought came a new notion – I would start my own school!

The summer of 1996 was a busy one. With the help of my husband, David, we found a location in Times Square Plaza in Northborough, MA. This location had previously housed a Muslim school the previous year. The landlord really didn’t want another school in this space; however, David and I were able to convince him of the merits of our proposal and our desire to create a truly unique educational environment. The entire summer was spent writing the curriculum for Kindergarten and First Grade. In August 1996, the Northborough School Committee, with the affirmative recommendation of School Superintendent Robert Mellican, approved our curriculum. With the curriculum in hand and a location in place – the doors opened at the Cornerstone Academy in September 1995. My first class had two students. By the end of her first year, our enrollment had grown to 9 students.

The school continued to grow over the next two years. Grades Two, Three and Four were added to the curriculum. A teacher (and a close friend), Ms. Marylou Rawlings, was added to the faculty in 1997. With Marylou’s help, by the end of 1998, our enrollment had grown to 28 students. At the end of the 1999 school year, we had outgrown the space and relocated across the street in the Pendleton Square Plaza. In 1999-2000, our enrollment had reached 38 students, a third teacher was added and we began to look for a newer and larger space. 

In the spring of 2000, moved into a 5,500 square foot building on Oak Street. During the summer of 2000, the building was renovated and now houses the Cornerstone Academy. Our school has four main classrooms, an afterschool room/function room, office/meeting room and is nestled on three private wooded acres.  In May 2005, the Cornerstone Academy was approved for Grades 5 and 6 by the Northborough School Committee.

Why did we choose the name “Cornerstone" Academy?

The name of our school is important to us because it represents our personal philosophy on life.

Towards this end, we offer an analogy. There are four corners to every house. These corners comprise, by design, the foundation of the house. It is understood that a house that is built upon a strong foundation will not fall. Similarly, we believe that there are four-corners to life (i.e. cornerstones).

Our first corner is education. We believe in the importance of a good education. It is our mission to teach children how to maximize their intellectual potential to benefit themselves and society.
 
     
 
The second corner is social responsibility. We believe that it is important that we teach our children to fulfill their social responsibilities, which in turn, strengthens the individual and our society. We teach the importance of community - to share, to respect others and have self respect.
     
The third corner is family. It is very important that family play a role in education and in the development of proper values. We believe that it is important that our parents be directly involved in the education of their children and be part of our school. Our faculty, parents and students are all part of the “Cornerstone Family”.
 
     
 
The final corner is character. We feel as educators it is important to instill a sense of accountability and personal responsibility in all of our students.  We believe that the pillars of character are: citizenship, fairness, trustworthiness, caring and respect.  In addition, the use of manners and social etiquette are an integral part of the Cornerstone experience.