Submit/Find An Event ll  Table of Contents ll Shops/Dining ll Explore the Valley ll Home 

''Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.''   - Booker T. Washington

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
-William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Touchstone Community School announces new head

GRAFTON – The Board of Trustees of Touchstone Community School, a
progressive, independent preschool-through-middle school, announced that it
has hired Donald H. Grace to be its next head of school, beginning July 1,
2008.  Mr. Grace will succeed Steven J. Danenberg, who plans to retire in
June after three years as head.

Mr. Grace currently serves as head of school at The Park School of Buffalo
in Snyder, NY, a Pre-K-through-12 progressive day school.  He has a total of
35 years of experience in a variety of schools including leading the
Hammonasset School in Madison, CT, the Glen Urquhart School in Beverly
Farms, MA, McLean School of Maryland in Potomac, MD, and Chapel Hill-Chauncy
Hall School in Waltham, MA.

Mr. Grace holds a B.A. from Harvard College, an M.A.T. from the Harvard
Graduate School of Education, a C.A.S. from Fairfield University and has
undertaken graduate work in early childhood education at Wheelock College.

Susan E.W. Spencer, chair of Touchstone’s Board of Trustees, said in a
recent letter to parents, “Don received universally positive feedback from
all with whom he met at Touchstone, including parents, faculty,
administrative staff, students, trustees, and members of the Search
Committee.  The Transition Committee and trustees found Don’s 25 years of
experience leading progressive schools of various sizes, his work with Mel
Levine and the All Kinds of Minds national institute, and his publications,
including articles in Independent School Magazine, to be an ideal match for
Touchstone.”

Mr. Grace and his wife Catherine O’Neill Grace, an author and editor, plan
to relocate to the Grafton area during the summer.  Among other titles, Ms.
O’Neill-Grace has published two children’s books with Plimoth Plantation.
Mr. Grace grew up in Athol, and is excited about returning to Central
Massachusetts.

About Touchstone:     Touchstone Community School is a non-profit,
progressive, independent school with a  26-year history of providing
outstanding education for children ages 4 through 14, serving Grafton and
surrounding communities.

The school is committed to educating the whole child, weaving together the
social, emotional, intellectual, physical, ethical and creative aspects of a
child’s growth and development.

-------------------------------------------------

Colleges & Career Training    Learning Styles

History of MCAS   Below:  Private, Parochial Schools in Blackstone Valley, Ma & R.I.

School and Career Choices 

An understanding that all children's learning styles are not the same.