Ward Elementary School

Ward Elementary School

10 Dolphin Rd.
Newton Centre, MA 02459

(617) 559-6450

Ward School is steeped in history. It was constructed in 1928 as the fifth school in Newton, originally built in response to the rapid population growth the city was experiencing. The school was named for John Ward (1626-1708), one of the first settlers of Newton. Ward was New Town's first representative to the General Court.

With 186 students enrolled, the Ward School is the smallest of Newton’s elementary schools, and a rare two-section school. Although it has a Newton Centre address, the school itself is on the outskirts of the village, away from the retail business activities that most associate Newton Centre with. In fact, the school is closer to Boston College than it is to the intersection of Beacon and Centre Street (the center of business activity in Newton).

The City recently undertook a project to hire a consultant to “help address facility, educational, and enrollment challenges at Underwood and Ward elementary schools.”

Ward School is a stone’s throw away from the Newton Commonwealth Golf Course, the city’s public golf course. An overhead look at Ward School shows Ward’s playground literally next to one of the holes on the course. The playground is just over three acres, and has a baseball field, softball field, tennis courts and a fenced-in playground with swings and benches.

Residential housing west of Ward school are all near Commonwealth Avenue. Children from both sides of Comm Ave. attend Ward, and many walk to school. Since Ward is a buffer zone school, there are some students that live between Beacon Street and Comm Ave who attend Ward. The area feels very residential and the beauty is how close you are to Newton Centre, Chestnut Hill, the Mass Pike, and Brighton Center. The closest public transportation to Ward is the MBTA Green Line B Train at Boston College, 1.1 miles away.