Company Profile
The Spence School
Company Overview
The Spence School, founded in 1892, is an independent school for girls and young women with an enrollment of 720 students in Grades K–12, with a commitment to academic excellence within a diverse community.
The Mission of The Spence School is to educate girls and young women to the highest academic and personal standards necessary for responsible, effective citizenship and for the successful pursuit of higher education.
Company History
Clara Spence, a visionary educator, founded her school for girls in 1892, welcoming ten students to a brownstone on West 48th Street in New York City. These girls were among the first to benefit from Clara Spence’s firm belief that higher education for women was of paramount importance. The outside world of politics, the arts, and the community was embraced in her school and from the beginning Spence girls developed a keen sense of self-confidence and assumed their roles as significant members of the community. Clara Spence died in 1923 after leading her school for 31 years.
More than a century has passed since she founded her school. Thousands of girls have benefited from her moral and intellectual strengths and her founding principles -- a challenging education to enrich intellect, build character and strengthen the spirit. These principles, summed up in the school motto, “Not for school but for life we learn,” have defined a Spence education throughout its long history.