The Andover Public Schools district is the public school district for the town of Andover, Massachusetts. Overseeing 10 educational facilities, ranging from pre-kindergarten to the 12th grade, the district is administrated by superintendent Magda Parvey, who reports directly to an elected school committee, consisting of five residents of the town elected for three-year terms. History Districts schools system In the mid and late 18th century, Andover was divided into two parishes, north and south respectively, and centered in each were grammar schools to serve the children of those regions. In 1753, Andover housed five "reading and writing schools" and by March 1795, each parish would contain six district schools. The twelve schools would continue to operate until the District School system was abolished in 1866 when the Andover Public Schools district would assume the responsibilities for all schools in the town, rather than have each school operate independently by members of their district. The Punchard Free School Although Andover had been home to an early secondary education 'industry', with such private institutions as Phillips Academy in 1778 and Andover Theological Seminary in 1807, the town would not have their first public high school until 1854 with the foundation of the Punchard Free School. After his death, Benjamin Hanover Punchard, an Andover resident, left $50,000 for the purpose of building a high school which any qualified resident of the town could attend without charge. The first graduating class in 1857 consisted of seven students. Although the original school was destroyed in a fire in 1869, the school would continue to operate out of Town Hall until facilities were rebuilt in 1871. The Trustees of Punchard's estate and the Town of Andover would evenly split the staffing expenses for the school, until 1904 when the Punchard Trust no longer could contribute funds. The Andover Public Schools District would assume all expenses, and the school was renamed to Punchard High School. Renovations and additions to Punchard The property on Bartlet street would grow through the late 19th and 20th centuries into a sizable academic campus. As early as 1888, a grammar school (serving grades 5–8) was erected on an abutting property to 36 Bartlet St. The school was originally named the Center Grammar School, but was renamed less than a decade later in 1894 to the Stowe School in honor of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who resided in the town. In 1916, a new