Wheeler School is a private school located on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The school serves students from the preschool level through twelfth-grade. History Early history In 1889, an art school for girls was established by an aspiring artist named Mary C. Wheeler. In 1900, adding an academic college preparatory curriculum to her art instruction, Mary Wheeler accepted ten female students as boarders and officially founded The Mary C. Wheeler School. A building on Brook Street was purchased, in 1898, to house girls enrolled in the preparatory program for her Cabot Street School. In 1910, Hope Building was constructed to provide living and dining facilities required by a growing student body and faculty. In 1912, the original Fresh Air Building was completed, though it was later rebuilt. The Mary C. Wheeler School thus became one of the first American schools to use the principles of Maria Montessori in its kindergarten instruction. Wheeler also purchased the Froebel Kindergarten School which admitted boys into its pre-primary grades until the 1950s. The daughter of a farmer, Wheeler acquired a farm and house in Seekonk, Massachusetts in 1912–13. She subsequently purchased an adjoining farm and buildings, bringing the total land holdings to slightly more than . At one point, she advertised her school in Vogue as the Mary C. Wheeler Town & Country School. Mary Helena Dey was hired in 1914 to reorder the school’s curriculum. As a result, the school became a pioneer in the educational theories of John Dewey. Through Dey’s contacts, such notables as Carl Sandburg came to campus to meet with students or, in Sandburg’s case, deliver the graduation address. The first Wheeler Field Day was celebrated in 1915, and is the oldest continuously-celebrated tradition at the school. Middle years: 1920-1980 Wheeler died in 1920 at the age of 73. In her will she established a board of trustees to oversee the school. Mary Helena Dey, who had studied under educational theorist John Dewey at the University of Chicago, was named headmistress. In the mid-20s, the farm facilities were expanded at a cost of $4,400 to include a field hockey field and two tennis courts. The “swimming hole” was enlarged and deepened. Later an arboretum, featuring several hundred unusual plants and trees, was established at the farm in Dey's name, but has been lost to time. In 1940, Mabel Van Norman was appointed the third headmistress