Stetson School

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Location
Stetson School

Stetson Home for Boys
Barre, Massachusetts United States of America
Coordinates	42°24′36″N, 72°06′27″W
Information
Principal	Diana Murray
Director	Kerry-Ann Goldsmith, M.A., LMHC
Staff	70
Students	120
Faculty	100
Type	Private residential
Grades	Males 9 to 21 years of age
Campus size	200 acres
Established	1899
Homepage	http://www.stetsonschool.org/

The Stetson School is a private residential institution located in Barre, Massachusetts.

[edit] History

Founded in 1899, by Henry Augustus Pevear, and then known as the Stetson Home for Boys began as an orphanage. It supported itself as a commercial dairy farm wherein each of its capable residents worked to help support the institution. During its early history, this institution maintained a primary school for training its residents. Secondary schooling was not required in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the time of its founding. ^[1] Once Massachusetts required school attendance up to sixteen years of age, ^[2] residents requiring secondary education attended the Barre, Massachusetts High School. Notwithstanding its lack of educational facilities at the time, i.e., classes only to the 8th grade, the Stetson Home for Boys became known as the Stetson School, which continues today.

Stetson Home from the air

By the 1960's, Stetson began treatment for emotionally disturbed boys, often from broken homes, who had suffered some form of abuse or neglect. Later, Massachusetts General Laws (MCG) Chapter 766 legislation passed, and Stetson started a program approved by the Massachusetts Board of Education. At that time, its educational levels extended to the 12th grade so the resident’s attendance in an external school was no longer required.

In 1990, Stetson began to admit juvenile males with a history of sexually abusive behaviors, which continues to this day. By 1994, Stetson specialized in treating male children with sexual behavior problems. ^[1]