Welcome

Welcome to Apple Orchard

Letter from the Director

Welcome to Apple Orchard School! We are a school of 98 children ages 2.9 years to 6 years located in a renovated barn on Allandale Farm in Brookline. At the heart of our school is a belief that children need to be engaged in play-based learning while immersed in nature. Since we are a school on a farm we spend a substantial amount of time outside running in fields, feeding the ducks in the pond, walking our goats, building with rocks and branches, sledding, and stomping in puddles.

We are delighted to introduce you to our wonderful teachers and unique program. Apple Orchard School is an independent school that was founded by Lee Albright in 1971 to provide a dozen children a place to explore the farm around them while learning about each other. We have grown in size, but our school’s goals and values remain the same.

While the website provides a great deal of information, we urge you to schedule a visit to our school to experience the buzzing activity of our classrooms and see our children and teachers in action. Inside the school you may see children climbing into a loft space as a superhero boarding her rocket ship, children painting with broccoli stalks, a small group making a chopped salad with lettuce from our fields, a child learning about how to create a map of the school, or a music class with all the children curled up as turtles on the floor.

If you look outside you may see children pressing apple cider, or piling into a wagon with their teachers for a tractor ride, or walking one of our goats. The children delight in feeding our chickens on the playground and climbing on our wooden train in the woods.

Thank you for your interest in Apple Orchard School. We look forward to welcoming you!

Warmly,

Martina Albright, Ph.D.

Director

AO Fast Facts
Welcome to Apple Orchard

  • There is not a day that goes by when we don’t arrive at Apple Orchard and appreciate this gift we have been able to provide our children. Apple Orchard is truly a magical place, with amazing teachers and team who care so much about our children. Without the scholarship program, our family would not have this opportunity to introduce our children to education in such a special way. We are forever grateful.

    Former Parent

  • Receiving a scholarship for The Apple Orchard School has made it possible for my child to be a part of such a wondrous school. A school that does not feel like school, but feels like home. As a parent that has made a world of an impact on our family. When we count our blessings, we count Apple Orchard twice.

    Former Parent

  • “I am thrilled that we have been able to find a preschool for our daughter that elevates play and concrete activities over academic concerns. You don’t pretend to do things, but you really do them. I love it that the kids pick vegetables, collect eggs, and cook snacks together. I think it’s nothing short of fabulous that the children got to watch ducks raised from eggs and set free on the pond.”

    Former Parent

  • “Apple Orchard is truly a model school, the best place on the planet to send your child to jumpstart his or her education.”

    Current Parent

  • “The grounds are like being in another, simpler world.  During a parent visit, taking a winter walk, I could see the joy in the children’s faces as they skipped, ran, got distracted, picked up a stick or rock, and then continued on their way.  How often do you see a child skip these days?  You do at AO!”

    Former Parent

  • “The staff is genuine, friendly, exceptionally knowledgeable, and competent.  They know your child’s habits, likes, dislikes, anything you can think of, and challenge them in a way that incorporates the natural world into the learning plan.”

    Former Parent

  • “All of our kids left AO with a deep appreciation for the outdoors and animals. This is a gift we could not have given them in any other pre-school setting.”

    Former Parent

  • “Apple Orchard is a magical place for our children as they learn without knowing they are learning! Friendships are formed which last a lifetime as our children develop a love for each other, their teachers and nature.”

    Current Parent

  • “All of our children have attended AO and completely embraced and loved every aspect of their experience. Combining the outdoors with traditional learning fosters an early school experience that has cultivated both academic growth and social development in our children.”

    Former Parent

  • “Apple Orchard helped to shape my children’s creative potential. Apple Orchard had such a significant impact on one of my children that he decided to come back as a teaching assistant for his senior project in high school.”

    Former Parent