Named Funds and Designations

David Allen '87 remembers vividly his school trip to Italy after the Renaissance history and art history courses he took with Mary (Polly) Chatfield. It opened his eyes and heart to new art, new cultures, new ways of life. In short, it changed his life. In honor of his teacher, Allen established the Mary P. Chatfield Cultural Scholarship Fund to help open such horizons to future generations of students. The scholarship underwrites travel for Project Week, Senior Projects, summer projects, and our exchanges with schools in Spain and France.

Donations to this fund supplement the income from the endowed fund that supports the Mary P. Chatfield Scholar. A beloved advisor and teacher for more than thirty years, Polly Chatfield taught Latin, ancient history, art history, and English, and developed a Renaissance history course for 10th graders that continued the rigorous attention to close reading and writing her students had encountered in 9th- grade English. After her first retirement, Mrs. Chatfield returned to Commonwealth in 1994 as Chair of the Board of Trustees, a position she filled with extraordinary devotion and industry. In 2002, she retired definitively to Cambridge and Maine with her husband, former Headmaster Charles Chatfield.

This spendable scholarship fund honors Ellen Cole, whose keen intelligence and compassion marked the School forever. For more than three decades, her unparalleled capabilities as teacher, administrator, editor, writer, advisor, friend, and trouble shooter for students and colleagues alike percolated through every aspect of life at Commonwealth. A long-time colleague remembers: "Her feel for what a school could offer to help shape educated, civilized young people--regardless of their past experience--was second to none.

Judith Keenan served as Head of School from 1990 to 2000. One of her first concerns was to find ways to incorporate the uniqueness of Boston into our curriculum. She sought grants to initiate the City of Boston course that all ninth graders now take, broadened our community service program, and reached further into the Boston community for assembly speakers and project mentors. This scholarship honors Mrs. Keenan by supporting a promising student from the city.

Dane Morgan taught at Commonwealth for many years. The sciences (all of them), math, and psychology were his official subjects; kindness and generosity his method of teaching. His infinite patience and consistent devotion in the classroom were matched by countless hours of tutorials for those who needed additional support. Mr. Morgan's students all learned the material, but perhaps more importantly, he taught them how to learn it and how to have confidence in themselves.

Homework Project is a twice weekly evening study hall for current students. Proctored by adult and peer tutors, Homework Project offers a quiet, dedicated space for students to do their work. The program helps students to manage their assignments and avoid distractions. Productive work habits and study skills developed during Homework Project serve students well in their own homes, neighborhood libraries, and in college and beyond. Gifts designated to Homework Project help to cover the cost of dinner for students and compensation for proctors and tutors.

Both Charles and Polly Chatfield recognized the importance of recruiting young teachers for our faculty and mentoring them as they learned to develop the skills that would serve them in their lifetime pursuits (be they academic or other). This fund is earmarked to support a young teacher.

Our generous Parents Committee hosts a Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon each year to honor our dedicated teachers and staff members. This fun themed luncheon features a delicious potluck meal prepared by parent volunteers and festive decor, allowing faculty and staff to enjoy a relaxing break during a week of grading meetings. Gifts to this fund primarily support this luncheon in addition to other professional development and enrichment.

Named after the late John Hughes, who taught English at Commonwealth for nearly thirty years, and after recently retired Head of School Bill Wharton, who founded the original Hughes fund in 2011 and championed faculty scholarship throughout his tenure, the Hughes/Wharton Fund ensures faculty can pursue their academic passions, access fulfilling professional development opportunities, and have the latitude to create new courses and reinvigorate existing ones. The fund supports our teachers by paying for courses they take, their summer initiatives, conferences they attend, and materials they require. Gifts to this fund are spent in the year they are made.

Explore a sampling of past Hughes/Wharton projects:

• Axiomatic Set Theory
• Computer Science Theory and Practice
• Francophone Folklore
• Mesoamerica
• Neuroscience of Learning
• Reinvigorating U.S. History

This Fund was established following the significant renovations to the School building completed in 2017. Earnings from the Capital Renewal Fund provide for the upkeep of the facilities’ infrastructure—building shell, HVAC, safety systems, and technology infrastructure, and exclude furniture, fixtures, equipment, flooring and other routine capital projects.

David Allen '87 remembers vividly his school trip to Italy after the Renaissance history and art history courses he took with Mary (Polly) Chatfield. It opened his eyes and heart to new art, new cultures, new ways of life. In short, it changed his life. In honor of his teacher, Allen established the Mary P. Chatfield Cultural Scholarship Fund to help open such horizons to future generations of students. The scholarship underwrites travel for Project Week, Senior Projects, summer projects, our exchanges with schools in Spain and France and cultural trips to Italy, China, and Peru.

This fund supports the Mary P. Chatfield Scholar. A beloved advisor and teacher for more than thirty years, Polly Chatfield taught Latin, ancient history, art history, and English. After her first retirement, Mrs. Chatfield returned to Commonwealth in 1994 as Chair of the Board of Trustees, a position she filled with extraordinary devotion and industry for nearly ten years. In 2021, Mrs. Chatfield retired from the Board having served Commonwealth as employee or lay leader for fifty-five years.

When Dr. Piero Paci, a renowned Boston pathologist, first entered Commonwealth, the atmosphere seemed familiar. With two of his children enrolled here, he realized how much Commonwealth reminded him, in all the best ways, of the intimate, academically intense and exciting liceo he had attended in Assisi. After his untimely death, his wife, Mary, and children Chris '77, Myra '83, and Stefano set up this fund in his name to enable students in future generations to receive the sort of education he so deeply believed in. As an endowed fund, only the earnings are spent.

In 2004, Commonwealth was selected by the Malone Family Foundation as recipient of a $2 million endowed gift. As one of fifty Malone Schools in the United States and the only such school in Massachusetts, Commonwealth has three to four Malone Scholars at a time. Students who are selected as Malone Scholars are highly capable and would not have access to a Commonwealth education without significant financial support. We are grateful to the Malone Family Foundation for making such generous scholarships possible.