Mission :

We are a community of learners. We educate students to be successful in acquiring the knowledge, skills and intellectual virtues needed to become caring, responsible citizens who value learning for a lifetime.

Vision :

In our schools the needs of children come first.
Students are active learners who understand the value of their work. They are nurtured and challenged to excel.
Passion for teaching inspires enthusiasm for learning. Educators work together to shape a quality curriculum that is the foundation for meaningful instruction.
All members of the Easton community are welcomed in the schools and are encouraged to be both informed and involved in the education of our community's children. With them, we share in the responsibility for creating student success.

History

Mr. Samuel Staples, the benefactor for whom our school was named, was a hardworking farmer and canny investor. Owning 1128 acres, Mr. Staples rented and leased part of his land to tenants and sold some to new residents. Before his death in 1787, he left a large portion of his estate for the establishment of a school of higher learning where the poor, as well as the comfortably rich could send their children. Wanting very much a free school in the parish of North Fairfield (now Easton) near the meeting house, Staples Free School was founded in 1795 in the Greenfield Hill area. After one hundred years of service, the school had to close due to “sorry conditions of financial affairs.” It is now the social hall of the Easton Congregational Church.

In the 1930s, the Staples fund was reactivated. The Supreme Court was petitioned to change the purposes for which the Trust was created so that the income could be used for the granting of college scholarships to Easton boys and girls. Since 1938, annual college scholarships have been granted to Easton young people as the Fund permits; and more recent contributions have increased its usefulness. Thus the Staples Free School idea, created nearly two centuries ago by Samuel Staples is being perpetuated by Easton people of our day.

The new Samuel Staples Elementary School that we occupy today opened August 31, 2005. The school is situated in a large open meadow, reminiscent of the farming property Mr. Samuel Staples once owned. The architectural design is uniquely congruent with the image of a barn, which blends so well with many of the homes in Easton.

This year our school has 6 sections of every grade level Kindergarten-Grade 5. We also have dedicated space for our early intervention preschool and related services. Our facility includes 2 gyms, 3 art rooms, 3 music rooms, a media center, computer lab, and several ancillary rooms that offer smaller space for small group or individual instruction in the areas of reading, speech, special education, as well as OT and PT.