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Summit Land Acknowledgement

Written by the Upper Elementary Class, 2025-2026*

As the Summit Community, we are guests on the traditional and stolen lands of the Nipmuc, Agawam, Massa-adchu-es-et and Pawtucket people.
We appreciate and protect nature by composting, gardening and environmental education.
We intend to treat the land and its people with kindness and respect.
We will continue to learn about indigenous people and read books by indigenous authors.

Campus History

By the time Summit’s founding families established the school, they found on this land an historic Victorian building situated in a beautiful neighborhood, centrally located in Framingham to build their school. Summit’s main campus building had already had a storied past. Originally home to the Moses Ellis family, the building also played host to the Danforth School (1910-1919), Little Tree Farm, and various corporate headquarters and legal offices. On the first day of school in the fall of 1996, Summit opened with 48 students. In September 2013, we launched a Beginners Program for children ages 18 through 36 months.

Thanks to the efforts of strategic visioning, the school acquired and later converted a 1980’s era ranch home on an adjacent lot to add to the campus. The smaller building houses Summit’s Beginners program and was named the Martha Torrence Building in 2025 in honor of longtime Head of School, Martha Torrence upon her retirement. Today, Summit’s campus can house up to 130 students from our Beginners through sixth grade.

The school sits on three acres of land that offer students a mix of curated playgrounds and more natural wooded areas to explore. Pollinator and vegetable gardens flourish under the care of Summit’s Naturalist and students, large open areas allow for group games and picnicking ground, and shady playgrounds offer respite from the heat of summer and glorious shades of red, orange, and yellow in the fall.

*How UE Wrote the Land Acknowledgement

Upper Elementary wrote a land acknowledgement as a class. Our teacher read an example from a third grade class at another school. After that we went to a website called Native Land Digital (https://native-land.ca/) and found out the indigenous nations that lived on the land of Summit Montessori School before us. Taking the example as inspiration, we created our own version. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about the indigenous people that lived on this land before us.

The Moses Ellis House

Our historic building is known as the Moses Ellis House and is an outstanding example of the Italianate architectural style of the mid-19th century. In 1866, adistinguished gentleman named Moses Ellis purchased the site on Pleasant Street and hired architect Alexander Rice Esty to build the current Italianate home. The house took five years to build.

In 1911 Moses Ellis, Jr. sold the house for $1.00 to the Headmaster of a boarding school for boys (called the Danforth School), with one stipulation: that the building be modernized with plumbing and electricity. The Moses Ellis House went through a series of owners between 1919 and 1996, at which time Summit Montessori opened its doors to its first generation of students. With such a fascinating history, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was featured in the Framingham Historical Society’s 2006 House Tour.

The Martha Torrence Building stands on the foundation of a 1980’s ranch house. It was brought down to the studs and reconstructed as a purpose built Montessori space in 2021. The newly built space was opened in 2022 and houses two Beginners toddler environments, the Advancement Office, and the Marino Community Room. The Marino Room sees many uses including all school assemblies, AfterCare programming, after school explorations, music and indoor PE classes, professional development sessions, parties, and the annual SMPA Book Fair!

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