Atkinson Academy, the oldest standing co-educational school in the United States, today serves as Atkinson's elementary school and is part of the Timberlane Regional School District. 

Atkinson Academy

Atkinson Academy was founded during the depression period which followed the American Revolution. Reverend Stephen Peabody, General Nathanial Peabody and Dr. William Cogswell are credited with founding the Academy in 1787.

Construction of the first Academy building, at the corner of Meditation Lane and Academy Avenue, began during the spring of 1786. 1791 was a noteworthy year for Atkinson Academy -- and for women's history -- as it was the year that Polly Peabody, the daughter of Mary Haseltine Peabody and Reverend Stephen Peabody, became the first female to enroll in the school. Polly's enrollment distinguished the Academy as being the second co-educational school in the country, the first being Leicster Academy in Leicster, Massachusetts.