About Our School

The Florida Ruffin Ridley School serves Brookline’s vibrant Coolidge
Corner neighborhood and is the largest PreK-8 school in Brookline. It has a
distinguished reputation as it welcomes students from all over the world,
reflects, respects, and embraces human diversity, and it is the public
school that President John F. Kennedy attended.

The Florida Ruffin Ridley School is committed to its school motto: “Work
hard. Be kind. Help others.” Faculty, staff, students, and families illustrate
this in words and actions throughout each school day as they are
committed to creating safe, welcoming, and respectful learning
environments. As a school committed to developing the whole child, we
use a myriad of Social Emotional Learning approaches including, but not
limited to Responsive Classroom, Developmental Designs, and Second Step
so that we may foster the prosocial behaviors necessary for productive
learning environments. Through these programs and other approaches to
community building and understanding identity, students learn to respect
themselves and others while honoring the diversity of cultures,
backgrounds, and learning differences that are part of the fabric of the
Florida Ruffin Ridley School.