Educator. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts the daughter of Mary and Peter Baldwin. She was graduated from Cambridge High School in 1874, after which she attended Cambridge Normal School and trained as a teacher. Her first assignment upon completing her courses was in Chestertown, Maryland, where she taught for two years. In 1881, she was assigned as a primary school teacher back in Cambridge. For the next decade she gained experience in each grade from first to seventh. In 1889, she was appointed principal of the prestigious Agassiz School, the first black woman to hold such a position in Massachusetts. In 1897, she became the first woman to deliver the traditional Washington's Birthday address to the Brooklyn Institute. In 1916, the school expanded to include a kindergarten and eighth grade, and she was appointed school master, one of only two women in the city to hold the position of school master. She introduced innovative methods of mathematics instruction and instituted art classes, she was the first to create the position of school nurse. She lectured extensively, and regularly offered courses for teachers in such institutions as the Hampton Institute in Virginian and The Institute for Colored Youth in Pennsylvania. At age 65, while lecturing in Boston, she collapsed, succumbing to heart failure. The Agassiz School established a scholarship in her name and the school auditorium became Baldwin Hall in her honor. In February 2004, the Agassiz School was renamed the Maria L. Baldwin School.
Educator. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts the daughter of Mary and Peter Baldwin. She was graduated from Cambridge High School in 1874, after which she attended Cambridge Normal School and trained as a teacher. Her first assignment upon completing her courses was in Chestertown, Maryland, where she taught for two years. In 1881, she was assigned as a primary school teacher back in Cambridge. For the next decade she gained experience in each grade from first to seventh. In 1889, she was appointed principal of the prestigious Agassiz School, the first black woman to hold such a position in Massachusetts. In 1897, she became the first woman to deliver the traditional Washington's Birthday address to the Brooklyn Institute. In 1916, the school expanded to include a kindergarten and eighth grade, and she was appointed school master, one of only two women in the city to hold the position of school master. She introduced innovative methods of mathematics instruction and instituted art classes, she was the first to create the position of school nurse. She lectured extensively, and regularly offered courses for teachers in such institutions as the Hampton Institute in Virginian and The Institute for Colored Youth in Pennsylvania. At age 65, while lecturing in Boston, she collapsed, succumbing to heart failure. The Agassiz School established a scholarship in her name and the school auditorium became Baldwin Hall in her honor. In February 2004, the Agassiz School was renamed the Maria L. Baldwin School.
Bio by: Iola
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