Grace Budd Spradley
1921 - 2019

Grace Budd Spradley, then known as Mrs. Budd, was a kindergarten teacher at the Little Red Schoolhouse in Covington for over 20 years. The Little Red Schoolhouse was built by the Covington Service Guild in 1945 for the purpose of providing kindergarten classes. Surprisingly, kindergarten classes were not a part of the Georgia public school system until the late1970s. Therefore, there was no official or standardized curriculum; Spradley developed her own. By the end of each year, many of her students could read and all of them could write, copying anything she wrote on the chalkboard. Spradley said in a 2013 interview with the Covington News that “kindergarten was a happier experience for students and teachers in those days, full of dancing, singing and learning poetry, in addition to science and nature projects.” Spradley put on an end-of-year program every year where she dressed up as Mother Goose and sang songs with the children.
Spradley began her teaching career as a teaching assistant and was hired as head teacher in 1964. Parents would line up starting at 6 a.m. to enroll their children in her class. There were so many applicants that they had to add an afternoon session, and still some had to be turned away.
She continued her classes at the Little Red Schoolhouse until the state began offering public kindergarten classes in the late 1970s. Fortunately for the parents and children of Newton County, Spradley wasn’t ready to let go. She enrolled in Georgia State University and, as the oldest member in her class, earned her early childhood education degree, graduating cum laude, and went to work at Social Circle Elementary School, where she remained until her retirement in 1992.
Mrs. Spradley was involved with many things in her community, such as Charter member of Oxford Amitié Club, serving as Den Mother with the Cub Scouts, serving on the Oxford Tree Board, a member of the First Baptist Church 3R Club and of Young at Heart at Allen Memorial United Methodist Church. Her favorite hobbies included playing bridge and flower gardening. She was a renowned traveler - having been to all 50 states, several foreign countries and sailed 11 cruises. She raised four sons in Oxford.
Spradley began her teaching career as a teaching assistant and was hired as head teacher in 1964. Parents would line up starting at 6 a.m. to enroll their children in her class. There were so many applicants that they had to add an afternoon session, and still some had to be turned away.
She continued her classes at the Little Red Schoolhouse until the state began offering public kindergarten classes in the late 1970s. Fortunately for the parents and children of Newton County, Spradley wasn’t ready to let go. She enrolled in Georgia State University and, as the oldest member in her class, earned her early childhood education degree, graduating cum laude, and went to work at Social Circle Elementary School, where she remained until her retirement in 1992.
Mrs. Spradley was involved with many things in her community, such as Charter member of Oxford Amitié Club, serving as Den Mother with the Cub Scouts, serving on the Oxford Tree Board, a member of the First Baptist Church 3R Club and of Young at Heart at Allen Memorial United Methodist Church. Her favorite hobbies included playing bridge and flower gardening. She was a renowned traveler - having been to all 50 states, several foreign countries and sailed 11 cruises. She raised four sons in Oxford.