In December 2010, New York-based EC International announced it had acquired the Springfield-based MacDuffie School's name, mission, and intellectual property with plans to move the school to the former St. Hyacinth Seminary campus in Granby.

On June 1, 2011, five days before graduation in the MacDuffie school's final year in Springfield, the school's campus on Ames Hill Drive was devastated by a rare EF3 tornado that tore through several neighborhoods in the city and surrounding towns; caused more than $10 million in damage to the campus.

It was then when Holyoke-native John Foley agreed to buy the former MacDuffie property, with plans on making his own New England Prep school.

[1] Springfield Commonwealth Academy opened in 2012, following a year of clean-up after the tornado devastated its campus.

The Springfield Commonwealth's athletic teams are known as the Tornadoes, and their colors are black and white.