The first thing that strikes many visitors at RCDS is the peace and beauty of our 20 acre campus. What strikes them next is the sight of children running to class, playing outdoors, laughing and talking because they are experiencing childhood as it is meant to be. They look healthy, excited and alive; they hold doors not just for adults, but for one another. Here they are cherished but not pampered, challenged but not pressured, organized but not regimented. They work hard and play fair.

The Children’s School offers a rigorous, supportive, developmentally appropriate program to students from Pre-K through Fifth Grade. Our youngest students learn in a language-rich environment that prepares them for literacy, numeracy and other academic work. In accordance with Best Practices for early childhood education, play is a central element of the program, for it is through play that children explore ideas, materials, relationships and language. Paradoxical as it may seem, free play is absolutely essential for the development of abstract and symbolic thinking. The pre-reading program focuses on children’s dictations and all-important phonemic awareness (the association of sounds with symbols,) and the prewriting program stresses-motor coordination through the use of manipulatives and art materials. As students reach reading readiness, teachers introduce letter study; word families and organic vocabulary study. Read-alouds are an essential part of the daily curriculum throughout the grades. In math, young children use concrete materials and sensorimotor activities so that numeracy will literally be encoded in their bodies; there are dozens of opportunities every day to point out mathematical relationships and questions as the children explore their environment.

As children’s verbal and mathematical skills, knowledge and capacities develop, they participate in highly individualized learning activities. We do not use basal readers at RCDS; our curriculum is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, teachers offer the children books that are carefully chosen to meet individual interests and reading levels. Writing is also an essential part of the curriculum. From very early on, children write in their daily journals and they develop technical as well as organizational and creative skills. Writing workshops based on the Lucy Calkins / Teachers College approach insure that writing is a personally satisfying, continually challenging and enjoyable endeavor.

We use the University of Chicago’s celebrated program, Everyday Math, throughout the school to insure a smooth progression of skill and concept development. Students work at their own rate, but group lessons are used to introduce and reinforce concepts. In addition to meeting state science standards, we are developing a powerful approach to natural science based on the study of immediate surroundings. Whether examining or jumping in the autumn leaves, charting the lives of birds; working in the organic garden, digging for worms, composting lunch leftovers or developing their observational powers, the children are intimately connected to their safe, ever changing natural environment.

Throughout the grades, project-based learning is a central feature of the curriculum. Many units are chosen by the children themselves; and they develop essential questions to guide their research and learning. Because the arts are of central importance at RCDS, projects can be documented through individual and collaborative essays, art work, music, and drama. Our arts teachers are professionals in their fields and they consistently elicit creative, focused work from children at every age.

Language study begins early at the Children’s School. Even the Preschoolers are exposed to French and Spanish; by the time they are ready for serious study, they are familiar with the sounds, cadences and basic vocabulary of their chosen language.

We live in the Information Age, but at RCDS we believe in “Appropriate Technology.” That means that we introduce computers slowly, in a developmentally sensible way. In the third grade (and not before,) they learn keyboarding and become acquainted with some of the [positive] wonders of the internet. Many teachers use class websites for assignments, homework and communication with parents.

At RCDS, we care not only about students’ academic performance, but also about their physical well-being. Research is clear that movement is essential for learning, relieving stress, preventing obesity, developing confidence and gaining spatial and kinesthetic awareness. In addition to participating in gym three times a week, every child enjoys two recess periods each day. Here they let off steam, engage with their peers and consolidate their learning on a brain and body level. Our extraordinary food program, under the direction of Chef Rose Walker, provides a wide variety of organic, local foods that broaden children’s palates, satisfies their nutritional needs, and, in a processed-food culture, helps students form lifelong habits of healthy eating.

Throughout the grades, we are constantly mindful of the interaction between children’s social/emotional/ethical development and academic lives. Each year, the school selects a theme (e.g. consideration or individuality, etc.,) that is woven into the academic curriculum as well as all-school and class activities. Conflict resolution, mediation, anti-bullying programs and class/ school wide meetings all contribute to the creation of a caring, collaborative community.

At RCDS, we seek to form alliances with parents on behalf of the children. We keep parents informed about students’ academic, social and emotional progress and we welcome communications from home at all times. Parents are invited to participate in a wide variety of activities – from planting bulbs to working in our incredible kitchen to joining workshops and conversations about topics of importance. We invite parents to offer their skills and experience as part of the academic and extracurricular program.

People variously describe the Children’s School at RCDS as “small but mighty,” “a hidden gem,” a place where “children are allowed to be children.” Our teachers are dedicated professionals; our families come from diverse backgrounds and experiences; our administrators are knowledgeable, caring, flexible and available. We warmly invite you to join our very special learning community.