Country Day School’s community is a diverse group of students, teachers, parents, alumni, and administrators, all of whom care deeply about the school. However, community at Country Day School is more than a collection of people; it’s a way of thinking and being. Country Day School builds community in many ways. Through collaborative learning, students learn to respect others’ ideas and points of view, and develop close relationships with peers and teachers. Country Day School faculty regularly approach course planning from a multi-disciplinary approach to learning, and often arrive at new ideas as a group. Parents visit Country Day School to volunteer in classroom projects and work to support our teachers and staff in our PTSA organization, Friends of Country Day. And each year, Country Day School welcomes alumni to return to our Evening with Friends and Walk-for-Friends events, where they share their stories and make new memories with current students and faculty.

All of these activities help our students remember that they are part of something greater than just one individual or even one class. Students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade, attend classes on one campus, and although the school’s three divisions have their own discrete spaces, students interact with schoolmates from other grade levels on a daily basis. Student artwork, inventions and projects, displayed throughout the buildings, create an environment in which each child is valued and respected.

Ultimately, our goal is to be a community resource, an active community member, and a good neighbor. Country Day School offers the use of many of its facilities to other groups and schools and welcomes opportunities to partner with other organizations. Our open-to-the-public programs demonstrate our commitment to the enrichment of the community though educational, cultural and artistic opportunities, as well as events and performances that bring diversity of thought and ideas to our neighborhood. In addition, we teach our students to become civic-minded and involved members of our internal school community, with the intentional goal of creating productive contributors to the greater society through volunteer time and efforts. Our Country Day School “family” is connected from student to teacher to parent to alumni—we are a community.