Country Day School movement
Encyclopedia
The Country Day School movement is a movement in progressive
education that originated in the United States
in the late 19th century.
Country Day schools seek to recreate the educational rigor, atmosphere, camaraderie and character-building aspects of the best college prep
boarding schools while allowing students to return to their families at the end of the day. To avoid the crime, pollution and health problems of the industrial cities of the early 1900s, the schools were sited in the 'country,' where wealthy families owned large homes in what would later be known as suburb
s.
The Country Day School movement shared many values with the Arts and Crafts movement
. School buildings and campus landscaping were designed with the goal of creating an inspirational atmosphere that would foster learning and culture. In keeping with this holistic view of the student learning environment, various "after-school" programs promoted student development, including athletic programs, choir and religious studies, and monitored study time. Students were given opportunities to develop leadership skills through clubs and student organizations.
The first Country Day Schools were Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, in Brooklyn New York which opened its doors on a 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) campus Dyker Heights in 1917 after having been on Livingston Street since 1854. University School
in Shaker Heights, Ohio, which opened in 1890, Detroit Country Day School
now located in Beverly Hills Michigan, the Gilman School
in Baltimore
, Maryland
, which opened in 1897,The Summit Country Day School
in Cincinnati, Ohio
, which opened in 1890, or the McDonogh School
in Owings Mills, Maryland, which opened in 1873. These four prestigious college preparatory schools provided the structure and campus location format that would guide many more country day schools that would be built around the country for the next 100 years.
Prominent Country Day Schools include the following:
Educational progressivism
Progressive education is a pedagogical movement that began in the late nineteenth century and has persisted in various forms to the present. More recently, it has been viewed as an alternative to the test-oriented instruction legislated by the No Child Left Behind educational funding act...
education that originated in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the late 19th century.
Country Day schools seek to recreate the educational rigor, atmosphere, camaraderie and character-building aspects of the best college prep
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
boarding schools while allowing students to return to their families at the end of the day. To avoid the crime, pollution and health problems of the industrial cities of the early 1900s, the schools were sited in the 'country,' where wealthy families owned large homes in what would later be known as suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s.
The Country Day School movement shared many values with the Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. School buildings and campus landscaping were designed with the goal of creating an inspirational atmosphere that would foster learning and culture. In keeping with this holistic view of the student learning environment, various "after-school" programs promoted student development, including athletic programs, choir and religious studies, and monitored study time. Students were given opportunities to develop leadership skills through clubs and student organizations.
The first Country Day Schools were Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, in Brooklyn New York which opened its doors on a 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) campus Dyker Heights in 1917 after having been on Livingston Street since 1854. University School
University School
University School, commonly referred to as US, is an all-boys K - 12 school with two campus locations in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area...
in Shaker Heights, Ohio, which opened in 1890, Detroit Country Day School
Detroit Country Day School
Detroit Country Day School is a private, secular school located in four campuses in Oakland County, Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safety and security services, and the upper school are located in a campus in Beverly Hills, along with the middle school...
now located in Beverly Hills Michigan, the Gilman School
Gilman School
Gilman School is a private preparatory school for boys located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1897 as the Country School for Boys, it was the first country day school in the United States. Gilman enrolls approximately 978 students, ranging from kindergarten to...
in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, which opened in 1897,The Summit Country Day School
Summit Country Day School
The Summit Country Day School educates students from preschool through high school in its Montessori, Primary, Middle School and Upper School divisions. It is a private, Catholic, independent high school located in Cincinnati, Ohio.-Background:...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, which opened in 1890, or the McDonogh School
McDonogh School
McDonogh School is a private, coeducational, K-12, college-preparatory school founded in Owings Mills, Maryland, USA in 1873.- History :The school was established near Baltimore, Maryland in 1873 and funded by the estate of John McDonogh, a former Baltimore resident, who died in 1850...
in Owings Mills, Maryland, which opened in 1873. These four prestigious college preparatory schools provided the structure and campus location format that would guide many more country day schools that would be built around the country for the next 100 years.
Prominent Country Day Schools include the following:
- Beaver Country Day SchoolBeaver Country Day SchoolBeaver Country Day School is an independent, college preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12 founded in 1920. The school is located on a campus in the village of Chestnut Hill, in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Beaver is a member of the Cum Laude Society, the...
- Berkshire Country Day SchoolBerkshire Country Day SchoolBerkshire Country Day is an independent school for students in pre-kindergarten through ninth grades. It is located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts near the town of Lenox.-History:...
- Berwick AcademyBerwick AcademyBerwick Academy is a highly selective preparatory school located in South Berwick, Maine. Founded in 1791, it is the oldest educational institution in Maine and one of the oldest private schools in North America. The school sits on a 72-acre, 11-building campus on a hill overlooking the Salmon...
- Bryn Mawr SchoolBryn Mawr SchoolThe Bryn Mawr School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory school for girls from preschool through grade twelve. Founded in 1885, BMS is located in the Roland Park community of Baltimore, Maryland, USA at 109 W. Melrose Avenue, Baltimore MD 21210.-The Bryn Mawr School Community:In...
- Canton Country Day SchoolCanton Country Day SchoolCanton Country Day School, , is an independent day school in Canton, Ohio. The school founded in 1964 as part of the Country Day School movement, with the aim of combining innovation with a superior elementary education dedicated to the liberal arts. It is the only non-sectarian independent PreK-8...
- Charlotte Country Day SchoolCharlotte Country Day SchoolCharlotte Country Day School is a private, secular school in Charlotte, North Carolina, with classes in grades Kindergarten-12. A junior kindergarten program is also offered. Applications to the school are reviewed on the basis of character, intellectual ability, emotional maturity, curiosity, and...
- Chestnut Hill Country Day School
- Cincinnati Country Day SchoolCincinnati Country Day SchoolCincinnati Country Day School is a private, Independent School located in Indian Hill, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati....
- Costa Rica Country Day SchoolCosta Rica Country Day School- Foundation :The school was founded in 1963 by Marian Baker to give a correct U.S. American style education in Costa Rica. It started off as a small school and grew to about 150 students by 1968. It has since grown into a large school enrolling more than 1000 students...
- Cranbrook Kingswood School
- Detroit Country Day SchoolDetroit Country Day SchoolDetroit Country Day School is a private, secular school located in four campuses in Oakland County, Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safety and security services, and the upper school are located in a campus in Beverly Hills, along with the middle school...
- El Paso Country Day School
- Fort Worth Country Day School
- Forsyth Country Day SchoolForsyth Country Day SchoolForsyth Country Day School is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian, college-preparatory day school, established in 1970, and located in Lewisville, North Carolina...
- Fox Chapel Country Day School
- Gilman SchoolGilman SchoolGilman School is a private preparatory school for boys located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1897 as the Country School for Boys, it was the first country day school in the United States. Gilman enrolls approximately 978 students, ranging from kindergarten to...
- Green Fields Country Day SchoolGreen Fields Country Day SchoolGreen Fields Country Day School is a private school in Tucson, Arizona. It provides services for elementary school, middle school, and high school students....
- Greenwich Country Day SchoolGreenwich Country Day SchoolThe Greenwich Country Day School is a co-educational, independent day school in Greenwich, Connecticut, founded in 1926. As of 2005, it has some 840 students from nursery to the 9th grade level....
- Hawken SchoolHawken SchoolHawken School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Northeast Ohio.Hawken currently has two main campuses, the Lower and Middle Schools in Lyndhurst and the Upper School in Gates Mills, plus a third, an urban campus in University Circle, The Sally & Bob Gries Center...
- Keith Country Day SchoolKeith Country Day SchoolKeith Country Day School is a private, fully accredited, independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory school located in Rockford, Illinois, USA...
- Kentucky Country Day SchoolKentucky Country Day SchoolKentucky Country Day is an independent co-educational college preparatory day school for junior kindergarten through 12th grade located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is located in northeastern Jefferson County on a large suburban campus. Today KCD is recognized as a regional leader in educational...
- The Key SchoolThe Key SchoolThe Key School is an independent coeducational school, located in the neighborhood of Hillsmere Shores in Annapolis, Maryland. Known simply as "Key" by members of the community, it is one of several independent private schools in the Annapolis area. The school is attended by all age groups, with...
- Kingswood-Oxford SchoolKingswood-Oxford SchoolKingswood Oxford School is a private day school located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Originally two separate schools, Kingswood School and Oxford School for boys and girls respectively, KO is now a co-educational institution and offers grades 6 through 12...
- La Jolla Country Day SchoolLa Jolla Country Day SchoolLa Jolla Country Day School is a highly selective private school in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. It was founded as the Balmer School by Louise C. Balmer in 1926. The school contains a lower school , a middle school , and an upper school...
- Lake Forest Country Day SchoolLake Forest Country Day SchoolLake Forest Country Day School , founded in 1888, is a coeducational, independent preK-8 school located on a 29-acre campus in Lake Forest, Illinois, USA, a suburb approximately 30 miles north of Chicago. The School serves families from more than 30 communities...
- Lancaster Country Day SchoolLancaster Country Day SchoolLancaster Country Day School is a private, secular, coeducational college preparatory school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It serves 530 students in preschool through twelfth grade...
- Madison Country Day SchoolMadison Country Day SchoolMadison Country Day School is a nonsectarian, private day school in Dane County, Wisconsin for grades PreK through 12. It is the only non-religious private high school in Dane County, and has an enrollment of around 275 students...
- St. Louis Country Day SchoolMary Institute and St. Louis Country Day SchoolMary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School or "MICDS" is a secular, co-educational, private school for about 1,200 students in grades Junior Kindergarten through 12, separated into three different sections: JK-4th grade , 5th-8th grade , and 9th-12th grade . Its 100 acre campus is located...
- Marin Country Day SchoolMarin Country Day SchoolMarin Country Day School is an independent coeducational day school serving grades K-8 located in Corte Madera, California. The student body is made up of 540 students who are expected to follow the school's core values of "Respect, Responsibility, and Compassion".-History:Founded in 1956 by...
- Maumee Valley Country Day SchoolMaumee Valley Country Day SchoolMaumee Valley Country Day School is an independent and non-religious private school located in Toledo, Ohio. The school was founded in 1842 as an all-girls finishing school in Western New York and was moved to Toledo in 1884, where it became The Smead School for Girls...
(Toledo, OhioToledo, OhioToledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
) - McDonogh SchoolMcDonogh SchoolMcDonogh School is a private, coeducational, K-12, college-preparatory school founded in Owings Mills, Maryland, USA in 1873.- History :The school was established near Baltimore, Maryland in 1873 and funded by the estate of John McDonogh, a former Baltimore resident, who died in 1850...
- Metairie Park Country Day SchoolMetairie Park Country Day SchoolMetairie Park Country Day School is a private, nondenominational, co-educational college preparatory school preparatory day school in Metairie, Louisiana, with classes in grades Pre-Kindergarten-12...
- New Canaan Country SchoolNew Canaan Country SchoolNew Canaan Country School is private day school, offers grades Pre-Kindergarten-9, located on a campus in New Canaan, Connecticut. The current headmaster is Timothy Bazemore, who joined the school in 2000....
- Newton Country Day SchoolNewton Country Day SchoolNewton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart is a private, all-girls Roman Catholic high school and middle school located on the Loren Towle Estate in Newton, Massachusetts, as part of the Sacred Heart Network of 21 schools in the United States and 44 countries abroad...
- Miami Country Day SchoolMiami Country Day SchoolMiami Country Day School is a private, non-denominational, co-ed Preschool–12 college preparatory school near Miami Shores, just north of the city of Miami, Florida. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.- History :...
- North Shore Country Day SchoolNorth Shore Country Day SchoolNorth Shore Country Day School, is a small private school founded in 1919 and located in Winnetka, Illinois. It consists of a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school.-History:...
- The Park School (Buffalo)
- Park Tudor SchoolPark Tudor SchoolPark Tudor School is a private, coeducational, nondenominational school for grades junior kindergarten through 12 in the Meridian Hills neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Park Tudor was created with the 1970 merger of Tudor Hall School for Girls and Park School...
- Pembroke-Country Day SchoolThe Pembroke Hill SchoolThe Pembroke Hill School is a nonsectarian, coeducational, private preparatory school for about 1,200 students in preschool through 12th grade, separated into four sections: preschool-2nd grade , 3rd-5th grade , 6th-8th grade , and 9th-12th grade...
- Phoenix Country Day SchoolPhoenix Country Day SchoolPhoenix Country Day School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory private school in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area; the school has an approximate total enrollment of 700 in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. The Upper School has 239 students with around 60 students in each...
- Poly Prep Country Day SchoolPoly Prep Country Day School'Poly Prep Country Day School is headquartered in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Initially founded as part of the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, Poly Prep now offers classes from the nursery grade to 12th grade, occupying buildings on two campuses...
- Princeton Day SchoolPrinceton Day SchoolPrinceton Day School is a private coeducational day school located in Princeton Township, New Jersey, serving students in grades pre kindergarten - 12. The largest division is the Upper School , with an enrollment of approximately 400...
- Providence Country Day SchoolProvidence Country Day SchoolThe Providence Country Day School is a private middle and high school, founded in 1923. Located in East Providence, Rhode Island, United States, it serves approximately 300 students in grades 6 through 12...
- Riverdale Country SchoolRiverdale Country SchoolRiverdale Country School is a co-educational, independent, college-preparatory day school in New York City. One of the most competitive private schools in the nation, it is located on two campuses covering more than in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, New York.-History:Founded in 1907 by Dr...
- Roland Park Country SchoolRoland Park Country SchoolRoland Park Country School is an independent all-girls college preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It serves girls from Kindergarten through Grade 12...
- Rumson Country Day SchoolRumson Country Day SchoolRumson Country Day School is a coeducational, nonsectarian private day school located on a campus in Rumson, New Jersey, serving students in preschool through eighth grade. The school contains 48 classrooms in which 9 of them are equipped with smartboard technology...
- Rye Country Day SchoolRye Country Day SchoolRye Country Day School, or Rye Country Day or RCDS, is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school located in Rye, New York. Its Upper School , Middle School , and Lower School enroll a total of 886 students on its 26-acre campus...
- Sacramento Country DaySacramento Country DaySacramento Country Day School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory school serving pre-kindergarten through grade 12 since 1964. SCDS is located in the unincorporated Arden Arcade neighborhood of Sacramento, California, and serves students from all surrounding areas, including...
- St. Croix USVI Country Day SchoolSt. Croix USVI Country Day SchoolSt. Croix Country Day School is an independent, non-sectarian, non-profit, college preparatory school serving all grades from PreK-12 located in Kingshill, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The student body is made up of 490 students.-Athletics & Competition:...
- St. Sebastian's Country Day School
- Seattle Country Day SchoolSeattle Country Day SchoolSeattle Country Day School is a private kindergarten through 8th grade school in Seattle, Washington, USA with 328 students. Created for gifted kids, SCDS's inquiry based curriculum not only teaches children facts and information but also how to learn. The school was founded in 1964 by Lucille G....
- Stuart Country Day SchoolStuart Country Day SchoolStuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart is an independent all-girls Catholic country day school located in Princeton Township, New Jersey, that serves students from pre-school through grade 12...
- The Savannah Country Day SchoolThe Savannah Country Day SchoolThe Savannah Country Day School is a preparatory school founded in 1955 in Savannah, Georgia. The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through to twelfth grade, and has 921 students enrolled.- History :...
- Shore Country Day School
- Sonoma Country Day School
- Summit Country Day SchoolSummit Country Day SchoolThe Summit Country Day School educates students from preschool through high school in its Montessori, Primary, Middle School and Upper School divisions. It is a private, Catholic, independent high school located in Cincinnati, Ohio.-Background:...
- Westchester Country Day SchoolWestchester Country Day SchoolWestchester Country Day School, formerly called Westchester Academy, is an independent, nonsecretarian school that is situated just outside of High Point, North Carolina, USA....
- University Liggett SchoolUniversity Liggett SchoolUniversity Liggett School, also known as ULS and Liggett, is a private, secular school inGrosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1878, it is Michigan's oldest independent coeducational day school....
- University School of MilwaukeeUniversity School of MilwaukeeThe University School of Milwaukee is a private pre-kindergarten through secondary preparatory school located on in River Hills and Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
- University SchoolUniversity SchoolUniversity School, commonly referred to as US, is an all-boys K - 12 school with two campus locations in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area...
- York Country Day SchoolYork Country Day SchoolYork Country Day School is a Preschool through Grade 12 independent school located in York, Pennsylvania.York Country Day School is affiliated with York College of Pennsylvania and is the living legacy of the York County Academy founded in 1787....