Lower School

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An invitation to Lifelong Learning

Cross the threshold of a lower school classroom and enter the vibrant world of our youngest students – a place where each wall and window is a celebration of the imagination, every nook and cranny is an intriguing learning area, and each teacher is eager to foster enduring curiosity about the world.

This is the magic of our Lower School. Here, children engage in an astonishing array of science, math, writing, reading, world languages, and history activities as they learn to think outside the box, develop important life skills, and feel safe and at home in their school community.

Students emerge with more than a solid grounding in the traditional core subjects. When it’s time to move to Middle School, students bring with them a sense of joy, belonging, and creativity that forms a strong foundation for success.

Why Lower School at Country Day?

This is a Lower School unlike any other in New Orleans. A low student-teacher ratio, multiage classrooms, diverse enrichment activities, and a research-based, expert-led curriculum create a caring yet challenging setting for successful school beginnings.

“Our Lower School is a dynamic place for individualized instruction and creative exploration. Our thoughtful, intentional approach to social-emotional learning fused within a balanced curriculum means our students build a foundation of joyful learning that serves them as they progress through grade levels, divisions, and life.”Mimi odem Lower School Principal

Classrooms Without Stop Signs

For more than 50 years, Country Day’s multiage classroom model has ignited academic potential by bringing together students across grades with diverse interests and learning styles.

In our highly structured but incredibly flexible multiage classrooms (which begin in Kindergarten), students are not artificially limited to their academic grade level. Instead, they make developmentally appropriate progress, benefit from individualized curricula, and naturally acquire knowledge about leadership, mentorship, and collaboration. Our teachers provide classroom structure, but the children create a unique environment with their personalities, strengths, and needs.

Leaders Emerge

In multiage classrooms, older students mentor younger students by exemplifying more advanced problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Research Proven

Studies show that 58% of students in multi-grade classes performed better than their peers on measures of academic achievement.

More Parent Partnership

The multiage class maximizes the working relationship between school and family over a longer period.

Explore the Lower school curriculum

Experts in How Children Learn

Lower school teachers look beyond scaffolding knowledge and skills to actively instill intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, empathy, and personal responsibility in students, creating and maintaining a strong community of diverse thinkers.

Inspiring a Love
of Reading

Fundations, a comprehensive word study, spelling, and handwriting program used in Pre-K through 3rd grade. It is a direct and sequential phonics program aligned with the science of reading using a multisensory, systematic, and explicit approach.

Play as a Pathway
to Learning

Both structured and unstructured play are vital to a child’s learning. In addition to the physical benefits of being active in a PE class or at recess, students are encouraged to think strategically by developing a “play plan” for their playtime to make the most of it.

Project Approach: Learning by Doing

Starting in Pre-K, students become fully immersed in essential academic skills, which they immediately apply to real-life situations that are genuinely interesting and relevant to their daily lives. Learning by doing is the backbone of our Pre-K curriculum.

Inspiring the Artists of Tomorrow

Our students paint, draw, sculpt, and continually develop their talents in our colorful art studios, and sing, study, and learn to play music under teachers who are musicians themselves. A favorite question to ask any of our Lower School students is not, “Do you play an instrument?,” but rather, “What instrument do you play?”

Lower School: Arts Image Slideshow

Community as Tradition

Country Day community bonds form from day one. Morning meetings and family-style dining in the Coleman Family Dining Room introduce an appreciation for Country Day’s time-honored practices and create more inclusive spaces within our community.

Morning Meeting

Students from kindergarten through 5th grade come together four times in rotation for a community meeting called Morning Meeting. A long-standing Country Day tradition, Morning Meeting introduces and strengthens what it means to be part of our caring community while serving as a powerful, holistic element of character education. The meetings consistently promote and nurture the message of responsible, respectful behavior taught through our social-emotional learning program, Choose Love. Additionally, our 5th graders lead the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiative in Lower School, presenting topics of interest they develop with our DEIB Coordinator. Facilitators of Morning Meeting differ and might be the head of school, our chef, or a teacher or group of students from another division.

Buddy Programs

Pre-K students are paired with a 5th-grade buddy, forming a special bond. There is a scheduled time each week for the buddies to connect. Fifth graders can be found helping with carpool, working on special projects at Bart Cottage, and serving as friends and mentors to Pre-K students. Similarly, Kindergartners are paired with a senior buddy. They get together for special events or even just to play games throughout the year. These relationships are very meaningful — to the seniors and their young friends. Sometimes, this relationship lasts well past the year-long experience, as seniors love to visit their buddy when they visit after graduation.

Red & Blue Teams

Experience Our Community

It may sound unusual to give kids in Lower School a week to do their assignments, but it teaches them how to manage their time and accept personal responsibility. These are critical, nuanced skills that I'm so happy my child will take into the world.

Current Lower School Parent

Extended Opportunities

Lower School offers various enrichment classes that support our goal of educating the whole child. These include traditional subjects like music, art, world languages, and physical education instruction. Country Day also prioritizes time in our library and introduces students to environmental science in our Lower School Garden.

Successful Beginnings
Start Here

Lower school students emerge with more than a solid grounding in the traditional core subjects. When it’s time to move on to Middle School, students bring with them a sense of joy, belonging, and creativity that forms a strong foundation for success throughout their academic careers.

If you’re ready for your child to begin their Day, we invite you to schedule a visit to our Lower School!

Schedule Your Visit

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