Private School in San Francisco, CA

Children's Day School, San Francisco:
Children's Day School in San Francisco's Mission District excels as a community of learners who believe in a better kind of learning and possess the passion and skills to shape and continually grow the school. We are an independent, coeducational school for students in preschool through eighth grade. We serve families in San Francisco and surrounding Bay Area communities. Children’s Day School provides children with an education that reveals itself not only in how well children write, think mathematically and investigate questions, but also in how much they love school, their classmates and their environment. Can such a school maximize academic achievement? We are showing the answer is a resounding “yes.” And our students’ standardized test scores and high school placements back up that answer. We are proving that happy children make better learners. We are accredited by California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS).

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At Children’s Day School, academic achievement is only one learning goal. Integrity, love of learning, social competence and commitment to making a difference in the lives of others are equally important. This is our idea of what education is all about. Students at Children’s Day School experience:

* A learning environment that is constructed to deliver rigorous academics in a way that makes school fun and interesting. Through project-based learning, students tackle a challenging academic curriculum in ways that are engaging, meaningful, adaptable to a variety of learning styles and fun. “Fun” is a word too rarely used in schools, but it is important at CDS.
* Great teachers. At Children's Day School, we know that great teachers are the heart and soul of a great school. Using methodologies such as Responsive Classroom and All Kinds of Minds, our teachers foster the best intellectual and social instincts of each student.
* A diverse community and an inclusive culture. We are committed to constructing a school that reflects the racial, ethnic, economic and family diversity of San Francisco. A school culture that supports diversity is the same culture that is necessary for the delivery of excellent education.
* A culture of uniqueness. We believe in the power of each child's own unique gifts and talents. We do not strive for sameness - there is no formulaic "CDS student." Instead, we give each child the support and encouragement to become his or her own unique self.

Children’s Day School recognizes that every child is born with unique gifts. Our mission is to develop each student’s genius by providing an inspiring environment where challenging academics are inseparable from social, artistic, and physical experiences, and where children of all backgrounds feel safe to be themselves, become avid learners, and strive to make a difference in the lives of others.

Our educational program encourages curiosity, exploration, cooperation, risk-taking and a love of learning. It is integrated across academic disciplines and incorporates a project-based approach in which our students develop academic skills through inquiry and collaboration. Each day, teams of gifted teachers guide our children to find the fun in every new task and to excel academically as they take increasing responsibility for their education and their future.

Our students develop a sense of caring for self, for others, for the community and for the world as they become creative thinkers, skilled mathematicians, accomplished artists, strong writers and rigorous researchers. They graduate confident in their strengths, unafraid to struggle and prepared for the challenges and opportunities that await them.

The Children’s Day School community nourishes and celebrates diversity, promotes justice and respect for all people, and aspires to act always with integrity, compassion and generosity.

Preschool Program; Elementary Program; Middle School Program. Our students enjoy a rigorous curriculum that includes math, science, humanities (language arts and social studies) and Spanish, as well as lots of opportunities for athletics and many arts offerings including classes like sculpture, painting, Shakespearean monologues, comedy and music.

Inspired, creative, caring.
Intellectual rigor and creative thinking characterize our faculty. This quality seems to rub off on the students (or vice-versa - we're not exactly sure which). Teachers and students alike actively pursue interests within and outside the school, which results in the creation at CDS of an inspiring and happy environment in which to learn.

Diversity is essential to excellent education. A school that embraces diversity gives its students a powerful gift: the imagination to truly see others—to respect their struggles and appreciate their talents, to recognize their common humanity and to value their individual differences. As the famed author JK Rowling said in a recent speech, “Imagination in its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity…is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” At Children’s Day School, we know that having that imagination—that power to empathize with others whose experiences we have never shared—gives children a deep sense of equity and justice.

"We understand education to be the process of leading each child's genius out into the world so that the child may function gracefully and effectively within it in ever increasing degrees of complexity."
-Rick Ackerly, Head of School