Private Elementary & Middle School in Cleveland, OH

Birchwood School, Cleveland:
Located in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, northern Ohio, Birchwood School is a private co-educational elementary school serving kindergarten through grade 8. With our world class education, our emphasis on work habits & achievement ethics, and our expertise in gifted and talented education, we believe we have a lot to offer to the Greater Cleveland community. We have recently improved and expanded our facilities, and we continue to strive to make the investment in a Birchwood education affordable.

Educational Programs from Kindergarten through 8th Grade: 

Academics:
The academic program at Birchwood School is based upon our belief in historical principles of child development. Drawing from the tenets of a classical, liberal education and Judaeo-Christian ethics, we believe the nurturing of character should begin early; children who are taught how to be industrious, responsible, productive, and compassionate at an early age, have the strongest chance of becoming happy, productive, and responsible adults. In other words, if we can cultivate a good tree, there is a good chance we will have good fruit.

In the process of developing and refining our program and curriculum, we have chosen eight “pillars” that inform our efforts. These pillars are rooted in research, history, and our own evolving experience during our quest to provide the best education to every child at Birchwood.

We use challenging academics to nurture character. We make every effort to place each child at an instructional level where he or she can learn how to be a goal setter, how to exercise self-control, and how to be productive.

Core Subjects include reading, math, language arts, science, social stuides, computers, music and Spanish.

Gifted Education:
Following leading scholars in the field of gifted education and talent development (Abraham Tannenbaum and Francois Gagne) we hold that giftedness is measured through achievement and accomplishment in respective fields of work and study. This has two implications for the education of gifted children. 

First, the school must not only identify high intelligence, but it also must help children develop the habits and attitudes that will enable them to bring their giftedness from potential to fulfillment. Second, it is important that the education of gifted learners mirrors the knowledge base, habits of mind, work procedures, and products inherent in respective subject disciplines.

Character Development:
While providing an outstanding academic program, we believe that solid personal character, the composite of achievement ethics combined with a sense of social responsibility, can become the most vital factor in the success and satisfaction of an adolescent.

Character, according to its Greek root, means “enduring marks.” It describes the human virtues that
are engraved into an individual through education and training.

- We also offer an Enrichment Program.