The design-build concept is alive in many of our classes. We don’t train students to be engineers, but we train them to do what engineers do: solve problems. When young people analyze a problem, design a solution, and construct the mechanisms that actualize that solution, they are learning to be real world problem solvers. The critical thinking skills of analyzing, planning, revising, communicating, and collaborating are all developed when students practice engineering. Whether it is in the middle school engineering class, the maker spaces in our lower elementary classrooms, or our after-school first Lego League Program, CDS teachers facilitate the cultivation of these valuable skills. Check out what people are saying about engineering in the classroom.

All our students get out and run around for at least 30 minutes a day. They never spend more than 2.5 hours in classes without a recess break. Our recess space includes natural areas where kids can build with sticks and play in the dirt. In addition, all our recess times are multi-aged, so kids are spending unstructured time with children of different ages.  This builds community and valuable social skills.

 Check out what people are saying about increased recess time.

This year, we opened a Montessori 3-6 year-old classroom, and it 

immediately filled to capacity. Montessori fits well at CDS because it focuses on skill development, that is, it creates independent learners. While many families do not understand how Montessori education works, most find it very appealing once they learn about its values and its methods. We plan to add Montessori classrooms in the future as our current students age.