Academic Excellence

Westchester Country Day School develops in children an enthusiasm for learning that leads to elevated academic performance and the achievement of their full potential. Since our founding in 1967, we have offered an excellent academic program that combines challenging coursework with a supportive environment in which to learn.

Academics at Westchester is about more than what students will know when they graduate. It is about providing the tools they will need for future academic success and the inspiration to continue a lifelong love and enjoyment of learning. We believe that children deserve a classroom environment in which they feel eager to engage and contribute. When students view learning as a joyful process, they will grow and blossom.

Westchester teachers are more than instructors; they are role models whose love of learning is contagious and evident in all they do. Students learn to think for themselves, not merely memorizing facts and statistics, but also developing skills and habits that will lead to future success. They go out into the world prepared with the knowledge, ability, and perseverance to meet life's challenges head-on.

Westchester Curriculum

As an independent school, Westchester has the flexibility to design its own curriculum, taking the best of a variety of pedagogical approaches and tailoring instruction to meet the unique needs of the students we serve. Collaboration is encouraged among the faculty, who work together to ensure that major topics and concepts are incorporated into each course, across subject areas and in progression from one grade level to the next.

Curriculum Overview PK-12

Faculty design their instruction around the 7Cs -- essential skills for our rapidly changing world. Students are encouraged to engage in learning through the use of these seven skills each and every day:

7 Cs of Curriculum

Creativity
Collaboration
Communication
Critical Thinking
Cultural Awareness
Cross-Curricular Connections
Character Development

Enduring Understandings

Faculty have also identified Enduring Understandings -- what we want our students to learn after digging deeply and uncovering what is not necessarily obvious. This helps our teaching go beyond rote memorization to conceptual understanding. We want students to be able to transfer what they are learning to new and different situations, make inferences and develop insights about the world around them.