Chatham Day School (CDS) offers an ambitious program that promotes intellectual achievement and emotional growth in a diverse and nurturing environment, where students learn in small classes and can take advantage of its sprawling 15-acre campus. The school celebrates and values each child as a unique learner with extraordinary potential.
PERSONALIZED ATTENTION AND INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING
CDS is committed to keeping class sizes small, with a maximum of 14 students per class, to allow teachers to provide differentiated teaching strategies and personalized attention. “We will never sacrifice on the size of our classes,” says Head of School David Buffum. “We feel very strongly about holding to that philosophy of small classes, because that really is the most important part of our mission.”
The school offers an array of extracurricular activities, including theater, basketball, soccer, cross-country, fencing, chess and robotics competition teams.
At CDS, every student is known, valued and celebrated, and the school is dedicated to fostering interests and encouraging meaningful relationships. “Parents appreciate the frequent communication from teachers and the personalized approach from the ‘institution’—we always put that in quotes because we prefer to handle most issues relationally and not institutionally,” Buffum says.
CELEBRATING AND REWARDING BRAVERY
As students push themselves outside of their comfort zones and into the spotlight, from classroom presentations to participation in the spring musical, teachers and fellow students reward this bravery. In turn, students reach higher and further than they ever thought possible.
“We are proud of our teachers for being such good communicators, and proud of our students for rewarding bravery in one another,” Buffum says.
At CDS, teachers encourage selfadvocacy and leadership from even the youngest grades, whether it’s an eighth-grader assisting a kindergartner in reading a new book, or a pair of thirdgraders assisting younger students with a science experiment.
“Teachers are ubiquitous in all areas, and our administrators know each student and family member by name,” Buffum says. “We have school events like everyone else, but it is in the aggregate of interactions that a community is truly made. When you attend CDS, you become part of our extended family.”
700 Shunpike Rd., Chatham
973-410-0400
chathamdayschool.org