Fairfield County Look - New Canaan Country School

New Canaan Country School

Children experience ‘joyful learning’ in an academically rich setting

By Magaly Olivero
Photographs by ChiChi Ubiña

New Canaan Country School offers a unique blend of academic challenge with a respect for childhood that shapes curriculum, culture and the school’s divisional structure. High academic expectations and joyful learning go hand-in-hand with a faculty focus on helping students develop confidence and competence at each stage of childhood.

"Our mission and program are distinctive, intentionally allowing us to focus all our expertise and all our resources on the critical years of childhood, ages 3-15," said Nancy Hayes, Director of Admission. "Our students have many and varied opportunities to develop leadership at all levels. Our Upper School students are editors of the newspaper or the yearbook, captains of sports teams, have leading roles in school plays and student government, all opportunities that wouldn’t be available to them as freshmen at another school."

Uniquely designed for youngsters up to grade nine

Founded in 1916, New Canaan Country School is a coeducational, independent school for Beginners through Grade Nine located in Fairfield County, CT. The bucolic campus includes 75 wooded acres with six major buildings, five playing fields and outdoor classrooms in the 35-acre nature preserve that has a low ropes challenge course. Graceful maple trees frame the historic Grace House at the school’s main entrance. About 650 students from area communities are enrolled in the early childhood program, lower school, middle school and upper school. The long-time tradition of parent support and involvement continues to this day.

Anne Carlson, Director of Advancement, believes the "calm and nurturing environment" at New Canaan Country School resonates with parents who worry about the pressure youngsters feel to grow up quickly in today’s fast-paced society. The school has experienced record enrollment in recent years – a sign that parents appreciate the benefits of "educating the whole child" to support a student’s growth and development, said Carlson. "Students are solidly prepared academically, emotionally, and socially once they leave our school community," she said.

Combining traditional values with a progressive approach

Among the state-of-the-art facilities is the Stevens Upper School which is a LEED-certified building recognized by the state as being the first "green" academic facility Connecticut. The innovative Thacher Building, designed by a school alumnus, houses the early childhood education program where children enjoy large, open classrooms ideal for fostering play and creativity. The Lower and Middle schools include state-of-the-art science laboratories, classrooms, art studios and more.

New Canaan Country School takes pride in combining both “a traditional and aprogressive approach” that enables educators to identify the most effective ways to reach students, said Hayes. A portion of the curriculum is reviewed each year (last year it was math, this year it’s social studies) to stay up-to-date with best practices. “We look at the curriculum across all the divisions to make sure we are building fundamentals across the continuum of our four divisions,” she explained.

Hands-on learning enhances creativity

At New Canaan Country School, faculty focuses on "experiential" learning with hands-on activities that allow students to make connections between academic disciplines. Young students, for example, take part in a project tracking Monarch butterflies. Middle school students work with students in Tanzania as part of the School to School program; technology allows children on different continents to read books to one another, forging very human connections and broadening their horizons.

All ninth graders participate in the Expanded Studies Program, immersing themselves in a topic that culminates with off-campus field trips. Students studying the Civil Rights Movement, for instance, may travel to Mississippi and Alabama while others explore marine biology off the coast of Florida or visit a Mexican orphanage as part of a Spanish and social studies concentration.

By ninth grade, students at New Canaan Country School are "articulate and confident individuals who are comfortable advocating for themselves and ready to shape the next step in their future," said Carlson. "It’s a wonderful to see children who are 14 and 15 come into their own."

Moving to the next step with confidence

New Canaan Country School’s secondary school placement office guides families and students as they move onto the next phase of their education, whether it’s boarding school, an independent day school or public school. "By that time, students know themselves well enough to identify a school that fits their needs rather than just finding a school they can fit into," said Hayes.

"Our students thrive at the next level because of the foundation they received at New Canaan Country School," she said. "They hit the ground running as scholars and as leaders in their new school communities."