Riverfield Country Day School takes the typical educational experience from 

ordinary to extraordinary.

Riverfield is a unique experience and a place that honors and values children with a tradition of promoting creativity, investigation, and discovery in a safe, caring environment. At Riverfield, students’ relationships with peers, teachers, families, the environment, and resources are all key to building a firm foundation for social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and moral success.

As students rise through the grades, elements of Best Practices are implemented and state-of-the-art teaching results in an education that is collaborative, rigorous, and challenging. The approach to teaching is well-structured, strongly backed by educational research, and draws on sound learning theory.

Riverfield is committed to developing lifelong learners and this is evident in the quality of the curriculum and the expertise of the faculty.

Throughout Riverfield, small class sizes provide a rigorous and personalized academic program that emphasizes effective communication and application of knowledge, fosters self-confidence, and gives a sense of purpose. Teachers value students as capable and intelligent partners in learning and promote student/teacher/ family relationships which are imperative to academic and social success.

Learn more about each of the RCDS Divisions
PRE-SCHOOL

Relationships are at the heart of our thinking and learning.  We are a learner-centered community where the intellectual and emotional integrity of children, and their childhood, is honored. Inspired by the Schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the Pre-School is a welcoming and nurturing learning community that values children as competent and capable learners deserving of competent and capable educators.

LOWER SCHOOL

In the Lower School, students in Kindergarten through 5th grade, are valued for who they are and are supported as they navigate their own understanding and learning within themselves, throughout their classes, and learning groups. Their intrinsic motivation—the motivation we all are born with to do something for the satisfaction of the outcome, rather than for the consequences or award—is celebrated and cultivated as they rise up through the grades.

With multi-age classrooms with an intentionally small teacher/student ratio, teachers are the champions of their students, paying attention to what motivates them, what they express interests in, and providing opportunities for students to inquire and explore those interests. Lower School teachers are the catalyst for student learning through collaborative observation, inquiry, reflection, and projection.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Collaboration is essential in Middle School. Multi-age classrooms for 6th and 7th grade creates a place for  built-in mentorship and leadership, with all students collaborating on student-led projects, using common language and incorporating the practice of debriefing after each experience. By the time students reach the 8th grade, they have learned how to lead, organize, and serve others through STUCO and House prefects on campus and out in the community. With small class-sizes that utilize the “House System,” students develop social and emotional bonds in a safe, inclusive space as they mature through the challenges of their adolescent years.

UPPER SCHOOL

Learning is incorporated beyond the classroom, nurturing the growth of individual students as unique and whole human beings. The flexible schedule of the Upper School allows students to meet with teachers outside of class and benefit from having advisors who serve as a liaison between students, teachers, and families – all in support of their individual academic, emotional, and social growth. As students navigate through their Upper School years, their self-confidence builds as they become self-advocates who have opportunities to serve, lead, and problem-solve.

The educational approach of RCDS includes small class sizes with a rigorous, personalized academic program. Utilizing complex environments and advanced technology, RCDS creates an innovative and extraordinary educational experience to produce academic excellence. By cultivating knowledge, skills, mindsets, and dispositions, Upper School graduates are poised for future success and life-long learning.