The Benefits of a Nursery Through Eighth Grade School
We’d like to point out some special qualities and benefits of a school, like C&C, that starts at nursery or pre-school and continues through the eighth grade.
The feel of a nursery through eighth grade school can be different from a school that goes through 12th grade. The oldest children, at 13 and 14 years old—a vulnerable stage of adolescence—benefit from the confidence that comes with being the oldest, or the leaders in the school. And, without high school children to influence them to grow up too fast, their childhood can be preserved for longer.
Another aspect of a City and Country education is the clarity of the School’s philosophy and practices. You won’t find one approach in one room, and a dramatically different approach next door. The consistency and unified vision across the age groups directly benefit the children as their work from one year to the next builds in a logical continuum.
Too, it’s unusual that the youngest members of the School have such a rich, wide community to interact with, including older children as well as science, music, art, and woodshop specialists.
Finally, the beauty of this span of ages all under one roof is that the children have room to grow in a safe, small community. They move from very young childhood to early adolescence and emerge ready for the next step.
If we’ve done our job well, by 8th grade, children have grown to understand themselves as learners and can play a big part in the decision of where to go to high school. They can consider such things as school size, philosophy, single-sex, coed, public, private, and quality of teacher relationships. At 14 years old, to be able to take responsibility for shaping your education is an empowering experience, and one that prepares you for the college selection process down the line.