For more than a century Dedham Country Day School has welcomed eager young children, committed parents, and passionate teachers into its learning community.



The graceful willow trees that greet each visitor to our campus usher prospective students and their families into a school that strives each day, in every way, to embody being what the noted progressive educator Edward Yeomans considered the most important litmus test for any educational institution: “a good place for children.”



DCD’s program is a dynamic, challenging one, combining rigorous academics with concern for each child’s individual growth. Teachers reach out to every student, and the school’s motto—“Learning Is a Way of Life”—reflects a collective commitment to helping the children in its care become creative, independent learners.



The broad range of educational activities—academics, creative arts, and athletics—is carefully balanced to ensure that each child will explore the fullest possible range of his or her potential. Risk-taking and occasional failure are valued as much as success; at DCD children learn by doing.



The school’s developmentally based approach assures that challenges and experiences will be age-appropriate, meeting children where they are and guiding them towards new discoveries about their individual capacities and gifts. DCD believes that childhood is an end in itself, to be lived fully and happily, throughout the decade that spans Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. In an era where the full weight of American culture, media, and merchandising is designed to promote social precocity in youngsters, DCD strives to encourage age-appropriate behavior, simplicity, and wholesome values.



For more than 100 years the school has remained a relatively small “village,” seeking families who value the enthusiastic involvement of parents in the life and development of the institution. DCD is a place that promotes community and values connections among children, parents, and faculty.



Ultimately DCD offers each child an enriched, stimulating education and a fully realized experience of childhood. This Web site has been designed to illuminate those gifts. If you share our values and philosophy, there is no substitute for a campus tour, when you can feel the energy, enthusiasm, and commitment of DCD’s current generation of children, teachers, and parents. We will welcome your visit.