Welcome to the Beaver Country Day School website. There is information here for virtually every constituency – current and prospective parents and students, alumni, prospective faculty and staff, and summer program families. We regularly update the information and photographs on our site, and I encourage you to view our multimedia galleries. In addition, current families, alumni, and faculty/staff may log into our web portal at www.bcdschool.org/podium for more detail.
As a progressive school, we are committed to a continuous process of self-evaluation and planning. In 2004, our Administration and Board of Trustees completed a strategic thinking process which identified four key areas of focus for the next few years:
Program Innovation: Building on our 87-year heritage as a national leader in progressive education, BCDS will expand upon the interdisciplinary nature of our curriculum and broaden the range of pedagogical strategies used by our faculty. As we continue to provide students with challenging and engaging material, we also will develop their capacities to collaborate, to reflect on themselves, and to empathize with others. As part of this process, we are redesigning our 9th grade programs, evaluating all of our upper level courses to ensure a high level of challenge within the context of our mission, and expanding upon public and private partnerships to extend curricula beyond the campus.
Student Success: We remain committed to offering a challenging, student-centered academic experience in a humane environment and to maintaining our standing as a national leader in diversity. We are designing strategies to foster students’ explicit understanding of their learning process, and in the last year we completed a diversity strategic plan. All our programs and our school culture focus on providing experiences that foster the development of character, integrity, and a strong sense of individual responsibility for high standards throughout the school community.
Faculty Development: In order to support our commitment to student success, all of our faculty have been trained in the “All Kinds of Minds” program (All Kind of Minds/Schools Attuned ). This research into student learning provides teachers with additional strategies to become even more effective in the classroom. At BCDS we attract and retain teachers who put students first and who are eager to lead in the design and implementation of inspiring, challenging, and innovative programs. We are justifiably proud of our comprehensive and focused professional development program.
Resource Expansion: We opened our new Athletic Center in September 2007. The new facility expands and consolidates indoor sports in one building for better supervision and greater flexibilty in scheduling practices and games. In September 2004, we opened our new Visual and Performing Arts Center.
I think you will agree that this is a very exciting time for the most vibrant and forward-thinking independent school in the Boston area. I look forward to welcoming you as a visitor to our campus, as well as to our website.
Peter Hutton
Head of School
