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Nurturing Confident,

Curious Learners

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Lower Schoolers enjoy a laugh during music class.

Lower School

Grades 1–4

Visit Durham Academy Lower School, and you'll agree that there's something special in the air — a certain spirit of engagement and purpose. You'll observe warm relationships between teachers and students, and classmates supporting one another and practicing the habits that lead to moral, happy and productive lives. Above all, you'll see students curious about the world and motivated to learn all that they can. 

 

What we want children to experience is a sense of belonging. Research shows that there’s a positive correlation between academic success and a student’s confidence, sense of belonging and autonomy. We’re trying to build agency in children. Our students know, 'I’m an important community member in my class, in my grade, in this division and in this school.' The Lower School is small enough that we know everyone’s name. A step further, the librarians know what each child likes to read. The head of school is out on the sidewalk welcoming students every morning and knows each one of them.

Carolyn Ronco
Director of Lower School

Picture Your Child Thriving at DA

Durham Academy Lower School is brimming with students' enthusiasm for learning and teachers' love of working with children — and we encourage you to experience that for yourself by visiting our campus! 

We also know that you may have questions about affording a Durham Academy education. We encourage you to apply for financial aid if you believe you need any level of support and to reach out to chat about the financial aid or admission process. 

Plan Your Visit to the Lower SchoolLearn About Financial Aid

Our mission to prepare students for moral, happy and productive lives undergirds every moment of a student's day. The Lower School is a caring community — a nurturing environment conducive to learning in which each member of the community feels secure and supported. Among our goals is to guide students to develop self-discipline, build empathy for others and stand up against bias and exclusion.

Students also have plentiful opportunities to discover interests beyond the walls of a traditional classroom — from tending to plants in the Lower School garden, to delighting in the sounds of Orff instruments, to collaborating with students across grade levels on an art installation. 

Fourth-graders act in the annual class play.

Confidence Before a Crowd

Students' comfort with public speaking and performing on stage develops organically over the course of their Lower School years. There are myriad opportunities for students to practice these skills — from speaking at assemblies to performing before standing room-only audiences at musical and dramatic performances. It's one of the many ways your child will build independence and agency at the Lower School.

Life @ DA Lower School

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    Day in the Life: Preschool and Lower School Extended Day

    As the clock nudges toward 2:20 p.m., they could be forgiven if they succumbed to drowsiness: Many of them have been at school for seven hours. But the more than 30 Durham Academy pre-kindergartners sitting cross-legged atop the carpet in the Preschool Great Room are rapt.

    Preschool/Lower School Unity Day ‘Weaves’ Together Students in Service

    For more than three decades, Unity Day has been an annual celebration in the Lower School and Preschool, bringing together students and faculty in service learning and friendship. And, of course, in traditions — like the chorus of “Weave” that Preschool and Lower School students alike belted out in their respective Unity Day assemblies.

    Erika Kim Cherishes Belonging in her Third Grade Classroom

    “I told our families on Back to School Night this year that their children feeling seen, loved and supported is the foundation of all that we’re doing in this classroom,” Kim said, “let alone what we’re doing at Durham Academy.”