There is a decided approach to learning that underlies the program at Capitol Hill Day School. While its influence is seen clearly in the curriculum, you will also find it reflected in the thinking of the teachers, children, and parents. Even the architecture and space of our historic school building plays a part in bringing it to life.

Through the grades, children are encouraged to search for patterns and relationships. In math, literature, music -- in virtually every subject -- they find, define, and create patterns that spiral, branch, repeat, and grow geometrically. Learning in this way develops habits of observing, analyzing, and predicting.

Teachers work together to integrate the curriculum so that subjects are studied in depth and from many directions. The artwork you see in the School is integrally related to the children's studies. Field trips help children connect school experiences to the world around them. Literature and mathematics can be part of the study of science and social studies. Children thus gain sufficient knowledge of a topic to sense its complexity and grapple with its ambiguities.

Certain themes and topics serve as pillars around which the School's program spirals. In studies of Native American, European, African, or Asian groups, students examine relationships between environment and culture. In mathematics, children in early childhood classes and those in upper grades use similar materials to develop geometric and algebraic concepts. The revisiting of important ideas assures continuity in program and allows children to deepen understandings.

Caring for others is taught in all that we do. Older students learn and play with younger ones and assume responsibilities in the School community. Younger children are encouraged to be inclusive and kind in their interactions. Students take it for granted that they attend classes with others whose circumstances may be very different from their own. They discuss and learn from their differences with friendliness and trust, and from this perspective, examine ethical issues that arise from academic studies.

Our aims are to develop in each child a continuing commitment to learning and an abiding care for others. When you visit, we hope you will sense the interplay between the two as you see children greet friends in classrooms and corridors, and observe them engaged in activities and discussions.